Projects #2 and #3 - And the end of the year...

OK... I should have saved Project #2 until later. Or, I should have done it a long time ago. Actually, I don't think it really matters when I do this...it's just not fun. I'm revamping our "Must Have Papers". I made a Power of Attorney for Health Care in case Roger or I are ever needing someone to make health care decisions for us. That's always fun to think about... I am also in the process of making a Living Revocable Trust. Having gone through the death of my mother and my grandmother, I am appalled at how much it costs to put a will through probate. So, by making a Trust, our estate won't have to face the courts, judges, or lawyers. Even though it's a good thing to do, it is still sobering to have to answer questions about guardianship for the kids...etc... And, since we're doing a Trust, we also have to update our wills. Fun... Anyway, I got 1/2 of my project done yesterday and will try to finish today. Our computer is SO SLOW...so it's hard to get my groove back and get it all done. And, our printer is having problems, so everything is just saved instead of printed out.

But, Project #3 is looking much more enjoyable. I'm going to reorganized my stamp room! Doesn't that sound like fun! It does to me... I'll try to remember to take some before and after pics. I'm figuring out that some of the really fun blogs that I follow seem to always have their camera with them and can post fun pictures. I'm trying to train myself to carry my camera, and then remember to use it! I read a post on a friend's blog about taking the kids out for a treat in their pajamas and I thought it was a great idea. So, on Monday night, around 9:15, I rang a bell and we got all the kids up and into the Beast and went to Sonic. They were so funny... I wish I'd taken a picture of all 7 (well, I wouldn't have been in the picture) of us loaded into the Beast...the kids in their pajamas, smiling ear to ear in anticipation. We are sure enjoying our Christmas vacation and I'm beginning to feel the noose tighten as we head towards the weekend. Real Life is just around the corner...

We're hanging out here at home tonight...Hope you all have a super New Year Celebration as we look forward to 2009. God Bless...

My Week of Projects -- #1

We had such a lovely Christmas. Now, how can I make the most of our little vacation before we have to start school again? I have my list, and I'm checking it twice, of projects I'd like to try to get done before Jan. 5. Today was Project #1. I went to an auction last Sunday and I "won" a new freezer. I know, I know... Roger reminds me that we didn't really "win" anything... "We're paying for it, aren't we?" But, it FEELS like you win... Anyway, today, my Project was to get the garage cleaned up and rearranged so we can put the new freezer in it's spot. It's so beautiful! (The freezer, that it...) It is a commercial freezer and, quite frankly, it's a lot bigger than I realized it would be. It didn't look so big in the shop where I won it...but it's big in my garage. I'm so excited.

So, I got Project #1 completed early this afternoon since the weather was so gorgeous. I'll let you know how my other Projects go...

Did I mention one of the other reasons our Christmas was so great? Granddaddy has arrived! He's been in Siloam for about 3 weeks now and is working on getting unpacked. He's been over many times and we were able to spend Christmas Eve with him, and then Christmas Day with him and Roger's sister Grace and her family, the Davises. We are so very blessed to have him close.

I'm Mother of the Year with this one!

Ahhhh... Christmas. I am pleasantly tired from our lovely day of celebrating. I must say that I'm rather happy with the way our gift giving went this year. We scaled back on the presents and I think it went really well. We got one large (expensive) gift for the whole family and then each child received 3 presents. Jesus only received 3!! Limiting the number of presents really helped relieve a lot of pressure as well as saved us money! Of course, they also received gifts from extended family, so don't feel sorry for their seemingly small number of gifts. I'm just tired of buying stuff just to buy stuff!

There was one gift worth mentioning. Zane has been wanting some sort of pet of his own for several years now. We got one of our dogs on his birthday hoping that would fulfill his need for pet ownership. Unfortunately, it didn't work. What he really wanted was some sort of rodent, like a rat! Or, a snake...even worse. I can't believe I agreed to this, but we got him a snake. It's a female corn snake...about 8-10 inches long. Even with my aversion to all thinks remotely slimy, scaly, or slithery...she is sort of cute. She has red and white stripes/dots and a little pink tongue. Roger has been keeping her at the office for the last 2 weeks and the staff has sort of adopted her. One of the gals at the clinic named her Shelia and Zane has decided to go with that. If your name is Shelia...no offense intended. Before we discovered she is a girl, I thought we could call her Satan...

If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you'll see her pink eyes... ugh!

Chocolate Peanut Clusters! YUM!

I know, I know...I've slacked off with my December Photo Project. The truth is, I just didn't have any pictures that I thought were really interesting. They weren't "blog worthy". But, today's pictures will make up for the last few days! These are definitely "blog worthy".

Have I told you about my new BFF? It's the Crock Pot Lady. She doesn't know that she's my new BFF, but she is. If I knew where she lived, I might stalk her. I am a crock pot junkie and I'll be sad when she stops posting every day. Anyway, Roger has a party at the office this afternoon, so I thought I'd make a little "something something" to send to the shin-dig. I decided to try Crock Pot Peanut Clusters. They are sooooo easy. Here's how I made them.

Crock Pot Peanut Clusters

-- 3 16 oz. jars/cans of peanuts (I used "Party Peanuts" and the Crock Pot Lady says to used "lightly salted" peanuts -- I'll address this in a moment

-- 24 oz. milk chocolate chips

-- 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

-- 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate

Put it all in the CP (I used a 6 quart size) and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours, or low for 3 hours. Here's what it looked like...

It doesn't look much different after it's cooked than it does when you dump it all in. Don't be fooled though... and don't open the lid "just to make sure it's working". It really is melty gooey...

After it's cooked, you can mix it all up with a wooden spoon. You'll have to put a little muscle into it...

Then, I took one of those ice cream scoopers that is really for melon balls and I scooped out little lumps on to waxed paper.

Let them harden for quite a while...like, over night. Or, you can put them in the freezer to harden them quickly. If you don't let them harden nicely, they are really messy...

Here's what I discovered: The "party peanuts" are salty. I don't really care for a lot of salt on things, but I love the peanut clusters. Perhaps the combo of sweet and salty makes it OK for me. Now, here's the greater discovery... my kids were not crazy about this. They thought it was too salty! WHAT! So, if you're looking for a yummy candy to make that you won't have to share with the kids, this is what you've been waiting for!!

I made them a little bigger than I should have... I ended up with 113, some of them big. Here they all are on my kitchen island...they look like little soldiers all lined up, waiting to be eaten! Yum!

We've Adopted!

Well, I'm doing much better today. I had a mammogram follow-up yesterday and today I got the results...everything is fine and I don't need to go back for a year. Talk about an emotional roller-coaster... Anyway, enough of that!

Here is my picture for my DPP. This is Emmanuel. We selected him at http://www.compassion.com/. Isn't he precious? We went to the website and looked at page after page of children waiting to be "chosen". We wanted a little boy, and, we wanted someone that has to deal with the epidemic of AIDS. He doesn't have AIDS, but it's a good bet that someone in his little world has it. His page indicated that he'd been waiting over 6 months for a family. He is from Rwanda and is 5 years old. His parents are farmers and he is one of 4 children. We're crazy about him! I just love his little, round face. There are several reasons I like Compassion.com. I'd like to encourage you to check it out. This has been yet another opportunity to take the focus off of ourselves and allow our children to take part in expanding their world. We're writing him a big letter with a picture of each of us. He and Nate are about the same age, so I hope he feels a little connection. We hope we can help him have a merry Christmas.

No Picture Today :-(

It was a long day...I'm really tired...thanks for understanding...I'm going to bed!

He is Sam!

Hot chocolate... mmmmm.... just saying it makes a gal feel warm and cozy. I've never been a coffee drinker. I love getting hot chocolate (with whipped cream of course) at Starbucks. And, with all of our great Christmas mugs, I feel obligated to dring hot chocolate out of each one at least once during the holidays. I guess that's where my kids get the idea that one of the many traditions of our Christmas is hot chocolate. And, with weather temps below the freezing mark for the last 3 days, hot chocolate becomes our beverage of choice. So, every night, the kids get to split a package of hot chocolate. Here's Sam with his special mug. The picture at the top of my blog is also Sam... about 2 years ago. I keep thinking I need to change that picture, but it's just such a great representation of Sam. He's such a happy guy!

What a Motley Crew!

December Photo Project...Dec. 16th.
Isn't this a cantankerous looking bunch! This picture may not make you think of Christmas, but this is what we did while at Silver Dollar City this weekend... the kids had a ball!

The Inside of an Apple Pie

Several times today I stopped to thank God for shelter... The high today was about 22 degrees. School was cancelled because of ice. We had a fire going all day. Since there was no reason for us to cancel home school, we went ahead and did our work. It's amazing how quickly we can finish on days like this. Anyway, for my December Photo Project, I'm showing you what I cooked in the crock pot today. Katie had brought home a bunch of apples from her American Girl Book Club last week, so I figured I needed to use them. I went on to The Crock Pot Lady's blog and found a recipe for homemade applesauce. I used my Pampered Chef Apple/Peeler/Corer/Slicer. The apples were slightly over-ripe, so it was not quite as easy and usual... a little mushiness makes the peeler difficult to use. But, I pressed on! I put the whole batch in the crock pot, added a little brown sugar, some cinnamon, and a little water. I cooked them on low for about 7 hours. The house smelled fabulous! After they were cooked, I took my potato masher and mashed them all up. For a snack, I served it to the kids with a dollop of whipped cream. It tasted like the inside of an apple pie...it was a hit... and once again, my kids think I'm a kitchen goddess!

Christmas in Branson

Well, we're back. We left Friday evening and spent 2 nights in Branson. We used the last of our free passes to Silver Dollar City. We'd not been there during Christmas before, so we decided to face the crowds and go on Saturday. It wasn't bad... at least it wasn't bad at first. The lighting ceremony was at 5:30, and then it was crowded. So, we left. We'd been there since 2:00 that afternoon and we were ready to get back to the condo. I had taken my crock pot and there was chicken and veggies waiting. So, for my DPP photo for Dec. 14, here we are at Silver Dollar City.

The Wise Men are Coming!!

For my December Picture Project today, I'm putting up a picture of our wise men. They're on their way to the manger... They're currently in the dining room, on their way to the windowsill in the living room. This is the first year we've done this and the kids are intrigued.

I'll be out of pocket tomorrow, but will be back on Sunday...

Zane's Christmas Stocking

After a relatively slow, calm, peaceful week...tonight was not. The kids had a band concert at the high school tonight. We were there from 6-8:30. And, there was a parent meeting afterwards about an upcoming trip. So, I just got home about 15 minutes ago! How is it that sitting in a fine arts building listening to lovely Christmas music can just zap your energy? Our youngest muffin slept through about an hour of the concert.

So, I was trying to decide what kind of picture to post for my DPP. As I gaze around the house, I came upon one of my very favorite Christmas items. It's Zane's Christmas stocking. My mother was a avid cross-stitcher...and I picked it up after many years of watching her sit in her rocker with her needlework on her lap. When Zane was a baby, he used to sleep with one arm over his head. Sometimes he'd sleep with his arm over his eyes. When I saw this pattern, I knew I had to do it! It looks just like him! Well, it was a ton of work, and I had to sew the stocking together...ugh! But, it turned out beautifully, and he's worth it! He loves to have something that is his and no one has anything like it. I think it's kind of nice that he has something special...just for him.

A quiet day...

Today was nice. It's pretty cold outside, so the fire in the fireplace today was delightful! No big plans tonight, so we finished up our school this morning and then had a nice afternoon. However, after dinner, I got a little motivation to go downstairs. I worked on some Christmas cards and listened to Michael Buble... how fun! Now, I need to clean up the creativity!

What a lovely mess...

New "Christmas Trees"

This is definitely a rushed post... I'm ready for bed!! As I was thinking about pictures that will show what is going on at our house this Christmas, I thought about how we love the traditions and pulling out the familiar stuff, but was there anything new this year? And, did I really WANT to try to incorporate anything new. Then, I realized that we did have something new this year. We have 2 beautiful hibiscus plants that I brought in for the winter. I have already posted about my aversion to gardening, but container plants are more my speed. These had bloomed and grown so faithfully this spring and summer, so I didn't want to lose them to the cold weather. So, I brought them into the house to see if I could keep them alive. I added "watering the plants" to each child's chore schedule so the plants will get watered every other day. Well, they have continued to bloom...and are doing great! And, since the lights we used on the Mustang for the parade we just lying around, we decided to light up our new trees. So, here they are...with lights off, and then the lights on. And, having these in the house gives us a place to put any ladybugs we find in the house!

Christmas the Cat

What would Christmas be without animals? The truth is, I'm not what you would call an "animal lover". Don't get me wrong...I like animals, but I'm not someone that's going to treat an animal like my baby, let it eat from the table, buy it a burial plot, etc... Not that there's anything wrong with that! It's fine, if that's who you are! But, it's not me. However, I do love having a cat sleeping at your feet. If contentment had a sound, it would be the sound of purring. So, for my December Photo Project, here is a picture of our cat. His name is Christmas. We call him Chris. We got him on Christmas 5 years ago. I was looking at the blogs of other people doing the DPP and came across a gal named Clare who had a picture of her cat on her blog...he looks just like Chris! The funny thing is that we joke that Chris has his "other family", because he will disappear for a day or two...then show up and stay with us for a few days. We joke that he goes to be with his "other family", but he always comes back to us. So, I showed the kids the picture and I emailed Clare and explained that we think she may be our cat's "other family". She got a kick out of it. It would be quite a trek for Chris since Clare lives in another state! Anyway, here he is... our Christmas kitty.

More Chirstmas traditions.

For my DPP Challenge, Dec. 7.

Here's a picture of what we do every morning during the month of Dec. This is our advent calendar. In each pocket is a little pillow boy or girl, representing children from countries all over the world. I find it interesting that it has children from countries like Brazil, France, Canada, China, Russia, even the USA, etc... but there is only one child that represents the entire continent of Africa. Anyway, on the back of each pillow is a little piece of Velcro and it attaches to the wreath around the earth. There's also a couple of angels, a trumpet, a heart, and a dove. I got this about 15 years ago and it's beginning to show some wear. When it finally begins to come apart, I will have to put aside my aversion to sewing and do everything humanly possible to keep it together. My children love this thing and have even had discussions about who gets it when Roger and I die. It took me a couple of years, but I finally figured out how to keep 5 kids from fighting over who gets to take the next little person out of their pocket. I wrote each name on a piece of paper and every morning I draw a name. That person gets to pull out that day's little person. Seriously, every morning when I come down the stairs, there is at least one child that will immediately ask me to draw a name and see which lucky child gets to be the chosen one today.

Everyone Loves a Parade!

Seriously folks...is there anything more "feel good" that a small town, home town Christmas parade? I've been to "big city" parades before. While the effects may be magnified by the big corporation floats, and the numbers are always larger...well, I'm just a sucker for the smaller version. I love to see floats from the companies where my friends work. How about the bands? Usually just one or two...and I know the children/parents of about 1/2 of the group. In our parade there are no less that about 20 floats from local churches. No hiding behind "Happy Holidays" around here. It's a full blown "Merry Christmas" many times over. So, my DPP for Dec. 6 is actually a video. It's an awful video... it came out way too dark when I uploaded it to YouTube. But, I think you'll get the idea. The holidays have officially started in Siloam Springs. This is a video of our local high school band with the 8th grade included. My 2 oldest are marching...they're the best in their row! Enjoy. (You'll need to click the pause on my music if you want to be able to hear the band perform...)


Here's a video of me in the Mustang advertising for the body shop that fixed her up.





I may as well add a pic of my smallest muffin...he watched with Dad on the sidelines.

Christmas Puzzles

It's 11:30! I'm cutting it close... Here's my pic for Dec. 5.
Each year I get a Christmas puzzle for us to work on at our leisure. Sometimes I get an easy one for the Littles and a more challenging on for the big kids and adults. Right now it's on our dining room table, but I usually put it in the living room on a card table that allows us to work on it whenever we feel like it, but our table bit the dust this fall and I haven't replaced it. There's just something about a puzzle...sitting together, looking and trying pieces...I think it allows for conversation to flow. No pressure...just working on a puzzle.

Candles of Christmas

Wow! I've posted for 4 days in a row! I'm feeling some pressure now... But, I've enjoyed keeping my eyes open for Christmas snippets... Today's picture is about my candles. I imagine that everyone loves the look of candles. I like candles too, especially at Christmastime...but they really need to have a good scent for me to really love them. Lately, I've been a little disappointed with my Yankee Candles. I don't smell anything unless I'm really close to them. Anyway, I'm sharing some pics of my all-time favorite brand of candles. These are sold by Partylite. Why do I love them? For one thing, they burn clear. Once you light it, and let it burn for a little while, the whole thing turns to liquid wax. It's just so pretty. That leads me to another reason I love them... since they turn to liquid when they burn, that means they burn straight down... so when the candle is done, there's nothing left. Finally, the smell is fabulous. I'm a baking scent kinda girl...I like vanilla, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, etc... I like a few other scents, like lavender or anything citrusy... but baking scents are my favorite, especially around the holidays. So, here they are...

You can see a little before/after in these shots. The tea light below heats the wax above. (Ignore the center of the wax where my son poked his finger during the last time it cooled down.)

In the second set of pics, I wasn't patient enough to take the picture after the candles had completely melted... but hopefully, you get the idea.

She'll be comin' around the mountain...

What is it about trains? All of my children have gone through a train stage at one time or another. Actually, I think they like just about anything that "goes"... cars, trains, planes, trucks, tractors, rockets, etc... One of the best investments we made when Zack was about 1 1/2 was a beginner set of Thomas the Tank Engine Tracks. Over the last 15 years, we've added to them and have quite a collection. Nate has pretty much outgrown it, so the whole set is packed away very nice and neatly in the attic, waiting future grandchildren that will think I'm the coolest grandma because I have the best toys.

For my Christmas picture today, I have a picture of a train that is set up around our Christmas tree. Truthfully, I'm not crazy about having trains in the way of the presents, but our kids love it. And, since Thomas has been put away for a while now, having a running train is a novelty to my boys... We weren't sure it was going to work... it's an old track and is held together by lots of black electrical tape. And, the battery connections were corroded, so even after fresh batteries, it wouldn't go. But, thankfully, dad can fix anything! After a little cleaning, our train is running it's route without any trouble. Thank goodness!

It's Begun!

It's day number 2 in the Christmas Picture Challenge. Here's what I dealt with today.

The Christmas goodies are already stacking up...and it's only Dec. 2!! The cake in the pan is the last piece leftover from my daughter's 3 birthday cakes! I used to feel sorry for people that had holiday birthdays, but I'm not feeling so sorry anymore. Since her birthday usually falls on or around Thanksgiving, we usually have a family celebration on her actual birthday. Then, we celebrate again with our extended family when we get together on Thanksgiving day. But, she doesn't have her party with her friends until later because they're all busy with their families. So, she gets to have a week long celebration. That's why she had 3 birthday cakes...and she made 2 of them herself :-). In the picture is also a brownie leftover from some purchases at a bake sale, a baggie with homemade pumpkin bread. The plate has leftover goodies from our secret pal party last night. The other 3 items are gifts from my secret pal...Miss Maita (who was a super secret pal, by the way). So, I'm being very agreeable when the kids ask for dessert these days because if they don't eat it, I will! They're able to work it all of much easier than I am. Of course, I could just throw it all away...but I wouldn't want to be wasteful, now would I? :-)

Christmas Pictures

Dec. 1 -- Day 1

The sweet owner of The Homespun Heart blog has invited her readers to participate in a Christmas Picture Challenge. I'm going to give it a try...but no promises that I'll be able to post every day. I hope to post a pic that will give a glimpse into what's going on with us this Christmas. And, hopefully it will help me to keep my eyes open to the little things that mean so much... If I had been on the ball, I would have taken a picture of the snow this morning. For us to have snow that actually left a thin blanket of white on the ground...and to have that snow on Dec 1...well, that's just not normal around here. There was much delight at our house. But, it melted before I could take a picture. Instead, I took a picture of something that I love...my crock pot. I love the smell of dinner cooking throughout the day. I made a big pot of chili. It was perfect on this cold day. So, that's my first picture. My crock pot. Perhaps not very Christmas-ee, but definitely a cozy, feel good feeling as we went about our day.

What Are You Thankful For?

What are you thankful for...
Here is just a small sampling of my list.

10. That my children all seem to like each other (most of the time).

9. That deer season will be over in 2 months.

8. Plenty of food, warm clothing, and a cozy roof over our heads.

7. My dear, dear friends that live far away .... the ones that you would jump on a plane for if they needed you.

6. My friends that DON'T live far away and I'd only have to jump in the car if they needed me.

5. Finally realizing that chaos is difficult to live in... and allowing the Lord to show me how to get out of it.

4. The blessing of being able to enjoy the creativity that God has given me...

3. 5 healthy, happy children that continue to show me the love of our Father in ways I couldn't dream. Can God really love me as much as I love my children. He assure me that He does. What a mystery!

2. A husband that is truly a man that pursues my heart, and points me to God... He takes such good care of us.

1. The undeserved love of the King of King, and Lord of Lords. Even as a baby, He was my saviour. Wow!

There are many other things I'm thankful for...too numerous to list. How about you?

Reaping the Savings!

I did OK at Walgreens today. I purchased about $75 worth of stuff and paid about $25. Isn't that great? Well, here's my dilemma... I'm able to get some really good deals on stuff that I'm already stocked up on... but it's really hard for me to not go ahead and buy it. Walgreens has Skippy peanut butter on sale 2/$3 right now. And, I have coupons for $.55 off a jar, which brings the price to $1.05 each. That's really good. But, look at my stash.

I have about 40 jars of peanut butter!! Granted, we go through 1 jar about every 2 weeks. Still, we certainly don't need to worry about peanut butter for a while. So, you all are my witness... I will not buy any more peanut butter until we are down to our last 10 jars! It's time to reap all the savings... (but oh, it's hard to pass up a deal!)

Same thing for spaghetti sauce.

I don't know.... I only have 15 jars of spaghetti sauce. We eat quite a bit of spaghetti, so maybe I'll keep working on that stash.

The Clutter Battle

This week, the sweet gal at http://www.thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/ has been doing a week of making your home a haven. I would love to say that I have been participating successfully... but, I didn't discover the plan until late and wasn't really able to get geared up for it. On Monday, her plan was to tidy your home. You know, just pick up some of the clutter around the house that has piled up. So, I made a plan to clean up a couple of places. I decided to tackle the fireplace. It gets so messy with soot, chunks of wood, just your all around basic fireplace yuck. So, here's what it looked like before:

After a little attention, I was able to get it cleaned up in about 10 minutes...

The other place I wanted to tackle was the kitchen counter. It's the clutter magnet in the house. Here's what it looked like before I got after it:

You can see stacks of coupons, cleaning pads for my stamping, some hand soap that I got a good deal on, and just your basic normal paper clutter. I got to work and got it cleaned up. I finished around 2:00 on Monday afternoon.

So, I took a picture of it around 6:00 pm. Here's what it looked like afterwards:

What do you notice!!! It's still totally cluttered, but with TOTALLY DIFFERENT STUFF!! I wasn't able to get a picture while it was clean... it only took about 4 hours to make it worse than it was before. So, I'll see if I can get it cleared off this evening. I've had a couple of things going on during these last couple of days, so getting extra stuff done has been a little difficult. The rest of the week is a little slower, so I'm hopeful to get some other things done. Thankfully, mercies are new every morning... so, I'll ask the lord (again) to order my day so I can get some things done tomorrow.

Simply Chocolate!

Is it really fall? This weekend I wore a summer dress to a wedding. I think the bank clock said it was 80 degrees! We're plugging along with life. When the seasons change I always feel this strong desire to change as well. Simple, simple, simple... that's the call of my heart right now. My friend, Sam, spoke to our homeschooling moms' group last week about celebrating. She encouraged us to use what we have and celebrate the little things. As my oldest drives off to church, my heart sighs as I think about how little time I have left with him. So, celebrate we shall! I've discovered a wonderful blog and she gave me the recipe for making fondue in the crockpot. Now, if you know me at all, you know I love, Love, LOVE my crockpot. I have 3 and use at least one several times a week.

So, here's her recipe for Chocolate Fondue -- In the crockpot.

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (we used semi-sweet)

1/2 c heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

(You can add some sort of liquor if this is for grown-ups only :-)

marshmallows, graham crackers, strawberries, apples, bananas, pound cake, or what the heck...just get a spoon and eat it straight out of the crockpot!

Put everything in your smallest CP and put on low. It took about an hour for everything to melt, and it stays melted for as long as you keep it on. We didn't finish it, so I just let it cool and then put the ceramic pot in the fridge. We have eaten it for 3 days now :-)...

The kids thought I was a hero!!

Oh, and here's a pic of my littlest muffin... he was the ring bearer at our friend's wedding. All but one of my children have been in a wedding...

Be still my heart....

She's A Beauty!!

A lovely lady is sitting in my garage. My 68 Mustang is home. Her name is Beauty. Isn't she sweet?
I guess I hadn't mentioned her too much....several of you emailed me because you didn't know about her. She belonged to my brother. He had gotten her from a friend and had planned to fix her up. Well, she sat in his yard for 2 years!! No cover, no protection... poor thing. Anyway, he figured he just wasn't wanting to take care of her and he was needing some cash. So, he gave us a good deal. That was around Mother's Day last year. We saved up and finally took her to get some TLC this past January. Originally, she was orange. When we got her, she was rust colored. Roger did some work inside, but she really needed some specific updates, etc... so, we took her to the shop. We had hoped it would take about 4-5 months. Well, we finally got her back today, almost exactly 9 months after we took her in. The next item she'll get is new tires/wheels. I'm not much of a tire/wheel expert, but Roger and the guys at the shop assure me she needs new ones. I'm not even sure which is the tire and which is the wheel. I just want it to be pretty :-)
I picked her up at noon and had to go get new tags. This afternoon, I loaded up the kids and we had to make a trip to Happy Hour at Sonic. Here's my 4 youngest muffins with their drinks, next to Beauty. We were happy.

Good Deals

We went to the corn maze today... Beautiful weather, hay rides, pumpkin patches, corn as high as an elephant's eye. I may break into song!! But, that's not what I'm writing about. I will be speaking at our Siloam Bible Ladies' Retreat next month on the "Grocery Game". So, I thought I'd give a little tease of what's to come. This is a picture of one of my shopping trips to Walgreens last week. Here's a run down:
-----1 Clorox Shower Cleaning System--On sale for $19.95 (I had a coupon for $10 off. And, there is a WG rebate this month for $10 back.) = Free
-----2 Crest Toothpaste reg. 1.99 - On sale for .99 - I had 2 coupons for $1.00 off = Free
-----Bought 5 Windex/Fantastic on sale for 2.50 each (total of $12.50) - WG has a rebate of 1.00 back on each. I had coupons for 2.00 off each windex and 1.50 off each Fantastic. So, they paid me $1.50 to take it all home.
-----Reach Toothbrush reg 2.50 on sale for .99. I had a coupon for 1.00 = Free
-----Palmolive on sale for .99. I had a coupon for .75 off - Cost me .24.
-----4 bags of candy on sale for $10. WG is offering a rebate for $4. And, I had 2 coupons for $2 off 2 bags. So I ended up paying $2 for 4 bags of candy...the good kind!
-----Chemical Shampoo/Conditioner is 7.99 - WG is offering full rebate, so it's free.
-----Finally, Lyp-sol lip balm is 2.99. WG is offering a full rebate, so it's free.

Final totals.... About $71.50 worth of stuff....I will have paid .75 after all the rebates arrive! I'll take it! It's not always like this...but it's sure sweet when it is...

Life Continues...

Things are good. Several of you have emailed your encouragement...thanks so much. Dad arrived on Monday and will be here until next Wed. The kids are so thrilled! He will then go back to Princeton to wrap up loose ends. Then, he'll move to Siloam in time for Christmas. He's looking forward to being with grand kids. Roger's sister, Joy, lives in Princeton. She and her hubby, Steve, have one 9 year old son, our nephew... So dad has been blessed to be around him since he was born. Now, he will spend time with his other grand kids. Not only are my five children here, but another of our nephews, Jon, also lives in Siloam. Even though he just turned 22, I know that Dad will want to spend time with Jon as well.
So, this week we've eaten lots of meals with Dad, taken Dad to the cabin for some repairs, he's taken the kids out for donuts once, will take them to Cathy's Corner tomorrow, and tonight, we spent an hour around the fire pit eating Smores and telling stories. The beginning of good memories!
In other news, my Mustang is almost done! No matter what Roger says, the color is NOT hot pink...it's called cranberry. It is lovely. I hope to pick it up Monday. I'm sitting here in my fuzzy robe and slippers...it's been a good week and I'm looking forward to a nice weekend.

Cry Me a River

Do you remember the last time you cried? Not just wept, but really boo-hoo, sobbing sort of crying? Now, some of you may be saying to yourself, "Well, what time is it...?" Not me. I really don't like crying. To me, crying is so annoying. It makes my throat hurt, my nose run, and usually gives me a headache. Not to mention, the effect on my eyes and my makeup. There have been times that I've had the tears come to my eyes, for whatever reason, but I thought to myself that it was just not a good time to cry...I'll save it for later.
Anyway, Roger and I flew to Princeton last weekend to attend Beverly's funeral. Beverly was married to Roger's father for the last 11 years. We were so sad to see her go and so sorry that she suffered during her last few days. But, her death isn't what made me cry this weekend. When I cry, it very often has something to do with my mother. I miss her terribly, and going to a funeral usually brings back memories of her funeral, more so than the absence of the person whose funeral I'm attending. So, when I saw the pain that Beverly's daughters/granddaughter were feeling, I cried for myself, and for them, because it never really goes away. When Beverly's daughter told me that Beverly had commented many times that she thought I was a good mother and was proud of me...I cried. Even now, as I sit here, I'm tearing up...but resisting. There really is no bigger cheerleader than a mother, and I yearn for my own mother's approval and validation. I want her to be proud of me. So, even though Bebs wasn't my mother, she's the only "mother" I've had for the last 11 years...and I suppose she filled in some gaps. The other time I cried was when I thought about my sweet father-in-law. This is the second wife he's buried who suffered from ovarian cancer. He has been such a faithful and loving husband to both of them...and the last days of both were so difficult. What can I do to help him? Nothing... at least, nothing that seems significant to me. I can make him food, I can sit with him, I can take care of his grandchildren... but, I can't take away the pain, or loneliness.
I can only think of two times in my life when I sobbed uncontrollably. The first time was about 20 years ago. Again...my mother... She had died about 3 months earlier and my father was getting remarried. Yes, remarried. I can't even tell you how big a mistake it was. We were at a friend's house for the ceremony, and almost immediately after it began, I began to cry... I mean, sobbing in a way that sounded like I was having an asthma attack! I couldn't stop. Here's the crazy thing...I cried through the whole ceremony! I didn't leave, and they didn't stop, so on their video, you couldn't hear anything, because I was crying!! How weird is that? I remember thinking that I shouldn't have to be there. It was probably a bad omen because they were divorced within 6 months... no tears then though.
The second time was about 2 years ago. I had my first mammogram and the doctors had found a spot and wanted me to have a biopsy. I wept in the doctor's office, but when I got in the car, I lost it. Honestly, all I could think about was leaving my kids motherless. I sat in the car with Roger and sobbed for about 5 minutes. Then the Valium kicked in and I went to sleep. The biopsy was clear and everything was fine, but it was a rough 2 weeks.
I don't think I was always an anti-cryer. But, after going through my mother's death, I actually remember thinking to myself that I was so tired of crying. Maybe I learned to control it some. Or, maybe I deny myself that outlet and express my feelings in other ways. I don't FEEL like I'm somehow denying my emotions. And, I do cry. Usually, when I'm watching my son as he drives down the driveway...I get all teary. And, I cry when I think about what the Lord has done for a sinner like me.

Katie's Tea Party

I have a daughter...just one. She's right in the middle of my 4 boys. I love her with all my heart and would lay down my life for her, but to be honest, I think she may have been switched at birth. If she wasn't the spitting image of me when I was her age, I'd be considering a DNA test. I am so not a fru-fru kind of person. Actually, I wish I was a little more interested in frilly things...you know...the kind of person that buys a Victoria magazine and then is actually able to copy the ideas. But alas, I am more of a black/white, practical, Pottery Barn girl. Katie loves all things beautiful. And, she loves to bake. The reason I have put on 10 lbs. in the last year is that she bakes cookies non-stop. When I make cookies, I cut open the package, break apart the square cookie dough portions and put them in the oven. I throw away the package and pat myself on the back for making "home-made" cookies. None of those nasty store-bought packaged cookies for me!! Then there's Katie...she pours over my cookbooks, looking for the one recipe that grabs her eye, or her stomach. Then, she actually makes cookies using flour and sugar. I've bought more flour and sugar in the last year that I have in the last 10 years combined!! And, she doesn't just do cookies. She makes it all...brownies, cakes, muffins, bread, rolls... If I let her, she will bake it.

All that to say, she and I decided to have a little Mother/Daughter back to school tea part a couple of weeks ago. We made the invitations and invited 7 girls and their moms. Five were able to attend. With a little guidance, she came up with a menu. I helped with the schedule, but she made almost everything herself. The day before the party, she began baking at noon and didn't stop until 6:00. We had a little budget for the tables and were able to do everything pretty cheaply. Here's a few pictures.

This is a picture of the Girls' Table

Here's a picture of the Moms' Table

These are pictures of the place settings. Our theme was Flowers and Bees. The colors were pink and yellow. The table that had the yellow place mats was for the girls, and the table with the yellow table cloth was for the moms.

The menu was:

Appetizers: Cheese/crackers, mini blueberry muffins

Lunch: Sandwiches (chicken salad, ham/cheese, cheese), broccoli salad, Pringles,

Dessert: Honey Lemon Bee Hive Cake, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Beverage: Water, Aunt Cathy's Punch

Here's a picture of the beautiful cake. It was surprisingly easy to make and it was delicious.

These are the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

We ate on the back porch under the awning. It's covered with wisteria and grapevines. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We played a game, ate lunch, and then the girls went downstairs to make a little craft while the moms stayed outside and visited.

I think my girl has gotten her fru-fru fill and will be satisfied for at least a little while.