Several things I've been up to. No particular order :)

Winterizing our outdoor grill

Making a Ribbon bar cheesecake for some of our Christmas guests

Buying candy, and organizing it for assembly, for the Christmas treats that get passed out at church.

Enjoying help from my "big helper"
It has been a busy week but full of fun things for the whole family. Some we have captured on the camara and other events will just have to go down as memories that we musn't forget. Today we have enjoyed a snow in day. The unfortunate part is this was our big Children's program and Cantata Sunday. Not sure when it will be rescheduled :{ The nice thing is since we didn't have to spend our time practicing yesterday we made a trip to the library for fresh videos (for the kids) and invited the Pastor and Michelle over for pizza and games. Played the game Mille Bourne. Great competative game that is played in teams. We chose guys against the girls and girls "Rule". It is so easy to smile when you are winning.
This next week will be busy too but all fun stuff again :) Great time of the year!

Christmas at the zoo

We have had a zoo membership this year and we knew this was one of the things we wanted to do for Christmas. We started out at the White River Gardens where they had this huge tree in the atrium. The gardens were transformed into a train collectors dream. Mostly large scale sets going everywhere. They provided a list of things to look for and find along the way.

I wish my camara was working properly but I still love this picture. We got to see Santa and Miss Ashley was the only one that wanted to talk to him. As we got closer I asked her what she was going to ask for and she said "shirts". Nothing about the laughing baby doll or something normal like that. Come to find out she was wanting the shirts for her Polly pockets. She looked adorable walking around the zoo in her pink coat, gloves and hat. We road the train around to see the lights. The kids haven't riden before and Ashley was a little nervous. David went to put her on his lap and her boot caught and fell off the train!! We hadn't gone very far so when we came back to the depot we had to have them get it for us. It kept the next train and all the people waiting. I'm so sorry people.

The kids letting Mommy take their picture. There were some awesome places for pictures like for a Christmas card if only I had children that were interested and a camara that worked.

I had such a fun evening...

Last night was our church ladies annual Christmas party. Diane Kennedy has been hosting it in her home for the past 10 yrs. Sis. Bryan was our speaker. I knew I would enjoy what she had to say and I wasn't disappointed. That lady has such grace and wisdom about her. The mix of friends that were there made for a fun evening. The food was festive, elegant and tasty. Ronda, thanks for going to so much effort in making the food for us all. This year we exchanged ornaments. I came home with a beautiful clear glass ball w/a snowman in the middle. The light at the top changes colors. I must admit that I had to "steal" it but that was part of the game. I almost didn't get to take the home tour (too busy chatting it up). I hurried around and was delighted again to see all the new ways that Diane had decorated this year. She is a master decorater and "only" had I think 16 trees up :) The pictures aren't good quality but that is the camaras fault not the photographer ;)

December 7, 2007

It's all my fault...

Just yesterday I took the Fall wreath I had hanging on the front door down and replaced it with this snowman.

This morning we had our first 2 hr. delay for this school year. It is a very moist snow as you can tell from this picture

Looks like a good snowman making snow. The unfortunate thing is most of our leaves fell late (like just last week) and we didn't get them raked up yet. Our snowman are going to look a little dirty.

Our home sweet home!

It's big, it's ugly....

and it's the head of one of these Elk proudly displayed on the wall of the Elk's club here in Greenfield. You say how do you know? Well David's Real Estate office has their annual Christmas party there and it was this past Saturday evening.
It was one of those evenings where you make conversations with strangers. It is a buffet dinner, holiday attire (not fancy) and we had a baby sitter so I shouldn't complain but it is not my favorite kind of evenings. Usually the buffet is set up right in front of this large Elk head but they had it switched around this year. We left with our annual gift of Ham (delicious by the way) but felt like maybe we should stay and be the designated driver for everyone :) I assume everyone made it home without our help. I guess I will see them all again next year at the Lodge.

Have you ever seen a turkey dressed like a cowgirl?

Sarah Brooke just brought this home from school. It was a homework project. The night of the school open house we got to see all the creative versions of dressed up turkeys. Some were santa clause, spiderman, some used different colors of pasta, leaves. Just adorable stuff.

We have been losing things around here

The enevitable has happened. Digital camaras have a little button called delete. Well ours was somehow activated. Pictures from the school open house like Cameron with his teacher, Sarah Brooke pointing to her name above her cubby and sitting at her table are forever gone. Also on the camara were pictures of our church chilli supper and game night. I'm not sure how it happened so I'm a little nervous about the camara now. Also it seems to have a funny/wierd exposure to it. I really should educate myself on photography how to's. The other thing we have been losing around here is teeth. Yes--teeth. Sarah Brooke lost her first tooth Friday night while David's parents and brothers family were here. Nothing like an audience to motivate you :) She pulled it all by herself.

After showing off her new space she went back into the bathroom and pulled the other one. They were both very ready. She couldn't have been more proud. The first tooth is worth alot.

Fall day

The girls and I walked to get Cameron from school this afternoon. The girls loved all the leaves on the ground. As we pulled in the driveway this morning Ashley noticed that our tree outside was turning from green to purple. She thought that was neat.

This is completely unrelated but I thought you might get a kick out of it. I'm minding my own business at the kitchen sink when I was jerked into an arguement of the girls. Now remember I have no clue as to the origin of this conversation/arguement. Ashley is yelling "Yes I do have a big bottom" to which Sarah Brooke was telling her how small it was. Ashley again replied while acting out the motions to the count down song just at lift off "I Dooo have a biiigggg bottom". Oh me!!!! :)

Not feeling well

I'm at home tonight not feeling well. It feels like I'm breathing under water. The bonus of being home sick on a Sunday night is getting to be apart of other churchs through live streaming. I have grown so much through the ministry of Hobe Sound archived services and just this week I came across the archives of Franklin Bible Methodist Church. Check out their Sunday morn. S.S and morning service Nov. 4. http://www.franklinbmc.org/ fantastic thoughts were expressed there and I feel like I was greatly encouraged to keep praying even when I don't see evidence of God moving or answering.

Treadmill competition results

Four weeks ago I was talking with my friend Kristen at church and we decided to be accountable to one another about our exercise. She set the bar at 2 miles a day or at least 10 miles a week with the prize of free baby sitting. I said "your on!!" Well I huff and puffed my way to victory! Now, I have a lot more to lose and my life is not as busy as hers at this point but I won none the less. We checked in weekly to give an account until the final week and then it was anybodies game. I started out the month with walking a 20 min. mile and can now say that I repeatedly walk 17 min. miles. I have to run for like a minute to get it down to that time and these chubby legs feel the workout. The final week I logged 18 miles. I would like to report a significant weight loss but my body is letting go very slowly. I'm getting killer calves (who cares) and my lungs are stronger (at least I can breath after running for one minute). The dilemma I have is when do I want to use my free baby sitting and where do I want to spend my time away.

This is my log in this morning. I think I can eat breakfast
now.

If you are feeling sad today check out http://www.davidgoing.blogspot.com/ and have yourself a theraputic cry. The blog owner is so thoughtful and caring. Let him know if he is helpful.

What does a football player, miniature bride and Dorothy from Oz have in common?

That is how our kids dressed up for Halloween. They looked forward to this day for a long time. Of course the challenge is to find costumes that are unique, fun for the kids and not scary or evil and cheap!! This year we bought Cameron the Colt's jersey and he borrowed shoulder pads and the helmet from www.mybigbrownopinion.blogspot.com Thanks a million Brent!!! (it pays to have pack rat friends ha)Sarah Brooke used the dress from Curtis and Jennifers wedding and Miss Ashley was in a hand me down from Sarah Brooke. So I think we covered the cute, fun for kids and cheap part :)
Our friends, the Englands, came to our neighborhood to trick or treat with us. Part of the fun is doing it with your friends so Thank you for coming Danny, Ronda, Corey, Cassie and Cade. We trick or treated then raced off to prayer meeting. After church we had a snack time for the kids. I took spider crackers (ritz crackers & peanut butter w/pretzels for legs and chocolate chips for eyes) I got the idea from www.kraftfoods.com/halloween also brownies w/cool whip on top then I used chocolate syrup and made a spider web on top. I barely got them done in time to take to church and in the flurry of activity I didn't take a picture. Sorry.
It is fun to watch the kids look through their loot. It all looks like sugar to me. They know what candy belongs to who though. Another fun year for the history books or in my case scrap book.

October 31, 2007

It was a weekend to remember

The unfortunate thing is we lived in the moments and didn't capture much on film. The weekend started early. The kids were on Fall break Thursday and Friday. That meant sleeping in 3 mornings in a row for me. Thursday evening we went over to be a part of the kick off of Youth Challenge 2007. They really have a great thing going for the youth there. We enjoyed touching base with friends and the speaker was unforgettable-Rob Deas. He had a great sense of humor but was also able to bring it around to an awesome illustration of Psalm 32: 8.
Friday afternoon, my friend Ronda, came and took all 3 kids for a sleepover. Their first ever! They were more than excited. After they left I got dressed , in a quiet house, for a date with David. We headed out to a dinner theatre in Indianapolis called Beef and Boards. The food was good but not great. The play was Oklahoma and they did a fantastic job. Live theatre is alot of fun and of course I'm partial to the play Oklahoma since I was born and raised there. We came home to a peacefully, quiet home. It actually felt weird.
Saturday morning, slept in again of course and got dressed in that same quiet home and went to breakfast with David at Cracker Barrel. It was a much needed time of fun and relaxation with the love of my life. We met up with the kids and the Englands at the mall where our children were not all that excited to see us. They weren't ready for their fun time to end. They were exhausted though. Saturday night we carved their pumpkins. I made Miss Ashley's to look like a kitty cat. Cameron was going for scary but it turned out more of a traditional Jack o'lantern style. The mouth was more of a smile than snarl. Sarah Brooke's was something in between.
Sunday was delightfully typical :) Church in the a.m. , dinner by David, big 'ol nap, church and catch up with friends in the p.m. We have added cantata practice to our Sunday evenings now too. For Fall our Sunday night snack is sliced apples and popcorn with caramel. Mmm
Well that wraps it up. A huge Thanks goes out to Danny and Ronda England for putting up with our kiddos and taking such good care of them. They want to do it every weekend. We said "okay" :)

I'm so excited!!!!

When I first got married I babyset this family that had all boys. The little ones had a movie of Sharon, Lois and Bram and on it they sang the song "Skinnamarink". I fell in love with the song and when my babies came along I sang it to them. I've looked occasionally to try and find it again with no success. Until now!!! I stumbled onto it. I always thought it would have been so cool to have this whole repetoire of lullabys but no all I could remember is "Skinnamarink". The ending of the song always brought a smile and "do it again". Aahhh the memories!

And life goes on...

I have been busy reading all my comments :) and not taken the time to post. Thank you for all the kind, complimentary things written about me. The next time you see me I'm going to look different because my ego is inflated and you thought it was weight gain (shame on you)

Things I've been up to lately. 1. had to get groceries with all 3 kids yesterday. I'm spoiled because I usually can leave them with David. 2. I'm reading "Fighting for Dear Life" by David Gibbs (the story about Terri Schiavo) which leads me to 3. I'm in competition with a friend. We are to walk 2 mi. a day or 10 mi. a week. We check in on Sundays. I read during my warm up and cool down or anytime I can breathe without having to think about it :) Well she got behind (she only has 4 kids 4yrs. and under) The last I talked to her she is going to try and double up and give me a run for my money. We have one more week of reporting and then the final week is up for grabs. The prize is free babysitting! I MUST win. 4. Over the weekend we went to a Farmers Market with friends and got some fun pics but it was crowded so the priority was keeping track of children. 5. I'm counting down the days until David and I get to officially celebrate our Anniversary by going on a date without the kids. My dear friend Ronda (hopefully she remembers ha) has offered to babysit for us. When I mention to my kids about them going to the Englands I have to hold my ears from their excitement. 6. We got to meet the Keeps, missionary family to the Philippians, Sunday night. Great family and really neat to hear about their work and heart for the Filipinos.

Here are the pics from the farmers market

Waterman Farm Market 2007

Fresh cut Fall flowers

Ever have a friend that you can't out do? The other day I had the van so I went to help out a friend for a couple hrs. I offered to do things for her that I hate doing around here, like mop the floor, iron or wash walls. Somehow it sounded like fun to do them at her house. She opted to go to the grocery store while I watched her children. We had a lively time. She picked up flowers for her table while she was out and thought I would enjoy some too. Thought I would share them with you.

Okay, Okay People...

I created a monster with that last post. Who knew that just being real would bring out the ire in people. I was greatly misunderstood by Anonymous too :) Thank you to all that wrote and were positive. Here's the deal...Sarah (with an H) Brooke has pictures hung all over the living room plus what you saw on the fridge. I guess if I was trying to squelch her creativity then I wouldn't have let her do that. Seriously people you can't keep every paper! I keep samples of her work. The offensive Ugh remark in the post was because I'm still cleaning up from this creative binge :) This blog world has been a fun thing for me so hopefully anonymous will get a life and name that they are proud of enough to include with their remarks.

My Reality...

Sarah Brooke has been busy painting. David brought home scrap paper from the surveying office and it has brought out the artist in her. Ugh! Now all you Mothers out there that caution us to enjoy the moments, treasure them, capture them, were you talking about such things as this display on my fridge? Somehow when you are in the stage of life I'm in with my" little treasures" it is very difficult to imagine that this will ever seem like a beautiful thing to me. If you can't tell , I'm raising a pack rat that won't get rid of anything that she has spent time creating. By nature I don't see the value in my own handy work so I'm wondering where she has inherited this trait from. I'm trying to help her enjoy the creative process and then let it go (as in never to see or find again). The other day she painted a picture for every child in her class and then asked me to help her as she spelled out their names on each one. She proudly passed out her abstact pieces of art the next day during the segmant of class where the teacher asks for any announcements. She skipped home having made a successful delivery of her treasures. Until this stage is over I will keep all the misc. fridge art holders (magnets) and tell myself I will miss this one day.

What a difference a week can make...

Last Thursday the kids had an early release day from school. We decided to treat them to a trip to the zoo. It was a scorcher of a day. The temperature was in the 90's. The high today is 60 degrees. The enchanted mill (fountain play area) was the favorite spot. The fountains come up sporadically so the element of surprise is part of the fun. David and I tried to cool off on a park bench in the shade. I sliced apples for our snack and lugged drinks around for my little munchkins.

October 4, 2007 Afternoon at the zoo

It was really fun just being together as a family. Towards the end of our time I was commenting how nice it was to be about the only ones at the zoo. When we were leaving I asked the lady when the zoo closed and it was 30 min. prior. No wonder we were the only ones around. oh me!

October 4, 2007 Afternoon at the zoo II

Happy Anniversary to Me ...la la la la

Sixteen years ago today I married this handsome, young man. He was and still is my very best friend and the one that I prefer to hang out with. We were engaged for a year and that was necessary for me to 1. decide what I even wanted for the wedding (I was a bit young) 2. we dated long distance (I lived in Kansas and his family in Indiana). We met when his parents came to Pastor my home church in Tulsa, Okla. Less than a year later my family moved to Kansas for work and David's parents took a pastorate in Greenfield, IN. We flew back and forth to see one another and kept the spark alive :) We "dated" for 5 whole years before he married me at age 19. So very young but I really do believe God put us together and I'm very happy with God's choice. I remember driving off after we were married and reveling in the fact that I didn't have to say good bye to him anymore. The photo (below) is a picture of this framed picture in our bedroom. It is the best I could do since our digital camera is only 2 yrs. old and I don't have a scanner. The colors for the wedding were black and like an emerald green. My Mother made my dress which this picture doesn't do it justice and my sister-in-law Rachel made the bouquet. It had tiny little lights in it. David's Dad married us and my Dad gave me away :) He said that wasn't easy. I didn't have a clue then but now that I have children I can only imagine.

I will close this post with an unusual song that we had sung that day but I love it still.
"THE SHIPS ARE BURNING" by Steve and Annie Chapman
We made this journey
We sailed here together
We made a promise
We'd stay here forever and when we reached the shore
We kissed the ground
You took my hand and we turned around And we smiled
While we watched the flames light up the night

Cause' the ships were burning, There'll be no turning back for you and me
Whatever we find here, We've made it clear
This is where we'll always be, On this island of pleasure
There'll be some danger ,And we might think about returning
But we both know we won't go
That's why the ships are burning.

Too many lovers are keeping their ships anchored in the bay
And one by lonely one we've seen them sail away
But when we reached the shore
We kissed the ground
You took my hand and we turned around and we smiled
While we watched the flames Light up the night.

Lesson on Curls and more CURLS

This is how you get

This look

Apple picking time

One of my favorite traditions is to go apple picking. Today was a beautiful day to go. The late spring freeze hurt the crop but we were able to find enough good ones. I made carmel to pour over the apples when we got home. The first of the season :) I thought about you Bro. Ron (my caramel recipe fan).

September 29, 2007 Apple picking time

Tagged

Okay, Okay I have been running around since I've been tagged then I realized that home base was just to tell 7 random facts about myself.
1. I love picnics
2. I enjoy reading in bed, after the kids are asleep, and listening to classical music.
3. I read the back of the book first (so I can enjoy the journey)
4. I don't like roller coasters (don't need that kind of a rush to be alive)
5. I'm the middle child in my family (older sister and younger brother)
6. David is the only one I ever kissed (unless kindergarten counts)
7. I love to have my hair combed

That took way too long to come up with. Not sure if I'm just boring or the fact that I was aware that strangers might be reading this. I think I will start an "I dare you"...like I dare you to say how old your favorite sleeping garment is :)
Until then I will tag Brent, Bette, David, Charles, Leanna, Jennifer and Karla

Another camp out

Okay, that was our 3rd camp out in a months time but it equals up to only 3 nights and 7 meals. This time it was our church's annual camp out. We went to Mounds State Park. Outside of being with your own flesh and blood what better fun than being with your church family. The weather was near perfect, warm while setting up our "village" of 9 tents but it cooled down in the evening and we set around the fire pit and enjoyed a little singing, alot of reminiscing and of course food. The singing had great potential to be worshipful but we have several commedians in the group. The reminiscing was all about "last year" it was very comical to those of us that were there "last year" but I'm sure the first timers got sick of hearing about "last year we". About the food, everybodys favorite is the Carvers apple cobbler pie cooked right there with the coals from the fire and of course it wouldn't be right without Smores.
Another tradition is to hike the trails at night. This time we walked on the road to get to the trail we wanted down by the Mounds (Indian burial sites). It was a little long for short legs so David ended up bringing the van to haul all the short legs pack to camp along with their parents. After the short legs left it is rumored that a scary mask was revealed :) (owner--Pastor Mike)
When you drive back into the park it feels like you are out in the boondocks but the trains (about every 15 min.) kept everybody awake and then it just feels funny to be sleeping within snooring distance of all your friends. Morning finally arrives and we all "prepare or not" for the day. Very few morning pics included. I tried to be kind because I wasn't the only one with a camara and the only one with a blog :)It turned out that our little one burner stove was the only means of getting 30 people their bacon and eggs. It worked like a trooper.
After breakfast, the tents started coming down. The day warmed up nicely. Comfortable in the shade. While David and Mike got the grill going (Thank You!) and some chair warmers stayed back at the camp the rest of us went for a walk/hike. We didn't get far because the trail went right by the river and we HAD to put our feet in. The kids LOVED playing in it. It was only about 12 in. deep and my kids had never played in a river before so the swift water was new to them. We never made it back to the hike but I came back with my heart full--I love the water.
We had hamburgers for lunch and did the final packin up and headed home. What great memories we brought with us though! Now we can talk about "this year".

September 21, 2007 Campout

Original---Good thing or not?

When it comes to labeling things "original" around here we are very blessed or is it cursed? I have an original oil painting, that my Mother painted. An original framed and cross stitched Proverbs 31 that my Mother-in-law gave us. We are the original home owners of our house and that is where the curse comes in. We have lived here for 11 yrs. now and most everything that has a motor or requires a level of maintenance is original. We bought new so as to avoid the time consuming house projects of an older home and we don't have any natural talent for fixing things. I went out the other morning to take the kids to school and tried to open the original garage door and it wouldnt budge over 12 in. Well my van can't fit through that so I called for David. It didn't take long for him to discover that the loud bang against the garage door the night before (that scared us up) was a broken spring for the door. A local company came and fixed it for us and left a "reasonable" repair bill and a brochure for a new door. The nerve! For now we are trying to take care of and appreciate all of our originals.

What we have been up to...

This past Friday we met my parents Howard and Jeanne and camped out together. They rode their bikes up with another couple to participate in a bikers tour of covered bridges. Indiana is the covered bridge capital. This particular group was the Valkyrie riders which is in the Honda family. We spent a chilly Friday evening and night and woke to a very chilly Saturday but it warmed up nice and we had a wonderful day together. My folks rode with us and we taged along behind the riders for the tour. On our way back to our campsite we came by an accident that had happened moments before. 3 golfers on their way home t-boned a tree. They all survived and I'm glad but very angry that they were drunk and they could have hit a family. We enjoyed another meal together before we packed up and our little family headed home. I didn't properly prepare Sarah Brooke of how short the visit would be and she left one sad little girl. Dad gave her a bottle of Mountain Dew before we left and she guarded it like a prize. Mom and Dad left Sunday morning early. We came home and hopefully washed away our camp "aroma". Sunday night we were invited over to the Four under Four families home. They had a fire on the patio and grilled hamburgers. They could have had p&j's because the best part was getting to hold the babies (although, Charles, the burgers were tasty). I recommend that you have a girlfriend have twins if you have little girls that love babies. It works out great! We left there very late but how fun to end your weekend with friends or family.

Campout and our day with the bikers

Fulfilling an obligation

I feel as though I owe my loyal readers a picture of the man responsible behind the blog I recommended lately www.DavidGoing.blogspot.com. He does have a serious side to him but we cross our fingers in hopes that he is not called on to pray for fear of him bursting out laughing. It has happened before. I've heard it diagnosed as nervous laughter. This has happened to him on more than one occasion so it is a real fear of ours. Many have been subject to this nervous laughter, just inquire around of people that have played the piano for us. Our new pastor does not know of this. We have failed to inform them. Have a great day and keep me in your prayers.

Work day at Parsonage 2007

Picture Day!

Today is picture day at school. Sarah Brooke came home yesterday and said the teacher told her to take a bath. For a moment I thought it was directly at her but she was telling all the kindergartners how they should get ready for picture day. They were even supposed to go to bed early. It is funny how they follow the rules exactly. She brought home a library book but she couldn't look at it until she had washed her hands. We put the curlers in last night and she literally bounced into school this morning. Cameron's hair wasn't going anywhere after I was done :)
Today is also the 6th Anniversary of 9/11. I didn't know anybody close to me that was involved but my heart is heavy for the families today. I'm sure they have found a new normal by now. I will count my blessings today!

A couple things to check out

There is a new guy on the block (blog). He has a great sense of humor. http://www.davidgoing.blogspot.com. You can check out our church too on http://www.calvarybiblemethodistchurch.com/.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend

We headed down to Brown County Sunday afternoon for an overnight campout. Pastor Mike and Michelle came down after church Sunday night and joined in. The idea was for us to get set up and enjoy the campsite all afternoon and evening but the kids wished their time away until Pastor Mike and Michelle got there. They did arrive and life began again. We roasted hot dogs, had smores and enjoyed the fire until very late. I tried putting the kids to bed so we could have adult time but they kept popping there heads out of the tent. We outlasted them though :) Monday morning we woke to the sounds of the surrounding campers, that didn't stay up late, enjoying their morning. I fixed hot chocolate, David started up the fire and one by one everybody got up. I won't tell who was the last one :) I fried bacon on the handy gas burner that Mom and Dad gave us for Christmas last year. Then made scrambled eggs and pancakes. We took a hike and skipped rocks in the lake. All this sounds charming and fun and it was but the bees were a huge pest this year. Four of us were stung. We ended up packing up and not grilling hamburgers like we planned. We headed to the town of Nashville, IN and shopped around, ate lunch at That Sandwich Place. It was a very enjoyable time getting to know our Pastor and his dear wife. I respect them and feel blessed to have them at our church.

A girl goes shopping

August 31, 2007

Sarah Brooke had a dollar burning a hole in her purse. Fortunatly for her we were near a scrapbook store. She took her dear sweet time looking at the everything is a $1 rack. She came away with her purchase with a big smile. What a fun feeling!

Can you imagine....

wanting to do this chore? I seem to have lost the charm in it for myself. I must have given it all to Miss Ashley.

Need a pick me up?

Here's mine for this morning----For David's birthday we went to the Gaither Family Resources and met the Vocal band and purchased their latest cd "Give it away". It has been a fun one to sing along with. David sang the whole way to Cincinnati the other weekend. It also has some very rich lyrics that have blessed me so much. I was listening to the song "Through" this morning and thought you might like to have a pick me up too.
THROUGH by Gloria and Bill Gaither and Michael Sykes
When I saw what lay before me "Lord," I cried "What will you do?" I thought He would just remove it but He gently led me through. Without fire, there's no refining Without pain, no relief Without flood, there's no rescue Without testing, no belief. Through the fire, through the flood Through the water, through the blood Through the dry and barren places Through Life's dense and maddening mazes Through the pain and through the glory Through will always tell the story Of a God who's power and mercy Will not fail to take us through.

Domestic Diva Part II

She does it again only this time it is Spagetti sauce! Years ago I made strawberry jam so for all you out there that can "professionally" I realize that my jars are small but I didn't want to invest in something that I don't do that often. Guess what we had for supper last night? Thanks go to Lee and Bette Towle for the tomatoes. Their cherry tomatoes can be eaten like candy--so sweet.