Christian Crafter

Compassion for Haiti Craft Auction and Crock Pot Contest

2010-01-29T04:03:00.000-08:00

First, hello to all of the bloggers out there. I hope that 2010 is a blessing to you all! This year has started off busy as ever with a fundraiser for Haiti that will take place on February 6th being my first large task. My home church has been directly affected by the earthquake in Haiti and has put together a medical missions team that will be leaving in February to assist in the huge task of helping the Haitian people overcome the destruction that they have recently experienced. I am blessed to have the opportunity to help in any way with this mission team. My heart goes out to the Haitian people.

What a treat and bye for a few weeks....

2009-06-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

Ok, so if you are a country music fan, YEP that is her..... If you are not, this is Jo Dee Messina and I. I was so very blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet her but that wasn't even the real blessing.... more to follow. A few dear friends were able to have a guest when they were invited to meet her and invited me to join them. I jumped like a school girl! I have loved her music for years and hey, she is representing the red heads out there! :) Anyways, she was so nice and down to earth. Jo Dee had come here to perform a free concert for Fort Drum and most of the people that were backstage to meet her were families of soldiers that had been injured while serving. I had the opportunity to talk with a few of them and what a blessing! These families truly have sacrificed and are true heroes! Even living here on Fort Drum I am sheltered from some of what I realized to be true that day and I will surely not forget it!

My family is headed out on a vacation for the next few weeks so I will be missing from my blog and will surely miss visiting all of yours but have a blessed next few weeks and I will blog with all of you soon! = )

Baby Blanket Auction......

2009-06-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope that you all had a great weekend! My family enjoyed the beautiful weather this past weekend with some sunshine and showers to keep it cool and comfortable. ;)

In my fun however, I had forgotten to give the baby blanket featured on my previous post to my friend who was running the auction at our church to raise money for some youth in our church that are going on summer missions. So, after apologizing profusely I decided that I would go ahead and sell it anyways and give the proceeds to them. Here is a picture again. Please, please, post a link on your blogs in order to help raise money for the teens in our church that are headed out to World Changers this summer.

For those of you who don't know about World Changers, it is an amazing ministry! Hundreds of youth from around the country gather in different cities and learn how to work on houses doing things such as painting, putting on siding, repair work, and even building garages and additions. They work on peoples homes who are unable to do so whether financially or physically and use this as an opportunity to witness to them as well. What a wonderful opportunity for teens to truly learn about service and humility while serving as a witness to God. These teens pay to go help out other families for a week. You definitely don't see this on the news! If you are able, please show your support to the youth of our church and bid on this baby blanket. I will give all of the proceeds to their World Changers Fund. We will just keep a running bid going on the posting. If you are interested, just post a comment and put your bid in the comment section of this posting. I will get the mailing information from the highest bidder. If you are unable to or are not interested in bidding you can still help out by posting a link on your blog. :) Thanks for your support everyone! It is definitely for a good cause!

Here is a link to the World Changers website for you to read more about thier mission and see where they will be this summer. There are also pictures for you to look at to see what these youth do! http://www.world-changers.net/site/c.jjJVJ6MNIwE/b.4117239/k.6C6F/What_is_World_Changers.htm

The auction will close on Friday June 19th at 10am Eastern Time. Again, anyone reading this, please post a link to this auction on your site. :) Let's raise some money for some teens trying to make a difference in the world!

Finished project ....

2009-06-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy at work on this project for the past few weeks. I was inspired to start it by a heart pattern I had seen in one of my baby afghan pattern books. As usual it is practically impossible for me to adhere to the pattern. :) I don't know why but I tend to shift patterns to whatever it is that I have in mind for the project. This particular piece is for a craft auction in order to help the youth in our church raise money for a trip with World Changers next month. While I was working on it I decided that I would start naming my pieces. As you can see in the small tag in the bottom picture I have named this one "Snuggly Sorbet". I hope that this afghan will be a cuddly addition to some sweet baby's crib or car seat. What projects are you working on right now?

Family visits....

2009-06-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope this finds you all prepared for a great weekend! A few weeks ago we took a trip out to Pennsylvania to visit my Grandparents and I thought I would share a few of the pictures I took with all of you. I just love the country view. I always appreciate the peacefulness of the countryside when I am visiting them. The sky was a beautiful shade a blue, the trees were brilliant shades of green and the lawn was plush and freshly mowed by Haali and Mitchell. I have included a few pictures of them below as well. They are growing so quickly! They used Grandpa's riding mower to cut the grass (and there is ALOT of it!). Even my little Mitchell.... when did they grow up? Do you see the other update? Yep, that blonde dog is sweet little Jack. Remember when he was smaller than Jazzy? Not anymore! He is quite large but so well behaved! We love him very much! Last weekend my Grandma Nancy (KnittingPathsofLife) and Grampa George came out and silly me didn't take any pictures! UGH!!! I don't know what I was thinking. Oh wait, I do have one....... LOL! Yep there were three people and three laptops! :) Oh my, the age of technology! :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Thank you and a new stage of life....

2009-06-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

As all of us know, our lives are filled with changes and our family is approaching one of those times in our life as well. I will finish my bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management in September and will be looking for a job in the near future. Because of this I have stepped down from my Craft Coordinator position in MOPS. I have truly been blessed with the many amazing women that I have had the opportunity to get to know better in the past two years. I have posted many of my MOPS crafts here on my blog and will continue to post crafts that I design but just wanted to take a few minutes to thank all of our New Hope MOPS Moms for allowing me to teach the crafts for the past few years. It has been wonderful! On a separate note completely I am looking forward to tomorrow as several ladies from church are meeting and driving down to a Hobby Lobby that has recently opened about an hour from us and then having lunch out. That will be loads of fun and I can't wait! :) Have a great week everyone!!

Home at last!

2009-05-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well, this post brings wonderful news! My husband came home from a year in Iraq very early Tuesday morning! What a blessing it is to have him home! I know that it goes without saying that we missed him terribly and knowing that he is safely on U.S. soil is a comforting thought indeed! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement through the deployment. For my dear friend whose husband left the same day that mine returned, we love you and are praying for your deployment to pass quickly. May God truly bless the soldiers and families who are going through deployments. Especially those with little ones. :)

Yummy recipe!

2009-05-18T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I know that I have been missing in action lately and hope to be back in bloggerville very soon. I am nearly finished with my Bachelor's in HRM and my dear hubby will be home in the blink of an eye. :) Here is a recipe that we had at our Bible Study a few weeks ago. It was a hit and I thought I would share it with all of you!
Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble topping and glaze

CAKE:
1 stick plus 2 tsp. butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 lg. eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 individual size raspberry yogurt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples

CRUMBLE:
1/2 cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter softened

GLAZE:
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and bake in 13 x 9 inch pan.
Cream together butter and sugar for cake. Beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time being sure to stir after each addition. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Next add the yogurt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Now, fold in apples and spread mixture into pre greased pan.
To make topping combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter and mix until it is coarse or crumbly. Sprinkle over cake and bake for 40 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes. While cooling, make glaze by combining the sugar, vanilla, and water. Mix until smooth in consistency and drizzle over cake and let set to harden slightly. Great served warm or room temperature! J

Hello and an Invitation!!

2009-01-26T03:49:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I know it has been a little crazy around my house since Christmas passed. How about yours? I am not complaining though! There have been so many blessings this year for our family despite my husbands' deployment. We are less than two weeks away from getting two weeks together and that is a huge blessing! Tomorrow is our first MOPS meeting for the month and I am so excited because I get to talk about football! I will be posting a portion of the message that I will share tomorrow as well a picture of our craft. Now for the invitation I would like to extend to all of you!

There is a bible study going to be starting here in our small community on this book, "The Power Of A Woman's Words" by Sharon Jaynes next Wednesday. Our Bible Study teacher is absolutely amazing and has said she would lead us in this wonderful exploration of what the Christian aspect of our word power is. We are so very excited about this! What is even better is that we have decided to start a blog for this Bible study so that anyone that wants to participate from a distance can do that. We can all come to the blog for comments, questions, and just to share our opinions. One of the ladies that normally participates will be moving and we have a new member in our study that can't physically be there. So, we are going to try this and see how it goes. If you are interested in participating you can order you book through many different sites but I am posting the link to Sharon Jaynes website directly so you can read more about it.

http://www.sharonjaynes.com/images/books/power-of-a-womans-words.jpg

We will be starting the study in two weeks and the link for the blog is here;

http://womensbiblestudycentral.blogspot.com/

There is a book and a study guide. From what I understand this is a bible study that could be done with just the study guide. I hope that you join us! Just go to the blog and post a comment on the first entry. This is going to be a wonderful study! I hope that you all have a great start to your week! Any of you that would like to put a link to the Bible Study Blog to let your friends know, feel free! I know that we can use the blog community as an opportunity to reach out to other women who may be lost and confused or simply have wandered away from the life the life that God would desire them to have! So, spread the word!

A trip to Ohio.....

2008-12-29T12:38:00.001-08:00

We decided to come out to Ohio for a few days and of COURSE had to make a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is no secret that our family is made up of huge football fans!! We had such a good time!!! My uncle Bill is here with Mitchell in this picture.

This is a picture of Haali with her boyfriend Tyler. He came with us for this trip and enjoyed the Hall of Fame very much! He is an amazing football player and of course they are both in their Giants wear as well as Mitchell in his Cowboys gear!!! Such a photogenic group of people makes an obsessed picture taker like myself a very easy job!!! We are so glad that we could make it out!!!

Surprise!!!

2008-12-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband is so very special to me!! Most of you know that he is currently deployed in Iraq. I had a wonderful surprise when I got the mail a few days ago. He had sent me this ornament from Lenox. It has our names on it and it reads, "Always Together" on the bottom! I just love it!!! We stopped getting each other gifts about five years ago and exchange ornaments instead. How thoughtful of him to have it sent all the way from Iraq!! I love him so very much and am thankful for such an amazing husband!

MEET JACK~!!!!

2008-12-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!! Well we picked Jack up today and he is just adorable!!! But you can judge for yourself! He weighed 6lb. 9 oz. at his appointment yesterday. He is 6 weeks old and just so sweet! His disposition is wonderful! The other animals are all getting along with him very well, so that is a blessing as well! Isn't he so cute! We love him so much already! He is going to be such a great addition to the family!

Pixie growing up.....

2008-12-19T03:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!! I just thought I would go back through my old pictures and post some pics of Pixie. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, we went to Hawaai prior to my husband deploying and while Jazzy was being boarded she got very pregnant!! We were not expecting it but the puppies were born on Father's Day. She had six puppies. Two of them died at birth and sadly one was involved in an accident and has died since. So, there are three left and all of them are with friends. They all look extremely different as well! I am going to work on getting pictures of the others to post.

This is a picture of Pixie the day that her owners picked her up! She is such a cutie and we have loved her from the moment she was born!! Her color has changed slightly as she has gotten a bit bigger.
This is a picture of her at a few weeks old. She is so tiny and adorable! Look at her tiny paws!!!

And this is sweet Pixie sleeping at one week old. Isn't she precious!!! Who would have guessed she had all that hair from this picture??? :)

Pixie is doing great and having a blast hanging out with her Mommy! They had no issues adapting to one another and every once in a while Pixie tries to eat from Jazzy again. Needless to say, Jazzy is NOT interested in that!! :) What a cutie she is!! We are hoping to have a reunion sometime in the near future for all of the puppies with the mommy! :)

A special visit......

2008-12-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am sure that most of you remember when Jazzy had her puppies on Fathers Day...... Well, this adorable puppy on the left is Pixie....the little black puppy that Jazzy had!!! Yep, that is her! My friend went away for the holidays and left her puppy with us. She is much bigger than Jazzy but they are getting along famously!!!

Movie night

2008-12-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

Well, seeing as how it is only a little over a week from Christmas and I am stilllll not done with presents, I decided to watch a few movies and eat some popcorn last night. We watched Polar Express and had some cheesy popcorn! Yum!!! I have so many projects that I would like to finish and have such a late start that I am not sure if I will finish them all. We are doing very well considering that this our first Christmas without my DH. He will be home in a few months for some R&R though so we are really looking forward to that!!! He is so amazing that he does a great job of being here even though he is not physically by our side. What can I say,?? We are very blessed.

Thank you for all your kind comments!! Jack will be coming home with us on Friday and we are very excited!!! He will be taking his first road trip this month as well!! Jazzy is doing very well and we are hoping that our pets will be very accepting of this sweet bundle of joy that we are adding to our family!

Hello again.....

2008-12-12T13:49:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I know I have been missing for quite some time and wanted to stop in and give a quick update. We are all doing well, just trying to keep everything going while my DH is gone. I have good news to share though. We will have a new fuzzy addition to our family next week. I have put a picture of our dear Jack on this post. ..... He is absolutely adorable!!! He is a golden retriever puppy and comes home next Friday!! I hope all is well with each of you!!!

Bring the Outdoors In....

2008-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

The beautiful fall colors are so warm and inviting so I decided to bring some of those lovely natural colors into my home. This was such a simple project and quick as well but so wonerful for a centerpiece! Unfortunately I could not get the pictures to do it justice but I wanted to share the idea with you! This is so easy! All you do is buy a pumpkin that is flat on the bottom and cut the top off. Then hollow it out. Next you wet some floral foam and put it in the bottom of the pumpkin. Now add fresh cut flowers. It is a wonderful centerpiece that will last for a few weeks. This could be done with squash as well. The thick rinds will stay healthy for some time after being cut open! What have you done to bring the outdoors in to your home?

Helllooooo!?!!!

2008-10-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Where to start? I am feeling incredibly loved today and the ironic thing about that is that I began the day off questioning just where I stand with so many different people and subjects. Sometimes God reveals things to us in very subtle ways and other times it as though he is standing in front of us looking as perplexed as ever. You know, those moments when he is not sure how we could not understand what he is saying!! Today was one of those days for me.

You see, I was feeling as though I was getting beat down a bit and I knew that I was supposed to rely on God and not allow myself to worry. I also knew that God had all of it in his hands. What I was not able to do was to get my emotions to listen to my brain! As a Christian woman I know that God has a perfect plan for me and yet I still worry that I will be my largest obstacle. I know that I am blessed with a wonderful family and friends, thriving in wonderful ministries, and am provided for, so it is very difficult to look at any aspect of my life and say it is struggling yet I just felt so inadequate. In that inadequacy, I felt alone.

Today I was surrounded by other Christian women and had God standing there, hands on hips, (figuratively speaking of course) saying "HELLO!!! You are not alone!!" I was reminded of the importance of fellowship with other Christian women! I could have easily gone on having a pity party for myself for the week. Instead I found myself in the arms of amazing women of Christ who are all attempting to live thier life in His glory! God teaches us so many lessons in life and I am thankful for the one that he has taught me this week, especially! This scripture has presented itself so many times throught the past several months I felt I should share it with you.

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Please watch this video....

2008-10-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

What a blessing music is! It can speak to us when we are unable to hear simply words! Don't forget to pause my music player before you play this video. :) Have a great day!!

Crochet rug... Still in Progress!!

2008-10-07T04:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share my progress, as slow as it may be, with you on the crocheted fabric rug that I am working on. As I often do I actually pulled the it completely apart and started over because some of my stitches weren't even. So, now I am past the point of no return. The first fabric is gone and I am now working with another green fabric that I love! It is very simple with a cream flower on it and I love that it isn't the exact same shade of green. I am finding that this project is so nice because I can put it down no matter where I am in it and come right back to it without getting turned around or lost in the "pattern". :) I hope to share a picture of the one my friend is making soon. She is working hers in a square with Americana colors! It is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Ladies Fellowship October 2008!

2008-10-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was the second meeting of the Ladies Fellowship at our church and what a blessing it was! We all brought a dish to share, made a small craft, and also listened to a devotion. This is just a wonderful time to get to know ladies in the church that we might otherwise not get to know. This month our devotion was on depression. In most Christian circles this can be seen as somewhat of a thing that we don't speak of but God had laid it heavily on the heart of our devotion presenter this month! It was amazing to see how we, a group of women of all ages and from all over the world, were able to come together and encourage one another. I truly believe that this is what God wants us to be for each other.

When God brought us to Watertown, New York I was not very happy about it and really did not understand why we needed to live in a place that was so very far from the climate and busy pace that we preferred. I realize now that God is working in our family as well as through the many families of New Hope Baptist Church and I am encouraged by the continuous growth that takes place in our church family!

For our craft this month we made bookmarks like the one you see in these pictures. The scripture, Psalm 51:12 reads, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy spirit." Each lady had the opportunity to stamp the bookmark on the front and back as well as laminate it. Then we added a few pieces of ribbon to the top.

I will always look at mine and remember this meeting! I am blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of ladies!

2008-10-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I thought I would share a picture of the centerpiece for our PWOC Bible Study this morning with you. I have finally started going back to PWOC (for those of you who aren't familiar it stands for Protestant Women of the Chapel) and am thrilled! I had forgotten how much I have missed it! Our group is doing a wonderful study called Beautiful Place, Spiritual Places by Sharon Hanby-Robie & Deb Strubel and we are only just starting but I love it! The authors give tips on how to make your home an inviting and beautifully decorated place while still making your family and others who enter feel at home! It is wonderful!!

A quick shout out to my friends Jen and Michelle who are on their way to Texas right now for a MOPS convention. You both have a wonderful and safe time! I pray that your time there is fun, relaxing, and rejuvenating! I love you both!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

2008-09-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

I want to be sure to wish my daughter a big Happy Birthday today!!! She turned fifteen and her Dad and I couldn't be more proud of her! She is growing into an amazing young lady! Today was also homecoming at her school! So, Happy Birthday Haali!!! We love you!!!

September MOPS Craft

2008-09-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

What better way to plan out your year than a handmade project that is not only inexpensive, but also tailored to your favorite colors or themes?! Our first MOPS craft this year was a fun one that is extremely practical. God desires for us to be good stewards of the time that he gives us. Staying organized helps us to do just that!

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while you know that one of joys is sharing crafting ideas with the MOPS group that meets at our church (New Hope Baptist Church). This month our theme was time management and in keeping with that we made planners using brag books that can be bought at your local Wal-Mart for $1. This was great fun and I hope that you will find it useful. Remember that you don't have to do it just as I have it here. Get creative and share your ideas too!

This is inside the first cover and the sizes of the papers along with the instructions can be found on the template that will be posted at the bottom of this entry. :) This is a great gift idea for family and friends.

The tabs here add so much convenience and also helps to make this so much cuter from the outside. Who doesn't love cute??? :) The other nice thing is that your pages won't get dirty or torn because they are inside the protectors!

These pages are inserted in the center of the book with simple ribbon. This is a great way to give you some note paper in your planner. Any type of paper can be used for this!

The tabs are staggered for convenience!

There is room for two full 4x6 pictures in the back of the book! :)

This is inside the back cover. More room for pics. You can do this with mats or not... Up to you!!!

Finally, the back of the book. I used coordinating paper for my back. This could also be a picture or a mini scrapbook style page. Totally up to you!

Follow this link for the images of the planner. All you will have to do in this format is print them on the index cards and choose "fit to paper" option when printing! :) Have fun!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristenmhale/MOPSCRAFTSEPTEMBER#

Come Sit on My Porch....

2008-09-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my front porch and I just love the sign that I picked up earlier this summer! Can you believe that I have actually had people come up and sit on my porch?? Yep, I have gotten to know several of my neighbors better because of it. Crazy what I sign can do, don't you think? God has impressed upon me this scripture today. I know it is a very common set of scripture but still very important. Here it is;

28 One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
29 "This is the most important," Jesus answered:
Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, The Lord is One. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
31 "The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

Mark 12:28-31 (HCS)

I hope that you are all having a great week!

Happy Birthday....

2008-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my husband a very happy birthday today! He is currently serving in Iraq with the US Army and can't be here to share this special day, so we wish him a very happy birthday or should I say a very cool birthday! :) I can honestly say that I am thrilled to be his wife and am blown away by the amazing man, husband, and father that he is every day! I LOVE YOU BABE!!! Happy Birthday!!!

A New Project...

2008-09-10T05:31:00.001-07:00

With fall fast approaching I am quickly getting into my crafting mode, and the new projects sitting around my home are a testament to that! I started working on this one a few days ago and thought I would share it with you. I am sure that most of you have seen braided rugs in primitive stores before and I just love them! They are so thick and I love that they are so durable! I have been eyeing one of these for some time now, but as is the case with most things, I saw it and couldn't bear to pay the high price they wanted because I was sure there was some way for me to make one. So, I started tearing some fabric that I had here in the house into half inch strips and tied them together in order to make a long piece of fabric about half an inch thick. Then I wound it into a ball and started crocheting this rug. I am loving it and it is only about a foot long and four inches wide, but I am so anxious to get it going!

Here is a closer picture of the rug itself and you can see the next fabric that I will be working into it underneath. This is so much fun and so easy! I do believe that I will be making many more of these! I can't wait to get it as large as I am planning and start another for my kitchen! The nice thing is that the pattern still shows somewhat but is not overwhelming either. The fabric can be seen up close in the next picture even better and I am anxious to see how the floral print looks worked into the rug.

What new projects are you planning on working on?

2008-09-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

One little word such as "KINDNESS" can be such a wonderful thing! It takes so little of ourselves to show kindness to someone and yet, it can do so much good! Why is it that we have such a hard time remembering that in our daily walk? Even more ironic is that when you do something kind for someone, it usually feels really great to have been able to do so. I am going to make a concious effort to commit, at a very minimum, two acts of random kindness each day this week and I would like to invite you to join me. I would also like to make an attempt to have some of those acts be unanimous. I would love to hear about how you feel when you commit these random acts of kindness through the week! Remember to love others as God loves us and it should make this challenge even more enjoyable!!! Have fun!!! :)

A Long Break....

2008-09-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I know that I have been away for some time and I do apologize for that. It has been far more difficult than I had expected to get on a schedule and be motivated to continue certain patterns since my DH left. Nonetheless, I am excited to be back! So much has happened over the summer and I don't even know where to start so I will just say that we are in a wonderful place in our lives. It is so great to know that God takes those moments when we feel most down and lost to work in us. I am blessed to see my children growing and I too have grown in the Lord. A new MOPS year is starting next week and I have committed myself to offering a craft that is not only fun but scripture inspired. I have always had a fascination with the Proverbs 31 woman, and I guess who hasn't, but I am going to work diligently to share this woman's gifts and talents with others as I too learn about them. I hope for my blog to be an encouragement to all of you and a forum for Christian conversations about many different topics. Thank you all for asking about me from time to time and I look forward to sharing with all of you! Here is a video that I found on God Tube that I would love to share with you! I never get tired of watching it. What a wonderful example of God's unconditional love for us!

Update on the puppies.....

2008-07-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to update everyone on the puppies. They are doing well and growing very quickly. They are all walking now and a few of them are trying to bark. It is so sweet! From left to right in this picture you have Chase, Snowball, Chai, and Pixie. They are becoming so playful and just a joy to be around.

Here is Chase......

2008-07-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

Here is little Chase. He is without a doubt the leader of the group. He has tons of personality and you can see it in this picture. He plays with fingers and loves to wrestle with the other puppies. What a precious puppy. He is built most like a miniature pincher of the whole litter.

Here is Pixie.....

2008-07-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here is little Pixie. She is absolutely precious and has the longest hair of all of the puppies. She is quite the little princess making sure that she gets plenty of sleep!

Here is Chai......

2008-07-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Chai and she is just adorable. Her coat is the darkest and her eyes are so inquisitive! She has ears just like her mama and is walking little bits at a time. Too cute!!!

Here is Snowball....

2008-07-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

This is snowball and his face is so cute! He has a little white tuft of hair on his chin that is adorable! He is so soft and his hair is a little longer than the others. He has tons of personality and is fun to watch.

4th of July

2008-07-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

On this fourth of July I understand more than I have ever in my past, the sacrifice that our servicemembers make to ensure that our freedom is protected. With my husband deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I understand that there are so many men and women that put their lives on hold for thier country. The veterans of our past served in times of war that did not allow them the luxury of email or phone calls. Before that we had veterans of a war that declared our freedom as a nation. This fourth of July, just take a moment to think about the struggles that our nation persevered through and how very blessed we are as a nation. I am thankful for all of the founders of our great nation as well as the veterans. This fourth of July I honor the men and women that are currently serving our country. Please take a moment to pray for them. Get to know of a soldier from your community and pray for them. There is nothing more powerful than prayer! Happy fourth of July and God Bless!

Snowball

2008-06-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to update all of you on the puppies. They are just so sweet and lovable. They are all growing very well and Jazzy is doing a great job with them. Here is Snowball. He is the softest of all of the puppies. He is only just starting to open his eyes and loves to sleep. He is quite a sweet puppy with his white beard! :)

Chase

2008-06-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

This is Chase. He was the last born but seems to be the first to do everything. He opened his eyes several days ago and has just started walking on all four paws this morning. He is the largest by only a little bit now and is very sweet and playful!

Chai

2008-06-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here is Chai. She was the first born and is about the same size as Chase and Snowball now. She has opened her eyes and is very sweet. She is the darkest of the browns and is quite the cuddler!

Pixie

2008-06-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet Pixie. She is so sweet and still the smallest of the litter. She is the last one to open her eyes as well. She is just now trying to open them but you aren't able to see it easily yet. She looks just like her mommy except that she has white dipped on her back paws. Precious!!!

Jazzy

2008-06-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

And finally, here is the proud mama who is very much a skinny dog again! Wouldn't it be great if humans were able to go back to their original weight this easily! She is such a good mama and we are very proud of her.

2008-06-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Here is proud mommy Jazzy with her puppies. They are all so sweet and she is such a good mom! On the left with the dark bottom you can see Chai, then on top you can see Chase going in for more food! Just to the right of Chase and under Jazzy's paw you can see Snowball. Way up under Jazzy's neck is Pixie. You can see her tail by Jazzy's eye if you look closely! I am so impressed with how wonderful a mom Jazzy is! It will be so much fun to see the puppies grow!

2008-06-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

And finally we have Chase. He was the last born of the litter and has passed up his siblings by becoming the largest of the litter! He is so mild mannered and never cries. His face is a beautiful tan and he has some adorable dark spots above his eyes. I am so anxious to see the puppies grow. They are so adorable! This little guy loves being held and cuddling with his siblings.

2008-06-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet little Pixie. She is the smallest in the litter but is holding her own! She looks just like her mommy and is so very sweet. Most of the time she is huddled up underneath Jazzy's front paws or laying on her neck. She is a cuddler and won't fight to get to eat if she is more comfy laying with her mommy!

2008-06-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

This one is such a sweetheart! Her name is Chai and she is the darkest of the browns in the litter. She was the first born and is so sweet. She was the largest at birth by far, but Chase (the last puppy born) has passed them all up! Chai is a dark brown with dark paws and tail! She is very sweet and loves to cuddle with her mommy near her paws.

2008-06-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give an update on the puppies. I will post a picture for each of them here. This one is Snowball. He is doing very well and very mild mannered. Such a sweet puppy with a beautiful tan coat. His paws have little white spots on the back. The puppies are now one week old.

2008-06-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful blessing we had today on Father's Day. Our dog Jazzy had her puppies. We had not planned for her to get pregnant but she was definitely impregnated while she was borded on our trip to Hawaii. So today we got puppies. She actually had six puppies but two of them were stillborn. She is a wonderful mother and we were blessed with so much love and support from our dear friends! My daughter, her friend, and boyfriend all worked to ensure that Jazzy was as comfortable as possible for delivering the puppies and sat with her through it all. So tonight we have four new blessings.. :)

Thank you and Reflection.....

2008-06-06T04:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I want to apologize for the long periods between my posts lately. I am still trying to settle into life here without my DH. First let me thank all of you who have been praying for my dear friend that was in surgery last week. She did make it home and we are thrilled that she is doing so very well. Continued prayers for her recovery would be so appreciated. The power of prayer simply can't be matched.

So many times in our lives we find ourselves in situations that are so much bigger than we can ever realize. Those are the moments when we most need support from the people around us. God has opened my eyes to the wonders of friendship and fellowship in my time here in Watertown. In a time when I simply was not coping with my husband leaving well at all, he provided the most amazing Christian friends that I could have ever asked for. I have grown closer to those whom I was already friends with and have even made some new friends that I am so very thankful for! There is never a moment when I am sitting here wondering how I will pass the time. It is now that I truly understand the term, "Sisters in Christ". God has blessed me immensely in more ways than I can mention and I sit here truly humbled by his love and kindness.

Please Pray....

2008-05-29T07:15:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! I wanted to give a quick update. We are home in New York and doing well. My dh is doing well also! I have a prayer request for all of you. I know that your prayers have been such a blessing in the past and I would like to especially ask for them now. One of my dearest friends will be having surgery tomorrow. The whole family is very strong in their faith and have each other as well as so many friends as well as family to lean on. That being said, it is a scary time for them so please pray for wisdom for the doctors, peace of mind for her and her family, as well as for those of us around them to have the words that will help or simply know when to be silent. Thank you all so much for your prayers!

I'm OK! :)

2008-05-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am sorry that I haven't been blogging lately. I have to be completely honest in saying that I just haven't been myself lately. So what do you do when you are down and attempting to keep your spirits up? Eat ice cream of course! We stopped at Milk and Honey, a local ice cream/candy shop and had a ONE SCOOP cone on our way home from Amish Country. Yep, that is ONE SCOOP. I am not a big ice cream eater, so I ended up throwing away most of it, but the cone was great! :) Just so you are all up to date, my husband is safely at his destination and doing well. So far we have been able to talk to him often. We miss him very much but know that the best thing we can do for all of us is to keep on doing things and keep our spirits up. So we are doing our best. :) HUGS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

Framed.....

2008-05-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my finished project number one from our vacation! :) This was so very hard to pick just 16 pictures for these collages. We took a whopping 1500 pictures between my husbands parents and ourselves! Yep, it was so very obvious that we were tourists, but who cares! It was wonderful! The flowers were absolutely breathtaking! So, here is the collage that I managed to put togther as well as a souvenir that we picked up at the flea market at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu! If you ever go to Oahu, be sure to check it out! It was open Wed, Sat, and Sun. I spent about 4 hours there and could have easily spent more! ;)

There are three more posts that go along with this one below! Sorry I have to do it that way but for whatever reason you can only enlarge one picture on each of my posts.

Framed.....

2008-05-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

The second picture on the left is of Hanauma Bay where we went snorkeling and that was absolutely amazing! We were less than a foot from huge parrot fish, eels, and so many other fish and I had never done anything like that before so it was very interesting! The Dole plantation was beautiful with so many different types of pineapples growing as well as coffee and other local favorites! While we were on Waikiki Beach we were lei'd by some locals and the plumeria leis were so aromatic!

Framed......

2008-05-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

A souvenir that I found very interesting. I love the differentiation in colors!

Framed....

2008-05-03T14:42:00.001-07:00

A better look at the third part of the collage! The one main thing Haali wanted to do was to go horseback riding there and it was so beautiful! The landscape is so very different from what we are used to here and there are chickens and roosters everywhere, wild! It was a blast and Haali was right in her element amongst the horses! There are a few more pictures of some of the flowers that we saw there as well. The mountain range that you see in the picture on the left is right by where Jurassic Park the movie was filmed. What trip to Hawaii would not be complete without a trip to see Pearl Harbor? Mitchell especially loved the submarines and all of the exhibits!

Back in NY.....

2008-05-01T07:46:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! We are back in New York after a perfect vacation! I have to tell you that the scenery in Hawaii was absolutely breathtaking! I had a permanent smile plastered on my face because I was so struck by the picturesque landscape! I will be posting more pictures and comments soon but my computer has decided that now is a good time to crash. So, here is hoping that my dear husband can get it fixed before he leaves next week. I hope to visit all of your blogs soon and catch up! HUGS....... Kristen

Goodbye for Now......

2008-04-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Well everyone, this will be my last post before we leave for Arizona and Hawaii! We are so excited to see my DH's family and then off to Oahu! All of you be safe, enjoy spring break and I will be back to visit all of you when we return at the end of the month. HUGS to you all!

P.S. Amy, thanks a BUNCH for all of the goodies for VBS!! They are great and I just can't wait to get started on it next month.

Gramma, Have a safe trip to the Netherlands and you and Heidi have a fun time with all of the wonderful people you will be spending time with.

Michelle, maybe I will run into you there! Have a safe trip!!!

Mandie, good luck on your interview and give Zoe a hug!!!

HUGS TO ALL OF YOU AND GOD BLESS!!!

Tagged.....

2008-04-11T04:17:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Dianne at http://majesticmountainsrollinghills.blogspot.com/ to share ten of the reasons that I blog. This sounds like a lot of fun! I have to admit that I did not understand the hype behind blogging. So, I am glad to share some of the reasons that I now blog!

I started reading my Aunt's blog ( http://celebratetheseasons.blogspot.com )and realized that it was a wonderful way to feel as though we aren't missing quite as much of each other's life because we live so very far apart!
I met other people from all over the world that I had connected with.
Seeing other people's homes and their decorating styles were a great motivator for me.
Learning new crafts and joining in on tutorials was a lot of fun!
I enjoy sharing my craft ideas with others in hopes of inspiring them to create things with their own hands!
The opportunity to share my love of God and the wonderful blessings that he has bestowed upon my family!
I love to see what books people are reading and sharing my own good reads as well!
I found this to be a wonderful way to have open communication with all of the people in the different organizations that I am involved in.
I love to find and share new recipes with other bloggers!
All in all, I believe that we are given special talents and gifts in life and sharing them with others is a blessing that makes me so very happy! I love learning from all of you and gaining inspiration when I might not feel inspired, being lifted up when I am feeling down, and maybe, just maybe, I can return that favor for all of you in my blogging adventure!

I am tagging Kate at http://ourredhouse.blogspot.com/ , Kirstin at http://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/ , and Nancy (my Gramma) at http://knittingpathsoflife.blogspot.com/ . Have fun ladies, this was fun for me! :)

Update.....

2008-04-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers! I am so very glad to report that Haali is feeling much better now! She finally got her appetite back on Sunday and after having lost six pounds the previous week, we were ever so thankful for that! She doesn't have six pounds to lose so that was a bit scary. This past weekend was my husbands last chance to see my Grandparents out in Northern PA so that is where we headed. I had to shoot a picture when I saw the serene water near Kinzua Dam. The snow was gone there and it was absolutely beautiful! What a blessing to get to see my grandparents and enjoy the wonderful weather. I am sure my posting will be rather sporadic this week as we are busy preparing for our vacation. I apologize for that! I pray that you all have a wonderful week!

Happy Anniversary.......

2008-04-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

Today is my Aunt Heidi and her DH's Anniversary over at http://celebratetheseasons.blogspot.com and I would love to wish them many more years of happy marriage! I remember their wedding very well as it was the first time that I got really dressed up for anything. My sister and I wore powder blue dresses that had lace sleeves and at the time it helped my very short boy cut hair make me look a little more feminine! :) We went to a carousel for pictures and it was great fun! I vaguely remember a very cold boat ride as well! Teee Heee..... Anyhow, Happy Anniversary guys! I love you both and can't wait to see you later this year!

Where to start......

2008-04-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today has been crazier than ever! I can't even imagine where to start! We left the hospital last night believing that my daughter had the flu. We were resigned to the fact that it was past the window to medicate her for it and would just have to treat the symptoms until it passed. Then, this morning she woke up again with a 103.7 temperature. We went back to our Tylenol then Motrin rotation in order to keep the temp down. Her stomach was hurting so badly that she couldn't even stand up straight though! I was becoming very worried and about that time the urgent care clinic called to tell us that her flu tests actually came back negative! Hmmm, so now what? She is definitely very sick, but we have no idea what the problem is! After explaining all of her symptoms we were asked to go back in and have some blood work done as well as getting a CT scan in order to rule out appendicitis! Oh my, I was feeling more helpless than ever because here she was six days into being sick and still as sick as ever and I had no idea how to help her! So, we went in and had the tests done to find out that she has a ruptured cyst on her ovary! I had never considered at so young an age, but there it is! We have to go back for more tests because there are more cysts. The worst part is that there is nothing I can do for her. We just have to wait for the pain to pass. At least we know what is wrong. This is one of those times when you just want to hold on to your children and take all their pain away. Thank you all for your prayers! She is being so strong and mature. I am very proud of her!

15th Anniversary......

2008-04-03T06:32:00.001-07:00

Today is my huband and my fifteenth anniversary! In so many ways it is so hard to believe that we have been together for over sixteen years and in other ways I can't imagine anything else! What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful man for a husband and the father of my children! Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! This picture is from our renewal ceremony in 2004. :)

Please Keep My Daughter in Your Prayers....

2008-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

This has been one crazy week! My daughter got sick over the weekend and just hasn't come out of it. My son and I were both sick yesterday but are feeling better today. I wish that were the case for my poor daughter. We had a crazy trip to the emergency room this evening after she was shaking uncontrollably and her lips turned blue. We got to the ER and she had a temp of 104.6! Needless to say, I felt completely helpless and we ended up taking her to an urgent care clinic to be seen more quickly and they were wonderful! She has the flu in a very bad way and was severely dehydrated so she took a ton of fluids via an IV drip. I was forcing fluids but it just wasn't enough. So, please keep her in your prayers. She will have to be doing absolutely nothing for the next several days in order to get well. I have missed visiting you all and look forward to things getting somewhat normal around here!

Week of Meals and a sick a kiddo!

2008-03-31T05:16:00.000-07:00

Our Family Readiness Group had a fundraiser this weekend at the Make & Take Gourmet. Have you ever heard of these places? I was a bit skeptical at first, I have to admit, but WOW! It was fun, and I made eight meals for my family in about 2 1/2 hours. The meals included chicken scampi, lasagna, slow cooker pepper steak, breakfast casseroles, chili lime tilapia, and Parmesan crusted tilapia to name a few. OH, and calzones! They were amazing! It is wonderful because you reserve a time slot where you go and make your meals. They have everything ready for the meals that you chose to make and you prepare it in aluminum so that you just freeze, defrost, and cook in the same container. The items that are cooked in pans go into Ziploc bags so that you have everything right there to include pastas, rice or whatever your meal requires. It was wonderful and now I have meals that are quick and easy whenever we want them. I don't have to worry that I am feeding my family unhealthy food that is packed with preservatives because I made it and know just what went into it! If you are interested in finding one in your area, check it out! http://www.makeandtakegourmet.com/

Here you can see one of the labels that they have prepared for you. You simply stick it on to the container of the meal you prepared and there are your simple directions! So much fun to do with friends and it makes the week far less hectic! I definitely recommend trying this out sometime!

On a much more somber note, my poor daughter has been sick for the past two days and still has a temp of 101! We have been giving her meds to try to keep her fever down and it just isn't getting it down past 99.5 at any point. She isn't really having any other symptoms except that she is tired and achy so chicken soup will be on the menu today! Please keep her in your prayers!

Girl Time and new WIP

2008-03-28T07:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I finished a project that I will share with you next week when I am sure that it has been recieved! So, now I have time to start another project and I knew immediately what I wanted to work on. Several months ago my Aunt Heidi send me several patterns that she had already stitched. I just love them so much! Mind you, I am not a stitcher like my Aunt and now my Gramma, but I do enjoy it nonetheless. I am going to attempt to make this extremely neat so that I don't concentrate on my errors when my project is finished! I only worked on it for about fifteen minutes last night so I haven't gotten very far, but I am very anxious to complete this one!

This morning I took some time to wax my eyebrows (my family swears that we aren't Italian but I am NOT convinced!) and Haali and I will get our nails done today as well! Only 16 days until we leave for our vacation and I am so excited. The vacation coming means that the deployment is closer than ever, but we know that God is with us all in this and that we have a wonderful support network here! Did I mention that I am excited about our trip? :) Wooo Hooo!!

Fun Quiz....

2008-03-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

You Are Coffee Ice Cream

Energetic and lively, you are always on the go.

You're doing a million things at once and doing them well.

You tend to motivate others and raise spirits.

You are most compatible with chocolate ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Ok this was fun! I think it got me right?!? I would love to think that I raise other people's spirits. :) Try it! It is fun!!!

I have been tagged.....

2008-03-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

"Doing For Others Warms My Heart"

I had been tagged by my Grandma at http://knittingpathsoflife.blogspot.com/ to write a six word memoir. I was completely overwhelmed at first by this task but when I just started thinking simply about what makes me tick it was so easy! I love doing for everyone! Family, friends, strangers, it doesn't matter. I especially love doing for others when it can be done anonymously! This truly makes me happy to see others happy! Those who know me well know that I am almost always smiling. If I am walking around my house and not smiling my family asks me what is wrong. So, many times people call me Joy. I suppose there are worse things, right?!? :)

Here are the rules for the tag:
1. Right your own 6 word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want to
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag 5 more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blog with an invitation to play

The 5 people I am tagging are;

Michelle at http://momupsidedowniswow.blogspot.com/ (In the Grip of Grace)

Kim at http://homeiswheretheheartis.blogspot.com/

Sharon at http://roseofsharonmay.blogspot.com/

Diana at http://christianfamilyoffour.blogspot.com/ (From my Heart to Yours)

Kate at http://ourredhouse.blogspot.com/

We Had A Party!!

2008-03-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

So I had already told you all that it was my Gramma's Birthday last week. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to throw a birthday bash for her! We got her a cake and decorated the house with pennants that were made by my Aunt Heidi at Celebrate the Seasons blog. I just love them and was very glad to be able to use them for my Gramma! The kids worked together to blow up the balloons and drape them over the pennants and even made an arrangement with balloons as well! We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner after they got here and Gramma got to sit on a saddle while the waitress announced her birthday to everyone in the restaurant. It was great fun and sadly I do not know how to get the picture from my phone to my computer, if that is even possible! So, here is some of what we did this past weekend while Gramma was visiting! It was great fun! I hope that you all had a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Gramma!!

2008-03-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

Today is a very special day! My Grandma Nancy is turning a year older today! I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful woman in my life! Not only is she the epitome of a loving mother and grandmother but she is very willing to give and help whenever she is capable of doing so! I know that having lost my mom when I was eighteen years old, she feels the need to fill the gap somewhat and while she absolutely did not have to do so, she is a wonderful comfort and strong shoulder to lean on. We are able to share conversations of motherhood, being a daughter, but also the trials of being a military wife. As my husbands first deployment looms in the near future I know that my Grandma will be a firm but loving shoulder to lean on during the year ahead. I am ever so appreciative for her love, caring, and friendship. We are going to get to spend this weekend with her as well, so that is a blessing! Grandma, Happy Birthday and we all love you very much!! HUGS AND KISSES!!!!

Update on Tuesday's creations.....

2008-03-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, Sabrina and I had ohhhh so much fun making these! The glass vase is a sample of what will be placed at each of the tables and each of the hearts (which she painted ever so carefully) will have little bits of information about Randy and Sabrina. I just love this idea as it will not only add beauty to the table but will also be a great conversational piece. Unfortunately my pictures just didn't come out that well so this is the best I got, but it just doesn't do it justice! Thanks so much for asking me to be a part of your renewal, Sabrina! This has been a blast! I am looking forward to helping you out with the bows as well!

Having so much fun....

2008-03-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have been so blessed by my friends here in New York! One of my dear friends, Sabrina has asked me to help her with her floral design for her renewal of vows. Not only do I get the opportunity to work on a floral arrangements, I get to be a part of beautiful renewal of vows for very special people. Shopping for all of these flowers was so much fun and putting them together is even more fun!

What is even more fun is that their ceremony will be the day before we leave for our vacation! What a fun filled month we have coming! This is not the finished bouqet but I wanted to share what we had accomplished this far!

Spinach Artichoke Dip....With a Kick......

2008-03-14T03:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't shared any recipes in a while and one of my very dear friends asked me for this recipe specifically so here it is Ronnie! This a wonderful artichoke spinach dip! I hope you all enjoy it!

Ingredients:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
14 ounce can artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, plus 2 tb. for top
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Whip cream cheese; add sour cream, mix until smooth.
3. Add spinach, artichoke, cheeses, and seasonings.
4. Blend 2-3 minutes, or until smooth.
5. Put dip into bread bowl or lightly greased 9x9 pan. (2 small oval Pampered Chef dishes)
6. Top with 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese.
7. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden and bubbly!

If you don't like things with a kick, just omi the cayenne and pepper flakes! It is also great to add diced chilis to this dip! YUMMMM!!!

A Few Great Finds......

2008-03-13T03:30:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I hosted a Pampered Chef party and had my eye on this baker! I love the size and the practicality of it! Not only is it perfect, it is beautiful! About seven years ago I switched over to stones completely and I just love Pampered Chef! So, thanks for allowing me to host the party, Amy! I had a lot of fun and love all of the wonderful things that I received!

The tin is something that I found at Jo-Anns for, get this, $5! I couldn't pass it up! I must admit that if I could get fresh eggs, I would. For some CRAZY reason the Army doesn't seem to think that having chickens is a good idea! HUH, who'd have thunk it??? :) So, I will have to settle for this dear hen!

For a Good Cause.....

2008-03-12T05:48:00.001-07:00

Most of you already know that my daughter is quite the little knitter and crocheter. She started volunteering at Army Community Services last week and while she was getting the grand tour of the building and meeting all of the workers there she noticed a tall rack that was filled with baby afghans and asked about them. She found out that they are baby afghans for military parents that are in need as well as military parents of multiple babies. So, she came home and started one right away. That was on Thursday and she finished it on Monday! Here it is! She is very service minded and is growing to be such a wonderful young woman. Congrats Haali! :)

March MOPS craft.....

2008-03-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

This month's MOPS craft was so challenging yet so rewarding! For those of you who are not familiar with MOPS you can go to http://www.mops.org/ to learn more about the organization. Being the month that Easter falls in, I wanted to find a craft that was related to the biblical aspect of Easter and after days and days of searching I didn't find any nice adult craft projects. So, I went into the scripture to find inspiration to design my own craft project. I changed the design many times and had to make adjustments in order to meet the budget for this month as well. The wonderful thing is that this craft project only costs about $4 to create.

My craft is called a Resurrection Candle. This craft was assembled in stages.

We began with John 18:5-12 for the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.

Next, we read John 19:1-4 and Matthew 27:27-30 which tells us about the how Jesus was flogged and mocked. At this point we put red beads into the white candle using straight pins. These red beads represent the blood of Jesus Christ.

Then we read John 19:16-19 and Matthew 27:33-44 where we heard of the crucifixion and built the cross which I had already assembled using one eight inch piece of balsa wood and one four inch piece that had been stained with a light oak stain. Using a small round circular piece of balsa wood and putting two straight pins up through the middle from the bottom up, we put the cross onto the needles that we had just put into the circular balsa wood, then glued the cross to the far corner of the slate tile that we used as the base.

Next we read Matthew 27:45-54 and placed a 2 inch grapevine wreath on the cross to represent Jesus' death on the cross.

For the burial we read Matthew 27:57-66 and moved directly into the Resurrection. For this we read John 20:11-18.

Next we read John 3:16 and placed a band of paper that had that verse printed on it around the candle, closing it with double sided tape.

The light from the candle represents eternal life and the stone that it is all placed on signifies the rock that was rolled away by the angels to reveal that Jesus had in fact been resurrected!

Lastly, there is a mirror that is glued to the front of the tile so that whomever looks at it can see just who Jesus died for!

It was such an honor to be able to create this and share it with all of these wonderful ladies! Oh what a blessing! I hope that you all enjoy it and remember the true meaning of Easter this spring!

Almost Spring....

2008-03-10T06:32:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh... The sweet signs that Spring will soon arrive......

Look at the beautiful flowers of spring! Now let me enlarge the area around this picture a bit to show you what is really there! :)

Yep, that is snow! We got about 8 inches in the past few days. Today it will be sunny, but don't let that fool you! It is a whopping 8 degrees BELOW zero right now! So it is very difficult to allow myself to believe that spring will soon arrive, but I am trying. :) Flowers, grass and warm sunshine will be a wonderful blessing, whenever it arrives!

Here is a picture of the wooded area behind my home! HAPPY SPRING??!!!?? :)

Hidden Treasures

2008-03-07T03:22:00.000-08:00

How many of us haven't been walking through an antique store or thrift shop of some sort and felt somewhat overwhelmed with the reality that we could walk through ten times and see new things each and every time. That is exactly what I was experiencing when I found this gem! I had been through the antique shop once and I had found a few small trinkets that I couldn't pass up but decided to make one more round and am I glad! This is what I found. I just love it! It was sitting on the floor in a corner and when I saw it I thought surely they would be asking much more than I would want to pay but looked anyways. Keep in mind that this is an 18x24 so it is fairly large. When I picked it up I realized it is also very heavy! The frame is truly a solid wood that has amazing wear marks and beautiful craftsmanship. I looked at the price tag and it was a mere $18. I had to get it and for the past six years it has always had a special place in my home. When I went to pay for it the shop owner was a bit taken back by the price (as was I) and actually checked her consignment book to be sure and said that it was a new consignee. I got a great deal and I just love the romance that is exuded in this picture!

What are some of your favorite finds in antique/rummage shops?

Quiet Time....

2008-03-06T02:59:00.001-08:00

Good morning everyone! While at snow camp I picked up several books that looked to great to pass up! This is one of them. I immediately was drawn in by the title and the pages are filled with wonderful inspiration for mothers everywhere! I thought I would share with you a small excerpt from the book for you to take with you this Wednesday.

The beginning of the book highlights a magazine that was printed by Time Magazine in 1990 that was dedicated strictly to women who would be defined as successful. This is what inspired her to speak about the biblical meaning of success for women. In the issue were a police chief, baseball team owner, fashion designer, AIDS activist, choreographer, and an Indian Chief to name a few. While there is nothing wrong with any of that, this is what Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes,

"Conspicuous by its absence throughout the issue was any recognition given to women who have succeeded in ways not tied to careers-women who have successfully stayed married to the same man or who have succeeded in bringing up children who are making a positive contribution to society. Not surprisingly, no bouquets were handed out to women for being reverent and temperate or modest and chaste or gentle and quiet, for loving their husbands and children, for keeping a clean, well-ordered home, for caring for elderly parents, for providing hospitality, for acts of kindness, service, and mercy, or for demonstrating compassion for the poor and needy-the kind of success that, according to the Word of God is what women should aspire to attain (1 Tim. 5:10; Titus 2:3-5).

All of that is true! I know that the image that most people have of success when you speak of a woman is someone filling some position that only men may have previously filled or a woman who has managed to do something completely new! I believe that it is our duty as Christian women to set the example of being content with whatever God has called us to do. I struggled for several years when we decided that I would stop working outside the home. I only knew such women to be considered lazy or not contributing to their family. Even though I knew that I was doing the right thing and in my heart wanted to be staying home, I still struggled with my falling short of the world's definition of a successful woman. It is such a blessing to know that when all is said and done, I will have stood before God and been true to what I believe he is calling me to do. For my younger blogging friends just remember that the "world" is not who we answer to in the end. We do not have to satisfy the "world" and we are accountable only to God!

A New Adventure.....

2008-03-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone! I just had to take a moment to share a wonderful opportunity that I have been given in our church. They have asked me to be the Vacation Bible School Director. This is something that is very new to me but I feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to organize this! The reason that I share this with you is because I will need tons of prayer and direction so please pray that I would be attentive to God's direction and that we will embrace the opportunity to reach so many children in our community. If any of you have tips, bring em' on! :) I am listening very closely for any help that is out there!

The theme this year is awesome! Everything will be set up as it would be on a beach with palm trees and sand and ocean scenes. The scripture that this years curriculum is based on is “Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will live by Your truth.”
Psalm 86:11

Comments from my last entry:

Grandma, you asked what the guys did while we were at snow camp.... Games, eat out, games, eat out, shop for military gear, games, eat out..... :) Hahahaha!!

Amy, welcome to the blog! I look forward to getting to know you so much better!

Home from Snow Camp....

2008-03-03T03:57:00.001-08:00

I don't know if any of you have heard of the Word of Life Bible Institute (WOLBI), but I am truly in awe of the amazing weekend that they provided for so many youth! I had the privilege of going with eleven of the youth from our church to Snow Camp which is located at the WOLBI New York campus in the Adirondack Mountains. A dear friend of mine and I went along and I am so glad that we did. All of youth had the opportunity to take part in activities such as tubing, riding snowmobiles, human slingshot (where they slide atop the ice), polar plunge (yes, two of our youth participated in this crazy event!! They literally dove into freezing cold water!), horseback riding, and indoors there was soccer, basketball and games.

The best part of all of that was that it took place in a Christian atmosphere! The youth had counselors that are all students at the WOLBI whom they had to talk to, ask questions of, or just enjoy their company throughout the weekend. Rally's took place where the Salvation message was offered and so many youth accepted Christ as their savior! There were just as many that rededicated their lives to Christ and what an awesome experience! Three of our own youth from New Hope rededicated their lives to Christ as well!

There were many that attended the snow camp that had not been to church or had been but had not realized what it was all about! These students of WOLBI all pulled together to create a wonderful environment in which young people were able to truly hear the Word of God and have fellowship and fun! It is so important that youth realize that being a Christian doesn't mean that you give up having a good time, it just means that your definition of a good time changes! So many youth saw that this weekend.

For all of my prayer warrior friends out there, I would ask that you pray that these youth have the courage and determination to continue their walk with God in their traditional environments.

Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa....

2008-02-27T03:11:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share with all of you this absolutely wonderful recipe! I am working on getting much more healthy than I am now and have tried to incorporate more fish into my diet. This was by far one of the best recipes that I have ever used for fish! It is just great and simple!

So, for the fish portion of the recipe you need one packet of taco seasoning mix, 3 Tbsp of olive oil, and four tilapia fillets. For the Salsa you need half of a fresh pineapple, one lime, about 8 sprigs of cilantro, one fourth of a small red onion, and 1/8 tsp. salt, one green chili and 3 grapefruit segments peeled and chopped very small.

All you have to do is core the pineapple and for the half that you are using just slice it lenthwise so that you are able to put in on a pan grill for about 2 minutes on each side. While that cooks, very finely chop the red onion, the chili, the grapefruit and the cilantro. Put these into a small bowl. Next zest the lime and add it to the mixture you have just created as well as squeezing the juice from the lime. I added some of the pulp to the mixture as well. Add the salt and when the pineapple has nice grill marks on it, chop it up into 1/4 inch bites and add it to the mixture. Set this aside while you prepare the fish!

To prepare the fish you simply use the same grill pan (or a regular skillet if you don't have a grill pan) and mix the olive oil with the taco seasoning. Dip each piece of fish into the oil mixture and grill for about 3 minutes on each side (depending upon thickness) and that is it! Simply spoon the salsa over the tilapia for serving and it is not only delicious, but it is healthy as well!

You can change the fish that is used as well as substituting different spices for the taco seasoning and adding other citrus to the salsa! Have fun with this! YUMMMM!!!!

February MOPS Craft.....

2008-02-25T03:20:00.001-08:00

Well, here is our MOPS craft for this month. We will be making this blessing wreath tomorrow. This is a craft that is ohhhh so simple, inexpensive and just a ton of fun! A very dear friend of mine, Jodi, made one from an advertisement she saw in a Country Sampler Magazine. I asked her permission to heist her design because it was just tooo cute! So here it is! You start with a standard grapevine wreath, 9 tags that were made from paper lunch sacks and reinforcers for the holes, hobby wood stars in various sizes, fabric strips, and paper clips.

The tags are cut from the paper bags and I yeilded about six from each lunch sack. I simply cut out rectangles then snipped the sides to create a tag rather than simply a rectangle. Using a decorative marker you simply write a different blessing on each of the tags. I chose to line the edges of my tags and then crumple them up in order to give them a more aged look. These are attached using strips of fabric that are about one inch thick and vary in length. These are all about six to seven inches long. Tie those on to the wreath wherever you choose.

For the stars, use rubber stamp ink and using a sweeping motion you are able to create an aged look on the stars or simply press on them as you would a rubber stamp and they come out as seen in the picture. Now, after the stars (or whatever shape you might like to use) are inked you are able to affix the clips to the back of the star. Moving around often, I found it difficult to store a wreath for every season and came up with this solution.

In order to save space, I wanted to make the wreath reusable for each season! So, nothing is glued into my wreaths. You simply take a paper clip and bend out two sections, then glue the part of the paper clip that you have not straightened to the back of the star. This allows you to place the star in the wreath for easy removal at the end of its season and allows you to move it if you so choose. This is also a nice technique as you will now be able to layer the stars and give them a bit more depth on the wreath as well!

That is it! This is a very simple wreath and is meant to be so. I will most likely add some pip berries to mine and possibly some antique metal hearts when I find them but this is the shell that the ladies will make. There will be a choice of colors of fabric, star colors for them as well! So, tomorrow will be a very busy day! :) Have a great week everyone!!

My Dining Room.....

2008-02-22T03:32:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of my dining room everyone. Little by little I am working on finishing my rooms. I have to admit that this is not going to be the finished product in this room, but for the time being it will do. I would like to find some nice primitive decorations for the walls and my side table as well. As you can plainly see in this picture, none of my furniture matches. There is a story behind that! I do not like new furniture stores. My husband has taken me several times to shop for new furniture and I just don't like it! The only things that I do like are the pieces that are made to look old and they are usually the most expensive pieces around. Ok, so why would I pay thousands upon thousands of dollars for someone to make a table look old and worn when I can go buy the real deal from a flea market, thrift store, or a yard sale? I love the idea of rescuing a piece of furniture from being trashed! Mind you they aren't all worth having but I just love shopping for old furniture! That being said, here is a picture of the hutch that we picked up while we lived in New Jersey!

I saw this piece and fell in love! It is a solid wood and in great shape except for the one spot on the front left corner. I am working on finding a way to repair it. This hutch was a lifesaver in the house that we own off post as it was the perfect place to store my dishes as I have an addiction to all things that help with cooking. My cabinets were OHHHH so full! The best part was I got this hutch for a mere sixty dollars! Can you believe it? I couldn't! I just love it! The movers........ not so much because it is one piece and extremely heavy!

I would love to know what your favorite piece of older furniture is. Or, maybe you don't like older furniture. Please share your thoughts!

Book Cover....

2008-02-21T03:44:00.001-08:00

If you look back at my bathroom pictures you will see this book cover sitting on the side table. I had so many comments and questions about it that I thought I would share it with you. I made this several years ago when my grandma was visiting. I have to admit that I cheated a bit on this one as it is a patchwork fabric. I didn't quilt all the pieces together, (sorry Aunt Heidi). But it was fairly easy to come up with the pattern! I made several different sizes as well, but as usual I gave most of them away. The only reason I have this one is so that I could see how I made it when I want to make another. There is batting between the layers and then I machine quilted the diamond pattern with gold thread. The bookmark is sewn into the cover and after this first one I realized that a grossgrain ribbon would be much better. Nonetheless, I do like it very much and since we are a booksharing family I do my best to handle them carefully.

This is a picture of the inside! Again, I can't begin to tell you how simple this project was. I am looking to make several more in different sizes in order to protect my books as well as have a cover for every mood or season. Silly, I know, but I think I am gonna do it! :) So today I am watching a few of my friends kids and having a Lia Sophia party. It is a jewelry company if you haven't ever heard of it! Have a great day everyone! HUGS...... Kristen

Block Leave Planned!.....

2008-02-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

For those of you who aren't familiar with military terms, the soldiers get block leave some point before they deploy. This is a time where they all get a week or two to go visit family, vacation or settle the family that chooses to move prior to a deployment. As most of you know my DH is leaving for Iraq in early summer. We are going to be flying to Arizona to visit family there and then we decided to continue on to somewhere we have always wanted to go...... Hawaii!

I am so excited! We will be staying on the Waikiki Beach for six days and enjoying horseback riding through beautiful areas, clutural shows, hiking through many of the beautiful parks that are on Oahu, and and enjoying a Poynesian Dinner Show! I am just so excited!

My mother and father in law will be joining us for the first several days as well so it will be great to get to spend some time with them as well! Ohhhh the fun in the sun, NOT SNOW!!! :) I am so excited to be in a warm tropical area rather than a cold barren one! :) Ok, did I mention that I am excited??? :)

YEAH!!! I DID IT!!!

2008-02-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

I know that most of you are frequent visitors of my Aunt Heidi's blog http://needlenecessities.blogspot.com and if so, you know that she did a tutorial on a heart shaped penny rug. I had never heard of a penny rug before and was thoroughly confused when I saw a picture of a penny rug. Ummm, it has no use of pennies, it doesn't cost a penny (although it is not much more) and oh by the way, you don't wipe your feet on it. It doesn't even go on the floor. After realizing that it is a table decoration and being convinced by both my aunt and my grandma that I would be able to do it, I decided to make an Easter themed one. I was extremely skeptical as I am just not a handstitcher, however, it was very simple once I practiced a bit. It is oh so far from perfect and I beg you not to look too closely as I am sure there are several spots that will stand out to all of you stitchers, however, I am very proud of this finish! So, thank you Heidi for motivating me to try a new project! :) It was ohhhh so fun!!!

Far More Than Puppy Love......

2008-02-14T12:23:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful feeling it is to have that inital attraction to someone! I can still remember the very first time that I saw my husband. There was no denying the man was quite handsome, but he was older and much more "suave" than I felt comfortable with and because of that, I ran the other way! It wasn't until I recieved flowers with a very special note attached that I actually did call him. We were practically inseperable from that moment on! We will be celebrating our 15th Anniversary in April and in some ways it seems like there is no possible way it has been that long since we said, "I DO". On the other hand, I can't really think of anything else. I have memories of course from before we were married, but I just can't imagine my life without him. God has blessed me with the perfect match and I just couldn't have it any better! I can honestly say though that I love him far more than I did when I married him and my love only grows stronger over time! I am so anxious for more years with him and thankful that there is a holiday to simply celebrate LOVE!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and take a moment to just tell your special someone how much you love them!

My Kitchen....

2008-02-14T04:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, here is a picture of my kitchen. I told you it is not your typical military housing! I just love all the counter space and the opportunity for decorating on top of the cupboards! Yes, it does look as though I have two microwaves. No, I am not a microwave cook. In fact, I rarely use it! The one on the counter is my convection oven that my husband got me while we were living in our last home and this house had a built in microwave as well. So, unfortunately this kitchen might make me appear a very lazy cook! :) I have zero complaints with this kitchen as it also has a nice sized pantry which you will see in the following picture.

As you can see, we also have a nice door that leads to the side yard that as of yet is not fenced in. I don't know why they think that they can't get a fence put in just becasue there is snow on the ground! :) JUST KIDDING!!! Anyways, we found some wonderful magnetic curtain rods that I used to put a lace door curtain on to give us a bit more privacy while still allowing natural light in. I believe that I am going to tea stain it though. The stark white seems a bit too sterile for my taste.

There it is! My kitchen! Now hopefully I can get some wonderful recipes made in my new kitchen! :) Have a great day everyone!!

Happy Birthday Heidi!!

2008-02-12T05:27:00.001-08:00

I am so happy to wish my Aunt Heidi a Happy Birthday today! I think she may be sixteen or seventeen I think. J Be sure to pop in to http://needleneccesities.blogspot.com and say a big hello on her big day! Today is also my brother-in-law’s birthday! SOOOO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON as well! And, today is another brother-in-law’s birthday as well so HAPPY BIRTHDAY COREY!!! Wow, what are the odds? Anyways, happy birthday to my dear family and Aunt Heidi, I hope that we grow even closer in the year to come! LOVE YOU!!

Oh the things you find.....

2008-02-11T03:49:00.000-08:00

Many of you may recognize this from my Aunt Heidi's blog http://needleneccesities.blogspot.com/ as she did a tutorial on these WIP rolls. I just loved them to pieces and the sweet person she is, she made one for me! I just love it! With the holidays and the move and all the other things going on here I just haven't had the time to do any stitching. I did however take a few minutes to clean out an old dresser that I keep all of my craft supplies (that will fit in it..tee hee) in. Low and behold I found a project that I have been trying to find for about three years and I had resigned myself to the possibility that I had left it somehow or other in one of our homes along the trail of duty stations. So, now I have a project to place in this ohhhh so beautiful WIP roll! I can't share the project itself as it is for a reader of my blog. I really am embarrased that I "lost" this project in the very place that it belonged, but what can I say, right? :) I had tucked it away in a beautiful satin bag that hid it very well! So, to any of you who have a cupboard or cabinet that holds lost treasures, seek and you shall find something that is sure to keep you busy! :)

My Wonderful Mess.......

2008-02-08T03:36:00.001-08:00

Ok, this is totally for accountability! :) You know what I mean? I look at my scrapping station and think several things....... Where do I start? Why do I have this much stuff? Do I even know what I have in here? This room sits between my kitchen/dining room and my living room so it has to look nice and organized. I just love having the extra space, but now what?

I have no idea what I am going to do to attempt to fit everything into my wonderful scrapping center that my husband built for me about 3 or 4 years ago! I just love it! He made it with cubbies to fit my paper containers and then our neighbor was selling the wonderful paper racks that you see on the left side of the picture. I just LOVE these because it makes finding my paper much easier, but oh wait......... I never did take time to organize them by color like I had originally intended to.

Yes those bags, boxes, and buckets under the table have scrapbook stuff in them as well. I had bought a ton of stuff because I had completely intended to open a scrapbook store years ago and then, guess what....... The Army decided to move us early. Our life story!!!! Anyhow, There it all sits and I love it all of course! I am determined to get this organized so that I can sit down and use it without having to dig for hours to find what I am looking for.

I truly enjoy paper crafting, but with little extra time, it has to be organized or I am unable to complete anything in the time that I usually have to work on new projects. So, I am going to work on, get it organized and I posting here so that ya'll will not let me forget.... K??? :) Thanks for being my crafty concience everyone! :)

A place to Rest......

2008-02-06T19:10:00.001-08:00

Well, I have to aplogize for being such an awful blogger friend this past week. I have been attempting to make some sense of all of the things have to find a home. This move has been such an eye opener! I realize that we collect oh so many things that we just don't need over the years but I have to tell you that I was seriously considering opening up my home and saying please come take as much as you want. Don't get me wrong, many of our things have a story behind them, but we could always make new stories, right?!? So in and amongst all of our mess I decided that I needed a single solitary place to be finsihed and decorated. What was the most logical spot you ask?..... The bathroom of course! It is the only place that you actually get to sit down! :) So anyways, this is my Americana bathroom and I have to tell you it looked much better to me before I looked at the picture. Being in military housing, there is only so much you can do to a house to make it your own. After all, the walls stay as they are and the light fixtures stay as well. So anyways, there it is, our resting place.

The window in the bathroom is so tiny so I used a single long panel that is actually a really nice shade of blue with tan and cream. It is just a bathroom but it has a wonderful mix of bought and homemade items within it which is just so special! At least we have one room that we can honestly say is finished!!!

I have missed all of you so much! I am so looking forward to meeting with each of you every day! Thank you for all of your well wishes! This has truly been a blessing!

I'm Back!!

2008-01-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone! I just wanted to pop in and tell you all that I am back online now. We are still in the transition stage with our boxes and all, but hope to be done completely by this weekend. I have missed you all greatly and hope to catch up on all of your blogs this week. I knew that I greatly enjoyed all of the firendships that I have made here but didn't realize how much until I was unable to talk to you all for that two weeks! I am so glad to be back and look forward to seeing all the posts I have missed. HUGS!!!!

M.I.A.......

2008-01-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!! I am so sorry that I am not even able to post pictures here but wanted to give a quick update! We are in our new house (with many boxes) and our house that we own has shown a few times already. We are praying for a buyer or renter in the future. The house that we have moved into is wonderful and we are ever so thankful to be blessed with such a nice home. All I can say is, this is not the army of old! I should be back online on the 28th or 29th and miss all of you very much! My Gramma is keeping me posted on all of the blog happenings, so I don't feel quite so out of the loop! Love to you all! Kristen......

Crazy Days.....

2008-01-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

I really think this lady has the right idea! Ummm, one problem though, I need a little bigger box. :) But, in all seriousness, the move is going quite well thus far. This weekend we will be getting a very large truck to move the big pieces of furniture and several men have offered to come help get them moved. The packing is going quite well! I have been sitting and pack a little bit at a time while the kids do their school and then they load the van up. Not to worry, I have been using small boxes so that they can pick them up easily! They have been awesome! It is so wonderful to have such kind and helpful children!

We are hoping to be in the other house this weekend and we will come over here and work on cleaning up and preparing the house for showing. We did list it for sale night before last and it has already shown once so that is great as well!

I realized when I was reading the comments that I may not have been all that clear as to what is happening. So, here is the short version. :) The Army said that we would on be here at Fort Drum for one year. Hahahaha! I know, right, we believed them???? Anyhow, that is not the case and my DH will be leaving for Iraq for a 15 month deployment. So, a family decision was that we felt more comfortable dealing with all northern New York has to offer if we were on post. It would also make it a bit easier for the kids during the deployment as well as myself. Sooo, that is that! We are moving on post and praying that God has a special family that would like our home.

Thank you all for your concern about my back! I have to tell you I was laughing reading all of your comments! You are all so sweet! I have been very careful and the kids have vowed to rat me out if I am not, so not to worry! My back is feeling great but my poly cystic ovarian syndrome is really acting up and ensuring that I don't do too much.

Bad news is that we will not have Internet access at the new house until the 28th so any time I get on the Internet will be when I come over here to this house. Since the other house is brand new, they have to run all of the wiring to the houses and that is not quite done yet. Sooo, my postings will be a bit more sporadic. Sorry about that! Hugs to all of you and thank you so much for your kindness and concern!

Happy Birthday Mandie!!!

2008-01-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

Well everyone, today is my little sister's birthday! So a great big, Texas sized, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to you Mandie! Be sure to stop over to http://armywifeismylife.blogspot.com and wish her a Happy Birthday!

You see, I am a bit of a nut by nature and sent my sister this wonderful happy birthday email LAST WEEK. OOOPSS. I am so crazy with the move and everything I forgot what day it was! Hahaha! So thankfully, my she had a good attitude toward the whole thing and laughed it off. So, today I am trying to regain my sanity and send it on the correct day! :) Happy Birthday Mandie, I love you very much! MUAHH!!

In other areas of my life it has been somewhat hectic but in a good way. We are starting our move today, so that is very exciting but a lot of work as well. My house is a mess, which is absolutely murder for me! I am a bit of a neat freak, so this is a bit hard to handle. :) BUT, I will be fine, we will get moved and we are praying that the Lord will provide us with some renters or a buyer for this house. I also start school today, so there is a lot going on. We are so excited that it just doesn't feel like work, so that is a huge blessing! Have a great week everyone!

GO PACKERS!!!!!!!

2008-01-12T16:58:00.001-08:00

Most of you already know that I am a HUGE Green Bay Packers Fan! They beat the Seatle Seahawks tonight and are off to the NFC Championships next week! Now, the trouble, my hubby and son's favorite team is the Cowboys (I do like them but my number one is the Pack!). The Cowboys play the Giants (my daughter's favorite team) tomorrow and the winner of that game will be who we play next week. YIKES!!! Oh what a tangled web we weave!! No matter what happens, someone is going to be unhappy. Nonetheless, I am so excited for the championship game and also wish a bit that I could have a very special bear (loving nickname for my Grampa) there to watch it with me! Who knows, maybe we will be off to the BIG ONE this year!! One game at a time though! :) Congratulations Packers, JOB WELL DONE!!!

Oh, by the way, don't forget to put your vote on the poll to the left side of my blog. It is ok to say no if you don't want to participate! That would be totally understandable! :) I know there are more of you out there than are voting! :) HUGS from New York!!!

A New Tag.....

2008-01-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged with this one from my long lost friend Carrie. Hellooooooo in North Carolina! Here goes....

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Refrigeration plant assembly line/stockroom worker

2. Michael's Supervisor

3. Florist/Framer

4. Pre-School Teacher

Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. Miss Congeniality

2. Love Comes Softly Series

3. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

4. Annie (the original)

Four places I have lived:

1. Canton, Ohio

2. Ft. Huachuca, Arizona

3. Fort Dix, New Jersey

4. San Angelo, Texas!!!! :)

Four TV Shows that I watch:

1. House

2. Bones

3. American Idol

4. Little House on the Prairie

Four Places I have Been:

1. Mexico

2. Germany

3. All of the National Parks in Arizona!

4. Monterey, California (beautiful)

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):

1. Gramma

2. Heidi

3. Mandie

4. Nana

Four favorite things to eat:

1. Ceasar Salad

2. Turkey Sub at Subway

3. Asian Food

4. Mexican Food!!!!

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Hmmm, somewhere WARM!!!!

2. Texas!

3. Texas!

4. Texas!

Things I am looking forward to this year:

1. Moving on post

2. Hmmm, it passing quickly (Mitch leaves)

3. Possibly going to the Netherlands to visit my Aunt Heidi

4. A smaller class load!

Four people to tag:

1. Gramma at http://knittingpathsoflife.blogspot.com

2. Heidi at http://celebratetheseasons.blogspot.com

3. Mandie at http://armywifeismylife.blogspot.com

4. Robin at http://bittersweetpunkin.blogspot.com

Sooooo Excited.......

2008-01-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am so excited! We got offered a new home on post this morning. So, we will be moving soon! They just finished building new homes with the new privatization program and they are beautiful! With my DH deploying in three months, everyone around us would be more comfortable with us living on post while he is gone. On top of that, we are going to get to live in a new beautiful home! God is so good! He has provided another answer to another prayer and I am just so thankful! My children will now be surrounded by other children that are experiencing the same things that they are, which in turn will make my DH's deployment so much easier on them and I am sure me as well! So, thank you to all of my dear friends who have been praying for all of this to be settled!

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

WINDY DAYYYYYY.......

2008-01-09T06:41:00.001-08:00

Ok, it is extremely rare for me to post two entries in the same day, but I just had to share with all of you in order to calm my nerves a bit. It is sooooooo windy here today! We are under a wind advisory and man they aren't kidding! The gusts of wind are up to 60 mph and the sustained winds are upward of 40 mph! Ok, so I have already been outside to chase my garbage container (which is now in my back yard), boxes from other people's yards that have flown into my house and windows as well as a carpet that was rolled up somewhere down the street that ended up on my porch! Ahhhh, you know those pics of people holding on to a pole and being completely horizontal with the ground? That's me today!!! How is everyone else's weather????

Recipe for you....

2008-01-09T03:35:00.000-08:00

Having spent a great part of my life in Arizona, I have developed a love for Mexican food! Without a doubt it is practically impossible to find recipes for authentic Mexican dishes, so whenever I find one that tastes wonderful, it goes into the box designated for our most favorite recipes! This recipe is one of those. Is it truly a Mexican dish? No. But man is it good! Here it is! Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

6 boneless chicken breasts

2 pkgs. taco seasoning

1 pkg. cream cheese

2 cans mushroom soup

1 sour cream (16 oz.)

2 cans enchilada sauce

1 pkg. corn tortillas

2 cans green chili's

2 pkgs. shredded cheese (2 cups each)

Cover the chicken with water and add taco seasoning. Boil and then simmer for about thirty minutes. Shred the chicken and set aside. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, mushroom soup and sour cream. Beat until smooth. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non stick spray and put enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish just to cover it. Arrange a layer of tortillas on on the sauce, add a layer of chicken, then a layer of the cream cheese mixture. Add chili's, cheese and more sauce. Repeat until all ingredients have been used. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. This is just tooo yummy to imagine! I like to add a bit of black olives to mine! This is enough to serve 8! We like to make it and have enough for leftovers the next day but this is one of my favorites to take to gatherings as well! There usually isn't anything left!

On a separate note, please pray for my cousin and her family! She has delivered a precious little boy, Charlie, 11 weeks early. He is doing remarkably well especially considering that he weighs only 3 pounds! So, Amy, Jason, Lily and Charlie, you are all in my prayers and Congratulations to all of you!

Super Simple Centerpiece....

2008-01-08T04:06:00.001-08:00

Well, all of my Christmas decorations are down and my table was feeling extremely bare and neglected, so I whipped up this quick little centerpiece while I prepare a Valentine's themed one. This really couldn't be simpler and took all of two minutes to put together, but it will do for a week or two. The base is a tin serving tray that I put three different sized candles from the same set, the largest being four inches in diameter and stepped in sizes. Then I just arranged some scented pine cones around the candles. On some of the pine cones I tied some ribbon just to give it a bit more color. Nothing fancy, but it will do.

My back is feeling much better today! Thanks to all of you who have been so kind in your words and prayers! Today will be spent working on a doily for my sister, picking out thread for a cross stitch pattern that my Aunt Heidi sent me, and hopefully getting much awaited information regarding what the future holds for us in the world of work. Hugs to all of you! I am so thankful for your friendship!