Our house ~ decorated mostly my way!

Happy Fall, Y'All

This is the extent of our fall colors right now. Brilliant, aren't they?!?!? :-)

I love fall... the smell of pumpkin pies, apple crisp, hot spiced apple cider, the clean, crisp air, the smell of wood burning stoves, the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet...

But fall hasn't really come to our area yet. The leaves are changing... but only because they are dying from not having enough water and the weather being too hot. It has been in the 90's for about the past month at least, if not higher. Today felt a lot more like fall weather after a HUMONGOUS thunderstorm swept through at about 6am. It was in the 70's this afternoon, and breezy. Another thing I love about fall is being able to wear sweatshirts/sweaters, but not having to wear jackets! :-)

Happy Fall, Y'All!

2 things from our SS class last week

The first thing was a challenge to me, but I believe that it is SO true:

When you pray and ask God for a specific request...

• and the thing is not right, God says "NO!"
• and YOU are not right, God says "GROW!"
• and the timing is not right, God says "SLOW!"
• and the thing, you and the timing are all right, God says "GO!"

It's amazing to me how true that has been in my life!

Here is the other thing... some funnies for you:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE HAVING A BAD DAY WHEN:

1. Your horn sticks on the highway when you are following 32 Hell's Angels.
2. Your twin sister forgets your birthday.
3. It costs more to fill you car with gas than it did to buy it.
4. You have to sit down to brush your teeth in the morning.
5. You put both contacts in the same eye.
6. Your income tax refund check bounces.
7. Someone says you look good for 40, and you're 25!
8. You call your answering service and they say it's none of your business.
9. Your 4-yr.-old tells you it's impossible to flush a grapefruit down the toilet.
10. You compliment the boss' wife for her unusual perfume... and she isn't wearing any.

It's a good day when I... sense God's eyes watching me (II Chron. 16:9), speak in a way that pleases God's ears ( Psalm 141:3, Jer. 33:3), and seek God's face for my decisions (Is. 59:2, 11 Cor. 4:6).

HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Busy Week

Wow - a lot has happened in the almost week since I last posted!
Last Friday night, we watched the movie We Are Marshall. It was a pretty good movie, considering it is based on a true story, but there was a lot of swearing in it... not so great. Why do they have to ruin a good movie by throwing that kind of stuff in there?!?! It was nice, though, to have a night to spend time with Chris. I was interrupted just as we started watching the movie by a phone call from my SIL. She had a nursing question... her 2 yr old son had a 3 ft. tall speaker fall on his leg, and he wasn't putting any pressure on it. The question was whether or not to take him to the ER that night.
They ended up not taking him to the ER until Sat, since when he woke up he still couldn't put pressure on it. He ended up having a hairline fracture in the fibula (larger lower bone) of his leg. Now he's in a cast for 4-6 weeks, poor baby! My SIL says he's "eating it up" - the fact that he has to be carried everywhere for a while!
Saturday, Chris and I also spent the evening together... watching FOOTBALL!!!! I LOVE football season! I actually ended up finishing Jacquline's cross-stitch while we watched the game. Again, it was nice to have some time with Chris, as well as be able to get something finished!
Sunday, our SS teacher, who is also our asst. pastor, asked us to consider the offer to be youth workers with the youth group at our church. We are VERY excited about this new opportunity for ministry that has opened up. We are not sure if we will be able to do it, simply because of work schedules, etc. We are meeting with the Sr. High youth pastor on Oct. 3 in order to find out what is expected of us and what our responsibilities would be. Please pray with us that God would show us what he wants us to do.
Monday, I had off work - I am off work for a lot of days in the next 3 weeks or so. I can't wait to tell you WHY, but right now it still has to stay a secret. Man, I've had a lot of secrets over the past few months, huh?!?!? :-) Stay tuned... you won't want to miss out on this one!
Anyway, I was able to meet with April for lunch! She and her husband just moved down here to attend the seminary. April was one of Chris' students when he taught right after we got married. Anyway, we had a great time of fellowship... it was so neat to be able to share with each other what God has been doing in our lives. It's always encouraging to me to see former students/teens from youth groups grow up to serve God with their lives! She and her hubby are coming over Sat. for supper, and we are excited to meet Scott.
Tuesday, I worked, and then we had a stamping party that night. I was the party hostess, even though it was held at our stamping demonstrators house. I kind of like that arrangement... I bring the food, but don't have to clean the house. She likes it, too, because she doesn't have to cart her stuff all around, and she can't forget anything at home b/c we're there! :-) Look here and here for our projects that we did. I was so glad that I didn't have to work the next day, since I didn't get home until 12:15 am! :-)
Yesterday, I was able to get together with one of the college students. I actually "taught" her in our ACE school that I worked in the year Chris and I dated. (You don't really "teach" in an ACE school!) Anyway, her mom and I were really good friends, and I had lost touch with them after 4 years, other than Christmas cards and an occasional update e-mail. They were thrilled to learn that Chris and I were here when it came time to bring Casey to school. She already felt that God wanted her here, but it was a blessing to her mom and dad to know that we were here if she needed us! All that to say, we went shopping for some clothes for her, and she bought some really cute outfits. I was glad to be able to help her with what looked good, and what was not so flattering (thank you, TLC's What Not To Wear!), and it was nice to fellowship with her.
That's about all that's happened this week. I'm trying to get a ton of things done (and here I am blogging, rather than doing them!) I have a lot of stamping to do, but have been in a creative slump the last few weeks. Hopefully that will right itself since I HAVE to do it... lots of birthdays coming up soon! :-)
Have a great weekend!

Bargain Finds

I have to preface this by saying that I am not a shopper. On top of that, I am not a very savvy shopper. I, like everyone else, LOVE to find a great deal. However, since I don't shop very much, I don't usually find great deals.
Well, Tuesday was a little bit different! I was walking through Sam's club, and for some reason decided to look at the little girl's clothes. Actually, I think I saw the little dress and thought it was adorable, so went to take a closer look! What I found was these adorable little 2 piece REVERSIBLE dresses... for $3! You couldn't even MAKE them for that price!

This is the way they were originally on the hangers
This is the reverse side of each of the dresses.
I also found these little shirt/short outfits, also for $3. Since both of our newest nieces are going to be 12-18 months sometime throughout this coming summer, I thought they would make great Christmas presents... so I snatched them up! If nothing else, I can use them for baby shower gifts!

I just thought they were adorable, and I was very excited about the price! :-) So - maybe I'm not so bad after all....

Happy Harvest Mix

I posted this on my craft site, but I'm sure that some of you don't check on that one as much, so I'm posting it again here. I just thought I'd share a little bit of a fall treat with you. My roommate in college my junior year made this (minus the Reese's pieces), and we ate it like crazy! I had forgotten all about it until I walked into Walmart a couple weeks ago and saw candy corn for sale. I bought the ingredients and made up a batch and gave it to some of our college students here. Anyway, here is the post from Stamps, Scraps, Stitches -n- Stuff:

Finally - I'm back to doing a little stamping. I'm not sure why, but I was in a stamping funk there for a while. I just didn't feel like stamping... maybe because I see what others post on their stamping blogs (of course, these are designers of stamps and they have ALL kinds of toys to play with at their fingertips) and rather than being inspired, I got a little discouraged. ANYWAY, I've decided that it doesn't matter what others do, I can only do what I can with what I have. So - today, I stamped a little bit:


Happy Harvest Mix
Recipe... (click on the picture to make it larger so you can get the details!)

The back of the little card.

So - here's a little treat recipe for you, if you want to indulge in a little fall sweetness. A handful of ingredients all eaten in one bite tastes a lot like a Baby Ruth candy bar.
Enjoy the season!

NY Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox Game Pics 09-15-2007

Boston Historical Sites 09-15-2007

Boston Trip

This past weekend, Chris and I took a whirlwind trip to Boston, specifically to go to the NY Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park. Now, Chris has been giving me all this hype about the city of Boston itself and how they kept the historical sites, as well as about Fenway Park, and there's just no other ballpark like it! We bought tickets to the game back in June, and planned the weekend.
We flew out on Friday afternoon. Our plane tickets had us going from here to Detroit, then to Buffalo, NY, then arriving in Boston at about 9pm that night. When we got to the gate, we asked the lady there why we hadn't been able to check in for the flight from Detroit to Buffalo. She told us that Detroit was awful about overbooking flights, and that we probably wouldn't even be able to get on that flight. Then she offered to switch us over to a non-stop flight from here to Boston on Delta (we were booked on Northwest.) We snatched that offer up quickly, and though we had to wait in the airport for 2 more hours to get on that flight, we arrived in Boston 3 hours earlier, too! What a blessing that was!
When we got to Boston, we were shuttled to our hotel, which had a restaurant attached to it. We went downstairs and ate, then spent the rest of the evening in our room watching the Yankees/Red Sox game on TV (which the Red Sox lost!) :-{
The next morning we slept in a little bit, got up in time to get the continental breakfast (which had a LOT of choices; that was nice!), and headed out to the city. We walked a few blocks to the T station. We eventually got downtown, but only after the bus driver on the bus we had to take (since they were doing some construction or something on the T tracks) missed his turn and got lost! Fortunately, there was an older man who knew where we were and how to get back to where we were going, and he directed the bus driver to our stop! (Never a dull moment...)
It was raining a little bit when we got downtown, but we continued on our way. We stopped at Faneuil Hall, where there is a statue of Samuel Adams. We walked through Quincy Market, which is famous for its cobblestone streets and shops. When we got to the end of Quincy Market, we bought tickets for a trolley tour that would take an hour ride by the most famous historical sites. You could get off at any stop and site see what you wanted, then just catch the next trolley. The guides on the trolleys were HILARIOUS! They did a great job! We started in Boston's Historic North End, right by Christopher Columbus Park. We got off at the first stop, and went through the Paul Revere Mall to the Old North Church, then backtracked until we found The Freedom Trail. We followed Freedom Trail to Paul Revere's house, and took a tour of that, then headed back to the trolley stop.
Our next stop was the USS Constitution... America's oldest commissioned Navy ship. It was AMAZING! Chris got busted by one of the Navy sailors stationed on the ship for picking up the 25 pound cannon balls! The ship was really neat, and the Navy sailors did a great job as "tour guides."
From there we headed back toward Government Center, and went to see the Old State House. The Old State House balcony is where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time. Just in front of the Old State House is the exact spot of the Boston Massacre. While the Declaration of Independence was being read, a British soldier started firing shots randomly into the crowd, killing one man. This incident is known as the Boston Massacre.
At that point, we headed back to the T and rode down to Fenway Park. (The weather had cleared up by then, too, and it turned out to be a beautiful day!) It was REALLY cool to be there, especially since Chris LOVES it so much. He was so proud to take me around "his" city (he grew up just outside of Boston, then moved to NH when he was 12), and especially to show me Fenway Park. I had on my Red Sox jersey for the occasion... which is why Chris gave it to me for my birthday. I figured you can't go to Fenway Park and not have the gear! We had great seats, and before the game went over and touched the Green Monster. Chris even autographed it! We had a group of older gentlemen sitting next to us, and one of them went around with us and took a bunch of pictures of us for us. He was so sweet!
The game itself was AWESOME! I've been to 11 ballparks now, and I have NEVER seen a crowd like that! They were standing cheering in the 1st inning when the pitcher had a pitch count of 3-2 with 2 outs! IT ROCKED! It was kind of funny... they pack you in like sardines there. Because the park is so old, the seats are very small ~ no personal space there! We had a GREAT time. Of course, it was much better since the Red Sox won 10-1! Before the top of the 8th inning, they do a karaoke rendition of the song "Sweet Caroline." It was hilarious... the WHOLE crowd sings along! Of course, that song always makes me think of my newest sis-in-law whose name is Caroline. (As a matter of fact, I heard that song in the grocery store today!)
We stayed long enough after the game that the security guys asked us to leave. Chris got a handful of Fenway Park dirt, which we brought home. I thought he was going to get busted for that, too, but the security guard right there was super nice. While we were talking to him, Jorge Posada walked RIGHT past us (we were standing right next to the vistors dugout.)
After the game, we headed back to Quincy Market to the Build-a-Bear Workshop. At that particular store (and that store ONLY) you can get a Build-a-Bear Wally the Green Monster (the Red Sox mascot). We got in just in time to get one made! So, now I have 2 Wallys... one little one from the ballpark, and one big one from Build-a-Bear. :-)
At that point, I was very tired, and it was late, so we went to bed.
In the morning we got to the airport and went to check-in on Northwest, only to be told that we didn't have any reservations under our names. Chris was pretty upset, and (this is the abbreviated version) after having a customer service rep hang up on him, we finally got the issue solved... our first flight was on US Airways, the 2nd two were on Northwest. We got everything straightened out and went through security. Chris ran into a little problem there, too. Since we were bringing back souvenirs, I had rearranged some things in our suitcases which we carried on. In the rearranging process, I forgot that you are only allowed ONE bag of travel sized toiletries per person... and I had put both of our toiletry bags in Chris' suitcase. They pulled it off the line for a more specific search. We also had squished my teddy bear in there on top of everything, and Chris warned the TSA lady to be careful when opening the suitcase that it would "blow up." That phrase was NOT THE GREATEST CHOICE OF WORDS IN AN AIRPORT SECURITY LINE!!!!! You should have seen the look she gave him! I quickly stated, "Chris, that's a poor choice of words!" He explained what he meant, and she laughed. I could just see Chris getting arrested or something! YIKES!
After all of that drama, we had no more mishaps along the way from Boston to Buffalo, to Detroit, to here! We had a LONG layover in Detroit, and a few gates down from ours, they had a HUGE screen TV. Since it was Sunday afternoon, the Packers/Giants game was on. We were cracking up at the other people watching the game... and cheering as if they were in their living room at home (or actually at the game!) It was VERY entertaining, and made the time pass a lot more quickly!
We finally made it home... 7 hours after our first flight left... just in time to watch the Yankees/Red Sox game AND the Patriots/Chargers game on TV! Chris was so happy... except the Red Sox lost AGAIN!
Well, that's the story of our weekend! I'll try to post some pictures... if not tonight, at least next week. I have several days off next week! YEAH!

Quick Note

We just got back from a weekend trip to Boston... VERY fun, but I am VERY tired! I'll post more about our little jaunt later, but wanted to say hello!
And to share... Chris had the awesome opportunity to share his beliefs with his manager over lunch the other day. They got on the subject of "religion" because Chris (the manager) asked Chris (my hubby) about drinking since we were going to a baseball game this weekend. My hubby was able to tell him WHY we don't drink, then the conversation moved on to creation vs. evolution, etc.... and then they were interrupted. I'm always excited when God opens doors to witness to people because we have been faithful to allow the light of the GLORIOUS gospel of truth to shine unto all men THROUGH Christ working IN US! More about the weekend, tomorrow, hopefully! I took lots of pictures! :-) (surprise, surprise!)

Ladies' Retreat "IN GOD WE TRUST"

This past weekend, I attended the Ladies' Retreat that our church hosts every year at our camp, Indian Creek Baptist Camp. Though I didn't FEEL like going when it came right down to it, I was so GLAD that I did! It was such a blessing, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship. Mrs. Cindy (Hiles) Schaap, the pastor's wife of First Baptist Church in Hammond, IN, was the special speaker. The other sessions were taught by ladies from our church. Here are some pictures from the retreat.

Mrs. Cindy Schaap, special speaker
Bean bag toss game
I don't know what this game is called, but it looked hilarious! There is an egg in the bag taped to the lady's hip, and each person is given a long cardboard roll (these were from wrapping paper or something). The object of the game is to break everyone else's egg without getting yours broken! It was hilarious to watch!
This is Kay and Katie... Kay is a ventriloquist, and she was VERY funny!
I don't know this lady, but she did a skit promoting a NEW, IMPROVED energy drink called "Red Hot Mama Booster!" It was hilarious!

Mrs. Nancy Mattingly (our pastor's wife) and Mrs. Sheila Sneider (assistant pastor's wife, retreat director, and my SS teacher - she actually helps her husband with our class)

My dear friend, Beth, and me

The theme was "In God We Trust," and the theme verse was Psalm 71:1 "In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion."

Our pastor's wife, Mrs. Nancy, spoke during the first session. Here is a brief outline, and I apologize if the verses aren't right... I'm not very good at taking notes and getting all the verse references down at the same time.

The Benefits of Trusting God (not all-inclusive!)

1. I'm a RECIPIENT of GOD'S GRACE Eph. 2:8-9
2. I'm an HEIR of ETERNAL LIFE John 5:10-12
3. I am FORGIVEN, now and forever Eph. 5:1
4. I am a NEW CREATURE II Cor. 5:17
5. I am REDEEMED by the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST Gal 3:13
6. I am at PEACE Phil 4:6-7
7. I'm JUSTIFIED Rom 5:1
8. I'm led by the SPIRIT OF GOD Rom 8:14
9. I am ABLE to do ALL things through CHRIST who gives me STRENGTH Phil 4:13
10. I am MORE than a CONQUEROR Rom 8:35-39

Well, I'll have to post more on the other sessions another time, but I hope this little bit was an encouragement to you like it was to me!

Little D

I must say, I think I have the BEST job in the world, at least right now! Little D is growing up so fast, and I really don't have to WORK with him! Mostly, I just babysit... there's not much nurse type stuff to do anymore. I must say, though, that I am very pleased with myself... in the past couple of weeks, I taught D to say please in sign language! I think he's really the only one in the house that even says please!!! Last week, toward the end of the week, I thought D had said "please" with his MOUTH, as well as signing. I didn't put too much stock into it as he doesn't really say much. Then, the next day, he undoubtedly said "Pease" several times while signing! It is so fun to be able to watch him learn what I'm trying to teach him!!!!
The last 2 days have been really nice as well since he hasn't really thrown very many fits. It makes it much more pleasant to be at work when D is not screaming his head off and throwing himself back multiple times in a day!
Here are some recent pics of D - and yes, he is a boy, and yes, he has a mullet! I keep telling his mom that mullets went out in the 80's, but she won't cut the back of his hair until he turns 2 (early November!)

Self-portrait of D stylin in shades and a sweet hat and me (not the greatest pic of me!)
On a walk... there were a bunch of geese eating the grass seed at the park. D was actually honking at them. He thought it was pretty cool.
Who says you need Barbie's to play with a Barbie car? D loves pushing himself around on this!
I think this hat is kind of a girly looking hat, but D likes it. He came up to me and put one of the tie strings underneath his chin to show me that he wanted it on!
D LOVES to play in the dryer. I know, not the SAFEST place to play, but his mom lets him in there. I didn't get a picture, but I shut the door almost all the way (you can see through the front) and he waved "bye bye" to us. Maybe he thinks it's his rocket ship or something!

So Proud of My Husband!

Well, since I didn't really post specifically about my husband for our anniversary or his birthday, I'm dedicating the post today to him. So - be prepared for a little mushiness, but I'll try to keep it so you don't sink in! :-)
First of all, I was so thankful on our anniversary when we started doing family devotions again. We were able, by God's grace, to do family devotions EVERY DAY from the first day of our marriage for about 2 years. Our family devotions really fell off about 2 years ago, when we would do them sporadically, then become more faithful, then it would drop off again. Reading God's Word and praying together is something that has become very precious to me, and I missed it dearly. However, since I am not the spiritual leader of our home, (and after asking Chris about it here and there), I decided to really just start praying that God would put the desire back in Chris' heart. Well, God answered that prayer, and we have been able to do devotions every night since then (except maybe tonight, since he won't be home until late, and I'm going to bed before he gets home.) I am so thankful for a Godly husband!
The second thing that Chris has been doing lately is cleaning up the bathroom. Yeah, that really caught me off guard! About a month ago I was lying in bed, trying to drag myself out of it, when I heard this weird squeaking noise coming from the bathroom where Chris was getting ready. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was cleaning the mirror! (Good thing I was still in bed... I would have fallen on the floor from the shock!) He told me that he had decided to do some things different in his routines, goals, etc., and one of those things was wiping water spots off the mirror and faucet, as well as making sure the counters in the bathroom were wiped off before he walked out in the morning! I was pretty amazed by that - I've never even said anything to him about it!
The thing of which I am MOST proud, though, happened this last week. We know that we need around $3,400 in the next 2 months for something that is coming up, and we were really praying that Chris would win the $5,000 bonus at his work this month. The take home from that bonus would pay all the bills for this situation. He was tied for the lead with another salesman, and was actually ahead the second to last day. However, another salesman, whom 3 of Chris' co-workers overheard (this salesman) bold-faced lying to customers to get them to buy cars this month so he would win, beat Chris by 1/2 deal. Chris was rather disappointed, as we REALLY thought that the Lord would provide the needed finances through this avenue (although God's plan is always perfect, and He doesn't need US to figure it all out!) The thing that was most frustrating is that Chris could have won by 2&1/2 deals, had he not been totally honest! Instead, he lost because he chose "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." One of his co-workers told him, "Chris, you may not have won, but NO ONE in this dealership doubts your integrity!" We were feeling similar to the psalmist when he looks around and sees the wicked prosper! In spite of all of that, we know that God will honor Chris for maintaining his integrity and testimony of being a Christian, rather than fudging a little in order to get money. I was so proud of my husband! I am also so thankful that God kept him from giving into the temptation for monetary gain. I mean, you can always make money, but it's awfully hard to get back a good name after you've destroyed it! By the way, Chris did miss the bonus money, but we're not complaining... God helped him sell 17 cars this month (the natn'l avg. is 8!) God is SO GOOD!
So - though often I complain or get frustrated with the fact that Chris isn't home that much, or we don't get much time together, etc... I have to stop and thank the Lord that:
~My husband is a Christian, and not just in name but in actions
~he is a great leader in our home in many ways, and also spiritually
~he is not afraid to work hard - he has an awesome work ethic
~he is very disciplined
~he has goals, and does everything he can in the right way to achieve them
~he has an awesome testimony among his co-workers... a few of them have stopped swearing and have changed their topic of conversations in the work place due to the respect they have for Chris' convictions (PRAISE THE LORD!)
~he loves me (and is patient with me), and it is very evident to me and to others
~he comes home to me every night... there are many women who do not have that security (Thank you to all of our military men and women who give up that privilege for my freedom!)
~he provides for our family
~he loves the Lord and is involved in our church's ministry
~he is wise, and smart, and makes good decisions for our family
~he respects me and asks for my opinion before he makes decisions

OK - are you tired of all this mush?!?! I'll stop there, but I just wanted to share that I have the BEST HUSBAND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!! (Of course, you may have a different opinion, and I may be somewhat biased!) I do love my husband so much, and couldn't have picked a better man with whom to spend the rest of my life. God knew that I needed him!