Menu Plan Monday

Greetings all, hope everyone is enjoying fall so far. Still real warm here in middle TN, but the humidity is down. We will be closing up our pool this week, even though we haven't used it since Labor Day. Just one more thing to do before heading on our annual vacation to South Carolina. We go to this little State Park on the Atlantic Ocean, and the kids talk about it all year long. You have to make your reservations by the first of February or you won't get in that year at all. We make sure to pay for the trip out of our tax returns every year in advance, other wise we would never have the money to go. This year we are still worried about gas. Heard just this morning that Atlanta is still out and it's not looking good anytime soon. Here we are squeaking by, but some stations are still running out or only having reg. We have to drive right through Atlanta in less than two weeks now, and are worried about the availability of being able to fill our RV up. We are praying so hard. This trip is sooo important to the kids and to us as a family. But we are still planning to go full speed ahead (good idea since already paid for huh?)! Stay tuned for some great on the road menus, which will be posted ahead since I will be away from the computer for about two weeks.

Menus this week at our house include:

Monday: Beef n' Celery stir fry w/brown rice and honey glazed carrots & pineapple corn muffins

Tuesday: Parmesan Chicken w/ whole wheat buttered noodles and steamed mix veggies

Wednesday: Church/Mom's night off

Thursday: Happy b-day B! Crock Pot nachos w/all the trimmings

Friday: Beef Stroganoff over whole wheat eggnoodles w/ pea's and carrots

Saturday: B's b-day party at pumpkin patch and dinner at local Mexican place, then home for cake and Oreo ice cream!

Sunday: Home made pizza w/ tossed salad

You can find more of menu planning Monday at www.orgjunkie.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Last of the wedding hoorah!

Well I think this is about the last of the wedding pictures. Might be a couple more trickle in, and I will most likely bore you with them too - LOL! Thanks for hanging in there and celebrating this event me us.

This picture is hard to see, but it is the state line sign for Michigan. The trip is so long that when we see this we all whop and holler! Then we realize we still have like 8 more hours to our home town - LOL

Here are the twins dressed in their best for their big sisters wedding.

My dd had an outdoor wedding at a local park called Ironton Springs.

Here is MY big sister - LOL - with the twins.

I love this pic. We had just pulled up to the park and everyone was lining up to walk over the bridge. The twins ran up to greet me and you can see everyone lined up behind us to take pictures.

Here is what everyone was taking pictures of.

Then it was time to pack up and come home. Fast trip!

Another state line sign, this one signals . . . home . . .

Blessings, Beth Ann

Caution: Animal worker in the house

A word of caution to all parents of perspective animal doctors - don't let anyone know! My son has wanted to be a veterinarian since he was four. He has been working at the local animal clinic for a year now and loves it! We love hearing about cow uterus during dinner - not! Anyway, the point is he is getting pretty well known. People recognize him also as the skater boy who works at the clinic and as the kid who's dad works next door at the Zone - LOL There is a down side to all this notoriety. We had witnessed it with the Doc and his other employees, but we got our taste today. People dump their unwanted pets on your doorstep, literally! That is how we got our rescue guinea pig, someone left it in the Doc's driveway. Apparently there isn't much of a market for pigs with mange. Today it was our turn with a box full of three little white kittens. Got up this morning and they were in a small box by our mailbox. They look to be about 6 weeks old at the most. They are sooooo cute. Guess we will foster them. Those cats lucked out as they also looked to be about a week away from starvation and worms. My son took them in, checked them over, de-ticked them and cleaned them up. Gave them a good meal, warm kennel to sleep in and some panalog cream for the rear ends. Like I said, lucky cat. Course the pig is lucky too, it got mange shots and all the hay and alfalfa it can eat.

I was surprised by my own reaction to this event. I didn't get upset, just rolled with it as a side effect of living with a vet-to-be. DH wasn't mad either, matter of fact he said he was proud of ds. Maybe we need to by some acreage?

Here is one of the little white kittens we found this morning, two more just like her here as well - LOL

Here are two of the other kittens, sunning their buns on our back deck

Want a cute little fluffy white kitty of your own? Let me know, and remember to treat your animal care provider kindly!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Gratituesday

Happy Fall ya'll! Or is it happy day after first day of fall? Either way, greetings! Today I am grateful for, enough. Never wanting for or asking for more than - enough. God never gives us more than - enough.

At this point I would like to back up and address the gas shortage I mentioned in my last two posts. I have had a couple of people ask me about it. Why us and not other parts of the country? Well a quick geography lesson will suffice. We, as in Memphis through middle TN - Nashville, receive our gasoline from the Houston area. When hurricane Gustav hit, Houston suspended production for two weeks. I believe there were also at least two oil rigs adrift in the Gulf. That means we have to be trucked in by another source. Now East TN, Knoxville area, already was receiving their gas from an east coast pipeline. Is that why they are on Eastern time zone and we are Central? Hmmmm, no idea. Anyway, most stations were either only receiving half shipments as a courtesy or were not buying gas at the inflated price period. Everyone panicked and that caused people to stampede the stations and to stock pile gas.

With all that said, we had one close call, but had enough. Every time we get worried that we will run out, be it gas or food or money, we end up having enough. We don't have enough gas to go into the city everyday, but we don't NEED to. We don't eat steak at every meal or eat out every other day, we don't NEED to. We don't have extra money to buy new furniture or electronics, but we Do have a roof over our head. There is an old Sheryl Crow song that goes, happiness is not having what you want but wanting what you have. AMEN.

As I sit here I can't think of one time that God let me down. Yes, there are times when I don't get what I want. But I have to remember that there is a huge difference between wants and needs. I remember the story of manna from heaven. They couldn't collect more than they needed, but they always had enough. I feel truly blessed to sit here and be able to say that my family has never been homeless, never missed a meal due to no food in the house, never gone without heat or electricity (few close calls though! LOL), never had to walk around in rags with no shoes on their feet and the list goes on and on by Gods grace. How many others can say this?

For more Gratituesday visit www.heavenlyhomemakers.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday

Greetings all. Still fighting the good fight here against gas ~ prices and lack of it. Now they are saying things should be back to normal by the end of the week. Guess that means long lines and $4.50 a gallon. LOL I did finely see some national coverage last night and today, mostly on how Atlanta is in the same boat as us.

I just made up what I hope is my last batch of humming bird food for the year. I really don't like to encourage them to stay past the first of October. I make my own nectar and it works great. Since most feeders are red anyway, no need to add artificial coloring to it. The recipe is simple ~ 1/4 cup sugar to 1 cup water. Just heat it until the sugar dissolves. I have a couple feeders and attract enough hummers that there is always a territory fight over it! So I assume it's good stuff ~ LOL

Today is the first day of Autumn (you can call it fall if you please, but I say I like Autumn!) at exactly 11:15 a.m. today! Yea! My most favorite time of year! My birthday and half my families are in that month, maybe all that cake is a factor? On the bright side, 3 more weeks to our annual trip to S.C. Three more weeks to we are frolicking in the ocean, big sigh. On the down side, only 5 more pay days here until Christmas!!!!! YIKES!!!!! Scary when you only get paid twice a month and think in those terms! Anyway, with fall in the air, here is this weeks menus at our homestead:

Monday: Bean stew w/ veggie sticks and dip w/ garlic bread sticks

Tuesday: Baked lemon fish w/brown rice pilaf and broccoli

Wednesday: Church/ moms night off

Thursday: Cheesy asparagus casserole w/ tossed salad and biscuits

Friday: Bean burritos w/ coleslaw and Pumpkin muffins

Saturday: Home made pizza w/ veggie tray and dip

Sunday: Turkey sausage scalloped potato casserole w/peas and carrots and home made bread

Visit more of menu planning Monday at www.orgjunkie.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Stitching Saturday ~ Crazy!

Greetings all. Been sooooo crazy here! There is like no gas to be had in my area. Last night we almost got marooned in the city because we were silly enough to believe that there might be gas there. Luckily we went to a friends house and she had some in a gas can, enough for us to get home. There was one gas station here today selling gas, so was able to get a few gallons. It has been like this for about 5 days now, and I don't think they are reporting it on the national news. I have talked to people up north and out west, and none of them had any idea that gas shortages were an issue here. Wonder why the media doesn't want it to get out, or is it the government? Anyway, seems odd that now that we have money for gas there is none to buy! There was rioting a few miles from us last night at one gas station. Between that and the food going up about 50 cents on everything in the past two weeks, scary stuff! Please pray for our country. our nation, our neighbors and our government.

Here is the stitching piece I did for my oldest dd and took with us to her wedding. My DH did the framing on this for me. My dd had picked the pattern out when she came to visit the summer before. It was going to be a b-day gift, but was two weeks late; making it a wedding gift! LOL

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendesday

Just checking in to let everyone know were still kicking. Been fighting sinus for a week now. Everyone else seems fine. The new to us - fridge got put in place yesterday and seems to be running fine. Although I do still keep expecting a shelf full of water when ever I open the door. Thought I would post a couple more of my favorite pictures from our trip to MI for my dd wedding.

Here is my son Z and my grandson J .

Here is my dd B (in the green) and my new grand daughter M.

Will keep adding pictures as I have time. For now though I have to run and get ready for church.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday

Greetings from a freshly rain cleaned TN, thanks to IKE. We definitely needed the rain, but feel bad for the folks in TX. The rain seems to have broken the humidity spell here and more typical fall like weather should start moving in soon.

Yesterday my friend brought me over a "previously loved" refrigerator. Ours hasn't been working right for almost a year. It rains inside. We emptied everything out and defrosted it, and DH looked it up and down but still couldn't find anything wrong with it. It actually got worse after we cleaned/defrosted it! Anyway, while DH was busy trying to fix it, I was busy checking out our local Craigslist and classifieds. We had good luck replacing our TV with one we found on Craigslist, but this time no. The prices were as high as a bottom of the line new one! That is my big pet peeve about sites like EBay and Craigslist, the prices most of the time are no cheaper, even on used. Anyway, sent out an S.O.S. to my friend and asked her to help me network. With in an hour someone from her church had one for us, praise the Lord! And it was free! God is so good! So today we are working on cleaning it up and should get the new one in place tomorrow. What will I do with all the free time I have since I won't be moping up the rain forest three times a day now? Cook! LOL

Here is the picture I promised of the pizza's I made in my RV when we were on the road to MI. One on left just came out of oven, one on right is getting ready to go in. Yes, had to cook them one at a time, it is an RV oven - LOL Still, some RV oven won't even hold a standard 9x13 pan, so we feel blessed. And it is so cool to be able to cook while driving!

Menus this past week-end got a little wonky with the fridge and taking the kids to the drive -in. Our town is real small, be we have a drive in movie theater. It is a real blessing since the prices are much cheaper than a regular theater, and we don't have to spend the gas to drive 30 miles into the city. This past week-end they ran a special, $10 a car load! How awesome is that? They ran 4 big summer blockbusters, which we had missed. So we loaded up everyone and went to see Kung Fu Panda (at Lysa TerKeurst recommendation) and stay to watch Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull. It was so much fun, although my but did go a little nume about an hour into the second movie. We even one a door prize during intermission. Was nervous staying that long with the twins, but we made them a little bed in the back of the durango after the Panda movie (4 year olds can only party so long) and they settled down. Such fun.

Here's a look at our menus this week:

Monday: Home made pizza w/salad (from last Sat.)

Tuesday: Chili Mac. w/carrot sticks and home made corn bread

Wednesday: Dinner at Church/Mom's night off

Thursday: Red beans & sausage soup w/ garlic bread sticks

Friday: Oven roasted chicken salad w/ coleslaw

Saturday: Hawaiian Pizza w/ fruit salad

Sunday: Salisbury patties w/ mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli


For more of menu planning Monday visit http://www.orgjunkie.com/

Blessings, Beth Ann

More wedding pictures

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from the wedding. I am only posting a few at a time so as not to overwhelm you, that and we only have d i a l u p, if you get what I mean.


I love this pic of my dd as it is so un-posed and she looks so happy!

Here is my middle dd (the tall one) sharing flower petal duty with my new grand daughter M.

This is a great one of ds Z, he is smiling !!!

Here is my grandson J, now all together . . . awwwwwwwwww!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Two out of Three aint' bad

Okay, we all make mistakes, especially if we don't feel well. Yesterday I was feeling plain old YUCKY! A sinus thing I think. Started feeling bad at church the night before, but when I woke up yesterday morning . . . I knew I had been zapped. Anyway, I tried to carry on best I could, which included making dinner. I was making a fruit salad mold thing. This one was with chicken salad. A new recipe. Tough to make even if I had felt well. These are not my forte'. But I tried. I knew by noon that it probably wasn't going to turn out. But also by noon I knew I wasn't going to be in a position to care come dinner time. I was downing cold pills and trying to stay awake. Lo and behold, dinner came and the kids only ate their rice and veggies. I knew something was up. I couldn't taste or smell, and didn't want anything mushy in my mouth. So I skipped it. DH ate his (what a sweetie) but ds laid it on the line (not such a sweetie), "mom the only thing you have ever made worse than this was the lentil loaf". At first I want to cry out in protest at my hurt feelings and hours of sacrifice, in cooking and giving birth! But I couldn't. It was true. The lentil loaf sucked and the fruit mold made me gag. I looked to my son for encouragement, since I obviously could count on him for an unbiased opinion. "Mom", he said, "two bad meals in three years isn't bad". Amen! I am still smarting over this as I tend to be an over achiever and a perfectionist, but I am learning with God's help (and my son's) to admit defeat. Am I alone or are there others out there who go through this. When a meal you planned for and slaved over, doesn't turn out edible, how do you feel and react? Please share.

Blessings, Beth Ann

P.S. We tossed it all out and had cereal for dinner!

Wedding picture Wednesday

I am soooo excited! There here! There here! Well, about 1/3 of them anyway. LOL My dd sent me some of the disc's with the wedding pic's on them today, and I have to share a few of my favorite. I will share more as I have time and they trickle in. I do want to point one thing out though; you will notice that my dd is a blond in these pictures. Not. She has the most beautiful red hair you have ever seen. Not sure why she dyed it, most be a kid thing (grin). No big deal, well not to me anyway. It did how ever stress out her baby sister who is only 4. We don't see much of oldest dd, 800 miles is pretty far to go to visit much, so we have plenty (and I mean plenty) of pictures around the house. Youngest dd loves looking at them and the ones of my grandson too. If you ask her, she will tell you that she has a big sister with red hair, just like her and her mommy! So . . . when we got there little dd was shocked into speechlessness, a feat never before achieved! That kid can talk. Took her almost a whole day to get over it. On the plus side, she and her twin spent that time playing with my grandson who is only 2 years younger than them. Soooooo cute! I think the twins missed him most when we left and vice verso with baby Jack. Imagine what trouble those three would get into if we lived closer!


Here is the wedding party from L to R ~ Friend L, middle dd, half/step-grand daughter K, Friend N, Step-grand daughter M, dd, groom M, grandson J, Friend S, Friend J and oldest ds Z

I Love this picture! DD K with her Nana

The happy new family. L to R ~ sgd M, dd K, gs J, groom M, hsgd K

Here is our entire crew. L to R ~ middle dd B, DH K, twin ds E, dd K, twin dd E, ds Z and me.

Yes, the wedding was outdoors and it was the most beautiful day in northern MI. We had worried since the night before it had rained pretty good, but God is good and sent the sun out to shine for us.

My dd and her new DH are a blended family and I don't want to keep saying half and step all the time. So sgd = step-granddaughter, hsgd = half/step-granddaughter and gs - grandson. Yes is a bit confusing, but only for a little while until you don't need the labels and you just call them all family.

Blessings, Beth Ann

Gratituesday

Greetings all. On this Tuesday I am grateful for a service oriented heart and attitude, that allows me to run our home smoothly (most of the time) and with an eye toward frugality (most the time - LOL).

Yesterday on menu Monday I mentioned that I had a hard time feeling motivated to spend an hour at the end of the day, making a healthy dinner. Yes, occasionally I do the crock pot thing or remember to make something ahead. Most times I need to do it at the end of the day though, and many times fresh food . . . well just tastes better fresh! So making ahead is not an option sometimes. Anyway, just wanted to expound on the change in my heart a bit more on this today. Like I mentioned before, I am service minded. I worked in retail for almost 15 years before getting a chance to be a SAHM with my twins. So I have been both, a working mom and a stay at home mom. I was/am good at retail and never thought I would miss it. If you had asked me 5 years ago if I wanted to be a SAHM, I would have said "heck yea"! LOL I am sure there are many working moms who know what is coming next . . . . Well when I found out I was expecting (what a surprise) I still planned to work. My boss and I were even discussing soft wear I could use at home so as to only be at work half the time. When I found out it was twins . . . (double heck of a surprise) It just didn't make sense financially. Our family went from having 4 jobs between my DH and myself to one, yea. DH had two, but quit one so as to be more help with the new arrivals, bless him (and I did need him as we are hundreds of miles from family) and I of course gave up my day job when I was put on bed rest. I had also been watching some neighbor children, but that ended (God has good timing). Anyway, we were still doing okay, for a while. Then DH kept getting sicker and sicker from the chemicals at the factory he worked in, not to mention the mental stress of working with non-Christians all day who seemed to go out of their way to show they knew all the commandments and were set on braking them all. Almost two years ago he made the decision to go back to his lower paying retail job and quite the factory. He is much healthier and happier, but our finances are still in disarray. I was and am still frustrated much of the time, trying to find a way to help with the money/cash flow and spend it wisely. I can not tell you how much I have struggled with this, and prayed over this. See with my servants heart and attitude, I "need" to work and feel like I am contributing. I even feel restless if at any point of the day I am, gasp, caught up on house/school work! DH thinks this is hilarious when he sees me kind of standing in the middle of a room looking disoriented. And yes, DH is always reassuring me that what I do at home and taking such good care of the kids IS contributing to our home. Anyway, you see the vicious circle going on here. About two weeks ago while praying over another, should I work or do such and such to help the family, I heard God. Now I don't want you to think I "hear" HIM all the time. I don't. Can't tell you how many prayers He didn't answer me on, or at least in my time. DH prayed about work, took three years for that one to get an answer. Anyway, I can only recall about 3 times in the past 3 years I have heard HIM loud and clear. This time HE asked me a question, "who's glory is it for?" I was stunned. I thought a moment, and yes I could JUSTIFY all my prayers and choices but they would be for me. GOD made it pretty clear that He wants me here, at home, home schooling the children and teaching them in HIS word and ways.

Since then I have come to view what I do for the house as my "job". God needs me to be a good steward with the money we do have coming in. Why would we be blessed with more if were not taking care of what we have? So as I make menus and search for bargains on healthy food, teach my children how to garden and cook with our own produce and make healthy food from scratch with no corn syrup or preservatives, I know God has blessed my hands too! I no longer resent the time in the kitchen. I put in some Billy Joel ( showing my age here), shew the kids outside for awhile and rock out while I chop, stir, cook and prepare. Yes I am tired, and hot (especially this time of year) but we sit down as a family and enjoy our time together. I look at it as an hour of my time with my music, my thoughts, doing something I enjoy anyway (sometimes not after 8 hours of kids being . . . . well kids) and with my God.

For more Gratituesday, please visit www.heavenlyhomemakers.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday

Hey, ya'll ~ LOL Love living in the south! Another great day here. Start of a new week, which means new meals, menus and fitting it all in around our busy day. I keep thinking that with the kids getting older that they will be a little more independent with their school work, no. So that is why I basically have to count on easy-peasy lunch meals. I don't mind putting aside about an hour for dinner prep around five in the afternoon, but just don't have one extra minute at noon. So we rely on P.B. & J or cheese queso's for lunch, along with a few other easy faves. Toss in some carrot stixs and an apple, good to go as they say on the Taco Bell commercials. Dinner is more complex as I make everything from scratch. For example: last night we had sweet n' sour meatballs and I made the sauce from scratch. In general it's the prep (cutting, washing,chopping) that is the most time consuming. The actual putting it together and cooking rolls along fairly easy. This time issue use to zap me of my will to cook meals and make me want to beg for take out. After all, after chasing 4 kids, teaching same kids, laundry, cooking breakfast and lunch, not o mention Dr. appts. . . . . You get the idea. Who wants to spend an hour in the kitchen? I read a book called Hallelujah acres where it talked about this same situation. The author said she was able to get past this by realizing that God had blessed her hands to help her take good care of her family. I found this interesting and true. Still didn't motivate me. Two years later, I have read many more books in this same venue and about 3 months ago one finely got to me, motivated me - where it counts - the pocket book. I talk about Sue Gregg alot on here lately, but it's worth reiterating. I believe her books are full of good information with realistic expectations and ways to implement them. You don't need a $300 juicer or a $600 dehydrator, although those items are still beneficial if you have them. I checked out her book, "15 minute meals" at the library thinking I was getting a book with quick recipes in them - wrong - sort of. Point being, didn't even cost me a dime to read it! She is all about good nutritious food for the least amount of money. So yes, you will be eating more rice and lentils (won't kill you and is still very cheap) and just a small amount of meat to stretch it . I borrowed her book Main Dinner Meals from a friend, so still thrifty here, and is full of wonderful recipes and 5 different menu charts for everything for holidays to vegans. I really recommend her books or at least check out her site at www.suegregg.com

Here is a look at our menu this week:

Monday: Mexicali Burgers w/broccoli salad

Tuesday: Sausage and chicken gumbo (use up garden okra) w/tossed salad and french bread

Wednesday: Church/Mom's night off

Thursday: Chicken and fruit salad mold w/asparagus and wild rice pilaf

Friday: Crock Pot Lasagna w/salad and bread sticks

Saturday: Home made pizza w/fruit salad

Sunday: Salmon Quiche w/tomato cucumber salad (use up garden tomatoes)

To see more Menu plan Monday visit www.orgjunkie.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Sunday lessons (a.k.a. Foo~isims)

Hi everyone. A beautiful day here in middle TN. Fall is in the air and a nice relaxing day is in the cards for our family, except DH who has to work. Shame how retail stores are in the habit of being open on Sundays now. I will however spare you the , "I remember when I was a kid and nothing was open on Sunday's speech". LOL

I wanted to share with you a little antidote that happened on the way to church this morning and serves as a great reminder for those of us who have kids or are around kids. . . . As we pulled in this morning DH was telling me something or other that I can't even remember now, but Dh looks at me and asks, "are you ready"? I replied yes, just waiting for you to get my door. He does this on a regular basis (I taught him how on our first date), just must have slipped his mind while telling me his story. This entails him reaching over and releasing my seat belt and then jumping out and going around to open my door, then offering a hand for me to dismount our ginormous SUV (thank goodness for running boards). Well this morning as this is happening I hear my youngest dd yell at her twin brother, "get my seat"! He is oblivious and keeps playing a game boy left in the back by his big bro. She repeats the request, louder and more frantic this time, as mom and dad are now out of the Durango. Third time was the charm! As we opened the back door, he was reaching over to undo her booster seat belt. Now I don't know if he did it because it was the right thing to do, or if her screaming interrupted him playing Tetris (which is hard even if your not four). I personally believe that he is just conditioned after only 4 years and the 9 months as womb mates to jump when she says (screams) jump! LOL She is 2 minutes younger, 2 inches shorter and 5 pounds lighter than her twin; but she is in charge! She is the brains of the operation and he is the bronze.

Anyway, the lesson here is that this served as a great reminder that your kids watch you and mimic you. Doesn't matter if it is big or small events, your their roll models, their mentors. It is soooooo easy to forget this in the day to day business of life. I am just glad this was a pleasant reminder. Not one of those episodes where they say something. . . . undesirable, and you have to ask yourself, "do I say that"? And if so, do I say it so much that the kids just think it acceptable?

Oh, and about the Foo in the title . . . that is her nickname. Like in the song, "Little bunny foo-foo, running through the forest......". So she answers to her name, a short version of her name and she answers to just "Foo" too. She has a million Fooisimis, could be a new regular feature here seeing as how she has an opinion on everything. Not sure where she gets that from! ROFL Glad her twin is the strong silent type, they really are ying/yang. (that is for Ria who is China crazy)

Blessings, Beth Ann

Whats up Wendsday ~ Twin Teeth

Greetings from our homesteading city lot! LOL Just checking in and still trying to recover from our trip. No, still don't have the picture thing ready yet. DD is now telling me it will be at least another week before she can get me the pictures that she forgot to give me before we left. I asked her, but they had been forgotten at the reception. Oh, well. Just means God STILL needs me to work on my patients. Which is a lesson I worked on today in two fold.

Today was the twins first dentist appointment ever! The appointment it self was great! The technician was great with the kids and they weren't scared at all. They had been two or three times with the older kids, so they knew the drill. Girl twin summed it up best when she said, just give me the stuff! All she cared about was the stickers and a new toothbrush! Ahhhhh, don't you long for the days when all it took to make it a good day was a new toothbrush? Maybe we should work on recapturing that? I know I need to.

The working on my patients came while waiting for the appointment to start. They told me the appt. was at nine ~ thirty. Well ten came and went, nothing. So when DH asked what the hold up was, we were told the appt. was actually at ten but they wanted us to come in early for paper the work. The paper work that took only five minuets? Have they no idea how hard it is to entertain two four year olds in a office with only one toy and one VHS that we already have at home? Anyway, it worked out fine. The twins were good and after I grumbled a bit I settled down and practiced.

It's like Morgan Freeman says, if you pray for patients God doesn't just zap you with it. No, he gives you opportunities to practice it. Thank you Evan Almighty. We just love that movie and watched it again while we were on the road, that and RV, another classic. I believe my most favorite part is how Evan wants to change the world and thinks the best way is through government ~ HA! At the end he finds out that the Ark in not only a metaphor but an acronym as well. You actually can change the world for the better with ARK: one ACT of Random Kindness at a Time = ARK. Cool huh? So remember that the next time you think what your doing isn't big or important. I know I have seen this miracle working in my own life. It's wonderful when you get to the point where you can look back and see how one thing rolled into something bigger, a snowball effect if you will. Can you tell I have been talking to God alot since we got back? Enough of my preaching. Have a great day!

Blessings, Beth Ann

P.S. No cavities for the twins either!!!!!!

Menu Plan Monday ~ Labor Day edition

Greetings all, from some very tired campers! We made it home yesterday afternoon, but still seem a little shell shocked over our whirlwind trip to my dd wedding. I didn't sleep four of the five days we were gone, so I was especially glad to see my bed last night. I usually don't have trouble sleeping in my RV bed, after all it's my sheets, comforter, pillows; ect. The issue was that at my dd house, where we parked and plugged in, wasn't level. So my sinuses kept rushing up to my head. Also, DH snored like a chainsaw trying to cut through a rusty metal pipe! He was sooo tired from all that driving. Anyway, otherwise the trip was uneventful, AMEN! My dd looked like a fairy princess in her gown and my middle dd looked too grown up in her brides maid dress! The weather was perfect for the ceremony and our trip, such a nice break from the south and the humidity (which was waiting for us by the time we reached Central KY). Took lots of pictures, but don't have them ready and organized yet. I even took a picture of how good the pizza turned out that I made and cooked in our RV as we drove through southern Ohio! LOL

Well we had to much sodium and nitrates in MI as we indulged in a few Kogel brand delicacies. Not to mention the dark chocolate covered espresso beans I treated myself to at the local Chocolate Haus in our town ~ super YUMMY! Today is a new day, a new week and a new month. Time to get back on the whole food band wagon. It took me two days to flush all the salt out of my system and I want to stay clean (smile). Here is our menu for this week:

Monday: Seasoned ground turkey & peppers over brown rice w/tossed salad and corn bread

Tuesday: Chili Con Carne on leftover cornbread w/ veggie sticks and home made ranch dressing

Wednesday: Church/Mom's night off

Thursday: Tuna noodle casserole w/ salad

Friday: Chicken taco's w/ guacamole salad

Saturday: Home made pizza w/ tossed salad

Sunday: Sweet n' sour meatballs over brown rice w/ carrot salad

Other cooking at my house this week includes but is not limited to, home made granola and home made graham crackers; seeing as how my dd took what I had with me to give my grandson. If he likes grandmas crackers, then I don't mind one bit! LOL To see more Menu Plan Monday visit www.orgjunkie.com Whats for dinner at your house this week?

Blessings, Beth Ann

Gratituesday

Today is a big blur for me and the family. We are rushing around getting ready to leave for northern MI and my dd wedding. First thing this morning I had to get DH off to work and take DS to work and drop off the dogs and pig. (see yesterdays post) Just crazy! DH forgot his cell phone, good thing he works next door to DS, one more thing for me to take care of. On our way to the clinic, the dogs are freaking out, they know there is only one reason to be in a car! Top it off, the dachshund has never liked the guinea pig, so he is trying his best to get at it since for some reason DS is holding it an the cage is in the back? Next thing you know I hit a bump, pig goes flying, doxin is lunging and blue tick is trying to steer while DS is squealing almost as loud as the pig! I pulled over. DS subdued the wild hoards while I tried to calm my heart rate. Gehish! All were delivered in one piece, even the cell phone, God is good.

As we get ready to leave, I did want to take a moment and reflex on what I am grateful for as we will be traveling with God's grace and little else. First, as the story above illustrates, I am grateful for a sense of humor and a fantastic family. Although both test the limits sometimes. This week though I mainly want to mention my gratefulness for friends. Our very special friend from Mexico came to visit last week and brought his DS, who spent this past week-end with us. Here is their/our story in a nut shell (or two): Big G is a single dad who lived 4 house down from us and attended the same church, before moving back home to Mexico almost 3 years ago. His wife left and his oldest dd died of congenital heart disease, leaving him with two other children and a job with long hours. Our sons were best friends before I even became awear of a sitter problem for him. I had been trying to get away from the kid business so to speak and actually had turned down a job at the high school working with special needs children, so that I could follow my dream of radio. God is funny that way. You can run but you can't hide. On one rainy school day I was faced with a tearful boy who didn't want to leave his little sister alone and be late for school. My heart melted and the rest is history. For the next 3 years those children were at my house almost 6 days a week 12 hours a day. We loved every moment of it! They even went to church with us when their dad couldn't make it. The Mexican culture is very different than ours and we showed them a few firsts. Like the pumpkin patch, and the first time they put their hands in pumpkin guts! LOL (well little Gabe anyway, since my ds who will hold a cows uterus but thinks p guts are too gross! LOL) They shared every holiday, every birthday, every Christmas, every Thanksgiving. We were their family and they ours. I was the only mother figure they had for almost 4 years. I almost died when they left. I understand the reasoning and respect them, but it hurt - bad. Since then God has blessed us with our two twins (won't replace the two that left though) and a long distance friendship that both families have honored. Big Gabe was there when DH mother was killed in a car accident and we were there when his dd finely got some peace and passed on. Thanks to the Internet and this blog we keep in touch, not to mention an occasional "faliez nave da" text at odd hours. Last year Big G came to visit alone, I was not happy. This year he brought little G and not only was I happy but DS (who almost never smiles - uncool for a teen) was too! I was happy to see that they picked up like they had never been apart! That is sometimes not the case, even in friends you go to school with or see all the time. Next year Big G promises to bring little S, his dd. It is so expensive and hard to get passports for the kids, but I can't wait. I wondered if she would even remember us? Both her dad and brother assured us that she does and talks about my middle dd all the time. This warms the cockles of my heart. I just wanted to share this good fortune of a God blessed friendship with you all today and hope you experience a similar one with God and others.

Here is DS (in the white) and his best bud, see the smile? Almost never happens!

And finely, here I am doing what I do best! This was taken at our local Piggly Wiggly looking towards the Fred's (can almost see yellow sign) on another warm middle TN. day I am so blessed!

Please pray for us as we hit the road today and travel to my dd wedding. Thank you. For more Gratituesday visit www.heavenlyhomemakers.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday - Hits the road!

Hey all! This is it, the big week, my dd is getting married. So we are taking a road trip, which means menus will be crazy and out of sync (and not the boys band or are they men now?) . Crazy is good, sometimes. Nuts is more like it here. I have had a stress headache since last Friday. It has been around so long, that we named it - stress buster (not to be confused with ghost busters). I am sure all the stress will disappear once we pull out on to the road, cross your fingers. We cleaned the RV last week. DH backed out of it's little hidey hole and now we are loading it. Both DH and DS are working tomorrow, as soon as they get out at 5 we are hitting the road. Good thing I learned long ago how to cook while barreling down the expressway, a la the movie "the long, long trailer"; with Lucy and Desi. Also lucky DS works at the animal clinic, so he can take the dogs to work with him and also the guinea pig. We are very blessed in so many ways, and they all lend to us even being able to come on this trip! Can't wait to share it all with you!

Here is our on the road schedule:

Monday: Salisbury patties (made w/ground turkey) w/mashed potatoes and green beans

Tuesday: Leaving for MI - Deli fried chicken (bought last nights mark down) w/home made guacamole and tortilla chips (fixed in RV)

Wednesday: Arriving in MI, depends on time - Turkey burgers w/Tatar tots and carrot sticks (fixed in RV)

Thursday: Rehearsal Dinner for wedding , dd tells me it's at local restaurant (Thanks Nana & Papa)

Friday: WEDDING DAY! Reception to follow.

Saturday: Back on the road and home, verrrrrrrrrry late! Home made pizza w/veggie sticks (fixed in RV)

Sunday: All the diet Vernor's, pickled bologna and hunter sausage we can eat; that we bought in northern Mi, since they don't sell it here in middle TN. (has to be the hunter sausage from Hop's N' Schnapps west ) LOL

When it comes to cooking in the RV, we are really lucky with our oven. Not all RV ovens are created equal. Many newer models have small ovens, because only two old people go RVing? We have a '98 Winnebago class C on a Ford Chaise. DH made sure we got a vehicle that he could fix, not a ginormous diesel pusher. Anyway, I can fit a 9 x 13 pan in my oven! So I will make two 9 x 13 pizza's while we are going down the road.

Whats for dinner at your house this week? For more menu plan Monday visit www.orgjunkie.com

Blessings, Beth Ann

Stitching Sunday

Greetings friends. Just settling in with a cup of coffee as I get ready to do computer time. As we were leaving church this afternoon, a nice gentle rain started to fall! Praise the Lord! Been soo long here with no rain. Not as bad as last year, but still . . . Church ran over today as we had a luncheon after service to send off our interim Pastor. So once again, after 15 months, our little church is adrift. Please pray for our church. We have been searching all these months for a new Pastor. Looks like it is down to two people. Pray for our leadership and growth. As Pastor S was preaching to day, he shared with us this quote he found; "God may take away the worker, but not the work". I found that very affirmative. In our text, He took our former Pastor to South Korea, but there is still work to be done in our little church in middle TN. The scripture he shared with us had to do with Joshua 1:1-10. Even though Moses was dead and gone, there was still work for Joshua and the Israelites to do. Hmmm . . . Just some food for thought.

Been a very crazy couple weeks here and they are picking up speed! Two days until we leave for MI and 5 days until dd wedding! Yikes. But I know God and all our friends here in Mayberry will be with us. I can't even begin to share with you the pouring out of goodwill we have experienced here as we shared our story of stepping out in faith to go 16 hours north (that is with no stops) and no funds available to us. Everyone we asked to pray for us has agreed immediately (even a co-workers of DH that is a Masonic). I just wanted to make it clear, no one has just given us a wad of cash and poof - our troubles were over. But the joy in our hearts is plentiful. I can't wait to share with you all when I get back the rest of this story. Not to mention plenty of pictures - LOL

Here on stitching Sunday I wanted to share an older piece with you. Fifteen years old to be exact. I stitched this when my oldest ds was only a couple weeks old. It is another sampler and says "welcome friends" at the top. Sorry the picture is so foggy. Ever take a pic and think it is fine until you go to use it? Grrr. This piece has resided in three different homes and two different states. I loved the coloring of the ginger cat and the pastel boarder. Every time I see it, it brings a smile and a memory to my face. Isn't that what stitching is about, creating memories?

Share some of your crafty memories today.

Blessings, Beth Ann

School Days

Today ends our first full week of school here at our house. Like all schools, public or at home, it's always crazy. There is joy, sorrow, tears and some happiness; and that's just me! LOL Come on, you must have saw that one coming! We switched over to a new curriculum this year and the kids seem to be enjoying it. Liked I mentioned on my previous blog, on the first day of science they blew up my nice glass PYREX measuring cup. If that is gauge for our new school year, zoinks! It's going to be a wild one. I have pretty lax about posting school type pictures here, although I do take them and scrape book them for the kids. Which is a testament to my parental love as I pretty much loath all things scrap booking. You know how it is though, would cut your arm off for your kid (well at least the one you don't write with). Anyway, will make a better effort to also get the pictures here for the family that lives in the frozen tundra that we call MI and we don't see often. Here are a few to start off with:

We are doing world history and read the book, 1000 paper cranes. Here are some of the creative ones we made our selves. We didn't have traditional origami paper and just used what was available, that is why you see red, white and blue cranes as well as star studded cranes.

My oldest was not to be out done and made this ginormous crane out of news paper. He now flies proudly in our dinning room.

Here is twin son E practicing tracing his letters w/dad on his first day of pre K

Here is twin dd E doing the same with big dd B, who has a hard time helping. B is the only south paw in our family.

The big wedding is one week from today and we are leaving Tuesday for northern MI (think way up by the mighty Mac). We will take some of our work books with us, since only about 1/4 of our school work is on the computer this year. One more home school perk, work while you travel and while your still in your Jammie's! It's a 16 hour drive, so the kids should get it done and still have time to roll around on the bed and watch TV (in our RV). Feeling pretty blessed right now. Hope you are too.

Blessings, Beth Ann