It's a Wonderful Life!

    It's been a wonderful weekend. Well mostly it was. Nick came in to see Kelly, but she had to work every day. It really broke my heart for them both. That was the sad part. Kelly did get to spend all of Monday morning with him before he had to leave. Long distant relationships are tough, but they make for strong relationships if they survive. I pray for them each day, that God will use their time apart from each other to make them stronger and to draw them closer to His heart.
   Ronald and Nick spent some time together on Saturday. They made some bar-b-que rub and a basting sauce for grilling and smoking.
   Ronald got up on Sunday morning and put on a brisket and not to brag but it turned out delicious.
   On Sunday, Nick taught about Being an Ambassador: True Knowledge at our church. He did such a great job and I was so proud of him. His Mom (Colleen) and Aunt Katie and brother(Chris) also came in from GA. to see and hear him teach. It was so great to meet them.

Cutest couple!

    First impressions - beautiful people after my own heart. Christians and crafters! Both his Mom and his Aunt crochet! I love it. Aunt Katie made a beautiful prayer rag for my kitchen, and Colleen brought a bag of dark chocolate pomegranates for us. I have become so addicted to these things. I am hoping that they will be able to come back again soon and stay a little while so that we can get to know each other better and share some patterns and recipes. Nick brags often about his Mom's cooking, so I know it has to be good.
     Sharing a few pictures that Aunt Katie took at church Sunday. Nick had to shave his beard off before going back to work on Tuesday. : ( That was sad. But we are praying that his orders will be in soon and he will be out of the Army. Then the beard will be back. We all think the beard looks great. Well... Kelly loves it!

 I hope that everyone has a very blessed week. Love you all!

Until next time. Blessings to All ~S~

 

Oh, the Thinks you can Think!

    Think, think, think. Study, study, study. My head has been swimming lately with so many new things. Wonderful things! Weighty thoughts, and fun things!
    Just a few of the things that have been flowing through my mind. And some other odd things.

• Still reading/digesting a wonderful book - Tactics -A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. 
• The Apologetics Study Bible, I went to 2nd and Charles last week with my kids and found it on the shelf for $21! It was in very good shape with only a few marks on the pages. Couldn't pass it by. Excited each day when I get up and read my Bible.
• Curriculum shopping for some new books for Aimee. Most of our subjects are covered, but there are a few extra that I'd like to get. Building Thinking Skills -figural  and Building Thinking Skills - verbal 
• I have plans for the summer and it's already getting away from me! I need like a three or four week stay-cation with Aimee to get the things done that I wanted to accomplish.
• Working out is still going good. I'm managing to stay away from the scales and not be obsessed with weight. But, I know that I'm loosing the inches because my clothes are loose now. YaY!
• Kelly and Nick are still seeing each other. That's a wonderful thing! Love having that young man around. He makes Kelly smile and laugh. I love seeing the joy that he brings to her.
• Nick still makes the conversation interesting around our home!
• There isn't enough time in my life to read all of the books that I want to read. Some of the authors that I want to read, re-read or at least research: C.S. Lewis, Greg Koukl, Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell... 
• The more I read, the more curious I become. Staying focused on one thing has been hard lately.
• Much prayer as always for friends and family.

Looking forward to next weekend. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. I pray that each of you are drawn to the heart of our Heavenly Father.
  Blessings to All, ~S~

It's a Date!

  Last night I went on a date with my husband. We've been able to do this a bit more lately, but because we try to watch our spending and budget we don't do it too often. But that's ok I really appreciate it when we do get to go out.
   Our date last night was a double date with some of our bestest friends. I love YOU Judi and Dale!
   We went to Red Lobster, with a coupon of course, and spent about two and a half hours eating and talking. Mostly talking and catching up on all of the things that have been going on in our lives. While we do keep in touch weekly, via Facebook and e-mails, there are just some things that are best discussed in person.
    I'm sure the poor waiter was ready for us to leave so that they could sit someone else at our table. However we were so enjoying the conversation and time spent with friends that we were in no hurry to leave. Even when we did leave the table we continued the conversation outside in front of the restaurant.
    I really hope that we get to do this again before this summer is over. I love date night with my hubby, and getting together with good friends is always the best.
    It's Memorial Day weekend. We are spending time with family and making BBQ. I like long weekends but unfortunately for Kelly she has to work the whole weekend. (She was recently promoted to asst. manager where she works!)  Jessica, gets the weekend off because the daycare where she works is closed this holiday. We are very proud of Kelly and Jessica! I love all of my kids more than they will ever know.
    Thank you to all that serve and have served. May God Bless each of you.

Blessings to All ~S~

Here Lately

  Here lately: I've been working on a quilt for a young girl. It's taking me forever because I have been working on other stuff too. I will get it finished soon. I messed up 4 of the blocks so I had to take the blocks apart and sew them back together. Then a couple of weeks ago, my wonderful sister, gave me a pattern for something called snap bags. Well, these things are so much fun! I get down in my sewing room and just forget the rest of the world is there while working on these things.
    The biggest thing is, I love, LOVE fabric! Yes, I'm a fabri-holic. (sheepish grin) I also love yarns or threads so crochet and cross stitch are right up there.  Big thing for me right now is sewing and fabric.

Snap Bags measure about 6 1/2" x 7 1/2" 

  See, I told you they were cute!  You use the little tabs on the sides to pull the bag open. When you let go, they snap back. The color of the band at the top is the color of the inside.
  Here lately: Kelly went to Ga. to meet Nick's family. I can't tell you how much I missed my girl, but I missed Nick being around too. They came home yesterday, and for a whole afternoon our home was filled with lively and deep conversation, and lots of laughter. That's not to say that there isn't laughter when Nick isn't around, just seems to be more when he is.  Nick brought a gift for me. Yea! A book by Greg Koukl called "Tactics".  I am looking forward to reading it. So much that I want to learn. So much that I have to learn!
  Here lately: My biggest problem is that when I learn something, I get very excited and want to share it with everyone! I know in my mind that I need to not overwhelm people with my enthusiasm. I just can't help it sometimes. I want them to be as excited as I am. Like the woman at the well, when she met Jesus and He told her all the things she had done, she went back and told everyone come see and meet Him. I think I can understand her feelings. My heart swells and I want to know more but I want to share with others so that they too can know how wonderful the feeling is. I need to remember that I am an Ambassador.  I will be praying that God will use me in such a way that I am truly an effective ambassador for Christ.
  Here lately: I've been working hard at losing weight and inches. I've lost 15 lbs. not sure how many inches, because I haven't taken measurements. But, I know that I've lost them because my clothes fit much better now. I even went to TJ Maxx and used the gift card that Kelly gave me for Mother's Day to buy a couple of new skirts and a new top. I also found a pair of new jeans at Wal-Mart on sale that were a size smaller than I had been wearing. Big Grin! The biggest hurdle has been not allowing myself to get discouraged when things don't move along as fast as I would like for them too. Ronald reminds me that I didn't put my weight on over night and I won't take it off over night. It's taken about 10 weeks to lose the weight so far. I will continue to work. The best part is that I've created a habit in the last ten weeks of walking on my elliptical or walking in our neighborhood when the weather is not sweltering. Even Nick, and my girls have been very encouraging. I'm very thankful for that. I love them all so much!!!
   Here lately: I've been feeling like I wanted other changes in my life too. Mostly something like a job change. I don't really mind the job that I do, well I sort of do. I love the people that I work for but I want to work for myself. Yes, I know that it makes no sense. I sort of work for myself since I clean houses. I'd just rather work from home or set the hours that I want to set. Several things have entered my mind that I might like to do. But I think the biggest thing for me right now is the waiting part. The house cleaning thing is flexible enough that I am able to take my time or take a helper and get done a little quicker. Since it is only one or two days a week, it's not like a full time job. I just don't like having to leave my home for several hours on those days. In a couple of years, I will no longer be homeschooling, then I will have time for a little more work. Hmmm Maybe I will volunteer somewhere. Who knows what my hearts desire will be by then.
 
 Blessings to All ~S~

Father God,
 I thank you for all the blessings that you have given, for your love and salvation. For each family member and friend that you have allowed to come into our lives.  I pray that you would keep each of those that I love close to your heart, wrapped in Your loving arms. That each one of us would have open minds and hearts and a teachable spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen