Life is always changing

Well a lot has happened since my last blog. First of all we have a new daughter (since our son got married), and we are so blessed to have Heidi in our family. Heidi is going to be such a great asset to our family and to our church. We love her and thank God that he sent her for our son. After all that our mom and dad came down from Wisconsin to help do some work around here before winter sets in. I had been praying for the last two years about a mantel and fireplace, but we just could not afford one because the whole unit costs quite a bit of money, but about a month ago a guy that worked with my husband had one he wanted to sell for a $150.00. what a blessing!, but it even gets better than that because it turns out all he wants is a gas heater to hang on the wall in place of the mantel. Well last year we had someone give us a gas heater, so when I told him I had a heater he just said "let's just swap then" wow it opens your eyes to see that God really does care about all of our desires even if they are not always spiritual. In all of this, the wedding and parents coming in, my husband started a new job and it has been a big change for the whole family, So please be praying for us. Well I will be posting pics of the wedding really soon but here is one of the new fireplace. God Bless

Busy Weekend!!!!

This was a very productive weekend. We awoke at about 8:00 Saturday morning (I don't know when the last time was that we slept that late on a Saturday) we got our Bible and prayer in first thing and then the race began. I made pumpkin muffins, bread, boiled the chicken for the dressing and got the cornbread ready as well. Lately I have been doing as much of the Sunday dinner as I can on Saturday it is so much easier than trying to come home and cook everything in between services. After all the cooking was done, I rearranged the living room and did all the laundry up. Then finished any other housework that needed to be done. Then after all that we had a family soup dinner we had to go to. It was the first one we had ever attended and we had a wonderful time. Everyone who came had to bring a pot of your favorite soup I of course took Santa- Fe-Soup. It was great to see lots of family we had not seen in a long time and the same time having lots of fun. Below are some pictures of my work on Saturday.

Here is the living room prior to rearranging.

This is during the moving process.

Here is one view of the finished Product.

Here is another view of the finished Product.

Here is wheat being ground into flour for the muffins.

Here are the muffins fresh out of the oven!

Here they are in the serving tray with the oatmeal chocolate chip muffins I made the day before.

Here is the boiled chicken for the chicken and dressing for the next day.

Here are a few pics of the soup dinner.

Here is my mom with her FAVORITE son-in-law
(of course it is her only son-in-law so Jeff can't brag too much but he sure loves her.)

Here are more of the soup dinner.

Let me tell you they were not shy on the soup either and it was great.

You Never Know What Life is Going ToThrow Your Way

Here lately life is been throwing us some curve balls. Just when everything seems to be going good all of a sudden your life is upside down. Recently my husband had a opportunity to change jobs. What a decision that was for our family. So we did what any intelligent person would do we took it to God and our Pastor. This was difficult because my husband has a very good friendship with his boss, but after much prayer and advice from our Pastor my husband will be changing jobs. We were very excited and just looking forward to relaxing since we had made the final decision when my husbands appendix ruptured. We were so surprised he just had a little stomach ache or so we thought. The next thing we know he is in the surgery room and shortly after that the doctor came out and said everything went great he was doing fine and he could go home tomorrow. Then the following Wednesday he had a slight pain in the lower part of his stomach which turned out to be a pocket of blood in the pelvic wall from the surgery so they had to go back in and drain the blood off. Thankfully it was not anything more than that. He is at home and doing good we were so blessed to have the friends and support we had during this time in our life. Most of all I thank God for being our best friend. You really never know what tomorrow will hold but we do know who holds tomorrow. God is just as much God in the inbetween moments as he is in the highest points of our lives. Praise God!

Apples, Apples, and more Apples mixed with a little fun too!

I have so much to blog about to get caught up with all the pictures I have been taking. This day my sister-in-law Yolonda and my brother had come to spend the week with us and we decided to take a day and can some apples. So I called my friend Kimi who also had apples to do and said lets make a day of it. Oh my what a day of fun we had; Everything we made that day was so great. After all the labor and hard work we thought the men should do the cooking for supper so they grilled and then we played games. It truly was a profitable day that we will continue to enjoy this winter. Here are some snap shots of the progress throughout the day.

Here are some of the apples we needed to get put up. Mm mm mm Macintosh apples, my husbands favorite.

Yolanda is busy here peeling and coring the apples all at the same time. That little machine has been well worth the $25. Kimi is also pictured lending a helping hand and a big smile as well.

Here are the apples cooking on the stove after peeling, coring, and cutting.

Well the apples do need to be stirred you don't have to use this expression shown above unless you are just having that much fun. Well of course she is having that much fun because she's with me. Ha Ha Ha.

See she is having that much fun. We always have such a great time together.

Well here is some of the finished product ready to be tasted!

Well now it's time for games. Catch phrase anyone?? Boy David must have a hard word because Jeff sure is thinking hard.

Here is Grant trying to describe the word without saying it. What a blast we had that day and we hope to be able to get back together soon.

Every Day I'm still Amazed by God!

Today, I awoke very early and thought I will just get up and get my day started.Of course JJ our baby (our dachshund) had to go out so I grabbed my cup of coffee and headed out the door with him. As I was sitting on the front porch I began to watch a Squirrel and he was making a nest for winter. I watched as he took each branch and chose it so carefully and if it wasn't what he wanted, he would just let it fall to the ground and would get the next one. I just began to think how God takes care of all his creation. He gives us everything we need to live but it is up to us to use our resources. I'm so thankful that my God always supplies our needs. We know this by what Matthew recorded Jesus saying in Matthew chapter 6 verse 26-33 "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Sometimes we just need a reminder when things aren't going as we think they should he is always in control. God Bless and may everyone one have and a blessed weekend!

Our Mini Labor Day Getaway!

Well were back from our mini getaway at my mom's house. We had such a great time filled with lots of laughs and lots of rest. My husband helped fix my nannies roof and went fishing while I learned about quilting. My Nannie has been trying to teach me how to quilt for some time now, and I think I finally have the hang of it. The one time we did leave the house we took the boys shopping to the mall in Tenn. and Tanner of course needed everything. Tanner has this thing with shoes......i.e. he never has enough of them. Then Jody of course didn't need anything as he is perfectly content with what he has. After we left my moms on Monday we drove to the Wisener's home for Labor Day brunch. We had pancakes, eggs, and hash browns which were all absolutely delicious. Then the men played a game of football while the ladies talked. We then decided to get out the fall items from storage and put them out. This was very exciting for us ladies but not for the men, so they decided to go target shooting ( you know getting ready for deer season). Thanks you guys for having us because we had a great time and we always love the company. Then it was time to go home to prepare for the rest of the week, but before we got started with all that we had to grill of course, I mean it was Labor Day you know, and grilling is required. With school starting we are still trying to get into the routine, and the older I get the longer it seems to take me. I have included some of the pictures of us at the Wiseners below . God Bless

Where Does The Time Go?

Where does the time go? We are doing so many different things now, I always feel like there is just not enough time in the day. We are going to be going on a short vacation, my husband and I could really use the time away. I will be posting pics. from our vacation so check often and see what we are up to. I have been thinking a lot here lately about who God really is and what he means to me personally. God truly is my best friend and knows every need I have and even though we may go through some things in our lives he showed me again tonight that he is always with us. I thank God every day for his mercy and that is what I have been praying for. I want to have mercy and compassion for those around me. I don't want to be so busy that I forget to check on a neighbor or send a card to the sick. Jesus is about mercy, grace, and forgiveness and I am so thankful he forgave me and saved me from a life of sin. God Bless and may everyone have a safe holiday weekend.