For His Service

 I am not sure whose idea it was..but somehow when I was 16 and dating Russell  (my husband of 22 years)...we thought it would be a great idea to go to a restaurant with the Kim and Clay (who were dating as teens..and married for 20+ years) to celebrate the New Year...  I think when we finished college and had a little more money, we decided to splurge and go eat at a Fondue restaurant. We dined on Fondue at various restaurants  for quite a few years until we both had our first children....only 2 weeks apart in age.  Then, it was just too difficult to have a long meal like fondue with little infants so we invested in our own fondue set and researched recipes for the three kinds of fondue we still make today. 1. Cheese Fondue, 2. Meat Fondue, and  3. chocolate Fondue...  Here are a few photos taken on some of these New Year's Eve nights... Their house..our house...their house..our house..etc....        ...

Today, a young mom found out that her baby growing in her womb had died.  Some carelessly say cruel things... foolish things...   as if this baby somehow has less value because of his/her age.  Some would say that babies with genetic problems should be "terminated"... My sweet son, John-Michael, has NF- neurofibromatosis..  Some might say he is of lesser value than a child without genetic issues.  (You can read a little about him here)...  Anyone that has gotten to know him... knows in an instant he will have you wrapped around his little finger..he is quite smart and such a little ladies man... http://inhonoroftheking.blogspot.com/2011/07/john-michaels-surgery-went-well.html#!/2011/07/john-michaels-surgery-went-well.html But, WHO REALLY has no health issues?  My husband has bad knees and joints that swell.  My daughter is blind in her right eye.  My oldest son has Pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (also known as "Acute g...

"Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you" ( Romans 16:19 -20 ) God never intended for us to know about evil. In the beginning, God created everything in the universe.   Viewing his creation, He called it good. Then, Eve was deceived by Satan.   Satan used her curiosity about evil (being “like God”) to trick her into thinking she would be better off if she knew what evil was. Mankind has paid the price ever since.. When they ate of the forbidden tree, their eyes were open to the knowledge of good and evil.   Never were we all at peace again.    So, in Romans,   Paul   gives us theological knowledge needed for the Christian life as well as practical advice for living the Christ-cantered life.   We are to be wise about what is good, and innoce...

The Day after Christmas consist of us getting up and Noah and I quickly leaving for the horse farm.  We were glad we decided to go because no one else came to help the only hired worker.  The horses were stomping and fussing to be turned out into their paddocks so they could find their bales of hay and say hello to their horse friends.  Noah and I took 8 or more horses to their fields and then proceeded to get the cart so we could pass out flakes of hay.   All went well until Roy, a Clydesdale horse, and Annabell, a stubborn mule, decided to eat from the cart as we tried to feed the horses in their different areas.   After helping out for a couple of hours, we headed home for lunch.   Prepared lunch, ate... cleaned the kitchen, put dishes away...  Then.....  My husband and I took down the Christmas trees and a few other decorations.  That took an hour or so... Next,   We cleaned, swept, dusted, washed sheets...etc for...

What is the true Meaning of Christmas?    Christmas is about God’s grace and mercy towards us, mankind.   God choose to come in human form to do what we could not do:   Come as a baby… live as a man and ….live a sinless life.   Then,   He bore the cross to redeem mankind, as death is the penalty for sin.   As John 3: 16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish..but have eternal life.    Jesus died in our place..he took the punishment on the cross so that we would receive a pardon for our sins and his righteousness.   Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Jesus is God, and Messiah, the Sacrifice for sins.   He died for our sins according to or just as the Scriptures (the Old Testament) said He would. Here are some of the Scriptures that said what Christ would do:. Isa 53:5 wounded for our transgressions Rom 4:25 Isa 53:8 Died for ou...

If you know me, you would know that I don't feel necessarily pulled to do the popular thing or the traditional thing.  I want to do what is right and good for my family.   I try to focus on making memories and doing the things that matter.  We do go drive around and look at Christmas lights.  We do laugh while watching the movie, Elf.   We do have buckeyes (choc/ peanut butter candy) and sausage balls ...only at Christmas.  It is a struggle for families to not let Christmas be about the gifts...but about love. ..not love of things, but love of people.   My family doesn' t like the traditional Christmas meal of ham, turkey, dressing, etc...so I am not making that.  We are having Black Bean soup ....   As far as the gifts, my husband and I have  chosen not exchange gifts with each other but to pass on what we would have spent on each other and give it to others.  This has to be the best Christmas we have had s...

This is why I eat Gluten-free, gave up coffee, pork, and most of my sugar.  This is why I shoot to exercise every day... This is why I will color my hair blue..even in my 40's.   This is why I am trying to learn new things every day.  You must continue to perserve...fight hard...and play harder.   You have to have fun... never feel you are too old to shuffle!

Russell, my husband, loves me...but tolerates our dogs.  His main pet peeve..isn't shedding..since we have two poodle mixes.  It is the barking... Even our deaf dog, Olivie' , barks.   So... the above video is SWEET to me... but I don't think my husband would like it. We drove around a bit to look at Christmas lights... making memories...

Here is our 2nd Christmas cooking tradition.   Buckeyes! 1 1/2 cups peanut butter 1 cup butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 cups confectioners' sugar 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips ¼ cup of Crisco Mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and place in freezer until firm… about 30 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and Crisco in a double boiler. Stir frequently until smooth. Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate.   Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Christmas time in our   house means two foods that we ONLY have during Christmas: sausage balls and buckeyes (homemade peanut butter/ chocolate balls).   Today, I will give you the recipe for Sausage balls… 1 lb hot sausage, uncooked 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1 1/4 cups Bisquick (I used gluten free flour) 4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded I wish you could smell and taste them.... yummy! Preheat oven to 400F.    Mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.   I used my food processor. Roll into 1-inch balls.   Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brown. Tomorrow I will post the Buckeye recipe..and a report of how many miles I had to run after eating some. :)

I grew up enjoying football with my dad.   I surprised my husband when we first met with my knowledge of football.   He would name a city..and I could tell him the matching Team name.    Easy ones like… Chicago/ Bears.   Green Bay, Packers…    Pittsburgh, Steelers.. and the harder ones…like Minnesota, Vikings.    St. Louis, Rams.   Anyway, since we live in Atlanta, we have always watched the Falcons (winning or losing, but winning is more fun). Tomorrow, there is no Falcons game, but I am geared up to watch the New England Patriots battle the Denver Broncos.    If you haven’t followed football, you wouldn’t know that the Denver Broncos aren’t usually a winning team. …and as such, haven’t enjoyed much of a fan base.     All that has been changing with Tim Tebow as their quarter back.    Some find Tim Tebow terrible annoying because of his constant praise of the LORD and his pattern of not going  ...

Last night I went to one of my favorite Christmas time traditions..with a practical side…a cookie swap. A cookie swap is when friends come together to visit, catch up, sip on hot tea, and swap cookies.   What do I mean by “swap cookies”?   Each friend bakes a batch of his/her favorite cookie, places two cookies into a sandwich bag for each person attending the swap, and attaches the recipe for that cookie to the baggie.   After visiting for awhile, eating a few treats as we talk, each attendee of the cookie swap takes a large bag, box, or basket and gets one set (two or three cookies per baggie) of each person that attended.   You come with 60 of the same kind of cookie…and leave with 60 different kinds of cookies. Why do this?   It provides you with a wonderful sampling of homemade goodies for your Christmas guests.    It saves you time…who has time to cook more than one kind of cookie?    You   gather new recipes AFTER you try the c...

This morning a watched an interview with  Steven Spielberg.  The movie, War Horse is set in Devon during World War 1.  Joey, a young farm boy's beloved horse is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France where he is used by the British and German armies.  Through this extraordinary odyssey, the horse finds himself alone in the war's no-man's land.      During filming fourteen different horses were used as the main horse character Joey, eight of them portraying him as an adult animal, four as a colt and two as foals;  four horses played the other main equine character, Topthorn. Up to 280 horses were used in a single scene.   Spielberg said no puppets  were used because.... "  I was really amazed at how expressive horses are and how much they can show what they’re feeling." 1800 lb Bravo... (Shire horse) This movie doesn't come out until Christmas day, and I want to go see it...however, I have already cri...

If you are going to commit to doing something....you might as well go all out!  

Why do people who say they KNOW who they are in Christ choose to enslaving themselves to status symbols such as new cellphones, new cars, giant TVs, lavish vacations, etc?    (Remember for Galatians 4 says) ... It just leads to not being able to pay your bills on time...or you have to overwork yourself to pay the bills.     My husband and I learned this lesson 14 years ago... Until that point, we didn’t have a budget.    We went out to eat several times a week... bought with credit. bought ... more than we could afford..... Now, we buy only what we actually need. When our car dies, we buy an older car with a few miles...not new. When we have a “date night”, we go to a place we can afford.     We made a budget and we stick to it. I don’t have a phone that goes on the Internet... I color my own hair every other month... I buy things on sale! Do these things  make me sad?     ...

She decided she wanted to go see the Muppet movie with her best friend and her brothers..  Popcorn, M & M's, and Coca-cola....Cute movie.. Deciding on a fingernail and a toenail color was a harder choice... She got money from Grandma and bought her first set of gold hoop earrings. The first ones she asked for were 5 times larger than those.. can't  blame her for trying..LOL... 2 years and 5 weeks until all three of my kids are in double-digits. :)  So ...ten years from now....Back to just the two of us again???

Happy birthday to my daughter, Madeline who is now 11.  I had no idea how hard it would be to raise a daughter...no one tells you.  My friends keep reassuring me that their daughters were difficult from ages 3-13...then, things got better.  To make things a little more difficult, she is so much like me.  She is talkative, busy, funny, super active, a bit hyper...just like me!   LOL.. So today for her 11th birthday, she wanted a camera that records videos,  and that of course..takes photos..  She is having so much fun trying to get that perfect shot of her brothers, which I am guessing means many shots of them in less than flattering ways..they are her brothers after all.      LOL...  For dinner, she has requested chicken legs,  Alfredo noodles, and sweet peas ...what a combo..but she is getting it!    Praying for another great year for  her!  Praying she allows Him to be the boss of her l...

I can't believe I washed my cellphone.  I had it in my husband's bathrobe..and I was wearing his bathrobe when I decided his bathrobe needed to be cleaned.  I forgot that I dropped my cellphone into the bathrobe pocket,..and yep...threw it all in the washing machine.  I remembered as the load was spinning out... 20 minutes in the washing machine..what to do?  I goggled it...and found the most effective thing to do was take out the battery, the SIM Card, and dry it with a paper towel..then, throw the entire thing  into a ziplock bag with rice... leave in over night. IT worked!  I will let you know if the phone continued to work.... so far..texting, photos, and the answering phone calls..works just fine!  Thank goodness for google! Now, where is my ipod?  LOL.......

I don't have a cat, but I do like cats.  I grew up with always having cats around... they are funny little things.  If you haven't seen "Simon's Cat" on YouTube...there are MANY funny videos about.... Simon's Cat. Check them out...

Tree in the Study.... Our stairs with candy ornaments and Teddy Bears The side view of our stairs ..and secret hide out underneath.. I love our red door leading to the school room ....

 It took two days...but it is done.  Generally, I leave the Christmas trees up...until Dec. 26th.  Everything else stays up until Jan 2 or 3rd...after New Year's Day!  I love the lights and fun that Christmas brings, hope and cheer.  Russell and I aren't getting any thing for each other this year, but it doesn't make me any less excited for the Christmas season.  We have two special foods that we only make in December.... Buckeyes (home made Reese Cups).  .. and Sausage Balls (sausage, gluten free flour, and cheese- baked.   The kids especially look forward to eating these.  I will start the cooking in the next week or so. I bought 8 live Poinsettias to decorate the house...and scattered them here and there... I wrap the stairs with greenery, lights, candy ornaments,  and teddy bears.... We have three large trees on the main level, and five more smaller trees (one in each kids' rooms) and two in the each bathroom.... I put s...