BRRRR!!!!

I have a few minutes on my hands while the kids enjoy hot cocoa, oatmeal and cold weather to say - YEAH! A cold morning in Florida! I woke up to 47 outside and the wind howling making it feel more like 40. Tammy in Chicago called yesterday to say it was snowing there and the kids were ready to jump on the first plane out - we could call it a science field trip! Since they have never seen snow, that would work! Anyway, so now we are listening to Christmas music, Maggie has on her hoodie and we are all dressed in layers. The good thing about Florida is that it doesn't stay too cold for too long and we can thaw out by afternoon. 66 for a high is BEAUTIFUL!!

Trunk R Treat '08

Yesterday we had our annual Fall Sunday School Outreach at church. Trunk R Treat is so fun, but is so much work! We went to church about 8 AM to get started setting up. Our family worked throughout the day and had fun setting up, chatting with friends and working together. Each year, this event gets better than ever and this year was no exception! We had performances by our Wee Praise team - the 5-8 year olds, the Kids Praise Team - the 9-11 year olds and the Teen Praise - the 11-14ish kids. They all performed motions to kid-friendly praise songs. We also had our puppet team perform, our youth band Reaction and our Stix team, Impact (MaKenna named them!). Here is a video of them performing:

All of that was in addition to the clowns who did balloons and face painting, the decorated trunks where the kids got to go around for candy, the bounce house type activities and the prizes.

Here are some of my favorite trunks:

Holly and MaKenna did a Grandma's Attic Theme.

Beth joined them as Grandma! Is she hilarious or what??

Some of the Himes family came as a box of crayons!

The Tate family did a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with a Christian theme and Jesus being the Golden Ticket.

Here are a few pics of our Kid's Praise Teams:

Teen Praise

Kid's Praise (Caleb's group)

Wee Praise - aren't they cute??!!

Other pics of people and events:

Mark and I made Caleb this R2D2 costume and he won first prize - a $20 Target GC!!

Kirsten Collins dressed up as Sarah Palin and MaKenna posed for a pic with her!

Tracy and Cadence Lawlor were Wilma and Pebbles Flintstone and Joey DeAngelo was BamBam! They won 2nd place!

Madilyn - one of my favorite babies! - was so cute watching the kids praise and clapping her hands with them.

Bella - Tim and Andrea's baby - is still so tiny that they had to get her costume at Build a Bear so it would fit!

This was my prize table - I spent countless weeks collecting donations for prizes to give away during the evening. The girls and I made the fun tree in the middle and families could pick a leaf that had a prize written on the back to see what they had won. It was fun to give away things to people!

It was such an exciting event and the best news is that 16 families requested Bible Studies while there and we hope to see lots of the Wednesday night in KC! You can see more pics from our church website.

MaKenna's Party

The whole gang - Holly, Denell, Megan, Kaley, MaKenna, Kelsey, Carrigan, Kimberly, KT and Caitlyn.


I haven't posted yet about MaKenna's party because we have had so much going on and then other things came up to blog about =D. But, I thought I would do a quick update, just so you know how it went!

Her party was American Idol themed, but in a Christian way! We had blue and silver decorations, with lots of pictures of MaKenna from different ages all around and a makeshift stage area. The girls were separated into 2 groups of 4 and drew out of a basket to choose the song they would perform. Their job was then to put together whatever they wanted to do to perform - they could do drama, motions, sticks, signing, singing, etc. They had a blast practicing!

Holly's group had a song called Mirror by Barlow Girl. It is an awesome song about a girl who has allowed her image of herself to be dictated by what she sees in the mirror and who she thinks she should be. As the song goes on, she realizes that she doesn't even know who she is anymore and that she is not who God wants her to be. They did a drama and it was so powerful and moving. Denell Yadon, Kimberly Goodman and I were the judges and we had them all stand there so we could tell them our opinions of their performance - all positive of course, no Simon's!!

MaKenna's group had a song called I Can't Hear You by Matthew West and it is a song about the things in our life that make it hard for us to hear God's voice and how we need to listen for it in the midst of the noise. They put motions to their song and all had such a great attitude and looked like they were having so much fun as they performed!

She had 13 of her favorite foods/snacks/drinks for everyone to munch on and instead of cake, she had ice cream - my kind of girl! We had a star for each of the girls with their name on it and they all autographed each others stars. It really was a simple party with little that we had to buy to prepare, but they had such a great time and it made turning 13 extra special for MaKenna!

A few random pics:

Kaley, Caitlyn and MaKenna

MaKenna and Denell

Holly, Kimberly and MaKenna

Girls having fun!

Denell, MaKenna, Megan and Carrigan signing stars.

Even though you weren't here, hopefully you feel like you had a part in what we did!

Caleb

Caleb got his braces off this week!! His teeth look so good and we are glad the journey is over. MaKenna is next!

Am I on Candid Camera?

This has been the oddest day! It began with our cat unhappy with another cat out back and causing quite a rucous. Next, Holly came out asking if we could have pancakes. Homemade pancakes take quite a while, but are so worth it that I agreed!

After breakfast began our school day. And this is where everything went haywire. Holly and I began to play around and get some giggles out which ended with all of us involved. After setting down, all of us got busy with our responsibilities.

Suddenly, Holly comes running out of her room saying, hurry, come out back! Well, we all jumped up and ran out back where we noticed a HUGE (like Old Faithful size) geiser of water coming from in front of the house that backs up to ours. Sounded like a good opportunity for a spontaneous field trip! So, we loaded into the van with no shoes and drove around the block to see what was up. By the time we got there, they had shut off the fire hydrant, but the street was quite flooded! We never did find out what happened with it. So, with the excitement over, we came home to try to get serious about our day.

We managed to get some work done. Then, MaKenna and I went to work in the kitchen - working on dinner, preparation for breakfast tomorrow and dinner tomorrow. As we were cleaning up, I turned the water on in the sink and suddenly, the water hit something in the bottom of the sink and it caused a fountain of water to come up over the edge and all over the floor! I am not sure what was happening with water today!

MaKenna and I got a lot of work done, though! But it wasn't over yet! As we continued to work, our next surprise appeared! We noticed out the back door ANOTHER fountain of water, right on our back porch! Someone had accidentally left the hose on with the nozzle attached and it burst a hole on the side and was spraying out all over the porch! Third times the charm? But for what, I am not sure!

At this point, I was honestly looking for a camera somewhere! What a crazy Monday! I hope that yours was a little more settled than mine! But, all's well that ends well and ours did - but it sure made for a good story, don't you think?

First of all, Prayer

It's been so long since I posted a "Friday post." First it was vacation, then vacation recovery, then just plain forgetfulness. But, I was thinking of it last weekend and then was so gently prodded by a friend, so here we are!

We have had some great nights of ladies prayer lately and I really just have prayer on my heart. Corrie Ten Boom asked, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" Hopefully, what you read here will inspire you to put prayer first and let it guide everything you do.

I read something recently that puts prayer in a great perspective. "The purpose of prayer is not to inform God of our needs, but to invite Him to rule our lives." That is so powerful. We often go to God with a list of wants or needs, like He is a robot waiting to supply our every whim - but, what He is longing for is a relationship with us. When I pray and put Him first, I feel His presence so strong. I want to know that He loves me and that He knows that I love Him.

When we keep our relationship with Him as our focus, it also keeps our prayers from becoming dry, stale or ritualistic. They are alive and fresh each time we pray. They are not magic formulas, either. But when we move to the side and allow God to work in us, He can do mighty things through us and we can see miracles as we surrender to the supernatural.

This is a crazy world we live in. There are NO guarantees, NO promises and NO hope in it. But when I turn my eyes to Him who created the world with His Words, who holds the world in His hands and who ever liveth to make intercession for us, I don't have to worry what is happening in the world around me.

Here's another prayer thought provoker: "Before we can pray 'Thy Kingdom come,' we must be willing to pray 'My kingdom go.'" There's a tough one for lots of us! Once I pray, I need to remember that no matter what, He is in control and knows what is best. Sometimes, we want to live for God, but only by our rules, only if it doesn't require too much personal sacrifice or change and only if I can still do pretty much whatever I want to do. We don't want to let our little "kingdom" go and get ourselves out of the way so that God can truly come in and do His work. (end of sermon! =D) Thankfully, He stays with us every step of the journey.

It truly is a journey. I am a work in progress and I can honestly say that I'm not there yet! That is why prayer is so important. It keeps us focused on the path He has prepared for us, keeps us close to the One who guides our steps, keeps us from letting ourselves get in the way of His will and helps us through each step of our journey.

For those of you who read this regularly, you should know that you are on my daily prayer list! And now, I pray that this post has blessed you and encouraged you to want to spend a little time right now with your Creator. It will not be time wasted!

MaKenna is 13!!

It is so true that time flies. I was reading my sister's blog about growing pains with her baby and realized, it doesn't feel like it has been 13 years since that was me! But, it was and here I am with a beautiful young lady on my hands.

So, 13 years ago... I actually went into labor on the 7th in the early evening and she was born at 7:33 the next morning. It is pretty funny because there was a baby dedication scheduled for October 8th. (It had already been rescheduled to accomodate my new little arrival, but she came 2 weeks late and there was no changing the date again!) Sister Barbara called me about 8:30 to tell me that she did not expect any excuses, I should be at that dedication! Obviously she was kidding and we did not go. I had MaKenna at a Birthing Center (same as Holly) and, even with some mild hemorraging and a slight fever, we left about 2 1/2 hours after she was born to go home. She was a great baby from the start and Holly took to the big sister roll from the get go!

Today, I woke her up by singing to her and she woke with a smile. On bdays around our house, you get to pick the meals for the day, so I got to work making homemade buttermilk and spice muffins for breakfast - per her request. After breakfast was school - life does go on!!! (And she gets off Friday for the Southern Women's Show!)

Her lunch choice was tuna melts which we had with baby carrots (MaKenna doesn't care for carrots but eats them cause her momma tells her they are good for her - she even ate them today!). More school and then a quick dinner of leftover dinner in a pumpkin before leaving to set up for KC. We will have her real dinner tomorrow when we can sit down together and enjoy (we leave the house at 4 on Wednesdays!). She has requested Chicken Lozon, a house favorite!

After church tonight, we had her running favorite bday dessert for the past 5+ years - Chocolate Lovers CheesePie, which is basically like a chocolate chip cheesecake with melted chocolate on top. I make this for her every year, even though she can have whatever she wants - this is always it! Here she is cutting her "cake!"

I must add that I am very blessed. We have our situations and issues like any other family, but I am truly thankful for my children. MaKenna is growing up and becoming a wonderful young lady. She loves to bake, knit, cross stitch, scrapbook, read, drink tea, eat momma's home cookin', watch movies, read to her little brother - among other things. She is a blessing and has taught me so much. I am better because she is a part of my life! Happy Birthday!

The 10 Commandments of Blogging

I read this the other day and thought that it was very meaningful and thought provoking. The one that hit me the hardest, I think, is # 10. I know that I am guilty of seeing others' blogs and thinking that they have it all together or they are doing so many awesome things and I want to be like them. I have to remember that we are all human, we all err and none of us has a perfect life - our blog is one small part of who we are and what we do, and we usually want our best selves represented here! So, read these and feel encouraged to do whatever you are doing with all your heart to the best of your ability! Also on that note, I have a little tear off daily calendar from The Purpose Driven Life and lately, that is just what he is talking about. Too often, we (ME!!!) look at what others are doing and think that we are nothing compared to them. But, God put the talents in each of us that He wants us to have to do the work that He has for us while we are on this earth - let's use them for His glory! OK, that's enough of that for now! Here are the commandments put out by The London-based Evangelical Alliance (based on the Biblical 10 commandments):

1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity.
2. You shall not make an idol of your blog.
3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog.
5. Honour your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes.
6. You shall not murder someone else’s honour, reputation or feelings.
7. You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind.
8. You shall not steal another person’s content.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s blog ranking. Be content with your own content.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

I was looking up some recipes recently on allrecipes.com and came across an interesting idea. Dinner in a Pumpkin. It sounded interesting (I honestly thought that we would probably not care for it) but decided to give it a try because of the uniqueness of it - then I would have something neat to share with my friends! (that means you!!) So, since I am posting about it, you probably guessed - we LOVE it! You really must try this out! It is so fun. Holly actually helped me with this tonight so I could run a couple of errands and she did a great job. Here's what we did. We started with a pumpkin. The recipe called for a 4 lb one - I would say go with about 5-5 1/2. There wasn't quite enough room for all the filling. So, here is our pumpkin:

You have to cut off the top (I did this for Holly!) and scoop out all the insides. Be sure to save the seeds to roast! Then, in a large skillet, combine:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef/turkey

1/3 c. chopped green pepper (didn't have any, so not in this time)

3/4 c. chopped onion

Combine over medium heat until the meat is browned. Then, add:

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. soy sauce (or liquid aminos, like we use)

2 Tbsp. Brown sugar

1 4 oz. can mushrooms

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 c. cooked rice (brown is best!!)

Mix this all well and then place inside the pumpkin. Place the lid on the pumpkin and then put the pumpkin on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

Now, when I first read it, I have to admit that is sounded weird to me. But everything was so good. When you take it out of the oven, the pumpkin is so pretty and browned:

When you scoop it out, be sure to get some of the cooked pumkin too. It adds tons of extra nutrients, has hardly any flavor at all, and makes you feel all good and warm inside knowing how good for you it is! EVERYONE in my house loved this - even Caleb! The girls loved the insides so much, that they want to make it even when it is not fall without the pumpkin. So, I hope you get to try it. Let me know if you do and what you think! Bon appetite!

Blooming Bromeliads and Coupons

The other night, the kids and I had some time on our hands (gasp!!!) and decided to work on some much needed yard work. We trimmed up the plumbego, fertilized the orange trees, the Hibiscus tree, the Crepe Myrtle tree and repotted the plants around the pool deck. In the midst of this activity, I noticed that some of my bromeliads had started to bloom! They are just beautiful:

I guess all of the things we did out back put me in the mood to get some things in order in my house, too. So, I got up very early one day and worked on lots of those little clutter piles that I never quite get around to anymore and that felt so good. Well, not one to waste time, I decided to tackle a new project. Coupons. Since I have seriously been following ads and faithfully using coupons to get many items free or very cheap, I have longed for a coupon makeover that would make the search for what I needed easier and more effective. So, here is what I did. I went to the Office Supply store and bought a set of sheet protectors meant for baseball card collections and a set of adhesive tab dividers. Then, I came home and sorted all of my coupons even better than they were before - by item, not just category. For instance, before, all of the toiletry items were together in one pouch and now I have separated toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. I attached my tab dividers, labeled them and began adding the coupons - one item per pocket, like this:

I think that I can make it even better, but this is working for now and it took so long to do, that I was ready for a break and something else to do! So, let me know if you have a better way or something that you do for organizing. I'd love to hear your ideas!

I Won!!

Around lunch today, I randomly turned the radio on to Z. Not long after, they announced that they were going to give away a couple of tickets to the Southern Women's Show next weekend in Orlando to the owner of the vehicle they called out. Well, lo and behold, they called a Dodge Grand Caravan! So, you have to have a Z sticker and be in their database and be the first caller to win. Well, I hesitated, cause I wasn't even sure what it exactly was and if I wanted to go or would be able to go based on time. So, Holly said to just try and see and that I probably wouldn't win anyway cause like 99.9% of Z listeners drive minivans and I had waited so long. OK, well, you already know by my title that I won! But it was too funny that I got through and was the winner! So, next week the kids and I will be making our way to the Southern Women's Show at the Convention Center to see what it's about. How fun!