A Pajama Mama

Kitchen Redo of 2010 is coming along nicely..... for the most part!  Here is my awesome potrack/light that  my hero installed. No big deal? WELL.... He had to remove a fluorescent light, move the wires, patch the old hole, create a new hole and add sturdy wood so the pot rack won't ever fall on our heads.  I think it looks fantastic! We worked all weekend on the kitchen cabinets. Papa and Hero sanded them all down. Hero added the trim on all the doors. Then, the doors were primed and painted. New knobs and hinges and all doors  were back on by Sunday night! Hero also installed a microwave over the range. You'll notice in the picture that he had to  fill in some space on either side... Once it's painted, you'll never know! Trim...no trim.. Just as a point of reference... here are the kitchen cabinets and hood BEFORE!  Doodle dressed up as Raggedy Ann and part of her costume was mine when I was 7  that Mema sewed for me!  Can you...

Excitement is brewing!!! We are embarking on a major kitchen renovation project! It's been a LONG time coming! Week One of Kitchen Renovation is complete. Hero had three days off this week. Despite a terrible cold, he still managed to get beadboard up, the dining room ceiling painted and new light fixture hanging! New dining room light... Proud of the "miracle cut"...perfect fit around doors! Hero celebrated his 44th birthday this week, too!  Banana Pancakes for the Daddy! The Boy was his trusty assistant this week.  And the girls...they just showed up occasionally and said..."Wow! Looks great!" It's coming along nicely! Fabric: Covington Remington,multi  Meanwhile, I spent WAY too much time obsessing over which paint color to use, which curtain fabric to choose, and thinking about if blue kitchens really do suppress the appetite bc blue isn't a food color. Yes, I read that online. And we all know that everything we read online...

My beautiful Grandmother went home to be with Jesus. I couldn't have handpicked a Grandmother who loved me as much as she loved me.

We love Casa frozen Italian meatballs that we buy in a big bag from Sam's. They are made in southeast Georgia and are so so so good! I decided to try a different  meatball recipe instead of the same old spaghetti and meatballs. We enjoyed this sooo much that I decided to share. In a large frying pan, sauté 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper in olive oil. Whisk together 1 cup ketchup,  2 T apple cider vinegar, 3/4 cup cola, 1 t seasoning salt, 1/2 t ground black pepper, 1 T Worcestershire sauce in a bowl, then mix with sautéed onion/pepper in pan. Add about 25 frozen meatballs, cover and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Serve over rice and enjoy!! (This would also be great in the crockpot!)

Say "Hi!" to the newest member of our family.... 13 week old Lucy Belle. She's a one and a half pound  bundle of Yorkie-Poo love who came to live with us a week ago. I've never in my entire life had a tiny dog OR an inside dog. So, there's been quite a learning curve for me to figure all this out. This is the best picture I could find of her bc she just won't pose for the camera!!! She'd rather bark at the camera and attack the camera and bite the camera and then take off zooming around after the kitties. Her first few days were rough. She had a pretty severe hypoglycemic episode her first night and we spent the night helping her recover from that scary episode. We're all in love with this little ball of fluff!!!!

Wow! Is it that time already? Our summer ran away from me without my permission.  (More on our rocky start to summer break in another post.)  We are into our third week of home learning already!  Here's a shot of the room where the action happens! And here's where I found these two one day... Learning together.

Anywhere with you is my favorite place to be.... This week we celebrated 19 years of marriage. We just thought we knew what love was and what being in love meant 19 years ago at the altar. We loved each other as much as we knew how...back then. 19 years together has brought about a love between us that is hard to describe, deep as an ocean, wide as the sky. We are one. About a month after we got married, I got upset everyday at my Hero because we'd get home from work...and he'd go fishing. In my mind, I couldn't understand why he wanted to go fishing more than he wanted to be with me. I cried about it. Yes, I cried. I thought I was enough for him...why did he need fish to help him unwind and de-stress?? Fish are slimy and they stink! And let's not discuss crickets and worms.  Oh the joys of being a newlywed, trying to figure out how to navigate a marriage relationship.  19 years later, my sweet card he gave me says it all... "Anywhere with you is my favorite pl...

My 14 year old daughter wrote a blog post on her thoughts about love, purity, and dating. What's so precious about Rayray is that these aren't just words on a page or her attempt to say what she thinks her parents want to hear. The overflow of her heart inspired these words. She lives this. To the young man who may one day seek to win her heart: You will receive a priceless treasure and if you do not realize that, then you aren't "the one." =================================================== What Purity is to Me July 12 Before I begin, I’m going to go ahead and let you all know that this is my opinion. Feel free to disagree and post a comment about what you don’t agree with. But I’m not getting into any kind of debate, so I won’t be responding to any comments. Again, this is my point of view and what I believe it means to be pure. Purity is more than just wearing a purity ring and saying “I am going to keep my body from evil.” It is more than waiting ...

All I did was blink. And we went from  here.... to here.... in one 7 year fell swoop.  Seven pounds to seven years in the blink of an eye. Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Doodle : Remember when Rayray made a purse out of juice pouches? The Boy: Maybe one day you can knit yourself a purse with your own juice pouches. Me : You don't knit juice pouches together, you sew them. Doodle : Mama, why haven't you ever taught me how to knit? I have two knitting sticks and am ready to go! Me : Because I don't know how to knit that good. We'll have to get Mema to teach you. The Boy : Well, Mama, when you get to be an old lady you will know how to knit because allll  old ladies can knit!   And you can knit me a warm, fluffy sweater with love in every stitch!! Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a sitcom.

The Boy, age 10, came to me as I was finishing up dinner tonight and asked with sincerity, "Mama, can you get me some of that stuff I can spray on my skin to make me smell like a MAN?" This morning, I started school by asking the littles, "What is that smell!?" I had them each close their eyes and sniff whatever it was I waved under their noses. I had honeysuckle blossoms from the yard, apple pie spice from the kitchen, the BBW lotion I use every night, the body spray their teen sister uses, and the menthol chest rub (that stunk up the entire juvenile end of the house last night bc of all their COUGHING!). Anyway, all were very familiar scents to them. Then we read and talked about these verses... 2 Corinthians 2:14, 15, 17 says: In Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those being saved and  among those pe...

We have a precious new friend. Her name is Jenny . She's a young wife and mother to a beautiful baby girl. She's also the very real, transparent, and talented lead singer for Addison Road . And...Addison Road just so happens to be our most favorite band. And we just so happened to drive 5 hours to see them in concert a few days ago. Awhile back, we watched a 20/20 show on country teen star Taylor Swift. Camera crews went backstage with her before one of her concerts where we saw a plush lounge area set up complete with fully stocked snack bar, expensive furniture and candles lit for a luxurious, relaxing place to wait until time to go on stage to sing. Let's just say this isn't exactly the same picture for our Addison Road. Traveling on the road for months at a time in a borrowed tour bus with the baby...setting up their own equipment.....eating Ramen Noodles before a concert?  No, not the lap of luxury by any stretch of the imagination. So why do they do it? Is...

Inside today's egg was a silver chalice. (aka a cup.) First we discussed the first Passover as recorded in Exodus. And how the Jewish still celebrate a passover meal each year. One day, we are going to have a full passover meal at our house. Rayray is fascinated with Jewish tradition and one of our favorite movies is Fiddler on the Roof. I digress. Jesus and the disciples were in Jerusalem during and for Passover. They went to the Upper Room and together had what is now known as The Last Supper. After washing the disciples feet in a most humble act of servant-leader, they had their passover dinner. Communion. The Lord's Supper. The broken bread symbolizes Jesus body, broken for our sins. The wine symbolizes Jesus blood, spilt to cover our sins. The Blood of the Lamb. I did a study a few years ago that fascinated me on broken bread and poured out wine .  In Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest" devo book, the phrase kept popping up over and over. I deci...

The pink egg. Such a fun colored egg with such a heartbreaking symbol inside. Today - 3 pieces of silver representing the 30 pieces of silver Judas bargained for in return for turning over Jesus to the Jewish leaders. Matthew 24:14-16 is the scripture reference. Betrayal. A betrayal is a violation of a friendship. A break of trust. Being unfaithful. Disloyal. A breach in confidence. To deliver into the hands of an enemy in violation of a trust or allegiance, as in the case with Judas. After discussing the judgmental, selfish, prideful religious leaders and their hatred of Jesus and Judas' ultimate betrayal, our discussion took a different turn. Was Judas forgiven of his betrayal? We didn't get into a deep theological discussion about this issue...But I touched on a couple of things to ponder. First, Jesus knew what Judas was up to before it ever happened. It was an ultimate betrayal, but no surprise. Secondly, even Judas, who committed the ultimate betrayal, is...

It's time to pull out or Resurrection Eggs. We've been using our eggs to anticipate and celebrate the Easter season for at least ten years now. I say Easter season instead of Easter DAY because there's so much more to learn and talk about than one day can afford. We use our eggs kinda like we do our Advent celebration at Christmas....except we don't light them up like the Advent candles or anything..... Day 1 - The Donkey. Our scripture: Matthew 21:1-11....When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey....and the people laid their coats and palm branches for Him to ride over. In those days, when a king rode in on a donkey, it meant he was coming in peace, not war. The King of Kings rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to bring peace, hope and forgiveness to His people. Yes, he knew what was coming later in the week....but the Prince of Peace wanted the people to know how much He loved them. He wanted them....and us, today, to know that our sins are forgiven and as we tru...

We are just finishing a little study on the history of the American flag. The kids did an easy and fun American Flag Wall Hanging today. I got the directions here and with a little tweaking , we ended up with some really nice flags for very little cost. It's a perfect example of how a hands-on activity can help cement what they learn....they painted on the 50 stars themselves, counted and measured the 13 stripes, etc. While we're on the subject, I have to give a shout-out to my current favorite homeschooling website. Lesson Pathway s. And imagine my sheer delight to find that it's now free. I had a year's free, anyway, bc I am a beta tester but now everybody is free all the time!! They've taken the best websites and divided them into subjects and grades. If you have no books whatsoever but have internet access you can almost teach solely from this site. So...go check out Lesson Pathways if you're a homeschool mom OR dad. And God Bless The USA!!!!

The girls were in a horse show recently  and I wanted to share. It was SO SO SO windy and cold!! But in spite of the weather and the fact they haven't been a part of a show in a year, maybe two, the girls did so so good! They were both so beautiful on Val, and both seem to have inherited  their horse riding/showing talent.....  from their Daddy's side. I am afraid of large animals. Shhh. Don't tell anybody. Miss Doodle won the blue ribbon! Woohoo!! Ok, ok, ok. She was in the Leadline class with all the little bity cute ones and they gave them all a blue ribbon and a  bouquet of bunny suckers.  Miss Rayray won 2nd place in two academy classes and she won 3rd in the championship class. Remember I said she hasn't shown in a year or two? We were like.....WOW! She also doesn't get to ride and practice much either  since we live 3.5 hours from Granny and Granddaddy who own the stables.  So......I'm thinking if she was able to ride everysingleday, the o...

Recently, I was in Winn-Dixie near the produce section. In walked one of my most favorite of all people, my Daddy. He looked a bit bewildered because Winn-Dixie is absolutely not his element like the local hardware store would be. I stood quietly, watching him glance at the people milling about. Soon enough, his eyes found mine. He did a double-take as realization hit, and I watched his face transform into that all-familiar precious smile reserved just for me. It didn't matter that I had just seen him the day before. He was so happy to see his baby girl. I took a mental picture of his precious countenance.  On my way home, with groceries in tow, I thought about him, his special smile, how much he loves me...I am special to him. I'm his only daughter. His baby girl. I'm 41. But still his baby girl and he is always happy to see me. I know I haven't been a "sheer delight" to him. I'm quite sure I have disappointed and upset him many times growing up. But he...

We have a special treat this week!!!! Chinadoll and her sweet big sister who is Appledoodle's declared bestsisterfriend are spending the week with us. Lots and lots of giggling in the house....with scattered pink sparkly things, hula hoops, jump ropes, pollypockets, and all things princess! I think The Boy had just about had it by last night with all the girlies. I went to check on him before bed and he had rigged some sort of trap just inside his door. Oh, I wish I had a picture! Try to imagine about 30 colorful thumb tacks stuck into his carpet with a woven web of red thread. I guess his motion sensor alarm wasn't enough. Three Little Valentines Cute attack! The boy made us drop and give him 20 push ups! Snuggled up on a rainy day, watching Curious George Three Pinkie Pies having school together! Buhlessss him. CHEEEEEEZ! Wagon ride at Papa's! Just plain cute!! Sweet C's turn on the zip line swing! China Doll...zipping along! DQ with family fri...

Haiti. I can't imagine any one seeing the desperate need in Haiti today...the faces of the children, the women, the men....and not feeling a deep compassion and desire to help. A heart FOR the people of Haiti. My brother and his family spent a few years in Haiti as missionaries. He has been back several times and I fully expect him to return....sooner rather than later. His heart is for Haiti. Therefore, my heart is for the people of Haiti. My sisterfriend adopted a little girl from China last year. I feel like Chinadoll is part mine bc we were so involved in the process of bringing her home. My friend's heart is for adoption. Therefore, my heart is tender towards orphans and adoption. I was RIVETED, bordering on OBSESSED and a Googling maniac with the unfolding events surrounding the Haitian orphans of BRESMA and the McMutrie sisters. Forever families not just in the USA but in other countries had adoptions in progress with these 150 children. I can not imagine the rollercoas...