My girls

My daughters mean the world to me. I have some of the loveliest little girls you will ever lay your eyes on. They are swet as sugar too!

I am not just bragging but my little girls are very, very well behaved. They mind exceptionally well and they are polite. Now they have their moments like all children but for the most part they are little angels.

They love to help out around the house and I make it a point to have them help in the kitchen. They love to cook. Cleaning up is a challenge but I have found that they reflect my attitude. If I make it fun and smile then they will smile while they are doing it and have a grand time!

My babies are just darling. They really aren't babies anymore at 5 and 10 going on 6 and 11 but they will ALWAYS be my babies. I love to see them learn and see something for the first time. If you give your children a chance they will surprise you at how willing they are to learn new things.

Both of my girls are very good students. The oldest is an award winning student and I am certain that the youngest will follow in her shoes. They have a thrill for learning that amazes me. When I was little I don't have the wonderful memories of my parents sitting down with me everynight and helping me, watching me, checking my work and just being excited about the new things I am learning. When my children get a new pace (workbook) at school they are so excited to share it with me! The first thing I hear when I walk in the door is "Mom I have a new pace come and look at it with me!".

Make it exciting for them! Show them you are excited too!

Their daddy is awesome too. Right now as I type this I have the dining room window open and I hear the three of them out back playing HORSE with the basketball. They are learning to take turns and play but most of all they are learning that daddy loves them very very much!

I don't remember my parents playing outside with me like that. I am so glad that we spend time just being with our girls. I know that they will look back on their childhood and remember happy times.

Like this past weekend. We went to a benefit dinner which didn't work out well at all so we left very shortly after arriving. So we took the girls out to Beef OBrady's with one of the oldest's friends from church. To make it extra special we went to see The Jonas Brothers in concert at the movies....yes even daddy went! That is a lotta lovin when a grown man will sit through a Jonas Brothers Concert for his baby girls and listen to them say "OH I love Joe Jonas!" "Isn't he just dreamy dad?" Hee Hee

But after the concert movie we both got a big ole hug and a "that was the best movie ever! thanks mom and dad!" You're welcome babies....you're welcome!

Recently a person I know was arrested for DUI and had children in the car. I simply don't understand what is happening to mothers now a days! I honestly just can't fathom not wanting to spend time with your children, not wanting to be with them every moment you can. I have a cousin who spends zero time with her children...well except to use them as pawns to get money, etc. If you know me then you know that when I am not at work I have my babies beside me. Every once in a while I will go out on a date with the girls or with my husband but it is very rare. I enjoy just being with my family. I love them so very much.

Being a mom is awesome. It is the biggest high you will ever get. Mom's who are searching for something else in a bottle or a smoke or a needle....boy they are missing out. The best high is right there looking up at you with those big brown eyes and smiling with an I love you that lights up their entire face. You show them love and they will show you love right back. You show them happiness and they will show you happiness right back. Show them a smile and they will smile right back.

Mom's wake up! Love those husbands and love those babies.

It is the best thing in the world!

Ah...today is going to be a wonderful day here in KY! We are finally going to see some springtime!!! It is going to hit nearly 80 degrees today.

I have so many things going on today. I just finished eating a yummy breakfast with my family of eggs, bacon and pancakes. I will clean up this mess and then do a fast quick-clean of the house. The kind of clean that tricks people into thinking you have just finished cleaning your house.

After that I have to go into the rec room of the basement (which has not been put back together since the most recent flood- it was cleaned just not put back together) and get the photography studio set up and get the lighting just right because tomorrow I have a photo shoot here.

After I get all of that done I have to order volleyball pix for a photo shoot I did a few weeks ago and organize some paperwork.

Oh and somewhere up between those things I mentioned I have to go get my oldest who stayed with a friend last night. At least then I will get to go outside and enjoy a moment or two of the sunshine!

At 6 we have to go to a benefit dinner and auction which will take up most of our evening.

Ah so it may be a nice day outside but as usual, I will be too busy to enjoy it!

.....I think I will go open all the windows now!

Recipe Misers

Come to my house and I will treat you to coconut cream pie, the best meatloaf this side of forever and baked beans that will make you jump up and smack your momma. Those are just a few of the foods that I consider my "signature dishes". I have more as most ladies and all mommas do but these are the ones at the top of my head right now.
For example on Derby day at the Mattingly's you will get a big ol slice of my version of the ever famous Derby Pie but mine is called First Saturday in May Pie (like you can't figure that one out). Also on Derby you can join me in my authentic mint julep. YUMMY!
Mother's Day is the day for deviled eggs with my own little "twist" on them.
Christmas will get you a big ole double stacked angel kiss cookie. Once you eat one of these delicious, calorie packed little goodies you will love me so much you will want to marry me!
Thanksgiving finds me making my yummy extra juicy turkey and my families favorite broccoli casserole.
Okay now that I am officially starving let me get to the point....when you taste any of these goodies and simply HAVE to have that recipe. Well all you gotta do is ASK! After all my recipes are nothing short of someone else's recipe that I have tinkered with here and there to make it my own. I am happy to share my recipe with you and I find it a sweet compliment that you would even ask. Why would I want to hourde all of that goodness just for my kitchen. Why should my hands be the only ones to prepare it? Wouldn't more people get their bellies blessed if I were to share it with my friend, neighbor, or even aquaintance?
Oh but there are those out there who don't feel this way. I like to call them recipe misers. I visited my friend Ruth Ann's blog and that is what possessed me to post on this today. It has been on my mind lately anyway what with the church cookbook in the works and recipes fresh on my mind.
Recently my pastor's wife asked an aunt of mine for her apple pie recipe. Well she was told no, that she didn't share her recipes. Ha! I find that so crazy! I don't care if it is great, great, great grandmother's recipe that she scribed while riding the boat over the the new world from Italy....if it is in my personal recipe collection....it is yours. I mean for Pete's sake....who cares! What you think that by giving it out you are divulging some deep dark secret from your family tree? Or perhaps by giving it out you have disgraced the ancestor that handed it done? PUHLEEZE!!!! Come on now what it really means is by giving out that precious recipe of yours....that you wouldn't be the only one that would be able to make it! OH NO....I SAID IT didn't I ....hit the nail on the head! Your glory would be gone!!!
Oh dear little recipe miser..... don't you realize that your glory is nothing? You are only allowed to make that recipe and it turn out so wonderfully and taste so absolutely yummy but by the grace of God. It is HIS glory....not yours.
But it is my great grandmother's recipe! But I slaved over a hot stove in the kitchen getting this recipe right! But it has been passed down from me through many generations! But it has never been put out to anyone outside of my family!
But But But.....oh come on shellfish! What glory do you really get by being so darn selfish? It is just a recipe. A chemical alteration of ingredients. A scientific formula. And not yours really anyway.
So that is my soap box today. If you have those recipes that only your eyes can see...why?
Wouldn't it glorify more people if you allowed more ladies to share it with their family and friends in their kitchen. I mean for heaven's sake if you simply must you can stick your name in front of the title and name it Aunt "name removed to protect the innocent" 's Apple Pie
:-) Have a good day friends!

Working Mom

Well the word is in and I will not be able to take the severance. I will continue to be a working mom.
For those of you out there who are there with me....you know how hard it is. You get up in the morning at the butt crack of dawn and try to fit in a little alone time with yourself. Maybe you exercise or try to catch up on the news. Then you get in the shower, get dressed for work, get the kids up and dressed and then you feed them breakfast. You try to fit in a little housework and then out the door you go. You hurry the kids to school, we pray and read the Bible in the car on the way. You drop the kids off and silently pray another prayer that they will be safe and properly cared for your absence. You trust someone else to teach your child and take care of them for the 8+ hours you will be away from them. Then it is off to work. You change "hats" and put on the business woman hat. In the office you go. You answer a hundred emails every morning and the phone starts ringing with this problem and then that problem that needs your immediate attention. You work and work and work. Your brain is ready to burst! If you and your family have doctor and dentist appointments that need to be made you try to sneak that in at your desk by calling the offices in between the other calls that are coming and going. You pay your bills and balance your checkbook on your small 30 minute lunch break. You try to fit in anything you can during the few breaks you get during the day. Never taking the breaks or lunches to actually relax. If the cars need repair you also try to arrange those from your desk as well. You use your personal days and vacation days not for the purpose they were intended but to fulfill these appointments at the dentist, doctor, mechanic, etc. At 5PM, if you are lucky, you have finished your work at your desk and you can leave the office. On the way home you must stop to get gas, milk, bread,etc. You walk in the door at home and are met immediately with the what's for dinners, help me with my homework, and the "honey did you call and take care of that one thing for me today?". Ah....you get all the answers taken care of as you hurriedly try to prepare something, healthy, fast, easy, frugal and tasty for your family. Several times you find yourself shedding a couple of tears because there just isn't enough of you. By the time you get supper on the table it is at least 6:30. Now if there is a game or practice or church or somewhere else thing you have to be at....well you somehow juggle this faster to get there on time. You eat and try your very best to put your most beautiful smile on your face as you talk with your family about their day. After all even though you work....you want them to know that you love them and are concerned about their day. No one asks about yours....but that is okay....afterall you are the mom. Then you clean up the supper dishes, pack tomorrow's lunches....as the children complain that they don't want that for lunch. You sweep the house, clean the bathroom, put away the laundry, and then it is time for baths. You get jammies out and toothbrushes ready. Help them all get ready for bed and then you realize that you didn't watch any special movie with them, or play a game with them yet. So you sigh deeply and pray that God will give you just a little more manna because your day isn't over yet. You smile, snuggle and play for awhile and realize that the kids must go to bed if they are going to be worth anything the next morning. So off to bed you send them with kisses, prayers and if you are blessed that day....a story. You put your own jammies on take the animals out for one last time before bed. You make sure everything is locked up tight and you layout some meat for tomorrow's dinner. You go and crawl in beside your already sleeping husband and try to relax but then you realize that you forgot to call that friend who is sick. You jump up and lay out an extra meal to fix for your sick friend's family and realize that in the morning you must get up a little earlier to fix their dinner as well. As you walk by your child's homework is sitting out so you check that and note any problems to go over with her in the morning. You realize that you didn't put make any laundry detergent and your are almost out so you grate soap and get all the ingredients together. You boil and stir and mix and ta dah you have laundry detergent to sit out overnight so it will be ready for the next day's wash. You lay out ingredients to make bread tomorrow and feed your sourdough starter. Now you are ready for bed. You crawl back in the bed utterly exhausted only to find that hubby has woke up and....well you pray for even more manna from heaven as your day isn't quite over yet.

For us working mothers everywhere....let us pray for strength from heaven.

Change may be coming!

Well I did it! I put in for the severance package at work. Now it doesn't mean I will get it but there is a good chance I will.
How are we going to make it? I don't know....but God does.
What am I going to do? Well first and foremost stay home with my girls. After this year of school I will homeschool them. We are also going to take those foster parenting classes we have felt called to take for awhile.
I want to open my home to medically fragile foster children.
Pray for us and these decisions come in our life. Pray that God's will be done.

Right now I just finished making about 60 peanut butter no bake cookies, two big batches of super moist brownies and one large batch of deluxe loaded brownies to take for a friend's daugher's wedding. Whew I am pooped. I have ran ever since getting off work. I picked up my jeep from the mechanic - yah new tires- then came home and started baking.

The diet is going well. I have lost 13lbs. I need to loose at least 10 more. I only have two more weeks to do it in. I don't think I will make goal. But at least I have lost some. It was really hard this time as my body just fought me every step of the way.

Valentine's Day and lots of love for my family!

Ah Valentine's Day! A day just to show you love someone. How wonderful is that?!

Well yesterday hubby and I went up to Huber's Orchard and Winery, just the two of us!!! We did a wine tasting in the attic of the winery and then we were off to lunch at Huber's Family Farm Restaurant. We went back to the winery for a little while and spent a few bucks at the country farm market. It was a wonderful day spent together.

Last night hubby, the kids and I watched Evan Almighty and ate some yummy valentine goodies. Such a sweet day it was.

I love my family so much! They mean everything to me.

Here are a few pix that I have taken recently. Some of the ice and some of oldest daughter playing vollyball. Enjoy!

Big Ol' Full to the Brim Saturday!!!!

Today is going to be a CRAZY day!!!! We have SOOOO many things to do today that I honestly don't think I will get done. But I know that God doesn't give me more than I can do in one day. So as soon as I finish posting a note on here I am off to begin my Saturday morning chores.
First I have to clean the kitchen, straighten the entire house, sweep and mop all the floors and clean the bathroom. I have been doing laundry by hand for the last week because my washer blew up.....boy the washing isn't hard but trying to wring out the water....whew.....it just wears me out. When I get a new washing machine I will probably marry it. I won't have time to do laundry today though.
I also have to straighten the pantry today.....when you pull something out it all falls around you. Something just has to be done there. However I am so blessed that my pantry is full. God is good!
Hubby has to go move furniture for my mamaw and papaw. They are moving into an assisted living home. It is really nice and we are so happy for them. They are excited and that is important. He only has a couple of hours that he will be available because he has to be back home at 12 to get ready for the ballgame.
Yep let's throw an AWAY volleyball game in there today. And not just a little away A LOT AWAY. About an hour drive there and back. I won't be able to attend the game with hubby and the girls.....because.....
Add in a wedding today. Yep at 2 I have to be at the church to help my friend Dottie get ready for her wedding at 4. Then after that is the reception and hopefully not too long into the reception hubby and the girls will show up.
The reception is going to be a good time but I won't be able to stay real long. There is still too much to do at home. So anyway hopefully you will have more of a restfull Saturday then I will.
Oh well....idle hands are the devil's workshop. No idle hands today!!!

Power Outage, Ice Storm, Family Staying over and more...

Whew! It has been a crazy few days! We have had a huge ice storm here in KY. We lost power Tuesday night and it just came back on at about 2 today. We are a complete electric house so it has been an adventure. WE have a generator because we have to keep our sump pump going. We were able to hook up a TV to the generator so we could watch the news, etc. We also had a kerosene heater and it did a really good job. I cooked all of our meals on top of that kerosene heater. I have fixed beef stroganoff, chicken dumplings, and more on that heater. We have not gone hungry.
God has truly blessed us during this storm. We have had heat, a few lights from the generator, food and clothing. So many people in this area have not been so blessed. Many are in shelters or hotel rooms. We are so thankful for all that we have been given.
My grandma and grandpa are staying with us. Their house has been damaged and is unliveable. They were trying to heat with a kerosene heater and something went wrong and it smoked out there entire house. They have soot everywhere.
Well I have to go. I will blog more tomorrow.

Veggie Stew and Snow on the way

Mmmmmmm.....I just finished a bowl of yummy veggie stew and a corn muffin. It has warmed me all the way to my toes. Which is a good thing since it is SO cold here in KY. We are in a winter storm warning and it is to start coming in at 10 PM and stay until Wednesday.
The kids have already been told....no school tomorrow. They have brought their paces and goals home for a homeschooling day tomorrow.

Usually I am not home from work yet but they gave me and another gal in my team a lack of work at 1PM. I was able to come home, eat a quick salad, shave the dog, trim the dog, bathe the dog, clean myself back up, fix veggie stew and cornbread, and eat with my family....and it is only 4:30! Wow....if only I could be a SAHM....I could accomplish so much for my family.

I know they will offer the severance again at work....at least I think they will. I have crunched the numbers, crunched the numbers, and crunched the numbers some more....but I just can't get end a to meet up with end b on just my husband's income. I will keep praying and keep trying. If it is in God's will then a way will be made.

I have put my quick recipe for veggie stew and cornmuffins below....

1 lb of ground turkey browned with 1 medium onion diced. Add 4 carrots cubed and 2 T fresh ground pepper. As that is browning nicely chop up 1 head of cabbage and three potatoes. Add this to the browned meat mixture in the large pot. Next add 4 cans of stewed tomatoes, 3 cans of corn, a cup of beef stock, salt and more ground pepper to taste. Let it all cook together with cover on pot until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Meanwhile mix a package of corn muffin mix according to package directions and add one can of corn. Cook in muffin pan until done.

Serve soup hot with corn muffins. Yummy! And good for you too!!! The kids and hubby gobbled it right down.

Well stay warm and as we say in Kentucky, Be Careful.... hee hee that would be my stab at American Idol judges for their craziness towards the KY hillbilly that told them to Be Careful. We all say Be Careful in Kentucky....it is just what we do.

Snow SnowSnow

As I sit here this afternoon catching up with you on blogworld, I have a clear view out my large bay window of the snowflakes falling on our little piece of Kentucky Bluegrass. When the cold winter came, my barrier of leaves that separate me from the interstate left. So behind the beautiful snowflakes I see the cars, trucks and semis speeding down the interstate. My view out my front is not the greatest but I find it calming to me. It is almost mesmerizing to watch those vehicles go by...over and over again. I can just stare and not have to think. I enjoy it. Don't get me wrong I would rather be staring out my front window at my field full of cattle but so is my lot in life....the semis. Every once in a while someone will come off the exit ramp...we live RIGHT on the exit ramp....and blow their horn wishing me a happy hello. Since we got our new windows put in we really don't hear them unless we are at the far side of the house and even then it is difficult. But when I am outside I hear them loud and clear.
Anyway, back to the snow. It is falling so beautifully and slowly. Isn't God good? He blesses us with beauty through all the seasons....even winter. When all of the lovely colors of nature have closed up and fallen asleep and the world seems dead and cold....God will cheer us up by giving us a beautiful shower of white flakes to watch fall. Thank you Jesus for reminding me that there is beauty in everything.
It has been terribly cold here in KY this week. I mean not north Michigan cold but cold nonetheless. I don't like cold. For that matter I don't like hot either. You just give me my spring and fall and I am a happy camper. I like it to have a little nip in the air....maybe that you would wear a sweatshirt with your shorts....now that is my kind of weather. The kind where you go camping and actually enjoy it outdoors during the day and then at night you have to lite a fire because it is just a little chilly. That is my kind of weather.
Speaking of camping we made our first reservations of the year! Yahoo...now that is a sign that this cold will come to an end...eventually. We have two weekends coming up in May that will find us happy rolling along the interstate with our home on wheels hitched up behind us. We will head to the lake. There we will sit and eat and sit and eat and stroll then sit and eat. I don't expect it to the warm enough to get in the lake but in KY....well you just never know.
Today I feel a little gloomy. I have the old Jan blues. I enjoyed the weekend but Monday is coming sooner than I anticipated or wanted. Work, work, work. Is there ever an end? Yes, one day there will be. One day when my Father comes to take me home....then I will rest. Until then I will keep on working and remembering every step I take is one step closer to sweet rest in the arms of my Father. Ahhhh I await on baited breath.
These times we are living in now are tough, very tough. And my dears they are just going to get worse. I must say that our comfortable lives we are used to are coming to a screeching halt. But don't be afraid!!!! It all must happen to give birth to the coming of Christ. We should be happy,rejoicing. Knowing what the world does not....that He is coming and this all must happen before he does. So REJOICE oh child of Christ. Know that He is near!!! Don't loose sight of the goal. Press onward!!! Now is the time that you need to be focusing on winning people to Him. Time is near. Get yourself and your family back into church if you have fallen out....get yourself and your family back into family devotions, family prayer, and Biblical training. Do not be lukewarm!!! Either be hot or cold!!!! I pray that you are hot...are on fire for Christ. Time is short...repent now and live for Him. There will be a day....soon....when ever knee will bow....but blessed are those who CHOOSE to bow now!!!
Oh Lord I pray that you will help me through each day. Help me to be a good wife and a good mother but most of all help me to show your love in my life to all those who are hurting. "I was thirsty and you gave me drink, hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me"....I am not doing that now....help me Lord for I know that if I do it to the least of these, I have done it to you.
May God bless you today. May He show you His beauty. We may be in the cold of winter but....spring....lovely spring is on the way...in more ways than one.