Happy Turkey-day!!!

Well, it is finally here.... Thanksgiving.....I am stuffed to the gills. One dinner down... one to go. I went to Mr.Clean's family dinner today at lunch time. And tonight we go to my family dinner. I will fast for the remainder of the week and exercise diligently to undo the damage I've done today....Nah... I don't have the self discipline for that.

I took two new recipes today. Well, one is a revamped old recipe. The revamped one was potato casserole..it has hashbrown, cheese, sour cream, and cream of mushroom. I decided to add some bacon to it. I love loaded potatoes or cheese fries with bacon. I don't eat them, but maybe once a year if that, but I sure do love 'em. The bacon made it so much better. I might experiment next time with adding a little ranch mix or dressing. I am determined to have a recipe of my own that everyone begs me to bring. (I am the youngest sister in law, so everyone else has there 'thing' that they do best and bring already.)

The other thing that I took was a peppermint patty cake. I don't like peppermint patties, personally, but Mr. Clean does. I just used a really decadent recipe for chocolate cake and then put a mixture of cool whip, chocolate pudding and some peppermint extract between the layers. Then I iced it with chocolate icing with peppermint extract mixed in and then just garnished the outside with chopped up peppermint patties. It was a huge hit. Next time I might use Andes mints instead of the peppermint patties. They were sticky and hard to chop up even when they were cold.

Enough food talk.... In the spirit of Thanksgiving I'm going to do a top ten list.
What I am thankful for.....

1. God and His plan for salvation ( I could go on and on here.) His mercy, kindness... the fact that He created the universe and everything in it an yet He still wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. The fact that He loved us so much even though we are sinful and flawed that He sent His only begotten Son to come to earth and go thru temptations and suffer and ultimately die on a cross for our sins.

2. My wonderful hubby. Each day I love him more and more. He is such a good man and loving husband and terrific father to our boys and great provider.

3. My wild and rambuncious little boys. They are the light of my life. They are so much work, but it is so worth every minute of it and every 'sacrifice' that I've ever made. I can't imagine my life without them. They have been a true blessing from God. He has used them to bring my closer to Him and understand Him more.

4.Our health. My hubby, kids, and I have been blessed with good health. I am so appreciative of the fact that we are all well.

5. My friends and extended family. It is such a blessing to have so many people that care about me and that I care about. I think about how lonely people must be when they have no family.

6. My home. Our home is a really old home and its really small.... but its cozy, warm, and homey. We have a brand new couch that I have been wanting for a few years now. So we have a great new place to pile up with the kids and read.... and in a few weeks watch all of the old Christmas movies on ABC family channel.

7.My mini-van. I am so thankful that we were able to get a van after the birth of #2. It has made my life so much easier. I could nurse and change diapers in the car. Mr. Clean's parents are old and not able to drive themselves. Now that we have the van, we have room for them and us. And that makes it so much easier for them.

8. My church. I am so thankful that we go to a great church and have a great pastor. We have so many friends that have kids the same age as ours that we've met thru church. Our church has given me the oppertunity to teach a women's group and I love every minute of it.

9. Our neighbors. We live in a great neighborhood where everyone looks out for each other. And all of our neighbors are friendly.

10. I am thankful that I was born and raised here in the mountains and that I am still able to live here. These mountains are a comfort to me. When we go on vacation, even though I enjoy it, when we drive up the interstate and the flat lands start to roll and I see those big, beautiful mountains in the distance.... I know everything is okay and that I am home. I have seen lots of beautiful places, but none I would trade for the Appalachian mountains.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. And may God bless you.

blogger beta

I switched over to the blogger beta the other day. I like it, but it just makes it way to easy to change my blog template. I have dial up internet, unfortunately... so it is pretty darn slow. But now it takes just a few seconds to change the colors and the template. Not good. I am extremely indecisive. I may have a different looking blog every day.

Christmas Plans

The holidays are upon us. I can already feel the pressure mounting. I am doing better each year about getting rid of things that don't work for our family and adding in more traditions that do. Some of this tweeking is a little upsetting to extended family, but....that's the way the cookie crumbles.

This year I think our Christmas Eve tradition of going to my grandparent's house is going to get the ax. I have given it alot of thought and I really think that it is for the best. My grandma passed away four years ago and my grandpa hasn't decorated or had the meal at his house since. It is now at my mom's house. We don't usually get home until late and the kids wake up cranky on Christmas morning. --We are going to invite my grandpa down for a special dinner of his own with us on the 23rd that we still get to see him.

This year we are going to stay at home and start a tradition of our own. We are going to make a special meal. Not really sure what... but something out of the ordinary for the kids so it will be memorable. And then we are going to read the Christmas story and talk about the true meaning of Christmas. I am determined to put Christ back as the focus of our Christmas. I would like to find a Christmas cartoon or something of that nature that we could pile up and watch.

We have also added another new tradition this year on tree decorating day. This year we are going to buy each of the boys a new ornament that symbolizes something that has been important to them and let them open them at the end of decorating. So that will be the last ornament on the tree.

I am also looking for an advent calendar or coloring book or something of that nature so that we can talk about something Christmas related each day leading up to Christmas. I am going to use it instead of the devotional that I usually use with the kids each day.

I am really looking foward to Christmas this year. Despite some ruffled feathers, I think it will be the best Christmas ever.

watching a train wreck from the sidelines

There is nothing I hate worse than watching someone I love make very bad decisions. I wish sometimes that I could just let younger girls spend a day in my head and learn from some of the completely stupid mistakes that I have made.

I know that my mistakes aren't for nothing... I, at least, have learned from them. But man, its been a long, hard road to get to where I am today. It just kills me to see someone else starting out on that road. I have a relative that just turned 18 and she quit school and she's in love with a guy that may not be so great for her. Not that he is a bad guy, its just that he doesn't seem very mature. I understand the attraction.... believe me. That whole no one pays attention to you so the first guy that really shows you any interest at all you latch onto for dear life and pray that it never ends I get it. That was me at that age.

Its funny to think back on my first 'real' relationship... I say that with a hint of sarcasm. He was a complete idiot. I say that in the very nicest way possible. But at the time, I thought that he was the greatest. I even accepted an engagement ring from him at the tender age of 19. eeekkk... I would never survive raising a daughter.

At the time I thought that our love would never end and that he was my everything. But life has a way of happening and eventually I woke up and realized that he wasn't even close to my anything... much less my everything.

At that age I thought I was so smart and so mature. But in retrospect... sitting here at the ripe ole age of 31 I see just how childish I still was. Not not mention niave and oblivious. I didn't have a clue. I don't think I really started to even get a clue until I was in my late 20's. And even now I am sure that when I am 40, I'll look back at 30 and think, 'man, look how much further I've come.' Its just a shame that you can't take some of your maturity and experience and transplant it into someone else.

I guess when you are watching a train wreck from the sidelines all you can do is pray. So that is what I will do. I know that God got thru to me....eventually. And that all things are possible with Him.


(....all you can do is pray.... I guess my own lack of faith or whatever you would call it shows thru sometimes. When I reread my post and saw that statement, I realized how foolish I can be. I said it like that is a last resort when I have ran out of human options then I'll go to God. God is still working on me. That should be my first response and my most important response to any situation. )

....

If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our
power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: Intercession is a way of
loving others.--Richard J. Foster

gotta pee?

A couple of days ago I took the kids to town to run some errands. We had been on the go all morning long and I really had not given much thought to the fact that the Banimal had not gone to the bathroom ALL morning long. (Even though I strive to be SUPER MOM, I am far from it) We were loading the groceries in the car and getting ready to head home when the Banimal started doing the pee-dance. You know, hopping back and forth from one foot to the other and yelling in a whiney tone of voice....'MMMMMOOOOOMMMMM, I've gotta ppppeeeeeee!!!'

Okay, okay, I get it. I knew he was in critical condition and time was limited. I turned around to unfasten Pterydactyl boy and take him out of his carseat. I knew we were going to have to haul it to make it all the way to the back of the grocery store where the bathrooms were located. When I got him out and looked back at the Banimal, he already had his pants around his ankles and his little willey was shining for the world to see.

I calmed down and thought, 'okay.. this isn't that bad... he is just a little boy... no big deal...' But just as I was thinking 'no big deal' he started to pee.... unfortunately we were parked right next to the buggy drop off and the Banimal was whizzing all over the buggies. Due to the fact that he had held it ALL morning, he had quite a little stream going. So he was able to wet both lines of buggies.

There were a couple of little old ladies staring with their mouths wide open. I was just standing there like an idiot holding Pteradactyl boy. What could I do at that point? The damage was done.

I learned several things that morning that I don't intend to forget.
1. No matter what is going on..... always ask the Banimal if he needs to pee every hour on the hour when we are out.
2. Always wipe down the grocery cart with the antibacterial wipes provided at the store.
3. Even though I will wipe the buggy down.... I will always put my produce in a bag before putting it in the buggy.