Sweet Words

Jack gave this to me a few weeks ago...



As any mother would understand, the misspelled words do not bother me a bit. The love and sentiment warm my heart.

I give love freely to my children. I do it because I want to...I love loving them. I love them without expecting anything in return; but it is a wonderful moment when some of that love boomerangs back to you. In moments like this my heart overflows and I do nothing to stem the tide.

I did not create my children, but God used me to help bring them to this earthly life. And though I am older, wiser and smarter-and although it is I who helps to meet and care for their daily needs-and regardless of the fact that in all honesty they have given me more work and responsibilty than I have ever had before-I find it all joyfully rewarding and fulfilling as I enjoy their praise, love-and most of all-their presence.

I would gladly sacrifice more to enjoy the charges God has given to my husband and I.

All that to say...

I wonder if this is how God looks at me.

I have nothing to offer Him.

I have caused Him a great deal of work. (Have you seen what my sin has done to this world?)

I have caused Him a great deal of heartache. ( My sin put His Son through Calvary.)

Yet, He loves to hear my praise. I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Psalm 116:1

He thinks about me all the time. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Psalm 139:17-18

He loves me with a love that no one can equal. He loves me when I give Him nothing back. He loves me with the most unselfish love I will ever experience. He created me uniquely special and wants my adoration and praise. No one can ever take my place in His heart. And He will go to great lengths to prove that unwavering, unconditional love.

And so today I say with the Psalmist, I will praise thee with my whole heart...

It is the least I can do.

I hope you will, too.

Thanks for stopping by,

Happy Birthday, Jack!

I know the picture is a bit grainy, but it is the last six year old photo I will ever take of this precious guy...


It truly is difficult to believe that Jack is 7!

All of our children are uniquely special and completely loved, but it is Jack's day and I will brag on him a bit.


One of our family slogans (there are many!) is "Everybody needs a Jack!" Jack has been a stabilizing force in our home. He has an infectious smile that wins over hearts. He has a chipmunk laugh--and I adore chipmunks! He is a comforter. It is hard to explain, but God has already used him several times to comfort those with heavy hearts. God has used our Jack already to help spread God's love. Those who know Jack best know exactly what I am talking about.


He is a cuddler. He loves to be outside. He loves G.I. Joes and Thomas the Tank. He adores his Dad. He strives to be just like Ricky. He is walking the tightrope between still needing some naps and carrying around his favorite blanket like his two younger brothers---and wanting to be "big" like Ricky and Ryan. He spends his days alternating his activities between the two sets of brothers. He is also easily persuaded by his sister when she wants a buddy to do something with.


He loves books. He also loves audio books. His favorite meal is soft tacos. The birthday cake he selected this year is a homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream cake-Yummy! He enjoys dressing up in cowboy attire.


He is happiest when those around him are happy.

He is our first child born in Maine. His best friends outside of the family are Leeann and Cheri. He will tell you that he is going to marry Leeann. And he has been saying that ever since he could first talk.


He loves to color and cut. He is trying to learn to ride his bike now that the training wheels are off. He loves to laugh, but thinks it is even better if you are laughing with him.

His eyes are very expressive. You know exactly what he is feeling and thinking by looking in his eyes. I never want to let a day pass without looking into those wonderful eyes and read what is going on in his heart.

Our family is so blessed to have this happy boy in our hearts and lives.


And Daddy and Mommy are forever grateful that God looked down seven years ago and realized that we needed- truly needed- a Jack.




Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Thanks for stopping by,

New Blog in Town!

I thought you might like to check out a wonderful new blog. It belongs to my gorgeous sister.

You can check it out here.

Let her know you dropped by...it will make her day!

Thanks for stopping by,

Praise God For Sundays!

It was another wonderful day in God's house. Sundays are so vital to my spiritual well being. I thrive in church. I love church. I am thankful to have spent my day in church.

The preaching all day was "spot on"--God challenged my heart on some specific items. I was able to sing today. I love to sing and thrill to be used of God in that way. We were able to have Bro. Domelle in our home for lunch. What an honor and privilege to be able to serve one of God's men.

We saw several old friends that we have not seen in a very long time. How fun to reconnect and take a stroll down memory lane.

A familiar Sunday afternoon sight...Joshua "reading" the newspaper after his nap. (Maybe he is checking his stocks??)

I have not had many pictures of Rachel lately and tried to remedy that...but this is what I got. Can you tell what she was reading today? (If you can't figure it out, don't tell me!) ;)
I tried again later when we were leaving for church...


Hope your Sunday was wonderful!

Thanks for stopping by,

I was working at my desk and glanced out the window to check on the children. I saw Jack in deep concentration sitting on our front steps. Hard to get a shot between the curtains and window panes-but I love this picture because I am deeply in love with this little guy. He turns 7 on Monday. So hard for me to believe!

We put Joshua in a robe after his bath...too cute! He tried to "hide" for this first picture...
...but I got him!
My rose bush has only produced two blooms. I have taken some pictures and my husband and I check our bush each day. He bought it as a surprise for me last year.

Today, one of my children picked a rose to bring to Mommy. Such a thoughtful gesture...but I did not want my rose inside. Oh, well! So, now there is one bloom on the bush. I took several photos of my "inside rose" while it was still fresh. It hardly has any stem at all so I placed it in a cup of water.

Wish you could smell it...

Thank you to my thoughtful son who brought Mom a rose. I love you, Buddy!


We have had quite a day and it is not over yet. Our schedule has changed often as the day has progressed. This is good for me as I need to learn to be more flexible. We are thoroughly anticipating our time with Evangelist Allen Domelle the next three days. Our church folks love him. He is a hero to my boys. And he is married to one of my best friends in the whole world. How wonderful to have a friend who encourages you spiritually. I love you, Sandy!

Tracy, I am currently reading Evidence Not Seen. Wow! I am not sure how I have never heard of this book before, but thank you for suggesting it to me. This story certainly challenges me to love my great God more.

Mandy, I found your new blog. Thank you! I would love to answer questions for you. The only reason I even have a blog is because Amy patiently answered all my e-mails and questions! And I must admit that I am curious...you dropped the recipe in the pot? LOL

Marisa, few things in the world make me smile like reading your blog does! Your wit and humor come shining through. What a special friend you are and always will be. I love you!

Thanks for stopping by,

Army Climbers

Our oldest two sons have a wonderful Sunday School teacher. He really knows how to capture the hearts and minds of boys. They love to learn from him! The theme of his class is "army" and the boys have won various army gear from him in his promotions the last few years. Today they took their gear and hiked up Mt. Pisgah. (400 ft. elevation)

The boys played around the property while we waited for the rest of the boys and chaperones to arrive. I took some pictures of the partial group...
Playing in the woods...
I am about to be attacked!
After they left my little guys were at a bit of a loss...they were not quite sure what to do with themselves. (Later, Daddy took us for a drive and to get an ice cream from the best ice cream place in the world--Daddy to the rescue! I love you, Sweetheart!)


Zachary was kind enough to bring me some pictures of their day. The boys had a cookout at the top. The boys cut their own sticks and roasted hot dogs. There is a fire tower that you can climb. It has stairs and is an all metal structure. It goes up 60 feet and there is a trap door in the platform. All the boys went up...except Ricky. For those of you who know him, he has a fear of heights. He did decide to go up though because he strives hard to conquer this. When I saw the picture of him at the top I was so proud of him. I knew about the tower, but never expected him to go up. Way to go, Buddy! (By the look on his face I think he is holding on for dear life!)

Amos is always hanging around!
Ryan with some of his buddies.

The boys even caught a snake. Then they came back to the church and played football. They will talk about this day for years to come.

Praise God for godly influences in the lives of my children. Thank you, Lord, for those willing to sacrifice and invest in others.


Thanks for stopping by,



By the way, if you have a few minutes and want some good, clean fun--check out the youth conference link on the side bar.

Special Notes To Friends

Happy Anniversary, Mandy! I can scarcely believe it has been 5 years! I am glad you started a blog and I will be checking it often. ;) I could not comment on it or would have written you there. Hope your day was fantastic!

Margaret, great job on your blog for the boys! This is so meaningful for them and for those who have prayed for them. I love you!

Paula, Maine has rain forecasted every day between now and July 5--and that is as far ahead as the forecast goes. I just keep reminding my children that it is better to have too much rain (by our thinking) than not enough. It has not rained yet today...but we might get a thunderstorm later. So, will I see you while you are in our wet Vacationland state?

And a special note to my "mystery friends" who stop by! I would love to hear from you... :)

Have a great day and...

Thanks for stopping by,

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is our absolutely hands-down favorite cookie recipe...

2 eggs
1 tsp. each of salt, vanilla and baking soda
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup Crisco
3/4 cup each of white sugar and brown sugar
2 1/4 cup flour
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

With mixer, cream together everything but the last 2 ingredients. Gradually add flour. Stir in chips.

Bake 8-11 minutes at 350 degrees. Each oven is different, but we like our cookies still soft. Our oven takes 9 minutes.

We always double the batch as there are several people we like to share these with. We love Hersheys' Special Dark chips.

Thanks for stopping by,

Grandma's Meatballs

Margaret requested this family favorite. Here you go, friend!

First some history though...

When I was expecting our first child, my precious friend- "Lady Di"- made this for our family. We loved it so much she made it for our baby shower. She also made it again for my husband while I was recovering from delivery. (emergency c-section)

When we moved to go pastor a church she sent the recipe with me. It is my oldest son's all-time favorite meal. Nothing else comes close. I think it is ironic that it is his most requested meal as it was because of him we ever had it in the first place.

Thanks, Di! We think of you every time we make it. And we always double the batch. (We LOVE leftovers!)

Ingredients for the meatballs:

1/2 can evaporated milk (3/4 cup)
1 cup quick cook oatmeal
minced onion to taste
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine well, shape into balls and place in 9x13 pan.

Ingredients for the barbecue sauce:

1 cup catsup
1 cup brown sugar
onion powder
1 tsp. liquid smoke (found in catsup/barbecue aisle)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Heat on stove until mixture is smooth. Do not overcook!
Pour over the meatballs.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Enjoy!

And in case you wanted to know...we always serve it with cream cheese mashed potatoes. Scrumptious! We also frequently triple the sauce, but only double the meatballs.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cowboys and Army Men

We have had ALOT of rain in the month of June. If the report I heard was correct, we normally get about 2 inches-but we have had 7 inches so far. Today was the first day in many that it did not rain. The ground is a muddy mess, but out they all went. They had a friend over. They divided into a cowboy team and an army team and battled it out. They had hideouts in the woods and had a great time. It was fun to watch them and I thoroughly enjoyed all the laughter.






I hope they had a great time as there are possible thunderstorms the next three days in a row...

Thanks for stopping by,



Marisa, Target ought to pay you. I am ready to go shopping!

Julie, thanks for your sweet comments. You are such an encourager!! Teaching is so very important to me.

Chicken Tettrazini

My favorite cook...He's so cute! (And he is soooo very thrilled I put this picture on the blog!)

From time to time I would like to share some of our favorite recipes. I love getting recipes from other ladies that are their family's absolute favorites. I tend to like to try recipes that people I know have proven, tried and loved more than I like to try recipes from other sources. We love spices and seasonings, but we are no gourmet cooks in any way.

I am also blessed to be married to a man who cooks. I did not know there was such a thing growing up. :) Mom did all the cooking in our home growing up. Then I married Rick and he certainly surprised me! His specialties are breakfast and anything grilled. He also loves to create new recipes. (His cheese and bacon topped venison was amazing!)

All that to say, Margaret asked for a couple of recipes and I thought I would post them here.

This first one is called Chicken Tettrazini. I was served some here in a Maine a few years ago by a dear friend. Delicious! So many of my favorite things in one pan! I enjoyed it often until she moved. I did not have a recipe, so I did some research. After reading several different recipes nd remembering the one my friend used to make I came up with my own recipe. I probably never make it the same way twice as I tend to cook by formula as opposed to exact recipe.

One more side note...
I always make 2 9x13 pans as we love to cook once and enjoy having leftovers the next day. So, if you want less you would need to adjust the recipe.

Chicken Tettrazini

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of cooked spaghetti (we use thin or angel hair, any kind will do)
2-3 lbs. of cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (we season ours with salt, pepper and garlic)
1 large can of Cream of Chicken soup (or 2 small)
1 16oz. carton of sour cream
1 stick of butter
Milk
parmesan cheese
2-3 sleeves of crushed Ritz crackers (all crackers are NOT created equal-Ritz is the best in this dish as it holds up better than my personal favorite, Town House)
your favorite shredded cheddar cheese ( we love a cheddar and Jack blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the cooked spaghetti in the pans. Shred or dice the chicken and layer it on top of the pasta. Add parmeasan cheese.

In a large saucepan, heat through the sour cream, butter, soup, and a can of milk and a can of water. (The can being the soup can.) Pour over the spaghetti and chicken. Layer on the shredded cheese and finish with the crushed crackers.

Bake for one hour.

We think this is one of those dishes that is even better the next day.

Thanks for stopping by,