UNPLANNED BIRTHDAY SURPRISE...

I've never been so mad at little squirrels!!! Since I wouldn't be seeing my daughter on her birthday, I sent her a care package with one of her favorites, my banana bread!  I guess it sat on her porch just a few hours too long...and when she found it, it looked like this.  She was a little nervous about picking it up, but finally did and shook it.  The culprit was gone - and so was the delicious bread. It didn't touch the candy corn!

Thankfully some of the other goodies in the box were intact.  Like this card - have you made one of these for someone special?  I made it in about 5 minutes from Treat.com.  I had a code for a free one so I tried it.  (Oops!  don't tell her it was free!)  Anyway, a lot of fun playing with fonts and designs.  They will even send one directly to the recipient for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!  SEE YOU SOON!  

GRANNY CRAFT...

No offense to the grandmas out there, but this is one of those things you would probably pass by at the Little Old Ladies craft show.  But it is also EXTREMELY USEFUL.  When you want to give something to a sick person to encourage them, it's one of the best gifts you can give.

Do you know what it is???

It's a greeting card holder!

I first made one seven years ago when my husband was injured and receiving lots of get well cards.  My mother-in-law told me about it and so I decided to try to make one.   I think she told me that they used to make them with coffee cans.  I didn't have any of those, so I tried it with an oatmeal canister.  Works great, you just have to put the first few cards on opposite sides so it won't tip over.

 You can probably figure out how to make it yourself, but here's some directions anyway:  Open both ends of your cylinder.  Put a loop of yard around it and tie it off, making sure the knot is hidden inside.  Then wind it around and around until you have covered the entire thing, and tie it off again.  Make it as tight as you can because you can see on the brown one, the yarn will loosen as the weight of the cards increases.

The funnest thing is giving these to your friend and letting them try to figure out what it is.  I gave one to an elder the other night and he thought maybe I was giving him a cat scratcher!!!

P.S.  This one will keep your kids busy for a LONG time!

GIGGLY GIRLS...

New school year, new beginnings, new CORE group!  These girls are just some of the lovely young ladies in my CORE group at church.  We celebrated with a little lunch at IHOP the other day.  Their choice, of course.  I don't know what it is about IHOP but kids love it.  I, on the other hand, not so much (Oh, the sacrifices we make!).  In fact I probably hadn't been there in 10 years, maybe?  It's even worse with a group of 10 - took 30 minutes to get a table, 30 minutes to get our food, and then we sat there with our food and no silverware!  HA - but the best part was that these delightful girls didn't complain, they just giggled and had fun and took pictures of each other and got creeped out by the manager who wanted one of the birthday cupcakes we brought with us...It's gonna be a fun year!

9 MONTHS LATER...

our baby bathroom is complete!  Seriously folks, it's a good thing you don't have us working on your remodeling projects!  It was actually functional in June but only about halfway finished.  I like to call it the YOUTUBE BATHROOM because we consulted tutorials on youtube constantly during this process, especially the tiling.  So here's the BEFORE & AFTERS for ya:

Before:  Olive green plastic shower insert

After:  Shower tiled to the ceiling with clear glass doors

Before: Stained wood cabinets with faux marble counter, carpet on floor

After:  Painted cabinets with granite countertop and tile floor

Before:  Olive green toilet with cream lid, light green tile, wood paneling, wooden window sill 

After:  Off-white toilet, large tiles (same as shower), new cream paint and granite windowsill- someone told us if you can cut tile that you can cut granite too.  So when a friend gave my husband a spare piece of granite, we tried it and it turned out great!  

Before:  Wall creation by the kids

After:  Cream paint with decor

Here's a better pic of the cabinet color and granite. The mirror was rectangle before, and I really wanted an oval.  Couldn't find one that big, so the glass place told me to bring them a pattern.  They actually told me to lay grocery bags or newspaper down and make a pattern for them!  It wasn't perfect but I got the size I wanted.   

I love the new modern light fixture!  I didn't take a picture of the old one but imagine big round white globes hanging down here before.

The granite/sink installation is the only thing we didn't do ourselves.  It's also the only bathroom with granite countertop in our house.  Lucky kid!

Our little secret:  The guys were laying the tile and asked me if they could put a "W" design in  the floor.  Why not?  Most of the time it'll have a rug on it!  So we've left our mark on this house.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR...

Maybe you remember me telling you about a new endeavor my husband and I started last school year...leading a small group in the church high school class.  It was something I enjoyed, but kinda second guessed if I was very effective at times.  Our group of 8 was very quiet.  You know, during those times I would ask questions and the reply was silence, I wondered if I was getting through to them.  Maybe they just weren't awake.  Anyway, we decided to continue this year and just got our new groups.  I have 2 of the same girls from last year, but 13 more, - yes, that makes a total of 15!!!   I can tell this year will be a total change.  Lots of energy and chit-chat on the first day.  I'm looking forward to it!

I know what you're thinking...next week I'll be complaining that I can't get a word in edge-wise.

I had the evening to myself so I decided to be a little pinterest-y between listening to THIS SERMON from my brother-in-law and THIS VERSION of "How Great is our God".  (A great cross between the  praise song and The Lion King theme song if you ask me!)

What did we ever do without computers?  I'm addicted to this little box that sits on my kitchen counter!

Here's what I made for my girls:

 Scripture bookmarks out of paint chip samples

Blessings for your weekend!

MONEY DOESN'T MAKE MEMORIES...

A great piece of advice gained from the Ladies' RefresHER program last night!  It was a wonderful presentation from 3 generations of a family in our congregation, with a wonderful theme:
                                            Piecing Together the Generations!

One of the keys when we started RefresHER was to be creative with our limited resources (because we had no budget!) . Five years and almost 20 events later, I still agree with this and am glad many in our church are like-minded when it comes to where we should spend $$$.  Last night's program was a great example using quilts collected from members, burlap tablecloths donated from a wedding,  and home-made favors, recipe clips.  So the "money doesn't make memories" holds true for RefresHER as well as families.    It was another good evening with encouraging words for all generations.

Here's the 3 Generations!   They talked to us in a "Conversation around the table" style.  They told us stories, philosophies on parenting, families, and about traditions they had that holds their family together.

Most of the work last night was by my fellow blog buddy, AMY and her crew!  I hope I'm not stepping on her toes because she'll probably post some pics of this, too.  So you guys click on over and visit her. :)

Here's how the stage area looked with the quilts.  The blue duck quilt on the left was a gift to my daughter at her baby shower by one of our elder's wives.  In fact, Gladys made 5 of these displayed and many more through the years.  I'm guessing she's around 90 years old now and is still attending showers.  What a great example to us all.

I hope you have a blessed day and take some time to thank God for the women mentors and encouragers in your life!  Go and make some memories.  Challenge yourself and do it without money!  

BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A BICYCLE RIDE...

on the Katy Trail.  My first time to bike somewhere other than Lake Hefner and I loved it!  We ended up near Bricktown so we went to my husband's favorite place for a little "recovery" drink.  (My husband has an addiction to recovery drinks, I think)  Such a fun morning I think we are going to figure out a way to take our CORE groups on this biking adventure!

FINALLY, A PEANUT BUTTER PIE I LIKE...

I love it when my college son gets the itch to make something.  It's usually very good, and he uses the finest ingredients.  Unlike me, who buys hundreds of dollars of groceries every month, most of it filled with trans fats, sugar, and unpronounceable chemicals.  OK, that's not totally true, I am getting a little better about that.  It's that frugal mother thing, trying to make ends meet all these years!

He made this luscious Peanut Butter Pie.  I love peanut butter, but for some reason I've never really liked the pie versions I've had.  But this one is really good.  Of course it is, it's got cream and cream cheese in it, in addition to chocolate.  Ghiradelli chocolate, he told me.

Anyway, HERE it is, if you get the itch to make one!

WALKING WITH A BIG STICK...

This summer I had to add a piece of equipment to my morning walks:  A BIG STICK.  Actually, it was a trekking pole.  The KITE birds had gotten really aggressive in one area of our neighborhood and it shook me up.  The first time one came at me from behind I felt it swoosh by my ear - I was taken by surprise and was so scared!  Didn't help that I watched "The Birds" recently!  I shook my fist and hollered at it!  That didn't seem to help.  I tried a couple other tactics unsuccessfully and was so shook up by it that I started biking sometimes instead of walking.  Finally I started carrying the trekking pole and that seemed to work.  Other people in our neighborhood were doing the same!  Kinda crazy...

 But what I noticed during all this was how it affected me.  What used to be a great way to start my day, thinking, praying, meditating became a stressful time, watching, looking over my shoulder, and listening for birds, ready to put up my defense.  Pretty sure you could say I was paranoid.  But I could no longer enjoy the time or see the beauty around me.  I started thinking about David and the Psalms.  He poured his life out to God in praise and despair.  He wrote some of these when he was in danger from the pursuit of Saul and his army.  I doubt he relaxed much, always looking over his shoulder.  But somehow, he was so in touch with God that he could always talk to God.  He had such a deep faith.

91 He who dwells in athe shelter of the Most High

will abide in bthe shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say1 to the Lord, “My crefuge and my dfortress,

my God, in whom I etrust.”

3 For he will deliver you from fthe snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will gcover you with his pinions,

and under his hwings you will ifind refuge;

his jfaithfulness is ka shield and buckler.

5 lYou will not fear mthe terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes

and nsee the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your odwelling place—

the Most High, who is my crefuge2—

10 pno evil shall be allowed to befall you,

qno plague come near your tent.

11 rFor he will command his sangels concerning you

to tguard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you ustrike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on vthe lion and the wadder;

the young lion and xthe serpent you will ytrample underfoot.

14 “Because he zholds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he aknows my name.

15 When he bcalls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and chonor him.

16 With dlong life I will satisfy him

and eshow him my salvation.”

Thankfully the Kites have headed south.  Or maybe their babies are grown and they no longer have to protect their nests. I can now walk in peace again.  My fear was so small in comparison to David's, but I hadn't experienced physical fear in so long.   It was a good lesson for me.  How about you and your heart?  Are you walking around with a big stick or enjoying the peace of His presence?

TYING LESSONS...

gave me some unexpected laughs, which is great for me, the planner, who needs a little spontaneity now and then!

After church last night we went to dinner with friends, and came home to a house full of kids.  My husband had cleaned out his closet over the weekend and had placed a bunch of old ties on the table for our boys to look through and see if they wanted them.  This crew got into them and the tying lessons began...

And we got rid of those ties!

This one was upset because I was taking pictures of the guys with ties and not the guy with cat.  So here he is:  Guy with cat.

SEATTLE REUNION...

Getting back together with the old gang...this time in Seattle!  We have now vacationed with these folks in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, South Carolina, New York, Washington D.C. and now Washington state.  Such a blessing every time we get together.  We have a bond that goes 29 years deep - through mutual faith in God and commitment to marriage.  Our friendship has survived moves and raising kids and even some tragedies with a sweet admiration and encouragement for each other.

At Pike Place Market

One of the best things we did was go on a Food Tour at the market.  Our guide was Leslie, and she was terrific!  She told us about the history of the 100 yr old market (can't believe they almost tore it down in the 70's to build a hockey rink) and took us to some lesser known food stalls and stores.  We tasted everything from salmon to crumpets to truffle oil!

I'm a Chihuly fan, and the Chihuly garden and museum just opened a month ago at the base of the Space Needle!  It's incredible and I had never seen one of his installations outside in a garden setting.  Breathtaking!  The sculptures just come to life and remind me of plants and animals.

My hubby took this of the Space Needle in the reflection of one of the glass balls.  Love it.

All of us (including one of our 12 kids who WANTED to come on the trip) eating Thai.

The troll under the bridge at Fremont didn't scare us away!

We didn't ride this but got a view from a boat ride - it's fairly new and they told us the one black car is special - if you pay for that one you get a glass bottom car - no thank you on that one!  The boat ride was good and informative, too, just had a hard time hearing the speaker over the drunk Texans!

Somebody was pole dancing on the trolley...our silly husbands!

The last night - the brave ones of the group eating oysters!

Oh, this is out of order but I had to include it.  A perfect view of Mt. Rainier from my plane window!  I didn't know how special this was until we were told that you can only see the mountain about 90 days a year, and many of those days it is hazy with clouds.  It stands about a mile higher than anything else around.  Amazing.

I decided Seattle is pretty neat but even better is the time spent with these friends.  I think it could easily pass as a Marriage Enrichment Seminar for all of us.  We always worship with a private devotional on Sundays and it's so sweet.  Good for all of us and it's how God meant the church to be - Christians loving and supporting one another through thick and thin!

DONUTS AND PRAYERS...

No fancy titles today.  That's what we did at 6:30 a.m. this morning, the morning my first born, my only daughter, my college grad (YES!) leaves behind her life of dependency on Mom and Dad.

Yes, she's driving a Jeep with a bike and kayak on it, pulling a Uhaul trailer.  It's really happening.

No pics of me today with my red eyes and blubbering.  Keeping my faith in God's promises and looking forward to seeing her Fall Break in Denver!