Lord thank you for the wake up call!

Thank you to those that sent out a prayer for my hubby, I am calm and I know that it's in the Lord's hands so no use worrying about it, but it's great to know that we are being thought of.

I have to tell you that yesterday I was so frustrated and I couldn't understand why it seemed that everything was just coming at me all of a sudden but then it hit me.......I've strayed and I've become complacent with the Lord and this is definitely a wake up call.
I'm ok with it because it means that I may have to go through some scares and some down times but it's just so that I can open my eyes to the fact that I've gotten lazy and I need to grab hold of the Lord's hand and go back to being the good and devout Christian that I was....or rather still AM!

I've found that in my life there's good times and then there's times when things seem to go downhill, but there's always a constant and a pattern, it's during the period that I've started loosening the grip on the Lord's hand, I stop reading the Bible and Christian books, I even find myself going days without praying....I'm ashamed!
I let life around me dictate my relationship with God and THAT my dear friends is not a good thing for me.

I want to go back to the feeling of utter happiness, no worries, contentment with my life and knowing that even the smallest things are being overseen by God. Am I there right now??? Not even close!!!

So I'm resolving and deciding this morning, yet again, to turn back to the Lord instead of facing away from him and how lucky we are to have a loving Father who is always ready to take us back, always with open arms.

Interesting enough I got this prayer from my stepmom Nela, this morning, I prayed and I cried during the prayer....anyone else ever do that??? I'm so emotional with things like this, anyway I thought I would share it with you all.

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to

see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving

God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep

on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or

thought that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness. Please keep me safe from all danger

and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of

gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind

so that I can hear from You. Please broaden my mind that I can accept

all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control

over.

And It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to

use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a

blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak... Keep

me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray

for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that

are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You

intimately. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it

with others. I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and

God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and

every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy

in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I

pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem,

circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your

hands for You to fight.

I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that

sees it.

I'm right now in the middle of visiting all the blogs in my bloglines, boy is there a lot, I've come a long way though so you'll be sure to see me pop up and say hi today. I've missed seeing what everyone is up to, there's such interesting posts going on and there's also a lot of pregnant ladies out there....is there something in the water I should be watching out for??? LOL

I see that some of you were brave enough to have your blogs critiqued, me, I'm not that brave and I'm afraid that I would probably be crying in a corner if he said anything mean about my blog. Not that it matters really, I mean I started this blog for my family and to keep them updated in what we're doing and where we're going....but still the thought of anyone not liking me would be heart breaking LOL
So if you're strong enough and can take it, why don't you send your blog in and see what they write in return???

I'm going to finish visiting the blogs and then get started on my bread rolls, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. I'll let you all know how they turned out :)

God Bless,

THE SIMPLE THINGS!!!

Morning everyone, it's a beautiful Sunday morning, crisp and sunny and just perfect for Spring which is just around the corner.

I actually forgot to set the clocks ahead an hour until I saw it on my tv this morning, so if you're like me and didn't remember, now would be the perfect time to get with the program, unless you're willing to show up an hour late for work tomorrow.

The picture to the left is one I took at Silver City, Idaho. A ghost town just 20 miles from where we live, we had such a good time there and it's just beautiful.

So the simple things huh??? You know why I titled my post this way??? Because that's exactly what yesterday was about. We didn't do anything special or elaborate, we stayed home and had fun.....good old silly fun.

Curt is back to working midshift this week which means he goes in at 11pm and doesn't get home until 7:30am. It used to be my most hated shift because obviously when we're sleeping he is at work, then we get up in the morning and he is just going to bed. BUT after he gets up around 2pm, we have the rest of the day together, and it's great for appointments or running errands etc.

Anyway, he has to get into this schedule so after he woke up yesterday, I took the kids to the BX to pick up something fun to do. We all ended up buying puzzles, cheap puzzles. See you don't need to spend tons of money, the puzzles were only $2 each.

We brought them home and then we ALL sat down at the kitchen table and did the kids ones together.....yes because mine is 1500 pieces, little easily lost and chewed up by dogs pieces.

After the puzzles, Curt took the kids to park while I started on mine and must I say how good it felt. Just sitting at the kitchen table with my coffee cup and my table covered in puzzle pieces.....overwhelming yes, but so thrilling, I just got in there and started it while listening to the birds outside, watching the neighborhood kids riding their bikes and rollerblades, yelling with excitement and laughing.....it was just perfect!!!!

Now I want to share something with you, you all know that I love watching the show "Most Haunted". For the most part I actually get a good laugh out of it at times, it's very entertaining and while I don't know why I watch it, I just enjoy hearing the british accents and seeing new places. I was on YouTube (yes I know) and I found this clip from the show. I almost wet myself laughing at this one, you can't help but have your mind in the gutter with it....so you've been warned. Let's see if you can get through it without laughing LOL



LOL OH.MY.GOODNESS.....I tell you I watched that yesterday morning and literally spit my coffee all over my keyboard. Mary Loves Dick (Richard)......COME ON!!! LOL
Anyway, I thought you could all use a good laugh, I tell you, I can NOT watch this without laughing until my sides hurt, I can't even think about it during the day without just going into a laughing fit....Curt got a good laugh out of it too.

So anyway, after the kids and Curt got back from the park we all went a little bonkers...we decided to play a game of tag inside the house. Now, I am NOT fit at all, I haven't ran around since high school, if that, and though I felt like my lungs were on fire, we had SO MUCH fun. Imagine if you can, 2 adults, 2 children and 2 pugs running around the house laughing and screaming, tagging each other. It was the BEST 30 minutes I have spent in a long time, I laughed so hard and almost passed out with exhaustion but watching the smiles on the kids faces was worth it.

One thing I haven't done in a while, is give you a link to the fun and interesting posts around blogland, so I thought I would end with those today.

My dear friend Sarah from "A Bend in the Road" has put up her Home Management Binder. She mentioned it on her blog a few days ago and we all encouraged her to share because honestly, I could use some help in my schedule and routines and I know Sarah will give me good ideas.

Barb is a woman after my own heart. I think she loves cooking as much as I do, so when she offered to share her Jalapeno Garlic Tilapia, I was ecstatic. Well she keeps to her word and shared the recipe PLUS another 2 great recipes for us all....run don't walk over to Barb's site.

I am not even going to tell you to just check one post from Kelli's blog, this lady always has the best posts and pictures to share. She's the kind of SAHM and homemaker that we all want to be like....I know for myself I get a lot of ideas from her. Kelli when I grow up I want to be just like you LOL

There are so many others and I wish I could mention them all but if I did, you would be here for the rest of the day, probably falling asleep at the keyboard too.

Have a great sunday, enjoy the wonderful weather and again, don't forget to set your clocks one hour ahead.

God Bless,

Cinnamon Coffee Anyone?!?!?!

There's nothing more inspiring than waking up to a beautiful sunrise. Something about the dawning of a new day, the expectations and the eagerness to get out there.

It always reminds me of the beauty surrounding us, that same beauty which we so often taken for granted and don't even bother to look at. I for one enjoy every single pinecone, brown leaf and beautiful sunrise that comes my way.

So this morning as I went to make my coffee, I decided to sprinkle in some cinnamon with the coffee granules.....let me tell you, it's pretty good. It gives it that zing that makes you go "oooohh, that is good". It's not overpowering, just good coffee with a hint of cinnamon. Hubby loved it!!! Go ahead and give it a try sometime, you'd be surprised how good it is.

I've been enjoying these cooler temperatures, though I must say that it's like being in the winter season already, I don't think we've gotten above 40 degrees the past week and going outside in the morning is sure to feel like a good ol' slap in the face. Boy is it cold, cuts right through you too.


I think winter is upon us faster than we know, I for one welcome it, it means Thanksgiving and Christmas, family get togethers and glorious food. I've been eagerly anticipating Thanksgiving, that turkey is calling my name.


But with all the holidays around the corner, it means that I also need to get my lists started and you know I'm a little weird when it comes to that. I mean, I LOVE making lists, I find it entertaining and powerful in a way, I can control everything around me for that moment that I'm writing it down....but I tend to feel overwhelmed at the same time, if that is even possible, though in my universe ANYTHING.IS.POSSIBLE!!!

So I think I just figured out, well maybe not JUST figured out, but I think it finally hit me that being a mommy is a great thing, but it's also one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. There's good days and then there's crazy, hectic, banshee like days. My kids have this sibling rivalry thing nailed down, really if there was a test on it I'm sure they would pass with flying colors. Just this morning they had it out because apparently Nicholas was copying Jasmine....something about eating the same cereal on a bowl that looked the same as hers and *GASP* he was using a spoon like her......how DARE HE?!?!?!?

Then to end off these crazy days (yes I say days because it's not just a one time thing), there's always the great BATH TIME ADVENTURE.

What is it with kids and bath??? I might as well just get in with them because by the time they're done, I'm looking like a drowned rat, there's water everywhere including the ceiling, which they so proudly point out to me....and then we start the bathroom shuffle...

I have to time it just right, because God Forbid I take one out when the other one is noticing, there's the whole "Me first" and "that's MY towel" and "don't stand next to me" thing. So I calmly get one distracted with bubbles or spraying water or something (at this point who cares if there's more mess right?) and quickly grab one out, and send them on their way to their room.

Oh did I ever tell you about meal times and seating arrangements....because for some reason all of a sudden, NO ONE wants to sit next to anyone. Sometimes I just stare at my kids and wonder if they'll turn out like the guy in Office Space, the grumpy one that sits all alone and constantly complains about someone taking his stapler??
Yeah not exactly what I have in mind for my kiddos, but they're young and I'm sure I can change that.

Nicholas being his chirpy boyish 3 years old, I don't know I say boys are harder to raise than girls, but what do I know right??? Anyway, he's latest favorite thing is back talking when he's in trouble, and not just doing that but asserting his independence while doing it. It goes something like this.

Me - Nicholas I said do NOT climb on the counters

Nicholas - I said YES!!!

Get it??? HE SAID YES, so I'm to shut it and jump to attention. Tell me all you moms of grown boys, does this last for a long time??? Is there a support group for moms of boys, maybe the MOB Support Group (Mom's Of Boys)???


Anyway, it's friday and I'm thrilled, because tomorrow we're heading to the Pumpkin Patch...there's a hayride and a corn maze and who can forget the 50-100 lb pumpkins for $4. So I guess we're getting a few, and then we're coming back home to carve them, can't forget to enter them in the Blog-O-Lantern Contest hosted by Theresa. It started today, and you really NEED to go see hers, it's brilliant.

So with that said, I'm going to take my cup of coffee and refill it, this one is cold and yucky, then I'm heading over to your house for a visit. Oh don't freak out, as long as you have coffee for me I'm happy, I'm easily amused LOL

Have a wonderful friday everyone :)


Last night I fixed Crockpot Stuffed Peppers, they came out SO good. I actually changed the recipe a bit by substituting the ground beef for maple syrup sausage...OH.MY.GOODNESS...it was heavenly.

Tonight for dinner, I'm fixing Ravioli Lasagna, I'll have the recipe up at the food blog later.




Rachael Ray

Recycling household items; do-it-yourself fixes; getting a woman who doesn't like fish to give it a try.

General Hospital

Luke realizes that Laura has no memory of events leading to her breakdown;
Lainey warns Luke not to force Laura's memory;
Laura is confused by how much Lulu has grown;
Sonny, Jason and Sam keep Ric from taking Molly;
Sam vows to make Ric pay;

1 vs 100

One contestant competes for cash against a group of 100 people by answering trivia questions in this game show.

Trading Spouses: Meet your new mom

Part 1 of 2. Moms from Colorado and Massachusetts switch places.

Most Haunted

Mains Hall is visited in Blackpool, UK, for a paranormal investigation.

Ironing
Put away laundry
Clean living room
Clean downstairs bathroom
Sweep and Mop
Vacuum
Bake Bread