Thankful Thursday

is it thursday already? how can that be? this week has been whizzing by here in my world.

this week i'm going to be a little shallow (or maybe alot!) and share with you my 13 fav tv shows for which i'm thankful.

1. Psyche is back!!! wooo hooo! if you haven't caught pysche on USA you are missing a treat of 2 funny fellows and a fun mystery every time. its labeled as a comedy and mystery series and it lives up to its name. gus and shawn are 2 longtime friends who start up a detective agency based on shawn's "psychic" abilities. in actuality shawn is no psychic at all, just a guy with great observant abilities and the ability to come up with answer before the police dept they work with can. check it out!

2. Burn Notice. also on USA, but not on til summer! aaaack! i can't wait that long to see what happens to michael, fiona and sam. michael was a spy for the govt that was let go, or in the spy lingo "got burned". he uses his skills and wits to help others while trying to figure out who burned him. fiona and sam are friends who help him along the way.

3. Star Trek Voyager (reruns) ever since i was a kid i loved star trek and as an adult i haven't been able to let that obsession go. captain janeway, commander chakotay, tuvok, lt paris and who could forget the doctor or seven of nine.

4. Fox News Channel

especially Special Report with Brit Hume.
Fair and Balanced News Coverage---need i say more

5. HGTV's Design on a Dime i like the older ones rather than the new ones
Decorating Cents with Joan Steffends. its so cool that they can redo a whole room with $500 or less. i always catch myself saying, "i could do that!"
Designed to Sell clive's accent is to die for, and i love the way they transform the ugly duckling house with a little sweat and $$ into a sumptious swan.

6. ok,if the fox new channel didn't cement my geek status then this surely will. i like my local news at 5pm, 6pm and 10pm. i often watch different channels at the different times just to get more news.

7. Chuck. how could i forget chuck? the best new show last fall.
i just saw on the official website that chuch will be returning on jan 24th! yippee now we can get back to chuck and find out what happens to our hapless, geek turned spy.

8. ok i'm really stretching here, with this entry you'll finally realize you are reading the blog of a very boring woman. but i really do enjoy this next show.
kim possible. never heard of it? i'm not suprised. its on the disney channel. i could blame it on my son, but he doesn't even really like it much. but in terms of kids shows its not too bad. cute redhead, straight A student, cheerleader, who saves the world with her geeky chum turned boyfriend, ron and techy friend, wade who never leaves his room.


9. now we will enter the outer extreme zone of tv. reruns who aren't even showing in my area. but really, the last 20 years i have loved watching perry mason reruns. every so often i'll catch one when i'm somewhere else. they are classic, the fashions are great, and where would perry be without his della street and that other guy, the tall blonde one. shhhh! i even liked the made for tv movies they put out in the 80;s and 90's.

10. every once in awhile i catch an hour of "what not to wear". great show. wish i had a $5000 credit card to spend in the trendy shops of NYC. good inspriration tho.

11. football.

12. mariner's baseball or other baseball games.

13. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
good for a tear or two, and a happy ending. they amaze me each time i watch it.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

i tried the recipe for the chicken pot pie that is listed in the recipe box on the right. #1 son not only wanted 2nds he wanted 3rds as well! a sure sign that its a keeper recipe. i had to tweak it a bit, adding extra minutes to bake it and i think next time i'll cook it at a higher temp. didn't take any pics of it, bad blogger!

so if you're in the mood for an easy dinner, try it out. i'd love to hear what easy recipes you like to use when you're not in the mood to cook or you don't have anything in the house to eat.

fun stuff

Quiz
I always think these are fun...so I decided to blog it. And I tag any willing participant to do the same. :)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? my middle name was after my grandmother and mother's middle name.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? dont' remember, probably awhile ago
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? it's ok, but i'm not too fond of it
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? pastrami! mmmm
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? a 10 yr old son
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? i like to think so, but i don't really know.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? sometimes
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? no!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? raisin bran
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no i just kick em off
12. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE STRONG? some people seem to think so, but i dont' see myself as very strong, stubborn maybe?
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? chocolate, caramel adn vanilla
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their eyes
15. RED OR PINK? both, definitely both
16. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my sis lives 10 hours away and i miss seeing her.
17. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? black jeans and black slipon shoes
18. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? leftover lasagna for lunch
19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? fox news
20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? soft pink
21. FAVORITE SMELLS? vanilla, cinnamin, baked bread, apple cidar
22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? a friend
23. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? baseball with football being 2nd
24. HAIR COLOR? brown
25. Eye color? brown
26. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? sometimes
27 FAVORITE FOOD? chocolate! mmmm
28. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? definitely happy endings
29. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? national treasure, book of secrets
30. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black
31. SUMMER OR WINTER? i like all the seasons
32. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
33. FAVORITE DESSERT? too hard to choose ... cheesecake, pie, brownies, candy, pudding, burnt cream ...
34. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? nothing at the moment
35. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? no mouse at the moment, i have a laptop
36. FAVORITE SOUND? quiet
38 WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? north carolina
39. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? nah, i'm just an ordinary woman

now its your turn! let me know if you decide to do this.

the dead raised ...

as i was looking at blogs over the past couple days, i stumbled across a blog i had not seen before. meandering through .... is the work of christin, a lovely christian gal with a beautiful family. but what caught my attention was her post about a letter she had recieved from a ywam friend of hers. she gave me permission to post a few paragraphs of it and to link to the whole post. i strongly recommend you take the time to jump over to christin's blog and read the whole thing. i was greatly blessed to see how the Lord worked in the situation. i can only imagine the impact for the kingdom this must be having in the village and surrounding areas as word gets out of what the Lord has done!

This is a testimony from an old YWAM friend, Lubens. I'm going to set the stage before using his words....

Lubens, a Native Haitian, was leading a SST (Season of Service and Training...a ywam summer "camp"geared towards middle- and high-schoolers) to Jacmel, Haiti. The first morning they were in Jacmel, a man came to Lubens asking him for help.

The man was a witch doctor.

His wife was extremely sick, having been cursed by another witch doctor. This man had done everything he could...seen all sorts of doctors, spent all of his money. But nothing worked. Feeling great shame that he could not heal his own wife, he left his town to move to the town of Jacmel.

and here is the link to the rest of the story, please go read it! you won't be sorry you took the time ....

the first week of 08

so how did your first week of 2008 go? 51 weeks left!

hubby was home for part of the time since school doesn't start til the 14th. he did have some clients so that was good. i'm not ready for a hubby who is home 24/7. first born son went back to school and seemed to be happy about it. the last day before he went back we could tell he was getting bored with mom and dad.

i have a long honey-do list for hubby for this next week before school starts. we'll see if anything on the list gets accomplished! honey isn't partial to the honey-do list. for some reason he finds his sudoku book more interesting.

new blog title box

i have been wanting to change my blog header box for awhile now, but didn't know how to go about it. i finally figured it out and am so happy i can now create my own titles with my own pics. let me know what you think, k?

Thankful Thursday

Today i'm thankful for: (in no particular order)

~~~ a roof over my head, even if it needs to be reroofed
~~~ hot water, gas heat, electric lights ...
~~~ a free country with free elections, even if i can't decide on a candidate
~~~ a grocery store full of food, even if most of it is overprocessed junk
~~~ my van that takes me too and fro, even if it needs to be "scrubbed and tubbed" **
~~~ my neurotic, needy, hungry dog.
~~~ doctors, medicine, insurance, hospitals, even if ... don't get me started!
~~~ clothes to keep me warm. the amazing gift of clothes my sister gave to me.
shirts, blouses, vests, pants, capris, skirts, dresses, coats and more!
i'm overwhelmed with gratitude for this unexpected gift. and looking for more hangers ...
~~~ freedom to speak, to sing, to remain silent, to laugh, to cry, to pray ...

** bonus points to you if you know what movie that phrase comes from!

Lord, let me never take for granted these things again ...

Welcome 2008

is anyone else having a hard time believing it is 2008 already? wasn't y2k just a while back? weren't we just partying like it was 1999 a few days ago? nope? me neither. i just have this feeling that the years are racing by, and i've been snoozing up in the grandstand.

but i am glad its a new year. i've always loved this time of year, and i love making new years resolutions, even if i don't keep them. i always have a bunch of resolutions and feel that at least by havign them, i get closer to the goal even if i don't accomplish them 100%.

for this year, nutrition and fitness are on the list again, along with praying for my family and friends. i started this in the fall and have really benefitted from the times i accomplish it. over the last month it got passed over way too often, so i'm hoping that by putting it on my list it'll become a priority again.

other than those, i'm still thinking and pondering on what to add to the list.

about 5 years ago, i also started choosing a word for the year. the first year i choose the word gratitude little did i know how appropo that word would be for me that entire year. God gave me lots of things to be grateful for. each year it has been awesome to see how the Lord has intertwined the word i've chosen into my life and shown Himself to me thru it.

this years word is freedom. freedom in Christ, freedom from bondage and slavery to the flesh. i'm excited to see how the Lord uses freedom this year in my life. what about you? have you ever chosen a word for a year? if not, what about this year? want to come along?

handcrafted goodies

some cards i made before Christmas arrived. i think they turned out pretty good





this is one i made for my friend's b-day.

back to bloggyland

we are winding up our whirlwind trip back home to ID from WA. we had a great time seeing family, celebrating Christmas, fellowshipping, eating, laughing, eating, talking, eating, playing games .... did i mention eating? we did alot of that.

so this morning we headed home. the van was packed to the gills with everything we brought minus the gifts for everyone. somehow it expanded somewhere between the 21st and the 29th. who knew?

we decided to drive down towards oregon and cut over. that way we could avoid the pass over the WA mtns. all week long it had been snowing and they were having horrible accidents, slowdowns and general all around messes. i thot it'd be better to avoid the scene.

of course, going south first instead of east added at least 2-3 hours to our already long commute home. then add on a few extra precious minutes winding around portland aimlessly, well maybe not aimlessly, we were looking for the highway that headed east. somehow i missed the exit! who me? yes, i've been known to do that ... sigh. but somehow we got on the right highway and continued on.

when we reached pendleton, the gateway to the blue mtns we had about an hour left of daylight. just enough time to get over before dusk and the ice descended onto the roadway home.

going up the mtns was fine. not great, but not bad. it was still light, the semi's were driving slowly and the roads hadn't iced over yet. so far so good ... but then as we approached the summit, the roads showed signs of recent snow. the spit of rain that had started soon became a constant drizzle of icy waterdrops. up and up we went ... the cars soon became a caravan in the one lane that wasn't too snowy or icy. there were no smarty=pants drivers passing on the left, spraying snow and dirt all over my windshield ....

unfortunately, the semi that was the leader of the caravan drove slower as the roads got worse. finally a suburu outback broke ranks and passed everyone on the left. then another car did it, and another ... for awhile, the roads were able to handle the traffic and those of us in the original right hand lane were fine, but then as the snow began to fall in earnest, my knuckles gripped the steering wheel a little bit tighter ... soon the cd player was turned off so i could concentrate on my driving .... by the time we were able to get off the highway and stop at the city of la grande oregon, i was uttering those words: "this is the LAST time i drive over the mtns in winter again!"

we found a motel, we checked in, we unpacked, we collapsed! ahhhh ....

Happy Birthday to Me

since its my special day, hubby got first born son off to school and let me sleep in--late!!! what a treat!! i absolutely LOVE sleeping in, waking up slowly, lazing in bed .... ahhhh, what a life!

today hubby is taking me out to lunch, i'm getting my weekly massage from hubby (there are a few perks being married to a massage therapist), and tonite we'll do our own Christmas celebration before leaving tomorrow.

since i'll be with family and friends for the next 10 days i will probably not have alot of time (or desire!) to blog, so if you don't see me here, just know we are having a grand time fellowshipping with our loved ones.

love to all, and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

monday, monday

get ready for a mishmash of thots. sorry that's alli have to offer today.

Gifts: got 99% of my shopping done! woo hoo!!! hubby needs me to take him shopping on wed. got some wrapping done last nite too. i'm ahead of the game.

Travel: on the to-do list---PACK! i like to take 2-3 days to pack so i don't forget anything. probably the only time i don't make a list. we leave on thurs.

Meals: use up the perishables this week. it will probably be alot of creative meals this week.

House: a disaster after the weekend, which is normal. so lots of sprucing up and cleaning before we leave. i hate coming home to a messy home.

Laundry: oh ya! enough said.

Weather: snow and rain in the forecast. praying for dry passes that i have to drive over.

Thankful Thursday

today i'm dedicating my blog to my mom. here are a few pics and a few thots of how i'm thankful for her.



here she is with her precious cat, tawny.




joe and grandma at the falls.


i'm thankful that my mom raised me to love the Lord and follow Him. she not only taught me with words, but showed me by her example of godly living. i saw her reading her bible, praying in her bedroom, i heard her singing to the Lord even tho she never thot she had that great of a voice. i saw her serving her family and her n'bors and her church. she reached out to the less fortunate and brought home all kinds of interesting people she met.

my mom loved to read and instilled in me a love for books and words. she read to me and helped me learn to read for myself. she encouraged me by taking me on weekly library runs to fill my shelves with wonderful books to read.

my mom also loved to play tennis and to take long walks. when the family went outdoors she joined in too. she would get her hands in the dirt and enjoyed gardening in our yard. of course, she left lots of weeding for us girls--thanks mom!

i'm thankful that as i grew up, our relationship grew as well. as adults we are not just mother and daughter, but friends. we enjoy one another's company. we talk on the phone, we email, and when we are together we laugh and hug and spend lots of time at starbucks.

i'm looking forward to going home for Christmas and spending time with this wonderful woman i call mom.

i finished daisy's winter coat

i finally finished daisy's fleece winter coat. after these pics were taken i added some more velcro so it would be a little tighter. it was pretty loose in this shot.

isnt' it cute?

Winter Wonderland

our first real snow came this weekend, with more that came today. we have about 2 inches now and if it stays as cold as they say, we may have some slick ice on the roads tonite and tomorrow.

here are some photos i took.



our porch




hubby sweeping the walkway









these are our n'bors houses, aren't they great?

the Father's Arms

this is your monday seedstory from my archives. my mom is still battling cancer, so pray for her if you think of it.


our daisy is a bit of a scaredy cat. a couple weeks ago she heard something in the middle of the night and barked her head off. she sleeps downstairs by herself, so when she gets scared she doesn't have anyone to run to.

last nite, i heard a big ol truck making a racket driving down the road. it might have been a fire engine .... anyway, daisy heard it too. but instead of barking, she found a slight opening in the door to our room and tiptoed in. she came to my side of the bed and gently put her paws up on the bed. i could tell she was asking if she could come up. so what's a mom to do when one of her family is wanting to be comforted? i let her come up. she immediately sought out my arms and cuddled as close as she could. i wrapped my arm around her and she settled down and went to sleep.

as i was laying in bed, pondering daisy's actions, it occured to me that dont' we do the same when we are faced with a scary situation. we look for comfort and warm arms to hold us. i found out last week that my mom had a suspicious looking mammogram. they have scheduled a biopsy for later this week. we talked for a bit and she assured me that she is trusting the Lord whatever the outcome. she has sought out the comfort of the Father's arms.

i marvel at my mom's peace in the face of another health scare. and yet, i know that it isn't of her own strength, but the Lord working in and thru her. she has followed Him all her life and knows Him as her Father. she is a reminder and a role model for me when troubles come into my own life. i can run to the things of the world for comfort, or i can run to the Father's arms. they are always open to recieve his children. like daisy, i can sleep peacefully while hidden in the arms of my Father.

Psalms 91 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Postscript: August 27th

the results of my mom's biopsy showed 2 cancerous tumors. so now she and the ones who love her get to lean into the Father's arms even more. while we know her ultimate destination is assured, its not always fun to go thru the journey. i am praying for many more healthy years with her, but we are not assured even one more day on this planet.

i thank you for your prayers in advance for my mom and for our family as we walk thru this with her.

reminded again how much i need to rest in the Father's arms, gail

am i a scrooge?

i haven't put up any Christmas decorations. after thanksgiving, i told myself i could take a week or so and recover from the delicious turkey and other scrumptious yummies. plus our first born son had his b-day the day before so we were recovering from his festivities as well.

during this past 10 days tho, i haven't been in a christmas-y mood. i've seen alot of Christmas joy on other blogs and it delights my heart, but i haven't wanted to participate. which is totally unlike me! Christmas is my fav time of year. but i'm still battling the depression that's been lurking under the covers of my life. so while i deal with that, i've given myself permission to not do all the Christmas stuff we (i) usually do. and you know what? it is sooooooooooooo FREE-ING!!! i don't feel the heavy burden to do a "martha stewart" holiday this year. i have no plans for baking a multitude of goodies, i have 3 snowmen i may put up somewhere, i dug out my Christmas cd's and that's enough for me. we've been watching Christmas specials on tv, and i've been enjoying the decorations when we go out and about, but i have no desire to spend time, energy and perhaps money to make my place a showpiece for the 3 of us.

we aren't having anyone over this year and we are going back home for the holidays. so we wont' be here to open gifts under a tree so we don't even have a tree up. my son has special needs and is totatlly fine with this, my husband is vision impaired and doesn't see alot anyway so hasn't mentioned the lack of decorations, and i'm fine with it too. i'm not saying that i will do this every year, but for this year it's OK. it feels weird. but it feels like a load has been lifted too.

with the new found time and energy, i am sewing up little gifties for friends and family to take with us on our trip. i am enjoying the calm bits of time i can carve out in front of my sewing machine. i am not frantic with anxiety wondering if i'm going to get everything done. it is relaxing at my house as i'm not stressing out my husband with my long to-do list.

most of all i'm really glad that this year, our Christmas will be all aboutcelebrating Christ's birth with family and friends we will see, visit, and fellowship with while we are back in WA. a simple holiday celebrating the real reason for the season with loved ones. and if that makes me a scrooge, the so be it! Merry Christmas!

Pics from My Archive

since i have no original thots today i'm stealing this idea from alanna over at An Undeserved Life.



my fav pic of my boys.



don't ya just love seeing a boy enjoy his favorite meal?



a cute pic of his new haircut



joe and dad playing on a balmy winter day



last winter. we have no snow here yet, i keep hoping!



joe at his most gleeful self. he is so fun to have around.

sick day # 2

the school called yesterday morning. so i went and picked up joe and brought him home. he has a nasty deep cough and a runny nose. he was lethargic until about 5pm. today he woke up with the same symptoms. sigh ...

why does my life stand still when there's a sick child at home? i'm barely keeping up with the laundry, dishes, and putting healthy meals on the table. every thing else is on hold while the man-child is snuggling under the covers watching cartoons.

so until the man-child is on the mend and back at school, the Christmas shoppe, the writing nook, the blogger stuff will all be on hold.

hope all your family members are healthy this day!

the car wash

here's another seedstory for your monday morning. as i was looking over which one to publish, i chose this one for myself as well as for you, dear reader. my mom is in the middle of fighting breast cancer. she has just started radiation, but has a bad infection that won't go away. that is not good. but God is good, and i need to remind myself each moment that He is sovereign and is in control of the outcome in my mom's life. i have a little saying in my kitchen that reminds me that "God is in control" as i remember that truth, i can pray in perfect peace for my mom and her situation.

we have been saying we need to get the car washed ever since we got home from vacation. finally, this morning we had a moment to do so. daisy, our jack russell was with us. she is still a puppy and we have only had her a little over a month. this was her first trip thru the car wash with us.

daisy is a needy dog. she was found wandering around home depot by my girlfriend and tho we love her dearly, she is a bit high strung. even when we are not going thru a car wash she wants to be right next to us or even on our laps. she doesn't seem to understand that a dog her size on a driver's lap just isn't going to happen.

the workers started to soap up the windshield and soon they were spraying all the windows. daisy wasn't sure what to make of all the water and noise. she crowded close to me and tried to get on my lap. instead, michael scooped her up into his arms and held her tight. she nestled into his arms, trembling as the big machines started to swish the cloth strips around and over our van.

"though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me."

there is great comfort knowing that the Lord is with us thru the valleys we go thru. whether they are scary car washes, stays in the hospital for some unknown illness, or some other unsettling situation, we can draw close to the Father, knowing that He will pick us up and comfort us, walk with us through the valley and that we don't have to fear any evil. sounds good to me!

I Won, I Won!!!

monica over at the homespun heart was giving away a wonderful Christmas garland, i put my name in the drawing, and i won!!! woohoo!!! this is my first win from the bloggy world and i'm so excited. its always nice to get a gift in the mail.

monica is a creative and thrifty gal so hop on over and check out her blog. she has 2 adorable little girls too that will steal your heart.

Thankful Thursday ,,, a day late

is it friday already? where has this week gone?

as is my tradition, i'd like to take a few moments to share my list of things i'm thankful for.

i'm thankful for God's sovereign reign and control over our lives. He has protected and provided for our family in ways i could not fathom.

i'm thankful that we are going to go back to WA for Christmas. we'll be able to spend time with family and friends, enjoy the sights and sounds of the big city and maybe even spend some time at the coast (hint, hint sweetie)

i'm thankful that God made dinosaurs and that we have enough of a record of them to make them come alive for my son, and that they are extinct now, so i don't have to deal with them in my life. except for the plastic type on my living room floor.

i'm thankful for music. the talented singers and musicians who share their creative stuff with us. for the technology that allows me to punch a button and out comes the beautiful melodies i enjoy so much.

i'm thankful for my jack russell, daisy mae, who cuddles up next to me and keeps me warm. who loves to run and play and shows it to everyone around. who can jump straight up and comes up to my chest---she's got springs in her feet!

i'm thankful for the new occupational therapist working with my son at school. aleisha worked with my son several years ago in a private setting and is wonderful with him and he works for her with no problems.

i'm thankful for cozy warm sweaters, fuzzy warm slippers, warm flannel blankets and comforters that keep us warm in our winterwonderland.

and i'm thankful for YOU! you who read my blog, and those of you who leave comments. have i mentioned how i love comments? i do! if you have a google account, sign in and leave a comment.

God is SOOOOOOOOOOOO good

isn't God good? i just love how He works in our lives. just the other day in my quiet time i was bemoaning that the few mom's i know that have a child with a disability are in other states. there is no one local that i have connected with .... at least that was my perspective.

this morning i had an annual meeting at one of the agencies my son gets services from. after we got done with the paperwork, cindy started talking about her son who has a disability. we have known each other for a couple years, but we usually talk business. you know, health issues, therapies, changes within the state and how it affects our kiddos. this time our conversation steered off onto a more personal path. soon we were sharing our struggles, our blessings, our needs and wants. we felt each others pain and joy. we decided to pray for each other right there in cindy's office and committed to praying for each other.

as i left the agency, i breathed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for reminding me of my friend i have in cindy. a mother who has walked where i have walked and understands some of the difficulties that challenge me.

it is good to connect with other christians who are walking similiar paths, whether we are in the season of small babies and toddlers, empty nests, having teenagers in the house, going back to work in the marketplace or staying at home and tending our home and hearth ....

God knew my need and had Cindy planted firmly in my path even before i realized it. i feel a little like elijah when he tells God that he alone is left, he is alone. and then the Lord tells elijah "no, there are still 400 prophets alive who worship Me" our perspective is so shortsided. like elijah, i thot i was isolated without others like myself. like elijah, God showed me that there are others. thank you Lord!

Menu Plan Monday

here's my first foray into putting up my menu planning on my blog.

Monday: sour cream cheese enchiladas, salad

Tuesday: steak (on sale shelf!), potatoes or rice, salad or vegies

Wednesday: homemade pizza, canned fruit

Thursday: crockpot roast, potatoes, vegies

Friday: leftover roast sandwiches/maybe french dips, jello, carrot sticks

Saturday: chili and cornbread, salad

laura over at orgjunkie.com started this fun. go over to her blog to see the others who also are participating.