Tea Time Tuesday: Kindness.

While last week's Patience Tea Time was not my favorite, Kindness may very well be. To me, tea time offers the perfect opportunity to sow some kindness seeds. What could be more kind than the gift of a lovely tea? Whether it be an all out tea party, a quiet afternoon tea, or a simple cup brewed with love.

Several years ago, I had the joy of being on the receiving end of such an act of kindness.
One December morning, a very special lady in my life called and asked if she could stop by for about fifteen minutes. I told her that was fine, as long as she didn't mind the fact that we (Ruby, Peach, and I) were still in our pajama's. She replied, "No problem, I love PJ's!"

Now you can see why this lady is so special to me!

Sure enough, about ten minutes later my doorbell rang. There she was on my front step, holding a picnic basket...in December...with me in pajama's! I thought, "What in the world?!"

My sweet friend came in, pulled an electric kettle out, started water to boil in my kitchen, spread out a tablecloth on my living room floor, and began to set out her lovely traveling, Christmas Tea.

I was so surprised! And touched.

She had decided to bless several of her friends with a Christmas Tea. But instead of try to get everyone together, plan a big, fancy spread, she chose to share a beautiful moment with each of us individually. The trunk of her car was full of clean teacups and plates and the most glorious tea sweets!

I knew that she was sharing this gift with several others, but for me it was precious!

That year my Grandmother had gone home to Heaven, my mother had moved to another state, I had two pre-schoolers and an infant. I needed some TLC!

God knew and He was behind that act of kindness. It will never be forgotten!

Isa 54:10
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.KJV

The Fruit of the Tea Spirit is Kindness.

Having that mindset causes us to desire to perform acts of kindness. Today, I'm going to be on the look-out for an opportunity to show some kindness; to sow some of that seed. I have been given much!

Our Weekend: The Reader's Digest Version. (Plus: A Funny)

I'm not sure where to begin.

RhoDelta posted beautifully about our date night with them, and the reason for the subsequent aching of my sides! However, I must add that while Tulula does the Hula, she does it in Ha-wy-ya, and we don't know why-a, but for the rest of her life she'll be a-cry-yan!

So.

And just in case you were wondering, a Starbuck's Double Shot on ice, sweetened, with Soy milk will keep you awake for approximately six hours. Not a good plan to drink one at 9:00 PM, when you must meet a friend at Walgreen's at 9:00 AM, planning to rob the company blind. Because robbing Walgreen's blind requires a keen mind and a quick step. The Double Shot would have been a good idea at, say, 8:00AM!

This week I spent $180, and saved $115...not too shabby! The rubber meets the road next week, as our budget drops to $160. My biggest challenge will be walking away from good deals. I get such a charge out of coming home with as much as I can haul out of the store! So this week I'll have to be content with feeding my family, in the manner in which we are accustomed, on a smaller amount of money. That should still be rewarding.

After the shopping extravaganza, the whole family headed down to the DMV with Ruby for the celebration of my official old fogey status! My first born has a learner's driving permit. Good Lord, when did she get tall enough to see over the steering wheel? And didn't I just potty train her last week?

Apparently not!

From there we moved right into the part of the weekend where we hosted a young man from our last youth ministry and his new bride (and their Siberian Husky puppy...I'm just sayin'). More laughing. More side pain. More sleep deprivation.

I must not be as old as I thought, because I made it through Sunday quite well, considering my sleep from Thursday to Sunday totaled somewhere around 12 hours.

Church was fantastic, highlighted, in my opinion, by a glorious rendition of Great Is Thy Faithfulness by a young lady on our praise team who can't be more than 4'11" and probably 90 lbs soaking wet. But oh, can that girl saang! My, how the oldie-goldies get me every time.

We wrapped up our weekend at a birthday party for one of the girls' friends. A quick shout out to two of the most fabulous parents, friends, pastors, folks ever! You know who you are ;)

Finally, this is just plain funny:

I've Finally Found It!

The.

Coolest.

Thing.

Ever.

Or thingS as it were, as I will need two or thirty of these.

I give you KitchenAid's version of the pot holder: The Silicone Grabber...

These babies are heat-resistant up to 500 degrees!

And. They. Are. PINK!

And I would greatly appreciate some serious props for NOT buying them yesterday at Kohl's. They were 25% off...that means, they were on sale and I walked away. I WALKED AWAY!

Why? Tough love, my friends...our budget is showing me some tough love.

And just to show you the grace of God: I can save $2 a piece over the Kohl's sale price online...of course, when the budget is ready ;)

**Updated: 7-30-08. Check out Fiddledeedee's Favorite Things!**

Please Don't Send Out the MP's!

I know I've been AWOL!

It's just been one of those weeks...filled with friends, family, and frenetic busyness (it had to start with "f").

I promise not to be such a slacker next week ;)

Have a great Sunday, all!

Talk to you Monday.

WFMW: Easy Homemade Baked Goods.

We bake a lot in the Land of Pink. Biscuits. Scones. Muffins. Cookies. Brownies. Cakes. Tea Breads. Rolls. Bread. Not pies...I'm not good with pie crust...yet :)

The part of baking that takes the most time is the mixing of ingredients. And time is the thing I am shortest on these days. How to compensate?

Easy Biscuit Mix.

This can be used to make biscuits (duh), muffins, or pancakes and, if frozen, will last 6 months!

Easy Biscuit Mix

(makes about 12 cups)

10 cups all-purpose flour (or 6 cups all-purpose and 4 cups whole wheat flour)

1/3 cup baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups shortening (I know it isn't the healthiest ingredient, but it's what makes it keep so long)

Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks at room temperature, or 6 months in the freezer.

To use, lightly spoon into measuring cup; level off with a knife. if frozen, bring to room temperature.

Biscuits: Make a well in the center of 1 cup Mix; add 1/4 cup milk. Stir with a fork just till dough clings together. On a lightly floured surface gently knead dough for 10-12 strokes. Pat into 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter (I use a mason jar dipped in flour). Bake on cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes. (Makes 4)

Muffins: Add 1-3 Tablespoons sugar to 1 cup Mix. Combine 1 beaten egg and 1/4 cup milk; add all at once to mixture. (At this point you can add mashed bananas, blueberries, raisins, or whatever you would like.) Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy). Bake in 2/3 full muffin cups, at 400 degrees, for 15-20 minutes. (Makes 6)

Pancakes: Add 1 beaten egg and 3/4 cup milk to 1 cup Mix. Stir with a whisk till well blended. (You can add blueberries or other fruit to this, too.) Use 1/4 cup batter for each pancake; cook on hot griddle. (Makes 6)

My other favorite thing to have on hand is homemade cookie dough. There is just nothing better than freshly baked, warm cookies...especially my "Everything Cookies"! You can store cookie dough in the fridge for 2 weeks, or the freezer for 2 months. Just let it get to room temperature (or slightly colder) before baking.

Everything Cookies

(I'm just going to give you the ingredient list. Y'all know how to bake cookies, right?)

1/2 cup slightly softened, unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

6 ounces dried cherries (or cranberries, or raisins)

6 ounces dark chocolate chips (or any other type chocolate you prefer)

1/2 cups chopped nuts of your choice

350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Keeping it simple, quick, and cheap...that's what Works For Me! Go to Rocks in My Dryer for more Works For Me Wednesday ideas.

A True Renaissance Woman.

RedDaddy is now off on Friday's...of course, he's off a little everyday. Ba-Dum-Bum!

So this past Friday his plan was to change the fuel pump in our mini-van. My husband is a gear-head extraordinaire so this job was not beyond his capabilities. However...there's always a however, isn't there? However, it was a little beyond his equipment.

In order to replace the fuel pump on our particular mini-van, one must remove the gas tank. RedDaddy, being the highly intelligent man that he is, thought to run it as close to out of gas as possible. This made it easier to maneuver (please note: easIER, not to be confused with easy).

He removed the tank, replaced the pump, and was then ready to re-install the fuel tank. (Here comes the however...) However, he was not able to hold the tank in place, guide the hoses into their respective holes, re-attach the tank straps, and bolt the straps in place BY HIMSELF.

But, luckily for him, he is married to Wonder Woman (no, Nazi Mom left some time ago!). I first helped guide the hoses into the holes, and handed him tools as needed, thinking all the while what a great big helper I am. Sort of like the little girl on the Shake-n-Bake ads. Then he says, "I'm gonna need ya to get under here and hold the tank up while I bolt these straps down."

Hmmmm. Me? UNDER the van? Yeah, I'm gonna have to get back to you on that.

No, I slid right under there with my man. And I used my super-human strength to bench-press (only you don't call it a bench-press when it's behind your head) that gas tank into place. It was heavy, ya'll...heavy! We were fighting that last strap to the death, when RedDaddy announces that he knows why it won't go all the way up. There is a bundle of wires on top of the tank, that will need to be moved.

You know what this means, right? It means the tank has to come out again!! No. Really.

So, we go back through the whole process again. All the while our heads are scraping on the concrete driveway and I keep having flashes of what would happen if the van were to come down off those jack-stands!

But, thanks to the proper alignment of the planets, we finished the job without further incident!

Best of all, the van runs like a dream! Our 250,000 mile, $1800, pulled it out of a field, looks like a million bucks mini-van! We named her Liberty...she was our first step toward our now complete debt-free-ed-ness! (but that's another story) Glory! Hallelujah!

When it was all said and done, I had grease under my nails that would not come out. It felt pretty good. So, for good measure, we took off for Lowe's and bought lumber, peat moss, mushroom compost, and vermiculite for my square foot garden.

Today the girls and I built said garden box, mixed the soil, and filled it. Again, dirt. This is becoming a habit. I think I like it!

Tomorrow I'll be planting the pentas I bought at Lowe's, and maybe some radish seeds. Check back for pictures ;)

Tea Time Tuesday: Patience.

This is the Tea Time Tuesday I've been waiting for...get it? Waiting for...Patience... ;)

Of all the fruit of the Tea Spirit, this is my weakest link. I am a get-it-done kind of person. This is a problem when other people are involved. Whether they are 2 or 52, I want 'em to MOVE IT!

My two most used expressions are, "Hustle! Hustle!" (which often reminds me of cheerleading, and much to my teenagers' dismay, will cause me to break out into "H-U-S! T-L-E! Hustle! Hustle!" ) and "I don't have all day!" (which is absolutely NOT true; I do, in fact, have ALL DAY. I just don't want to spend it cleaning a bedroom, or teaching multiplication.) I knew I had a problem when my 3 year old asked me one particularly harried day, "You don't have all day, do you Mommy?"

Yeah. Time to slow down. Time to take a break. Time for a cup of tea.

But, guess what? Tea Time requires a bit of patience, also. Listen, ladies...a proper cup of tea is NOT made in the microwave! You are going to have to be (you guessed it) patient.

I may have mentioned that I personally require good tea. No offense to Mr. Lipton, the man makes a mean glass of sweet tea, but for hot tea, the Republic of Tea is my hands-down fav. And, as far as type or flavor, I just love their All Day Breakfast Blend. More often than not, the reason people don't care for tea is because they have never had good, properly brewed tea!


Now that we've covered the what of tea brewing, let's cover the how.

Begin with a clean teapot. Fill it with hot water (this will warm your teapot and prevent it from cracking). Next fill a kettle with cold water, and put on to boil. Here's where the patience comes in ;)

While your kettle is coming to a boil (and you are NOT watching it, because you know what won't happen if you do), get your teacup, milk, sugar, and tea time treat ready. I prefer milk over cream, because cream distorts the taste too much (same thing with honey), but every one's preferences differ.

If you are using tea bags or loose tea the formula is the same: one tea bag, or teaspoon of loose tea leaves per cup and one for the pot. Put this in the teapot just before the water boils. Take your teapot to the kettle, and as soon as the water boils, pour over the tea leaves or bags.

True tea aficionados are picky about that taking to pot to the kettle thing. They don't want the water to cool between the stove and the other side of the kitchen...I'm not making this up! I will admit to you that I can tell a difference in my tea if the steeping time is not pretty accurate, but my palate is obviously not refined enough to detect the faux pas of a kettle which has been carried all the way across the kitchen to the teapot (Oh, the horror!).

Black, green, white, and herbal teas all have different brewing temperatures and steeping times. You can find them here. Or, we can just go with a basic temperature of boiling water and steeping time of 3-5 minutes, based on personal preference. Kay?

Now, if you are using tea bags, gently squeeze them and discard. For loose tea you will have to pour your tea through a strainer, unless you used a tea ball (or infuser). Whichever type of tea you prefer, it is imperitive that the tea be removed from your brew as soon as the steeping is complete. This is another reason an otherwise enjoyable tea experience could be ruined. Tea gets quite bitter if left to steep too long.

Last step: add your choice of milk, sugar, lemon, or nothng at all. Enjoy. And remember:

Sip by sip, not gulp by gulp. Not a bad way to handle life!

Just think how much patience you have developed reading this post. Way to go! I have gained an enormous amount of patience, as my computer as given me more trouble while typing this than I can even begin to convey. I was tempted to shut it down and restart, but I thought, "Nah. I shall persevere!" And, I did. Almost three hours later..

Because, after all, I do have all day...don't I?

More Pink Stuff.

Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer is hosting a tee-shirt giveaway from Couture Moms. Of course, I love the mom to the 5th power in raspberry.

After today's earlier post, I'm sure you'll all agree they need to add a Se*y Diva to the list! Though, Domestic Diva is fun, too ;)

It's All In The Attitude.

I have so much I want to blog about. But first...Lookie what I got from Joanna! It's my very first bloggy award! And. It's PINK!! Thank you Joanna!




I told her I'd email her with this story, but I decided that you all would probably enjoy it.



We have a pair of "older" African-American ladies who attend our church, usually together. Now when I say older, I mean to say that they are older than me. The African-Americans have a beautiful quality of aging undetected. I can never put an age on a woman of color. Ms. Melrose could be 40, or 80...I'm clueless!



Ms. Melrose wears a hat nine Sunday's out of ten...a hat that perfectly matches her dress! I love it. Ms. Melrose knows how to worship, ya'll. Totally unconcerned with the people around her, and completely free! I love that, too.



One of her first Sunday's at our church, she was looking for the children's church room so she could pick up her grandson. Peach was giving her directions when I walked up and offered to walk with her, over to the other building. She began telling me how nice "this young lady" was. Well, of course, like any proud mama, I said, "She belongs to me!" Here's the rest of the conversation:



Ms. Melrose: You don't mean you're old enough to have a daughter that big?

Me: Yes, ma'am. I actually have one older than her.

Peach: And three more younger than me.

Ms. Melrose: You mean to tell me you have four daughters?

Me: No, ma'am, I have five daughters.

Ms. Melrose: Well, you are a se*y diva aren't you?!



So ladies, that has become my mantra: I am a Se*y Diva! Or as Joanna put it, a Sassy Mama!



I'll be posting more here and there; you'll just have to check in as it may be more than once each day until I get caught up on catching you up ;) The Queen B has posted today about re-arranging priorities...good stuff! I think mine are in for a change.

I Get by With A Little Help From My Friends.

A very special shout out goes to my new friend, Sarah, at FiddleDeeDee!

First of all, she has taught me much about couponing, without even knowing it. Every week I use her blog as my starting place for my Publix list. Without her time and effort to put up all those links, I'd be sunk!

Secondly, we found out yesterday that we have something very cool in common. I can't tell you exactly what that is, but...let's just say I'll be inviting her for Krispy Kreme's real soon ;)

AND...without further ado...I give you my new sidebar image links! With Sarah's help, I have real buttons over there now! Oh, how I love them!!

I will now be able to write actual posts for my Pink Wish List, and you will then be able to click on the picture of the present to read them whenever you want. And I know how much you want to know what I think is cool...doesn't everyone?

I also made that adorable picture of the girls a link to my "meet the peeps" post.

As if that wasn't enough, I RE-SIZED my Tea Time Tuesday image (Thank you Josh for creating it, and thank you Dad for teaching me to re-size!!) and made it a link to all the Tea Time Tuesday posts.

So now I'm unstoppable! If it's an image, it's a link...look out Google Images, here I come!

It's That Book With The Dusty Cover.

I have a pet peeve. Don't you? Well, maybe you should get one; they're a lot of fun. Truth be told, mine is quite irritating...at least, to me.

You just can't wait to find out what it is, can you? Okay...

I hate for people to use the Word of God OUT OF CONTEXT! I realize that hate is a strong word, but I feel certain that it fits my emotion.

The other day, I took RedDaddy to work (at 6:30 AM! I didn't even know there was air out at that time of the day!). On my way home I followed a car, for nearly 10 miles, with several Scripture bumper stickers on it. So as not to be guilty of taking her stickers out of context, these two were side by side, in fact touching.
Matt 22:29 "You do err, not knowing the Scriptures"
Ps 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God"

Now, there is nothing wrong with either of these verses. The first problem, however, is that neither of them were quoted in their entirety. The second problem is that by putting them together, she infers that they are related (ie: You don't know that the Scriptures say that you are a fool to not believe in God). While that may be true, it is not what the Word specifically states.

Interestingly, in Matthew 22:29, Jesus is correcting the Sadducees' attempt to twist the Scripture and trick Him! And, I must point out that the second half of that verse reads: "..nor the power of God." Hmmm.

Enough of that particular car!

Off the top of my head, here are few verses and their actual context:

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.KJV
Context: (Read from verse 1) Jesus is calling false teachers thieves, not satan.

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.KJV
Context: (Read from verse 26) The Holy Spirit making intercession for us works for our good, not every thing that comes our way.

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.KJV
Context: This is Job speaking, out of his own understanding, not by the leading of the Holy Spirit. To make a doctrine out of "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" would be like making a doctrine out of Gen 3:3 " But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.KJV (That was Eve speaking, not God.)

James 4:7 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.KJV (this is my personal favorite for misquotations)
Context: (Um, let's try reading the first part of that verse.) "Submit yourselves therefore to God..." Submission is required first, then an active resistance, THEN, and only then, may the promise be accessed.

Oops, sorry, you walk on the bottom of those toes, I'll only step on the top ;)

Honestly, my intention here is NOT to stir up strife. My goal is to send you straight to YOUR BIBLE! Oh that the Church would study it's Covenant! So often, we hear someone teach something, and because they are in the pulpit (or because they are our friend), we think it MUST be accurate. RedDaddy says it this way: It's a perfect message coming through an imperfect messenger.

Here's what the word has to say about it (taken in context, of course):

2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.KJV

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.KJV

1 John 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.KJV

And finally, we can stand on this promise:

John 10:2-5 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.KJV

Stepping down off my soapbox...for today, anyway :)

WFMW: Grocery List Made Easy.

Several people have seen my grocery list and commented on my organizational skills. They are not organizational skills, they are survival skills. The Land of Pink would not support human life without the help of some serious list making abilities.

I love lists! I have chore lists, to-do lists, spring cleaning lists, gift lists, school assignment lists, meal lists, shopping lists, prayer request lists...the list goes on and on. My lists even have lists!

I must admit that I am quite proud of my grocery list. It is a thing of beauty!

I also must admit that the list part was not my idea...*gasp*! I'm not sure where I got the idea, but it was not my own. Here's what I did:

I asked for a store aisle map from my local grocery store. I then created a personalized list (in a word doc.) of the items our family ordinarily purchases...aisle by aisle. I used a pretty small font in three columns. Mine actually takes up 4 columns so it is two sided.

The back side leaves room for my weekly meal plan. I like having my meal plan written on my shopping list, because I often will ask myself, while in the store, "Now why in the world would I need to buy ___________?" I can usually spot the odd item as a meal ingredient.

Now, the next part WAS my own idea:

I highlight the items needed IN A COLOR SPECIFIC TO EACH STORE. (Green: Publix. Blue: Albertson's. Pink: Walgreen's. Orange: CVS.)

Genius. I know.

Now that I have begun couponing, I find myself shopping in three or four stores each week, so the color coded list is what work for me!

Head over to Rocks In My Dryer to see what works for a bunch of other cleaver folks!

Tea Time Tuesday...Peace.

Peace. I love that word.

Peace. Just the sound of the word itself is calming to me.

We know that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace, but peace is also a fruit of the Tea Spirit.

Tea time is the perfect time to relax a bit, quiet down, and enjoy some peaceful reflection. It seems that it is in those quiet moments I am able to hear a particularly still, small voice.

You know the Voice I'm talking about. It's that Voice that can not be heard above the din of everyday life. It is the Voice that is most important to hear, yet, often most difficult.

When I take the time to sit still with a cup of tea, quietly enjoying all the trappings of a lovely tea time, I frequently hear that Voice. Not audibly, but clearly nonetheless.

It is the most peaceful, gentle, comforting Voice I have ever heard. More dear to me than anything. Given what my life is like on any given day, that peaceful reflection is becoming more and more essential to me!

Won't you join me in my effort to make hearing that Voice a priority? The benefits of peace are beyond measure!

And, how about a slice of chocolate tea bread spread with vanilla cream cheese to enhance your peaceful experience? Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say!

Chocolate Tea Bread

1 3/4 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

**If you don't have buttermilk, you can sour your own. Just add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 cup milk; let stand for 5 minutes. **

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda in bowl. Mix with a fork.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together with electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla, beat lightly until smooth. Sprinkle in cocoa and beat until smooth; then pour in buttermilk and mix. Add flour mixture and lightly beat just until flour disappears. Lightly beat in nuts.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Smooth top and bake 1 hour, or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. (Do not fret about a cracked top.) Let cool in pan on rack, then invert to remove and cool on rack.

Vanilla Cream Cheese

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Beat ingredients together just to combine and transfer to serving dish. (Makes 1/2 cup.)

...I'm Just Sayin'.

I have been waiting for the twitching to cease before even thinking about blogging our trip into enemy camp (IE: the ER). If you need to catch up on why we were in the ER, go here.

I wasn't going to go there at all. But...

There have been quite a few posts in bloggy-land lately about choices families make (family size being one), and the way others judge those choices.

We draw a lot of hostile fire around here. A LOT. That's okay, we're used to it.

One of the first times we were hit was when the six-year-old next door asked my then six-year-old, "Why don't your parents let you go to school?" I told her to tell the little girl, "Because they let me stay home!" Of course, I knew that question didn't come from the mind of a six-year-old; it had obviously been discussed amongst the adult populace of that household.

Next up was the barrage of negativity from various family members at the announcement of baby number four. You can imagine what the arrival of baby number five brought on!

We have been repeatedly cornered regarding our movie restrictions, lack of participation in Halloween, RedDaddy's and my refusal to spend the night apart (hasn't happened in more than 18 years), and our policy on keeping our kids close to home.

The hostile fire has been drawn from a variety of sources: "friends", family, church members, neighbors, and strangers. I had a near knock-down-drag-out with a PASTOR over a particular book series. We had chosen to not allow our girls to read them, and apparently were guilty of something akin to censorship, bordering on cruel and unusual!

What does all of this have to do with a trip to the ER? Well, think about how much we must endear ourselves to medical personnel when they discover that we 1) do not follow a "well baby" check-up regimen, 2) do not immunize our kids, and, therefore, 3) do not carry health insurance.

Hostile fire indeed!

On our first trip to the hospital we endured endless suggestions to sign-up for the Florida Healthy Kids program, patiently listened to the ER doc tell me how they would HAVE to have immunizations at SOME point (I was very gracious as I thanked him for his concern and told him I appreciated the information...like I haven't ever heard this all before, and didn't bother to ask a pediatrician many, many questions BEFORE making my decision!), and watched the looks of disdain on numerous nurses at the admission that we do not have a primary care provider. Although, I told RedDaddy that my new answer would be that His name is Jesus (pronounced Hey-Zues) de Nazarene ;)!

Our second trip to the hospital (to have the staples removed) was marked by a doctor who decided that I, as a parent, did not have the right to refuse treatment (non-emergency treatment) based on cost of the procedure. We asked and asked for a quote of the charges BEFORE any were incurred. We were told that would be no problem, even by the doctor who then stated, "Either way they have to come out!" and proceeded to remove the staples as my jaw hit the floor!

Loooooong story, very short... after some discussion at the hospital with an administrative-type person, I received a phone call from the Patient's Access Director (whatever that is) and was informed that they would be waiving all charges for that second visit.

Score one for the underdog!

I've shared all of that to make a point.

It is not any of our business how other people live their lives!

Just as those doctors and nurses had no idea of how much we sacrifice for the well-being of our kids, we can not know the details of another's life. Just as others can not imagine home schooling, I can not imagine NOT. And although I can't stand the thought of spending one night without my husband next to me, there are countless wives whose husbands are sleeping in Iraq tonight!

We, myself included, have got to stop looking down our noses at the way other people run their lives or at the choices they make. The truth is, we have NO idea why they are in the place they are, or what circumstances may have brought them where they are today!

Eight children, or no children.
Home school, or public school.
Married, or divorced.
Stay at home, or career.
Prius, or SUV.
Paper, or plastic.

Matt 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Guess What!

It's my birthday!

Have some cake...it's fat free ;)

They Never Saw It Coming.

If you own stock in CVS, Walgreen's, Albertson's, or Publix you , may want to sell now, before I push them into bankruptcy. *insert evil giggle here*

Actually, I didn't do all that fantastic compared to the CVS guru's. I spent almost $40 out of pocket, but I saved over $50, so I am personally pleased. This is what I came home with: a new lipstick (and may I say, the CoverGirl Outlast is truly amazing...it really does last 16 hours!); one CoverGirl Lash Blast mascara; one eyeshadow, in a fabulous shade of green; one of those Olay fix-all-your-aging-fill-in-all-your-wrinkles-remove-all-your-nasty-brown-spots overnight creams; a fancy-shmancy 5-blade razor dealy complete with shave gel, after shave lotion, a replacement blade, a travel case and a shower holder; three more razors; two Ice Breakers tins; two bottles of 2-in-1 shampoo; and...FIVE packages of feminine products!

Yea, me!!

I am pleased to announce that Albertson's has begun trying to keep up with Publix in the BOGO department. Little do they know how this will impact my life! I get a bit giddy from the BOGO's.

Between Albertson's and Publix these were my BOGO purchases this week: Eggo frozen waffles; hoagie rolls; Arnold Italian bread; Breyer's ice cream; Hormel all natural lunch meat; bacon; Smucker's preserves; microwave popcorn; and Betty Crocker fruit snacks!!

Yea, me again!!

So overall this week I spent $172 (for a family of seven) and saved a total of $111.60. I actually saved more because somehow I misplaced my Walgreen's receipt, so I didn't count the savings there.

Now, my question for you all is what do you spend on average for groceries per person in your family? I'm curious how I'm doin'. And...do you coupon to get that number, or not?

**Just a funny note: Spell Check doesn't recognize fancy-shmancy as a real word...hunh.**

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

I have roughly two and a half minutes to write this post...here goes.

Our first small group session went very well. We had a total of seven divorced people in our group. The strange thing about that is RedDaddy and I are Marriage and Parenting Ministers...heavy emphasis on the Marriage. At first I thought what in the world do I know about ministering to divorcees? I quickly found out that it just doesn't matter! God knows all that needs to be known about everything! The ministry began to happen BETWEEN the divorced parties...it was amazing!!

I got my hair cut and seriously colored. Pictures forthcoming!

I am off to do some serious damage to the fiscal integrity of CVS, Walgreens, Albertson's, and Publix. Yep, all four stores today. In under two hours...kiddos will NOT be with me ;) Hopefully I will return with a savings report to astound you!

Clearly the word of the day is "Serious"...seriously!

Gone Country.

(L-R: Coral, Ruby, Scarlet, Peach, and Rose)

Tell me these are not the most beautiful girls you've ever seen!!

I realize that I am partial, but really...

(Now, can anyone tell me how to re-size this pic to fit my skinny sidebar?)

How To Win Friends and Influence People.

Hey, that was a book or something, wasn't it? *hee hee*

Tonight our church is kicking-off its small group ministry.

On Wednesday nights our youth group meets in the sanctuary and our regular service is held in the Fellowship Hall. Currently, the Fellowship Hall is being renovated for our children's ministry. So the decision was made to split into small groups for the next eight weeks and meet in classrooms until the work is complete.

RedDaddy and I will be facilitating (smile, Rho) a group. All the groups will be going through the same relationship building material. The idea is to get the whole church on board with meeting in small groups and to begin building relationships.

The concept of needing organized small groups seems odd to me. Not small groups, just the need to structure it.

I am a very relational person, as is my husband. Our children are becoming very relational people as well. We have close friends whom we count on to help, and we can be counted on to offer help as our friends are in need. Our friends challenge us and we challenge them. If one of my girlfriends were making dangerous decisions, I wouldn't hesitate to "call her on it". And believe you me, my friends had better be willing to call me on destructive behavior, too!!

We are constantly meeting new people and making new friends. Our circle of influence is widely varied and consistently growing. Our lives are marked by mentors and mentorees.

So, for me (and for RedDaddy as well) the need to have structured relationships is non-existent. Frankly, it feels artificial to me (I'm not knocking the mechanism, I know it can be very successful). I am aware that there are people who would not connect with the Body of Christ without such structure; I'm just not sure why that is.

So, my questions go out to the Internet. Do you have a hard time connecting with other people within the Body of Christ? Do you make friends at church easily, or is it more comfortable for you to get to know people in small groups? Are you more likely to make real, authentic friendships within a pre-determined relational time, or on your own terms?

And...

If you were to choose a small group in which to be involved, would it be from your own age/season of life group, or a mixture of ages? What would be more helpful to you: a class-type meeting, a prayer group, or an open discussion form of Bible study?

That's a lot of questions, I know. However, I want to be effective in the ministry in which we have been placed, and I need your help!

PLEASE, leave me a comment...anonymously is fine...long or short...and answer as many of my questions as you can. Feel free to email me privately if you would rather.

Thank you, my friends!!

Mach 2 With My Hair on Fire...No, NOT the Hair!

I'm back, but not for long. This weekend was a whirlwind, and the upcoming week will be no better. So, here are the highlights. Unfortunately, that's all I have time for...it seems the resident 15 year old needs the computer to take her Driving Permit Test!

I did NOT just type that!!

HELP! I think I may have just passed out.

Weekend in review and week preview:
Friday - Celebrated the 4th with GREAT friends. Ate far, far too much. Kids were eaten alive by skeeters. Watched one of the best fireworks displays ever.

Saturday - Spent the entire day at the hospital having Rose's staples removed. Had my right to refuse treatment trampled by a doctor who will NOT be getting paid, and may just find himself getting sued. Tried to salvage evening with family by having a feast of steak, shrimp, baked potatoes, corn, and salad. (Salvage was largely unsuccessful.)

Sunday - Enjoyed a terrific message by a terrific pastor. Celebrated the birthday of a super friend and worship leader. Reveled in Family Nap Time!

Monday - Take care of Nursery responsibilities. Ladies Fellowship at 7:00 PM.

Tuesday - Take kids to Water Wars at church at 8:30 AM. Get hair colored and cut...can you shout Hallelujah?!..at 11:30 AM. Pick up kids at 1:30. Small group leadership meeting at 7:00 PM.

Wednesday - Teach small group at church at 7:00 PM.

Friday - My dad arrives for a short visit.

(Keep in mind that all of this is in addition to homeschooling, yes we're schooling during the summer, and RedDaddy's schedule has changed so that he must be at work an hour earlier now and will get home an hour later. But I'm not complaining!)

Today I realized that I have allowed my role as Nursery Coordinator at our church to slip to a lower priority than I ever should! That, along with all that this week will involve, has required me to put the blog on the back burner for a few days. I'll check in as is prudent.

I hope everyone is having a terrific summer!!

Happy Dependence Day!

We have plans, like most of America, to spend the day with friends, barbeque, and watch fireworks once the sun goes down.

Our friends are made up mainly of our church's staff; the barbeque will be a hodge-podge of whatever each family brings (we are doing chicken breasts marinated in my Granddaddy's secret family recipe); and the fireworks will be provided by a local church which goes all-out every year and does it up right!

Sounds like a fun-filled day to me! I am truly looking forward to some time with my friends :)!

The only part I'm not looking forward to is the part where all of my new friends find out what a sap I am. No, I'm not trying to be funny. I will cry LARGE buckets of tears through the entire firework display. Then, when the band begins to play the "Star Spangled Banner", well, there are no words to describe how I will embarrass myself, my family, and likely bystander's within a 25 foot radius.

I just love my country! I love all that it stands for (not necessarily all that it is, but all that it could be)! I love all that I possess because of my good fortune to have been born here! I stand with Lee Greenwood and proclaim "I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN"!

That having been said, today I find myself not celebrating my INdependence, but rather my DEPENDENCE. I am strangely focused this morning on how much I need my God.

Between Rose's injury, some parenting issues, stress on RedDaddy's job, our continual longing to be in full-time ministry...the list goes on and on...I am keenly aware of my utter desperation to fully and completely rely on my Heavenly Father for everything! I just don't have it in me to manage my own life.

That is what I am sensing in my heart today...a desperation for more of Him. Not more about Him, not more from Him, more OF Him! My heart cries out for Him to rescue me, to make me truly free! Free from the worry, the struggle, the indecision, the confusion, the stress, the discord, the lack.

I am fully aware that the only way He can rescue me is for me to stop trying to rescue myself! UGH! (That, by the way, was the Holy Spirit hitting me in the head with a spiritual 2 x 4...just so ya know.) I am also fully aware of this:

John 8:26
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.KJV

Freedom is an interesting thing, it is never free and it is never real outside of submission. What? True freedom comes from true submission. As I truly submit to God, to my husband, to my pastor, to whomever God has placed in authority over me, I become free to thrive in my God-given role!

Today, as I celebrate the freedoms of my country, and it's independence from Great Britain, I will be thinking much about my freedoms as a child of Almighty God and my dependence upon Him!

2 Cor 3:17

...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.KJV

WFMW: Mommy Casserole.

No, it's not casserole made out of Mommy. It's casserole created by Mommy.

I made this up on the fly one night...one of those "What in the world are we going to have for dinner" kind of nights. What? You have never had one of those nights? I'm sorry, we can no longer be friends.

Anyway, someone at the table said, "This is good, what's it called?" I said I had no idea, I had just invented it. So the name "Mommy Casserole" was suggested, and it stuck.

This is basically a variation of green bean casserole. It makes a great main dish that we serve over rice. Double the recipe, add a salad and some homemade rolls and you've got dinner in the Land of Pink on any given weekday ;)

Mommy Casserole

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken brst. (cut in strips)

1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup mayo

2 cans Blue Lake green beans

8 oz. fresh, sliced mushrooms

Mix all ingredients. Bake in a 9 x 13" dish at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring once. You can add some french fried onions to the top for the last 10 mins or so (but that makes the ingredient count six, so don't tell Shannon if you do).

This week's Works For Me Wednesday has a 5 ingredient recipe theme. Get over there and check out all the other ideas! I know I'm heading there now.

Tea Time Tuesday: Joy.

I must confess thatI lied to you last week. Well, maybe it wasn't truly a lie; I was mistaken. I said I would teach you to correctly brew tea today. However, that is perfect for a later post. I suppose you will just have to be...patient.

Today I give you some of my favorite tea qotes:

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me"
C.S. Lewis

"A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water"
Nancy Reagan

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea"
Henry James

“There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea"

Bernard-Paul Heroux

"If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you."

William E Gladstone

If these are true, we should have a nice cup of tea everyday...or maybe several! It does seem that taking tea brings its own brand of serenity. With a piping hot cup comes a unique sense of comfort and calm. Which of us doesn't need a dose of comfort and calm?

I'm feeling more relaxed already!

We began exploring the Fruit of the Tea Spirit last week with Love. Remember, the Tea Spirit is the attitude of taking tea...the spirit of the event. Carrying that spirit with us, produces certain fruit in our lives. Fruit much like the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The next Fruit is Joy.

Tea Time is a fun time. It's a time for friends, for beautiful table wares, for delicious goodies. Tea time is all about a party! We all can equate Tea and Party...we've been having tea parties since we were four years old!

It is pretty hard to be gloomy at a tea party. It's hard to be grumpy in that kind of environment.

What would our homes be like if we had the Tea Spirit present with us through each day? For those of us at home with little ones, or homeschooling older ones, how would each day be different if the Fruit of Joy...the attitude of a Tea Party...were allowed to permeate our words and deeds?

Take a moment and play "What If...".
What if we were excited to greet each "guest" at our "party" each day...even when they have morning breath?
What if we politely asked for things rather than shouted orders?
What if we chose to serve those at our "party" out of joy, not obligation?
What if we endeavored to create a fun, calm, joyful party experience each day for our family?

I know it isn't reasonable to think this is possible every moment of every day. But could it be possible some days, or A moment of every day?

I'm willing to give it a try.

Besides, I am a Party Girl at heart!