my blessed life

I found this very easy and very yummy recipe at Tina's Cherry Hill Cottage . She made them look so irresistible that I had to try them! Here's the link to the recipe . It was definitely a HIT for our college students tonight!

Well, I personally can't remember ever having a party for a TV show, but tonight we are. It's the season finale of LOST and my hubby and I are soooooo addicted that we can hardly wait. We usually have to tape the shows and watch them later because Thursday is our college ministry night. Tonight however we decided to do something totally different (since there are so many fans in that group) and host a party at our house. I'm looking forward to it (as long as they all don't *talk* through the show!). So I'll be busy all day getting the house cleaned and some snacks made... How about you ? Are you a total LOST addict? Here's a good place to catch up on some fun facts if you are--or want to be. And for some real fun, check out Sawyer's nickname generator ! I'm *Farah*:) And to add a fun *twist* to the day....my hubby did something to his foot last night playing basketball. So now he's off to the doctor to have an x-ray to see if it's broken, cr...

One of the fun things I got to do this past weekend was do a little baking with my daughter. She'd gotten this adorable child-size baking set for her birthday, complete with apron, oven mitt, potholder, baking pan, spatula and a little baking mix. So we decided to whip up that bread (I loaned her an extra tiny pan that I already had since the mix made two loaves). She expertly poured the mix into the bowl. Then she measured the right amount of water to add to the mix. Next we took turns stirring and mixing up the batter. Then we poured it into the little loaf pans. Ding!! They're ready! She could hardly wait to eat her "bread"! I added some strawberry jam (because the mix wasn't so tasty without it-ha!) and she proudly served us all using one of her little tea set trays. Delicious!!

Happy 65th, Mom! I love you!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, at least for all of you Americans:) We sort of kicked off our weekend fun yesterday afternoon. Even though the area where we live is pretty *small town* in general, there is a lot to do here. Since we've only lived here two years now we're still in the exploring stage. One thing that our area (I say "area" because there are four cities right together) does very well is parks. I've mentioned one or two of them recently. Well, just this Spring they've opened a new one. It has a really cool playground with all of the equipment on that great bouncy rubber surface. It has great picnic tables and a nice pavilion. But the main attraction is the huge *splash pad*. It is so much fun--at least it looked like fun, I was just on the sidelines taking pics! The kiddos really enjoyed it though. It was our first visit there, but it definitely won't be our last. I mean, it's better than a pool for little ones since they just like to splash ...

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Chapman family during this time of grief over losing their precious daughter, Maria . . You can go here to express your condolences with the family.

Things are starting to get *back to normal* around here today. Since last Friday its been one busy moment after the other. I tend to get a little crazy as "activities coordinator"--in general, not just when we have company or are on a trip:) My parents and sister came in town Friday night. I had quite the day lined out for us on Saturday. Our city was having its annual arts & crafts festival so we all headed downtown for some shopping and, of course, *fair food*. I found some beautiful jewelry at The Charming Cherub booth. I checked her out last year, and have regretted it all year that I didn't buy some of her vintage postcard jewelry. Next time I want some of her broken china! Before we left we had to sample fudge, hand-shaken lemonade, funnel cakes and snow cones ! Delish ! After that it was back home for nap time ...Next on my " activities schedule" was a local park. So we took off for carousel rides, train rides and some neck-jarring fun on the kiddie...

God has placed deep longings in the heart of every human being. We all long for beauty, for greatness, for fascination, for intimacy. We all long to be enjoyed, to be whole-hearted, to make a lasting impact. Many of us have been taught to deny these longings. We've been told they are not of God. But the problem is not the longings--they are given of God and cannot be denied. Problems only arise when we attempt to fulfill godly, legitimate longings in ungodly, wrong ways. Only God can fulfill the longings He has given to us. Only God can truly satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. When we realize our longings are godly and God wants to fulfill them, we find freedom and joy. We experience intimacy with God in ways we'd never thought possible .....(summary on back cover). I've been reading through this book for a while. It was given to me by a friend who loved it. I must admit, I had a really hard time getting into this book. I'm not sure why. The conte...

Well, we have a very fun weekend planned. My parents and sister are coming into town tonight and will be here for a few days--yea! We've got some good food planned, we're headed to the local arts festival tomorrow, and some shopping may be involved. Whoo Hoo!! So, it may be a day or so before I'm back. In the meantime, I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend, too. P.S. Don't forget to leave a comment on the post below if you'd like to help me figure out the mystery plants in my yard. I think my sister may have a scoop on them for me. I'll let you know. P.S.S. Don't you just LOVE those mossy old chairs above?! I saw them at the botanical gardens last week and couldn't resist snapping a picture. I wish I had those tucked into the *garden* (a.k.a: backyard) somewhere.

Lately I've found some lovely things growing and blooming in my yard--I just have no idea what they are. I was wondering if any of you could help me: Specimen #1: lovely variegated leaves (similar in shape to violets) with tiny white blooms coming out . It's a kind of ground cover almost. Specimen #2: a bushy plant with light green leaves and delicate pink clusters of flowers Specimen #3: a very tall flower with gorgeous fuchsia blooms Yesterday the previous owner of our house called to ask if she could come by today and get some cuttings of one of the flowers in the backyard. Of course I told her that was fine, to come on by! I had ulterior motives though; I wanted to pick her brain about the care of some of the flowers and plants in the yard. She was very helpful about everything I asked her about. Unfortunately we were mainly in the backyard and never made it to the side of the house in the front where the above plants are so I completely forgot to ask about them. That, a...

My mother has forever spoiled me where banana pudding is concerned. She always makes it homemade--that is, no box mix--and it is incredible! Growing up I thought that was the way everybody made banana pudding. I was grossly disappointed when I learned otherwise and consequently usually avoid all banana puddings except my mom's. Even though I'm a pretty experienced cook, I sometimes avoid those favorites of my mom's because I always think I won't make them quite as well. Today I decided to give this one a shot and it turned out SO GOOD!!! It takes a little more time than a box, I would imagine, but it's totally worth it. If you've never had banana pudding from scratch, you've got to try this! Mama's Banana Pudding 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp. salt 2 cups milk 3 eggs, separated 2 Tbls . butter 1 tsp. vanilla 2 large bananas, sliced vanilla wafers Preheat oven to 400F. Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add milk gradually then add slightly beaten egg yo...

Yea! The book that I won from Reese & Heather over at Kicking It In Crazyville has arrived. The title says it all for me--I know I can relate:) I've been wanting to start a new personal Bible study and this looks like it will be really good. I'll let you know all about it when I'm finished. Thank you so much, Reese & Heather, for a great giveaway!!

I hope that all of you moms out there had a great Mother's day! I especially missed celebrating with my mom. Both my mom and Vince's mom live quite a ways away though and there was no way we could see them this weekend. So long-distance wishes and flowers had to do. My day was really wonderful!! My husband and kiddos made it very special. I always read (a little wistfully) those magazine articles about how to have a special Mother's day by sleeping in and having breakfast in bed, etc. Our Mother's days are usually a mad rush to make it to church on time and, oh yeah, don't forget to give mom her card before we leave. This has been my life on both ends of the spectrum as my dad is also a minister. Yesterday was no different: we currently have to all be at church by 8:15 am on Sundays (which is killer for me since I'm no morning person). However, my kiddos and my husband had their cards and gifts all ready for me first thing in the morning. The kiddos had made (w...

This past weekend Vince's brother and my brother-in-law, Steven , graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in broadcasting. We are so proud of him! He's worked really hard for this. We wish we could've been there in person. Thanks to the family for taking pics and sharing the day with us. Way to go, Steve!! We love you and miss you! Steven, the graduate photo by Papa Wayne

Yesterday was a wonderful family day! We took the kiddos to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. Huntsville is just far enough away that it really feels like we're really *going somewhere*. I love to go see the local sights and I had checked out the gardens before, noting that they had a children's garden there. But when I recently checked their website and saw that they were having a special *Dinosaur Uproar* event and that May is when the butterflies hatch out in the nature center, I knew we HAD to take the kiddos soon! We all had so much fun! the kiddos "roaring" at a topiary dino in the Storybook Garden the key to the Secret Garden looking at flowers through a kalidescope butterflies flitting around in the nature center

I found some gorgeous strawberries this week at the store and thought strawberry shortcake sounded yummy! My kiddos are fruit lovers, and strawberries are a favorite. I actually used a favorite scone recipe for the shortcake (leaving out the currants). Scones 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 1 Tbls. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1/4 cup butter (can add an extra Tbls) 1/2 cup buttermilk or sweet milk 1 egg 1/2 cup currants (craisins are delicious, too) 1 egg yolk 2 Tbls. cold water Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into dry mixture until crumbly. Beat (with a fork) milk and egg together. Pour into dry ingredients, stirring well until blended. Add currants (unless you're using this for shortcake); mix well. On a floured surface, place slightly wet dough; knead lightly. Pat dough into 3/4" thick large circle. Cut into wedges. Beat egg yolk and water together and brush over scones. B...

...in the kitchen ...on my desk ...in the guest bath ...on my nightstand ...in the Princess' room

A few weeks ago I told you about those t-shirt bags I conned my sister into sewing up for me, right? Well, she got them finished and brought them to me while we were all in Kansas City last week. Here they are in all of their glory (all ten of them!): So today I got them ready and loaded them in the back of my car and headed to the store. Then I promptly forgot to take them inside with me . I decided that I would just tell the clerk to put my stuff back in my cart with no bags (like at Aldi's or Sam's) and then bag them in my own bags when I got to the car. I've never gotten such a funny look in all my life--apparently I'm the first person who's ever asked her to do that. I explained that I'd left my *new* reusable bags in the car and asked her if there was any special procedure for bringing those in with me. I wondered if she would think I was a total freak at that question, but she seemed quite familiar with that scenerio and told me all about how easy that w...

Won't you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you. ~ Richard Sheridan

Just wanted to share some great blogs I've been discovering about crafts to do with your family. Coastalgirl Make and Takes The Crafty Crow I've really enjoyed checking out the fun ideas on these--plus they usually have lots of links to other great family fun blogs, too! Enjoy!

We just got back last night from a trip to Kansas City. We were there all week for a missions conference. It was hosted by WME (Worldwide Missionary Evangelism) which is a ministers' fellowship that Vince is a part of--and of which my dad is the chairman. The conference sessions and services were so incredible! The guest speakers included Dr. Bambang of Indonesia, Matthew Barnett of the Dream Center in LA, Larry Jones of Feed The Children, and author Tommy Tenney . I picked up several new books that I'm excited about reading. Two were by Tommy Tenney: The Road Home and Finding Your Way . Overall, this was a very refreshing week for both me and Vince. We really enjoyed seeing some friends that we hadn't seen in a while. I got to spend some time with my life-long friend, Nancy , who has instructed me to "please stop calling her my *oldest* friend":) When I said that before I wasn't thinking of age, but simply of the fact that we've been friends since we w...