Glimpse of Thanksgiving

Twenty Four Years Old

Who?

Me?

Couldn't be!

Yesterday I celebrated 24 years of life and I praise God for it!!! Dad reminded me that I'm almost a quarter of century. :) I have been blessed beyond measure and I have so so much to be thankful for!

Tony gave me a dozen each of homemade roses & violets - many of them bearing a special little handwritten message. ;) Earlier in the week he also got me some Fit Flops!

Tony spent most of the afternoon studying for a test, while I divided my time amongst cleaning, crocheting, and a sugar foot scrub. :) Early evening we stopped by Tony's parents house. Unfortunately, Tony's mom had already left for church, but she left my gift on the table. She found the cutest frog card with some cash enclosed and a cranberry scented diffuser (which has already made itself at home in our bedroom)!

We then went to my parents house for a little family celebration. Per my request, mom fixed breaded steak with mashed potatoes, corn, and biscuits. All very yummy!

Before dinner, Brittany gave me a "pre-present" - the felt circles that I had spent hours preparing for our ZONK game. I had let Brittany use them for school a year ago and we thought they were gone forever. But as she was cleaning her room recently she found them. :) This led to another "pre-present" from Joey. A small bag of dog food. "Huh?" Tony & I are not big pet people - at least not in this season of our life. My family knows this too. So I really thought they were joking at first. They kept going on and on about the animal that Joey has hiding in his room. He had bought it the day before. "It don't eat much. It won't be to expensive to feed. Pedro, my parents dog, didn't really like him." I was beginning to get worried. What if he really did get us a pet??? Joey decided to go ahead and give me our new pet. I nervously faced the wall in the living room, while Joey brought out my gift. :) What a relief it was to find this AWESOME metal elephant - who eats nothing. Haha!!

After dinner and kitchen clean-up, I opened the rest of my gifts. :) I recieved a beautiful framed saying & a sweet, sweet card from Chrissie. :)

My parents got me some much desired Croc canvas shoes, a couple shirts, a pack of smarties candy [from dad], and UNO Attack!! I'm sure this new member of the family - UNO - will be making many appearances at our family get togethers. Haha.

Brittany had bought my present several weeks before and has been anxiously waiting to give it to me. Usually she can't wait and she'll give it to me early. ;) She got me a snazzy purple jacket with a contrasting thermal to go underneath! So pretty!

Matthew got me a lovely Tazo tea set in a nice bamboo box. :) It will make 30 cups of yummy tea - one of which I'm enjoying right now as I write this post.

After gifts, Matthew made his last pot of Jamaican Blue Coffee and graciously shared it with everyone. We played a couple rounds of UNO Attack and ate some yummy cake made by Mommy! :) Isn't it so pretty???

Coldest Raleigh Christmas Parade

During our little time of devotions this morning, Richard Baxter (1615-1691) encouraged us to "help each other by [living] an exemplary life."

"Be that yourselves which you desire your husband or wife should be;

excel in

meekness,

humility,

charity,

dutifulness,

diligence,

self-denial,

and

patience."

*Oh, and I'm

*pretty excited

*about the

*little

*snow flurry

*we're

*having!!

*Happy

*Friday

Pumpkin Pie

8oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 frozen pie crust
Whipped cream, for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer.
Add the pumpkin and beat until combined.
Add the sugar and salt. Beat until combined.
Add the eggs, half and half, and melted butter. Beat until combined.
Add vanilla and spices. Beat until combined.

Pour the filling into your pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until center is set.
Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temparture.
Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream. YUM!!

This past weekend my mom & I went to the East Coast Ladies Retreat at Faith FWB Church. I attended my first ladies retreat 12 years ago at the young age of 12. I can't believe that many years has gone by already!! *Gasp* :) One of the speakers was John Bishop (along with his wife Donna). In 1995, John was stricken with aseptic meningitis. He lost all of his memory and has had to learn how to walk, read, talk, etc all over again. He has severe migraines that come and go - he described it as having six migraines at the same time. He is usually given a shot of morphine to help with the pain. Most recently, he has lost his eyesight. But through all this he says "God is always good and God is always right!" His wife has been his "teacher" through all of this. When he first lost his memory, she was telling him they were married. John didn't know what marriage was. She explained it this way, "You belong to me and I belong to you." John replied, "Oh, so you are My Donna?" "Yes, I'm your Donna." And that is what he has been calling her ever since. John is overwhelmed at the goodness and love that his wife has shown to him through all these trials. He asked her "Why are you so good to me Donna?" She replied, "For two reasons. First - Because I promised - I made a vow on our wedding day - for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health to love and to cherish until death do us part. And the second reason is because I love you with a special love! John then related this conversation to God. "God, why have you been so good to me?" And God says because I made a promise - he made a vow to save His people. And because I love you with a special love! So true! With tears in my eyes I shared the story of John Bishop with My Tony. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to not remember ... anything. We have no idea what the future holds. But God does! And there is so much comfort found in that precious Truth! HE has ordered our steps and HE will recieve the honor and the glory!

Saturday evening Tony & I ate at a local mexican restaurant and browsed through Books A Million. Because of the retreat, we had been apart for several hours - so our little reunion was very sweet! :) We also gathered with some fellow siblings in Christ for a time of worship.

*******************************
Yesterday as my dad and I were taking a walk it started to SNOW!!! :) Can you believe it?Snow in North Carolina before Thanksgiving!! So out of the ordinary for us. It was sooo pretty too. According to the almanac and the pecan trees we are supposed to have a very wet and cold winter. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Evening Snack for Two

Mini Pumpkin Breads served with Organic Egg Nog. Yum.

Pumpkin Bread

5 eggs

1 1/4 cup butter

15 oz pumpkin

2 mashed bananas

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add butter, pumpkin, and banana; beat until smooth. Combine dry ingredients; gradually beat into pumpkin mixture. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans (or make mini ones). Bake at 325* for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

"The Three Bears and Chamel, the Chameleon"

[Written by Dr. Kent Hovind for his grandchildren, June 8, 2008]

Dear Grandkids,I love you and miss you s-o-o-o-o-o much. Today, I want to tell you a story.Once upon a time there were three bears—Daddy Bear, Mommy Bear, and Baby Bear. They lived in a house in the woods. They loved each other s-o-o-o-o-o much and they loved God. One day they decided to go for a walk in the woods. As they walked, Baby Bear saw a lizard on a tree. He stopped to talk with him.“Hi, Mr. Lizard,” Baby Bear said. “What’s your name?”“My name is Chamel. I’m a chameleon,” said the lizard.“Hi, Chamel! I’m Baby Bear. Say, how are you holding on to that tree?”“With my five toes and my l-o-o-o-n-g tail! Although I’m only four inches long, my tail is as long as my body.”

“Wow!” said Baby Bear. “I have five toes for walking and I have a tail, but I can’t hang on to trees with my toes and tail! My tail is t-o-o-o-o short. Chamel, your eyes look uh…different,” said Baby Bear.

“My eyes are really special,” said Chamel. “I can move one eye to look around while the other one doesn’t move. Can you do that?”

“No way!” said Baby Bear. “If I move one eye, the other one moves with it. I can’t do what you do.”

“That’s right,” said Chamel. God made me special. He made it possible for me to catch flying bugs for lunch.”

“How do you catch bugs?” asked Baby Bear.

“God gave me a really special tongue. It’s as long as my whole body! It hooks on at the front of my mouth so I can flip it out really fast. It hits the bug like a hammer and knocks him out. He doesn’t even know what hit him. God is s-o-o-o-o-o smart! There are lots of bugs, so I always have plenty to eat. What do you eat, Baby Bear?”

“I eat mostly grass, fruit, and berries, but now sometimes my mom fixes deer meat for supper. It is really good too. We also love to catch fish to eat. They are s-o-o-o-o-o good!” said Baby Bear.

“You see,” said Chamel, “God made us different. I have what I need, and you have what you need. God made me so I can change colors to help me hide from enemies. When I’m on a green bush, I turn green; and when I’m on a brown branch, I turn brown. Can you do that?”

“What! You can change colors?” said Baby Bear. “I stay brown all the time. It’s a good thing that God made us bears big and strong. So, even now that things are no longer perfect—the way God made us in the beginning–not too many enemies bother us.”

“I love to see all the beautiful things God made—and learn about them,” said Chamel.

“I do too,” said Baby Bear. “I love to go for walks with my mom and dad. They teach me s-o-o-o-o-o many things!”

“Oh! Hold real still!” said Chamel. “There is a fly on your head. I’ll get him.”

Baby Bear didn’t move a muscle. Then, as fast as lightning, Chamel’s tongue shot out and caught the bug and ate it. It happened s-o-o-o-o fast that Baby Bear didn’t even see it! Chamel slowly chewed her bug.

Daddy Bear said, “Come on, Baby Bear, we have to finish our walk and go home for our supper.”

Baby Bear turned to Chamel and said, “I have to go now. I’ll come see you again some day.”

Chamel just waved her five-toed hand because it’s not polite to talk with your mouth full of food. Especially bug food!

“Daddy,” said Baby Bear. “Can we come see Chamel again sometime?”

“Why sure, Baby Bear,” said Daddy Bear. “Or maybe we can see one of her cousins. Did you know that today there are eighty different varieties of chameleons? God really likes chameleons. So He made them with the ability to adjust to changes.”

“Does God really like us too?” asked Baby Bear.

“Oh, yes, Baby Bear!” said Daddy Bear. “He gave every creature that ability. There are eight different varieties of bears today and every one of them are s-o-o-o-o-o amazing. Let’s finish our walk and go home. Maybe later we’ll have a lesson about how special we bears are.”

“I’d like that,” said Baby Bear. “I love you, Daddy.” “I love you too, Baby Bear,” said Daddy Bear. “Let’s go home and eat some of Mommy Bear’s good cooking!”“Oh, yum, yum, yum!” said Baby Bear, and they both walked home. THE END

I love you!
Grandpa

As of late God has been teaching us the importance of daily family worship ... even when it is only husband and wife. So we have started incorporating a time of Bible reading, study, and song after our evening meal. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. I know we will cherish these times spent together in God's Word for years to come. I trust that HE will use these times to strengthen us in the faith and our love for one another.

I have also been learning how to crochet. With the help of YouTube videos I have learned five different stitches so far and have been inspired. It is a pretty versatile talent and I really enjoy that it can travel with me where e're we go. This creation I am making is nearly two-hundred stitches wide. I will have to paste a picture of the final product when I am all done.

Saturday we were able to sleep in just a little bit, which is always a nice thing. I woke up and made us some biscuits and gravy for breakfast, then Tony got busy on his school work. That afternoon we went to Bridgeton. Tony had heard of a neat fishing spot where a train crosses over the Neuse river. Tony said "It will be me, you, and the shrimp." :) Supposedly you could walk out onto the bridge and fish. But we were sad to see a "no trespassing" sign. So we fished from the little pier instead. The scene was beautiful!

[See the train going across the river]. Unfortunately, no little fish were caught (no big fish either). But we still had fun and some good conversation. As Tony was packing up his fishing pole we saw a fish jump high out of the water - twice. Kind of like a whale. It was bidding us farewell and joining the Gingerbread Man in a song, "You can't catch me..." :)

** LOVE **

Saturday we woke bright and early ... it was still dark outside as we loaded the truck and started on our journey to Bayboro. When we were almost there we stopped to get something warm to drink. We unloaded to boat and spent a few hours on the water, just me and Tony - chilling (it was pretty cold!). Our warm drinks did not stay warm very long. We decided that if we owned a house on the sound, we would certainly be selling coffee from our dock. ;)

That afternoon we joined our dear friends Kevin & Sherri in Wilson to watch "Fireproof". Oh, I cannot reccomend that movie enough. It was great!! It is quite the tear jerker too - all four of us shed tears and were reminded of God's amazing covenant called marriage! We thank God for this production! (Below is a music video of one of the songs in the movie. You will need to press pause on my music playing in the side bar, and then press play on the video).