Giggle, Snort

Okay, so I needed a laugh today!

Yard Sign

My mom always sends the best little things to pass along to you....be sure to click on the picture so you are able to read the sign!!!

Newest Update

Steve had his out-patient exploritory surgery this morning. They went down his throat to look at his lungs and take samples.....when they went in, they said that the procedure went great but they found another spot on the opposite lung that they were not aware of....therefore, they have taken samples and we will find out in several days. Keep praying.

Pink Kitchen-Aid

Yippee!! I got a pink kitchenAid for my birthday gift from my hubby & kiddos!!! I have wanted this for sooooooo long. For those of you who do not know the story I'll share it with you -- My stand mixer died in Jan or Feb so I was determined that I was not going to buy a little mixer but save my $$ to get a pink KitchenAid....well needless to say that I never did get any money saved !! However, my kids would go over to my SIL's house and borrow her little mixer....back and forth from house to house the little mixer went (she has a kitchenaid but also a little guy) for several months. I broke down today and purchase a small hand mixer at WalMart....but when I got home there was this BIG package on the counter ....YEHAA what a great gift.

Blessing

Picture: Alyssa & John -- Shalene & Rebecca -- Clayton & Reuben

Wanted to share a story with everyone. A HUGE blessing from God!

The PA Cyber School that the kids attend planned a field trip to the Renaissance Faire (about 2 hours from us). Each of the kids invited a friend to come with them...and off we went. Now we have been there the past 2 years and the kids really love this so they were very excited, as well as their guests. However, when we arrived to the place we were informed that due to incliment weather it was cancelled. (it said reign or shine - it was raining - we had our tickets bought - over $100 and we figured we needed to cash them in -- we were informed we could come back a different weekend. UGH, my weekends are full)

So, here we are with all of the "kids" in the van and we figured after making the drive we needed to do something. So I mentioned going to Lancaster, Pa and see if we could get in at Sight & Sound. We really didn't have the money for this but we needed to do something that would appeal to the age difference. We arrived at Sight & Sound and our visitors were thrilled (none of the 3 had ever been there) Sight & Sound Theatres

We walk in at around 12:30 the next show starts at 1:00 , we were taking a huge chance to be able to get seats, but we figured it was worth a try- Steve approached the ticket counter and asks if there are any seats available. NONE - ZILCH - totally sold out for the 1:00 show, but they had 3 spots for the 4:15 show....well we had 8 people and that wans't gonna work. So the lady gave us a brochure of things we could do in Lancaster and informed us of a dinner theatre that was nice. So we all stood there looking through the brochure, taking potty breaks and the kids decided that since we were there they would at least buy some of the awesome almonds that they sell at Sight & Sound. Again Steve went up to the lady and asked, " Do you ever have cancellations?" Sometimes she said, but usually only one or 2 seats.

We were there 10 -15 minutes when the lady at the ticket booth called Steve over again. She said that she had checked the "blessing" box and found 8 tickets - all in a row - Now the blessing box was this: If you purchase tickets ahead, you can cancel but it has to be within a certain time frame...after that you do not get your money refunded. However, some people can not make it and hand in their tickets to be used for someone else....even though they don't get the money refunded to them. The Sight & Sound people will then give those tickets out as a blessing to someone else. So she hands us 8 tickets and says "these are yours at no charge!"

Oh my, we couldn't believe it. This was over $200 worth of tickets and we were to pay nothing. And we all got to sit together. I must say that this was a HUGE Miracle/Blessing sent from GOD,.

Check this link out it shows some of what you would see if you would attend....I highly recommend this to you!

So we were all able to attend the story of "In the Beginning" This was wonderful and it showed us that God saw us and cared.

Sarcoidosis

Update on Steve and his eye situation:

In order to find out what is causing the uvitis in Steves eyes (remember I mentioned he had a cortizone shot in the one eye - that eye is doing some better and it is now in the other eye. However, the shots can lead to problems in the future so we are a bit worried about that as well) The doctors have to find out what virus or problem the patient has - treat that - and hope it takes care of the uvitis. So they have run a few tests on Steve and have found that he has

Sarcoidosis. This is a problem in his lungs. He will be scheduled for an test of his lungs to see what all is going on. Part of having sarcoidosis is that you get an itchy rash with it....which Steve has recently broke out with. So add that discomfort to all of the stuff happening!!!

In the mean time please continue to pray for Steve and that the doctors will have wisdom.

Snow in October

How depressing, at least for me, since I do not like to be cold!!!! However, Clayton thought it was great. I even saw a snowman this past week - which means we had enough snow to make one that was about 4 ft tall. UGH

Here is a picture of the local winery with all the beautiful grapes hanging (which meant that it is still suppose to be fall !)

Blown Away

Sorry, these pics were taken through the window/screen so they are a bit blurred!

I can't believe how windy of a day that we have had today!!! Many branches have been down and lots of items no longer in the place that they started out in. Electric has been out several times here at our house....which isn't good anytime, but the kids were in school (cyber school, where they are in class at specific times with live teachers!) So that was a pain. Since they couldn't get to class this morning they now have to go and do playbacks of the class and get their school work finished, so needless to say that has messed our day up a bit.

However, Clayton decided that there was one good thing about the day -- He could dig out his kite and have a bit of fun.

Fall Has Arrived

To celebrate the fall season we have been eating some wonderful foods....last evening we had apple crisp cheese ball with graham twists. Today we are enjoing apple pecan cinnamon rolls!!! OHHHHHH, talk about the taste and smell of fall!!! You can find the recipe here at Mommy? I'm Hungry
Something else that I love to eat this season -- pumpkin spice hershey kisses -- Love em

Here is the pumpkin tree we made!!! Love it....I can't remeber whose blog I saw this one but I stole the idea!! These are little hot peppers and the jar is packed full of acorns. Cheap and cute decoration!

We are going to be making apple pie filling to can this week.....then we can enjoy apple crisp throughout the winter.

I made 2 arrangements this year...one for the foyer and one in the kitchen. I really must admit that I like how these turned out.

Fall has arrived at our house...decorations are being put up and the weather is chilly and brisk. Acorns and leaves are dropping and the fall colors are just stunning. This is a great time of the to enjoy the outdoors....

Born Again American

Visit here -- and do something!

What Matters Most

These autumn days are so wonderful.....sunshine with crisp air, change of colors, cooler nights, family times, apple and pumpkin spice scents waffing through the air. I really love this season.

What Matters Most...you must watch this little video clip. And let it make a difference in your life.

Chocolate Oreo Cake

I Have Amazed Myself......I tried this Chocolate Oreo Cake recipe --- Ohhhhhhh....it turned out wonderful. Be sure to vi st "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" to see this recipe...you gotta give it a try. So for supper tonight we will be having Salsa Chicken with Linguine -- a veggie (gotta decide) and this AWESOME cake. The cream filling...oh la la -- you know when you are the cook you gotta taste test so that's what I did. Now, for those of you who like real quick recipes this one isn't real quick, however, it doesn't take as long as it looks! Enjoy!

Family Update

I've been behind on posting so here is a family update:

Steve went for his CAT scan yesterday so we will see what is happening soon. He did go to the doctor last Thursday. It appears that both of his eyes are having problems. Pray that they will find what is causing all of this and things will be taken care of.

Shalene & Clayton have had colds...poor Shalene, her nose was so red on Sunday. But they seem to be getting better. Alyssa hasn't been sleeping well and seems to be tierd a lot...she has allergies so tis the season for her. Lyssa will soon be taking her drivers test...I'm looking forward to her driving and saving me time but I also dread the thought of not knowing!!!

I haven't been sleeping well as of late....not sure why because when I finally get to go to bed I fall asleep before my head hits the pillow. Think maybe I'm trying to do too much. I will soon have my canning finished. Want to can some apple bread yet, lemon curd and will be getting two boxes of grapes soon. I still have that pumpkin waiting and maybe some apples....did I say I'd be done soon? HUMMMMMMMM, maybe not.

The store (frostitpink.com) has been picking up - I thank the Lord for that!

Oh, and we now have two "apricot" (color) toy poodles. Both of the girls purchased these and plan to raise puppies as they get a bit older. Shalene named hers Chloe and Alyssa named hers Diynki(Dinkey) We will post pictures later.

Alyssa and Shalene have been asked to play in the instrumental ensemble at Penn View - this is the school where they use to attend and I worked......so the girls have joined this, playing the violin. They have practice Monday (7:45pm) and Wed/Frid @ 2:10 -- so this adds to our running and confussion for the week. (this is one of the main reasons I'm looking forward to Lyssa driving!!!) The music seems hard for them but they seem to be enjoying it. They will travel with the college choir so this should be fun for them.

Below are some pictures that my mom sent me of our troops.......This makes me appreciate all that I have.

A Must Visit Blog

If you haven't visited The Pioneer Woman than I'm suggesting that you go ASAP!! It has something for all of you.....cooking, homeschool and more...my husband loved looking at the pictures of the dog and all of the scenery photos...plus I think he may have been hinting a bit with some of the food items that were on that site. Check it Out!

Let's Not Forget

Quote

" A Raisin is A Worried Looking Grape"
anonymous

Our Labor Day

We had a great day with family and friends!!!

Stephanie came over Sunday evening and spent the night with Shalene. Alyssa took off on Monday and visited with friends. But before she left she had made peanutbutter pie (you can see the pic!! YUM) We went minature golfing and had a bonfire - pizza mountain pies and grilled hotdogs with lots of other picnic goodies. As you can see by the photos we enjoyed out day together.!

Labor Day

Wishing you a great Labor day -- Spending time with my family and since we are going to be near Target I will be a bit frugal as well - cashing in on dog food!!
Enjoy the day.

Eyes

Steve went to the doctor again today -- he had a steroid injection in his eye...in hopes that it will take the internal swelling down.

He will go back in 2 weeks for more testing...they think that this is steming from his lungs...I guess this eye problem can be caused by many different things and from all of the tests the doctors feel it is steming from his lungs. Therefore, he will probably have a cat scan of his lungs next appt. since the x-ray didn't show anything

Keep praying.

Green Beans

Green Beans and More Green Beans!!! My SIL was nice enough to let me pick beans from her garden since I didn't get many from mine. This is the second time that hers has produced and so I didn't know if I'd get many or not. Well, I ended up with 40 quarts of beans and 12 pints of dilly beans. We picked Sat. and than this morning as well...than we snapped, stuffed jars and canned...I'm so sick of seeing green!! But I'll be thrilled when its cold outside and I have the awesome taste of home canned greenbeans...there is no comparison to storebought!! YUCK!!!

So, while I'm in the process of doing beans my other SIL stops by and wants to know if I want some pears...Shalene is in the background snapping beans saying...no, no, no pears!!! Giggle, Steve said YES, we'll take em. So, I'm thanking the Lord for sending all this free food along our way -- even if I'm dragging at the moment.