I Almost Won!

If there is such a thing. :)

My cell phone started ringing and texts started coming in from all over the country. *

What is going on I asked myself?

Big exciting news for this stay at home mom of five.

Yup.

I got mentioned at Ree's blog. I almost won her contest.

I'll take a mention, it's the closest I've ever been to actually winning something.

Donna says: "Janet, I'm so proud of you. You've done what we've all been trying to do for months!" hehehe. (I'm the baby in the family and she's the best cheerleader and encourager EVER.)

Janice's text read: go to p-dub asap.

* One call, one text. And Donna lives in Wisconsin. K?

Just Bored

I saw this first over at Junebug's blog.

Of course hers is from Oklahoma! (I can't really say or type that word without busting in to the Broadway musical song. That would explain the exclamation point at the end.)

You can have your own fun at ImageChef.

I adore the flowers below. Cute, eh?

Fun at ImageChef

Helen Keller

Sarah is finishing up a biography book report and this is what she chose to read.

"Helen Keller: A photographic story of a life". It is published by DK Publishing, Inc.

I have enjoyed being reminded of this remarkable woman and her accomplishments, not to mention her teacher and mentor Annie Sullivan. Annie was only 20 years old when she began educating Helen.


"Obedience is the gateway through which knowledge and love enter the mind of a child."
Annie Sullivan


"Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspire, and success achieved."
Helen Keller


"While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done."
Helen Keller


These are wise words.

Think about the determination and perseverance these two women had. Oh, to have a fraction of that in my soul.

I am reminded of this verse.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Please Read

This is very touching story about a young mother willing to give her life for her baby.

May the Lord bless her husband and their children.

I hope you will follow the link.

J Cubed

Janet, Janice and Jimmy

I think we all agreed that this shot was taken in 1979 at his house on Martha's Vineyard. It looks better in black and white but I think the funky colors give it age and well, funkiness.

Thank you, Janice, for finding it and scanning it and emailing it so I could post it.

Now, can we talk about 'her' glasses? Mercy! What on earth? How could we have 4 other sisters and not one of them say "hmmmm, maybe those are a little too big for your face hunny, maybe you shouldn't wear those cuz someday just maybe this will come back to haunt you?"

What? You don't like my orange terry cloth outfit? Well! Trust me, it was cool. The shorts were very orange and they had white stripes going down the side and were trimmed in white around the legs. Fashion slave, yes, that was me back in the day.

All joking aside, we are having a delightful time with Jim! We're taking him to an 8th grade basketball game and then out for German food.

A Munchkin

Sarah tried out for and earned a spot in our school's spring performance of The Wizard of Oz. It is being preformed by the high school kids but they needed 3rd graders to be the munchkins. We are so excited for Sarah. Even if she just skips around the stage singing silly munchkin songs we'll be thrilled. Of all of us in this family Sarah is the one who can sing and dance. I've actually thought seriously about getting her into voice lessons, cuz this momma here can't teach no one to sing. :) I'd love it if her costume looked like the munchkin behind the guy in green and to the left. Isn't it cute?

Do you remember waiting every year for the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz? I do. My friend, Stacey, thinks it came on every spring here in Arizona. Those were the days...no TiVo, good old fashioned waiting. Hmmmm, seems like my kids could use a little of that good old fashioned waiting once in a while.

Donna is a HUGE, GIANT, ENORMOUS, CRAZY fan of The Wizard of Oz. I'm sure the reason I know every song by heart is because of her influence. She probably MADE us sing along and then after it was over I'm sure we had to ACT it out and sing some more. LOL.

Here is another picture, just for Donna.



















Enjoy this!

The Eagle Has Landed

Translation: Jimmy's here ya'll!!


















We had a wonderful evening visiting with Jim.

I asked him about The Stunts. I was panicked. He said he hasn't done them in years. Thank heavens.

We reminisced about old times. Like the time his friend flew Janice and I to Martha's Vineyard from Osh Gosh, Wisconsin. And we both threw up in that man's airplane. Were we only 10 or so?

We remembered the fun we had flying over the Atlantic ocean with Jim, looking at sea turtles sunning themselves and humpback whales playing in the water with their babies. And how the next day he had to "crash" land his plane in the ocean. He floated in his raft and watched his plane sink. He was quickly rescued by a helicopter. He reminded me that he was home safe and sound for dinner. We ate crabs that night.

I asked him if he flies famous people around and he said yes but I couldn't blog about it.

That's all for now.

Sister Tour 2008, last leg.

On Prayer

This is from the Valley of Vision.

Found at this web site.

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O Lord, in prayer I launch far out into the eternal world, and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs over all evils on the shores of mortality. Time, with its gay amusements and cruel disappointments never appears so inconsiderate as then.

In prayer I see myself as nothing; I find my heart going after Thee with intensity, and long with vehement thirst to live to Thee. Blessed be the strong gales of the Spirit that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.

In prayer all things here below vanish, and nothing seems important but holiness of heart and the salvation of others.

In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear, and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.

In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts at what Thou art doing for Thy church, and I long that Thou shouldest get Thyself a great name from sinners returning to Zion.

In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life, and taste heavenly joys; entering into the eternal world I can give myself to Thee with all my heart, to be Thine for ever.

In prayer I can place all my concerns in Thy hands, to be entirely at Thy disposal, having no will or interest of my own.

In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church, Thy kingdom to come, with greatest freedom, ardent hopes, as a son to his father, as a lover to the beloved.

Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying.

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Amen

Great Find

Some day we will update our kitchen and add major square footage. Until then, I need to find creative ways to store and organize the stuff we have.

I found this attractive cabinet at JCPenney.com.






















Good news! It is sturdy and level and it only took hubby an hour or so to assemble. Another "plus" is that all the parts and pieces and screws and hinges and blah blah blah were all in the box. I like it when that happens.

Lauren was eager to help me wipe it down and start filling it with the overflowing mixing bowls and other kitchen goodies. I grabbed a few items from around the house to finish off the look.

And so did Lauren.

















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Kari & Kijsa is a new favorite blog of mine.

They are decorators extraordinaire!

And they like Diet Coke.

Nuff said.

And There It Will Stay

Dave and I were cleaning out our bedroom a few weeks ago and right in the middle of it I had to leave to pick up a child from a friend's house. When I came home this is what I found....


















hanging on my wall.

And there it will stay.

I believe it was taken the summer after our parent's passed away. Summer of 1974. Girls, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Nancy became an instant Mom to five girls at the young age of 20. She did what Mom's do, they photograph their family. Here we are in Minocqua at our cottage on the lake.

I do wish Nancy was in the photo but I also understand what she was doing. She was taking care of us girls. Making memories, happy ones.























I see this picture on and off all day long and most certainly before I go to bed every single night. I'm so glad it's there.

I remember the good times and the joy and the blessings of sisters.

Dave, thank you for hanging it on the wall.

Hello Out There

I am high tech now.

I have a counter.

I already have 25 unique visitors today.

No one comments.










People. I live for comments.

Now that I have that off my chest I will go check my stats again.

What? I'm not OCD. Really.

Speaking of Cheesecake

Donna made her first cheesecake last weekend. It turned out well and was photographed beautifully, of course.

She's such a cheese head.













Anyway, I thought I'd share a cheesecake recipe that will knock your socks off and make you gain 10 pounds immediately. Just Kidding. Moderation ladies, moderation.

You can thank my friend Diana for this recipe. Hi Diana!

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake

1 1/2 C. vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/3 C. unsweetened cocoa
1/3 C. melted butter

Mix and press in to the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.

Beat:

3 (8oz) packages cream cheese
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 C. semi sweet chocolate chips (melted)
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Pour into pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour 5 minutes or until set.

Let cool completely and refrigerate.


Does a typical cheesecake serve 8-10? Well, this baby will easily serve 16. I kid you not. It is so rich and heavenly you can really only have a thin slice.

While I agree this is a delicious cheesecake, I have to share with you my all time favorite......























This is White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. It is the best!!

My friend Kelli made me a homemade version a few years ago. Hi Kelli! It was scrumptious. Yoohoo, Kelli. Will you share the recipe so I can share it with my vast audience of internet readers? :)

Now go, and eat some cheesecake.

This and That

Hello! It's been a while so I thought I'd let you know what's going on here.

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Hannah's recovery has been slow and even the doctor was surprised. The swelling is just now going away on her left side. Thankfully, she did not have dry sockets, abscesses or infection but it was a very complicated case as the top left tooth was very high. At least seven people told me their horror stories relating to wisdom teeth and I tried very hard to protect Hannah from hearing those stories. She has missed a lot of volleyball and is looking forward to getting back to that! Oh, and her good looks. teehee

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I have been doing a low carb/Atkins diet for nine days and working out 3X/week. It is going very well. I am not obsessing about the scale. I'm just doing what I set out to do. I know I should think of this as a life-time change and I'm trying....but frankly we have a family wedding (Dave's bro!) on May 3rd and an Interstate convention in D.C. in June....so there. :P My husband drives me nuts....just now we were on the phone and he was trying to convince me to "get some protein" because I had just returned from my workout. He enjoys using words like intracellular triglycerides and such. Blah. Blah. I told him I was getting me some nice, cold, icy, carbonated Diet Coke. Woot!!

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Very exciting news over at Quiet Life! Donna has launched her new photography business website! She is so gifted and I am so excited for her. Now if I could just get her to come to AZ for a little visit. Plenty of subjects and natural light here. Sheesh.

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GO PACK!









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Need a little theology fix? Go visit one of my favorite sites, Pyromaniacs. This is an incredible post by Phil Johnson with great video. And let me tell ya, if he was in Phoenix and on our church property on Tuesday and didn't call me I'm going to be really mad. :-)

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Have a great weekend!

Chippie

Someone in our house had her wisdom teeth pulled.

I won't say who.

This is what she looks like.

Poor dear.

Happy New Year!

Once Sarah's broken nose healed it was time to set out and get a "Christmas" photo. Well, Christmas was one week away and you know, a gal can't get a photo taken, pictures ordered, envelopes addressed, stamps purchased and mail dropped when she has 1000 other things to do before Christmas. So our Christmas card turned in to a New Years card and here it is.

My new neighbor (as of July) is a very sweet and fun and talented photographer. She runs a very successful business from her home so she can stay home with her young family.

Her web page is HERE.

And this is where she blogs about life and photography.

Jennifer is her name and PhotoJenic is the name of her business! Isn't that clever?

I would have preferred this to be all about the kids but my husband insisted this be all about all of us. I begged to take out at least the small picture and he said NO. I 'gave' because, you know, I am the most submissive wife around. ha.

Jen is going to help me do a wall collage for my home. You should see the beautiful pictures she has of her family in her home. She says that is her favorite part of her business. Seeing them huge and on the walls.

Keep Jen in your prayers. She is about to deliver baby #3 and is busy with 2 young boys.

Just for reference and for my sisters....Hannah 15, James 14, Dani 12, Sarah 9 and Lauren 5. Dave and Janet. Never mind.

Here's to a blessed 2008!!