It's Over

He's the next American Idol.

And rightly so. He's absolutely amazing.

Wow.

In The Crock-pot

I have a busy afternoon so I have "Chicken in a Pot" in the Crock-pot this morning.

It's from one of my favorite cookbooks, Fix It and Forget It.

Here's the recipe:

2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 celery ribs, cut in to pieces
3 lbs. chicken
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 C. water or chicken broth

Place vegetables in bottom of slow cooker. Place chicken on top of vegetables. Add seasoning and broth. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours.

I cut/shred the chicken and usually serve this with Wide Egg Noodles. Sometimes I add extra broth to make it more like soup. Some of us eat it with Tabasco. Yum!

I should have made this when my kiddies were sick but I never have celery in da house.

What are you fixing for dinner?

A New Day

Outside: High of 72






Inside (foreheads): 98.7!

Ephesians 5:19-20

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed day!

For Some Strange Reason.....

I can't get this song out of my head.




The fifth person in our family just came down with THE FLU! This is a long, slow, painful process.

I hope and pray your family is well!

Tell me a joke or a funny story. I dare you to make me laugh. :)

PS. speaking of painful....watch that entire video. LOL

Apparently

These make everything all better.



















Well, almost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His grace is great enough to meet the great things-
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,
The sudden storms beyond our life's control

His grace is great enough to meet the small things-
The little pin-prick troubles that annoy,
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy

Annie Johnson Flint

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phil. 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Christ empowers you, through His grace, to handle every crisis, adversity, blessing and eventuality. (Called to Obedience)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I appreciate that the authors of Called to Obedience included blessing when they considered this passage.

Praising Him and thanking Him for all things!

Guess what we're watching?

I can't stop smiling.







Gene Kelly is the most beautiful, athletic dancer, EVER.

Donald O'Connor, charming and talented.

Hello!

First things first.

Go see the darling little bundle that just arrived next door.

And I'm being tortured by not being able to properly congratulate them and meet their newest little blessing.

I think I am well enough, but to be safe I will wait until tomorrow to officially meet Emery Kate. Isn't that a great name!

In case you don't know, Jen is my neighbor and is the photographer who took our "New Years Card". (in the side bar) We have become fast friends and our kids have a blast playing together.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the SICKO rundown:

Lauren: improving!!

Me: improving!!

Hannah: slowly improving

Sarah: fever and headache today

And here's the bad news....Dave left this morning for Dallas and *might* be coming down with it. He had a headache and some muscle soreness. Uh oh!

I decided on Friday night that I shouldn't go and it is a very good thing! I'll be nursing Miss Sarah along this weekend. I will also be praying for my dear husband. Can you imagine having this flu while travelling and during business meetings?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?

Yuck

Apparently when a 5 year old with the flu sneezes on your face on Monday morning, you will get the flu by Tuesday evening.

I'm just sayin'

See how smart I am.

My flu is mild but my little Lauren is still running a high fever. We are starting our 4th day. It was 102.4 this morning. Any thoughts?

Busy!

My plate is full and my cup runneth over ;-). I am blessed, indeed, but I will not be able to blog much this week.

Lauren is very sick with the flu. Her fever last night at 12:30 am was a whopping 104.5. Poor baby.

I am waiting for the next child to bite it and my throat feels weird, if you know what I mean.

We are supposed to have international students from the U of A spend the night on Friday....we shall see.....

Dave and I are supposed to travel to Dallas on Sunday....we shall see....

Prayers very much appreciated.

Nice.

I took this photograph just a few minutes ago as we were cleaning the TP out of our trees and off the lawn.

Oh, the joys of having a household of teenagers.

It kinda reminds me of this shot.

Only not nearly as good.

Or as professional.

And of course hers doesn't have a roll of toilet paper dangling on a branch.

Follow the links and print Ree's photo for free.

Unless, of course, you prefer mine.

You can stop laughing now.

160 New Looks?

And I like two of them.

I usually love Coldwater Creek clothing!

But I'm afraid someone there had a brain freeze with the early Spring line.

The colors? Yuck.

The skirts? Frumpy


Here are the two things I think are adorable:









































No worries. Once their brains thaw-out I'll be back shopping happily and spending a lot of money at Coldwater. I just hope it warms up quickly.

Question

Have you ever considered NOT VOTING in a presidential election?

I have always cast my vote.

This year, I'm not so sure. I'm not sure I can vote for either (apparent) candidate with a clear conscience.

I trust my husband and will definitely follow his lead. He has a much better grasp on politics than I and I would never vote opposite of him.

**I don't want to get in to the nitty gritty of who's who etc., I'm just curious if you've ever considered this.

Giggle

This just cracks me up!




"How are youuuuuu?"

"Why am I talking so loud?"

Salsa dancer? ROTF LMBO!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

This commercial caught my attention during the Superbowl because of the jumper cables and battery. (hey, it's my life, ok) I, of course, think it should have been an Interstate. I laughed til I cried over this one and watched it several more times on YouTube. I also sent it to my husband to share with our employees in case they didn't see it. Just think if it was powered by an Interstate!

Shameless plug over.

Warning: Very stupid humor, hopefully not too offensive.

O Praise Him!

Picture: Tucson, December 2006

Psalm 69:34

"Let Heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that move in them."


All Creatures of our God and King
Words: Fran­cis of Assi­si
Music: Lasst Uns Er­freu­en


All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Refrain

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!

Refrain

And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Refrain

Listen and sing along here.

And may I encourage you to praise Him!

Speaking of 80's Music

Here are the top 25 songs from 1983:

1. Every Breath You Take, Police
2. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
3. Flashdance... What A Feelin, Irene Cara
4. Down Under, Men At Work
5. Beat It, Michael Jackson
6. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Bonnie Tyler
7. Maneater, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8. Baby Come To Me, Patti Austin and James Ingram
9. Maniac, Michael Sembello
10. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Eurythmics
11. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, Culture Club
12. You And I, Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle
13. Come On Eileen, Dexy's Midnight Runners
14. Shame On The Moon, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
15. She Works Hard For The Money, Donna Summer
16. Never Gonna Let You Go, Sergio Mendes
17. Hungry Like The Wolf, Duran Duran
18. Let's Dance, David Bowie
19. Twilight Zone, Golden Earring
20. I Know There's Something Going On, Frida
21. Jeopardy, Greg Kihn Band
22. Electric Avenue, Eddy Grant
23. She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby
24. Africa, Toto
25. Little Red Corvette, Prince

Now that you've reviewed the list and no doubt sung many of these tunes, tell me a few things....

How many do you know? By heart?

Are there any songs you have never heard of?

Which one is your all time 1983 favorite?

How old were you in 1983? :-)

My answers in the comments.

And one last thing.....after watching many of the videos on YouTube, I have come to the conclusion that THE EIGHTIES WERE VERY, VERY WEIRD. lol.

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.