8 Months In One Post....

Grab some pop corn and pull up a chair.

This might take a while.

I didn't photo every event 

and I tried to keep the comments short.

I also placed some of the photos in my two new tabs.

They are:  "crafts" and "sunday school".

ENJOY!

Kix corn we made for a Thanksgiving Feast.

Eloise & Brie, before she had to move to San Diego.

We miss her terribly.

If you recall a few years back I requested prayer 

for a little baby that had a liver transplant.

It has been touch and go, but I'm here to tell you

 that you are looking at a miracle!

She is now in my Sunday School class.

I teach the Kindergarteners.

She wasn't supposed to make it...

...BUT GOD.

Hubby playing with some of Eloise's

Christmas loot.

Happy New Year

Meg picks up her Graduation Present from Aunt Pat!

It got a little sloppy on Mardi Gras day at State Park.

When life gives you mud....

PLAY IN IT!

Sugar & Wias

A sweet sister in church asked me to help her

 with the details for her daughter's baby shower.

These are the colors of the baby's room, 

so I went with it.

Above is the seat of honor.

I forgot to take an up-close shot of the

corsage sitting in the chair.

The bedroom decor is a pirate theme

and Bro.Oscar works off-shore, 

So we decided on a ship logo.

We had a thank-you-message

and candies in little glass bottles,

with corks as favors.

Youth Rock-A-Thon

Eloise and Tali are prepared 

to stay awake all night...

well maybe.

HAPPY EASTER 2013

I figure I might as well go ahead and get this out of the way,

 before someone else does!

LOL

Our gang at one of the many "Operation Octopus" 

outreach campaigns.

This is me & my friend Caroline

She is my neighbor now,

but is originally from Mexico.

We went to the store and she showed me what to buy, 

so we could make tamales and sweet corn desert.

These are our finished tamales.

I'm not sure why, but for some reason

I just didn't have the patience for all that

filling and rolling...

So I made 2 of these babies.

I rolled the masa into thin sheets like pie crust 

and layered it with the meat filling.

I then baked the pies.

When sliced, it was firm and looked like a layered cake.

I topped each slice with cheese, 

sour cream, and diced avacados.

My mouth is watering as I type this!

Who can resist a hot fresh Krispy Kreme doughnut?

At the end of our last post we were selling 

junk and furniture in preparation for selling our house.

This is just too much house for three people.

Well, I'm not sure exactly how it happened,

 but we have managed to acquire another daughter

 and I now have 7 students;

Pre-K through 10th grade.

The above pic is Eloise with one of my newest. 

It all just kind of happened.

We sold all of our formal furniture,

but that simply made room for the art station, music station, classroom,

and a bedroom for "Amelia" & "Eloise"
to share in the loft.

We couldn't have planned it better if we tried.

This is one of the beds and closets

 that hubby built for the girls.

"Amelia" is going to fit right in.

She was on the Honor Roll for the entire year.

I tried my hand at kale chips.

one pan didn't do well,

 so we're not going to talk about it.

I did however love the sea salt with a bit of olive oil and parmesan.

Yum!

Amelia's first Hibachi experience.

Hubby's sister, her kids(-1), grand kids, and our two.

We took our latest addition to a family reunion, 

so she could meet some of her new family.

The best part is nobody could tell that 

she didn't actually belong to the family.

Amelia takes a big step.

It's about time!

LOL

I am so proud of my husband for demonstrating

discipline in his life.

He has now lost between 85 and 90 lbs.

You inspire me.

Fall Update...

This is a sneak peek 

of the Minister's gift basket

 that I just finished.

(2:32 a.m.)

 This is a large one,

because Bro.Jackson's 

wife & 3 kids

will be with us this weekend.

 The above is a pic of

"E" & Brie

at the Harvest Party/Hayride

The girls dressed as Nerds.

Eloise helps me tutor 

my kindergarten student.

After she finishes her workbook pages

Miss "T" loves to create things.

This is her latest "Fuzoodle"

I probably won't be able to post until sometime next week, due to the fact that "Youth Explosion" is this weekend. We have skit practice, 4 services, and a "lock in" to get through in the next 3 days!

Love & Prayers,

Me

The Path to My Blog....

. . .is paved with good intentions.

I know you have heard all the excuses before,

 so I won't bore you with all the details.

Suffice it to say that

 the pictures that follow are just a sample

 of all the goings on  around here.

There were also several things 

that I didn't remember to photograph!

The above is the "Blessing Tree"

that hubby and I made for the big

50th Anniversary shindig

for

Bishop & his lovely Wife.

 This is a picture of the honored couple

& the fruits of 50 years of commitment.

Since we didn't want to hang around for hurricane Isaac

we took the opportunity to go on a little trip.

I will be posting about the recovery 

in neighboring Braithwaite in a later post.

I do not want to gloss over it.

I feel like it would get lost in this mix 

of random reverie.

My latest kitchen adventure:

 Griddle style corn cakes & greens,

topped with a

Tomato & grilled ham salad 

&

Buttermilk Vinaigrette

 This picture is long over due!

Eloise is opening a package

 from our dear sweet blog friends

 over at B-skep Chronicles.

 This little ray of sunshine 

"Brie"

now comes to my house 5 days a week

while mommy works.

Her daddy is a Marine,

 so he is working very hard too.

 These three children were guests in my home 

 For Approx. 3 weeks.

 Keep them in your prayers.

 Finally....

The Biggest News:

Eloise is officially in the youth group 

and sporting braces.

Not pictured:

the 5 yr. old I watch on weekends

&

the 4 kids (ages 5-14)

that I tutor in order to finance 

the aforementioned braces.

We have also been sorting through

 and getting rid of a lot of clutter.

After much prayer and family discussion,

we have decided to downsize.

Come this spring we will be putting our

"Way Too Big for Three people"

home up for sale.

This is not an emergency or sad event.

It is a choice we are making,

that will possibly get us to the 

"debt free" status quickly.

Maybe with less debt & clutter

I might have more time 

to keep my blog up to date....

....don't hold your breath!


BY THE WAY:

HUBBY HAS LOST 45 LBS
IN 6 MONTHS
&
I HAVE LOST 36