If That Doesn't Fix It I Don't Know What Will

Please understand that my mother has been warned that 

this was going to show up in the blog.  It was just one of 

those too good to miss stories from their

most recent adventure.

I say "most recent" because my mom and Warren's mom

have really made it a priority to have adventure in their

lives.  

 

 We happen to think that it is awesome!

Anyway, the trip this time involved the ship called

Destiny, one of the Carnival Lines Ships.

The Destiny left Miami last Monday morning headed to 

Jamaica.  Michael, Chelsea, Mom and Georgia

got on board and left on Cruise With A Cause.

The casinos were shut down and turned into settings

for Bible Teaching and Concerts.  J*sh McDowell

was the "Headliner" so to speak.  

There were several instances where our travelers saw

him out and about on deck and one of the funniest things

happened during one of these meetings.

Mom spoke to him and mentioned that she had recently 

heard him speak in Lancaster.  

Now, what you have to know is that Mom cannot say

Lancaster correctly.  She always inadvertantly speaks of 

Lancaster, CA because she says Lan-CAST-er instead of 

Lanc-eh-ster. It seems a minor difference unless you live here

or have had the unfortunate experience of being corrected

by one of us.  Mom has had this experience regularly since 

moving here four years ago.  She even works in a tourist

destination and does not get it right.

A couple of years ago she was in Israel....another Georgia

and Mom adventure....and they met people from a nearby 

Pennsylvania town.

When asked where they lived Mom gave her usual response.

The couple then stated with certainty, 

"You weren't

raised there, were you?"

So, that made this meeting all the more hysterical to us.

When Mom spoke to J*sh McDowell and told him she

had heard him speak recently in Lan-CAST-er he was

polite...but as he walked away he said,

"It's Lanc-eh-ster.

It took me thirteen years to get that right!"

You might think that this experience would have 

corrected Mom's issue?

Nope!

She was encouraged.

Its only been four years for her.

If it took J*sh McDowell thirteen years

she figures she has time.

Oh my.

I love my Mother!!!

Stolen!!!

From Chelsea's Facebook!

What an AWESOME photo.

Just look at the joy on all of their faces!

My Heart is Going Pitter Patter

 Tomorrow, if the Lord wills it, 

my kiddos, Mom and Georgia will return home.

Home from a week of fun, service and learning.

They have called the past three nights.

Two evenings at .99 per minute.

Last evening from Mom's cell phone as they 

were approaching land.

Can't wait to see the kiddos and our moms.

It has been quiet in the neighborhood!

The morning they left.  Mikey was not very cooperative for pictures.  I'm thinking it was nerves and the fact that it was morning!

The stories we have heard already are sweet.

I'm hoping for photos to go along with them 

so I will hold off on sharing them.

Just a bit longer.

My heart is also going pitter patter because 

there has been no dessert in this house for a week.

I admit that I did find a scrumptious peanut butter cream pie

when we ventured out the other evening.

(Chelsea, I must take you there to try it.

You could add it to your list!)

And for once, just once, because I never get the 

chance to really miss dessert when Miss Chelsea is 

here, last night I craved brownies with walnuts.

Alas, I decided not to turn the oven on to 

bake them...so no brownies.

Perhaps that might be the first thing my 

sweet girlie makes when she gets home.

Nothing fancy like these that you've made before....

Really Chelsea.

I want the old fashioned very chocolaty 

brownie.  Maybe a touch of ice cream on top.

Oh, and we must go and pick strawberries

for shortcake....

Ahhhh....things can come back into focus with 

all of them back at home.

On The Agenda For Today....

Moving on from this morning's self-imposed

pity party.....that was the last post.

Covering it up with this one.

Things to Do Today:

(Not in order of action)

1.  Return books to library(DONE)
Going to the library reminded me that I need
to get the songs chosen for Sunday.
Why did that remind me of this?
Because the church is right beside the library.
So...I stopped and gathered everything I need for that.
It is not usually my responsibility but our Pastor is
out of town....in MA where the tornadoes struck.
Thankfully he and his family are fine.
But anyway...you see how one thing leads to
the next.  I have a theory that this is pretty common.

2.  Wipe down all kitchen cabinets.(DONE)
With the assistance of Mrs. Meyer's Lavender Countertop Spray.
Added a lovely fragrance and a touch of shine.

3.  Peruse this recipe book for an amazing recipe for tonight's dinner.
(DONE)
There is a marinade recipe for London Broil that
sounds awesome to me.
Now to run and do the out of the house errands so
I can pick up the steak and get it in the marinade.
I'm going to add nap to this list, I think! lol

4. Vacuum Living Room and Dining Room

5.  Find homes for the awesome glassware I brought home this week.

6.  Give two dogs baths....the freshly manured field called to them.(DONE)

7.  Water all of the plants here and at the Mom's Houses.
(DONE)
It is 4:30pm and I am winding down.  Time to make dinner.
Guess it won't all get done again today.
But at least this much and so much more that wasn't on the
list is done now.  Sigh....

8.  File papers that have accumulated here and there.

9.  Organize clothing sitting in boxes in dining room for donation or consignment.

10.  Pick up Meds at the Pharmacy.(DONE)

That might be enough...we will see.

If there is time I should finish painting the deck furniture.

It began raining day after day as soon as 

I started the project.

And so...off I go to attack this list.

Any guesses where I might start?

Hint: Stinky dogs!

Feeling Insignificant

I should never, ever read other blog stats.

Never.

Ever.

Up until today I was content

and happy with my little tiny 

home in cyberspace.

All of a sudden after doing some research

I find myself feeling boring and 

insignificant with nothing of import to share.

That is just wrong.

I did not start blogging to become

famous or wealthy.

I blog to share.

I blog to meet others who encourage 

and inspire those who read their pages

to live their lives authentically.

Does this ever happen to you?

Do you have to reevaluate the reasons you blog?

Do comparisons get you down?

I realize that if I were willing to spend all 

day visiting and commenting, posing and taking 

photographs, and sharing gut wrenching details 

of our lives that may or may not be true

I could have an enormous following.

However, I think I will just 

stay true to who I am.

Give what I can to 

this itty bitty blog

and be

content.

Now....in good faith

I am skipping the next hour of 

blog time and am off to do some dishes,

run the sweeper and start some laundry.

I'll be by to visit

bloggy friends a bit later.

I am so thankful that we have found each other

and look forward to any new readers that will come 

by in the weeks and months to come.

I Won an Original Oil Painting!

I have joined a team on Etsy called

the Christian Artists Street Team.

This team has a blog that offers

features on team sellers and often

has give aways.

This was the first give away I entered.

So imagine my surprise when I found out 

I had won.

Not only had I won, but the item coming

my way was an original oil painting!

The artist and I have communicated a bit

and I find her to be friendly and sweet.

Her name is Carole Stone.

She is 71 years young

and lives in Arkansas.

You can find more of her work

in her Etsy store.

Carole's use of color is

wonderful.

The detail is great 

even up close.

My original artwork is

titled

Pears and Cosmos.

Thank you, Carole.

 

You made my day.

Good Morning, Friends

Things that will not happen this morning:

Chelsea will not stand looking at me 

to ask what we will do today.

Michael will not sit at the table

crunching his morning cereal.

Jonathan will not come sleepily from 

his room to head for the laundry room

to get his daily shirt.

Nope!

None of those things will happen this morning

because all three are elsewhere.

Chelsea, Mikey, Mom and Georgia

are somewhere on the Atlantic on a huge

cruise ship taken over by 

3,000 Christians..

I wonder how it is going.........

Do they like it?

I expect they do.

Tomorrow they will begin the mission 

portion of this trip in Jamaica.

Praying that this is a wonderful experience

that emboldens them for God.

Jonathan is house sitting while they 

are gone.  Mom's dog, Bear, does much better

when someone actually stays with him.

So....I get some quiet time.

Knowing that Chelsea's first flight was

beautiful and she enjoyed it 

so much.

Photos taken from their Facebook pages so they look terrible. 

Time to fill some candle orders

since the weather should be getting a bit 

less steamy and I can get them delivered or sent

to the customers who are waiting.

One of the unique features of working 

with a natural product - 

It actually melts.

But it is worth the inconvenience

to not have all of the soot and poison

going into our lungs!