Happy Anniversary...

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! What a journey it has been for the last thirteen years. No, I am not that old...I just married very early. Twenty years old to be exact. Would I do it again...in a heartbeat! I was young...he was young...but awww we were in love...lol! Thank you David for being my best friend, love of my life, father of my children! I could not ask for a more caring, loving husband than you! I have loved being your wife for the past thirteen years. I hope we can spend many many more years together! You are the kindest, most considerate, caring man who loves his family and I cherish that. You always make time for our boys and are always finding something fun to go do with them. Most important you are a man of God. I thank God for sending me a man like you. I would often pray that whoever I married would love the Lord and God certainly answered my prayer. Thank you for being a great example and role model for our kids. Sure we have grown as a couple, we have grown in our faith, and we have definitely grown in number...but what a blessed 13 years it has been. I wouldn't trade it for money or fame! Love you lots babe....I look forward to what God has in store for us in the years to come and we watch our boys grow! I love you!

July 31, 1998...7:00 p.m. A date I will never forget!

Memories....

Tuesday night David, I and the boys went down to his mom's to pick up a bull. After supper I went up to the barn to help David load him. This farm was his daddy's life. We lost David's dad four years ago and I have probably only been up to the barn a handful of times since his death. When Larry was alive this is where you found him. This is where David and I spent many weekends helping as we needed to working cows or maybe just went down to ride horses for the day. Of course, this was David's life growing up.

When I walked in the barn I noticed a pair of gloves laying next to the barn door and it just hit me that this is probably the exact spot Larry laid them down over four years ago. Looking around at the things that were untouched and unchanged since his passing and then looking at all the things that had changed. The weeds are all growing up around everything, the barn is in desperate need of repair or be torn down. I started to get a little sad and teary eyed just thinking about him and the fact that he is gone. Then, I stopped and thought about all the wonderful times we had with Larry, especially on the farm. The weeds can grow up and cover everything, barns can fall down and disappear, but we will always always have the memories of our time with him here on this earth. Of course we miss the loved ones we lose, but as a Christian and knowing the loved one was a Christian there is a sense of peace and calm knowing that someday you will see them again. Knowing that they are in a much better place than this old world where weeds can take over. He has a new body where cancer no longer is destroying him...he is in a perfect world where thorns and weeds don't take over. So many times we have had family members/friends say...you know they were a good person, never did anything bad, worked hard, been a good husband, father, grandfather but they are here sick and dying while bad people are healthy and alive. I know suffering is hard to understand...I don't understand it myself. I do know that GOD cannot be blamed for it. Sooner or later we will all pass away from this life. Even the best of people will die someday. The only thing that matters in this life is knowing without a shadow of a doubt that when my time on this earth is finished where will I be. I know where I will be...my home will be in heaven. Do you know where yours will be?

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me and you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him. "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. " John 14 1-5

Can you turn over your life to Christ? We will never be perfect until we are with him in heaven one day, but we can strive to live a Christlike life and to turn everything we have over to him. All of our vices, our troubles, our worries, our sinful nature...everything can be turned over to him. It is a daily struggle no doubt to say Lord I am not going to worry about this...it is in Your hands...Lord with your help I can overcome this...Lord I don't want to live like this anymore, please help me. But, if you can ever do it you will have more peace than you can ever imagine. Give it all to Him...let Christ sustain your life!

"It's simple...just hard!"
(If you have ever seen them movie "What If" you can appreciate this line)

Busy Days...

The last couple of weeks have been filled with the business of LIFE! Busy at work...and with what seems like just everything in general. As I was shopping for school supplies today I realized that we only have three weeks left until school starts (sad face). I am not ready to give my kids back to the school system. I always ask...are you sure you don't want mommy to homeschool? My kids like being at school and I am very thankful that they enjoy being there. They are very great students and never cease to impress and surprise me with all that they learn...Thanks to some great Findlay teachers!!! Of course, along with this school shopping I have a little heavy heart as Jack will be starting school this year. Yes, I guess I finally have to send him. He is so excited which is wonderful but momma is going to miss her little guy! What will I do without him? What will Noah do without him? It will be strange having a baby at home and no big boys here!

We were able to get away for a few days last week and go to the lake which was nice. We are really missing the beach this year but I just don't think I was up for having a toddler at the beach. We are hoping to sneak away for a few trips over the next few weeks with the kids and enjoy the pool as much as we can before school comes again.

With all that said I will have a one year old in a little over a week...WHAT? Where in the world did the last year go? How in the world can this precious baby boy already be one year old? Makes me a little sad knowing that the baby stage of our lives is coming to an end but excited to see what God has in store for my boys. They are each talented, smart, handsome and funny young men...I am one proud momma! Another WOW moment for is I will have a 5th grader, 3rd grader and a Kindergartener! Whew!!! Time is flying but we are having fun!

My Four Sons...

Just want to give a big thank you to my boys. I failed to do that in my previous post about the reunion, but my boys were such troopers last weekend at their great-grandfather's WWII reunion. All weekend long they couldn't wait until we got to the hotel and we were there all day most of the days until bedtime. I even gave them the option of staying home on Saturday and not going until after lunch. They wouldn't hear of it...they were up and ready to go and could not wait. I am so glad that they realize what a special time this is with their great-grandfather...and I think he really enjoyed having them there also. I have to brag on them a little...on more than one occasion my mom or myself were approached about how well behaved they were especially to have been there as long as we were! Thank you Lord for Four wonderful blessings!!!

Recipes!

Sharing some of my favorite recipes! Hope you enjoy! I plan on sharing a few along!

Chocolate Chip Pie

5 Tbsp butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup self rising flour
6 oz semi-sweet choc. morsels
3/4 c. pecans, chopped
1/2 coconut (optional)
1 unbaked 9" pie shell (deep dish works best)

Combine butter, sugar, vanilla in medium bowl; beat well. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually stir in choc. morsels, pecans and coconut if you wish. Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes. YUMMO! ONE OF MY FAVORITES!

Lasagna
1 and 1/2 lb hamburger
1 and 1/2 tsp garlic
1 T. parsley flakes
1 T. basil
1 16 oz. can crushed tomatoes
12 oz. tomatoe paste
24 oz cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 T parsley flakes
1/2 c parmesean cheese
3 pkg mozzarella cheese
1 pkg lasagna noodles

Brown hamburger, drain fat and add garlic salt, parsley flakes, basil, tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer uncovered 45 minutes, meanwhile cook 12 lasagna noodles in salted water and rinse. Mix together cottage cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley flakes and cheese. Layer noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and meat mixture then another layer starting with noodles and ending with meat mixture. this fills 2 11x7 casseroles. Bakes 375 degrees for 20 minutes, let stand 15 minutes before cutting into square. It can be frozen!


Sweet Bread

2 cans crescent rolls
2 pkg. cream cheese
1 and 1/4 c. sugar
1 egg yolk (save the white)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 to 1 c. pecans, chopped (optional)

Press 1 can of crescent rolls in bottom of 9x13 greased pan. Stir cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until creamy. Spread over crescent rolls. Press out another can of rolls and lay on top of cream cheese mixture. Spread egg white over top of rolls. Spring 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and nuts on top. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sin Cake

1 c. flour
1 stick margarine
bake 350 degrees
This is for the crust. I change this up most of the time and use graham cracker crumbs and make my own crust instead. My kids like it better this way.

1 cup sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup cool whip

1 large instant chocolate pudding
2 cups of milk

Make crust and let cool completely. Mix together in seperate bowl sugar, cream cheese and cool whip and then pour on crust. Mix together choc. pudding with milk and put on top of cream cheese. Finish off with Cool whip on top and chocolate sprinkles... a family favorite!

What a weekend!

In one of my earlier blogs I talked about my grandfather or "Poppy" as I know him! This weekend I had the opportunity to once again celebrate this special man! Not just this man but several men. This weekend was my grandfather's WWII Army reunion which was once again held in Cookeville by our family. We had the privilege of spending three full days with these men and their families as we all visited. It has not just become about these men but also about the families of these men. Some that have already lost loved ones still come to get together with special friends they have made over the years. As I was talking with Ms. Agnes this weekend she said that they started attending the reunions in the 1950's...wow! Ms. Agnes said that this was their vacation every year and they always planned their vacations around when the Army reunion would take place. I am so thankful and feel very blessed that I have been able to be a part of this special time for the last few years. I am also very thankful that Lord willing we will again host it in Cookeville next August. There are only a handful of these men left and we only had three of the veterans out of my grandfather's unit there this year with one not able to attend because of a family sickness at the last minute. We still had around 40 people there who were family of these men or family of ones that had passed on there to celebrate and enjoy this special time. They lost three men this year which has taken its toll on all of them. I know that everyone leaves the weekend with a heavy heart because they are all in their 90's and they all realize that next year there is always fewer and fewer able to be there. What a life they have had and what a blessing it is to celebrate them!

This is a poem I wrote for one of the first reunions I was able to attend. I wrote it at the same time that I wrote the one for my grandparents 60th anniversary (in 2002)...they kind of parallel each other...so I wanted to share.

These Men

Sixty years have come and gone

But the lives of these men

Have changed us all.

They fought for our country

With all that they had.

Some lost their lives

Who did not understand.

Each year they come together

With family and friends.

To remember the times

They spent with armed hands.

They tell stories of each other

And of friends lost.

The laughter of men

Who know life comes with a cost.

So few left of so many.

Some day they will all be gone.

Their stories will live on

In their families.

Their lives in the hearts

Of us all.