My New Favorite Song

A Little Humor

You Know How Some Things Just Make You Smile

The Estes family (see sidebar, "Prayers for Noah") are going on a dream vacation to Disney World through the Make A Wish Foundation! I just keep smiling as I think of their 15 passenger van pulling into the parking lot and all of those kids jumping out to enjoy their once in a lifetime vacation. May it help lighten their little hearts.

Making Red Envelopes

Have you heard about Red Envelope Day?

http://www.redenvelopeday.com/

Here is a explanation of the project that we found on the internet:

Dear Friends and Intercessors:

This afternoon I was praying about a number of things, and my mind began to wander. I was deeply distressed at the symbolic actions that President Obama took as he began his presidency. Namely, that he signed executive orders releasing funds to pay for abortions, permission to fund human stem cell research, and federal funding for contraception. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for nearly 20 years, and it pained my heart to see a man and a political party committed to the shedding of innocent blood. This man, and this party lead our country, but they do not represent me or the 54% of Americans who believe that abortion is wrong and should no longer be legal. As I was praying, I believe that God gave me an interesting idea. Out in the garage I have a box of red envelopes. Like the powerful image of the red LIFE tape, an empty red envelope will send a message to Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue. It will be quiet, but clear. Here is what I would like you to do:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores.

On the front, address it to:
President Barack Obama
The White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
N.W. Washington , D.C. 20500
On the back, write the following message:

This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world.

Our Bible study made red envelopes. It was very cost effective.

Price at Staples: 10 envelopes- $3.49

500 sheets red paper- $11.99

Join the cause!

How to Spend a Saturday

While this was happening.....

this was happening......
and this was happening....
and this was happening.....

so this could happen........
so this could be built.

It's good to be 9.

A Funny Little Story

This little story gets passed around every few months and it always gives me a good laugh......

A Funny Little Story About Hymns and Praise Songs
By Author Unknown

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer. "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses?" asked the wife. "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked the wife.

The farmer said, "Well it's like this ... If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you,
'Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows,
the white cows, the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS,
COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn,
in the CORN, CORN, CORN, COOOOORRRRRNNNNN,'

then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."

As luck would have it, the exact same Sunday a young, new Christian from the city church attended the small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."

"Hymns?" asked the wife. "What are those?"

"They're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked the wife.

The young man said, "Well it's like this ... If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you,

Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God's sun or his rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn chewed.
So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn,

then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four, and change keys on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."

Frugal Recipe

Here's another recipe from the frugal collection- Hannah's Whole Wheat Bread. We make this once a week. It always turns out beautifully. We do put some white bread flour in and use whole wheat flour that a friend grinds for me. Our oven is a little hot for this bread so we turn it down about 25 degrees. Try it. You'll love it!!!

Whole Wheat Bread Hannah H.
3 cups warm water
5 tsp yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup powdered milk
8 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
Dissolve the yeast into the warm water with the one tbsp of
warm water. Mix in the powered milk, brown sugar, salt, oil,
egg, and six cups of the whole wheat flour. Turn onto a floured
board or counter. Knead in the remaining flour a bit at a time
until you have a rice round ball of tacky but not sticky dough.
You may use less or all of the remaining flour, depending on
Your dough. Don't let this stress you. It is normal.Set your nice ball of dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a towel
and let it rise in a warm place. I set the bowl inside a warmed oven
or by the woodstove. Let it rise until doubled, about an hour. Turn
the dough back onto your floured board and divide it roughly in
thirds. Knead and shape each section into a loaf, setting inside
your buttered bread pans. Place the bread pans in a warm place
and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Let the bread rise in the
pans for a half hour before carefully sliding them into the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes at 400 and then lower the heat to 350 degrees, baking for another half hour.

Our Winter Get-Away

Tom took me to our favorite winter get-away destination- The Bellhust Castle.

The moon coming up over the lake

We stay at the Manor.


It's a beautiful place to stay on a cold winter day.

Now, how do I get our bedroom at home to be this fabulous! A fireplace and jacuzzi would help.

Valentine's Dinner

We tried two new recipes for our Valentine's dinner with Grammy and Poppy....Chicken Cordon Blu from The Taste of Home Cookbook and Roasted Asparagus.... both were a hit.

A Glimpse at Movie Night

We combined our movie night gifts from Aunt Sherry and Uncle Chris. No, we did not eat it all in one night, but we did put a major dent in the basket.

Why Some People Think They See UFO's

My family was on our way to a Joshua Bell concert......

......when we viewed this strange weather phenomenon. The pictures don't do it justice, but all of the street lights, car headlights, parking lot lights, etc... projected beams of light UP into the sky.

We could not find any information about this through our local news. If anyone knows what could cause this phenomenon, my family would be very interested in your theory. Oh, and by the way, it was about -20 degrees F. and the time was between 7:00-7:30 pm.

Please, beam me up! I could use a UFO abduction out of this cold.

Perking Up

I have felt like a slug! December and January were not healthy months for my family. So I think I will eliminate those months from my memory. Now I am trying to get back on track with vitamins, water, exercise and a better diet.
Such good intentions.
My frugal associates will appreciate the fact that my gym membership is free. It is at the local high school and that sounds great. Oh, but the hours! It is open 6-7am M-F and 5:30-8:30 M-Th. Very restricted, but it's free and only 1/2 mile from my house.
Then came this morning. It's 5:50am and the kitchen floor feels REALLY cold. The van doesn't want to start. It is -20 degrees!!!!!! This woman got a cup of green tea and curled up on the couch.
My good intentions can continue tomorrow when the warm -up begins. It should be 10 degrees at 6:00a.m.

True Woman Conference

Two weeks ago I was privileged to go to a winter ladies retreat. Well, not really a retreat like you're thinking, but close enough. Seven ladies gathered at a friend's house to view the True Woman Conference that was held in October. What a blessing!!! We only made it through 4 of the sessions and I'm anxiously waiting to hear when we will watch the next 4.

Much to our surprise, we found out later that you can view them online. Here is the link:http://www.truewoman.com/?id=317

John Piper was excellent.... so was Nancy Leigh DeMoss....... and so were the other two speakers.

Let me know if you listened to them and were blessed.

Frugal Recipe

This was my contribution to the frugal recipe collection. Hope it helps in your pursuit of frugal meals:

Rubber Chicken- How to make one chicken stretch for 3 days

Original recipe from Flylady.net but changed and adapted for our family of 6
Day 1- 1 Chicken- wash and pat dry
½ celery rib (cut into pieces)
1 onion
1 carrot- cut into 2” pieces
salt, pepper, garlic powder.
Season cavity with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and place cut-up vegetables inside. Sprinkle outside with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour (or so)
Make this day a real “Sunday Dinner” meal. Bake bread to use for Day 1 and Day 2. Serve with lots of vegetables.
After dinner, put leftover chicken (you do want leftovers) into the refrigerator to save for Day 3. Save a carcass for Day 2.
Day 2- Put the carcass in a pan with 3 quarts of water, onion, carrots celery, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook the daylights out of it and strain. Make soup and serve with leftover bread from Day 1.
Day 3- The Adventure Continues
Mix leftover chicken pieces from Day 1 with one can of black beans and salsa. Serve with tortillas, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, olives, etc….

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
Epicurius

Frugal Article

91 Ways to Save on Anything

Posted on the Frig....

Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts. It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule.

~ Frederick W. Robertson

Revive Our Hearts Devotional

This is a short devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Revive Our Hearts:

Perfect Peace

If there ever was a woman who had it rough, it was Hannah Whitall Smith. This author from the late 1800s was married to a preacher who proved to be emotionally unstable and was repeatedly unfaithful. Two of her five children died of scarlet fever. One daughter left a husband and ran off with an artist. Another daughter married an outspoken atheist. Hannah herself suffered from crippling arthritis.
In the midst of all these problems, here’s what she wrote:
"We must choose, without any regard to the state of our emotions, what attitude we will take toward God. We must recognize that our emotions are only the servants of our will."

Hannah Smith refused to let her life become controlled by her emotions no matter what the circumstances. Are you letting your emotions control you? Or are you letting God control your emotions?

Who Knew

Every month is Hot Tea Month in our house.

From the Frugal Recipe Collection

Here is another frugal recipe from a friend, Heidi.

Pasta and Mozzarella Salad

1 lb. box of corkscrew pasta

6+ oz. ready-to-eat spinach leaves

1 lb mozzarella cheese

8+ oz. chopped ham

1 pint cherry tomatoes- quartered

Cook pasta. Drain. Combine ingredients.

Parmesan Dressing

1 cup mayo

1 cup salad oil

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix with whisk until well blended. Pour on top of pasta.

This makes ALOT of dressing. I have made this salad with different variations. The dressing is what my family loves!

A Winter's Day Project

About 9 years ago I started writing my most frequently used recipes on 4x6 index cards. I cover them with clear contact paper, punch a hole in the corner and put them on a metal ring. This is a Martha Stewart idea and it has worked for me for years.

However, this was before I was getting so many of my recipes off the computer. This weekend, since it was too cold to do anything else, I took some of my well-loved recipes that are stored in my computer and put them on index cards.

A laptop on the kitchen counter is a disaster waiting to happen.

AHHHH Winter

Here's the scene......you come downstairs at 6:00am.... in your slippers and robe.......just to let the dog out.... and you have to shovel 9 inches of snow just to make a little path so the dog can go out...... AHHHH winter.

(Did I mention it's -15 degrees?)

Home Again on a Sunday

I'm home with Abby again this Sunday. Yet, God has blessed me by the preaching of his word from a sermon on Sermon Audio. Pastor Stephen Tracey preached a message, Gracious Spirit Dwell In Me, from Roman 8:1:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Quote.....

A mighty oak was once an acorn that stood its ground.

~Author Unknown

Being Debt Free

A great article on MSN Money: How We Paid Off $30,000 of Debt

Which led me to this group: Women in Red

Which led me to the Women in Red Message Board

Lots of good information for those of us who are seeking to live below our means.

First New Something for 2009

What are crumpets, anyway?

Whatever they are, they are really good.