Something's been missing

Holly left Thursday morning for a church teen retreat.

Twenty-four kids went camping at Sherando Lake. Holly's never been camping before, and to put it mildly, she's not particularly fond of swimming.

And it's been QUIET around here. Empty seats.



Empty spot at the table. In fact, I made the rest of us sit in different chairs to make it not seem so empty.



Empty house.



Funny that it's so quiet here when the quiet kid is gone, lol.

No one to watch tv with. (Sorry guys: Trevor prefers Phineas and Ferb, while Robert watches several military channels simultaneously. I'm not up to either of these.)



I missed her terribly. She was gone for a week last summer, and even though she was 1500 miles away, it wasn't as hard on me, since I was able to talk with her several times. But cell phones were not on the "to bring" list this week.

She came home last night, yay!!! She had a GREAT time, the house seems back to normal, and I'm happy.



Even if I didn't get all of the attention. :D

Blog Tour and Book Review: A Perfect Mess: Why You Don't Have to Worry About Being Good Enough for God by Lisa Harper

I received this book courtesy of Waterbrook Press. I'm reading through it but didn't finish in time to post a complete review. I like the book, and I like Lisa Harper's friendly and sometimes humorous writing. The following is directly from the publisher:

Summary:

Caught up in the self-imposed pressure to do and be all the things they think a Christian woman ought to do and be, countless women are working desperately to convince everyone, including God, that they have it all together. Few have any idea that the Creator of the universe looks at them with delight even when they yell at the dog, drive a minivan littered with French fries, or think bad words about that rude clerk at the store.

A Perfect Mess offers hope to every woman who yearns for a vibrant relationship with God but worries she isn’t good enough or doesn’t do enough to merit His affection. With characteristic authenticity, speaker and author Lisa Harper shares poignant stories from her own imperfect life to showcase the real-life relevancy of the Bible in the lives of modern women.

As she guides readers on a story-driven journey through selected Psalms, they will be inspired to experience for themselves how God’s incomparable love transforms the messiness of life into a gorgeous work of grace.

Author Bio:

Lisa Harper is a master storyteller whose lively approach connects the dots between the Bible era and modern life. She is a sought-after Bible teacher and speaker whose upcoming appearances include the national Women of Faith Conferences. A veteran of numerous radio and television programs and the author of several books, she also is a regular columnist for Today’s Christian Woman magazine. Lisa recently completed a master’s of theological studies from Covenant Theological Seminary. She makes her home outside Nashville.

For more information, see the Random House website.

I forget I'm living in the south: more stupid things I say

At work today, an older man was checking out the book Mr. Lincoln's High Tech War: How the North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Ironclads, High-Powered Weapons and More to Win the Civil War.

_____________

Me: That looks like a great book.

Man: I'm interested in learning what the North knew.

Me (joking): So you can see where we went wrong?

Man: It's so complicated. I don't think I can comment on that.

_____________

Yep. I forget they still take that stuff seriously around here.

Recipe - Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

Oops!!! I told someone this recipe was already up, but I realized I'm still waiting to get the picture out of my camera. I'll add the picture later.

* * * * * * * *

YUM!!!!! We've been making this for years, many thanks to our former neighbor Marilyn, who first made it for us.

TEXAS CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE

2 sticks of butter
1 c. hot water (I'll use any leftover coffee when possible)
4 T. cocoa
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk*
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

*Put 1/2 t. vinegar in measuring cup; add milk to equal 1/2 c. Let sit for 5 mins., stir before using.

In a pan on the stove, melt butter, water and cocoa over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

While waiting for it to boil, mix sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl. When cocoa mix boils, pour it over the sugar mix, and mix by hand until well blended. Add remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 in a lightly greased pan until done. I use a 9x13 pan and bake for 25 mins., until done To make a "real" sheet cake, use a jelly roll pan, and adjust time accordingly.

Frosting:

5 T. milk
4 T. cocoa
1 stick butter
1 t. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 4 c.)
1 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or your choice)

Boil milk, butter and cocoa together on stove, stirring well. Pour over powdered sugar. Add vanilla and nuts, mixing very well. While still warm, pour over warm cake.

Snaking around my house

Shudder.

A few weeks' back, Robert filmed lovely video footage of a black ratsnake winding its way through one of our hanging flower baskets on our front porch. I was so creeped out that I couldn't even watch the whole thing. As if I'll ever look at the flower baskets the same way again. . .

Well, our snake friend; he's back.

Robert knows its the same one. Blacky (as my husband has affectionately been calling him) has a battle scar across one eye which appears to be blind. I should find a little bit of comfort in that, but I don't. I also don't find any comfort in knowing that this snake is all to comfortable making his way up onto my back deck.



To make me even more wary, that link I posted up there tells me that black ratsnake eggs are expected to hatch in August or September. What if our snake is female?



Rob tries to convince me that black ratsnakes are good, eating unwanted rodents that might otherwise hang around the house. That would be good--but I've never seen any mice or rats or anything like that. And I refuse to consider that the snake might be doing its job.

I would like Blacky a little better, just maybe, if he ate squirrels. But he's not quite that big.



And if I come across him unexpectedly and drop dead of a heart attack, that doesn't make him too good either. And it's also not good that now I can worry about little snake babies.

Shudder.

Another foreign fruit

I don't know what in the world is up with this. One of my kids noticed that this pepper came from Canada. Canada. I didn't know they even grew peppers in Canada--isn't it still winter there?



For as much as I've heard about shopping local, I've never really considered actually doing it. But it's ridiculous to be eating foreign tomatoes and peppers, it all seems so disgusting and, well, excessive... it's time to start reading produce labels.

Trevor camps out

A few days ago, I came home to see this in my yard.

I'll tell you, it just did something to my momma's heart...

But between the possibility of rain, and the fact that Trevor has not slept in this tent before, we decided the sure thing was to move it into his bedroom for the night.

I can remember what tents were like when I was this age. *I* never would have been the one putting it together, and the spikes would have prevented it from ever going up in our house!

Popcorn, jelly beans, staying up late at night.

And no rain and no scary noises--and no kids needing to run into the house in the middle of the night!

In the dark

Holly spent the afternoon up in Roanoke. It was very warm and humid, and several mini-storms went through the area. As we headed home, Rob called to tell me that we had no power.



Ugh. I can live without electricity (at least for a short time!, but I can't live without running water. When we lose power, we lose our well pump.

We had to change our plans for dinner and stopped at Dominos. As we waited for our pizzas, we ran to the store for a few things. SOMEONE-who-was-with-me-and-shall-remain-nameless asked, "Can we drive over?" Seriously. I took this picture in front of Dominos. You can see my minivan at the left edge of the photo. And she wanted us to drive over--and back.



We walked.

And it totally poured on us on our way back.

Still no power when we got home, but Robert always does a lovely job of making that seem fun.



YUM!!!!! You can see that my flash is a big source of light. :)



We'd stocked up on cookies. I ate the first package practically all by myself in about three minutes.




It was a good thing we'd bought three kinds of cookies, because I wasn't going to stop here. (I'm sooooooo pathetic.)

Reading by candlelight was starting to get old. Robert was not too remotely interested in tweaking the wireless connection to get the computer up. He likes to torture us that way, I guess.

Yippee!!! 10:30 p.m. and we have power! Just in time to turn on the AC and go to bed...uh, as soon as we get online first...

Weekly menu

cheeseburgers, Caesar salad, chips
pasta salad with tomatoes, corn and mozzarella
crockpot tacos
Robert's Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
tortellini salad, ?
tuna sandwiches, ?
nacho dogs, ?
bbq beef sandwiches, creamed cukes, ??

Cake of the week: I'm still waiting for this to happen!
Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake (blog recipe)

On the back burner:
Easy Peanut Butter Fudge, thanks again to Heather
chicken fajitas
knockwurst
Chicken Caesar Salad, creamy orange jello
Marlboro Man Sandwiches
grilled flank steak

I've seen this before

My loopy friend Laura has been on a three week long vacation "out west." Part of their family's trip took them through Wyoming and the Grand Tetons, and Laura was sweet enough to think of us and mail a postcard! (The white mark was a scratch courtesy of the USPS, and I probably should have fixed before posting here.)



I love this shot. I love this angle. I love this subject. I love it so much that we have it in a 6'x3' frame.



It hung on a big wall in our Colorado Springs house. We don't have walls quite that big here, so instead it hangs on a framed out wall in our dark, unfinished basement. It's kind of a waste, but at least it's out so I can see it sometimes. Maybe there will be a spot for it at some point, and we'll be able to truly enjoy it again.

Laura, it was so kind of you to remember us on your wonderful vacation. You and I long shared so many parallels in our lives, and without even thinking about it, you KNEW which postcard would touch me. Thank you!

Oh, the places we go!

The pictures could be more interesting, but apparently no one wants a picture taken of their face anymore.

We drove up to Roanoke for Trevor's MRI. He has a "venal malformation" on the side of his upper lip--a misformation of the veins. It might have been brought on by trauma (he's crashed his face into a few things over the years), or it might be congenitive. Whatever the case, it's grown, and it's time to consider having it removed.

One of our pastors works closely with the radiology department. In fact, we chose this hospital because of Derek. I was thinking, ah, just an MRI, no big deal, but at the last minute, I emailed him to let him know we'd be there. He answered immediately, asking us to have him paged when we got there; he said he could do Trev's IV.

What a **blessing**.

We know Derek pretty well. Two of his boys are Trevor's good friends; we are on the same soccer team too. It was much easier for Trevor to have Derek sticking a needle in his arm instead of a stranger. He escorted us to the MRI area, and Holly and I got to wait in a private waiting room.

Robert's our resident MRI expert, and he was able to stay with Trevor during the procedure. Thanks to Derek, before we left, Rob and I were able to meet with a radiologist to go over the scan results too.



Done at the hospital, we went across the street for a Chinese buffet lunch.

As we headed home, the kids spotted a car with a Colorado license plate. That's quite a rarity around here; I think we've only seen one other in the past two years. I was able to shout with the other driver at a stoplight, to find that they are also from the Colorado Springs area. It was kinda cool. I really wanted to get a picture, but I can only imagine that would not have gone over so well. (grin)

We had a little time to kill and went to the library. Seriously. Like I don't get there enough. And we got on the computers--like we don't do that enough at home either.

We went to Holly's eye doctor appointment in town. The picture below is before we found out she had satan's optometrist. (Can I say that?)

What a condescending jerk. I came home and wrote two pages of garbage that he said to me. Although we suffered through the appointment, we did not take the prescription at the end. I'm considering my next move. I requested he refund half of our exam fee, and we'll see what happens. On the plus side, I believe I was able to maintain my composure. I don't think I was rude in return, and I made a conscious effort to act in a Christ-like manner the entire time. On the negative side, we'll have to make another eye appointment elsewhere. But we can live with that.

To perk up my night (and boy did I really need it by then), we headed back up to Roanoke for church.

It was a great message, speaking to me about what had happened earlier in my day. It was JUST what I needed. But that's not really a surprise, is it? God is SO good. :)

What is wrong with this picture?

1. It is July.

2. I live in Virginia.

3. These tomatoes have more frequent flier miles than anyone I know.

* * *

Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes.
Only two things that money can't buy,
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.
~John Denver

Because it's genetic

I say stupid things often enough, unfortunately MORE than often enough. For this talent, I thank my mom. (Sorry, Mom, you know it's true.) In the past, I've tried to keep my stupid comments talent a secret; maybe it's time to change.

This is a conversation I had with a regular library patron today.

Woman: My husband's coming home tomorrow!

(I'm totally shocked, didn't know she was married, and I notice the U.S. Army lanyard around her neck.)

Kristine: Oh! Is he in the Army?!

Woman: No, he's been in jail!!

Kristine: Well, THAT'S nice! (with that big old smile plastered across my face)


Sigh.

Every princess needs a castle

Pumpkin loves boxes. She has such a base instinct, drawing her into any kind of nest-like container. Comfort level never seems to matter; neither does threat of attack.

Fred is here

Meet Fred. He's a six year old genius who will be staying with us, hopefully for this school year, at least. This is the Life of Fred, and his story will be our algebra curriculum. I say "our," but that might not quite be true. Robert has offered to take over math with Holly for the upcoming school year. What I really should post is a picture of me with a great big fat smile of relief on my face. But all I have for this post is a picture of Fred.



It's a pretty small book, small and thin. That's a plus, as long as it works.



And it's even autographed, another plus, I guess. LOL

The accompanying Home Companion breaks down Fred's twelve chapters into manageable daily lesson plans, includes teaching notes, and gives extra practice problems.

Straight from the text: The five of them sat down at the poker table. When they had first started playing poker on Thursday nights back in August, they had used a square card table, but that didn't seem to work out very well with five players. The ratio of players to sides of the table was 5:4. Darlene didn't mind since she got to sit next to Joe.

But everyone else did mind since: 1) Darlene couldn't concentrate on the game with Joe so close to her and 2) Joe kept forgetting that you're supposed to keep your cards secret. Whenever he got a good hand, he'd show it proudly to Darlene.

Sound a little silly? It twists its way into negative and positive numbers, with problems to work such as: What does (-1)(-2)(-3)(-4) equal? How about -15/+2?

It's definitely an out-of-the box approach, but that might be the key word there, too, approach. We shall see. I'm looking forward to it; Holly's at least interested; and Robert has no idea what he's in for. Muhahahaha!!

One of those days

1. I ran over a turtle this morning on the way to church. I was going 60mph, and the turtle didn't stand a chance. Rob and the kids of course were there, so now there's no hope of ever forgetting this. CRUNCH. Ewwwwwwwwww.

2. It rained all day.

3. I drank most of a cup of coffee, and when I poured the rest into the sink later, this is what I found. I'm trying not to think too hard about this either.

It wasn't the worst of days, but still...

Fourth of July!!

Nearby Rocky Mount holds its fireworks display on July 3. We didn't watch it last year, but this was the year to give it a try. Honestly, no matter what anyone around here thinks, a town of 4,000 cannot create crowds like we've experienced in metropolitan areas.

Robert remembered that many people parked on a hill behind the grocery store. We left our house at 8:00 and still got a perfect front row parking spot. It was gorgeous out (and we didn't even need to pull out bug spray!).




Although we'd brought a little candy along, the grocery store was so close that we stocked up on extra junk food. LOL (and blech!!)



We were quite impressed with the show sponsored by the local rotary club and area retailers. We're definitely in a location that's been more insulated from the economic downturn than many parts of our country. It was an enjoyable show, and perhaps next time we'll brave the high school stadium and join the larger crowd.

Independence Day. It's sobering to look back at our Declaration of Independence and remember what exactly it was that our Founding Fathers sought independence from. The parallels of our current struggles today are eye-opening.

* * *

If the Son therefore shall make you free,

you shall be free indeed.

John 8:36

Independence Day (in its own way)

Trevor could not wait to experience his very first sleepover earlier in the week. He had been looking so forward to spending the night at Kurt's house, especially after we had to postpone it earlier in the spring.

The boys slept in tent in Kurt's front yard, and played their fill of Legos, Star Wars, and Lego Star Wars. There were a few other things, but I've made my point.

Appropriately, Kurt's shirt is -- Lego Star Wars.

After hanging out all day, they went out to dinner downtown before catching up with us at church on Wednesday night. I'm only surprised that we managed to get Trevor to come home with us again. He had a WONDERFUL time. :D

Why we have a well filter

This is so gross that I can't even think about it.

VBS

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . . .Eph. 6:13-17

* * * *

Our VBS theme this year put us in God's army.

Over the course of several weeks this spring, our church has torn out a large portion of the old backlot behind our building. After removing the old loading dock and parking lot, and relocating a retention pond, the entire area was sodded and landscaped. We were able to hold VBS on the property this year, which was really exciting for us.

The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it. Eze. 36:34-36

It has been absolutely AMAZING to see God's work.

Q. How many Calvary guys does it take to start an engine?

A. I don't know, they ended up using an extension cord.

Although Trevor was still young enough to "enlist" this year, he wanted to "command." Several weeks ago, on his own initiative, he approached our children's pastor, asking if he could instead help out with VBS. Trevor told Paul that he'd been volunteering at the Good News Bible Clubs all year, working with the elementary kids (the same neighborhood kids whom we expected to come to VBS). Paul agreed to grant Trevor's request. :)



It was baking hot out, and I was able to mostly stay inside where the snacks were being served. (NO, I was not eating, but I did leave my post often enough to take pictures!) We finished the night up with a barbeque.



The kids took advantage of the water games.



Second day: parking lot and perimeter patrol.



I even wore shorts in public for the second time in four years. (And that's another post!)

It was a good two days. It was fun for me to meet some of the Good News (club) kids that I'd heard about all year. We had a handful of really old "kids" show up (13, 15), just wanting to hang out and participate. Some of them are just so visibly hungry for God's Word. It's so cool to think that God called everyone here to serve some larger purpose . . .

It wrapped up again with water games, including a few major water fights.









"I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it."

And everybody said AMEN!!!!

Recipe - All American Potato Salad

This is one of those early Food Network-styled recipes, where the author tested several variations to come up with what she thought was the "best." I usually don't follow the recipe exactly, depending on what I have around the house (most often substituting peeled russet potatoes).It's been a long time favorite of mine.

All American Potato Salad

2 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
salt and black pepper
3 hard cooked eggs, sliced
1/2 c. minced celery (1 stalk)
2 T. minced red onion
1/4 c. minced sweet pickles
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 t. Dijon mustard
2 T. minced fresh parsley

Cover potatoes with 1 inch of water in pan. Bring to simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking, until potatoes are tender (when a thin-bladed paring knife or metal cake tester can be slipped into and out of center of potatoes with no resistance), 25 to 30 mins. for medium potatoes or 15 to 20 mins. for new potatoes. Drain; cool potatoes slightly and peel if you like. Cut potatoes into 3/4" cubes (use serrated knife if they have skins) while still warm, rinsing knife occasionally in warm water to remove starch.

Place warm potato cubes in large bowl. (WARM is the key here.) Add vinegar, 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper and toss gently. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool, about 20 mins. When potatoes are cool, toss with remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

A slew of book reviews

Why is it that I feel I never get anything done, and then I see how these have piled up?

* * *

sTori Telling by Tori Spelling

After reading Valerie Bertinelli's tell-all-too-much, and Kate Gosselin's over-the-top ghostwritten book, I'd hesitated several times before picking up this autobiography by Tori Spelling. I actually liked it! Tori is funny and refreshing, she has the ability to poke fun at herself and seem like the girl next door.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to actually recommend this book; it's pure fluff, trashy reading–but at it's best. I'm not a particular Tori Spelling fan, and I certainly don't watch her reality show(shows?), but this was a fun read.

* * *

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

I'd vaguely heard of Randy Pausch, the college professor and married father of three young children who famously gave his "last lecture" after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic while in his mid 40s. I dismissed the book for a number of reasons, imagining it to be too sappy, too happy, just too sad.

It wasn't sappy; it wasn't happy; and it wasn't too sad. It made me wonder, what in the world would you write if you knew your days were numbered. What if you had three little kids, and you knew that two of them would never have any memory of you as they grew up? I think Randy's goal, in sharing himself, was to get us to think about our own lives. He succeeds.

Definitely recommended.

* * *

Widows & Orphans: A Rachael Flynn Mystery by Susan Meissner

This was a (very!) light Christian fiction mystery book. New-mom-and-big-city-practicing-attorney Rachael Flynn and her husband are visiting family in Minnesota when Rachael's brother is arrested for murder. While the brother admits to the crime, Rachael is not convinced. Her winning personality enables her to get special treatment from various officials, and along with a little help from her husband's quirky friends, she is able to clear her brother of the charges.

My first impression is that this is such a shallow book with not particularly likeable characters. But it's very similar to the Hannah Swensen Mysteries, so I guess I can't complain too much. This is the first book in a series, and I don't plan to continue. I surely have plenty of light reading stacking up already...

* * *

A Moment of Weakness by Karen Kingsbury

Jade and Tanner are childhood friends, losing track of each other when Jade's family splits up and moves. They reconnect as adults, and Tanner's mother manipulates their lives to separate them again. In their own worlds, both Tanner and Jade fight for religious freedom, and this passion eventually reunites them yet again, forever.

Many thanks to Cynthia, Heather and Liz for encouraging me to find the Kingsbury stories that made me love this author in the beginning! This was a good story, interesting, with a few good twists. The characters were likeable and realistic. If you like Karen Kingsbury, my guess is that you'd like this book.

More pics from the paper!

Proof that they are happy to use my photos just for printing my name in the paper. Of course, it's a two way street. I am happy to give them photos just for printing my name. Haha.

The first photo is from our annual Craft Day. We'd planned 13 different crafts, with 100 of each available. Over 120 kids participated.

Two weeks ago, I led a tie dye program for over a dozen teens. It was a great turnout, hot and humid outside, but at least it wasn't raining. I was far too anxious to enjoy it, but everyone else did!