Saturday Morning feels good!

Like I said my girls are here and I woke up to Anna Boo rubbing my arms and smiling!

Here is a picture of MeMe reading to them. (Sarah, this is me in the morning, double chin and all, morning hair and glasses.)Emma had her third haircut yesterday, she said it was like MeMe's. Isn't she a beauty?Here's the sweet little face that woke me up and who also gave me about a 10 inch peice of bed to sleep on.:o) We're fixing to take a shower and get ready for a Birthday Party, then while we're in town, we are getting Ryder Boy to spend the night tonight!Tomorrow is Father's Day-more family time-I'm fixing Pioneer Woman's Not your Granny's Macaroni and Cheese, talk about slap your Mama good. It is delicious. Go get the recipe and make it if your having company!

I'm having a blessed weekend....my cup runneth over!

Be blessed!

MeMe is babysitting tonight

MeMe has two pretty girls spending the night. We had chicken spaghetti for supper and now they are in their PJs watching videos and eating Pink Lady apples with peanut butter. Emma asked me if I knew how to cut up an apple without peelins and put a spoon of peanut butter in the bowl so you can dip it in there. I said who do you think fixed that for your Mom when she was little.I love going to sleep singing to my baby girls and waking up to their sweet smiles. We will have a big breakfast in the morning and I get to spend the day with them.

Hope everybody out there is having a good weekend like me!!!

Be blessed!

Today is My Birthday

Today is my birthday-49 years of a blessed life. Here is a pictorial of how I've been blessed. At an early age I realized the greatest love I would ever know happened on a cross a long time ago. I realized I wanted the assurance in my heart that I belonged to God and He lives in me. God gave me wonderful Christian parents who loved each other and us. They took us to church and taught us important values. They have been married 56 years and have faced health adversities.They still love each other and live well.

The first picture above is my Little (6foot 4) brother Bert who was born when I was 11. He has two precious kids and a wonderful wife. I am proud of the man he is. The next picture is my parents, my oldest brother Mike, his daughterAmanda and my sister Julie.My oldest brother is a single father and he and his son Nick may be moving home to Alabama. That will be a blessing. My sister is 3 years younger than me and she lives with my Mom and Dad and she has been a wonderful care giver during and since my parents health troubles. We all grew up and have many wonderful memories to keep in our hearts of dinner together every night, Christmases and holidays together, heartaches shared and someone who is always there for you even if we don't speak everyday.

The first picture above is Ashley, my oldest daughter, who is a remarkable mother of two and now has one more blessing on the way. She married my son-in love Donny, who is wonderful and we all have a blessed close relationship. I am proud of the woman she is. The next is me with my son Chase and daughter Whitney. Chase is a wonderful daddy to my little bugger boy Ryder and he is a good man-I'm proud of him. Whitney is a senior at University of Alabama-ROLL TIDE-I'm actually a heart divided but that's another story.WAR EAGLE! I am very proud of her and look forward to see the places she'll go. She's very gifted in many ways.

These are my 3 precious GRANDCHILDREN who give me the desire to take care of myself so I can live long and see them grow up. I love every minute I have with them and wait for the next one. Just look at them- what a blessing!

I can't leave out my Husband John-we have been married 17 years this year and he is an awesome Papa and finally got to experience baby love through his grandchildren. He took me and 3 kids and loved and took care of us. I think I'll keep him.

This is Juju and Barbie, my two best friends. I am blessed with many friends, including 6 dear friends from high school over 30 plus years of friendship, plus a Sunday School class of ladies I love very much. I have friends that are big parts of my life and extended family that are dear to me. These two ladies are the everyday, know all about me, share our lives, now we are family friends and I thank God for them.

So can't you see that I am blessed, cos this is just the tip of the iceburg and the special people who enrich my life. Oh yeah, they are all waiting on me to come eat dinner with them -so I guess I better go.

Thanks for letting me share and as always I pray you are blessed!

Desire for Wisdom

As I was reading Proverbs I came across some verses on wisdom, there are so many verses on wisdom in the Bible, especially in Proverbs. I believe that it is a good thing to desire understanding and wisdom. It is something we can use every day. Proverbs 16:16-17 says"How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life."

With wisdom you can pass on good practices to your children and their children. That is of greater value to me than money, just like the verse says. This world can be a hard place and when you can keep your head when those around you are falling, that is a way of preserving your life. When I was growing up there was a poem that was popular called Desiderata, and I agreed with parts of it and can remember them to this day. Go placidly amid the noise and haste,and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly;and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story....Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. The last words were Strive to be happy.

Now in my adult years I feel that God's word can lead to wisdom and understanding, I also believe that your elder friends and family who are Godly can share their wisdom with you, if you are wise enough to listen. Don't we try with our children, just as our parents tried with us.

Here is a list of 12 Lessons Worth Repeating, condensed from the book "The Measure of our Success" by Marjorie Wright Edelman.

1. Be honest.

2. Set goals and work quietly and systematically toward them.

3. Assign a task to yourself.

4. Never give up.

5. Be confident that you can make a difference.

6. Don't ever stop learning and improving.

7. Slow down and live.

8. Choose your friends carefully.

9. Be a can-do and will-try person.

10. Try to live in the present.

11. You are in charge of your own attitude.

12. Always remember that you are never alone.

Just some good things to ponder and pass on to your children. Another thing about getting wiser is sometimes we have to hear something over and over or experience can be a deliverer of wisdom and not in a good way. I'd rather someone tell me an iron is hot and believe it, than touch the iron myself. One other lesson I would add of my own is stop and think before you speak. Our mouth can get us in alot of trouble.

Thanks for reading -every day we are a little older and hopefully a little wiser.

Be blessed!

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding-YUMMY

Someone asked me for the recipe I use for Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. I actually got the recipe from Paula Dean's cookbook or magazine. But I have made it many times and it's always a crowd pleaser. When I worked at the shelter and we would get lots of day old doughnuts, I would fix it and the ladies loved it. It is one of the easiest bread puddings to make and of course you know its not got alot of fat being made from doughnuts and sugar-HAHA!

Fix it and enjoy!

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding
2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

2 (4.5-ounce) cans fruit cocktail (undrained)

2 eggs, beaten

1 (9-ounce) box raisins

1 pinch salt

1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Butter Rum Sauce, recipe follows
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cube donuts into a large bowl. Pour other ingredients on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients together until donuts have soaked up the liquid as much as possible. Bake for about 1 hour until center has jelled. Top with Butter Rum Sauce.
Butter Rum Sauce:

1 stick butter

1 pound box confectioners' sugar

Rum, to taste
Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners' sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.

I hope you try it and enjoy. Fix it for a big group-you will get sick if you eat it all yourself and I do care about my sweet blog friends!!!

Be blessed!

Are you a Gifter?

I love gifts, doesn't everyone. I especially love gifts that don't cost anything. Like when someone you love writes you a note and tells you things they like about you, or someone says they love to spend time with you, or even that invitation for a meal shared is a gift without great cost. I watched the Big Give and thought about if I had great resources would I use them to the best of my ability. I want to practice it is better to give than receive. I love the feeling you get when you do something for others. I found a list of 20 gifts to give- this list was written by Charles Swindoll in The Finishing Touch. See if you have given any of these lately. Search your heart and see if you need to gift someone . I warn you the cost is not monetary.
Twenty Gifts to Give
1. Mend a quarrel.
2. Seek out a forgotten friend.
3. Hug someone tightly and whisper, "I love you so".
4. Forgive an enemy.
5. Be gentle and patient with an angry person.
6. Express appreciation.
7. Gladden the heart of a child.
8. Find the time to keep a promise.
9. Make or bake something for someone else . Even anonymously.
10. Speak kindly to a stranger.
11. Enter into another's sorrow.
12. Smile. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
13. Take a walk with a friend.
14. Kneel down and pat a dog.
15. Lessen your demands on others.
16. Apologize if you were wrong.
17. Turn off the television and talk.
18. Pray for someone who has helped you in a time of need.
19. Give a soft answer even though you feel strongly.
20. Encourage an older person.
I told you this list would not cost you monetarily, but some of these are not things that come easily for some people. Move out of your comfort zone and gift others each day. Jesus said in Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than to receive." One of my alltime "favorite" verses is Luke 6:38 where Jesus tells us The way I interpret that is like when we measure sugar for a recipe we just pour it in a cup, when we measure brown sugar we pack it in there and it ends up being way more than just the poured amount or when we beat whipping cream the amount after we beat all that air in looks like alot more, so what we get back is going to be overflowing and more than we can hold- Could you stand that? I'd like to try!
I want to be known as a good gifter. I'm going to keep on trying.
Thank you dear one for reading me today.
Be blessed!

I'm Having Fun in Dallas

Barbie, my best friend, her grandson and I flew to Dallas Saturday. Barbie and I don't like to fly and Thomas the 4 year old loves it. He looked out the window the whole time and loved the whole experience. Me and Barbie aren't that brave, We need pill encouragement for bravery and anxiety free flying.
Dallas here we come!
We are here visiting Barbie's Mom and Dad and siblings. Today, Sunday we went to Canton, Texas and First Monday. It was quite fun- I bought a cross for my cross wall. Before that we went to First Baptist of Canton and the service was wonderful. The pastor preached on one of my favorite subjects-"What is the Cross". I want to share some of those thoughts and my feelings from that with you in a more serious posting . This one is more pictorial and sharing some of the good things of this day. Thomas had fun with his cousins on the trampoline.

One of my favorite places to go in Dallas is Kellers Hamburgers. Its on Northwest Highway. You drive in and park and get out of the car and most people order hamburgers and beer. I am not a beer drinker. Boy, I love their hamburgers. They have poppy seeds on the buns and the burgers are delicious, but I think its the fact that the whole family meets there together and hangs out and its great. Here is Barbie, her Dad and her handsome brother Eddie at Kellers.Tomorrow is another day and I look forward to more time in the Big D with Barbie's family.

Enjoy your families and Be blessed!