The Bloggers Prayer

I found something called the Bloggers Prayer over at my friend Mike's blog. I knew I had to share it. Read it and see if you can relate!


The Bloggers Prayer

Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post and to quit taking pictures of wierd things to share as well. Please help me to stop talking about my blogging friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all my life. And - help me to think of something wise and witty to post tomorrow!

Cooking Thursday

We've been trying to eat healthy at our house, so today's recipe is one of our new favorites. It's easy and quick, tastes wonderful and is healthy. Can't ask for much more!
For more recipes, visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM.

Chicken Stir Fry

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups snow peas
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 envelope stir fry seasoning, prepared as directed
sliced almonds

Place oil in deep skillet. Add chicken, red and green pepper, onion, snow peas and water chestnuts. Cook, stirring frequently until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender crisp.
Pour the prepared stir fry seasoning over chicken and vegetables, cook for a few more minutes until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, sprinkle almonds over top and serve. This can be eaten as is or served over rice. Makes 4 servings.

Wordless Wednesday

Mystery Spot

Heather and I were in Holland, and we stopped at a park to walk around. On the edge of the park, near a small pond was a little brick building, so we walked over to see it.
We can't imagine what it was used for but it was kind of neat to look around.

The building is next to a hill that has a deck built off the side. This picture is taken, looking at it from under the deck.

Looking inside

Do you see the open areas in the floor?

The door is peeling.

A peek at some of the machinery inside.
It's a mystery - I wonder what this was used for?

Join the Applause

Have you heard of "Join the Applause"? It's a group started on Facebook. The purpose of the group was to gather somewhere beautiful this past Saturday, and applaud, or praise God as the sun set. They had groups all over the world, so the thought was that starting in New Zealand, as the sun set around the world, there would be 24 hours of praise!
As the day progressed yesterday, many pictures were posted of different 'Join the Applause' groups in their beautiful spot from all over the world.
My friend Kim, of Scattered Stones invited people to join her family and take part in this.
We met at a park on the shore of Lake Michigan.

The walk to the beach

The view of the lake from the top of the dunes. Notice the sky? It didn't look like there was going to be much of a sunset.

Beautiful dunes

A beach is a great place to relax and enjoy part of God's creation.
Here's Kim's husband Steve playing with Chloe, Bekah and Kaitlyn.

The girls found this bug near the water. He was about 2 inches long! He's a part of God's creation too, but I don't find him too pretty!

When the sun was almost down, it peeked through the clouds for several minutes.

Even after it went below the clouds, the sky looked beautiful.

This is what we saw when we turned around and prepared to climb back up the dunes to go home.

And here's the gorgeous color from the top.

It was a wonderful night, to sit with friends, enjoy such beauty and praise God!

Then and now

You may remember this picture from earlier this year. I showed it before Mothers day when I shared some gifts my kids had given me when they were young.
These earring were made by Laura when she was 9.
When I did this post, I got a comment from Jenny of I'm Having a Thought Here. She was concerned about Laura's artistic talent, suggesting that maybe Andy had gotten more of it in the gene pool. I had to e-mail her back and tell her that Laura had started making jewelry - and she did a good job!
She asked that I share a few pictures, so I'm finally getting around to it.
Here you go Jenny!

I think she's improved, don't you?

Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe is for a great summer dessert. It's frozen so it's great for a hot day.
For more recipes, visit Sandra at Diary of a SAHM.

Peanut Butter Dessert

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick melted margarine
Mix together and press into a 9x13 pan.

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
16 ounces Cool Whip
Beat cream cheese, then add powdered sugar. Add peanut better and mix well. Stir milk in slowly, than fold in Cool Whip.
Pour over crust and freeze.
Top with hot fudge sauce just before serving.

Wordless Wednesday

Just Too Busy!

Not too long after I started blogging, I met Joanne Kraft, through her blog Blessed. I quickly found that she was as beautiful on the inside as she is in this picture. As she blogged about her family, which includes husband Paul and their four kids and her job as a 911 dispatcher, it was soon apparent that she was a talented writer and encourager to Mom's and families.

Now she has written a book, based on her experiences as a busy wife and Mom.

Just Too Busy is Joanne's personal story of how life can get so busy that family is put on the back burner, and what she and her family did to change things.
Although my kids are now grown, I remember all too well how hectic life could get, with each family member seeming to be going in a different direction. I could have used this book then! However, even now I found things in it that made me think about how to enjoy time with my family instead of getting caught up in the busyness of life. In this book, Joanne reminded me of what is really important in life, and she did it in an honest, humorous way which made the book really enjoyable to read.
If your life is too busy, whether you are a Mom or a Grandma, this book will make you laugh, think and give you some great advice!
There is another bonus in this book - it can be used as a group study.
If you are interested in downloading the free leaders guide you can find it here.

Blooming Now...

I love this time of the year. It seems like every other day there is something new blooming in our flower gardens. It's fun to wander around out there with the camera and try to capture some of that beauty. Here's what I found in the back yard.

Spiderwort

Cranesbill Geranium

Siberian Iris

Peonies

More peonies - I love them!

Salvia

Wiegela

And last, but not least, the climbing roses on the trellis.

"Flowers appear on the earth, the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is
heard in the land."
Song of Solomon 2:12

New Accessory

I'm sporting a new look on my left wrist lately.
I had been noticing that my hands, mainly my left hand, seemed to be "falling asleep" frequently. Then, a few weeks ago, I started to have numbness and tingling in my arm. If I was doing something and didn't get it moved to a position so the tingling would stop, it would start to ache. I was planning to talk to my Dr when I had my physical in a few weeks, thinking it was Carpal Tunnel. However, when it began to be an almost constant tingle, a numb little finger and a pain that went to my shoulder and woke me at night, I decided I better go in. (Nurses are known to be bad patients!)
Well - it is Carpal Tunnel, (compression of a nerve in the wrist) but in the Ulnar nerve, so it affects the other side of my hand and arm. I have this splint to wear for two weeks and then I have to be re-evaluated.
The good news is that the pain is much better. I'm sleeping through the night again and I have much less numbness and tingling. It's worth wearing the splint!

Cooking Thursday

Sandra is hosting Cooking Thursday again. Stop over there for more recipes.
Here's what I'm sharing today:

Chicken Empanadas

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
8 ounces shredded Colby Jack cheese
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pkg refrigerated pie crust
water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, red pepper, jalapeno, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in Colby Jack cheese and shredded chicken.
Unroll pie crust onto lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15 inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3 inch cookie cutter, re-rolling dough as needed. Repeat, making 12-15 rounds.
Arrange one round on clean, dry surface and moisten edges with water. Place one heaping teaspoon of chicken mix in center of circle. Fold dough over filling, then press edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds.
(At this point the empanadas can be frozen if desired)
Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.
May be served with salsa and sour cream, or eaten as they are.

Wordless Wednesday

Historic Trade Fair

Recently Heather and I were in Holland and when we saw a sign for a "Historic Trade Fair" we decided to stop. We both love history and were really glad we stopped.
It was set up like a Dutch trade fair from the late 1700's. Everyone was dressed in period costumes and there were people representing countries that may have been present at an event like that.
There were tents set up with demonstrations and things that could be purchased.
This covered quite a large area and it felt like we were stepping back in time.

Even the Scottish were there in their kilts!


In another area was a section devoted to what may have been going on in the United States at the same time, so there were Indians and Traders to see.

Such a cute little boy!

It's a ...

GIRL!!!!



While I was on my blogging break, during Andy's time home I got to be part of something pretty special. Laura and Aaron invited me and Aaron's Mom to come along to their ultrasound, to find out if they were having a boy or a girl.
It was so neat to see the little heart beating, the arms and legs and all the other amazing things you can see on an ultrasound.
This means we are looking forward to meeting our granddaughter around October 11!