Eek!

Last night we had a little bit of excitement. It was around 11:00 pm and it all started when I noticed Macey (little kitty) by the back door playing with something.  Upon closer inspection I realized it looked like a mouse.  Now I’m thinking – “Is that one of the toy mice she got for Christmas? . . .but, no, I don’t remember her getting any gray mice!!  So I called the late night crew to come and see – more like – “Please tell me this isn’t a real mouse!!!!!” 

Then the real fun began – Matthew, Jeff and Laura started chasing the cat around to get the mouse from her, which she did not want to give up – she was actually growling at them – something we’ve never heard her do before!  She would zoom back behind the Christmas tree and then they’d chase her out and she’d zoom under the dining table.  This went on about 10 times before they finally got her and relinquished her of her prize.

I spent all this time sitting with my feet up on the couch, trying not to watch – seeing Macey speed past every time with the mouse hanging out of her mouth was a little disturbing to me, to say the least.

Laura (the animal lover) kept scolding Macey and was so mad at her for catching “that cute little mouse”!!  Ever since she saw the movie “Ratatouille”, she has thought mice and rats were just wonderful!  We kept telling her that it was good that she caught it – that it’s what cats do – (no matter how disturbing it might be to Mom!) – and that we certainly don’t want mice running around our house.

Friday night is our night to grill out dinner for the late night crew after the littles and middles go to bed, so I was just getting ready to sit down and enjoy my grilled chicken, brown rice and bernaisse sauce when all of this excitement began.  Needless to say, I lost my appetite and didn’t ever eat anything . . . ah, life in the country.

Blessings,

Nancy

Merry Christmas!

A Merry, Merry Christmas to all! 

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them,  ’Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ 

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.’ “

                                 -Luke 2: 8-14

Our Lord, born into the world to save us from our sin!

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. . .

. . .For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government shall be on His shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”                -Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7

” Joy to the world – the Lord has come!  Let earth receive her peace.  Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing!”

May your Christmas be truly blessed. 

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 1st day ’til Christmas . . .

(Hi everyone!  This post was mostly written on Christmas Eve – but then I got too busy to finish, so I stopped blogging until today.  I will catch up my final 2 Christmas countdowns and then go from there!  Thanks for your kind understanding!!!)

Christmas Eve!  This is my favorite day of the year!  The whole of the Christmas season seems to culminate in this one day.  I know, it should be Christmas – but everything seems different then.  I can’t really explain it, maybe it’s just my quirky thing! 

Today has been one of the best Christmas Eves in many years.  It is the first year that I have actually not been running fast, trying to finish up everything. 

We baked sugar cookies this morning and, as usual, it was a mess, but well worth it!  Here is a picture -

After they cooled, it was time to frost them.  I grew up sprinkling them before baking, but in Jeff’s family, they always frosted, so we’ve done that for most of our married life.  Here are a few pictures of the frosting session -

These are the colors we used. . .and. . .

. . .here is our official frosting taster!

 This evening we made our traditional Christmas Eve light trip.  We drove through Wendy’s and then drove around looking at lights.  We went to some new areas that we recently learned about and it was really great! 

Returning home, most people had hot cocoa and relaxed while I wrapped a few more presents.  Robert, our oldest, joined us about this time.  He is spending the night and will be with us all day tomorrow. 

Our next event was singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus and eating cake.  Sarah decorated the cake earlier that day – here is a picture of the cake with Gretchen!-

While we ate cake, we went around and shared our gifts for Jesus – things that we wanted to give Him this year – such as reading our Bibles more consistently, praying more, sharing with others, etc.  This great idea came from Theresa (see the “7th day”!), and it was a special time. Thank you, Theresa!

Next it was time for Jeff’s annual Christmas Eve “Reading of the Stories”.  The first story he always reads is the Christmas story found in Luke.  After this, he always reads “The Night Before Christmas” – usually in some silly way – changing the words or something like that.  Tonight he read the whole thing as Goofy (Disney), much to David’s delight, as he is currently a Goofy fan. 

After the stories, it was off to bed for all of the littles and middles.  You’d think this would be easy on this one night, but they kept coming back for one reason or another.  I think they finally fell asleep – haven’t heard from them in quite some time! 

The rest of the evening was spent finishing up the presents and watching “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Oh, by the way, that stocking project didn’t get done – but we bought Michael a ready made one at the store which he embellished with stickers spelling out his name, and he’s happy – next year, he’ll have his homemade one for sure!

A thought for this special, holy night . . .

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”                       -Luke 2: 7

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 2nd day ’til Christmas. . .

Whew!  2 days and counting! 

Today was wrapping day – about 5 hours worth.  Does that sound ridiculous?  Well, it’s not when you consider time to find what I need to wrap, find the right box to put it in, pick the “perfect” paper for that person and gift, and top it all off with just the right ribbon! Then start all over with the next one, and don’t forget to multiply by 10 people with multiple gifts (I didn’t wrap my own presents – although I did wrap a few tagged for “All of Us”.)  I didn’t even get to the gifts for the extended family! – Note to self:  start earlier next year!!!

The morning highlight was the children’s Christmas program at church.  They sang carols and recited Scripture between songs.  It was very beautiful.

After my wrapping session came to a close, we bundled up the kids and went out for a short drive, looking at Christmas lights.  We are now home and the littles and middles are in bed.  I am planning to mix up the sugar cookie dough tonight, so that we can start cutting them and baking early tomorrow.  Then I will probably spend the rest of the evening night sewing on the stocking.  I have about given up hope for it, but several family members keep encouraging me to keep going – we’ll see how much I get done!

Once again, tonight I will let God’s words speak to you in some verses from the book of John.  May you be blessed by them as you make your final Christmas preparations.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.

…The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”                             -John 1: 1-2, 14

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 3rd day ’til Christmas. . .

Today is the first day of winter, and the weather outside certainly cooperated.  The past few days have been springlike, but today a cold front blew in and the temperatures have dropped drastically.  Appropriate to the weather and the first day of winter, I decided to make taco soup and cornbread for dinner. Actually, Tommy made the cornbread – he is our resident cornbread maker!

Taco Soup –

2 lbs. ground beef, browned and seasoned with garlic salt & pepper

1 chopped onion

2 pkgs. taco seasoning

2 pkgs. Ranch dressing mix (dry)

2 cans hominy

2 cans stewed tomatoes (I used roasted garlic variety)

2 cans pork ‘n beans (can also use ranch style beans)

1 can water

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 2-4 hours.

We sprinkled cheddar cheese on ours – it was yummy!

I got this recipe from a dear friend a few years back, but today I tried it in the crockpot, which I had never done before.  It turned out great and was good to have cooking by itself while I baked Christmas goodies.

The baking today included 2 batches of fudge (one with pecans and one without) and peanut butter/butterscotch haystacks.  The girls wanted me to make magic cookie bars, but I ran out of time – we’ll try that tomorrow!  My fudge recipe is a simple one, handed down from my mother.  I’ve been making the haystacks for many years now, ever since a friend gave them to us for Christmas and we loved them and requested the recipe.

Chocolate Fudge –

3 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups evaporated milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine sugar, salt and milk in a large saucepan.  Over low heat, bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly,  for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla, chocolate chips, marshmallows and pecans.  Stir until melted and smooth.  Spread in a greased 13 x 9 pan and allow to cool.  Cut into squares.

Peanut Butter/Butterscotch Haystacks –

1 cup peanut butter

1 11oz. pkg. butterscotch chips

1 can peanuts

1 small pkg. chow mein noodles

Melt peanut butter and butterscotch chips in the microwave for 2 minutes or until smooth.  Add peanuts and chow mein noodles.  Drop onto waxed paper and let set about an hour.

Jeff and Laura played Santa Claus this morning and delivered presents to family members that are leaving town for Christmas.  He also mailed all of the Christmas cards, which he sweetly helped me finish last night.  Now I have just the cards for our church family to do, which we will take with us in the morning to hand out.

Ask me if I’ve gotten around to wrapping yet. . .you might as well, my kids have been asking me for days  – “are you going to wrap, now?”  Well, the answer is no – except for the few that Jeff needed to deliver today.  I will try to start that tomorrow. 

Now ask me if I’ve finished the Christmas stocking for Michael – you know, the one I was going to be finishing up today.  The answer is …no.  I am thinking that I will need to come up with plan B.  He could have used the Mickey Mouse stocking that he’s been using since he was a baby, except that our cranky old lady cat decided to have an “accident” (?) on it, and we had to throw it away.  (Don’t even get me started on that cat right now – it’s a whole other post – suffice it to say that she has been refusing to use the cat box at least once a day lately and it is about to drive me crazy!) We will come up with something in time for Christmas Eve.

I don’t have words of my own for you tonight – you’ve already read a lot so far!  I will leave you with God’s words from Isaiah to ponder in the quiet of the night (after the kiddos are asleep!).  This passage speaks of Jesus and the reason He came to us.  (Remember this was written down hundreds of years before He was born in Bethlehem!)

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 

Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.  But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.  By oppression and judgment He was taken away.  And who can speak of His descendants?  For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken.  He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.  After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Isaiah 53

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 4th day ’til Christmas. . .

Okay, today I actually got the cherry cookies baked!  It took days of talking about it to fnally get it done, but that seems to be the way it always works around here.  I never can judge accurately how much (or should I say little) I can get done in a day – I’m not sure why that is – maybe someday I’ll figure it out!  Well, the cookies turned out beautifully, and so our holiday baking has officially begun! (I posted a picture of the cookies on the previous post with the recipe.)

Jeff & I took the two teenagers to see “National Treasure 2″ this evening, which proved to be quite good.  We had been looking forward to it as we are big fans of the first one.  Last year Laura and I got on a kick of watching it every night during the late night movie time.  We saw it so many times that we made up a little trivia game and would try to stump each other with minutely detailed questions all through the day.  We played it so much that we finally had to stop, because there weren’t any more facts left that we hadn’t asked about!  Needless to say, we really enjoyed the movie tonight.

Tonight I will be finishing the Christmas cards, so that they can be mailed tomorrow.  Here is a picture of how they turned out.  (If you’re getting one – I guess this will be a sneak peek!) 

The stamp set is from Stampin’ Up.  I used raffia for the hay and various different red gingham papers, so there are actually several different variations of the card.  I didn’t take a picture of the inside – it is just red with the stamped message:  “Rejoicing with you in the miracle of Christmas.” 

I wonder if we are so familiar with the Christmas story after hearing it for so many years that we forget how miraculous it really was. 

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”                      -Isaiah 7:14

The virgin birth, the delivery in Bethlehem just as prophesied, the appearance of a great star, the appearance of angels to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds in the field, the escape to Egypt which saved Jesus’ life while all of the other baby boys died, just names a few of the miracles surrounding Christ’s birth.  Webster defines a miracle as:

“A wonderful thing – a marvel.”  Also as:   ”An event or effect in the physical world deviating from the known laws of nature.”

Truly a miracle is an act of God – not of man.  It is something that we can’t explain.  Something out of the ordinary.  But , wait, just because something is ordinary, does that make it any less a miracle?  Just as the Christmas story has become somewhat ordinary to us (sadly), maybe there are other things in life that we think of as ordinary, but are really miracles from the hand of God.  Our children, for example.  My sweet friend and her husband just announced that they are expecting their 10th baby!  What a miracle!  The creation by God of a new life and eternal soul!  Our children are something we should never take for granted (I’m preaching to myself here, too!).

New life makes me think of God’s miracle of the changing of the seasons.  A seed, planted in the ground can bring forth a plant and fruit to feed my family.  Our world changes from spring to summer to fall to winter by God’s amazing plan.  The birds know to fly south for the winter, and the squirrels know to gather nuts to survive in the cold weather.  All of this is miraculous!

And how about salvation?  Those of us who have been saved for a little while tend to take it for granted.  We are born spiritually dead in sin, and it is God Who saves us.

 ”But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that comes by Christ Jesus.”                             -Romans 3: 21-24

Salvation is the most beautiful and powerful miracle of all.  We are given a new heart, a new mission and a new relationship with Almighty God. 

In this special season of Christmastime, as we think about the miracle of His birth – let’s remember that each new day we live is a miracle from the hand of God and I pray that we would be aware of all of the miracles that fill each day and moment of our lives.

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 5th day ’til Christmas…

Today I finally get to stay home and wrap, bake, etc. . . .kind of.  I had to take Matthew to work this morning and will be picking him up again this afternoon, but other than that, I get to stay home and do some things. 

Cherry cookies are on the list for baking today.  I always seem to start my baking with these cookies – I think because they are so festive.  It’s simply a drop sugar cookie recipe with pecans in them.  After dropping the cookies on the cookie sheet, you place a candied cherry in the center of each and then bake.  I grew up watching my mom bake these at Christmas and now I love to make them, too!  My children love to put the cherries on. 

Here’s the recipe:

Cherry Christmas Cookies

1 1/3 cups shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1 cup pecans

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 teaspoons milk

Thoroughly cream shortening and sugar.  Beat eggs – add to creamed mixture.  Add vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Sift dry ingredients.  Stir into creamed mixture, together with milk.

Drop from spoon onto greased cookie sheet.  Top with candied cherries.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

I stayed up too late last night working on the Christmas cards – it helped (?) that I had caffeine for lunch and dinner!  I made good progress, though so I’m glad I did – of course, the kids may not feel the same way later when I start snapping at them from my lack of sleep. . .sigh!

Growing up at Christmastime, we would always watch “The Homecoming” on television.  You know the one – the Walton family, before the series, with a different Mom and Dad, but mostly the same kids.  In this movie, some of the children joined their neighbor children down at the general store – there was a lady giving away toys to anyone who could quote a Bible verse – ah, the excitement!  Well, one of the little children quoted the shortest verse in the Bible: 

“Jesus wept.”     (John 11: 35)

I used to think that this verse was just a statement of Christ’s grief over the death of his friend, Lazarus.  The truth of this verse actually goes so much deeper than that.  I learned this in a Bible study years ago, and it has deepened my understanding and relationship with the Lord.  Jesus received word of the illness of Lazarus days before.  He could have gone immediately to his side and healed him.  But, that was not the Father’s plan.  He was planning to use this situation for His glory.  After Jesus knew that Lazarus had died, He began His journey back to Judea.  When He arrived, He found many people gathered around Lazarus’ sisters – Mary and Martha – comforting them in their grief.  Lazarus had been in the tomb for 4 days already.  It is at this point in the story that we find our verse of the day – “Jesus wept.”  Naturally, we tend to think that He was simply grieving along with the rest of them, but remember, He chose to stay away until He knew Lazarus was gone.  He also, in His divine intelligence, knew that He was about to raise him from the dead. No, the reason He wept was over the effect of sin on the world and mankind.  It showed His great love for us – He hates sin and the effect it has had on His creation.  People didn’t die, or experience grief before sin entered the world through Adam & Eve.  Christ was weeping over the sadness and grief that sin has caused. 

My point in picking this verse is this – He knows our situation and HE CARES!!!!  Isn’t it wonderful to have a God Who is moved to tears by our own hardships and grief?  He, having walked the earth in human form, has experienced what we experience and loves us enough to come to die for us.   He also intercedes for us with the Father.  Hebrews has a wonderful passage pertaining to this:

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest Who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One Who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”                    -Hebrews 4: 14-16

He wept, and He still weeps over our sin today, but He has defeated it!  His death was for the sole purpose of paying our sin debt to God.  He did this freely, without requiring anything from us, except that we accept His free gift of salvation from our sin and it’s penalties.  It is a free gift – and yet, how many will believe and accept His gift? 

Christmas is so much more than the celebration of Christ’s birth – it is the celebration of the wonderful gift that God gave us – His own Son as payment for our sin and the freedom from the slavery to sin that we are born into.  Praise the Lord!

Oh, and in case you don’t know the rest of the Lazarus story – Jesus raised him from the dead (just as He does us, from our spiritual death in sin) and the Father was glorified and many put their faith in Him that day. 

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 6th day ’til Christmas…

Today is Michael’s 6th birthday!!!  We will be celebrating in various ways.  I am taking him out to lunch today, and tonight the whole family will be going to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate with pizza, cake, presents and fun! 

This afternoon will find me wrapping presents, starting with Michael’s birthday presents and hopefully I will get some Christmas presents wrapped at the same time.

The Christmas cards are almost finished and are set to go out on Friday.  The stocking is almost ready to backstitch.  My goal is to have it ready to assemble on Saturday – we’ll see!

As usual on my children’s birthdays, I tend to spend a bit of time remembering the day of their birth – how things went and what else was going on in our lives at the time.  Today I am reminded of the fact that Michael was a Christmas baby.  This was challenging to say the least, but also very special.  I remember feeling something of a kinship with Mary as I held my tiny (well, not so tiny) newborn in my arms.  I thought about what it was like for her, so many years ago, and wondered if she was experiencing the same things that I was.  Of course, I’m certain her surroundings weren’t as comfortable as mine – but she was a new mother with a sweet baby to care for.  Did she feel the awesomeness of her new role?  Did she feel that mixture of complete joy and fear that caring for such a little one brings?  I feel sure that she did.  I really admire her, especially when I think of her trying to recuperate with a constant influx of visitors coming to see the new babe.  I tend to go into hiding and just “nest” when I have a new baby.  I think, however, that she knew that her role as the mother of the Messiah would call for sacrifice, certainly more sacrifice than other mothers, but she probably handled it well – she had already declared, “I am the Lord’s servant.” (Luke 1: 38).  Luke also tells us that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2: 19) in response to all of the testimonies of her visitors.  When Jesus was 8 days old and was taken to the temple to be circumcised, Simeon told Mary:

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”                    Luke 2: 34-35 

Mary had her own challenges to be sure, but she was also a human mother who had been given one of the greatest gifts from God – a child.

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 7th day ’til Christmas…

Today marked the official completion of my Christmas shopping!  Jeff still has some items to pick up on our list, but my running around has come to an end! 

Not much else has gone on today – of interest, anyway.  We watched Polar Express this evening while munching on guacamole and tortilla chips.  I did manage to bake some Christmas M&M cookies.  I’ll start the main Christmas baking in another day or so. 

This year I am planning to bake:  fudge, cherry cookies, haystacks, Snickerdoodles and sugar cookies (which are always last – we frost them on Christmas Eve and then set some out for Santa, before they are all gobbled up!)  The children have been asking me to bake a birthday cake for Jesus this year, so I may add that to the list.  We used to do this some years back, but it always seemed like noone ever ate the cake, and so I stopped making it.  Maybe this is the year to revive this tradition.

My verse for you today is from my favorite book of the Bible – Matthew:

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us’.”

                                                              Matthew 1: 22-23

“God with us” – what an amazing thought.  The Late Night Crew watched “The Nativity Story” last night.  I hadn’t seen it before and parts of it were disturbing to me – not because they weren’t true (although they did embellish the story somewhat), but because the reality of the world that Jesus was born into was so harsh.  Having a son under 2 years of age, myself, I had to turn away during the scene where the babies were taken from their mothers and murdered – it would have torn my heart out to watch this! (I thought of the current day murder of babies in greater numbers in the form of abortions, and noted that our world is certainly no better than theirs!) The movie was quite good at showing where the people were at, and how they were longing for the Messiah to come.  I was moved by the scene of Christ’s birth and the subsequent visitations by the shepherds and wise men – there was an awe and reverence that really made you realize that this was God – in the flesh – “God with us”. 

I love the sound of those words – “God with us” – there is such comfort and peace in them.  We can still experience Him as Immanuel, in our lives today.  Even though Christ has bodily returned to heaven, He has left us His Spirit, to be “with us” in the same way as the world experienced Him then – walking with them, side by side, in the course of their day.  He is still walking with us, in every moment of our day, and there is comfort and peace in our walk with Him. We are also looking forward to that glorious day when He returns once again, bodily, to the earth. 

When we sing the song, “O Come, O Come Immanuel” this season, let us remember that He is still “with us” and will be forevermore!

Blessings,

Nancy

On the 8th day ’til Christmas…

Today will find me hopefully finishing up my Christmas shopping!  I really need to get it done, so that I can stay home and wrap and bake! 

Sarah has planned a Christmas party for her siblings today – complete with presents, snacks and music.  She spent some time wrapping up items from her room to give to them and then prepared various treats for them to eat – sandwiches, chips crackers and drinks.  They seem to be enjoying it – although there was a bit of a tussle over the fact that she wanted them to clean the living room before she started!

I have decided to cook VERY EASY meals for dinner this week.  I hope to be in the kitchen baking a lot this week, so it will help to have simple meals.  This will probably include chili dogs, taco soup, frozen something from the store, etc.  I haven’t really planned it all yet.

I won’t include a new Scripture today, since I just wrote yesterday’s post (!) and I want to continue to meditate on that one!!

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings,

Nancy