Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Today is our daughter, Sarah’s 10th birthday!

Sarah is our sixth child and second daughter. She came along fast on the heels of Tommy, who is only 1 year and 24 days older than her.

Sarah is a sweet, kind and generous girl. She has a special gift for giving to others and is frequently making things and wrapping things up for people – she loves to give gifts to people and express her love to them.

Sarah’s idea of the perfect day is to go out with Mom and have lunch and go shopping. She would like to do so way more often than she is able to.

Sarah likes to sing, dance, do gymnastics, talk and spend time with her friends. She enjoys decorating our house and her room (which she shares with her older sister). She loves her kitty, Macey, and takes good care of her.

Sarah has a very tender heart and likes to help people. She is shy (like her mother), and sensitive, and loves to teach the younger ones new skills, style her little sister’s hair and such.

Sarah hasn’t always been the easiest child to raise, as her sensitivity, strong will and emotions many times have combined to create a turbulent storm, but she has grown up so much in recent years and these storms have become few and far between. Her faith in Christ has made a huge impact – I noticed a definite difference in her life when she prayed to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

Sarah is a blessing to our family and to her parents, and we are so thankful that God sent her to us.

Happy Birthday Sarah!!! We love you very much!!

Love,
Mom

Thankful Thursday

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Here is my Thankful Thursday list for this week -

1. I am thankful for the beautiful, warm weather we have been having all week.

2. I am thankful for my sweet daughter, Sarah, who is turning 10 years old tomorrow!

3. I am thankful for family, and the lovely time we had together on Easter.

4. I am thankful that I get to see and visit with my cousin tonight (I only have 5 cousins!), who I haven’t seen in almost 30 years, but who I share many happy childhood memories with.

5. I am thankful for Band-aids to cover and protect all of the many boo-boo’s that my children have been getting lately, since they have been able to spend so much fun time outside this week!

6. I am thankful that our barn swallows are back, nesting in a corner of our patio. They nested there the first two years that we lived here, but did not do so last year. It is so wonderful to watch them build the nest, feed their babies, and teach them how to fly!

7. I am thankful for these words from Christ in Matthew 11:28-30 -

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

To read more Thankful Thursday posts, click the button below to find other participating blogs.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Blessings,
Nancy

Happy Easter!

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” – Revelation 1:17b-18a

May you have a lovely Easter Day as you celebrate with your families the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Blessings,
Nancy

Good Friday

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 22.  It is a powerful and moving portrait of Christ as He hung on the cross (although written hundreds of years before it ever occurred!).  In honor of Good Friday, I want to share it with you here.  May you be blessed by God’s Word today!

Psalm 22
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.Yet You are enthroned as the Holy One;
You are the praise of Israel.
In You our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
in You they trusted and were not disappointed.But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
‘He trusts in the Lord;
let the Lord rescue him.
Let Him deliver him,
since He delights in him.’Yet You brought me out of the womb;
You made me trust in You even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

But You, O Lord, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare Your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!
For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one;
He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

From You comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear You will I fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the Lord will praise Him -
may your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him -
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve Him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn -
for He has done it.”

Blessings,
Nancy

Thankful Thursday

Happy Spring!  Today is the first day of spring, and that’s certainly something to be thankful for!  Especially when the temperature here today was in the 70′s. We celebrated by going out for ice cream cones this afternoon!

My focus for this Thankful Thursday is on the wondrous, amazing and unimaginable gift of love that we have been given by God, in providing a way of salvation for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  You see, we are in need of salvation ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden and ate the fruit that was forbidden to them.  God created man perfect and sinless, which was the case until their disobedience caused them to “fall” from sinlessness into sin – which is defined as walking independently from God – going our own way, rather than His.  But God foreknew that this would happen, and He, in His great love for us, had a plan for restoration already in the works -

1. I am thankful that God provided a plan for salvation which He revealed all the way back in the garden, right after Adam and Eve sinned.  Their relationship with God had changed – they no longer enjoyed continual fellowship with the Father, but there was separation between them – just as there is for each of us, having inherited our sin from Adam and Eve.  But God didn’t leave us there.  From the beginning, right there in the garden, after the fall, God promised to send a Savior who would pay the price for our sin and would restore us to a right relationship with the Father -

(God speaking to the serpent) “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and betweeen your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”     – Genesis 3:15

The serpent (Satan) would strike the heel of the woman’s offspring (Christ) – this signifies crucifixion (this would be a temporary injury); but Christ would crush Satan’s head – death to sin (a permanent, fatal blow). 

God would continue to prophesy about the coming Messiah throughout the Old Testament, which shows me a God of hope, who doesn’t leave His people alone and lost, but reaches out to us with hope.

2. I am thankful that Jesus came to earth, giving up His home in heaven to walk among us -

“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.”  -Isaiah 9:2

(Paul speaking of Christ) “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”   Phillipians 2:6-7

3. I am thankful that Jesus was a visible testament to us of the Father.  He shows us what God is like and gives us an example to follow in our own lives of an obedient life serving God -

“No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.”  -John 1:18

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father. . .”  – John 14:9b

4. I am thankful that Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for my sin – and yours -

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!”  -Philippians 2:8

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”    -Romans 5:6-8

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”          -1 Peter 2:24

He became our sin and suffered the wrath of God upon that cross, so that we might be reconciled with God, having our sin debt paid in full by His blood.  It is the greatest gift of all time, but it is only yours if you accept it – just as with any gift we might receive.  I must reach out and take the gift – believing in my heart that He paid that price for me personally – through no effort of my own, but through His blood -

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”      -Ephesians 2:8-9

5. I am thankful that He did not stay dead, but rose again on the third day!  He triumphed over death and is alive today!

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.  The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”  -Matthew 28:1-6a

It is not a dead and powerless Lord that we serve, but a living and powerful God.  You will not find His remains anywhere on the earth, because He arose and conquered death.  He completed the job He was sent to do and ascended back to heaven – body and spirit together.

6.  I am thankful that He lives today in heaven, interceding for me – and you -

“but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.  Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”  -Hebrews 7:24-25

7. I am thankful that He will return soon to the earth and that I will spend eternity ( I repeat – forever) with Him in glory, in perfect and complete righteousness.  (This really is helpful to remember on those hard days!) -

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”  – Matthew 24:30-31

“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,  with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.”  -1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!  .  .  . ”

“.  .  .  To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever!”             – Revelation 5: 12b & 13b

To read more Thankful Thursday posts, click on the button below!

Blessings,

Nancy

St. Patrick’s Day Fun

I thought I’d share with you the little bits of fun we had today celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  Of course, everyone tried to wear green or something with green on it.  The kids had great fun pinching me when I emerged from getting dressed and didn’t have on any green.  I don’t have a green shirt, and was intending to find a green sticker to wear, but they caught me before I could.  Well, they had fun with it, anyway.

After lunch, I sent the kids outside to find clover to pick, armed with small paper bags.  They found a big patch and picked a few handfuls each.  Actually Tommy and Sarah picked clover – Michael and Anna decided it wasn’t interesting enough - until later, when they saw what we were doing with it, and then they quickly ran outside to pick their own.

Here’s what we did with the clover -

Each child made a design with their clover on a sheet of wax paper -

I then covered it with another sheet of waxed paper and ironed them together, sealing the clover inside -

Sarah used hers as a tablecloth for her new tea set -

Michael took this picture of his creation -

Tommy cut his into the shape of a magnifying glass – he’s our Hardy Boys mystery fan -

Anna made one, too, but we didn’t get a picture of it. 

I read a little bit about St. Patrick’s Day to the children from my Five in A Row Holiday book.  Here is a short excerpt -

“Patrick is recognized today as the Patron Saint of Ireland.  Did you know that he was not born there?  Possibly born in England, he was captured in his teenage years by pirates and sent to Ireland as a slave.  But, even in this sad event a wonderful thing happened.  Patrick fell in love with the Irish people and hoped that someday he could share the gospel of Christ with them.

Escaping to France, Patrick became a monk.  From there he returned to Ireland and spread the gospel to the Irish people.  Nearly 300 churches were founded from the seeds of faith Patrick faithfully planted.”

-Jane Claire Lambert and Becky Jane Lambert

I have made it a tradition in our family for years to cook a green dinner on St. Patrick’s Day.  Some years I make green scrambled eggs with accompanying green side dishes.  This year I decided on Broccoli/Cheese Casserole, lime jello and special cookies from the store.  Here is a picture of the goodies -

I got my recipe for Broccoli/Cheese Casserole from my sister-in-law. (Come to think of it, I’ve gotten alot of good recipes from her over the years!)  Here it is -

 Broccoli/Cheese Casserole –

Mix together in 9 x 13 dish:

2 cups cooked rice

1/2 onion, sauteed

2 boxes broccoli spears, cooked and chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Melt together:

8 oz. Velveeta

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

Add sauce to rice mixture and sprinkle grated cheddar cheese all over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts.

We topped off our day by watching “Luck of the Irish”, an old Disney Channel video that we enjoy from time to time, especially on St. Patrick’s Day!

Hope you enjoyed a peek inside our home today and I hope you had a fun day, too!

Blessings,

Nancy

Ice Cream Fun

I came across this little quiz on another blog and decided to take it.  I was quite surprised at the result, as it really does describe me pretty well!

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works.You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Now I need to get Jeff to try it, to see if he is chocolate chip! But, I think I’ll keep him, even if he turns out to be pistachio!

Try it yourself, just for fun!

Blessings,
Nancy

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for change – something that can cause a multitude of feelings. It can bring fear and grief and even anger, or it can bring excitement and joy and peace. I have felt all of these feelings in relation to change in the course of my life. Today I am going to write about a few of the things that I have been thinking about this week in relation to change – reasons that I am thankful for change.

1. I am thankful that the seasons change. Imagine if it was perpetually winter! But, God, in His wisdom has created a world for us that is always changing, each day new and wonderful, and the change from winter to spring is such an uplifting change with new life abounding all around us.

2. I am thankful for the new life that I have in Christ – that is the change that I am most thankful for!

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26

This is the most glorious change of all, wrought by the hand of God!

3. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, Who grows and changes me. God is so good to not leave us here in our helpless state alone in this world. He has given us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us and grow us into the likeness of Christ.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
John 14:26

This growth can be hard sometimes and painful, but is also so very exciting and joyous. The Lord has been revealing many truths to me in the area of education the last few weeks and I have just been feeling so thankful that He cares so intimately for us as to reveal Himself to us and change us as we follow Him.

4. I am thankful that the Lord provided our home in the country 3 years ago this week! This was a change that God had laid on my heart and in my prayers for a long time, but when He actually began to answer my prayer, I was afraid! I had lived in the suburbs for most of my life and in the same town for the 20 years previous to our move. I was afraid to leave the familiar and dive into the unfamiliar. Thankfully, we moved ahead with our plans regardless of the fear I felt and God has tremendously blessed us in so many ways as a result. We love our new home, our new church and our wonderful new surroundings more than we could have imagined that we would. It has been a good move for our family and so I celebrate every year the anniversary of the day we moved in – this year we celebrated with chocolate cake!

5. I am thankful that, eventually, there will be one of the most wonderful changes of all.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’
And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ “
Revelation 21:1-5

It makes my heart rejoice to read these verses!

So, maybe change isn’t always a bad thing! Change in our lives can bring about so many results – sometimes good, sometimes painful – but we are never alone as we go through change in our lives. We are constantly in the arms of our loving heaveny Father, who does not ever change – a wonderful truth to be thankful for!

To read what others are thankful for today, click on the button below, and have a wonderful, thankful Thursday!

Blessings,
Nancy

Snow!!. . .part 3 and final!

Well, it’s taken me awhile, but I am finally posting the last of the three part saga of our snowstorms last week. Just as a recap, we had 6 inches of snow last Monday night. Read that story here in Part 1. For pictures of the beauty left in the wake of this storm, look here in Part 2. The snow started melting pretty quickly on Tuesday, which was good because Tommy was able to go to the movies on his birthday as we had planned. It was all gone by Wednesday, and it was quite warm that day. Then, on Thursday, another snowstorm blew in, this time during the day, so we got to enjoy the sight as it fell – sometimes with giant 2 inch flakes! We ended up with 3 inches this time. What a surprise and thrill to get 2 snowstorms so close together, when we usually rarely get much at all!

What follows are various different shots taken during both events – I’ll caption them, so you’ll know what you’re looking at. Enjoy! –

Here’s David, all ready to head out into the snow (Tue.)

…and here he is out in it. It was melting fast and was already down quite a bit from early morning.

It was fun to throw!

Anna made snow angels.

And, of course, we had to build a snowman!

Because it was melting, it was wet and packed beautifully!

Putting on a few finishing touches – the top hat, by the way, ended up on the snowman for only a few minutes, as it is one of Laura’s treasures (I think she writes in it), and she didn’t want it ruined.

Of course, what good is snow without a good old-fashioned snowball fight? . . .

. . .unless you enjoy eating it instead.

Here is a picture of the creek behind our property . . .

. . .and the pond in the front.

David wandered over by the garden, which will hopefully be brimming with lucious vegies come summertime.

Children and snow – a wonderful combination!

Anna took some inside to snack on – yum! yum!

Okay, get ready for this next one . . .

Are you ready? Really? Okay . . .

Here are two of my children the very next day!!! (Wed.) Can you believe this? Sarah is actually barefooted! That’s what they mean by the fast changing Texas weather!

And, if that’s not enough of an example, here’s a picture 24 hours later (Thu.) – here we go again!

This is a Rose of Sharon bush (leafless still) outside my window.

The birds were filling up on food before heading for shelter.

This little guy was using the feeder as shelter. Hmm. . .I wonder what he was thinking as he sat there, watching the flakes come down (he sat there for quite some time!)

The kids went out to play in the snow again, but I didn’t – prefering the warmth of the house instead – so I didn’t get anymore pictures. After all, this was getting to be “old hat” now!

By the way, in case you’re wondering, Matthew did make it home safely during the 2nd storm. Jeff picked him up on his way past and his employers were kind enough to let him go 4 hours early – thank you, Lord!

We loved our snowy week and thank God for the fun side trip on our way to spring. Now, I’m ready to get back on the road to our destination.

I think the earth is, too! I saw trees blooming in the neighborhood today, and they have forecasted 85 degrees by the end of the week! Gotta love Texas!!

Blessings,
Nancy

7 Random Facts About Me

Tracy at Lines From the Vine has tagged me to share 7 random facts about me, so here we go –

1. I love baskets, especially country baskets. I have them all over my house and am always buying more when I see one that I love. I have plans to hang some of my baskets around an old ladder hanging over my kitchen island, as soon as we can get the ladder actually hung.

2. My favorite color is blue.

3. I have an aversion to odd numbers. There isn’t really any explanation – I just really prefer even numbers. Odd numbers seem incomplete to me.

4. I love old library editions of books. They’re so nicely worn and broken in. Whenever I’m buying used books, I always look for old library editions. I also love to go to library book sales!

5. When I was 12, I read almost the entire Little House series in one week. I was sick in bed and they kept me company the whole time. I loved them so much that I started buying one book each allowance, until I had the whole set. I had read the library copies, but purchased paperbacks as that was all I could afford. (A few years back I put together a new set for myself off of Ebay that consisted entirely of old library copies (see #4 above!), which I love because they are just like the originals that I fell in love with.) I bought the paperbacks when I was 12 with the plan to save them to give to my own daughter someday. Now I just have to figure out which daughter to give them to!

6. The first thing I eat after giving birth is almost always a chicken salad sandwich and grape juice. Of course, a few times I really wanted a cheeseburger, but the kitchen at the hospital always seems to be closed, so I usually end up with the chicken salad – which, by the way, always tastes marvelous after starving for 24 hours!

7. My favorite time period in history is the pioneer period (could you have guessed that?). I love anything related to this time and it’s simpler way of life.

Okay, there’s my interesting list! Now I need to tag 7 more people, so I tag -

Sherry at Large Family Mothering
Joy at Joy in the Journey
Mommy Reg at Mommyhood Adventures
Heather at Blackberry Rambles
Vanessa at Creative Counterpart
Rebecca at Mission of Motherhood
Jennifer at Scraps and Snippets

Here are the rules -

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

This was fun! Thanks for tagging me, Tracy!

Blessings,
Nancy