I'm layed up for a few days....

I fell through the temporary porch last night..... no broken bones but, I am pretty well banged up.... my leg got caught between 2 boards and now is swollen quite badly and I hurt my knee again..... doctors orders are for me to stay off my leg for a few days...... so I may not be back on until I'm feeling a bit better.

I have been tagged....

I have been tagged.... by my bestest friend Denita......

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself (some random, some weird).
3. Tag seven people by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven things about me....

1. I believe I am the only Southern gal that does not drink sweet tea...... I make very good sweet tea, just don't ask me to drink it..... go figure.

2. I love to see hungry men eat..... esp after coming in from a long hard day's work... to see him come in and grab a plateful just makes me smile.

3. I have what my daddy called a lazy eye.... my eye drifts so I must wear glasses to pull the eye muscles into the right position ..... the only thing is ... I really don't wear my glasses as much as I should....

4. I don't wear gold ...... I like silver.... always have.... besides it matches the silver in my hair.

5. Speaking of hair.... I have never colored my hair. And I don't plan to....

6. I don't do yardwork. Ever. No gardens, and esp. no flowers..... I'm VERY allergic to bees and other stinging things..... and the last time I was in the garden I was banished by Eric because I broke out in hives within just a few minutes...... so he does all the yard work. But NO flowers near the house!

7. I love science-fiction and fantasy books....

Now, I tag my very best friends ....... Judy and Tina

A Wonderful Weekend!!!!

This past weekend was our Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Convention. We had such a good time fellowshipping with other Christians and the kids were able to compete in different areas with great loving support! Here are just a few photos of the weekend's highlights:



Now, first off.... we (as a congregation) had 9 children under the age of 5 with us! And after the weekend wore on we gave some of them new nicknames for the weekend that included names like.... the flasher (couldn't resist), the bouncer, the clinger and so on..... Well, Jed became known as the escape artist..... yes, my little guy that is so wonderful for us on most occasions, gave his mommy about half a dozen heart attacks this weekend..... starting Thursday night when he learned he could open our room door and took off down the hall..... if it had not been for some teenagers coming down the hall and noticing a baby in the hall I would have lost him on the elevator!!! (of course Jed thought this a fun game for the weekend and so tried it out on more than one occasion.... we kept our door locked most of the time because of this)....

Hey mom, I like this bed!

Now do you see the little puppy backpack Jed is sporting? It has a leash on it..... and he wore it most of the weekend....

We love the fountains!

This year the schedule allowed us several hours of free time! We loved to walk around and look at the shops, gardens and fountains the hotel offers!

Friday and Saturday nights were the awards ceremonies for the different competitions .... Friday night is for the events that are judged before the Convention weekend and for the different artwork entries and events like the Good Samaratin .....

Travis and Mia earned a Bronze in Good Samaratin this past year.... they are working for Gold this year!

Just a bit silly during the awards ceremony..... can you tell they are having fun?

Another event that is awarded on Friday night is the Web design.... this was our first year as a Youth Group to have entries in this competition.... (Eric and I were the adult leaders for this event at Lomax)..... we had 8 young people in grades 3-11 enter this event..... and 4 of them placed in the top 3!!! We are so excited to see our young people doing such great work for the Lord!

Amaris placed first in her division on Individual Web Design!!!

Our congregation rents out an extra room to be used as a food room and many of our number supply us with food, snacks and drinks for the weekend to help with the cost... and is greatly appreciated! We adults take turns during our free times to monitor the room.... having the room is such a blessing.... it not only is a help food wise but acts as a base for everyone to see how each participant is doing in their event....


Travis tries to take over the remote in the food room..... and must be taught a lesson..... (David, I hope you don't mind the pic.... I just had to put it up... I thought it was just too funny!)

Saturday night the ceremonies are for the events that take place at Convention.... speech and song leading are the events our young people participated in ....

Mia won thrid place in her age group for Songs of Praise (that is the girls song leading)


Travis and Mia were both finalist in their age groups for speech this year!

It was a great weekend.... to see our young people act so wonderfully and show such great enthusiasm for service to God is such a blessing to the adults that attend convention. And we do have a wonderful group of adults that attend... some of them that do not have children involved, yet they come to support them, help to coach them, and encourage them each and every one. We are so blessed.

We are tired and ready to go home...... but boy did we have fun!!!!

A special thanks to our TEAM LEADERS, Trent and Lori. You are great!!!! Your hard work is very much appreciated and we are so blessed to call you friends!

Happy Birthday Amaris!!!

Yes, my sweet baby girl turns 11 on this first day of Spring! (I call her my little Spring Chicken...heehee) I just cannot believe how fast she is growing. Tall and lanky just like her daddy!!! I do believe in the next few months she may grow taller than me! She is nearly there now! My, My but ain't she pretty!!!

Getting Ready for our Trip

Hello all of you out there in Blogland..... I know its been a few days since I have posted..... we are so busy right now that I have let posting here take a back seat once again.

Lets see, we are leaving tomorrow afternoon to go on our trip for the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Convention this weekend. We will be traveling to the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center to spend the weekend and are truly looking forward to it! The kiddos have worked so very hard these last few months.... The kids entered several categories this year and are so looking forward to a great weekend of fun, competition and worship! I too am looking forward to the weekend, I hope to learn more about some of the categories we ( as a Youth Group) have not participated in in the past and perhaps get a feel for some of it to get our youth involved for next year.

So far we are in the midst of packing, cleaning, and re-packing at times so that we will be ready to leave once Eric gets off of work tomorrow afternoon. My mother is also going with us again this year to help with getting children to the right rooms for competition (esp. since both of my girls compete at the same times but in different rooms ..... and sometimes across the hotel from each other) and to help us out with Jed this year....and my good friend Judy is going this year, her daughter, BJ, is also competing this weekend.

Well, I think that I must go and get some more things going and packed ...... I will post soon after we return!!! and hopefully with some good PICS!!!

I have had a bit of the blaaaahhhhhssss

Yep, down in the dumps just a bit..... and need to shake myself out of it.... I think that a big part of it stems from missing my good friend Denita ..... since we have moved back to Hohenwald I don't see her often enough. And I don't like it one little bit!!!!! I miss our daily visits.... and knowing that if we needed to get away all we had to do was run away for a "chocolate need". We always came back much happier and had some great talks while indulging in chocolate bliss.....

Anyway, Denita came to visit Saturday and the visit was much too short!!!!! and got me to missing her so very much in the last few days.


Denita, I know you will read this,........ you have got to hurry that Eskimo of yours up and get over here!!! (Tell him I am so glad he will be getting a new contract soon!!! )

I found this great little quiz from my good far away friend Tina over at Red Wellies, Rainbows and Cinnamon Whirls and I just had to take it.....

Take the Quiz here!

You are Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are impulsive, romantic, impatient, and perhaps a bit too brutally honest. You enjoy romantic poetry and novels, and play the pianoforte beautifully. To boot, your singing voice is captivating. You feel deeply, and love passionately.

Teamwork...

The congregation at Lomax is so very blessed to have a great team of elders, deacons and ministers. They each work so very hard to see that the church here is taken care of spiritually and physically.... and that the church here is growing.

We have so very much that we do to get the Word out in the world..... Youth Rally, Kids Rally, Community Meals, Disaster Relief, Mission Support, Day School Program, and so many other events that often go unnoticed....

Our youth at Lomax are also very involved in the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes program. Our annual convention is coming up Easter weekend and we are all looking very forward to see our youth in competition. So many of our young people are very active all throughout the year getting ready for this annual event.

I am so glad that God has led us back to Lomax. We have been greatly blessed by the teamwork shown on a daily basis.

Family Fun....

We woke to nearly 3 inches of snow.... so we just had to go out and play.... (except Eric.... he had the sickies).

getting ready for the cold....


making a snow angel.


Jed's first real snow. He loved it!


Ripley liked it too!


Battle for King/Queen of the Hill.


Travis proclaims himself king.... as a snowball is headed his way!


Keeping dad company while he is sick....



gotta love that grin....

Friday's Fixin's

Okay, more leftover recipes here..... I had some "free meats" given to us over this past weekend.... some pulled pork (from the B-B-Que we served at Youth Rally on Saturday) and some chicken left over at my mother/brother's restaurant ...... so why not reinvent the leftovers into something my family will enjoy and not mind eating the same meat once again..... So.....We decided on something with a Mexican flavor to it......enchiladas.

Sour Cream Enchiladas:

chicken (cooked and shredded)
tortilla shells (i personally like to use the small flour ones)
8oz of Sour Cream
1 can of Rotel
1can of Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
shredded cheese



First we mixed each meat with a half can of Rotel (mixed diced tomatoes and chilies) and about 1 cup of shredded cheese (Cheddar and Monterey Jack is what we used last night). This is the chicken mixture.


Then in a mixing bowl we mixed the Cream of Mushroom soup and the Cream of Chicken soup with the Sour Cream... blending it together with a wisk. Then after heating up the tortilla shells up just a bit so they would fold better we spooned on just a bit of the cream mixture on each shell and spread out just a bit in the center.



Then added a good amount of the meat mixture, remembering I must be able to fold the tortillas.



Placing the folded tortillas in a baking dish I have sprayed with non-sicking spray.



Then top with the rest of the cream mixture and some more shredded cheese. Then its off to bake at 350 for about half an hour or so.



I made a double batch so I could feed my army.....and company.

Thankful Thursday

1Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.



As I have said in an earlier post this week our older children are preparing to go to the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes convention later this month. The verse above is the theme for this year. All competition is based around this theme. This is the final paragraph of my son's (Travis) speech.


It can be hard not being treated as an equal with older adults, but if you live your life as Jesus lived His, then what can they say? Youth does not matter when you live your life earnestly for Jesus Christ. Do not let anyone try to rob you of your youth. But be willing to set an example for others that says “I may be young, but I serve a very real God.” Remember what Proverbs 20:11 says Even a child maketh himself known by his doings, Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. Give people a reason not see your age, but to see your faith and maturity.

I am so thankful that my children are growing in faith.

Wednesday's Word

These are the verses covered in our Bible study class tonight....



Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
Joh 6:54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
Joh 6:58 "This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."
Joh 6:59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
Joh 6:61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?
Joh 6:62 "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
Joh 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Joh 6:64 "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
Joh 6:65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."
Joh 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
Joh 6:67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
Joh 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Joh 6:69 "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Proud Parent....

Our older three children are very involved in a program at our congregation called Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes. There is a national convention that we will be attending on Easter weekend for them to do some friendly competition with others their age from congregations from all over. This year they are doing artwork, web design (the links to their pages are on my sidebar), speech, song leading, good samaritin , bible reading, and group scrapbook. This program has brought out so many wonderful things in my children. They have advanced in their Bible knowledge, done wonderful service projects for others and the church, improved their speaking abilities and so many other things that I see them grow in.

Tonight the girls had speech practice. I came in during the final go-through for the evening and got to hear each of them do their speech..... I am so proud at how well they are doing. Both have such a natural speaking voice. Mia even wrote her own speech (and it is about teaching her sister for her speech). This is Amaris' first year to do a speech, and yet she seems to show not visible signs of nervousness while she is in front of others speaking.

Travis has speech practice on Thursday night.... I have been told that he is doing very well by the men that are helping him..... he too has a great speaking voice and is learning to be more secure each time he is in front of others as well.

Just needed to brag a bit on my children. They are so very special and I hope they all know how much their momma loves them!

Monday, Monday....

Jed is now sleeping in his big boy bed most nights (and a few of them he has slept all night long) either Mia or Travis have been putting him to bed by laying down with him and then once he is asleep they move to the other twin bed in his room. This morning he slept until 8:30.... and he slept all night long. Whoohooo!!!

I have had a day of phone calls and chasing after a little one.... Jed has been full of himself all day long! I did not clean ( I do feel a bit bad about that) and I tried to catch up on some rest. The kids helped to clean up this afternoon and for that I am grateful. Mother had some left over barbeque chicken so we are heating that up for dinner tonight..... I don't turn down leftovers. It helps my budget.

So much for an exciting life....

Youth Rally...

Wow! We had nearly 750 at our Youth Rally. I am so tired -- I am going by will-power alone. I hope to have some pics up tomorrow!!! I headed for a long hot shower and then to put my poor swollen feet up!