My son, the world traveler...

Travis, our oldest, is headed back to Russia for a trip to help our good friend Erik to finish up his work in Russia. After 5 years the work they have started will now stand the test of losing its missionaries. I pray that this small group will continue to grow in faith and in number.

Travis feels quite honored to have this opportunity to go again to visit and encourage the wonderful people he met while he and his sister visited this past year. He and Erik leave this next Monday and will return mid-Feb. Please keep them both in your prayers, not only for a safe journey, but for this small church to continue what has been started.

Well, it has been a long time stranger....

Goodness! The time sure has flown since my last post. I have spent the majority of my time at the pharmacy getting ready, training and now working hard on the new computer system we had installed mid-October. (can we say OVERTIME!!!) It sure is different that the old system. I like it! Now that we are getting used to the new computer and starting to get all of it under control, I am now able to get home on time most nights and the schedule is starting to look normal again. I have practically lived at the pharmacy for the last 3 months. I believe the kids had actually forgot that I was a part of the family..... lol.

Now, the holidays are here! We are getting the house all decorated up.... found out most of my lights (they are like 10 years old) have decided not to work this year.... so we have budgeted for a few strands. Jed is so excited this year about Christmas. He saw that many people had their Christmas lights up right after Thanksgiving and he was ready to put them up that night!

We have been so blessed this year! We have paid off several of our bills over the last year! God has been so good to us. Our garden was a blessing this year to us and we have been blessed with so many finds at the thrift shops and hand-me-downs for clothes that were needed. Our life may be simple, we may not have much by the worlds standards but we feel so very blessed!

ahhh....

Sitting here after another busy weekend.... work, Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Kickoff Banquet, and today I finally got the kid's paperwork finished to register them for this year's school....gonna fax that in tomorrow! Whew, this is the earliest I've gotten it all done.... kinda proud that I am getting it done before the deadline...lol.

I didn't get all the chores done today that I wanted, but I did get enough done today that I don't feel completely lazy..... I did work.... but I also got to visit with our good friends David and Heather today.... love to do that! And, we found Eric about 3-4 more pair of pants at Treasures today...yipee!!! So I did get a good amount of things done.

The next few days will see me working at the pharmacy just about opening to close each day and I am working this Saturday so that I can be off for the Saturday of our Kid's Rally!

Well, I'm off to get Jed in the bed.... until next time....

friends, family and new stuff

Hey there all blogland gogglers..LOL! I have had a great weekend! I got to catch up with my best friend from high school (So way gonna have to do that again Tanya!) this weekend, see Brianne & Austin (Eric's sis and bro-in-law), found a great deal on a ton of books (Thanks April!) and got me a new dining room set! Busy weekend for sure and a busy Monday to boot! Now, the rest of the week I work opening to closing until Saturday. I MUST finish the paperwork to send in to get the kids registered for school! And my nephew and his family are having a housewarming party on Saturday! Goodness you should see my pocket calendar!!

Good Harvest....

this year Eric put in 3 garden spots... our normal 2 here behind the house and then he also put in more veggies up at his grandmother's house... (their old garden spot) and I have to say we have been blessed with a good sized harvest! So far we have put up 24 quarts of bread & butter pickles (doing the dills tonight), 12 small jelly jars of blackberry jam, about 35 gallons of green beans, about 45 gallons of cob corn and 4-5 quarts of cream corn, 6 quarts of fresh salsa (it gets eaten fast) about a dozen quarts of tomatoes put up, I don't even remember how much sqwash and zucchini we put up and still have more veggies coming in...cantaloupe, more corn, okra is just now starting to come in good.... we have been so blessed! And so busy!

Time, Time, Who has the Time.....

Ecc 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:




Last night our topic for Monday Night Matters (our Monday night teen devo and fun nights this summer) was on Time. You know, how we fill up our time, spend our time, use our time... however you want to say it.... and how being busy and keeping a hectic schedule just to stay busy can sometimes lead us away from the life God has planned for us. We also played a game called Destination.... we had everyone pick a spot in the parking lot... it was their choice where to stand.... we then told them this was their starting point ... just like in life we all have different starting points. Then we blindfolded everyone and told them that their final destination in life was Heaven... so their destination in this game was to reach the doors of the church building, however they couldn't just walk they had "little detours" along the way depending on how busy they were.... examples.... take 5 steps foward if you read your Bible each day(we only had one teen move forward on that one by the way) ..... turn around 3 times and then take 2 steps forward if you have a job.... being blindfolded they then did not know if they were still headed in the right direction... and so forth.... at about mid-way through the game we let them 'peek' to see if they were still on track some were surprised to see where they were standing .... it was a good time.

Next week we are going to talk about Heroes. Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Busy Weekend!

Yesterday we had a bit of a work day around the house. Travis sanded, primed and painted the new T-posts for our laundry lines.... we did have a disagreement over the paint color.... I wanted something that would stand out.... like fire-engine red or even UT orange..... but Eric wanted something that would blend in .... black, green.... anything neutral..... we decided on silver. Its bright enough to stand out for me and classic enough for Eric. ..... Amaris spent part of her day weeding in the smaller garden spot..... it sure was hot work for my baby girl!

For me, I took Jed yesterday morning to the local Library to see "Safari Greg" .... he talks to kids about animals ... even brings a few to show and also does a few magic tricks to keep little ones laughing. Mia went along with us to help.... I think she had more fun that Jed did ...lol. Then I re-potted some of my house plants.... one had been looking rather pitiful... no wonder... it was terribly root bound. Now it has a nice big pot to stretch out in and I am hoping it will perk back up!

Eric mowed the yard yesterday afternoon and Mia cleaned up the cars a bit.... the Suburban had a bad smell due to a leaky cooler Eric's mom had put in the back when they went swimming on Friday.... So, Mia cleaned out the inside and sprayed deodorizer inside and we left windows open for a big part of the day to let it air out! Then she took my mom's car (the Impala) that she is letting me drive a bit and washed it.

Today we plan on being just as busy.... after services Eric and I plan on getting the lines up between the post! I will have nearly 200 ft of hanging space! The post have 4 lines! I am so excited about having my own laundry lines up! Then to hang out laundry!

This afternoon also is the car wash for the Youth Group. They didn't want to just ask for help with the cost to cover camps, so they will have a car wash this afternoon for anyone that wants to help donate to the cost of camp.

Tomorrow I have the day off of work.... I plan on getting my hair cut first thing in the morning then coming back home and working on getting more laundry done..lol. I am also hoping that I will have a closet system in ... if not fully then hopefully by the end of the week... it is coming along beautifully! I will put pics up as soon as we have everything in place! I am so tired of having everything from out closet all spread out all over the house.... clothes... Jeds room... shoes... not sure.... I didn't realize how much stuff we had packed in that little room!

Then tomorrow night we have our Monday Night Matters Devo and fun night at the church building.... tomorrow's Topic... TIME. Come out and join us for a fun time!

That about wraps up things going on around the Amacher house this weekend and the beginning of the new week..... I will be working everyday after Monday but I hope to be here each day for at least a few lines! God Bless!

Good Morning Everyone

I've noticed I'm letting my blog posts lag again..... working on it! LOL....

Yesterday was a wonderful day for us! First, Eric and I had the honor of taking our good friends Erik and Adrianne to the airport in Nashville yesterday. We are going to miss them for the next few months as they continue the work in Russia. After we got home from Nashville we packed up a nice little picnic and headed off to the Natchez Trace park for a bit of family fun! There is a creek at the picnic area and getting wet was great for the kids and Eric (I only waded a bit). Then as we were leaving the park I got a text message that one in our congregation was ready to make his decision to become a Christian and would we be at the church building as he was baptized ....... whoohoo you bet! Congrats to Blake! You have made the best decision you will ever make! I pray that we as a family are a support to you and your family!

Then, last night was our first Monday Night Matters for our 7th thru 12th graders..... I hope everyone had as much fun and we did! Eric did such a great job with the Devo and discussion time. The topic last night was What Matters to Jesus! Then we had snacks and then a game of Spoons with a twist* ... the twist was we didn't have a table and we played it on the grass...there was no dealer because we gave out all the cards and everyone passed the cards at the same time...then everyone had to dive for the spoon! Congrats to Morgan ... our Spoons Champ! We picked the game of Spoons because it related to the topic.... getting the spoon in the game of Spoons is what matters most in the game.... following Jesus and His commands is what matters most! I'm so glad we had a great first M-N-M night with the teens and looking forward to next week! --- oh, and for anyone coming wear something you don't mind getting dirty! LOL


That about sums up our day yesterday. We are such a blessed family!

Hello there...

Well, I was going to start the week out by blogging every day.... however I didn't get to post yesterday because I spent a big part of my day in the ER with my brother. The clinic here thought he was having a heart attack (he was in lots of pain in the chest and abdomen areas that they sent him by ambulance on to the hospital - a 40 minute drive) once in the ambulance the EMT's also coded him as possible heart attack) By the time my sister and mother and myself get to the ER (of course mom would not let me or my sister drive.... we thought we might crash a time or two on the way..... and why don't people pull over when they see someone with their flashing lights on any more?) they had given him something for pain and the MD wanted to talk with mom about any medical history.... The MD ruled out heart attack but wants to scan him for gall stones instead.... so they take him down to do an x-ray to check for anything..... at the same time they had drawn lots of blood to do some other tests..... in the end it seems my brother has a very NASTY virus that caused him to cramp up so badly and was causing so much pain that it shot his blood pressure up so high that he could have had a heart attack...... praying no one else gets this one! He is home and on a liquid diet for the first day and only bland foods for the rest of the week.

Other news in the Amacher life is that.... this week is Mission Trip week. This year the elders decided that since there was so much flood damage in our own area that the Mission work would better be served right here. So each day (Wed thru Sat) everyone will meet at the church building and go out into the area (a lot of this will be in the next county over) and help with demolition, repairs and encouragement to those hit hard by the flooding. We have had so many sign up to help this year! Travis and Mia will be out each day doing something .... Mia even asked to be given some of the harder work ...she likes to prove she is as good as the boys in stuff like that..... and its good motivation for the boys when some of the adults comment on how much harder Mia works than them. I have to work most days ... I do have Thursday off so I may get to help with some things that day. All in all a busy week ahead!

Monday's Musings

Hello everyone! Today has been a good day! Eric and I went out today and got the seeds and seedlings for the gardens today.... he and the kids will be planting this week! Three garden spots this year! I am hoping for a great year for our gardens and for a good harvest! This really helps us throughout the whole year!

Then tonight we cooked a nice dinner and had my mom over for the evening. I did not get to see her yesterday since we were traveling back from Eric's sister graduation this weekend. (She graduated from Pharmacy School- whoohoo Brianne) We had a great time visiting with her, she is such a wonderful mom! I am so blessed!

Monday News and a word of encouragement.

Well we survived the storms over the weekend. We were very blessed to not have suffered much as far as damage. However, many here in Lewis Co and in the surrounding counties there have been many losses of homes, property damage, roads that have washed out and deaths. And other parts of the state have been hit worse. School was out today and is again tomorrow due to many roads in the county still not passable - or just not there anymore.

You know our ladies class has been studying about crisis and how Christians should deal with a crisis. Today I thought of how when we are found in the swirling waters of troubles that I am so encouraged by just knowing that God never leaves my side! I can call out to Him in times of crisis and know that He is there. And God does an amazing thing.... not only does He comfort me but He sends people my way that can help/comfort/ encourage me throughout the crisis! God is wonderful to us, His children! All we have to do is trust that God will bring us through any crisis we may face. We don't have to fear the flood waters of life... for we know that God is always there to hold us above the waters.

Friday's Fixins ~ Roast Beef

Okay, so I just had to have the 10lb beef roast on sale at the grocery store last week.... it had been so long since I had cooked a good roast.... here is how I decided to fix it.....

Turned to oven on to 250* then got out the roast and put in my roasting pan. Poured 1 can of beef broth over it and let it fill the bottom of the pan. Then I added some left over chopped onion (about 1 good cupful ... ya'll should know by now I wing it and don't really measure, right?), then sprinkled on some seasonings .... garlic pepper, season salt, and actually some veggie grill mix. Put the top on the roasting pan and popped it in the oven .... leaving it there for about 6-7 hours at 250*. I did not sear it first, not did I start it out at 400* then bring down the temp... just left it at 250 all day... I did pull it out every couple of hours to dowse the meat with the broth mix from the bottom of the pan to help keep it nice and moist. And when I pulled it out to cut ... it was so tender and just fell apart...mmmmmmm! I gathered up the broth mix and made a nice gravy to go with the roast... had some homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet carrots, sqwash casserole, and of course no meal around my house is complete with out some sweet tea according to my family! I had enough that we were able to eat on the left overs for a day or two! Nothing like homemade!

Good Thursday Morning

I do want to post a quick Thankful Thursday note....

I am so thankful for our children! Our kids amaze me sometimes. They have such servant hearts.

This week they have been volunteering for the District Senior Games .... you know, doing judging, score keeping .... encouraging the seniors in the surrounding areas in sports like shuffleboard, horse shoes, basketball free throw..etc... Well, this morning I got news from the Senior Center Director here in Lewis County (aka... my mom..lol) and she was telling me how the whole crowd of seniors ... not just the ones they see here in the county but those from all over just love it when my children volunteer. She also told me that the other judges (some that have been helping for 30 years) are so impressed with my children and have begged mom to have them at the State Senior Games in July this year! Goodness.... makes a momma not just thankful but a bit on the proud side too!

And what has our little Jed been up to this week while his brother and sisters have been gone... well, yesterday he spent the afternoon in the back fields with Momma Sue and Papa Rich as they were clearing out some brush .... and he even got to drive the truck in the field! He sure was excited about that!

Pics from Convention

Here are a few pics from Convention..... we had such a great time!





Here we are awaiting awards on Saturday night...... this is after a full day of competitions in Bible Bowl, Speech, and Song Leading/Songs of Praise





Jed and his buddies keeping themselves busy before and during Awards ......






Mia and one of her awards....




Travis placed First! in Song Leading! Whoohoo!








Mia and Amaris along with the other girls that got bronze in Second Language.... Russian!



We were so very blessed by the whole weekend! Thanks to Trent and Lori Hill (our leaders) who make this weekend and the whole Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes program such a wonderful and uplifting program!

Good Sunday to everyone! Hope you have had a chance to worship with a congregation of the Lord's Church today! We enjoy meeting with our congregation at each opportunity! This morning was no exception.... good class time.... great sermon!

We are also looking forward to listening to all our youth do the services tonight with their song leading, bible reading and speeches that they have been working on for Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes this coming weekend! They have all worked so very hard to get prepared this year for convention! Tonight is the night that they get to share what they have been working on with the entire congregation.

Well, I'm off.... lunch is cooking and I have so much to get done this afternoon!

A quick hello...

Hey there! Just wanted to pop by with a quick hello... between working overtime this week, getting ready for LLL Convention and now a sick little one (Jed is croupy) I may not have much time to get here and post until after Easter. Just wanted to let everyone know I am going to continue to post but the next couple of weeks may find my post short!

Busy in the Lord's work....

Ahhhh, the Youth Rally was such hard work .... but so worth it!!! I love the blessing I get to see that many people (esp. young people) together for fellowship, worship and praise!!! All wanting to learn more from God's Word. We had great speakers and teachers ... not to mention song leaders! We will have the singing and the keynotes up on our website in the next few days for anyone who wishes to listen.


I love how our congregation gets together and really works to make Youth Rally weekend so successful. Everyone pitching in to make sure even the smallest or dirtiest of jobs get done.
We are so blessed by our church family!

Now that the Youth Rally is behind us we are now focused on the Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes
Convention that is coming up in less than 2 weeks. The kids have all worked so hard on their speeches, song leading, art work and bible knowledge. We are looking forward to enjoying a weekend focused on our younger generation and them learning to step into roles for the future.

Please pray for us as we continue to seek out ways for service in the Lord's work!

Well, I'm off to catch up on some work around here today....

Its Youth Rally time!

This Friday and Saturday will be our 14th annual Lomax Youth Rally! We have been so very blessed to be a part of this work. This year's theme is Transform to Royalty. We are hoping for a good crowd of around 700 this year!

I am looking forward to be a part of this ministry once again this year. Our children look forward to this event each year! It is such a blessing to see so many youth gather to hear God's word. Travis will be taking on new responsibility this year as he has been asked to help with the men that oversee the parking lot. I think its great that he is stepping into responsible roles. Mia and Amaris will help with greeting everyone. I have also been blessed with being able to be off work for the Youth Rally.... its my weekend off and my boss let me off the second half of the day on Friday to help prepare for it!

This is a big rally... we start feeding everyone at 6PM on Friday then after supper and fellowship we have a wonderful time of singing and a devotional. Several congregations stay overnight (we have a campground that we use close by.) Then Saturday morning we feed everyone a big breakfast (yes, including Chocolate Gravy!) and then have classes, singings, and devotionals throughout the day... we feed them a good lunch and an afternoon snack before the final session and send everyone off hoping they have been blessed. I know I get a blessing from it!

Please pray for our Youth Rally ... that souls will be reached, touched and that we are a blessing to all that come!

Looking forward to company!

Tonight we are looking forward to spending time with Erik and Adrianne. They are the young couple that Travis and Mia joined in mission work in Russia with this past winter. They have made the trip back to the States for the required 3 months they must be out of the country. We are looking forward to visiting with them and hearing their part of some stories we have heard from Travis and Mia.

Friday's Fixin's ~ Cooking with no Refrigerator

Two days after Eric filed our taxes he called me at work to let me know that the refrigerator when out.... we unplugged it let it "thaw" the rest of the way...cleaned the coils and such...and plugged it back in hoping that it would reset.... no such luck. Well, we are looking at it as a blessing that it went out before we could use our refund for something else and that we can put money aside for a new one before we had spent the refund on something else (such as paying off the Suburban). Let me just tell you that going with only a dorm sized refrigerator for the last couple of weeks has been difficult (we are having the new one delivered tomorrow)...we have never had a brand new refrigerator so we bought one and paid for an extended warranty...... So our menus for the last couple of weeks have been drastically different than they would have been had we been able to cook and keep left overs as normal..... Mia has done great about cooking and judging the fewest remaining leftovers possible so we would not have much to store. We also have had to do without some things like relish, or salad dressings because everything is either up at Granny's house in her refrige.... or it went bad and we have not replaced it.