Hearts in Service

  My mother had back surgery on Monday and is coming out of the hospital tomorrow.  I'll be flying down to spend a few days with her tomorrow afternoon. I'll be back to blogging next week!

Nathan & Stephen are 21 months apart and have been pretty inseparable since they were little.  As they get older, their interests have definitely changed and they are different in so many ways yet they still genuinely like each other. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Nathan is very neat.  His room is like something out of an army magazine.   Stephen is (to be honest) a SLOB!  His room looks like a bomb went off in there. LOL! Nathan is organized.  He plans out every aspect of every day to the minute.  A lot of this has to do with being on the autism spectrum, but I also think he is naturally that way too.  Stephen is pretty disorganized.  He's always playing catch-up, forgetting things and trying to get it together. Nathan can be pretty rigid in his beliefs and what he thinks everyone should be doing.  Stephen is very easy going and compassionate.  He has a gentle nature and is extremely forgiving. Nathan is all about the fire department and rescue squad.

Da-da, daddy, dad.  All words that this wonderful guy has been called by his children at their various stages of life.  He is a steady rock in their lives.  There every day to listen, to bounce ideas off, to play with, to hug, to love. Since they were little he has been available to them.  Changing their diapers, giving piggy back rides, wrestling, throwing them high in the air until they were too big.  Teaching them to walk.  Teaching them to talk.  Teaching them to drive.  Teaching boys to be men.  Teaching a daughter how to be treated.  Teaching from God's word. Available.   I watch my husband in his role as father and think how blessed my children are.  Blessed with something I didn't grow up with.  Blessed because they won't know the pain of unavailability.  They won't need to fill empty spaces with something that will never expand enough to fill it. Because they don't feel that emptiness, they will never realize how sweet their lives are.  And that&

Words. There seem to be so many words crowding my brain all day long. Some days it feels as if my brain is going to explode with all the thoughts that are rattling around in there. Things I want to say. Things I think. Words I want to get out and down on paper before they disappear. I often have a hard time expressing what I really want to say when I'm talking. Don't get me wrong. I can communicate and I do a LOT of it! LOL But, what is difficult is the deep down thoughts and feelings. The things that I can't seem to say when someone is looking at me. When I try, my thoughts seem disjointed and the words come haltingly and in a way that even to me, don't communicate well. Or I feel things so deeply that as I'm trying to communicate it brings tears to my eyes and I'll start to cry. That's always embarrassing that I can't even get a thought out without it invoking such emotion. Besides, no one wants to talk to someone who is always blubbering

One of the things I love most about crafting is being able to create new things with different fabrics. Often I'll put different fabrics together and until I find what I think will look just right. When I'm making a table runner, it often takes a few trials and errors to hit upon just the right combination. Here are the latest things out of my craft room. I made a table runner and set of four placemats. It always irritates me how I iron something, take a picture and after I publish it notice a wrinkle I missed! lol Close-up. The back is lined with light blue. I made an apron with the same fabric. The back is lined with the flowered material. Someone gave me the advice of using a real person as a model for the aprons. I'd love to but Dan & the boys won't do it no matter how much I whine! ;-) Emily is too small. And I'm not taking a picture of my ~COUGH~ lb. body in it! LOL!!! So until I get a mannequin or a different model, I'm stuck with this versi

Here are a few bits and pieces of my life the past few weeks.... ♥ My mother is having major back surgery on Monday so I'll be flying down to spend a few days with her to help out. I'll be leaving next Wednesday, the day she gets out of the hospital. ♥ I'm reading two really good books which are just a compilation of ideas...How to Encourage Your Husband and How to Encourage Your Children. Good stuff! ♥ I'm leading an online Bible study through I Peter and am really enjoying digging into this book. ♥ Our roosters, while pretty useless ;-), do provide hours of entertainment! ♥ Emily's bunny, Molly does the same! On a a side note, I never knew what funny personalities rabbits can have. When she wants to eat, she sticks her head under her food bowl which hangs off the side of her cage and bangs it out of the holder so we'll come running! If I try to give her a toy and she doesn't want it, she'll take it in her mouth and fling it away from her with such

Proverbs 13:24 ~ "A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them. " I always shy away on talking about disciplining children because I don't want people to think that I think I'm perfect. Believe me, I've made plenty of mistakes in my lifetime. Nor do I think my children are perfect. They are not and they mess up as well. But I felt compelled to share today and I'm participating in Loving our Children Tuesday at my friend Kate's blog (click on the link above). I'm often complimented on how nice my teens are. And I usually agree with the person who is complimenting them by saying, "Yes, they are very good kids!" I think sometimes people think they are that way because they are easy going or because somehow by being pastor's kids they must automatically be born good. That always makes me laugh! I know that the reason my kids are well behaved is because Dan & I have truly tried to live out thi

Psalm 100 ~ "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God's presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations." This week I'm thankful for blessings #874-885 ♫ A bag full of clothes from a friend. ♫ Walking and talking with my husband and son. ♫ A wonderful discussion with a group of teenage girls. ♫ A gift of 70 lbs. of fresh ground whole wheat flour. ♫ Fellowship. ♫ An Etsy sale. ♫ Sun streaming through the windows in the morning. ♫ Teens that continue to come and grow. ♫ That I have a daughter who is open and honest and shares her heart with me. ♫ People using their gifts in church. ♫ Stores where I can purchase whatever I need. Some peo

I went grocery shopping yesterday and ran into a woman I worked with last year. We chatted and enjoyed pleasantries and then she asked me, "So, what are you doing now?" My mind went blank and I stammered something about taking Nathan back and forth to school. "Oh." Then we moved on to the next topic. After I left her I wanted to kick myself for freezing up. For feeling embarrassed that I was home. For feeling that I was not contributing to society for deliberately choosing not to work. Ever since I was little I played house. I would carry my baby dolls around and feed them bottles and pretend I was cooking dinner. I dreamed of the day when I would have a husband, children and my own home. Then I went off to college and entered the work force. After college, it was on to seminary where I met and married Dan and we went into full-time ministry. Over the years I've done many worthwhile things. I was the director of an adult literacy program. I've ta

This week I made a table runner and set of 6 placemats and I love how they turned out! Here is a close-up of the fabric. The back is lined in light brown fabric. I've added them to my Etsy shop. I'm trying to figure out how to add a link up here (that won't cost me money) so I can make Crafty Things a weekly meme that everyone can participate in. So how is it going in the crafting department for you? I love reading about the things that others create!

We had this for dinner on Valentine's Day and then again, last night as leftovers. It was so easy to make and very good. And it was company worthy! I decided to share the recipe. Garlic-Rosemary Roasted Pork Tenderloin Recipe by Our Best Bites 1 large or 2 medium or small pork tenderloins 2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 1/2 Tbsp. chopped rosemary leaves (strip them from the woody stem first) 2 1/2 Tbsp. coarse mustard 5 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt A few turns of freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Rinse pork tenderloin in cool water and trim any excess fat or the silvery membrane on the meat. Pat dry and place on the prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rosemary leaves, mustard, garlic, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Carefully rub all over pork roast, particularly on top. Place in heated oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer reach

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Dan & I usually do the traditional things such as going out to dinner, buying each other gifts and cards and things like that. This year, we rethought things and celebrated the day differently. Our thoughts on the day were that 1) we like each other and we love each other, 2) we go out quite frequently, 3) we talk all the time about everything. We didn't really feel the need to go all out. Instead, we decided to include our children and have our own little celebration at home. So I decorated the table and made up a card for each person, telling them what I loved about them. I also made homemade candies and put them in heart shaped boxes. I made a special dinner. We had butternut squash soup, garlic-rosemary pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes, steamed asparagus and homemade dinner rolls. For dessert we had chocolate drizzled strawberry & cream pie. The chocolate kind of gobbed on more than drizzled, but it was still good. It was

Stephen requested Mexican food for his birthday celebration so I made chicken enchiladas. These were so tasty and fairly easy to make, so I thought I would share the recipe. Traditional Mexican Chicken Enchiladas Recipe Ingredients - 12 corn tortillas 3 cooked chicken breast halves, no bones or skin, shredded 3/4 cup minced onion 12 oz shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup all purpose flour 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup sour cream 4 oz chopped green chilies 1/2 cup chopped green onions 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro Preparation: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Heat the tortillas in a frying pan, 5 seconds per side until they are pliable. Do them individually and keep them warm. Divide the chicken, onion (not green onion) and 10 oz of the cheese between the tortillas. Roll them up and place in a greased baking pan, seam side down. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until it begins to boil. Add the broth, stirring continuously. Add the chilies and sour

Nineteen years ago, this darling, brown eye boy was born at 2:20 in the morning. He has brought us so much joy and laughter the past nineteen years. Stephen is laid back and gentle. I remembering getting upset with some boy who was tormenting him constantly in school in 7th grade. Finally, I told him that he needed to grab this kid by the shirt and let him know he'd had enough. Stephen left the room and came back a few moments later with tears in his eyes. He said, "Mom, I can't do that because my heart tells me it's not the right thing to do." I got zinged by the Holy Spirit that day! He is a perfectionist and he gets frustrated if he doesn't pick something up immediately. He is artistic. He loves to draw and write and play guitar. He is a nature lover. Often I look out the window and see him wandering through the woods, deep in thought. He is goal oriented. He knows what he wants to do and is determined. He gets along with everyone. He has friends

I was able to do quite a bit of sewing this week which always makes me happy! I'm continuing to plug away at building up a stock of items for my Etsy shop as well as for two upcoming craft fairs I'm participating in. I do have a question about Etsy. It's a little discouraging for me. I've had over 200 views but not one item has sold which makes me start to doubt myself. Some questions I start asking is "Am I overcharging?" "Is the quality not that good?" "Am I not advertising well?" As far as the overcharging goes, if material for an apron costs me anywhere from $7-$10 and I'm charging $20-$25 per adult apron, depending on the type, I'm hardly making anything if you could the time it takes to make the item. So I'm not sure how much lower I can go. Are any of you having luck selling anything over there? Some of the problem I can see with Etsy is that I know that I wouldn't pay what many people charge for things when I