The last 2 Sundays have found us late to church. Last week: Tony got called out on the way to church; had to turn around so he could get his work vehicle and we went on to church, so no singing, just Pastor’s message. At 8:30am. We had MVP (most valuable parent) responsibilites in Sawyer’s class. This week, Tony received several calls during the night (I was already awake, anyway) and was awake well until 6am. I awoke at 7:54am. Fortunately, I didn’t turn into a crazy momma. But we were late and missed the music – again. Yet still, I found myself wishing Pastor would hurry through his points ’cause of my dear Sammy who seemed to have ants in his pants! I can see he and I need to do a bit of role play – I think this would help him. And yet, I think he is quite “normal.” I was getting a bit nervous when Pastor was still on his first point – so I looked down and saw he only had 2 points! This was good news. Ugh. I need to learn how to function better. However, rejoicing that my Sammy enjoyed “children’s church” which has a bit many kids in it and is loud – 2 things that doesn’t always go well for him. We had extended session today (voluteer help in pre-school) so this was were he had to be.

So I’m still worshipping. And waiting. Waiting for my Sammy to learn to sit still-er and for me to turn into that warm and fuzzy curled up cat (see previous post on Worshipping with One Eye Open). And perhaps by that time (grinning), Sawyer Wayne will have joined us! And although he is still boy, I rejoice that he is not so busy

I hope to post my Christmas blog soon with photos and how Father has been at work in my heart this Christmas season through several songs. He is so worth our adoration and praise. Oh, how I love Him and am utterly entralled by His wonderful love for me!

The night before I got to stay up WAY later than I like to. It was a wonderful time of chillin’ out since after waking up from our Sunday nap I’d been going nearly full-speed to accomplish some things. Only some things. I’m decluttering a little here – a little there. Which reminds me, I need to post our furniture in our newpaper and on Craigslist. That may sound like major decluttering…but I’m at least keeping one chair (so far…) and a friend is loaning us (for a few years till they build) a leather chair with ottoman – can’t wait for that piece!

Anyhow! So Sunday night I spent time really cleaning up my kitchen that was a total wreck (and we ate Sunday dinner out…) and actually enjoying it. I also read 2 chapters in The Secret (Beverly Lewis, Seasons of Grace book 1). And then I got to write 3 notes that needed to be written.

The first note was to my Momma. Sadly, I have to look up her address b/c that’s how rare I send her mail. But she does just live down the road…is that ok? Anyhow. In Sunday worship as our choir was singing a lovely version of “Jesus Paid It All”, tears were streaming down my face (and my hankies were not with me – more on my special hankies later) and all I could continue to utter to my Heavenly Father was “Thank you.”

Most of my growing up years it was just me and Mom. She and my dad had divorced when I was two; he was an alcoholic and was rarely a part of my life, until eventually not at all. She remarried a wonderfull, much older man that had been a part of her life since before I was born. He is who I refer to as Dad (passed away when I was in college from recurring cancer). They divorced when I was 13. All that to say, she was single mom most of the time. And considering who I am today, I think she and my Heavenly Father did a wonderful job!

So as I sat with my Love and my Sammy in worship Sunday morning, my heart was full of gratitude for a Mom who thought it was important to get us to church. During my early years she was also a Sunday school teacher for toddlers and I can still see the classroom table in my mind and a sweet smile on her face as she taught. Funny, thinking about it. Someday I hope to teach the two years olds – inspired by my Mom and Mrs. Clay, who has taught both my boys to “read from the bible.”

My faith is of such value to me that I have not words to express it. He is my ALL in ALL. And I’m so grateful for the grace given to me to believe in Him. My faith in Him is the only thing I will take from this world when I see Him face to face. So blessed was I to pen a note to my Mom, thanking her for listening to Him by taking us to church so that my foundation of faith could begin that way. She thinks I could be a pastor (which is hillarious, considering I’m Baptist and women are not in the pulpit!) What would have happened to me if I had not had that foundation in my early years to build upon?? And although I strayed from Him in college, there came a point when I began to hear Him calling me back to Him and I said “YES!” I haven’t looked back since.

The other two notes were to two of our ministers at church – a dear friend being promoted to Sr. Associate Pastor and the other moving from Youth Pastor to Develop Pastor. These are great men of God and our family was so delighted to rejoice in Father’s leading in their lives. We are blessed to belong to a wonderful church family with a staff that is….Father listener’s. Grateful for those men who faithfully serve.

B/c I missed the mail man yesterday I got to hand-deliver Mom’s letter as she kept the boys last night while the hubs and I shopped. I could tell it meant a lot to her. “Her children arise and call her blessed.”

Last night I had it easy in the kitchen, whipping up our 7 can soup recipe. This came to us through a good friend at least 10 years ago and I know the first year we ate it at least every 2 weeks while it was cold…and probably then some! Last night I used ground Turkey meat instead – just as good. Nothin’ could mess this soup up – that is, as long as you don’t deviate from Campbell’s Minestrone soup, which I did once before and regretted it! Enjoy with corn muffins or corn chips, and sprinkled cheese on top. Here goes!

Ingredients
1 lb. hamburger meat
1 med. size onion
3 cans Campbell’s Minestrone Soup
2 cans Ranch Style Beans (drained and rinsed…don’t forget this as it gives a totally dif. taste)
1 can Stewed or Diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel

Brown meat in skillet; add onion and cook. Drain fat. Combine canned ingredients in soup pot. (Don’t forget to drain and rinse beans). Add meat and onion mixture to soup pot. Here, I add 1 Rotel can of water – you could add more or less, depending on the level of chunky/soupiness you like. Simmmer for 30 minutes.

Freezes well – but again, I no longer have much left over! Today we could probably dine on the leftovers as a SNACK!

Enjoy!

Soft landing. This is how I describe my dear Judy’s home. I’ve known here for over 15 years since she first help me get my sinuses under control after moving back to East Texas. She has no title..but for us, she’s our homeopathic “go-to” gal and we love her like a dear part of our family. My boys LOVE to go to Mrs. Judy’s house and she loves them. Their favorite snack there is apples with peanut butter and honey and today she served up some cooked turkey meat (which reminded me to add the turkey to my shopping list). The only thing that would make a trip to her house better in my boys humble opinion, is if they could pet the dogs! Bessie is a large boxer – beautiful, and they’ve recently acquired a new mixed bred named Sadie. We look forward to the day when they can go outside with the dogs, but until then there are visits across the gate when we drive up and checking them out through the kitchen door window.

Grateful for her. Thankful for when I can experience a bit of heaven on this side. And blessed that my boys experience this relationship between us and her.

Funny – I noticed a bottle of essential oil while in her kitchen; read the label “Peace and Calm” – took a whiff and pretended to douse myself with it! I got to leave with some and used it tonight with some lotion and then a bit on my wrist. Yummy.

Well, my next soft landing today (other than my home of course) was dinner with my Mother’s Leauge friends. Girls Night Out is priority on my list when the calendar comes out. We laughed. And laughed. Grateful for these precious women in my life at such a vital time. I couldn’t be a Godly mother without my Heavenly Father. I couldn’t be a sane mother without my husband’s love and support. And I think I’d be sorely missing out on something unexplained if I didn’t have my Mom friends who are in the trenches with me.

So my next soft landing is my BED! With my new flannel PJ’s! Goodnight

I love recipe sharing!  Where would I be if folks didn’t share their recipes?  A friend of mine has a funny story about actually stealing a recipe from a family member b/c she refused to share this wonderful pie recipe (note to self:  get that recipe!)!  But this friend of mine ALWAYS has a funny story at hand!  Anyhow, on with the recipes!

A bit of background.  Turkey meatloaf is my family’s FAVorite – it rotates on about every 2 weeks.  I’ve about got it memorized.  I got the recipe off Recipezaar (which I love, by the way – and I will only try something that has at least a 4 star rating with at least a handfull of folks trying it).  From there the recipe actually comes from a fresh turkey label – the gal tried it and loved it.  I’ve tweaked it a bit for our spicy tastes here – so I’ll give you the original and then leave notes about what I do.  Chicken Pot Pie is my Auntie’s MIL’s recipe (who went to see Jesus about 3-4 years ago now).  My Auntie usually makes her own crust – me, I need peace and quiet while trying to make a homemade crust.  So I buy the pilsburry crust near the biscuits.  Works great.  You can put chicken in it, or leave it with just vegies, or as I do, use left over roasted chicken.     Porcupine Meatballs – if this recipe doesn’t make it on here you can bet my kids have woke up and it’s time for me to get to work!  However, time given, I’ll post.  I’ve never heard of these until reading The Secret (By Beverly Lewis – she writes about Amish folks) – so I thought I’d google them and give them a try.  I was missing a few ingredients, so I substituted.  They were good, but I’d like to try with the tomato soup and chili powder.  AND, they are CUTE!  I see where they got their name.  Family ate them up, even needing to be tweaked!

Turkey Meatloaf

1. 2 T butter
2. 1 c. onion, chopped
3. 3 cloves garlic, minced
4. 1 1/4 lb. ground turkey *
5. 1/2 c. breadcrumbs
6. 1 egg
7. 3/4 c. catsup **
8. 2 t. Worcestershire sauce
9. 3/4 t. salt ***
10. 1/2 t. black pepper

Melt butter in skillet and cook onion and garlic in melted butter for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place mixture in large bowl to cool for about 5 minutes

Combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, 1/4 c. catsup, Worchestershire sauce, salt, and pepper with onion mixture

Press meatloaf into and 8X4 inch loaf pan and spread remaining ketchup on top ****

Bake in 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

NOTES: * I buy ground turkey that has fat and costs about 2.99.  I’ve tried the lower fat version (I think it’s the ground turkey breast meat) and it is drier when cooked.    **I use 1/4 c. in my mix, but then squirt ketchup on top when time comes.  ***Here I use Tony Chacheres (sp?) – about 1 tsp or 1 1/4 tsp – we like a little spicey.  ****I make mine in muffin tins – I did this b/c they were easy to store in the freezer for another meal.  However, I no longer have leftovers since I now am feeding 3 males!  My cook time this way is halfed, so they take about 25 minutes to cook – watch out, or they will burn if you leave them longer!

(Kids are still asleep)

Chicken Pot Pie

1. Chicken Thighs – 6-8 , deboned  and  cut up(or any left-over chicken meat)
2. 1 stalk celery, chopped
3. 1 large onion, chopped
4. 1 can Cream of Celery
5. 1 can Cream of Chicken
6. 1 can Cream of Onion
7. Package of mixed frozen vegetables (corn/peas/carrots/green beans, or any combo you’d like)
8. Crust – from scratch or purchased

Cook onion and celery (and minced garlic if you prefer, we do) in water until done.  Mix soups and heat (I added some water with chicken bouillon at this point – about 1/2 c. water and 3 bouillon).  Spoon meat in bottom of 9X13 pan, put veggies on top of that, then pour your soup over it.  If too thick, can add more chicken broth or water (I’d already done this).  Put your crust over top and seal on inside of the edge.  Cook at 350 for 30-45 minutes then cut down to 300 (Auntie’s note says that if you cook it too fast, the crust will get too brown). 

(Kids are indeed awake, but watching Dinosaur Train -perfect timing!)

Porcupine Meatballs (cut and paste works great – recipe came from http://southernfood.about.com)

1 pound lean ground beef

• 1/3 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash ground black pepper
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 cup water

Preparation:

Funny, I was thinking about my last blog post today (Worshipping with one eye open!) while in church – not realizing it was the last post I’d made!  But today I was laughing as Tony went to take my hand during the last prayer and I was laughing (quietly, of course) and praying with eyes open as Sammy was slipping into the isle…ready to GO!   Pastor Glynn is a wonderful man of God and preacher/teacher of God’s Word, yet I find myself wishing he would get on with it so that church is over!  This, of course, is only due to the movability of my son!  Today I was telling the Lord while in church that I felt like a black momma cat with it’s back arched and claws dug in – and I wanted to be that fluffy gray kitty with brown spots all curled up and comfy. 

I WAS grateful for the portion of Pastor’s message that I heard (with my ears consciously, Thanking Father in advance for whatever portion I “missed” would make it to His Spirit living in me).  It was on coveting.  I appreciate the opportunity to take that back to Father for His examination in my heart.  We are in the process of decluttering again as it seems the walls are closing in (and there’s not even a Christmas tree up yet!).  I have experienced Father’s gifts of things needed…and even wanted.  And when I see His hand bring a gift – oh, the joy!  And then His joy b/c of MY joy over His gift!  So, I ushered to Him all that is in my living room (even my dresser and coffee table, hand-made by my great-grandpaw Roberts and my grandmother’s small library table – one of her first pieces of furniture).  Everything is HIS.  So declaring He may take out and put in whatever HE wants!  And wondering if I should read up on Feng Shui!

And speaking of bringing in – He brought in some cool curtain panels for our bedroom that I’m anxious to tea stain and hang this week!  And needing to google if 100% polyester will tea stain!

Yesterday we sang a song by Chris Tomlin “I Will Rise.”  One of the fav part of the lyrics is “I will rise when He calls my Name” – I know this full  well, as well as I know my name, He WILL call my name one day and I WILL see Him face to face.  It IS well with my soul.

This was me today in worship. My Sammy is now in worship with us.  I can’t say that I’ve been ready for this day, but it is here.  Today was actually his 2nd time in a row to be in worship.  For some time I’ve enjoyed the joy of closing my eyes while singing worship songs – this keeps any distractions out and for me, helps me to visualize the One I’m singing for, to and because of.  It helps me to internalize the Truth of the words I’m singing, so that they become more than words. 

But with my Sam beside us, now I’ve got one eye open…knowing he’s capable of catching Mom not looking, and deciding to perhaps…crawl over the pew, run down to the front and tell the worship leader the music is too loud for him, draw on the pew, get into my purse and eat ALL of our favorite mints for church.  I’m sure there are others.  It keeps things interesting and me laughing (most of the time).

But as we talked about how pleased we were with his behavior in worship today, we talked about how glad Mom and Dad were to have him there – to worship God as a family.  And we talked about looking forward to the day when Saw Wayne was with us as well.  What a blessing to worship together.

His funny the other day:  “Mom, when I go to be with Jesus, can I still talk when I’m in the dirt (buried)?” 

I love that kid.

Last night I was blessed to have a Mom’s Time Out with my ML friends.  I had about an hour spare time, so I headed to Starbucks and took out my Bible, asking Father for HELP!  My responses to my Sammy had not been God-honoring the past several days.  I apologized to him before we left, but knew I needed Father’s direction.  So He and I went to 1 Corinthians 13 – the LOVE chapter! 

So I’m back to the basics.  Love is patient.  Love is kind.

Although I had apologized to Sammy, that wasn’t enough.  I was delighted to sit down with him and let him know I’d met with Father and showed him the scripture He had directed me to, confessing that Momma had not been patient nor kind, but that she wanted to be because she loves God and she loved him.  He seemed to be quite receptive to the process Mom went through to make things right with God and right with him.

I don’t like messing up, but since I do it fairly often, I guess I better get used to it!  My hope and prayer is that my children see me running to Father, unashamedly approaching His throne of grace.  He is faithful to forgive when we confess. 

Thanking Father for all that transpires to allow me the opportunity to practice patience and kindness, demonstrating His love to my children through these attributes.  I have already had opportunity this morning as I’ve battled a neighbor’s runaway dog, shaving cream, toothpaste, a fish hook in a batman cape, and a 2 year old that continues to have to poo-poo whenever I decide it’s time to start school!

It doesn’t take much to make me laugh and I like that about myself.  Although I laughed rather easily while in the workforce, it has been a bit more challenging at home.  Which, while in the kitchen getting lunch ready, I realized that I just needed to RELAX and LAUGH!  Laugh at the interruptions, the messes, oh the messes made by these sweet, cute, adorable and FUNNY boys! 

Enjoy.  Embrace.  Laugh.  Love. 

So here I am for a quick note to remind myself of my humanity and reflect on Christ’s sustaining power and strength.  When the boys wake up, WE are going to have us some FUN!

I’m off for a quick and necessary nap!

Oh, I was just on the Living Proof website looking up info about the Beth Moore simulcast I’ll be attending this weekend.  This sentence was part of a description of Beth (which I totally agree with) - ”She is a woman of purpose, preparation, prayer and passion.”  Those are admirable qualities I need posted – and I think I’ll add “patient” to mine!

I know a gal named Patience.  I’m now wondering what was going through that Mom’s mind when she named her….

When T and I decided I would leave the workforce to come home to raise our Sammy, a friend of mine who already had 2 boys said of our decision “Oh, I could never do that!  I don’t have the patience!”

Stopping by a homeschooling friend’s house (also a mom of 2 boys…I’m noticing a pattern) some time ago, I noticed she looked rather frazzeled and her sweet giggle was missing….

This is where I am today – looking for my patience.  And sadly, I think I’m the biggest part of the problem!  I’ve gone to bed way past my bedtime for at least 3 nights in a row – which means I haven’t woke up on time.   I’ve had no nap the past 2 day.  My house is in disaray.  And yet, school must carry on. 

So here I am, needing to go fix us some lunch and needing just a few minutes to escape…and search for my happy face that’s somewhere with my patience!

It’s going to be ok.  I knew this would be a process.  If my head was in the clouds, it’s out this week.  Tomorrow is another day of no school b/c of ML membership brunch.  I think I’ll offer up ANOTHER prayer for God’s wisdom and request for peace in the midst of interruptions and ETC.