Sweets For Your Sweetie!

This post is just tooooooo sweet! It is from a site I frequent called "I Am Baker", and let me tell you, she is!
Enjoy, and make something sweet for your sweetie!!!!!

Jan 19, 2011
White Chocolate Dippers {Valentines Edition}
This is probably the easiest thing I have ever made.


Scratch that... easiest thing I have ever assembled.

The only requirement is that you love white chocolate. Still on board? Lets go!
These are white chocolate dippers... made to be dunked in a nice mug of warm milk, or, if you are a chocolate maniac like me, a nice cup of hot cocoa!


Yes. All it is is a huge glob of chocolate on a stick. Whoever thought of these is my best friend for life.
They are so easy to do its not even funny.
Get bag of white chocolate chips.
Melt them.
Put them into a small cup. (I used mini plastic cups)
Insert popsicle stick or spoon.
Place in refrigerator for about one hour (or as long as you want) then remove from cup.
You can add strawberry extract, or almond, or vanilla, or coconut, or banana, or lemon, or... uh.., whatever other extracts are made!


You could even put them in a sweet little bag and present them to your friends and family for Valentines Day.
Whatever you do... just make sure you save one for yourself!



Thank you to I Am Baker for this Sweet idea!!!!

Sewing, Crafting, Creating!!!!

Our little Livi is sooooooooooooooooo into bows and big flowers in her hair. We have been pinning flowers (that I made) onto head bands and she wears them with such great joy....so, I decided to put up a link here for you to get a few ideas of your own.
Ucreate!
http://www.u-createcrafts.com/

Hope you like it!!!!
Happy Thursday!!!!!!

Wow, how life changes!!!

Well, our big news is that our sweet son, delightful daughter in law and the 3 munchkins are back!!! They were living in New Orleans for the past 3 years, and the Lord used and grew them greatly in that time, at a wonderful church, with wonderful people and an amazing Pastor.
Life changes often and the Lord makes our plans His plans. Sooooo, they have moved back to thier home town to pursue the next chapter!
We could not be more happy or to some extent, more sorrowful for thier return. Happy, because we can physically wrap our arms around them, sorrowful for thier having to leave such a wonderful church.
Of course, we also have a wonderful church, so the transition should be a bit less painful for them, and being right with God will always make things joyful and less sorrowful.
So, our home is zoo at the moment
....wound up children who have spent the past 16 hours in a moving van, our dogs in a state of confusion and a blowing yucky snow storm spewing outside....but boy, is life grand!!!!

The Papers Are Laughing At Me!!!!

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness....Psalm 5:7-8a
My life is over full. Alot by MY own choices, but much by HIS choices. A phone call from a frustrated wife who wants to just walk out of her marriage, an unexpected call, and I am to be the advice giver...that is from God, not from me. But on the other hand, the need to put my home back into some semblance of organization is all on my shoulders, as I let the piles grow during the holidays, and now they stare me in the face...almost grinning and I swear (you know, the good kind of swearing, not the awful words kind of swearing :)] I can almost hear those piles of papers laughing at me when I walk into the room!!!!
I guess, that every new year, we all must on some level, feel the need to "get organized" as is evident in every store that you walk into during the month of Jan. with all the bins, tubs, drawer units, etc. that are filling their isles, all shiny bright colored and suggestive of the major "life change" that you can have if you will only purchase these products right now!!!

Well, as I have been reading through a psalm or two this week, the above one stood out to me. LEAD me Lord, in YOUR righteousness. Hmmmmm, nothing about ME taking the lead. Nothing about how I can make my life less full, crazy, overwhelming. Just God, taking the lead. So simple, yet so difficult for our human egos, minds, attitudes or what ever it is, to grab hold of.
I believe that if God (and I do) has put all this in my life, HE will lead me in the paths of ability, workmanship and righteousness. He will be the strength to endure. He will be the joy and laughter in the midst of an overwhelmingly full day. He will be the endurance to run the race. He will be my All in All.
So, even though I am still going to have to tackle that pile of laughing at me papers, even though I am still going to have to do laundry, teach Sunday School, work, cook, clean, help with Awana, etc....it WILL be the Lord who directs and leads me to HIS righteousness. And THAT makes me breath a huge sigh of relief.

Sorry for my vacation from posting!

The season has made life full to the brim! Christmas was so wonderful this year, filled with lots and lots of family, fun, hugs and kisses and food!! Oh, and then there is the small thing of gift buying, which I put off to the bitter end this year. That will be the last time that happens!! However, as my husband and I went out on a very, very snowy Christmas Eve day to purchase our last minute gifts (which not all were) we had the sweetest time together. Playing in the snow with the little loves or our lives, talking, eating (hmmmm, seems to be a theme here!) and just spending time together outside of our overly busy work schedules...it was simply wonderful!
Now, today, a normal Tuesday, I am readying myself for a trip to New Orleans. Yes, I am heading to the Big Easy.
It will only be a week long trip, flying back the 4th, but I am going to enjoy every moment of it. You see, our son has started a new job and has no earned vacation time....boooooo! I do not know when the Lord will allow us to see his sweet face again, so I am going to soak up every moment of this trip.
Oh! And there is the added bonus of snuggling a 7, 3 & 2 year old, and helping out our dear Daughter in law. God is so very good!
So, I may be able to post from there, but I am hoping that my days will be so full of hugs, that there will be no time for posting!!!
So, I will "see" you all next year.....have a wonderful, safe, God filled New Years celebration!!!!

Chalk Boards!!!

I love taking something old and making something I love from it!!
This is one example....a cute chalk board for my dining room!!!
First, you need to find and old framed picture that is inexpensive (mine was $4) AND a shape that you love....the shape or type of frame is the most important....if you don't love it when it is an awful color, then you won't love it even when it is the perfect color!!
My Mother, Aunt and Daughter were all with me when I purchased said picture (which was hideous by the way, but I loved the shape of the frame, just sayin!) and the comments from all 3 were less than favorable....also known as "think she has finally lost it!"

Well, after a light sanding, two coats of white paint and one coat of a light stain, to give it an aged look, the frame was as I wanted it! Then, I cleaned the glass, and sprayed it with 3 coats of black chalkboard paint...let it dry and voila! LOVE IT!!

This is an easy and very inexpensive gift to make for Christmas. Frames can be found in second hand stores, antique malls, consignment shops, etc.....remember, it is NOT the picture you are buying, it is the frame!
Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

Life, Blessings and Dogs

I always think that I have to have some really cool, crafty thing to put on this blog or else there is no reason to blog! Well, today, I will just fill you in on life. My life.
My husband LOVES his job! Praise the Lord from Whom ALL blessings flow!! We are blessed in this area to have this opportunity for him and Give God all the Glory for His amazing gift.
Our children are all serving the Lord in really different areas of the country and ministries. From music, to teaching, to teen work, to going into correctional centers to work with incarcerated teens....we are so very proud of the work that our children do. We are blessed by all 6 of them and are so amazed at what the Lord has done in our family. (If you are wondering at that number...our family includes in-law children as our own...as God has given them to us, just not in the same way as our children, but just as wanted and loved!)
Have I shared with you that we have 2 crazy dogs? We do. I tend to call them "freaks of nature". The female (sister from same litter) has a superiority complex and refuses to lower herself to the level of chasing a silly little ball. She sits on the back of the couch as a cat would and looks down on the male dog. The male dog, on the other hand, is feisty, plays, catches balls in mid air and can be completely annoying. They were gifts to our children. Our children got married, moved, left the dogs behind....how silly my husband is to gift our children with living things!!!
I have included a picture of our "holiday" dogs....can you see the excitement in their eyes??? No??? Hmmm. (ok, we really feel sorry for their having to endure this humiliation...a bit anyway)
Well, have a superb Thursday, and I shall continue on my quest for the perfect, or best, or sufficient Christmas gifts!