Homesick for Southern Indiana

Hey everyone!
We were visiting in the hospital recently and an older gentleman from our congregation, who is from West Virginia, had been talking to a relative on the phone. His relative told him of how he had been mushroom hunting. Wow!!! Some wonderful memories flooded my mind!! I LOVE to hunt and eat freshly grown mushrooms!!! But we're now city people. We really do love the city. However, I haven't seen a corn field in months, that I can remember. I remember going mushroom hunting with my dad in those southern Indiana woods. He was great at finding mushrooms. He has a lot of patience for it. Matter of fact, he went hunting with some friends a few days ago. He was walking behind the others and he was finding the ones they were passing up! :-) Well, it wasn't enough, at the hospital, to hear about someone finding a mess of 'em. My sister told me yesterday about the new blog of one of her best friends. I sauntered on over, via bloggerland, and wa lah! She had been mushroom hunting, and had a picture of the ones she had found!!! They were BEAUTIFUL!! Talk about mouth-watering envy!!! :-) Not really, at least I got to see a picture of one. Marsha's post is very worth the read!!! I loved it!

Feeling All Warm And Fuzzy

The next day and a half around here are going to be quite rare. Dan is taking the kids to Ohio so that Amber can do a Stanford Achievement Test at the Lima Pilgrim School, which happens to be near his parents. So they will be staying with his parents during this time. I'm staying home to work. I'm also hoping to paint Clayton's room. It's been a light blue for 9 yrs. and we're quite ready for a change. Why am I feeling all warm and fuzzy??? Certainly not because I will be alone! But, last night, Clayton's male "protective" instincts must have been kicking in, as out of the blue in such a caring voice he asked, "Are you sure you're going to be ok while we're gone?" That just made my day!!

Going Bananas!

I never buy more than one bunch of bananas. But yesterday at Aldis they had their bananas for .22 per pound. They looked great. So I got two large bunches for just over $1.00. So, of course, that called for banana pudding! Yummy!! Clayton had fun helping me make it.

Miracles and Praise!!!

Well, as of May 2nd this blog will be 6 months old. I have enjoyed posting details of exciting events, some achievements of my kids, and even some discouraging happenings (See "The Disappearing Act" OR "It's All My Fault" posts).
This post might be a bit different, but I wanted to publicly extol Jesus Christ for 2 major miracles which have taken place within this past week! These miracles aren't within our family, but have to do with people near and dear to us. The first one I won't go into detail about, but it is MAJOR and God came through above and beyond what we would have asked or thought!! It seemed to be years in the making. We just sat back in awe!!! There is no way for anyone to explain it away!
The second one was concerning a man from our church, Jim Purcell. (I previously mentioned him in one of my posts.) He fell several weeks ago and has had severe injuries from the fall. He had bleeding on the brain and his right side became paralyzed. I was there when the Dr. told us that he would not regain movement in his right leg (maybe in his arm, but not his leg). Jim has been in a rehab center. Today, when Dan talked to him, Jim told Dan that he had moved his previously paralyzed leg 6 inches. This was wonderful news!!!
While I'm at it... I'm very grateful, too, that my Dad wasn't seriously injured this past Wednesday afternoon. He was trying to get a heavy washing machine down a flight of stairs by himself and it started to slip away from him. It went down and he went with it!! It could have been a very terrible situation. He cut his arm and hurt his shin a bit, but otherwise he's fine!
I love the line, "Miracles still happen where there is childlike trust." I know that I have fallen below "Exhibit A, probably even B and/or C" in the "trusting department" at times, but there's nothing like a miracle to boost the "belief system" once again! May a simple love and faith in Jesus be seen in us! It's ALL about HIM!!!

Tagged by "Tamra"

1. What I was doing 10 years ago: Living in Bicknell, IN at our 2nd pastorate. We also enjoyed living near family at that time. I lived about 30 min. from my parents and my sister's family. Amber was around the age of starting kindergarten, in which she attended Trinity Holiness Academy in Washington, IN. Clayton wasn't developing eyelids yet. :-)

2) 5 Things To Do Today:

• Visiting with Dan... We've had 3 people from our congregation in 3 different hospitals this week.
• Shop for some greeting cards.
• Watch IHC Service tonight. This week, our mid-week church service is canceled due to our annual business meeting this Friday night.
• Relax... I worked a double shift at Joanns on Mon. We're having a big sale this week. Last night I didn't get out of work until 11:15 p.m. So I'm kind of looking forward to some relaxation tonight.
• And hopefully relax some more.... :-)

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Tortilla Chips and Dip
I love desserts

4) Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Wow!! Of course, give the tithe to my local church. Pray to God to help me to have the wisdom to spend or invest it wisely.

5) Bad habits I have:
Overanalyzing everything.
Stopping at Taco Bell on the way home from work some nights.
Taking things and putting them away before family members are done using them.


6) 5 places I have lived:
Petersburg, IN
Ft. Wayne, IN
Summitville, IN
Bicknell, IN
Rochester Hills, MI

7) 5 Jobs I've held:
Cashier at True Value Hardware Store(in high school)
Private Care Taker for elderly
Assistant to 2nd Grade Teacher at Bedford Stone City Christian Academy
Worked for a short time at Lincoln Life Insurance (Ft. Wayne)
Joann Fabric and Crafts

The Best Part of Waking Up...

Is opening the carton of eggs to find a wonderful Scripture verse. :-)

Has anyone noticed the rise of food prices in recent weeks? I normally always shop at Meijer. It's close and I feel they do have good sale prices. But I have been doing some of my shopping at Aldi's the last few weeks and have found that I'm getting a lot more for my money. Of course, the only draw back is there are several things they either don't have or certain off-brands which we just don't like. I have found that their 10 lb. bag of potatoes for $1.99 makes for some excellent tasting potatoes. Their eggs are cheaper at $1.59. Plus you get the little Scripture verse inscribed on the carton, which is really neat way to start the day!

A Recipe Scrapbook

The ladies from our church have submitted scrapbook pages for a Recipe Scrapbook we're presenting to Jennifer Hartkopf at her bridal shower tomorrow. I'm really excited about it! There are so many great recipes and it will give her some memories to keep with her down through her new life as she takes up housekeeping. We used an 8x8 book, which is a great size. I'm not an avid scrapper, but had fun putting my pages together. The other thing is, when everyone gets involved in something like this, I think it makes it all the more special. The ladies have done a fantastic job!

Our Boy Turns 9!!!

Happy Birthday, Clayton!! We look forward to spending a wonderful Sunday celebrating your special day!
Recently, I finally organized my digital photos. It's great to be able to go right to the certain files and choose which pics I want!

Here are 9 of my favorite "Clayton" snapshots for my family to enjoy. Everyone else may view if they wish.
DISCLAIMER: I know just enough about html and blogging to get me into trouble, thus all the blank spaces between my pics. After trying to figure it out for about 20 min., I guess it will just have to do...


At a wedding in Summer '06

(Thought I'd better post this
one before I post the next
one, lest someone would
wonder about my parental
skills concerning cleanliness
and hygiene detail. Ha!
He cleans up "purty good".










How could I deprive
this boy of SOOOO
much fun? Ha!
He had a blast playing
in this mudhole last
fall.

Just after last year's
b-day dinner of pizza.
We had a sport's theme
for last year's party.

Up north on vacation,
fishing with Mam and Pap.

A guitar, Clayton's gift
for his 4th b-day.
(Aren't those the cutest
toes you've ever seen!! Ha!)

Clayton with his dog,
Chow. A b-day
present for his 3rd
b-day.








At Family
Buggy
Restaurant,
sitting
with the Big
Bear.









About 6 mo. old.

Before you were
conceived I wanted you.
Before you were born
I loved you.
Before you were here
an hour I would die for you.
This is the miracle of love!!!
~Maureen Hawkins

Bronner's Founder Passes Away

This post is for my Michigan friends, but for those who may not know, Michigan is home to the WORLD'S largest Christmas Store. Bronners Christmas Store is located in Frankenmuth, MI. Frankenmuth is a tourist's town with lots of attractions. Our family has been there several times. Even our nation's first lady, Laura Bush, has visited Bronners in recent years. Bronner's Christmas Store is a blast!! Just to see the outside decorations and little white "Silent Night" chapel is worth the trip. There are approximately 100,000 lights which illuminate the grounds every evening. There are also, 24 outdoor life-size nativity figures on display. Bronners is always advertised with the word Christ in capital letters, i.e. Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland.

This morning, I was saddened to learn that Wally Bronner, founder of Bronners, had passed away of inoperable cancer. What was SO commendable about Mr. Bronner was that he strove to keep the focus of the store on the Nativity and Christmas tradition. I believe, in turn, God blessed his business abundantly. Over two million guests come to Bronners annually.

Here are a couple of his quotes:
"Our rule is that everything we do will focus on — or at least not detract from — the Christ whose birth we are celebrating.”

“You want to know the truth?” he asked a Detroit Free Press reporter in 2004. “The truth is no decorations are needed at all at Christmas. What’s really needed at Christmas is that we decorate our hearts.

Here is the web address for further Bronner Trivia:
http://www.bronners.com/triviasheet.html

A photo of us, taken about 5 years ago, in front of the Bronner's Nativity.