2 Cute!!

One of my grand daughters is turning two soon. Thought I'd slip this card in. She is a cutie, too! Yep, more Nana pride!


Happy Birthday!



Bethany Karis!

What a wonderful way to brighten my day!

I have been so busy trying to do home improvements and work on a writing project that I would love to see come to completion, that blogging has not been an option for me time wise the last few days. But, a few minutes ago my doorbell rang and time stood still. My daughter Melissa, sent me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers to give my Mother's Day an early start. Melissa is the butterfly of all my children. She is colorful, bright, she flits and floats and has since she began crawling. Her nickname is, Sunshine. That really needs no explanation. The flowers are beautiful (notice the pink.. whoo hoo!!) and have truly brightened my week. Thank you, Sunshine!

Mother's Day. What a beautiful idea. On the second Sunday of May, America honors her moms. The idea however was founded in, England. During the eighteenth century many people worked as servants for the affluent. One Sunday every year, these servants were allowed to have the day off and go home to visit their "mums". This day was called, "Mothering Sunday". When the technology of the Industrial Revolution came about in the the late 1700's and early 1800's, - the introduction of machines replacing humans in the work force, the socioeconomic and cultural practices of the people of Britain changed drastically. The ushering in of new technology ushered out the observance of, "Mothering Sunday". Britain would adopt Mother's Day later in the 1900's.

However, it was a woman named Anna Jarvis, from West Virginia, USA, that would resurrect just such a day. Anna's mother was a faithful and supportive Pastor's wife. She made a lovely home for the family and, Anna learned so much from her mother. Her mother loved gardening. Anna learned much about life tending a flower garden filled with mostly white Carnations in her mother's garden with her. Her mother loved flowers and these were her favorite. When her mother died May 5, 1905, Anna vowed to find a way to honor her. She asked her minister to dedicate a sermon that Sunday to her mother's life. The minister in a church in Philadelphia, where her father had served, honored all mother's in his sermon that Sunday. Anna began sending letters to Washington to get a day set aside to honor mothers. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia declared the second Sunday of May to be, "Mother's Day". The following year the other states followed suit. By 1915, "Mother's Day" was a national holiday in the United States. And, flowers are STILL a big part of that day! And for that, today, I am oh so very thankful. :-)

Oh, I love it that the whole beautiful thought of "Mother's Day", originated in England!

I thought I might insert a few pictures here.
My daughter, Melissa! Melissa and I with her older daughter.













Me, with Melissa's younger daughter. The time honored practice of honoring momma's goes on!

Super Sketch Sunday Challenge #12

Yesterday, when I was blogging about my love for lemons, an idea popped into my head about Amy's SSS #12. The card pictured here is that very idea. I have a friend that has three daughters and a son. Her daughters are my daughter's ages, and they grew up together. Her youngest daughter just recently went through something painful. I've been trying to come up with a card idea to make so that I could send it to her. This was a two for one sort of thing. Amy's sketch was just what I needed.

This young lady is Christian and truly knows where her help comes from. She is a real trooper. Even in the hardest moments she knows God will not let her down, and that she can completely count on Him. Though she did not need me to tell her this, on the inside of the card (along with a personal note), I wrote out Nehemiah 8:10b, "...the joy of the Lord is your strength". Since joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and a lemon is a fruit, I thought this card came together pretty well. :-)

Oh by the way, her son is a Ranger in the Army and is scheduled to go to Iraq this year. I thought I would stop here for just a second and pay honor to him. Thank you, Jon. This might be a good time to insert a little something I saw for the first time two days ago.

Stamps: Lemon stamp, Kolette Hall “Joy” stamp
CS: Linen Limeade, Lasting Impressions Banana Cream Dots, White & Yellow
Designer Paper: Doodlebug Design Lovely Lime Stripes & Obviously Orange asterisks
Inks: Color Box Chalk Tangerine
Chalk: SU Yoyo Yellow & Glorious Green
Markers: SU Yoyo Yellow, Tombo 195 Green, Marvy LePlume II #4 Green
This & that: Wavy-Edge “Cloud” & “Half Circle” scissors, Small Flower Brads, Non-SU Blending Brush, SU Dazzling Diamonds

Gotta go do life...blessings!

Whole lotta Lemon goin' on.

I just want to know who it is that came up with wallpaper. I have never put the stuff up but I have spent days taking it down. If when a marriage is being torn at, the vows would stick like the glue does on the back of wallpaper... the fiber of this country would be in such better shape. I have used the professional products and a number of good home concoctions to remove the paper, paper backing and glue. Short of being almost violently aggressive, the stuff does not come off. I have seen pretty wallpaper, certainly. There have been era’s in history that the wall covering defined its era. But, I will NEVER put the stuff up I don’t care how beautiful it is. There are flaws on the walls behind this gluey mess. It seems to me that patching the holes and cracks, and sanding the irregularities would be cost and time effective, rather than fighting with this stuff. And anyway, I'm not really a print or pattern kind of girl. I like the calming effect of very subtle colors and the simplicity of solid in my home. So, it's not a sacrifice for me to have paint rather than paper. It really would not matter though, did I mention that I will never hang wallpaper in my home??

A friend of ours Joe, and his wife, have had a very successful painting and wallpaper business since the early 80's. Last week, Joe came over and took measurements and assessed the condition of the walls. Oh, did I mention there is some early 70's brown paneling in the house? That has to go right along with the wallpaper. So, last night he came over and gave us a bid on what it would take to do the walls on the first floor. It was more than I anticipated, but it is not horrible. He does great work and I can trust him in my home. That feature is priceless. So sometime in the near future, Baxter and I will head out to my daughter's house in Oklahoma and visit and then I will go down to Texas and see my daughter that lives there. I could be here, but Baxter and remodeling somehow just don't seem to go together. I thought I might slip a picture of Baxter, in here.


And, I'm long over due to see my family in, Texas. That would be the one pictured in an earlier post with the upcoming stamping queen. The one in Oklahoma, is the family I just saw in Chattanooga while they were traveling back from, Florida.

So... since Joe was coming, I made a pie. I LOVE this pie. Lemon Meringue is my favorite with Rhubarb running a close second and Pecan and Peach tying for a solid third. This one is much simpler than Lemon Meringue and perfect for warmer days. The pie is pictured above and here is the recipe.

Lemonade Pie:

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 6-ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 medium size (8 ounce) container of Cool Whip, thawed

Beat together condensed milk and lemonade; fold in Cool Whip. Pour into pie crust. Freeze for at least 3-4 hours until firm.

That is the recipe as I got it. I have a few things I do that are not listed. First of all, I really am not nuts about the pre-made graham cracker crusts. So, here is what I do.

My Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed Nilla Wafers (I grind them to a fine consistency)
5 Tablespoons melted real butter

Mix these together and press into a 9" pie plate. Let completely chill, then fill.

Also, I buy a 12 ounce can of frozen lemonade concentrate and use about 10 ounces. And, I let it firm up over night. It just slices and serves better.

And if you like, you can spread a layer of raspberry or strawberry jam on the bottom before putting in the lemon mixture. This pie is ssoooo easy and it always goes over really well. Oh, my grandsons made this pie when they were four. I honestly did nothing but provide the ingredients and tell them when what went where. (They used the pre-made graham cracker crusts.)

I enjoy the scent of lemon in the house, I like to clean with it, bathe in it, drink it, eat it, wear it... I think you get it. I like lemon! Those of you that are over 35 probably remember Love’s Baby Soft Cologne. But, does anyone remember Love’s Fresh Lemon Cologne? Yumm!!! I wore that for years many moons ago. Do they even make that anymore? And let’s not forget to mention that although Pink has always been my absolute favorite color, Lemon Yellow is the happiest and friendliest color on the planet. Hummm... there is Pink Lemonade... a beautiful thing!!

Seafood and fish are my favorite proteins... and guess what is wonderful squeezed all over those? I am a tea drinker. Guess what is great squeezed in there? Lemon juice is great to make salad dressings. Guess what I use to perk my drinking water up??? The rind, flesh and juice of a lemon can be used for culinary purposes. Lemon is the happiest of scents and flavors.

Lemons are rich in vitamin C, potassium an magnesium. They are a decent source of fiber. The oil in lemon juice helps to give relief to those suffering from rheumatism. This oil stimulates the liver to rid the body of toxins that aggravate that condition. A mixture of lemon juice, hot water and honey have been successful in treating colds and constipation. Lemon juice is a good choice to treat diarrhea and dehydration because of the amount of potassium and other minerals it contains. Squeeze lemon into water before grabbing commercial electrolyte products that are so high in sodium.

Because of the bleaching property of lemons, they can be used to remove stains. Because they are so high in vitamin C, they have the ability to prevent oxidation and so the juice of a lemon can be applied over cut fruit or white vegetables to keep them from turning brown.

Buy lemons that are firm and heavy for their size. A lemon's rind begins to get pale when it is becoming too ripe. They can be stored for weeks at room temperature, and a month in your fridge.

You know, I've had no stamping time this week and I have four cards to make. I think I have a lemon stamp around here somewhere. I think I just had an idea for Amy's, Super Sketch Sunday card for this week.

And then, it's off to stain the deck and trash corral.

Blessings....

A good day in the yard... and "Hope".

We got quite a bit done today. I nearly finished weeding and pruning the two side beds on the west side of the house. I weeded and pruned all of the Peonies and completely scrubbed the front porch entry, top to bottom... including removing old planters and scrubbing the only two items that will be out there until I pot some flowers in those pots that need scrubbed. I picked up all of the sticks in the yard (no small task due to the size of the lot we have next to us, the number of older trees we have, and the wind that kicked up from those 4 tornadoes that went through Thursday night about 15 miles from here). My husband got the bed in the front dug and tilled so we can do some landscaping out there. And, a smaller bed that we will put stone on and then a bench with two terra cotta pots with flowers in them, next to each end of the bench. Then on both corners of the house in the back yard, he dug and tilled two beds that wrap around the corners of the house for me to plant flowers in. So, tomorrow after church I will finish what little is left on the west side. Then prune and weed the east side which has a hedge/border of Lavender and Asian Lillie's, and plant the Black-eyed Susan's and Red Hot Pokers in those backyard beds next to the house he just dug. I think my husband will be working on that trash can corral and a composting container while I am doing all of that. Then through the week, we will do the front landscaping and I will plant my herbs :-). By week after next we should be out of danger of a frost and we can start putting in the veggies. I love doing the veggies! I will post pictures as all of this starts growing and blooming.

Now, about that hoping thing.

Right now our Sunday School class is studying, prayer. Our homework assignment this week is to read and meditate on all of Hebrews 11. Last week, we took a close look at faith and its important role in prayer. Tomorrow, I am sure we will be pressing in on that some more... and I just have to say, our teacher is amazing. He and his wife are two of our closest friends, but as a teacher he is simply amazing. The man on the left (without the Scottie) in the picture above is our Sunday School teacher and dear friend, Ernie. The man with the Scottie, Baxter, is my hubby.

Okay, so we know that faith is our victory and that God’s Word is true and so we have decided that using God’s Word to help overcome the cares of this world is a good idea. So, just how do we pray for and receive the promises we have?

First, we have to have faith in God. When a person is saved, they are saved by faith. And, that is exactly how we receive everything we will ever receive from God, by faith. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. If we want to be able to receive that which is ours, we have to know what we have coming. Here is what James 1: 6-8 says about the person that does not have faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” When we doubt God we are unstable in all our ways, and get zilch. Ouch!!!

Then, to receive we must have an expectation. We have to have, hope.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

That expectation, or hope, needs to be something God says is part of our covenant package with Him. Once we know God intimately and therefore know what He wants us to have, Hell and all it’s thievery, deception and desire to destroy us can not keep us from having it. Romans 8:31 says, “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

I think the word hope gets overlooked sometimes when we study Hebrews 11. And, it is vital... or it wouldn’t be in there. Ever heard someone say, “Well, I hope so.”? That can be said with the best of intentions, but I always wonder when someone says that what it is exactly that they are putting there hope in. Anything less than that which God promises is a sketchy and fragile desire. And, often that is said with the voice inflection that indicates complete doubt. Either way, you really can’t put your confidence in anything other than that which God promises in His Word. The good news is, we CAN put our complete trust and confidence in what He has promised us.

So, our hope must be in a promise that God has promised us in order for our faith to have substance.

Hope is a verb. It is an action word.
Hope:
1 : to desire with expectation of obtainment
2 : to expect with confidence : TRUST

Faith is our victory and hope activates our faith. Hoping for the things God has for us and expecting to obtain them is the first step in walking in faith. When we are operating in hope, faith can begin to bring the desired thing into manifestation. If results are not quick to come, you will need to be operating in patience to see the desired thing actualized. That will be discussed later.

Oh, and by the way, Romans 5:5 says that, “Now hope does not disappoint...” There’s a good promise to start with!

Let’s define receive.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups can be falling from the sky and screaming grab me, but if we do not hold our hands to catch them, we don’t get any. Receive is not a passive word. The word “receive” by definition is either a transitive verb, or an intransitive verb. Either way, it is a verb which means it expresses an act, an action.

Receive means:
1. to come into possession of or acquire;
2. to assimilate through the mind or senses;
3. to permit to enter in, to welcome or to greet;
4. to accept as authoritative, true and accurate;
5. to take from the weight of something as an impression or mark.

So let’s take that definition apart.
1. Possession or acquire. Here is where we find the promises through searching out the Word for what we need.

2. Assimilate through the mind or senses. Here is where we renew our minds and transform our thoughts to God’s thoughts by continually reading His Word.

3. Permit in and welcome and greet. Welcome God’s Word!

4. Accept as authoritative, true and accurate. Believe what God says about our situation and give His Word final authority.

5. An impression or mark. Let God’s Word mark us and change our life.

God has blessing after blessing after blessing for us. But, until we put our hope in what God promises us, and release our faith to bring it to manifestation we won't receive those blessings.

If we are going to take things (and here I am talking about the request part of praying... there is more to prayer of course like, praise, giving thanks and being still and listening to God) to the Lord in prayer, we need to have real hope in what we are asking for, the faith to see it come to be and know how to receive the answer. We need to decide to do what it takes to be a good receiver of all God has promised us by learning what His Word says He want for us, knowing we won't have our hopes let down because we can put our confidence in Him... and then simply believe we have that which He promises. It is at that point we are walking by faith and not by sight.

It has just occurred to me that this portion of this post has come off a little text book like. Well, I guess I can't apologize since it is in response to studying and an homework assignment. This is what has been on my mind where my Sunday School lesson has been this week. It was good for me to collect my thoughts and put them down tonight since Sunday School is tomorrow morning.

If you have read all of this... well... I hope you got something out of it. I did. And, thanks for reading!

I am tired. It's a hot cup of tea and bed for me.

Be blessed....

Caramel Cake with Caramel Frosting.

I don't bake much anymore. Well, at least not the unhealthy stuff. But, it is Saturday and this Caramel Cake with Caramel frosting looked like it would be good. With only 1 3/4 cup of cake flour, I figured it would only make a single layer. The recipe did not have the pan size listed. If you are thinking you might try this recipe, it is a single nine inch pan. I used a round one... easier to frost than a square one. I got this recipe from some southern recipe link... here it is.

Caramel Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 3/4 cups cake flour (sift before measuring)
Resift with 1 cup brown sugar

Add:
1/2 cup soft butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
13/4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat for 3 minutes. Bake in greased pan for 1/2 hour.

Caramel Frosting

2 tablespoons cake flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix cake flour and milk. Cook to a thick paste over slow flame.
Cool. Cream sugars and vanilla with butter and shortening. Beat
until light and fluffy. Blend in salt. Mix in cooled paste. Beat
until fluffy. Blend. Should look like whipped cream.

I did flour the pan as well even though the directions don't say to. The cake was pretty good. The texture was great. The flavor was good to, I just like a lot of the caramelly flavor and this has a nice subtle flavor. So, next time I will drizzle melted caramel on the plate before I put the cake on it, and I'll drizzle a little more all over the top.

You know, I really don't bake cakes anymore... I think I am really missing my daughter that is having the birthday this coming up week. I thought about her as I was putting the cake together. Happy birthday, Tara!!

I do have something else on "hoping" to post today, but I need to weed, prune and build a corral for our trash cans... and I haven't even gone to get the lumber. Ugh. More later. Until then....

Blessings!

Beautiful birthday... card um... no so much.

My baby... my youngest daughter, is going to be 26 years young next week. She has been skipping care free through my mind for days now, only she looks a lot like she is 5. Humm... Where did the time go? She now has children! Anyway, maybe having strong memories of her as a little girl could be why I could not get this blasted birthday card to look the way I wanted to. No matter how hard I focused, she was five and skipping and I was destroying a really good idea for a card. The harder I tried, the worse it looked, the worse it looked, the harder I tried.... and the horrible downward spiral continued. She has a lot on her plate. She is studying for finals for her college classes. She has three active and involved young children which no matter what, she keeps as her first priority. She is an army wife and recently relocated. Her husband is a tank commander and has been "in the field" more than usual lately (which means he is gone up to weeks on end). Reason, because he is slated to go back to Iraq this year... for 15 months. And the list does go on, but I will stop here and just say, she is busy and a little stretched right now. I so wanted to give her a fun card and encourage her to just take a moment for herself, to enjoy herself and relax. Maybe it wasn't that beautiful little 5 year old skipping through my head that threw me off of my game where the card was concerned... maybe it was just my concern for her in general. Anyway, I am so disappointed in this card, I actually had tears show up. I guess I should just be thankful one of them did not drop on the card and leave a blurred spot... who knows though, maybe it would have helped. But, it had to go today for her to get it in time for her birthday... she lives MILES and states away!

Her daughter is a stamper. She has loved putting rubber with ink on it onto paper since the first time she did it. Some of us understand being bitten by that bug pretty well. I am hoping she bails me out and gives her mom one of those beautiful cards she makes. Yep! a little more Nana pride in this post and I've even attached a picture. She is a really wonderful girl and quite a lady. She sings beautifully (gets that from her daddy), and is learning to play the piano (momma plays the sax). But most of all, she is my upcoming stamping sister!

I used the word "hoping" and it made me think of something... maybe I can get that posted tomorrow.

Blessings....