A Little Bit of This ~ A Little Bit of That

Faith
Im learning to depend on God more each day. At home I try to steal moments with my Jesus my daddy...in the car I thank him for the beauty that surrounds me, at work I find myself looking out the big glass window that faces the east and wonder what it would be like to see my Jesus my daddy open up the heavens riding the white horse coming to get me his child :D
I long for that!
Revelation 19:11
I saw heaven open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.

Family
I am so thankful for a Godly husband, who loves me and makes Christ the head of our household. He is a wonderful dad to our 6 grown children and an awesome papaw to our 2 grandsons. We are looking for more grankids in the future, our daughter is expecting in April and we find out this month what she will be having. We are blessed with wonderful children and pray constantly for them. The ones wh0 are not married, we pray for Godly spouses. The ones who are married for continued growth in their marriage and spiritual life. My husband and I have a crazy life with different work schedules. We are active in the community, church and with our family, but it all works out and it definitley makes us appreciate each other even more!

Friends
How can a person go through life without friends...I know I cant. I am blessed with a handful of BEST FRIENDS who have been by my side since 5th grade and totally blessed with friends I have met from all over the world. We have friends in Poland, Spain, Germany, Washington, Mississippi, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, and hopefully before my life is over many more friends that I'll meet along the way. I am a people person...I love having friends...I love sharing stories...I love laughing and sometimes crying with my friends. I consider myself to be a true friend...my friends are my treaures in life!

Food
My family and friends know that I have a passion and gift for baking. Ok...I LOVE FOOD and FOOD LOVES ME, what can I say. I love the smells, the taste, the visual and to see all the ingredients come together to make a beautiful dish. I have always dreamt that I would have my own cooking show, but thats not reality, so I live through Paula Dean and Sandra Lee. I remember when Paula & Sandra first started their show, I watched them taped them and then would stand in my kitchen pretending I was cooking for for them. Years ago my friend Jodi and I did "blooming onions" in my kitchen pretending we were doing a cooking show...the audience my kids or the ones who stuck around. Jodi brought me a knife and we had to try it out :D I still have that knife and its my favorite utensil in my kitchen. I am taking a dish tonight to church we have each month a "GNO" Girls Night Out with a different theme, this month Home for the Holidays. I am taking "Pumpkin Dump Cake" Mmmmm good! Cant wait to see all my girlfriends and eat some pre-holiday foods. I'll send the picture and the recipe next time. In the meantime...Sweet Blessings!

Lodema

4th Annual Camping Trip

As most of you know Bob & I have six children between us...all adults, with a couple of son-in-laws and two grandsons. So, to make plans for a family outing takes some planning and so far we have been blessed that "all" of our kids have ventured on this camping trip with us for the fourth year in a row. However, we did miss one person terribly...our son-in-law Manny who is in the Marines and is doing schooling in Florida.

We traveled to Paynetown on Lake Monroe on Friday and set-up camp and then on Saturday woke to a beautiful crisp morning "Ready & Rarin" to go. We rented a 28 foot pontoon boat with a tube and headed out for the day (10am-6pm). Our goal is to laugh, play and spend quality family time...this is a great way for parents to get their kids in one spot...because you see...you cant go far on a 28 foot boat in the middle of a lake :>) There is wisdom behind these years! We headed back to camp and the sun, water, and fresh air did us in. We woke early Sunday to yippi yappy dogs so, we started tearing down the camp and gathered our children around three picnic tables and we had church. My husband reads from the Bible and does a devotion....its always special. We coarpool to McDonalds and we buy the kids breakfast and then everyone heads back home "all in different directions". On our camping trips...I am like a mommy duck with all my little, I mean BIG ducks right there under my wing. Waddling along quacking, I mean smiling all the way. I Praise God for a wonderful family. A husband who is a great example for his wife and children. And children who have "big" hearts and love for each other and God. I am blessed!!!

A Diamond in the Rough

We took a journey this past weekend with a couple we know from church and so glad we invited them along. We stayed at Christmas Mountain Resort for 2 nights and 3 days, a trip I won. We toured the town of the Dells and it reminded us of Nashville, TN, very touristy and catering to families. We actually went at a good time...right before Spring Break so it seemed like it was just us enjoying the town, carousing at our own pace. Thats what happens when you have an AARP card, you go at your own pace. We built on our friendship with Jerry and Zetta and talked about everything. We ate our way through the Dells and the diamond in the rough came the first day..."Cranberry Connections" OMGosh this shop had ice cream that was homemade from a local dairy, cranberry ice cream to DIE for. I so wish that we could get it here, also the best coffee EVER....cranberry creme brulee...yummo! We bought the coffee and we would start each morning with Jerry making a pot of coffee and the aroma would make anyone want to jump out of bed...it did. Found a great eating place called MooseJaws...they had the BEST beerbread and beer cheese soup EVER. So yes, our daily visit included Cranberry Connection and MooseJaw. Being in Cheesehead country we had to visit the best cheese shop there Carr Cheese Shop....we discovered chocolate cheese...yes you heard me right. It tasted like fudge so Zetta and I couldnt resist and had to get some for the road. Our next discovery was the DUCK tour...no we didnt go looking for ducks, we actually took a tour on a duck boat tha tgoes on land and water. It was so cold, but we bundled up and had our camera ready. The Dells are beautiful with deer running everywhere and the the natural limestone carved out on land and water. I had never been on a vehicle that went on land and water...I can say it is a very strange feeling and FUN. We left there in search of more coffee to warm the insides...we cranked the heat up to thaw out. We went back to the lodge and built a big fire and watched movies that Jerry and Zetta brought and then called it a night. I woke thinking of the cranberry ice cream...I wanted it so bad and was thinking of a way to get it delivered to my house...crazy huh...but I dare YOU to try it. I have always heard my mom talk about the Dells and now I am glad that I was able to experience with my husband and friends. We will be back and in the meantime cranberry dreams to you all!