Today I stayed home from church. I started feeling bad Friday night and things weren't any better this morning. So, I had church with 1st Baptist Rogers on t.v. this morning. It was a good message on how with Jesus Christ you can become new. They showed a video that I really liked. I've shared it on the "My Walk" tab.
It seems of late, things happen that keep me from my family and my church family. Things like being physically sick, or having to work long hours. It's like I'm sinking and am having trouble coming up for air.
While I was laying on the couch this morning, trying to get warm under a throw, my tabby came to lay down close by. He covered his eyes with his paw and proceeded to fall asleep.
A blog or two back I mentioned a Christmas stocking I had started. I've made progress and hope to have a finished product by the end of the week.
So until next time,
Have a great week!
.... Don't forget to check out the video on the "My Walk" tab. :)
Yesterday, I spent my lunch outside. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing and a local church was playing "Blessed Assurance" on the bells. The song rang out over the town filling the air with it's melody.
I found a video with the song, if you have not heard it before.
After experiencing the muscles in my back tensing up to the point of cramps, earlier in the week, this song was a melodic reminder that no matter what I go through I have blessed assurance in Jesus Christ.
At times the enemy will use every day things, like my job to get to me, especially when I am striving to grow in my relationship with God.
It was through the power of prayer that I was able to relax and get through the back pain. As the week got closer to this weekend, the back pain eased up and today I woke up with some back pain but it left me during the day.
Here's a little quilt I made. It's a "back seat" quilt to keep in the car/truck for your little one. It will be there for them to cuddle up in or to take with them and have where ever they are.
This quilt was made from one of the "UFOs" I had on my list to get done this year. It was made of nine patch blocks that were given to me at some point in time. I don't remember where they came from but they were hand stitched. So I sewed them together then layered the top with a low loft batting and backing and tied it, so that it is a light weight quilt and can be used year around.
You may be wondering why I'm working on another quilt, when I am still not done with the log cabin quilt I've been working on. We are doing a fund raiser at work and this little quilt went into a gift basket that will be raffled off. I'm still working on the log cabin quilt and will get it finished soon.
Earlier today my husband, daughter and I went flea marketing. We haven't done that together in some time. I came across this old gas stove. It was smaller than a lot I have seen and I wondered if it could have been made for an apartment space. If it still worked and the parts were in good shape, I thought if it were cleaned up and refinished it would be a cute addition for a small kitchen. Needless to say, I didn't bring it home.
Then my husband pointed out this sign. I liked it and thought it was blog worthy.
I did find some goodies that I brought home and I didn't have to spend a lot of money. I bought a crystal ring keeper and a book that is an inspirational book tying together quilts and life.
I hope your weekend is going good and that you are relaxed and stress free. I hope you have blessed assurance.
I survived Black Friday by staying out of the mayhem. I hope, if you participated, you made it through the day unscathed and successful with bargains. :)
We kicked off the Christmas holiday with our town's annual Christmas lighting of the town square and the Christmas parade. The floats told the story of Christmas (Luke 2:1-20).
All lit up
Audre's last Christmas parade with the Paris High School Band
And it came to pass in those days...
And Joseph also went up from Galilee...
And suddenly there was with the angel...
For unto you is born this day...
Last Friday I received this pretty ornament in the mail from Katie, my ornament swap partner. She made it with dark red paper flower shapes, pearl head pins, and lace to hang it by. It goes perfect with all my other ornaments on the tree. Thanks Katie! :)
Little by little I put my Christmas decorations up this week. One of the things I like to do is sit with only the Christmas lights lighting up the room.
The tree, ready for packages to go underneath
Here are more of our Christmas decorations.
The Nativity
Christmas town
Santa and Frosty
Stockings hung with care
Snowmen gathering
Yesterday I left work early due to sleet and freezing rain. I didn't want to drive Hwy 309 in icy conditions, so as soon as I could after the sleet started falling I came home. This morning I got up my normal time, around 5:00 a.m. I turned on the t.v. for weather and road conditions and then went to the kitchen to make a cup of cappuccino to warm up with. It was then I heard a snap, crackle and pop! A tree limb had broken out of one of the trees in a neighbors yard. I was able to get a picture after the sun came up this morning. As you can see the big limb took out a piece of our fence in the back yard.
We were covered with ice, then the snow came. The snow is so pretty, when I'm not out in it. :)
I prefer to view from within, like being in a house within a snow globe.
The song "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" has been going through my mind today. I like to hear Michael Buble' sing, so I thought I'd share him singing the song with you.
If you are experiencing winter in full force, stay safe and warm. If you are in the more southern regions and not experiencing cold, enjoy it to the fullest for those of us waiting for the warmth to come back. :)
That's all I have for now and until next time may God bless you and keep you.
That is what was going through my mind most of this morning as the rain poured down at work.
To top it off, at one point I closed a draw on my desk harder than I thought and a picture came of my cubicle wall and knocked over my cup of coffee. My desk was soaked and so were a few other things. I cleaned it up as quickly as I could but here is the damage that was left over. I had to let a few things dry out.
my organizer
document to be mailed out
**********************************************
I looked at my calendar today and counted free days. Free days are what I call when I have time after work or on the weekend to work on projects before Christmas. I counted them up and have 79 free days to get the Log Cabin quilt, and any other projects I have, done before Christmas. Yikes!
I am going to have to dedicate some time on each of the 79 days to make sure I get done on time.
I should probably sign off and go to bed as I have to get up to go to work in about six hours. But... you know I'm a night owl and will be up for bit more.
I have a short work day today, as I am taking a 1/2 day of vacation and will be leaving at my lunch break. It won't be all fun and games though, I have to take care of some business. It will be nice though to get it done then have the rest of the afternoon off. :)
The week has gone fairly quickly which has been a blessing too.
I've had heavy burdens on my heart this week but I have a peace deep within, knowing God will see me through. I don't know how I could stand under the weight of it all without Him.
After a weekend of college graduation, Mother's day and 24th wedding anniversary and a new great-niece being born last week; this week has been a trial at times but there have been blessings too.
I didn't make it through the day at work Monday due to an abscess tooth, which I found out Tuesday morning at the dentist... needless to say I was out that day too. Am taking antibiotic and am scheduled to have the tooth extracted this coming Tuesday. Didn't really start feeling human again until late Wednesday. - Low
I found out Tuesday one of my friends younger brother was murdered. - Low
I received a message from my husband on Wednesday saying that we will start getting help on his Humira shots, so that he can start taking them again. Since my layoff in January, I have no insurance until sometime in July. So David has had to stop the shots, as we can't afford them. He had started suffering more and I was beginning to worry about his condition. I have faithfully prayed the Lord would take care of the situation and He has. - High
Friday I visited with my parents and found out two of my aunts passed away. - Low
Then my mom gave me an update on here condition. She found out she does not have Parkinson's disease but instead bulging disks that are pinching her nerves which is putting her in a lot of pain and making it hard for her to walk. We are very thankful it wasn't Parkinson's, as the doctor suspected, and that she can be treated with physical therapy. - High
I spent a day with my daughter on Saturday. We went flea marketing together. We haven't had a day with just the two of us for a while and we had a nice day. - High
This morning at church, I saw a Sister in Christ who attends another church. We use to work together, but haven't seen each other since the layoffs as Stark. I truly miss her and other Sisters in Christ I worked with. It was a blessing to see her. - High
Next Sunday, I will begin teaching teenage girls in Sunday school.
I am looking forward to it.
I have been praying about the lesson and the Lord has begun putting one together in my heart and mind.
My son, Josh, turned 22 this week. Boy, has the time flown by. I asked him if he wanted me to bake him a cake or make a banana pudding for him. He told me the tub of ice cream in the freezer was enough, but the thought of the banana pudding has stuck with me so I'm going to make one this week.
I'm ready to start the new week though I'm not looking forward to my dentist appointment Tuesday.
As I reflect over this past week, I remember singing this song at times. I sang this song for a special at church a couple of weeks ago and it helped me out this week.
That catches me up for this week. I hope all has gone well for you.
I'm so proud of my son. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry today.
I was able to get a few pictures afterwards.
I love this picture of Josh and David laughing together over something they were talking about.
making the "stoic" face :)
Then I took this one, which Josh very rarely takes a picture seriously and will make a face. :)
I will say though, during the commencement he behaved and let the photographers take his picture without making a face.
giving the "raised eyebrow" face. :)
Then David took this picture for me. As you can see, I'm a proud mom. :)
David and I enjoyed lunch with our son, before he took off to spend the rest of the day with friends.
Audre didn't get to attend Josh's graduation as she had a band competition and field trip today. She had a good time and the band did very well. If I understand it correctly they brought home a huge trophy. Audre was so tired when she got home this evening it was hard to get much information out of her. :)
Since David and I had the afternoon free and it was a beautiful day, we decided to play a round of Put-Put golf. Here's our score card. The first half of the first nine, did me in. I'm using the excuse that I had to adjust to playing in heels. :0) But considering that, I'm happy with my score. I scored one over Amateur Par. David however, as usual, did much better. He scored Pro Par. :0)
I've been seeing these wild flowers on the side of the road. So today, on the way home I asked David to pull over so that I could take a picture. They start out a darker pink then fade to a lighter pink, then white, as they age. I think they are pretty.
Before I sign off, I have a prayer request.
My nephew Sam was injured in football practice this week. I learned yesterday he has a tear in his spleen. He is in a lot of pain and in the hospital. They are keeping a close eye on him, as he may have to have surgery. Last night he had been give three pints of blood, but I have just now read that he is doing better and may get to be release from the hospital tomorrow. Please remember him in your prayers.
It was kind of weird not having to clock in this morning.
I tried reopening my unemployment claim today online, as suggested from the Dept. of Workforce Services, I followed all the instructions and the last window stated:
"Processing Claim - do not close window or claim will not be processed - you will receive a confirmation page when claim is processed"
4 hours later, it was still processing when the website closed out for the day (6 pm), thus the claim was terminated. ARGG!! It did say the information was saved for 24 hours, so I'm going to sign on early tomorrow and see if it will go through. If it doesn't, I'm going to mail it in, instead.
Okay, enough about that little bit of frustration. :0)
Earlier, today, Elvis was sleeping in a chair and the sun was shining through a window right in his face. He used his little paw to cover his eyes as he slept.
I just realized, I didn't share my newest pin cushions with you. At the quilt guild meeting, just before Christmas, we had a pin cushion giveaway and we also played "dirty santa" with fat quarters.
Here are my newest pin cushions. The blue star like pin cushion was from our last pin cushion swap in a previous meeting. The green bag pincushion was from the meeting in December.
The fat quarter I ended up with in the "dirty santa" game is this pretty blue toile.
several blogs back I had suggested that winter had hit... WRONG... yesterday morning we had a tiny glimpse of winter precipitation. It was gone by 10 a.m. but if you ask me, it is NOW winter. :0)
Today, was another chilly day.
My hubby is cooking homemade pizza.... it smells so yummy!
Earlier this evening I got this picture of Audre with Elvis. I do believe that fat cat needs to seriously go on a diet. :0)
*****************************************
Christmas is special to me, because it is a celebration of the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ, in my house. I heard this song this evening by Francesca Battistelli and thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy!
This morning I had a Christmas song going through my mind...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go.... hmm... hmm-mm...
I wanted a cappuccino and this coffee cup went right along with my festive mood. I have already changed my phone, my laptop and my computer at work to have Christmas themes. It is time to break out and decorate my work cubicle and my home. I've been trying to hold off until next week but I don't thing I'm going to be able to. :0)
Here's wishing you all a beautiful day. I'll leave you with a song.
I trust you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.
This evening was the annual Christmas Lighting of the town square and the Thanksgiving parade for Paris. I wasn't able to attend, due to being sick with a major head cold, but my hubby was able to get a few pics for me.
I meant to share this recipe earlier in the week, but got busy and didn't get it done. It's one I made using up some cake mix I had left over (half of lemon mix and half of orange mix).
Citrus Jello Cake
A citrus cake mix, lemon or orange
A small box of jello, strawberry
1 can of cream whip
Mix cake and bake per directions on box. When cake is cooled down, poke holes in it with skewer or chop stick. Mix jello per directions and pour over cake. Chill in refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Serve with dream whip. Yummy!
