Dress

Chris and I have been invited to a wedding.
It will be at a very nice hotel.
It will be on a Sunday.
It will be at 7pm.
It states "cocktail attire."

Does anyone know what that really means? Cocktail Attire?
On the glossary at fashion.about.com it states this...

Cocktail Attire

Cocktail Attire means short, elegant dresses for her and dark suits for him.

So, I was really worried that this was going to cost me a good bit of money to get something for this wedding. I don't have anything fancy at all!! I saw this dress at Kohl's for $28 and thought it may work. I am not sure I would call this elegant though. Maybe I should have looked up the definition before I looked at dresses. I am just not sure and I figure, if it doesn't, I still like the dress and that is not a bad deal for a dress. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and spend some money and talk to someone who knows and let them sell me a cocktail dress. I don't have a "little black dress" and I hear every lady should have one.

Anyway, do you think this will work??

Interesting Info

#1: It is official. Hannah's left top front tooth has broken thru and so we are up to 3 teeth now.

#2: Hannah's hair seems a bit uncontrollable. However, we have learned that a hairbow can do a little good and help the cause. For example, please observe these before and after pictures from today. I just can't get enough of her crazy hair.

#3: My daughter can wear this lime, bright, neon, whatever green color that I can not. I am a little jealous. In the future she may not be able to, so we are taking advantage of it now! Yippee!

All to Jesus I Surrender

This song has been in my head for a couple of days.
The words are very serious and I pray that I can, will, and do surrender all in my life to Him.

All to Jesus I Surrender
Words by Judson W Van DeVenter 1896

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

Favorite Friday

Today's Favorite Friday topic is favorite church potluck casserole. I am actually not a big casserole eater. Usually casseroles seem to have too much mixed together in them for me. However, I am a fan of making casseroles (I actually like making lots of things I don't eat, oddly enough). My favorite casserole to make for a potluck at the church building or anytime, for that matter is Green Bean Casserole. Most people like it, it is easy to make, my husband likes it, and I don't eat it so it is the perfect time for Chris to get it when we are around a lot of people. That way it doesn't go to waste.

Green Bean Casserole.
Recipe from Mom.

Ingredients:
2 cans of green beans, drained
3/4 cup milk
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 2.8 oz can of french fried onions

In medium dish, mix milk, soup, and pepper.
Add green beans and 2/3 cup of onions.
Mix.
Bake, uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Top with 2/3 cup onions and bake for 5 more minutes or until onions are golden brown.

Love

I am so thankful for love. Love from my friends. Love from my family. Love from my Mom. Love from my daughter. And especially the Love from my husband. Chris is so wonderful and great at loving me. I am so blessed.

In my every day life I try to always remember that no matter what I do I need to have love and show love!

I Corinthians 13:1-3 (New American Standard Version)
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

Sharing

I have tried and tried and tried (for 45 minutes while my husband is upstairs waiting for me to bring him something to drink) to put a video on here and can't get it. It is very aggravating. I know you might be on Hannah picture overload but I have to do something since I am so disappointed my video didn't work!!!

This is Chris and Hannah sharing some rice for supper this week! Very sweet.

Smiles

I am so thankful for smiles. I can't get enough of them. They make our day. I think that sometimes Hannah gets tired of Chris and I trying to get her to smile all the time. I just imagine her thoughts .... "Enough Already, I Love You Too. OK???"

Oh Well, she will get use to us.

Bye Bye Cradle

Tonight when we got home, Hannah was asleep and since she did not sleep very much today at school we wanted to keep her asleep but didn't want to take her upstairs and put her in her bed because she did not need to be asleep for too long. (Was that a run on sentence?) Anyway, we have kept the cradle downstairs ever since she was born so that she would have somewhere to be if we needed to set her down. Tonight things were very clear that we will not be using this cradle much any more. It is very sad sometimes. She is growing up so quickly.

The blessing is that this was my cradle when I was a baby and hopefully all our children and our children's children will get to use it in the future.

In the picture on the left Hannah was 5 days old.
In the picture on the right, from today, Hannah is 10 months old.

Great Love Song

Meet In The Middle by Diamond Rio

It was seven hundred fence posts from your place to ours
Neither one of us was old enough to drive a car
Sometimes it was raining, sometimes it would shine
We wore out that gravel road between your house and mine

I'd start walking your way
You'd start walking mine
We'd meet in the middle
'Neath that old Georgia pine
We'd gain a lot of ground
'Cause we'd both give a little
And their ain't no road to long
When you meet in the middle

It's been seven years tomorrow since we said our vows
Under that old pine tree, you ought to see it now
Standing in the back yard reminding me and you
That if we don't see eye to eye there's something we can do

I'd start walking your way
You'd start walking mine
We'd meet in the middle
'Neath that old Georgia pine
We'd gain a lot of ground
'Cause we'd both give a little
And their ain't no road to long
When you meet in the middle

Babe I love the way we work it out
That's what love's about

I'd start walking your way
You'd start walking mine
We'd meet in the middle
'Neath that old Georgia pine
We'd gain a lot of ground
'Cause we'd both give a little
And their ain't no road to long
When you meet in the middle

Gaucho Pants

I have a friend, Laura, who looks so good and Gaucho Pants. When I told her so she said that they were the most wonderful pants. She said that they are comfortable and wonderful. Well, Kohl's was having a sale so I decided to try some. Oh My Goodness, I wore them today and they were wonderful. They are VERY comfortable and have the look for a skirt/dress but the comfort of having pants on. I may have to get some more. (( For anyone who wants some and wears a petite there are some petite sizes on sale at Kohl's buy one get one free!!! ))

Butterflies

Today we finally got to wear a spring dress to worship. It was so fun. Thank you Maw Maw and Poppa Bob for the beautiful Butterfly dress. We thought of you all day and talked about how much Maw Maw loves butterflies!

Growing and Sharing

I am very thankful for growth. I think I have said that before. Oh well, I suppose you can't be too thankful. Hannah has started doing two new things very well the last couple of weeks. Standing up on her own and blowing bubbles. The blowing bubbles thing is getting a little old and, as you can see, a little messy. However, it is hard to look at her seriously and say in a very stern and authoritative voice "NO MAM" so she will stop, when you are laughing at it. Chris and I have to work on that one.





I am also very thankful for sharing. Chris and I have embraced Hand-Me-Downs and we love it. We can't say thank you enough to those who give us their Hand-Me-Downs. They are wonderful. This outfit she wore today is from someone and I just couldn't get over it. I thought it was so cute! There is a lot to be thankful for!

Favorite Friday

Today I will be telling you all about my favorite restaurant ever! I picked this and it was harder than I thought. I think everyone has favorites in categories, like favorite fast food place, favorite pizza place, and so on. Also, I have gone thru times in my life when different things were my favorite because of what I was close to or what I could afford or whatever. However, putting all things aside.. money, convenience, and everything. I think my all time favorite restaurant would be Olive Garden. I think that the "free" (I know I pay for it somehow) salad and bread sticks do the trick. I have never had anything there I didn't like. Yummmmmy! We live in a place where Olive Garden is very inconvenient but I hear one is coming soon. I am not sure we will have any money left if it is too close!

Philadelphia Oreo No-Bake Cheesecake

I think the Title speaks for itself.
I tried this recipe last weekend and it was great. Chris really liked it. And as most of you know, I really really like Oreos (even if they are nothing but a chunk of lard!) I just thought I would share. It is easy.

Ingredients:
1 package Oreo Cookies
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 packages of cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tub Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed

Line 13x9 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Coarsely chop 15 of the cookies; set aside. Finely crush remaining cookies; mix with butter. Press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and chopped cookies. Spoon over crust; cover.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

If you were at the Wild Game/Tame Game meal at church and you had some of this, you may not have gotten the full affect. Chris and I each ate one Oreo even though the recipe calls for all of the ones in the package. I apologize if you felt slighted because 2 Oreos were missing from the dessert.

Trial

I watch reality TV where they go into a person's home and life and follow them around with cameras. I like reality TV. I don't think anything of watching it.

Weird thing is, I have been watching some of the Mary Winkler trial and I feel nosy. Is that weird? Why should I feel nosy about this? This was an interesting case. I don't know how I feel about it. I am not sure that it matters how I feel about it. I think Chris has much stronger opinions on it than I do. He watched more of the trial and he definitely didn't feel bad about watching it. I can't imagine their family's heart. I can't imagine those children. For the rest of their lives, those children will be able to google their father's name and come up with terrible terrible things. For some reason, I keep wondering if she has handled this, from what I can see, as a Christian. I do understand I am not the judge and it doesn't matter what I "think" about this. I suppose, since we will never really know what happened on that day when Mary's husband didn't get a chance to get out of bed, that only God will know. I am thankful that I don't have to judge the hearts of others. I am thankful that I don't have to serve "just" punishments on those that "deserve" it.

Lord, please be with Mary Winkler's 3 daughters. Please take care of them, give them wisdom, and help them to have strength. Be with Mary Winkler as she lives with herself, and goes about in the community. Help her to know you and to fix her eyes on you and to love you. Lord, please be with Matthew Winkler's family as they are still facing and morning the loss of their loved one. Please help them to forgive Mary. Give them the strength to love her and forgive her and help her. Thank you for all you have given us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Preform

I have found a shoe that I really really like. It is called the Preform and is made by Mudd. I want a pair to match every shirt I wear with my khakis or jeans. I think they are so cute. Of course, I don't need them and it is so hard for me to pick what I would get if I only got one, but I like them so much. Am I too old to wear shoes like this? Aren't they the cutest!

Funny Story

In our Easter box from my parents, they put in a snack for Hannah. It is called Biter Biscuits. I looked at them and thought that was a little weird and did not understand why anyone would want their child to have something that was bitter. (( I thought I saw Bitter Biscuits when I looked at the box.)) I opened it up and they were big stick cookie like things. I decided I should try them just to see how bitter they are. I kept wondering how in the world I was going to get this broken up small enough for Hannah to eat. I bit into this thing and it was hard as a rock. I could not believe it. I just decided to put them up until she got older and had more teeth.

Yesterday my mom called and asked if we had let her try one of the snacks that they sent to Hannah and I round about said that I thought we would have to wait until she got older. My mom seemed confused and said that she meant to by something that she could gum and was meant for helping with teething. My mom said that she thought they were suppose to be hard so that she could bite down on them with her gums. I was then confused.

Chris said last night that he thought we should give her one to see what she thinks. We took them out of the pantry and then I realized what they really were. Well, she liked them and they are definitely Biter Biscuits NOT Bitter Biscuits. She had another one tonight and she loves them. I think they really do help her gums. It is her Mommy who has to get things straightened out. (( By the way, Stanley likes them too... Hannah shared. ))

FYI

More people are killed by donkeys than airplanes each year!

Parenting

I need comments from all who have raised or are raising their children in the Lord.
How can I read these Bible verses and not feel worried?
What if I am not doing what I should be?
I think I will be reading these every day for a while. I need them fresh in my head at all times.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NKJV)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Judgement

You knew I would have some things to share from worship today.

Acts 17:30-31 (NKJV)
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given reassurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.

Revelation 22:4 (NKJV)
They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

Does this mean that ignorance is no longer an excuse?
What does this mean about those who don't repent?
Aren't you thankful to serve a God who judges righteously?

Mr. Cottrell said something that made me smile tonight. He said (in my own words) that no matter where you stand with the Kingdom, aren't you a little nervous about seeing God's face? I am. I am not sure what I will do with such a humbling experience.

Basically, Mr. Cottrell put it all out there. There are 2 possible outcomes of the judgement and the choice of how you live your life is all yours. God could either say "Well Done!" or "Depart from Me!" That pretty much says it all, I suppose.

Canadian Goose

Tonight we went ate supper at the church building. It was Wild Game/Tame Game Night. This is a night that we have a big meal that all of the hunters in the congregation get to prepare. Chris is much more brave than I am when it comes to trying it all.

Chris ate duck, goose, fish, pig, and something else I think.. I can't remember.

I tried something new tonight that I really liked. It was Canadian Goose cooked and cut into bite size pieces. Then you would pick it up with a toothpick and dip it in spicy mustard and then in some sesame seeds. It was Yummmmmy! If you ever have a chance to try it, you should go for it.

I thought a picture of what I ate may help with the mental image.

(Sorry, Elizabeth!)

Mornings

Chris and I have been blessed with a child who is Happy in the mornings. Monday thru Friday when we have to wake her up, she sits up in her bed, rubs her eyes, looks up at you, and gives you a big smile. On the weekends, when we let her sleep until she wants to get up, she will wake up and just talk and play and not cry at all. It is all very amazing. She is amazing!

Well, there is definitely one way to know that she is her mother's daughter. She takes her Cheerios very seriously. As you can see. However, the biggest difference in me and her is that she does not mind sharing her Cheerios with ANYONE. Daddy, Mommy, Stanley... Whatever.

Favorite Friday

Today the topic is Favorite Children's Book. This is difficult because I am sure if I really racked my brain I could think of some from when I was a kid and then some that I hope for Hannah to have that I have read other places and then ones that Hannah actually has and I read to her. All that to say I have decided, for me, I am going to narrow this down to my favorite children's book that I have read to Hannah. Sara Jo, I hope that is OK with you.

The name of it is Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram.
It is about a parent and a child talking to each other one night before bed. This is how it goes:
Child: Guess how much I love you.
Parent: Oh, I don't think I could guess that.
Child stretches his arms out and says "this much."
Parent stretches his arms out and says "but I love you this much."
Child: I love you as high as I can reach.
Parent: I love you as high as I can reach.
And it goes on something like that for a few pages.
Then the child is getting SO sleepy and looks up and thinks that nothing can be farther than the sky. As the child lays his head down to sleep he looks at his parent and says "I love you right up to the moon." The child falls asleep and the parent kisses him good night and whispers in his ear, "I love you right up to the moon and back."

How sweet. I really like that story.
I am so thankful for children's books.

Coke Bottle Toys

These are Hannah's first coke bottle toys at home. She actually goes to them to play with just as much as she does at school. We put an Easter gift in one... one of those bendy rabbits. And in the other we put some of my fake berries and flowers that I decorate around the house with sometimes. If you haven't done this yet, you should really try it.

Being a Mother

I am so thankful for being a mother. I have really begun to realize that there is new insight, when reading the scriptures as a mother. This scripture was read tonight in class and I see this scripture differently now that I am a mother.

Matthew 10:34-40 (New American Standard Version)
(( Jesus is sending out the twelve and giving them some instruction. vs.5 ))
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

Discoveries

Discovery #1
You can not edit font on your blog! My last entry I thought I would experiment with font. I don't like what I did and I have tried to change it at least 10 times and nothing! Font is not something you can edit!

Discovery #2
www.rightbankbabies.com. I read about it in a magazine. It is baby clothes and accessories. Of course, it said this is what the celebs children wear so I can not afford anything. BUT I really like these play pants and they have some beautiful reversible dresses! This is the website I go to and dream. Actually, most of the stuff looks easy enough to make. I just wish I could.

Ramblings

For all of you who blog I have a question. When you are going to do a new blog do you ever look at the oldest one on your page and think to yourself... Oh Man, if I write a new blog that one will go into archive and not be on the front page any more??? I do. I almost didn't want to write this one because of it. Silly, I know.

I wanted to share a new "toy" we have discovered for Hannah. This may be old news to you but I, oddly enough, had never thought of it. When we take her to Day Care we noticed that we sit her down on the floor and she goes straight to the toy shelf and pulls off the same toy every time. You will never guess what it is. It is just an empty small coke bottle that has been washed, the label taken off of it, and something interesting put in it. She can hold it, the top feels good on her teeth when she chews on it, and she loves looking inside of it and shaking it. Chris and I have bought a 6 pack of coke bottles to drink at work so that we can save them and make her some here at home. At the Day Care they put fake flowers in them, beans, and even water with food coloring in them to teach them their colors. Just a thought for any of you who have a lot of empty coke or water bottles... Recycle them in your own home... Just an idea.

The other thing I wanted to blog about since I have been sharing my books with you is a funny story. The writer of the books that I am reading now is Ann Brashers. I thought I would look on Amazon to see if there is anything other than The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants that she has written. Only one, and it was after the Sisterhood books and the description says that she has now officially written her first book for adults. That is right, the books I am reading now are not meant for adults! Oh well, I will admit it... I still like 'em. By the way the name of the book is The Last Summer (of You and Me).

I also saw on Amazon that you could preorder a book named The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. Has anyone else heard of this? I looked on his website and there was nothing about it. I need to do some more research and if there is a new one coming out I NEED to order it. (Do I know the different between a need and a want?? humm..)

Last thing, Mr. Cottrell's sermon on Sunday was about God's invitation. I think the scripture can speak for itself. It was wonderful!

Matthew 11:28-30 (New American Standard Version)
Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.

Thanks Nana!

I was so excited that my mom said she wanted to make some clothes for Hannah like the ones she made for me. We got a wonderful package in the mail with the first batch of clothes from Nana and we were instructed to try them on to see what we thought. Here are just a couple of the pictures from the modeling sessions with the clothes from Nana. And thanks, mom, by the way for the bows to match, even if some of them were a little big! We love it all!

Happy Easter

Today was Easter and of course, we were hoping Hannah could wear some white sandals and a springy sleeveless dress. Unfortunately, here, it was the coldest Easter in history! Unbelievable. So, we improvised. We found a jumper type wrap around dress in Hannah's closet that has spring like things on it. Butterflies and Flowers. Then we put a long sleeve onesie under it and some light pink tights and called it Hannah's Easter Dress. It ended up being perfect. Thank you, Aunt Melissa for picking out and giving us our Easter Dress! (Even though that might not have been what you were thinking when you bought it.)

No Baby Food

Today was the first day that we went all day without giving Hannah any baby food. It was so fun. At breakfast when she normally has her oatmeal cereal made with her milk she had dry Cheerios (or Cheeris as I call them now, thanks to Chloe). For lunch when she normally has a jar of #2 baby food veggies, she had frozen peas and carrots that had been cooked. For snack when she normally has a jar of #2 baby food fruit she had some cut up bananas. For supper when she normally has half a jar of #2 baby food veggie and half a jar of #2 baby food fruit she had some macaroni and cheese and green beans. Chris and I had the same thing for supper but with some pork. It was really fun and I think Hannah really likes having the food in front of her to pick up and eat herself. It is, of course, also much easier for us.

If you know me you know I really like mac and cheese and so since tonight was the first night Hannah had ever had mac and cheese I had to take pictures. Oh, and Hannah also knows how to drink out of a straw so she had some watered down apple juice with her supper tonight. I think she loved it.

Old

I now have the opinion that Malls are CRAZY! I think that makes me officially old.

Also, my daughter now has some real shoes. I know she is my first and she is only 9 months old but seeing her with those shoes on made her look so big. I just can't believe that kids really do grow up that fast. These are the shoes she got. Hopefully pictures of her in them will follow. They are so cute!