Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Giving Love Away
don't you feel good when you give? i wish i was rich so i could just give and give. but as it is i can't give much money but i can give my time. and our church Next Level is Giving Love Away. we adopted a title one school, which by definition is a school with at least 50% of the students getting free or reduced lunch. the school we adopted is at 91%. they don't have a lot of anything. some of the kids don't have coats. and when they eat at school, that may be the only meal they get during the day. so our fearless leaders put together a plan. we wanted every child in the school (about 550) to get a gift for Christmas. melissa jackson (who rocks!) got bags labeled with either boy or girl and their grade. then we as a congregation were challenged to fill them with gloves, a hat and a 5 dollar toy. then we had a toothbrush, toothpaste and candy for each bag. AND the church is going to provide a uniform shirt for each child. talk about a lot of stuff! of course someone was going to have to go through all these bags and make sure everyone got what they were supposed to. and i was one of the lucky ones to get to do that. we met this morning about 9 and worked until we were done. which was only about 10:30! we were super fast. we had a great time! getting to just talk and goof off and feel good about what we were doing. i didn't know everyone so i got to meet some new people. we had Christmas music and candy to keep us in the mood. it didn't even feel like work. it was just plain fun!
i'm so glad i belong to a church that cares so much about others. THANK YOU NEXT LEVEL!
and as a laugh...monkey and i were talking about the Christmas story. we were talking about how mary must have felt when the angel appeared to her. how she was scared but determined to do what God asked of her. i told him that some people were mad at her because she was going to have a baby and she wasn't married. he said "yeah they were mad like an angry MOM!" (get it, supposed to be mob.) i thought it was funny!~
i'm so glad i belong to a church that cares so much about others. THANK YOU NEXT LEVEL!
and as a laugh...monkey and i were talking about the Christmas story. we were talking about how mary must have felt when the angel appeared to her. how she was scared but determined to do what God asked of her. i told him that some people were mad at her because she was going to have a baby and she wasn't married. he said "yeah they were mad like an angry MOM!" (get it, supposed to be mob.) i thought it was funny!~
Monday, December 15, 2008
white trash again
everyone enjoyed this recipe so much last year, i'm posting it again.
this is one of my favorite holiday snacks. i love to make this to give as gifts to friends, teachers, mailmen (or women!), etc. my family LOVES this stuff and it's super easy to make. i'm going to post this in the style of my friend crystal.
first thing is to gather all of your ingredients together.
5 cups Cheerios (heaping cups!)
5 cups Rice Chex Cereal (heaping cups!)
10oz package mini pretzels
2 12oz packages white chocolate chips
1lb plain M&M’s
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (or cashews) if you like. i leave them out
2 Tbsp oil
(i use store brand whenever possible)
mix your dry ingredients together in a really, really big bowl. i have a 32 cup tupperware bowl that works just right.
pour the white chocolate chips and oil into a bowl. (i like a glass one) put it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. be very careful that the bowl and the spoon are dry. any water will cause your chocolate to seize-up and you will have to throw it away.
try to keep the kids from eating all the M&M's.
your chocolate should be shiny and smooth.
pour the chocolate over the dry ingredients and start stirring. this will be hard to do as there is so much stuff in the bowl. just keep on keeping on. you will break some of the pretzels and cereal but they are still good to eat that way! stir and stir and stir until it's all coated. then lay it out on wax paper to dry. (notice i ran out of wax paper and foil works fine too.)
this is what it looks like when it's done. be prepared to share this recipe with everyone you give some to!
White Trash
5 cups Cheerios
5 cups Rice Chex Cereal
10oz package mini pretzels
2 12oz packages white chocolate chips
1lb plain M&M’s
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (or cashews)
2 Tbsp oil
this is one of my favorite holiday snacks. i love to make this to give as gifts to friends, teachers, mailmen (or women!), etc. my family LOVES this stuff and it's super easy to make. i'm going to post this in the style of my friend crystal.
first thing is to gather all of your ingredients together.
5 cups Cheerios (heaping cups!)
5 cups Rice Chex Cereal (heaping cups!)
10oz package mini pretzels
2 12oz packages white chocolate chips
1lb plain M&M’s
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (or cashews) if you like. i leave them out
2 Tbsp oil
(i use store brand whenever possible)
mix your dry ingredients together in a really, really big bowl. i have a 32 cup tupperware bowl that works just right.
pour the white chocolate chips and oil into a bowl. (i like a glass one) put it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. be very careful that the bowl and the spoon are dry. any water will cause your chocolate to seize-up and you will have to throw it away.
try to keep the kids from eating all the M&M's.
your chocolate should be shiny and smooth.
pour the chocolate over the dry ingredients and start stirring. this will be hard to do as there is so much stuff in the bowl. just keep on keeping on. you will break some of the pretzels and cereal but they are still good to eat that way! stir and stir and stir until it's all coated. then lay it out on wax paper to dry. (notice i ran out of wax paper and foil works fine too.)
this is what it looks like when it's done. be prepared to share this recipe with everyone you give some to! 
White Trash
5 cups Cheerios
5 cups Rice Chex Cereal
10oz package mini pretzels
2 12oz packages white chocolate chips
1lb plain M&M’s
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (or cashews)
2 Tbsp oil
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Christmas meme
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? i use both but prefer wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - Love the smell of real trees, but artificial is more economical, and less messy.
3. When do you put up the tree? i would put it up right after Thanksgiving but my DH is a bit of a humbug and he would wait until Christmas Eve if i let him! we put it up yesterday
4. When do you take the tree down? after sassy leaves
5. Do you like eggnog? yum. especially with the rye peggy puts in it!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? baby doll crib was my favorite but i also loved my Sunshine Family Van
7. Hardest person to buy for? i think everyone on my list is easy to buy for
8. Easiest person to buy for? me! ha no my kids are easiest i guess
9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes 5 of them. one of just Mary, Joseph and Jesus. i have had that one since we got married. i have one that is mice, one that is small enough for monkey to play with, on that is Party Lite candles and one that is Veggie Tales!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? i love to do picture cards but usually the time sneaks up on me and i don't get them out. so far this year i haven't. i wanted to get a pix of the boys but monkey got a huge scratch on his face from a friends dog and looks like he has been in a fight. so i'm waiting for that to heal up.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? my hubby tends to buy things he thinks i will like and i usually don't
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? sometimes in july sometimes in december!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No but i have been tempted
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? white trash!!
16. Lights on the tree? yes and lots of them!!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Do You Hear What I Hear
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? we get up do gifts, go to grandma's, do more gifts, come home, do more gifts
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? we had an angel my sis made but my mom bought a star she didn't like and gave it to us so we use that. it lights up!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one on Christmas Eve the rest at 4am
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? my kids seeing commercials and saying "I want that for Christmas!" and the stress of making sure you get it all done
23. What theme or color are you using? HA! theme!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? i would like to do something besides the normal tradish stuff but i guess i will go with the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? surprises!!
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - Love the smell of real trees, but artificial is more economical, and less messy.
3. When do you put up the tree? i would put it up right after Thanksgiving but my DH is a bit of a humbug and he would wait until Christmas Eve if i let him! we put it up yesterday
4. When do you take the tree down? after sassy leaves
5. Do you like eggnog? yum. especially with the rye peggy puts in it!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? baby doll crib was my favorite but i also loved my Sunshine Family Van
7. Hardest person to buy for? i think everyone on my list is easy to buy for
8. Easiest person to buy for? me! ha no my kids are easiest i guess
9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes 5 of them. one of just Mary, Joseph and Jesus. i have had that one since we got married. i have one that is mice, one that is small enough for monkey to play with, on that is Party Lite candles and one that is Veggie Tales!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? i love to do picture cards but usually the time sneaks up on me and i don't get them out. so far this year i haven't. i wanted to get a pix of the boys but monkey got a huge scratch on his face from a friends dog and looks like he has been in a fight. so i'm waiting for that to heal up.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? my hubby tends to buy things he thinks i will like and i usually don't
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? sometimes in july sometimes in december!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No but i have been tempted
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? white trash!!
16. Lights on the tree? yes and lots of them!!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Do You Hear What I Hear
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? we get up do gifts, go to grandma's, do more gifts, come home, do more gifts
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? we had an angel my sis made but my mom bought a star she didn't like and gave it to us so we use that. it lights up!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one on Christmas Eve the rest at 4am
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? my kids seeing commercials and saying "I want that for Christmas!" and the stress of making sure you get it all done
23. What theme or color are you using? HA! theme!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? i would like to do something besides the normal tradish stuff but i guess i will go with the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? surprises!!
Monday, December 1, 2008
cassidy
we had to put our kitty cassidy down this morning. we found out last week that she had heart disease and was not going to get better. they gave her some medication over the weekend and said if she didn't get better by monday that we needed to do it. it's so hard. and so sad. especially since she was monkey's kitty. so we are focusing on the funny stuff that she did.
climbing the curtains!!
her favorite toy...the paintbrush!
how high she could jump!
her love of all things pumpkin!
her dog...
her boy...
we will miss you cassidy!
climbing the curtains!!
her favorite toy...the paintbrush!
how high she could jump!
her love of all things pumpkin!
her dog...
her boy...
we will miss you cassidy!
Monday, November 24, 2008
one little indian
monkey and i did an indian craft today. we made a vest and a headband with feathers. isn't he adorable!! and such a ham! tomorrow we make a pilgrims hat. he really could care less about that! he is all into the indians. when i asked him why he said "because indians have bow and arrows." spoken like a true boy.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Justice Project
When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings. Deuteronomy 24:19
i just returned home from the Justice Project, an outreach our church has our life groups involved in. each life group was given a family to encourage and to pray for that has specific needs, mostly financial. we spent time talking to our families and finding out what they needed and provided them with a Thanksgiving meal and in our case, clothes for the children and cleaning supplies. i have never been in this part of my town before. and i have lived here for 30 years! the justice project is not just about helping the poor and needy but opening your hearts to them. not just about praying for the poor but doing something about it. about being an ear for someone who needs to talk. about taking them coffee just to say i'm thinking about you. not just dirty knees from praying but dirty hands from helping. this is my first time involved in doing something like this and man it really hit me hard. the lady that sent us out talked to us about what God said about the poor. when He had the priests send up burnt offerings to Him, the meat was used to feed the priests and the poor. so even God remembered them. and when His people harvested their crops He told them to leave the edges for the poor to glean from. in other words, God tithes to the poor. i have never thought about that before. i have no problem giving $$ if i can but never think about doing any more than that. i want to be involved. the justice project was a real eye opener for me. i am so proud to be part of a church community that wants to help others. i was shocked at how many people showed up today!! thank you next level for helping me get to the next level!!
i just returned home from the Justice Project, an outreach our church has our life groups involved in. each life group was given a family to encourage and to pray for that has specific needs, mostly financial. we spent time talking to our families and finding out what they needed and provided them with a Thanksgiving meal and in our case, clothes for the children and cleaning supplies. i have never been in this part of my town before. and i have lived here for 30 years! the justice project is not just about helping the poor and needy but opening your hearts to them. not just about praying for the poor but doing something about it. about being an ear for someone who needs to talk. about taking them coffee just to say i'm thinking about you. not just dirty knees from praying but dirty hands from helping. this is my first time involved in doing something like this and man it really hit me hard. the lady that sent us out talked to us about what God said about the poor. when He had the priests send up burnt offerings to Him, the meat was used to feed the priests and the poor. so even God remembered them. and when His people harvested their crops He told them to leave the edges for the poor to glean from. in other words, God tithes to the poor. i have never thought about that before. i have no problem giving $$ if i can but never think about doing any more than that. i want to be involved. the justice project was a real eye opener for me. i am so proud to be part of a church community that wants to help others. i was shocked at how many people showed up today!! thank you next level for helping me get to the next level!!
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