Thanksgiving Greetings...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Birthday Wishes Dad...

I would like to wish my Dad a very Happy Birthday.

I am very glad that God gave me such a great Dad!

Dad, I love you very much!

Cathing Up Before Thanksgiving...

Hi there friends! After yet another absence I am back and hopefully for at least a few weeks. THe past few weeks have been very busy.

My Mom and Dad came for a visit on Veteran's Day weekend. It was so wonderful to see them. We had a great time shopping, visiting, eating, and cooking together. Since my DH and I will not be traveling home to Florida for Thanksgiving, while my parents were here we made a Thanksgiving dinner. I will share some pictures from it tomorrow.

Last night, I had my second big event of my church job, the Annual Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out very well and for the first time in a few weeks, I don't feel like I am forgetting to do something. We had the meal catered and several ladies from the church provided the homemade desserts. The food was great, the fellowship was nice, and the decorations turned a school gym into a "banquet hall."

So with the dinner now finished, I am looking forward to seeing how all of you are doing.

November Greetings...

Hello dear friends and Happy November!

I really can't believe that October is gone and we have only a few weeks left until Thanksgiving. November is now upon and it is finally starting to feel "fally" around here (thank goodness, because I have been dying to wear a sweater).

I am very excited about the month of November. It is a very good month because the two most precious men in my life will celebrate their birthdays this month. My Dad's birthday the 20th and my DH's birthday is the 23rd.

November also holds Thanksgiving and I always love that time of year. It brings back such warm and happy memories.

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing recipes and Thanksgiving ideas.

I hope that all of you have a great Monday!

Back (Again)...

Hello dear friends!

I have once again had a longer absence than I had hoped, but that is just the way things are happening during this season of my life. More about that to come...

I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers these last few weeks. I praise God that He has been faithful to me this last year and has given me peace and hope about the future. Thanks again for all of your warm thoughts.

Last weekend, our church had our Marriage Retreat. It went off very well and I was very pleased considering I was the one in charge of all the arrangements. We had 9 couples participate in the retreat and the facility that we used was simply great. My wheels are already starting to turn about ideas for next year's retreat.
Above is a picture of the baskets that I made to go in each of the couple's room. The baskets had a pair of slipper socks, a deck of cards, three tea lights, a box of matches, several pieces of Hershey Reserve Cacao Squares, a retreat schedule, and print outs of two player card games for the couples to play. Overall, the baskets cost less than $5 each.

Above is my DH and I at the marriage retreat.

Between the work I am doing for our church, finishing up my nutrition class, and watching children, I have been very busy and haven't had any spare time. However, this is just a season that will last until the end of the semester.

I look forward to catching up with all of you!

My Precious Baby...

Today marks the one year anniversary since my DH and I had a miscarriage and we lost our first baby within a month of finding out we were going to be parents. This past year has been very hard in many respects. It has had its ups and its downs. I still don't understand why God chose to take my baby on to heaven before it was even born. However, I do know that He is keeping me safe in His hands and He knows what He is doing.

So, I am dedicating this post to my little baby who will never know anything but heaven. However brief those few weeks filled with precious feelings of excitement and joy about being a mom were, my life has been forever changed because of my little baby.

God has brought me through this past year and He will continue to bring me through each new day and the trials that are set before me. I am resting in knowing that and praising God because He has taken my sorrow and turned it into peace.

Below is a song written by the musical group named Watermark. This is the song that they wrote after they lost their own baby. This song makes me cry sometimes and sometimes it makes me smile but it always provides me with peace.


Glory Baby, You slipped away
As fast as we could say baby, baby
You were growing, what happened Dear,
You disappeared on us baby, baby

Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe
Until we're home with you
Until we're home with you

CHORUS
We miss you everyday, miss you in every way
But we know there's a day when we will hold you, we will hold you
And you'll kiss our tears away, when we're home to stay
We can't wait for the day when we will see you, we will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you, until mom and dad can hold you
You'll just have heaven before we do
You'll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little baby, it's hard to understand it
Cause we are hurting, we are hurting
But there is healing, and we know we're stronger people
Through the growing, and in knowing

All things work together for our good
And God works his purposes
Just like he said he would, just like he said he would

BRIDGE
I can't imagine Heaven's lullabies
And what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing
Heaven is your home
And it's all you'll ever know, all you'll ever know

San Antonio Glimpses...

Hi everyone! I hope that all of you have had a great week. Mine has been very well and very busy.

My DH and I went to San Antonio this past weekend and had a great time. Our hotel overlooked the Riverwalk and we had a great time just relaxing and spending time with each other.

On Friday on the way to San Antonio, my DH brought me to several fabric stores because I don't have a really good selection where we live. I bought some wonderful vintage 30's and 40's reprints. I just can't wait to make something with them.

For dinner on Friday night, my DH and I went to eat at The Cheesecake Factory (CF). It was DELICIOUS! I had been to a CF before in Baltimore, but my DH had never been. We both enjoyed our meal and ordered our own piece of cheesecake. With all of the choices, it was very hard to choose which kind to go with. I finally wound up picking Chocolate Coconut Macaroon Cheesecake. It was absolutely wonderful. If any of you ever get the chance to go to a CF you should definitely go.

We went to the Guenther House for breakfast on Saturday morning. It was very delicious and I bought some of their bread mixes. They had complimentary coffee while we were waiting to be seated. The coffee was in this little covered wagon.

We sat on a shady bench while we waited for our table. Below is a picture of us.


That afternoon we went to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. I took lots of pictures while we were there of flowers. However, I did get a really cute picture of my DH.

And a cute picture of us.

The rest of the day, we walked around the Riverwalk, took a boat ride on the river, and drove around the King William Historic District. Friday, we got all dressed up and went to the Landing Jazz Club. They actually are the musicians that are on NPR's Riverwalk Jazz. We enjoyed sitting there listening to the music. After we left there, we had an 11 p.m. dinner reservation at Boudro's and we got to eat dinner outside on the Riverwalk. Afterwards, we walked around until after midnight. I didn't get any pictures of us dressed up, rats!

The next morning, we ate a late breakfast and then went and had a Old West photo taken. I was a western bell and my DH was a gunslinger. It was really fun!

After we left downtown, we went to Whole Foods and I got to go grocery shopping.

And that is what happened on our trip to San Antonio.

Apples Galore...

I hope that you have had a great Tuesday. Mine was good but very busy (as usual). I watched the two year old (AK) today and we had fun making some goodies to bring up to my DH's work. We had company over for dinner and I had to do some quick tidying up before our company came but after AK left.

Last night I took took 8 lbs. of apples and turned them into 3 quarts of applesauce. I used Honeycrisp apples and my DH really liked the way it tasted. My DH doesn't like sweet applesauce but slightly tart so the Honeycrisp apples were a good choice.

Today, AK and I took the apples below and the contents of the pot...







and turned them into...

Caramel Apples.

Mrs. Wilt, over at The Sparrow's Nest, had a post about the caramel apples that she made. When I saw hers, I was just dying to try to make my own. So I did, with the "supervision" of AK.

We made plain caramel, caramel rolled in pecan pieces, caramel rolled in mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, and caramel rolled in nut topping.



























I wrapped them in Cling Wrap and then tied them with a piece of raffia. I brought them up to my DH's office and they were a big hit. I am very excited that they turned out so well and yummy!

I have about 12 more pounds of apples to put up tomorrow. I am going to put up some apple pie filling and some Pecan-Apple Waffles. After that, I don't think I will have any more posts about apples.

By the way, I thought that I would share the picture advertisment below just for laughs. My mom sent me this picture and I just completely cracked up laughing. It is amazing what using the right kind of conditioner can do to your hair. I hope you get a chuckle out of this.

Pears, Floors, and Apples...

Hello Everyone! I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend and that you had beautiful fall weather to enjoy.

I have had a very good weekend and end of last week. I got a whole lot of things accomplished and I can't wait to share the pictures.

On Tuesday evening I put the contents below to good use. (Mrs. U, here are my cute gloves from Target. They were only $1.)


I scrubbed my "in very bad need of a good scrubbing" kitchen floor. I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed away. I was very happy with the end result and that has led me to be very, very particular about the kitchen floor. Oh well!


Every Wednesday I have the day "off" so to speak. All that that means is I am not watching any children and I usually don't have any work to do for my job at the church. Each week, I have been trying to undertake a project from start to finish on my day "off" and this week I tried a first, I canned.

When I was young my Mom used to put up Pear Honey. Well last weekend, my DH bought some pears at the Farmer's Market. He ate a few but we still had a whole bag left over, so I started tasting the Pear Honey in my mind and decided I would make some and put it up.

So, last Wednesday I went shopping around for some jars. I found some of the really cute "squatty" ones and put up eight 8 ounce jars and one 16 ounce jar of Pear Honey. All of them turned out well and I was very proud of myself for my newfound accomplishment. In fact, my DH and I had a social event to go to tonight at one of the department head's home and I brought her a can of the Pear Honey as a hostess gift (I didn't take a picture of it with the tag and raffia on it though).

I also went to the grocery and they had a spread of all different types of apples. The presence of these apples and a new recipe I found gave me the urge to make an apple pie. So, with the help of my DH peeling the apples, I made an apple pie from scratch (crust and all). I even made it look "fallish" and it tasted delicious.










I do believe that this has started something because I can't wait to can something else. I just feel so productive and proud to look at the jars that I filled and sealed. For the knowledge I have a about canning, I need to thank my Mom and Dad for the lessons through the years, even though I fussed and told them that I would serve my children Green Giant instead of going through all of the work.

Who knew it was this much fun and tasted so good!?!?!?!

October is Here...

Happy October 1st everyone.

I really cannot believe that October is here already and fall is fixing to be in full swing. I can tell the fall sunlight as it twinkles through the trees. However, I have not started to feel the coolness of fall. I hope that it is coming soon though.

I am very excited about this month, my life is falling into some sort of a routine and I am feeling excited about the time ahead. What all do you have going on this month???

My DH and I are going to take a short little overnight trip this month to San Antonio so I am getting excited about that. We are going to go to the Symphony and eat at some of the restaurants that have been featured in Southern Living.

I am also in charge of a Marriage Retreat for my church and that will be at the end of the month, so I am currently working on the little welcome baskets for the rooms. I will post pictures as the baskets are finished.

The 22nd of the month will be one year since my miscarriage. This month I know will have its ups and downs with the approaching of this day. However, in my weakness, I am trying to cling to God and trust in the fact that He has me safely in His hands. Ironically, that is where the name of my blog came from, resting on God during the past year.

I had high hopes of doing a fall tour of my home for all of you. However, doing this fell lower on the list than the laundry and the floors. So, I hope to have a tour tomorrow.

Sending Hugs and Wishes of a Wonderful October!

Catching Up...

Hello Everybody! I do believe that I am back for good now, at least that is what it appearing like now. I have been really busy with my church job and child-sitting. However, they are going well and I am finally starting to not feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So, that is very promising.

I am taking a Nutrition class right now and really learning how to plan a truly healthy menu. It is very neat to learn about how your body processes food and what nutrients are in what. I am very excited about putting all that I am learning to good use. I am also excited because I will be completely finished with all of the classes I need to earn my BA degree. I was trying to get some other classes finished in the spring and summer but they didn't work out. However, come December 16th I will be as free as a bird and I will graduate in May (FINALLY)!

I can't wait to catch up with all of you and see what is going on in your lives.

Busy as a Bee...

Hi Everybody! I am so very sorry that I have not been posting and visiting your blogs. The school year is in full swing which means that I am once again extremely busy. I am working for our church and I also watch a 3 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. So, my days have been packed full.

However, I hope to be back in a solid routine within the next few weeks and then my life may contain a bit of normality (which means I can get back to blogging again).

Have a great day!

New Work...

Hi everybody! Today (now it would yesterday) was a very busy day. My DH and I went out with some other people from our church and participated at the Church Fair at the college here in town. We had a good time and got to meet several people. However, it was very hot and the sun was blazing. We were there from 11-2 and it was outside. It was exciting because as part of my new job at the church, I got to design the fliers we handed out.

This evening I have been working on the image that I will use for the marriage retreat I am heading up in the fall. Here are the two ideas I've had, both are very different from each other. Let me know which one you like the best so I can decide which one to use a little easier.

These ducks were at the gardens we went to while visiting Florida.

The above picture is actually from my wedding!

Show and Tell Friday for August 17th...

Happy Friday to everyone! It cannot believe that another week is coming to a close. Summer is quickly ending. However, today Kelli is once again hosting Show & Tell Friday. So why don't you join us?

This week I would like to show everyone an apron that my Grandmother gave me for my birthday this year. It is a vintage apron with beautiful hand embroidery. I love vintage aprons and my Grandma said that as soon as she saw it, she knew I would love it. It has ric-rac sewn onto the edge to give it some personality and a button waist closure.


Because I have always wanted to learn how to embroider, the apron gave me an idea. My Grandma knows how to embroider. So, I asked her if she would help me make a reproduction of the apron she gave me so that she could teach the stitches. We spent two days together talking and visiting while we worked on it. We didn't get it finished but I will share pictures of it when I do.

Thanks for sharing Show and Tell Friday with me. Go on over to Kelli's and join in on the fun.

The Closet Episode...

Okay, so early last week, I was sitting at my desk (which is right next to the closet) and I started hearing this sound kind of like water. I look up, and the shelf started falling. The end result was a big hole in the wall and clothes all over the place.


Of course, since I did not think that the closet was organized to produce the most storage space, I asked my husband if we could completely redo the shelving. I decided that I wanted the wire track shelving like we put installed in my laundry room. So, when my DH and I went to Lowe's to price the supplies we started thinking about redoing the two other closets as well. All of them had a great deal of wasted space and in our little house I can use all the storage space I can get. They all had a single shelf that basically split the space between the floor and the ceiling, that was it.

My DH and I wound up having to repaint the closets and patch the walls. So, this translated into the whole back of our house looking more like a tornado had just gone by. The beds were piled up with clothes and boxes.









We finished the closets on Friday and I am very happy with the way they turned out. I gained a whole lot more storage space. For instance in one closet, instead of just having 1 9' shelf. I now have 2 9' shelves, 2 4' shelves, and 4 18" shelves. I actually have more storage than I need for once. Here are the end results, the one on the right is the same closet as in the previous pictures.
I turned the little closet in our bedroom into a double hang closet. I am using the other closet to hold coats and dresses.














I also got ride of two trash bags full of clothes and shoes because they either didn't fit or I didn't wear them.

Yummy Carrot Cake...

My, my! It has been two weeks since I last posted, that it pitiful. However, I do have a lot to show for my brief absence. My DH and I have gotten a whole lot accomplished around here.

One thing I have done was have some dear friends over for dinner. For dessert, I made my DH's favorite, Paula Dean's Carrot Cake. It disappeared a few days later, with some help from my DH and I and our friends. It was very good though. The Recipe is from The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook.

Grandma Hier's Carrot Cake
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 c. grated carrots
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil and mix well: add carrots and pecans. Pour into three 9-inch round greased, floured pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxpaper, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
8 Tbl. (1 stick) butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients except for nut and beat until fluffy. Stir in nuts. Frost cake.

Welcome August...

Wow! I really can't believe that the summer is almost over. It went by so very quickly. However, a new month is now upon us and hot it may be. I hope that before the school year starts, you get the chance to have a picnic with those you love and a chance to enjoy the sunshine. On these hot summer days when the sun is shining bright I am reminded of a song from my childhood.

"This is the day...that the Lord has made...I will rejoice...and be glad in it."

August will once again bring a routine and schedule to my household. With the summer, my DH and I are more likely to stay up late and in turn sleep later than we should as well. So, in some ways I am looking forward to school starting back. I have been getting the ground work for my new job laid out and preparing our house for the fall. At the very end of August, my family will be visiting from Florida and I am very excited about that.

So that being said, I would like to wish a happy August filled with blessing from above!

Muddy Puppy...

Our dog Dozer has been making quite a mess the last couple of day. He has taken to digging out the rocks that sit below our A/C condensation run-off line. As a result, he has been making a mess in the mud and coming to the back door looking like he is in camouflage.

A New Job...

I am very excited to announce that I will begin a new job in mid-August. It is just the job for me and I will enjoy what I will be doing immensely.

A month or so ago, our pastor asked me if I was looking for a job in the fall. Because I enjoy being home (and we have the financial means so that I don't have to work outside of the home right now), I haven't been actively looking for a job that would put my outside of our home. However, if I could find a job that I could do from home, it would be a blessing so that my DH and I could save up some money for when we have our first child.

A month or so ago, our pastor asked me if I was looking for a job in the fall and asked if I was interested in a job for the church. He had a few other people that he was thinking about for the job and asked my DH and I if we would be praying about it. When my DH and I got back from our trip to Florida, our pastor told me that he wanted me to do the job and said we would meet and work out the details.

Today, I met with our pastor to discuss the details of the job. I will be basically the church Public Relations (PR) person and church "administrator." It is great because I will work about 10 hours a week, but it will be from my home. I will be doing PR things which is what my major in college was.

Isn't it neat how God works!

In celebration of my new job, my DH took me out for a celebration dinner. We went to T.G.I. Friday's (which is one of my favorite places to eat).

I just wanted to pass on my good news. I hope that all of you have a blessed day!