Sister Times...

Hi everybody! I hope that all of your had a wonderful weekend. I have a great one.

My sister came to visit e for the weekend and we had a wonderful time. She flew in on Friday morning and left yesterday evening. It was so wonderful to spend tome with her.

On Friday, we went to a living history museum and an aquarium. We had a great time wondering around talking about the animals and our lives. After that we went shopping and then watched South Pacific.

On Saturday, we went to a unique little local store and then to the mall. We found matching shirts that were really cute. Then we came back home and soaked our feet and did pedicures. That evening, we went to see the play "The Importance of Being Earnest." We had a wonderful time.

Then yesterday, we went to church and then went to T.G.I. Friday's to celebrate my birthday. Then we drove to the airport to pick up my DH. After we picked him up, we went to dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. Then she had to get on her plane to go home.

Here are some pictures from the living history museum. (My sister has all of the pictures of both of us on her camera.)

Here are a few pictures from the Aquarium.

Here is the picture from my birthday lunch.

Prayer Request Update...

First, let me say thanks to all of you for your prayers. I appreciate them very much.

I have heard back from my hematologist. The first thing I found out was the actual effect the Anitcardiolipin Antibody has on my blood. One thing that scared me the most was since these antibodies were the reason I get a blood clot in the past, I was wondering if since the number was so high if my blood was thicker. The answer is no, the antibodies being there only represent the fact that I have a higher risk of developing blood clots. The problem with the antibodies is when I get pregnant, because I have a very high chance of developing blood clots then (which is another different story). For the present moment, I am just keeping a close watch on my limbs to make sure that I don't have any swelling because that could mean I have a blood clot.

The hematologist still does not know why I am having these high levels of the antibody. He doesn't seemed worried about it until I become pregnant again. I, on the other hand, would like to know the cause and not just deal with the symptoms when they pop up. I may try to set up an appointment in order to voice my concerns about it.

So, that is where I am currently...

Once again, thanks so much for the prayers. We serve the Creator of All and He knows what is going on, even though I don't. This is really a good reminder of why I decided the name of my blog should be "Held in His Hands" because no matter what is going on in my life, I can hold (cling) to the fact that God is holding me in His hands.

A Prayer Request...

Last week I went to the doctor to get some blood work done. I got my results back today. The level of my Anticardiolipin Antibody was extremely high. My current level is at 48. The high end of normal is 11. I ask for your prayers at this time because, I am not sure what all of this means. Back in January and February I was going to a hematologist because of a spike in my levels last winter. The results were good, in that through blood test they established that I didn't have Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis. The doctor considered the spike that I encountered to be somehow related to my pregnancy (miscarriage) and I would have to monitor it the next time I was pregnant.

Now, I am waiting to get in touch with the hematologist and praying. I ask that you would please pray for me.

Flowers Around My House...

The gloom of Tuesday has left my area and we have had a BEAUTIFUL day. All of my flowers were open and it was so pretty outside that I just couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the front beds my DH and I put in last month.

Here are my Iris, Columbine, Oxalice, and Strawberry Begonia.


This is a picture of our Powys Castle, Delphinium, Lemon Thyme, Shrimp Plants, Larkspur, and Poppy.


This poppy just opened up today. I think that it is just gorgeous.

This is how my backyard looks now that the hack berry is gone and my Bradford Pear has been planted.

Thanks for touring my flowers with me. I hope the sun is shining on your part of the world.

A Gloomy Tuesday...

Photo Courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I hope that all of you had a wonderul Monday and a great weekend. I have been extremely busy working on school work (which seems to be my constant status at this time).

It is a cool and gloomy day where I live. It almost reminds me of the winters I used to have in Florida. What is really weird is that it seems that spring was here a few weeks ago and now winter has come back. Besides, how else can you rationalize having snow in April?

I am really looking forward to the end of the month (or at least post-April 26th). It will be so nice to not have to worry about school assignments on top of my regular things. I decided that I am going to have an "I'm Finally Finished" party. It won't be anything big probably just a nice dinner followed by some crafting (which I have been dying to do but can't justify considering pressing school assignments).

So, now that I am beginning to ramble I will bring this to a close by wishing all of you a blessed day and beautiful weather!

March in the Rearview Mirror...

I know that I am really late with the monthly summary of March. However, I am taking the better late than never idea to heart about this. I think that summing the month up really helps me realize how far I've come in the month. So here it is...

March has just seemed to fly by and I really can't believe the whole month is gone already (not to mention the fact that it is half-way through April). Looking back at the posts from March, I realized how busy it was and all that mt DH and I accomplished.

As far as our house is concerned, it had an outdoor face lift. Where there were once empty flower beds, there are now a variety of flowers and pretty green foliage. We also put a Bradford Pear in the back yard. The rest of the hack berry tree that my DH and I were working on has been cut down and the stump has been ground.

I did have the wonderful opportunity to visit with my family in Florida for a week in March. it was so wonderful to get to see them and spend time with them. I really can't believe I have lived in Texas for almost 9 months. Seeing my family and having to say goodbye to all of them really made me want to move back to Florida.

I guess that you could say that March was a month of realization for me in some ways. God really used a close friend of mine to point out some areas of my life that needed some improvement. I have been making a conscious effort to not let fear and anxiousness have any part in my life. Instead, I have been trying to speak peace (that I can only get from God) over my life and rest in Him. Because as I wrote about before:

"Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty,
to carry within myself the unanswered question,
lifting my heart to God about it
whenever it intrudes upon my thoughts."
~Elizabeth Elliot

So March as a whole can be summed up with these verses:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
~Philippians 4:6-7

Flowers, Homework, and More Bread...

Hi everyone! I hope that all of you have had a wonderful week. I really can't believe that Friday is here again. It seems like just yesterday I was making my Easter plans. Man how time is flying.


Today, I spent most of my day working a portfolio of my work for one of my classes. I am very happy to say that the portfolio and my resume are both complete. One class almost knocked completely out. The picture above is of a soap packaging project I had to do last year. The goal of the campaign was to assist parents in getting their children to wash their hands. So here is what I came up with. I just thought that I would share it.

Yes, that is my Iris. It has finally started to bloom. I was beginning to wonder if it ever would because all of the Iris in our neighborhood bloomed weeks ago. I guess that the Iris must have heard my threats of digging it up and replacing it since it wasn't blooming. It now has 5 blooms. Yay!!!!!!

I was not aware of Columbines before I moved to Texas; however, I have become quite the fan of them now. There are pink, white, and yellow ones in our front flower bed and really like the daintiness of them. On Monday, I went to Target to see what they had that was left over from Easter on clearance. I got this little basket vase for $3.00 and I knew the Columbine would look great in it. They have both been brightening up my dining room table all week.

I made another batch of bread on Wednesday to go with our spaghetti dinner. I am very happy with the way it turned out. I may just make this a weekly affair. I haven't bought french bread at the grocery for two weeks now. I am very proud of myself, if I do say so myself.

I know that many of you bake bread. I would love to hear what your favorite kind to make is and maybe you can share the recipe so I can give it a try.

Have a great weekend!

Easter, Bread, and a Few Other Things...

It feels like I am at least a day behind on posting things, it has just been CRAZY around here.

So let's begin with Easter. Our church had a breakfast fellowship time before the service so I made a casserole. It was nice to get to visit with people from our church. After that, we went to the worship service and our Pastor taught on the Resurrection and the passion Peter displayed directly afterward.

We rushed home because we were having company over for lunch. My DH and I fixed a Roast with carrots and potatoes, deviled eggs, and bread. Our company brought a salad, asparagus, and a bunny cake. We had a great time getting to visit with them and share in our joy of the Resurrected King.

Here is a picture of my DH and I.

I did get around to making my first batch of bread. I was very happy with the way that it turned out. We actually had it with our Easter lunch. I got the recipe from Mrs. U over at Making a House a Home. The recipe was wonderful and it was pretty easy. Here is the recipe.

I am in the middle of finishing up my school for the semester and then I will be finished with school because I will get my degree. I am soooo happy but I have a lot of stuff to get finished.

I hope that all of you have a blessed day!

The April Cold...

Well, it has been a very, very busy week around here. I think that I looked at my computer a total of 3 times since last Tuesday. I hope that all of you have been well and had a wonderful Easter.

A song was running through my head all day Saturday, White Christmas. Believe it or not, we had snow this weekend. That's right, SNOW. My DH and I joked about having a White Easter instead of a White Christmas and all day long I was just dying to put in a Christmas CD. It seemed like the mood was wrong and Christmas jingles just might help take away the oddity of an only snowfall happening on April 7th instead of December 7th. But in the end, I got the snow I had been hoping far all winter.

I was very excited. Being the Florida girl that I am, I was as bad as a kid playing in it. My DH and I had a snowball fight and my three dogs loved chasing snowballs.

After we had played outside for a while, we came in and sat around a bunch of candles (since we don't have a fireplace) and played Sequence while drinking hot apple cider. It was great. I thought I would share some pictures.

(Me when the it first started snowing)
(My DH and I after it had been snowing a while)

(The boys playing in the snow)(Maggie with snowflakes in her hair)

A Blessed Day...

On this wonderful day, may we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord!

Happy Easter!

Back in the Swing of Things (Well Not Yet)...

I am still working on the whole daily routine thing. It seems that I turn around and it is 9:00 at night and my body is just starting to really get in the "let's get things done" mode (about 12 hours too late). I am slowly but surely getting there.

It dawned on me earlier that I am now 4 days late on my monthly summary for March. I will have to think about it over the next day and post that tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who thought that my three poochies were cute. I tell them they are adorable all of the time (however, I think that I may be a little bias).


I am very excited because I found out today that my sister will be coming out to see me at the end of the month. I am soooooo very EXCITED!

I have several things that I would like to accomplish before the end of the week and one of them would be a first for me. Tomorrow, I am going to try my hand at making bread. I will have to let you know how that goes. Mrs. U had a simple looking French Bread Recipe that I am going to try.

A Doggie Introduction...

Hello, hello!

I have been a very bad blogger for the last week. Things have been really busy around here trying to get everything settled from my trip.

I am having a hard time getting back into my everyday routine, which means that for the last week I have been way less productive than I would have like to have been. Anyway, on to other things.

I was going through pictures on my computer and I realized that I had not introduced three elements in my small family, our dogs.

So, first let me introduce Maggie. She is a Scottish Terrier. I got her for my 13th birthday and she is the queen of the other two dogs. She went to the groomer today and looks really cute in her new "do." She is currently sitting in my DH's lap as he works.

Next is Dozer. Dozer was my DH's dog before we were married. He and Maggie get along great, even though he did have to learn that Maggie isn't as playful as he is the hard way. He has a great personality and all he really wants to do is play and then play some more. By the way, he loves to eat wood as you can see in the picture.

Last but not least is Rugby (a.k.a. Little Man). He is a sweetie. My DH and I found him back in late November when we were having freezing weather. He was nothing but skin and bones and always shivered. My DH and I decided that we would take care of him and nurse him back to health and then decide whether we would keep him or not. Well, Rugby can run really fast and thinks that he is the same size as Dozer. Dozer and Rugby play hours on end and needless to say we kept him just because we couldn't stand to get rid of him. He does a little fish dance whenever you get his food and he has come along way in his obedience and inside behavior. Dozer has also taught Rugby the joy of eating wood.


And those are my three puppies!