So this will be the last post on this blog. If you enjoy visiting my spot, and I hope that you do, please add my new post to your link list! Teale has designed a smashing site for me and I know I'm going to enjoy using it. Rather than transfer all these posts and photos, I'm simply going to leave this one up. I've retitled this one, Faith, Family & Friends, in the beginning~

My new site is simply titled Faith, Family, & Friends. Thank you for stopping in and do visit me at the new one! Have a beautiful evening~

Yes, Grandmommies Brag~

So, those of you that know Jenny, and have already looked at their website, will recognize the following pictures! For those of you that haven't, well, I just have to share them! Had my camera batteries not been dead Sunday, I would have different ones to share with you all, but alas we need new rechargeable batteries. I'm pretty sure Brandon is glad the camera WASN'T with me Sunday ;) he teases me all the time. And yes, Leslie, he is a very patient man. Not only is this man an answer to prayers for our Jen, he's an amazing father to the boys.

Johnny had to work yesterday, so I ate with Jenny and her family after worship. Easter baskets awaited them and the meal was delicious, as always!! Gotta love Ruby Tuesday's garden bar!! To see some really cute pics and read of a gift we gave Ian, go to Jen's site and see for yourself how endearing grandmommies can be (sic)!!

Today has been an extremely lazy one and I've so enjoyed it. I'm hoping Stacey will be getting some Easter pictures to us soon of Austin and Alaina and you can just bet your sweet bippie I'll be sharing them with you, too! Have a blessed week!

some treasures~

I wanted to share some vintage cards with you and wish you a most beautiful Easter. Feel free to right click and use these in whatever way makes you happy. And may the weekend be filled with warmth from the sun, love of family and friends, and joy that comes from His grace and mercy~

It's almost here!

Hands to Heart

A dear friend, Deborah Aldridge, and I have gathered some neat treasures and are offering them through Hands to Heart, a little online shop. We both go into Montgomery several times a week and would not mind meeting you somewhere to drop off your purchase! We accept cash and checks, and when we get our eCrater store open, we'll have a PayPal account! Any questions? Just ask!
I wanted to share two items that are for sale! Beautiful Baskets by Jeanine Larmoth is a nice treasure of gift basket ideas. With 111 pages, there are oodles of color photographs showing numerous ways to decorate and entertain with baskets! We have it priced at only $5, with no shipping or handling charges if we make plans to meet you and deliver!
Below is a ceramic teapot, designed to look like asparagus. You can serve from it or even arrange fresh flowers within it! Priced at only $8, it will be a nice addition to those of you that treasure teapots!
We are just beginning to get started with our online store, so stop in and check out to see what's new each week!

Quick Trip to Mississippi

We've just returned from a brief, but great, visit with our girls in Mississippi! And we got time for snuggles with two of our grandbabies!! Austin's first T-ball practice was yesterday afternoon, and the players are sooo little!! Austin got a great practice hit and loved showing off his new cleats! Then it was off for some yummy Mexican food, before heading to Leslie's home to spend the night. And we brought back MarleyDog!! She's such a good house pet and we always love spoiling her for Leslie. Here's some pics from our trip!

Tag, your turn!

I found this on Leah's blog and wanted to do it! So NOW, you're tagged!!

What was I doing 10 years ago? That would be 1998 and I was still a second grade teacher, and seeing some of my best friends each day.

5 things on my to do list today? Sleep; buy some groceries (didn't get done); spend more time on the elliptical; average the checkbooks (didn't get done); relax

Snacks I enjoy? cake and ice cream! nilla wafers and peanut butter! popcorn and coke!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire? write a niiiice check to our congregation; pay off our house; invest so Johnny could retire; pay off the homes of our daughters; set up education funds for our grandchildren; take our family to 'the Mickey Mouse' place all expenses paid, including clothing and rental cars; take our siblings on an Atlantic Seaboard cruise; purchase a second home in the Gatlinburg area; take my daughters and best friends to the Winfrey Hotel and have a shopping excursion; send Johnny and our son-in-laws on an African safari!

3 of my bad habits? chewing the inside of my cheeks; icy classic Cokes; not exercising enough

5 places I have lived? Bradenton, FL; Memphis, TN; Aurora, CO; Newnan, GA; Prattville, AL

5 jobs I have had? cashier for Casual Corners; secretary for National Pride CarWash; Personnel Ass't. at AESCO Steel; secretary for a lawyer in Wetumpka; second grade teacher

I added one, Leah!

5 dreams that have come true? I'm married to a wonderful Christian man; I gave birth to the child of my dreams; for nineteen years I worked alongside some of my best friends; I've lived in a snowy place and learned to snow ski; I am healing, both inside and out, and am so much stronger for that.

You're turn!

Yikes, drugs in the water?!

(AP) -- A vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

This is one of the headlines on CNN.com tonight! I thought, 'my stars!! drugs in our water now?!'. I've always felt there were more things in my drinking water than I even cared to know about, but drugs?! I just had to click on our state (the fair state of Alabama) to see what's been found at home. Nothing!! Our state is one of the clean states!! Not so for our neighbors in Georgia. Or, Atlanta to be exact.

I figured California would be running over with cities that have drug levels high enough to be found (and they were), but surprisingly to me was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which registered with 56 different drugs!! Did you read that? 56!! Kind of scary, isn't it? Apparently, according to the article, water treatment centers aren't effective on all drug types and even though the amounts are small, it is becoming a source of concern to doctors and scientists. Well, that's good. At least they're concerned. And Alabama WAS listed as a clean state, still ~ don't think that will make me want to drink shower water anymore.

Sunday's Snapshot

My favorite snapshot from this week is one of Jenny, Noah, and Ian going into an eatery at Eastchase, Zoe's. Jenny has been easing Ian into the 'helping' big brother role and he is taking it seriously. Noah is reaching out for Ian, and Ian is trying to match his steps to Noah's. Ian is wearing his sunglasses on his ears, but over his hair~and that little detail always makes me smile. I look at Jenny and I wonder when it was she grew up and became a mommy herself. Time doesn't just pass, it fast forwards.

10 Things I've Learned

about being a mom. 1) I never realized how lonely night could be until I had a colicky baby and lived six hours from friends and family.
2) Having a child means liking the end pieces of the loaf, not needing as many clothes and shoes as they do, and trying really hard to like eating at McDonald's all the time.
3) I never thought I could so happy that my child decide NOT to play softball and we didn't have to go to all those practices and schoolnight games!!
4) Watching your child play in the yard makes you notice how many tiny flowers there are in the world!
5) Just because they grow up and leave your home, doesn't mean you quit worrying about their health, safety, and well-being.
6) You see them do good and you want to shout and yell out, "That's my child!"
7) You see them cry and you want to do bodily harm to the one responsible.
8) When they introduce you to a date, and you know before you turn around, that you've never heard her sound like that before~and you just know, deep down, that she's given her heart, and he isn't even aware yet.
9) To have her say, "Mom, I'm going to have a baby" and you feel elated and scared at the same time. Elated because she'll now know how deeply she's loved, yet scared because childbirth holds risks.
10) Becoming a grandmother is to go full circle and necessary to bring comfort to the later years.

Just a thought~

What do you think of having a 'Sweet Sunday' or maybe ChadderBox can come up with a name! We would each post a snapshot that we took the previous week that was our favorite. Post it on your blog and tell why you chose that particular shot. I know I check out everyone on my friends list, and then some!, each day and I love it when there's new pictures posted. Who would be game to doing this and starting this Sunday? Just a thought, so let me hear from you!

Running errands~

I went with Jenny to Montgomery today to help with the boys while she tried to do some shopping. That girl can put some miles on a pair of feet, but I had such fun watching the boys interact. Noah just thinks Ian set the moon and tries so hard to be just like his big brother, which will be a hard act! ha ha Noah will start laughing and calling, "Eh ah" (for Ian, of course!) and begin running in circles when he got excited. I think the funniest time today was in a huge dressing room area watching Noah trying to get up with Ian. Here are some pictures I took from today. The last one is a shot Ian took of me and himself. He loves taking pictures and has been good with a camera now for almost two years! In fact, he got one for Christmas! Enjoy!! (By the way, it's just started raining here~it's almost 1 am Friday morning. I do so love rain and thunderstorms!!) Jen, I really like the snapshot of the three of you holding hands :)

It's Easter!

I've wanted to show you our dining room and kept forgetting to take pictures. It's late tonight, so the lighting didn't do justice to the pale yellow cloth nor the silver but you get the picture. There's eager little bunnies with pastel M&M's waiting for someone to taste their wares and salad plates with fruits and blossoms dancing around the edges. Since we have two grandsons that eat regularly with us, I've set out all types of bunnies for them to find and talk with while the adults are visiting.

I found this adorable Bunny cookie jar at Cracker Barrel for less than $25! I love keeping her filled with sugar cookies, but alas, a hungry husband has emptied her tummy. Looks like I'll be baking cookies tomorrow!

Tasty Tuesday!

We had this recipe again for an early supper and it was just as good warmed up! Here's the recipe, KristenKracker!!

Chili Chicken Stew

Vegetable oil

3 boneless skinless, chicken breasts, chopped

1 cup chopped red onion

1 bell pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

14.5 oz. can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (I used a can of Rotel)

2 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained

16 oz. jar medium salsa

3 tsps chili powder

2 tsps ground cumin

10 flour tortillas

shredded cheddar cheese

shredded Monterey cheese

Garnish: cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced black olives, shallots

Heat oil. Add chicken, onion, pepper, and garlic; cook 7-8 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salsa, chilie powder, and cumin; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes.

Place a warmed tortilla into each of the soup bowls. Sprinkle cheese over tortilla and spoon chicken stew evenly over cheese. Garnish and serve!

Family, Friends, & Faith

I've had a good weekend and hope you have. Yesterday I spent most of the daylight hours with a dear friend, Melynda Buck, and her oldest. It's Prom season and they sweetly asked if I would help with some of the plans. It's fun and I really like spending someone else's money! Not to mention they are two of the sweetest people I know! So Saturday was a joy.

Today, after worship, I tried out a new recipe and it turned out so much better than I expected! It's White Chicken Stew and you serve it inside a warmed flour tortilla that's been set inside a deep bowl. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkle with sharp cheddar and shallots. Yummy!! I ended up shredding my tortilla and liked it better that way.

Jenny had a Pampered Chef show this afternoon, here in Prattville, at Haley Gray's home. I go along to wash up the dishes and tidy up. It gives me girl time alone with one of my bestest friends that just happens to also be my daughter! and it's nice seeing other ladies. Today's group were young enough to be my daughters! and as I was laughing at and with them, I realized that as much as I enjoyed that time period in my life, I'm so thankful to be at the station I'm at. Our daughters are grown and happily on their own, two with beautiful men that adore them; I am retired and able to devote my time to Johnny and our family; I don't have the worry of wondering if my parenting skills are what they should be; financially things are easier. Yes, I like this place in life.

Many things have changed and will continue to change as we mature and go through life. One thing I can count on, though, and that's that my Lord is always near. I only have to think of Him and comfort floods my soul. Jenny mentioned in her presentation this afternoon that it had been almost two years since my accident. The first year I have very few memories. This past year has been much easier. God has made so much possible and for that, I'll be eternally grateful. Talk of best friends, I couldn't ask for a better one~