A Missing Mother

A young woman, who attends our church, was abducted at approximately 11:15pm last night. Summer is 25 and the mother of three beautiful little children. She has been separated from her husband for several months. She and the little ones have been living with her parents who also attend our church.

Summer cleans a local bank after hours and it is believed that she was abducted while taking out some trash. Eyewitnesses said she was abducted in the alley beside the bank and was forced into a car by two males dressed in dark clothing.

I cannot even imagine this happening to this sweet girl. I've known her since she was born. She was in our youth group. Oh, you just never think something like this will happen so close to you.

Summer has been through some difficult times but always has a smile on her face. You never know when she is going through adversity. She has such a sweet spirit. I remember looking back at her and little Alanna cuddling as they sat in the pew at church just this past Sunday morning as I was playing the keyboard.

Please, please join with us in praying for Summer's safe return to her beautiful babies and family.

You can read more about Summer's abduction at NBC4i.com

Surprise! :-)

Yes, I am still here! And doing well! BUT I just don't seem to have much time to blog or else I'm just not managing my time well or I'm spending too much time on FB instead of blogging! *sigh*

Still waiting to hear about high speed coming to our area and still hoping that it really IS going to get here soon!! Do you have any idea of how much time I spend sitting here just waiting for pages to load? It is so aggravating!

Jaylon is just growing by leaps and bounds but is still not talking much....drat! BUT several people have encouraged us by saying that their children/grandchildren didn't talk till a bit later....especially the boys....but once they did? Oh. shut. up. LOL One grandfather told me that when their little granddaughter stays with them that they inevitably end up telling her gently that they are going to have a "quiet" break and just not talk for awhile. :-)

Oh, but this sweet little guy....who is sleeping still this morning right behind me....is growing by leaps and bounds! See?

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Have you tried the new Philadelpia Cream Cheese cooking sauces yet? Well, I have! A friend was trying a new dish and told me about them, so I used the recipe on the back of the Zesty Garlic container. I don't remember what it is called...:-/....but below is the recipe AND some pictures! It is so yummy AND easy to fix!


3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
1 red pepper cut into slivers and halved
1 package of fresh spinach (I used 2/3 of a 10oz. bag)
2 cups of uncooked penne pasta
1 container of Zesty Garlic Philadelpia Cream Cheese Cooking Sauce

In a large skillet, sautee the chicken and red pepper in a small amount of oil. Add the spinach and cook until it is wilted. (I couldn't believe ALL of that spinach cooked down so much! I've not cooked fresh spinach before.)
Drain the cooked pasta. Add to the other ingredients in the skillet.
Add the cooking sauce, mixing gently but thoroughly and serve! :-)



AND I can't believe I paid $1.98 for a red pepper! BUT I knew it would really make the dish so pretty with the green spinach and all. :-)

Let me know if you give this recipe a try, k?

Well, I hear the boy stirring behind me and Ed is home today as it is a teacher in-service day at school and he is wanting some breakfast! :-)

Oh, but before I go! We made reservations Saturday evening for a 3-day stay in Washington D.C. as we are once again planning to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival at the end of the month!! Yayyyy!!

We had planned to go last year but there was a death in family, so we were unable able to go, of course.

Have a wonderful day and I hope you are having nice weather wherever you may be! :-)

It's Wednesday! Hodgepodge Time!

Here I am....posting at the last minute....again! :-/ I've been working on this here and there throughout the day and am finally finished!!
I apologize for not being able to get around to everyone's blog and commenting but my dial-up has been impossibly slow and I just don't have the time it takes to be on the internet and get anything done!! BUT Frontier (our phone provider) let us know that they will have high-speed capabilities to us in about three weeks!! Yes!! Finally!!! Hopefully, I will be able to get back into my blogging groove once again!! AND visit all of your wonderful blogs and comment and so on!!!
Anywayyyy.....here is my Wednesday Hodgepodge for your viewing pleasure.

If you would like to join in, just go to Joyce's blog at From This Side of the Pond, where you will find out how to do so!


1. The season of Lent begins on March 9th this year...do you participate and if so, in what way?
No.


2. Traditionally pancakes are eaten on the day known as Shrove Tuesday which is the last day before Lent (March 8th this year). So....butter and syrup? Blueberry? Chocolate chip? ewww, no thanks!! What's your pleasure when it comes to eating pancakes?
I am not a big lover of pancakes BUT if I DO have them I prefer plain ones with lots of butter and syrup! :-)


3. Spring is coming. (It is coming, right?) What's your favorite springtime flower and do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Two questions I know, but they're lightweights.
I do love beautiful tulips and lots of them in a myriad of colors, though I don't have a tulip one in my yard!! I know, I know, I need to plant some! :-0
Thankfully, I do not suffer from allergies, though our son Daniel does. He really has a rough time of it but is usually able to find some relief with medicine, though it doesn't always seem to help. My heart really goes out to those who do suffer with allergies!

4. "Our opinion of people depends less upon what we see in them than upon what they make us see in ourselves." Author unknown. Agree or Disagree? Why?
Okay, I'm not sure that I am up to thinking this hard so early in the day. Maybe I'll come back to this one! :-)

5. Since it's "March" and also the season of Mardi Gras....have you ever been in a parade? What's the best parade you've seen?
Yes, I've been in quite a few parades as I was in the marching band in school. Oh, the memories! :-) And our church has had a float/unit in our local Christmas parade several times and I've loved participating in that, too.
I think the BEST parade I've ever seen was the Parade of Hills in Nelsonville, Ohio, several years ago. You see, this is an annual event and we used to go every year....we were younger then. :-) It was an awesome parade with several marching bands, which is my favorite part of a parade, and many other great units! But now there are only TWO bands and the parade is much smaller.


6. You would jump up and down and shout for joy right now if someone told you___________?
That my oldest nephew and his precious boys were together. It's a long story and so heart-wrenching.


7. How clean is your car on the outside? Inside? Is there junk in your trunk?
My car is in pretty good shape on the inside. I just cleaned the inside this past weekend. The outside is not too bad but it usually has some dirt on it because we live on a township road and the weather has been pretty messy around here for weeks. I always keep my trunk cleaned out.


8. Insert your own random thought here.
It has rained all night....again. The creek is almost out of it's banks and it is supposed to rain all day today into tomorrow morning. AND now it is looking like we might be getting some snow! Really?
I am so ready for spring and sunshine and warmer temps, green grass and flowers, leaves on the naked trees. Spring forth, O Spring!!

Italian LOVE Cake? Who knew! :-)

Soooo......we had a time of fellowship after church last night......desserts and coffee for everyone. Welllll....I had made a Mexican Wedding Cake to take. I had gotten my food and coffee, found a seat, when I heard a bunch of laughter and carrying on up at the food table.

Sis. Leatha kind of hollered over to me from her table and said, "I really like your Italian Love Cake, Jewel, ".

"My WHAT?" I asked! "Your husband told me you brought this Italian Love Cake." she replied.

Oh brother....not again! :-)

You see, Ed doesn't always remember things that I tell him, correctly, so he makes stuff up that sounds ALMOST right but not quite, you know? :-)

So when he came and sat down across from me I asked him what he had told them my cake was.

"Well, when they asked me what kind of cake that was that you made I told them that I couldn't remember but that I think you said it was an Italian LOVE Cake. Sis. Margaret just about spit her dentures out laughin'! And Bro. Chuck said to give him two pieces and make sure I slipped his wife a big ol' hunk of it! LOL and poor ol' Bro. George just kinda grinned and said, "Awwww, I better pass on that love cake, Bro. Ed, and, thank goodness, the wife is diabetic.... " :-)

I about died laughing at all of the commotion my "Italian LOVE Cake" stirred up!!! AND on a Sunday night after service, no less!! :-)

AND, though it may actually be called a Mexican Wedding Cake, I'm thinkin' real serious-like about changin' the name of it! Whadaya think? :-)

Marching into Wednesday's Hodgepodge!! :-)

It's Wednesday Hodgepodge time!! Just go over to Joyce's blog at From This Side of the Pond and join in the fun, meet some new people and make some new friends!! And get to know your old friends better!!! :-)

1. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday so I'm wondering...do you like green eggs and ham? Okay-how about this instead...how do you like your eggs? Or don't you?
Green eggs do NOT sound very appealing to me. Yuck! :-)
I like my eggs over medium, meaning I want the white done and the yolk just a little soft in the middle but done around the edges. And I don't want my egg to be crusty at all. (Am I being too picky?) My dad was the only person, besides moi', that could fix my eggs just the way I liked them! :-)


2. Is March coming in like a lion or something less ferocious where you live?
March is coming in like a lamb in SE Ohio. It was a beautiful, sunny day here with temps in the 50's! Yeehaa! Butttttt....I have a feeling that winter is not through with us yet, though the temperatures are supposed to be moderate all week! Time will tell!
The year that Daniel was born...1987....we had a blizzard on I believe it was the first Saturday in April. I don't know exactly how much snow fell BUT I was determined to get Daniel's 4-month-old picture taken at Ames, so I loaded his cute little self into the car and headed to Ames....in the snow.
Well, when we returned home, I managed to get the car buried stuck in the snow, so I hiked it up to the house and got Ed to help me get unstuck. It was not going to be a quick fix. So, he took Daniel, who was in his little carseat, up to the house and set him in front of the TV with the local cable channel on.
You should have seen him! I wish I had taken a picture! The local cable channel was in bright reds and blues and he just puckered up his little lips and kicked and looked at those bright colors. It was so cute! :-)
Ed and I ran back out and with the help of a neighbor, got the car unburied..er, uh...I mean, unstuck!
We were without power for three days! It was a blizzard, let me tell ya! IN APRIL!!!

3. Do you work better or worse under pressure?
Actually, better. You see, I am a procrastinator. Yes, I admit to this. Can you believe it? BUT, most procrastinators work very well under pressure and are known to be very efficient! :-) (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! :-p)


4. March Madness-are you a fan? It's college basketball in case you're wondering. And if you're outside the USA tell us-is there any sort of 'madness' taking place during March in your part of the world?
Yes! though I don't watch much college basketball in the regular season. I know that Ohio State is doing great this year, ranked #1 in the nation again! They are 27-2/14-2 and I believe they are playing Penn State even as I type! Go Bucks! I watched all sports more when Daniel was still living at home. Now, I just keep up with the Buckeyes and our town's teams through the internet and local paper.

5. Under what circumstances do you do your best thinking?
You know, at night when I go to bed, I like to just lay there and think. Sometimes Ed will be reading and I just lay there with my eyes open, staring and thinking. Really thinking.

6. What item of clothing from your wardrobe do you wear most often?
Black skirts! I have so many of them and I am thankful that I do! :-)

7. Do you use sarcasm?
Yes, sometimes, though never to anyone's hurt. I usually use it in a humorous way.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I have most of my spring cleaning done! Not on purpose, mind you. No. Ellie, the kitty of the house, has been dealing with a flea allergy, pulling hair, digging, scratching. From about the middle of her body back, she looks all scraggly and she doesn't have much hair left on her haunches or legs. Poor thing.

So, last Monday and Friday, when I didnt have little Jaylon, I started in the den, washing everything that could be washed. Curtains, rugs, washed down furniture, baseboards, then vacuumed thoroughly....we're talking thoroughly here. Next, I sprayed each room's carpet as I finished cleaning, sprayed around the baseboards. Sprayed the furniture after washing it down, vacuuming it.

I did this in EVERY. room. of. the. house. By Monday evening I was so tired I was on the verge of tears and there was still more to do but I had to wait until Friday when Jaylon would not be here.

You may ask how she could have gotten fleas. Well, we keep her treated with Frontline, so I wondered myself. UNTIL I read online that fleas can become resistant to any flea repellant and it is best if you switch around from Frontline, Advantage and so on. Who knew?!?!

The fleas don't bother us because they are busy bothering Ellie. She is the host. Poor thing.

So, on top of all the cleaning, I have given her two baths...Monday/Friday....talk about fun!....after which, I combed her thoroughly. It has been pretty stressful....and she has now been treated her Advantage. Oh, and you can buy Frontline and Advantage on Ebay for a fraction of the cost that you would pay at a vet. :-)

BUT, lest I thought I had her all taken care of......she now has worms, which she has probably gotten from ingesting fleas! Soooo, I am now in the process of worming her...that has such a lovely ring to it, hm? :-/.....and I can tell that she is feeling better already! :-)

So, I am praying...literally...that I have conquered the fleas AND the worms! I told my dear husband that if this happens again, I am going to have her put to sleep. I don't know if I could really do it or not because I DO love this kitty....alot! BUT I surely don't want to go through all of this again! Nor do I want her to be miserable. Poor thing.