The latest

Hi Everyone! So where to begin? Wellllllll.......I had the first set of injections in my lower back on June 5th. I didn't have any idea of how painful they might be, but let me tell ya, the dentist is more painful than the injections in my back were! Seriously! I was thrilled! *smile* As the medicine was going into my vein, a slow dull ache went down each leg, but it was not painful or even anything close to unbearable. Now.....did they help? Well, for the first 12 hours or so they did. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I was able to just get up normally and walk normally......no pain....or hardly any pain. The next morning, Ed said that he heard me get up in the night and thought there was a different woman in the room with him! *grin* But, as I said, it didn't last. *sigh* I have had a couple of people tell me that sometimes it take until the third set of injections before you experience extended pain relief. It is so different for each person. So I go for a follow-up visit on July 8. My pain level has been pretty well up there since then but I try to keep moving and doing as much as I can.

For instance......a friend at church and I volunteered to decorate for this month's ladies' meeting but in the meantime she went to Florida. Well, I didn't want to ask someone to help me on such a short notice, so I commenced to doing the decorating myself. Ed helped me gather up things here at home that I was going to use and I went shopping for a few things that I needed. The men at church had set up the tables and chairs for me already and even put tablecloths on the tables! So when I went out the evening before our meeting to decorate, it probably took me about 2 1/2 hours, which included time for shopping. Well.......I overdid it a bit and paid the price the next day and ended up not being able to even go to the ladies' meeting! *sigh* But it looked really beautiful for the ladies who were able to go! *smile* And the ladies who cleaned up and took everything down, gathered all of my things up for me and Ed brought them home a couple of night's later and then it took me a week to get everything put away, as I did a little each day. *grin* Do you know what a change this is for a person (ME!) who used to be a whirlwind at getting things done? Now everything is a process which seems to be getting slower as time passes but, ohhhhh, am I learning patience, which is a good thing.

Ed and I are still teaching a bible study to Bill and Doug on Wed. evenings before church. When we first started, they both had difficulty finding the books of the Bible and so on, but you should see them now!! It is unbelievable how much they have learned in such a short time but they are so hungry for the Word and the things of God and now Bill's two brothers have been coming to church and one of them is going to join our Bible study Wed. evening! God is so good! And there are hungry people out there!

I took the picture above yesterday morning as we were getting ready to leave for church. There is a little butterfly on the handle of the plow, that WAS on the flower when I was ready to take the picture! *smile*

Daniel and Erin are doing great. She is about 3 1/2 months along now and hasn't had any morning sickness at all. We went to their church picnic yesterday after church in the morning. Well, after some discussion, we went to the picnic, that is. Ed and I were getting in the car and he asked me if we were going to Nelsonville's church picnic and I asked him when it was and he said this evening. Well, I asked him how long he had known about it and he said about a week and I asked HIM when he had planned to tell me about it and HE said that he figured that Daniel had told me and "I" said that Daniel probably figured that HIS DAD would tell ME! LOL Anywayyyyyyy......I called Erin and she said that they were in the process of having their picnic even as we spoke. Soooooo, my DH even had the time wrong! LOL Bless his heart! *smile* Anywayyyyy.......we went down and had a wonderful time of eating scrumptious food and enjoying precious fellowship with the saints of the Nelsonville church. Now, I am not much of a dessert person, but there was this luscious looking pecan pie (my favorite) sitting there just asking to be eaten, so I had a small piece and it was heavenly and come to find out, it was a Marie Callendar pecan pie. I couldn't believe it wasn't homemade and what made it sooooo delicious was the filling! It was so caramelly and creamy! It was the best I have EVER had. Sooooo, if you are needing a wonderful dessert and don't have much time, may I recommend Marie Callendar's Pecan Pie in your grocer's frozen food section? *smile*

Well, I need to go and get a few things done but I will blog some more a little later, k? There's so much to blog about!! Have a wonderful Monday!!!

I'm Alive!!!

I apologize for the long break in blogging but my computer is on the blink. Don't you just hate when that happens? I had been on my computer this past weekend and of course, since I have dial-up, I have to disconnect when I am done surfing the web, which I did. When I returned home and attempted to log on, I got an error message saying my modem was being used by another device or something or other, error 633, making it impossible for me to log on to the internet. Sooooo, after being on the phone to tech support, it has been determined that I probably need a new modem, so we will be attempting to do that this weekend, hopefully. Which prompted me to thinking that it sure would be nice if we could replace faulty body parts as easily as we can replace computer parts, auto parts, home repair parts, etc. *grin*

Which brings me to the results of my visit to Dr. Mezaros today. He is a spinal specialist in Lancaster. Well, he checked me out pretty extensively, read my MRI, X-rays, nerve scans, etc. and said that he would like to start with injections.....next Wed. at 11am. He said there is an 80% chance that they WILL help, though it is not possible to say to what extent. And, of course, they are only a temporary solution to the pain and they will not take away the pain completely but will hopefully make it more manageable. Everyone responds differently to the injections, which has been the same information that I have received from every doctor. Soooooo, until next week......I continue on! He did say that the strength in my legs and feet is surprisingly very good. So that is a real plus, I think. I told him that I don't just sit around or lay around, though I do rest periodically throughout the day, some more than others, as needed. I do exercises when I am laying down. By that I mean, that I slide my feet back and forth, exercise my ankles and feet and do leg lifts before I get up. I believe it has been helping. And I do walk as much as I can with my walker......oh, my trusty walker. I don't know what I would do without it!

On a side note.....I am typing this from the library and I am burning up! It is soooo warm in here. I am about to faint! I am not kidding! It has always been this way, even when I worked here. They have never been able to regulate the temperature very well in this place. I've always thought that it might be because they have this huge skylight in the middle of the library which might possibly throw everything off. Who knows???

Anywayyyyy.......Ed is at the ballpark where he watching Daniel as he instructs the pitchers on the local American Legion baseball team. Daniel is so stoked. He loves to pitch and is so excited about being able to help these young, up-coming pitchers. He also pitches to them as they have batting practice. Well, last week was the first time Daniel had pitched this season, when he pitched their batting practice. The guys were saying that they couldn't even see the ball much less hit it, it was coming in so fast. Daniel has a mean fast ball and curve ball. They clocked some of his pitches at 85mph. *smile*

Mark Condon was at our church last night and ministered to us in song. It was a great service and it was so good to just talk with Bro. Condon afterwards. We see him at camp and conferences and so on but it is usually at a distance.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer weather wherever you are. :-)

When Daniel and Erin came up yesterday afternoon, I was laying down resting. Daniel came into the bedroom and handed me these gorgeous peonies! He had gotten them from his in-laws' garden. Aren't they beautiful?

Memorial Day Observance

We began our Memorial Day Observance Sunday morning at church as we recognized and honored eight men (one posthumously: Bro. Earl Kornmiller) for their service to our country. Here they are, pictured below:

I also made a multi-media presentation, showing pictures of each one in their military uniforms and dress, which they had given to me. It was very moving, as we honored them. The Sunday School children came marching into the sanctuary, each carrying a small flag and singing and later each veteran was presented with a framed picture of themselves in uniform.

Bro. Harry Scism, former director of Home Missions for the UPC, spoke at our morning service. He shared his experience as an missionary's child when his parents went to India, and then being a missionary to India himself. His son, Stanley, is a missionary to India presently. Bro. Scism told us that each time he has returned to the United States, he never ceases to be filled with such gratitude for the blessings of being an American and living in this wonderful country. He spoke to us from Micah 6:8 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? "What doth the Lord require of thee?" was the title of his message. Bro. Scism is such a gracious and godly man. It was truly a pleasure to finally meet him after all of these years of seeing his photo in various UPC publications. His daughter, Loretta, moved to our area several months ago and has her own medical practice here now.
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Last night, as we did not have service at our church, Ed, me, Daniel and Erin went to Mt. Vernon and were in service at Pastor Kramer's church, Christian Apostolic. My, but we had a wonderful time, seeing so many friends and visiting and worshipping with them. AND Daniel and Erin had a wonderful surprise, because after service, Heather (Wilkinson) and her husband, Dave showed up! They are great friends but don't get to see eachother very often because they live quite a distance apart and life is busy and so on. They went to a local restaurant to eat afterwards and fellowship, while Ed and I stayed and joined in a graduation celebration for a young lady from the Mt. Vernon church that was being held in the church gym. We did have a great time visiting with everyone! It was the church's 53rd anniversary and Pastor Kramer spoke of his vision for the church. It was inspiring, to say the least!
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We slept in a bit this morning (8AM), as we didn't get to bed until almost midnight. We had to go to Walmart and get a few groceries and did we ever see so many people that we hadn't seen forever! Well, besides Pastor and Sis. Martin, that is! *smile* It was wonderful catching up and visiting and so on! BUT we had to get home so I could make a couple of strawberry dream pies, as we were going to Daniel's in-laws at two for a cookout. Soooooo, we tore ourselves away from Walmart and visiting, got home, I made the pies and we headed to Pat and Lew's. We had a great time visiting and eating some deeeeeeeeeeelicious food! Later, we all gathered outside and many of them played cornhole, while me and a couple of others observed. It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit warm at times. It started raining around 5:30, so everyone gathered things up and headed inside for dessert, while Ed and I said our goodbyes and headed home. We've had a relaxing evening here at home and I know that I am truly blessed with wonderful family, friends and this great country that I am privileged to live in.

A couple of home improvements

I finally found a new quilt that I like! AND would you believe that I found it at Dollar General??? Yes!! Meaning, I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for it. $35!!! And there is a bit of a story behind this. I had seen this quilt set in the store several weeks ago, had the money to buy it, but just wasn't feeling very good and didn't feel like buying it. (Is this a woman thing?) Anywayyyyy......in the meantime,I bought my sister Debbie a beautiful like-new twin quilt and sham set at our ladies' yearly 25-cent indoor yard sale. Yes, I bought it for ONE QUARTER. Well, some time after this AND especially after I discovered that Ed had used my other quilt to line the trunk of our car!! For what reason I do not know! .....anywayyyyy....some time after this, I knew I needed to be getting a quilt for our bed because it was getting too warm to keep the comforter on much longer. So I went back to Dollar General not really believing that I was going to find this quilt set because it had been soooo long since I had first seen it. I was in alot of pain this particular day but pushed myself to get out and do some errands. I went into Dollar General to where they keep the bedding and sure enough it wasn't there. *sigh* They didn't have ANY quilt sets, BUT I thought I would just take a look-a-round to see if maybe they had been put some place else by mistake or something. AND in just a little while I found ONE quilt set shoved in on a shelf among a mishmash of stuff (you know how some of those D&G stores can get!) AND it was a QUEEN set! Now just what do you think of that? I think the Lord put that quilt set right there for me. I do. I had just enough money to buy this particular set. It was just what I had been looking for (had a kind of antique look to it, was the right color). Isn't that just how the Lord is? "Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
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AND we purchased a new area rug for the living room to just kind of brighten it up for the springtime. Ellie wouldn't even walk on it for a few days for whatever reason......she's a cat maybe? *grin* Her heat register is underneath the upper righthand corner and you know how cats don't like change BUT she got over it after a few days and snuggled her furry body right over the register when the furnace came on. I knew she would cave! *smile*

Anywayyyy....just a couple of new things to brighten up the house and all can lift the spirits, you know? *smile* Oh, and I STILL haven't found this picture that I bought several months ago!! I'm serious! I think I blogged about it awhile back BUT just in case I didn't......I bought this lovely picture from a dear lady at church who was having a home party of some sort. Well, I bought this picture, brought it home and stashed it somewhere until I decided where I was going to put it AND I haven't seen it or been able to find it since!!! Argh! And my house is organized and tidy. Ask Pat! *smile* I've looked everywhere! Well, apparently not EVERYWHERE or I would have found it by now but I don't know where else to look! (this is happening more and more....*feeble grin*) I'll keep you posted on the "mystery of the missing picture".
Have a wonderful Monday everyone!!

More baby news and another recipe!

Daniel and Erin went for her sonogram Tuesday and found out that she is 5 weeks along. They were a little disappointed because they had thought she might be about 4 1/2 months along, so now they have a much longer wait but I felt a wave of relief when I heard she was not due until January 10! *whew* Daniel's birthday is January 3 so their birthdays will be close.
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I made the Strawberry Dream Pie yesterday that I told you about in an earlier post. Here is the recipe I concocted:

1 graham cracker pie shell
1 small carton of cool whip
8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1 envelope of Knox unflavored gelation
1 16oz. container of fresh strawberried
1 bag or container of strawberry glaze

Soften the cream cheese, then mix it with the cool whip. Add the gelatin to this. Put this into the
pie shell. It will be firm enough to top with the sliced strawberries. Spread the glaze over the strawberries. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. It is yummy!!!
I may try using Dream Whip the next time I make this, which will be very soon. *smile*

Yummy Recipes

I tried two new recipes this past week and wanted to share them with you! The first one is Smothered Steak:

1 lb. of round steak cut into serving size pieces
Place this in your slow-cooker/crockpot.
1 pkg. of Onion soup mix
Sprinkle this evenly over the steak.
1 can of mushrooms/drained
Spread these evenly on top of the soup mix.
1 can of mushroom soup
Drop this my spoonfuls over the other ingredients.
Cook on high for a few minutes to get it going...*smile*.......then put it on low and let it cook for 3 or 4 hours or until the meat is tender. This is soooo delicious! I thought it would surely need
some liquid added to it but it didn't.

My friend, Laura, shared the other recipe with me.
Hmmmm.....I'm not sure what it is called but I think it is:
Skyline Chili Cheese Dip

Two 8oz. pkgs of cream cheese
One pkg. of frozen Skyline Chili without beans
One 2-cup pkg of shredded cheddar cheese
Soften and spread the cream cheese in a 9X13 dish
Spread the chili over the cream cheese.
Top with the cheddar cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Serve with tortilla chips.
This is absolutely to die for! I am taking it to the ladies' meeting tomorrow night.
I am also trying to imitate Bob Evan's Strawberry Dream Pie. I'm going to make one tomorrow morning, so I'll let you know how it turns out. My friend, Pam and I went to Bob Evans for lunch
last Saturday and I had a piece of this pie and it was scrumptious and I am not a big dessert person. Oh, but this won me over immediately! And with a hot cup of coffee.....Oh My! *smile*

Mother's Day

I hope all of you mothers had a wonderful day yesterday...Mothers Day. I am so thankful for the sweet mother that the Lord blessed me with. She faced many difficult times but always kept such a wonderful attitude and spirit in the midst of every adversity that she faced. I've always hoped that I can be like her in this way. Isn't she so cute? *smile* Mom has been gone since 1999 and I still miss being able to call her or coming home on a Sunday night after church and knowing I would have a message from her on my answering service letting me know how her day had been. Sometimes she would fill up the tape just talking to me. I have so many precious memories of her and I am so thankful that she was my dearest mother.

The sweetest sounds to mortals given,

Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.

~William Goldsmith Brown

Great and wonderful news!

Where do I begin????
First of all.......DANIEL AND ERIN ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!!! I'M GONNA BE A GRANDMA!! WHOOHOOOOOO!!
I see all of these grandparents having such an awesome time with their grandchildren and I wonder where in the world they get all of their energy and strength and so on. I pray that I am up to it but I am sure that I will be! Oh yeah!! *smile*
Soooo....last Saturday morning around 5:30am the phone rings, the answering service picks up and we hear a groggy yet happy Daniel saying, "Hey Mom...hey Pops.....you don't have to get up, but I just wanted to let you know that you are going to be grandparents." Talk about being wide awake all of a sudden! We were! *smile* Erin goes to the doctor Monday to find out when her due date is and so on. I'll keep you posted!!! I told the kids that there isn't a treatment, shot, or pill that could make me feel any better than this wonderful news!!
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Now for the next wonderful news! I don't have to have a hysterectomy!! Dr. Keller, my family doctor, had examined me, I had gone for the pelivc ultrasound, then back to Dr. Keller for the results where he told me that I was indeed going to have to have a hysterectomy. So he sent me to Dr. Detty, who is a gynecologist and who would be doing the surgery.
Well, last Wednesday night we had an awesome service at church. The Lord met with us in such a beautiful way and I went down to be prayed for. I came back up on the platform and just stood by the keyboard, worshipping my precious Saviour and asked Him humbly if He could just touch me so that I wouldn't have to have surgery because of my back being the way it is. I can only say that I felt something release inside of me when I prayed this way. I felt a load lift from my spirit. I knew that no matter what happened, I was going to be alright. So, the next day I go to my appointment with Dr. Detty. He is the OB that delivered Daniel 21 years ago and he is just an awesome doctor. He examined me and proceeded to tell me that he had some good news for me. Everything was okay! Everything was where it was supposed to be! I didn't need to have a hysterectomy!!! Hallelujah and to God be the glory!!! I am so thankful. God is so good to me. *tears* Doesn't He always step in right on time? I am so thankful that I can trust Him to know what is best for me. Oh, just to walk with Him means everything to me. *tears*
He IS my precious healer. I won't question why my back is still the way it is but I know this one thing....."I am trusting in Christ in alone......I am trusting in Christ alone....Since His faithful love I've known.....I am trusting in Christ alone." If you go to http://www.calvarytabindy.org/, click on their media archives, click on Musicfest 2007, then click on Nancy Grandquist, you can listen to this song. It is so worth the effort! God Bless!

Hello, it's meee......oh, oh, oh, ohhhhhh

Heyyyy.....do you remember that old song???? "Hello, it's me.....I've thought about us for a long, long time...." I looked it up and it is by Todd Rundgren but I'm not sure of what year it came out. Probably many moons ago if I remember it!
It is probably because I am musically inclined, but more often than not, when I am talking, I am reminded of songs ALLLLLL of the time! And I'll just start singing them. Daniel has always said that I have a song for everything. We've even played this game in the past where he will just say something to see if I can come up with a song to go with whatever he said and more often than not I have. Ed and I do this alot, too. We'll say something that reminds us of a song and we'll just start singing it, sometimes almost in unison. Great minds think alike!

Welllll.....I am off to see Dr. Detty this afternoon. He will doing the surgery that I am having. *feeble grin* On the plus side, he was the doctor that delivered Daniel twenty-one years ago and he is great.

Also, this evening I will be singing and playing for the annual Hocking Valley Community Hospital Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at Lee's Banquet Haus here in Logan. This is the first performance for me in about three years, outside of church. But I just want so much to do this because I do love to sing and play and then to see the pleasure that it brings to people, is such a blessing. I will be playing mostly........ dinner music. After the program and awards presentation, I will be singing. I've chosen: Hero, You've Got A Friend, Wind Beneath My Wings and Because You Loved Me.
Ed is going to take my keyboard and sound system up this afternoon and get everything set up for me. I can hardly believe that I used to lug all of this stuff around myself and set it up. I did! But.....no longer, of course. Depending on how I fare this evening, I may decide to perform at the Lilyfest once again this year. I haven't for the past two years because of health problems, but I would surely love to. We'll see.
Well, I had best be off. I have a busy day and I must pace myself. Again, I haven't been posting as much as I used to because I must do the necessary things first and many days I'm just not up to much more than that. I am praying that I can accomplish all that I have planned for today. *fingers crossed* *smile*

Ed has really been working alot in the yard, getting it all in shape for spring. Here is one of the flowerbeds that he reworked, putting some new edging around it and all. Now if we can just keep Rocky out it, because he likes to lay in the new mulch. *grin*

Ed also bought me a new rocking chair for the front porch. I love our old lawn chairs but they are a bit too low for me to sit in now. The rocking chair is much higher and easier for me to sit in. Thank you, honey!!! *smile*

Springtime in Ohio!

The flowering trees are absolutely beautiful and lush this year! More so than usual. I went to visit my sister Debbie yesterday and the trees outside of her building were breathtaking so I took a few pictures! Oh, the first one is of a weeping cherry tree at Wendy's drive-thru! *smile* Isn't it beautiful?

These next pics are of the trees outside of Debbie's building. Someone said they thought they were pear trees.

The Diagnosis

Well, I had an MRI on my lower back last Monday and went to Dr. Gedeon for treatment and to get the results. I have two bulging/herniated discs and one degenerative disc. Also, the opening where the nerves come out of one of my vertebrae is getting smaller.....because of arthritis......therefore pressure is being put on the nerves, irritating them, causing swelling, which is causing pain. And because of the degenerative disc, one of my vertebrae is tending to slide a little forward into and toward my pelvis, which is not good. Sooo, he has suggested that our first course of action be in getting shots....NRSI....Nerve Root Sleeve Injections. These would hopefully help to alleviate the pain (though it is not guaranteed) and to diminish the inflammation so that some healing could take place. I want to start small and go from there, so surgery is not even a consideration at the present time. And I would want some other opinions also. Now I just have to wait for my appointment to be made. I'll keep you posted. There is so much information on the internet about the spine, back pain and so on. I have learned alot and I am hopeful that I will get better in time.

I had the pelvic utrasound last week.....that was special. *feeble grin* I go to Dr. Keller tomorrow afternoon to get the results of that and find out what we are going to do next. *sighhhhh*

You see, I am not one to go to the doctor. Never have been. I haven't been in the hospital since I gave birth to Daniel 21 years ago. AND I only started going to my family doctor regularly about two years ago when my blood pressure got a little high, so now I go every 3 or 4 months just to get that checked and get my prescription renewed for my blood pressure tablet which is 5mg of Enalipril a day. Probably if I lost weight I wouldn't even need that.

Anywayyyyyy......I will keep you posted!

Thank you, Barbara

My dear friend, Barbara, at Stray Thoughts passed along this friendship award to me. Though Barbara and I have not met in person, we have become good friends just through our blogs. I believe that I found her blog when I began doing Thursday Thirteen many months ago and that is how we met. Again, thank you, Barbara for the award. Now, I would like to pass it on to Theresa, Chantell, Sis. Hurst, Sis. Elms, Rochelle, and Tracy. I appreciate each of your friendships so much!

I miss my mind the most

Sooooooo, I put off having an MRI and some other tests that I've needed until I got my Medicare Card and Humana, which is kind of a supplement, but not really......THEY say, but I present my Humana card whenever I go to the doctor, pharmacy, hospital, etc. and then Humana works with Medicare to cover any charges. Anywayyyy.....I was supposed to automatically receive my Humana card when Medicare kicked in, but I didn't. So I called our agent, oh, three or four times, leaving messages, asking why I had not received my card. She finally returned my call and said that everything in their system said that my card had been mailed, I was all ready to go as of April 1st. Well, I was in the car going somewhere with Ed when I received this call and after hanging up, I thought that I would just look in my billfold, go through my cards and so on. AND......there is was! My Humana card!!!! I promise you.....I do not remember receiving it! I don't know when I got it but there it was....right behind my social security card which is in front of my Medicare Card which is right behind my drivers license, where I keep all of my important cards!!!! Good Heavens!!! All I can figure out is that because Ed and I signed up for Humana at the same time, we must have gotten our cards at the same time, even though mine was not to become active until April. His became active back in December.
So this morning, I had a pelvic ultrasound at our local hospital. I had to have a full bladder. Well, this was going to be a trick because that is part of the reason I was having all of this done in the first place but hey.....ya gotta do what ya gotta do. So I drank enough water to float a battleship.....or so it seemed.......and hoped for the best. *feeble grin* Sooooo, any other time, my bladder would be torturing me every few minutes but I promise you......Ed took me to the hospital. I checked in. The ultrasound tech (a wonderfully sweet woman) came and escorted me to the examining room. I got all prepped and laid down on the table and my bladder was not full enough! Helloooooo!!! Soooooo, I proceeded to drink two more HUGE glasses of water. I swear I was beginning to hear a sloshing sound in my ears and the sweet tech lady was telling me that if my bladder didn't fill up adequately we could always reschedule. HELLOOOOOOOO.......... So, I just closed my eyes and prayed (seriously) that my bladder would fill. This dear lady, who was doing the ultrasound, and I just hit it off. We had so much in common that we about talked ourselves silly! And finally, finally...my body cooperated! And she was able to get the images that were needed.
Backing up a little here, when Ed and I arrived at the hospital, of course, I started seeing so many people that I had not seen for some time, as I just don't get out as much as I used to. My DH is always amazed at how many people I know. ???? I've lived here all of my life AND I love people. He says I am like the pope: I know everybody. Well, I don't know about that but anywayyyyy......it was good to see so many sweet people and be able to catch up a little with them.
Again, I'll keep you posted as to what is going on with me and this body of mine. I do know that I am going to have surgery. I just hope it is soon because I want so much to get better, to get back on my feet, to get my back fixed, if possible.
The weather this week is absolutely beautiful here in SE Ohio! I am so thankful for the sunshine! I've been watching Ed and encouraging him (*grin*) as he works in the yard and gets it in shape and ready to mow.
Happy Spring, Everyone!!

What is going on with me

I wondered just how much I should say here on my blog about what is going on with my health but then I considered that this is my journal, so here goes. I pray it isn't too personal for some of you. I'll endeavor to be discreet,k?
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Well, first of all, after not hearing from Social Security by the last week of March, I went to their office in Lancaster only to find out that I was not in the system anywhere to be found BUT the people at the Lancaster office have been awesome in getting things going for me and I am not in the system, will receive my Medicare card in about two weeks. Now I am just waiting for my Humana card. (our supplement). THEN I will be able to begin having tests and so on for my back. In the meantime, another health issue has developed which means I will be having a hysterectomy at the end of April, first of May. It is not cancer, thankfully. Some of my "parts" are not where they used to be, if you get my drift, and are now going to be removed....some of them....and others put back where they belong! *feeble grin* This has added to my back pain, let me tell you. BUT I press on! You know, I sometimes feel like I am in this battle to see just how much pain and discomfort it is going to take for me to give up, to quit. With the help of the Lord, I have only missed two services in the three years since having to quit work because of the debilitating back pain and problems. I am still able to do hair for my ladies, teach home bible studies, teach piano lessons, and do music at church and I would do more if I could but I have to admit that I am limited.......oh, and did the choir sing and worship tonight!! We sang "What A Change" by IBC! It was awesome!!
So, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!
We baptized Aaron tonight......a young man who comes to church through our outreach program that Bro. Cook helped us to start back in the fall. We have all just fallen in love with Aaron. His mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were there tonight to see him be baptized in the lovely name of Jesus and we prayed for his grandmother who has some serious health problems but we are trusting the Lord to heal her and do a wonderful work in her life!! It is so exciting to see the Lord working in our midst!!
I'll keep you posted and will endeavor to be more faithful to posting here. Some days, I just have to do what is necessary but I think of each of you, my blogging friends, and count it a blessing indeed to know you!!
Oh wait.....I almost forgot! It was SEVENTY-TWO sunny wonderful degrees today in our little valley!!! Spring is here and I am sooooo happy!! Everything is turning green and beginning to bud. How can I help but feel better,hm? I hope you are having wonderful weather where you are!!

Zachary Ross Gossom

Liz and Chris at The Lizness have a beautiful new baby boy named Zachary! Isn't he gorgeous!?! I just had to put up his little picture on my blog and share his preciousness with all of you!! God Bless!

Ellie, my faithful companion

Elllie and I have been spending quite a bit of time together as I have not been going out much. Sooooo, I have been able to capture some cute pictures of her as she meanders about the house. Well, sometimes she meanders. Other times, it sounds like a herd of buffalo coming through the house. Or she pads really heavily on the floor. That's the only way I know of to describe that particular way that she walks. At other times, you can't even hear her walking and then she usually gets stepped on and takes a swipe of our feet or maybe nips at us, thinking we MEANT to step on her. Sheesh. Anyway, the sound of her walking is dependent upon the mood she is in or the effect she is wishing to have on us.
In the picture above, Ellie is all tucked into my shoes just after I took them off when we got home from church. She loves our warm shoes! *smile*
In this picture (up there) she is sitting in the window soaking up the evening sunlight. She looks so pretty, hm?
Anddd in this one, she has managed to stuff her hairy, plump self into her shoe box and as you can see, she barely fits. I leave this shoe box there because she likes to rub against it, play with it and every once awhile cram herself into it for whatever reason. *grin*

Honoring the elders among us

I received this in an email from my friend, Pat, and just had to share it with you. I think this story and song might be wonderful to use on Mother's or Father's Day.

While watching a little TV on Sunday instead of going to church, I watched a Church in Atlanta honoring one of its senior pastors who had been retired many years. He was 92 at that time and I wondered why the Church even bothered to ask the old gentleman to preach at that age. After a warm welcome, introduction of this speaker, and as the applause quieted down he rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gate to the podium. Without a note or written paper of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to speak....

"When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50 odd years of preaching. I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials. The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me... the only thing that would comfort was this verse.........
"Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
we are weak but He is strong.....
Yes, Jesus loves me...
The Bible tells me so."

When he finished, the church was quiet. You actually could hear his foot steps as he shuffled back to his chair. I don't believe I will ever forget it. A pastor once stated, "I always noticed that it was the adults who chose the children's hymn 'Jesus Loves Me' (for the children of course) during a hymn sing, and it was the adults who sang the loudest because I could see they knew it the best." "Senior version of Jesus Loves Me" Here is a new version just for us who have white hair or no hair at all. For us over middle age (or even those almost there) and all you others check out this newest version of Jesus Loves Me.

JESUS LOVES ME
Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.
(CHORUS)
YES, JESUS LOVES ME.. YES, JESUS LOVES ME..
YES, JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.
Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.
(CHORUS)
When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song.
Telling me in words so clear,
"Have no fear, for I am near."
(CHORUS)
When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand His love
(CHORUS)
I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.
(CHORUS)

Hurry up, Spring!

Spring had better get here soon or I'm not going to be able to scratch my own behind!!! LOL

I got this funny picture in an email my friend Pat sent to me. I thought it was hilarious!

The Great Flood

Ed and I took a drive the other night to look at all of the high water in the area. Rt. 33 East was closed for most of the day yesterday just this side of Nelsonville because of flooding. So the traffic was rerouted to 328 to 56 to 278 back to 33 at last. I felt so sorry for many of the people who were having to take this detour. Of course, Ed and I are very familiar with it BUT if you aren't? Well, you would probably think .......well, I'm not sure what you would think but these secondary roads are nothing but hills and curves and dips and more curves and hills and more dips.....unbelievably curvy, hilly, and dippy roads. *grin* Ed said there was a guy driving a Lexus behind him and someone in an Accura in front of him and he said you could tell they were totally out of their element driving-wise. Here are some pics of the high water. A couple of them were taken as we were driving down 33 as it rained so they are kinda blurry but you get the picture. The other was taken the next day after the rain had stopped and it was actually a beautiful day even though the water was still so high. The one good thing about all of the rain is that the water table levels are up where they should be after a near-drought last summer, but I am ready for spring! *smile*





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So, Friday was a beautiful day even though it was chilly. Then on Saturday we had rain, snow, ice pellets, mist......it was frightfully cold and wet and yucky. AND yesterday morning.....Easter Sunday morning, it was TWENTY DEGREES here in our little valley! Yikes!!! Did I feel like wearing something pastel, light and airy to church? Uhhhhh.....no. *grin* BUT, I do have this really pretty jacket that is pastel-colored and pretty heavy. It is also nylon-lined, making it really warm. The spring wardrobe is going to have to wait awhile longer to be brought out.
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Last night at church, we had Bro. and Sis. Malik, who are missionaries to Pakistan. Ed and I just really connected with Bro. and Sis. Malik and shared a wonderful time of fellowship with them. Sis. Malik gave her personal testimony during the service, telling how she came to find the Lord and it resonated so with me and how I found the Lord. We talked afterward about how that many people see us and just think that we have been in the church all of our lives but not so and how we don't want to forget where the Lord brought us from and all that He has done in our lives. He has been so faithful and compassionate to us through the years. It is so wonderful when you meet sweet people like the Maliks and feel such a spiritual kinship with them immediately. They are staying in Mt. Vernon this week while travelling around the area. I told them that Pastor Kramer was my former youth pastor and that the saints in Mt. Vernon are awesome, which they truly are! (I miss you all!!) Ed and I are just going to have to find the time to come up for a visit!

The kitty of the house

Ed was eating breakfast the other morning and Ellie was right there watching him take each bite, as evidenced here:



She is so persnickety! If we do offer her a little nibble, she just sniffs it and turns away, but continues to sit there and watch us eat. Go figure. *smile* A couple of things that she DOES nibble at are Pringles Orginial chips and orginial Doritos but only one chip. She will eat just about any kind of dry cat food but she will only eat 9 Lives sliced beef and gravy canned cat food. She only gets about 1/4 of a can of the 9 Lives each morning as a little treat but, let me tell ya......she is ready for it when I get up in the morning! She is all around my feet, meowing like crazy! But I wouldn't have her any other way. :-)

Bro. L.J. Harry preached at the Section 3.2 youth rally at our church Friday night and it was absolutely wonderful. His message was "Nothing Better To Do". This message was right along the same lines as Bro. Bounds' message last month at the rally in Nelsonville. The Lord is reaching out, appealing to our youth to enter the ministry and work of the Lord. There is such a need for workers. The Lord moved into our midst so beautifully and powerfully, dealing with and ministering to the youth. We had an awesome time in His presence and later as we all gathered in the fellowship hall at church for food and all.

I have to say that our musicians and praise singers really bring it when we have special services! They were absolutely awesome!
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Okayyyyy.....I just couldn't resist sharing these with you! :-)

Q: What do you call ten rabbits marching backwards?
A: A receding hareline.

Q: Why did the magician have to cancel his show?
A: He'd just washed his hare and couldn't do a
thing with it.
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I have Pepsi Chicken simmering on the stove this morning already. I haven't fixed it for ages but had a craving for it yesterday and could hardly wait for today to get it simmering. This is a recipe that I acquired when I was still working at Smead Mfg., where I worked for 15 years. The girls that I worked with and I were always looking for quick, easy and delicious recipes and this is definitely one. Here's the recipe which is easy, easy, easy!

6-8 pieces of chicken
I prefer thighs and breasts with the bone in. Boneless chicken tends to turn out just a bit dry when cooked in this manner. You can remove the skin if you like.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a dutch oven. Place chicken in the kettle. Season to taste. Pour 16oz. of ketchup over chicken. Pour a can of Pepsi over this. Bring to a nice simmer, cover and cook for one hour.
I usually serve this with scalloped/au gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes and green beans. I absolutely loooooove green beans and could eat them everyday!

Enjoy!!!

A funeral dish

Now, you might be wondering about that blog post title but let me explain. Whenever I need to fix food to serve after a funeral, this is most often what I fix and I get raves on it. *smile* It is quick and easy and I always have what I need to fix it, on hand. It is delicious served with cornbread and really doesn't need anything else to complete it, unless it might be some kind of luscious dessert. *smile*
Let me tell you how I came up with this recipe. Close to 18 years ago, a young family in our church had new triplets. (They are now 17! *smile*) Well, every Wednesday, for a few months, I would fix supper for the family and take over to them, as I figured it was surely hectic trying to get everyone ready for church and so on on Wednesday. They also have another daughter, who is now 22. Anywayyyy....a dish that I fixed occasionally that the husband especially liked was Creole Weiners (Hot Dogs). It was a recipe that I found in my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook.
Soooooo, during this time, Ed, Daniel and I had gone camping and I was craving vegetables, so we found a little grocery store out in the country and we bought some canned and fresh vegetables. When we got back to our campsite, I proceeded to concoct this dish that I call Creole Vegetables, using the Creole Weiners recipe (though THIS recipe doesn't have weiners in it *grin*) and it has been one of our favorites ever since. I fixed it yesterday and Ed and I finished it up today!
Here's the recipe for Creole Vegetables:

CREOLE VEGETABLES AND SMOKED SAUSAGE

1 LB. OF SMOKED SAUSAGE
1 LARGE ONION SLICED AND SEPARATED INTO RINGS
1/2 LB. OF BACON CUT INTO NOT-TOO-SMALL PIECES
2 CANS OF SLICED STEWED TOMATOES
2 CANS OF GREEN BEANS/ DRAINED
2 LARGE POTATOES/ BAKED IN THE MICROWAVE OR TWO CANS OF POTATOES, DRAINED AND SLICED

SAUTEE THE BACON AND ONION TOGETHER UNTIL DONE. YOU MAY NEED TO
ADD A LITTLE OIL, DEPENDING ON HOW LEAN THE BACON IS. CUT THE SMOKED SAUSAGE INTO SLICES AND ADD TO THE POT, LETTING THE SAUSAGE BROWN.
ADD THE STEWED TOMATOES AND LET THEM SIMMER FOR A BIT
WITH THE ONIONS AND BACON. SALT AND PEPPER.
NEXT, ADD THE GREEN BEANS, MIX WELL AND LET THE FLAVORS SIMMER
AND BLEND TOGETHER. SALT AND PEPPER.
PEEL AND CUBE THE POTATOES AND ADD TO THE MIXTURE.
SALT AND PEPPER. LET THIS ALL SIMMER FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES. YOU MAY NEED TO ADD SOME WATER, DEPENDING ON HOW "SOUPY" YOU WANT IT
TO BE. I DON'T LIKE TOO MUCH LIQUID. TASTE TO SEE IF YOU NEED
TO ADD MORE SALT AND PEPPER. I'VE ALSO ADDED A FEW DROPS OF LIQUID SMOKE A TIME OR TWO, BUT NOT ALWAYS. *SMILE* DEPENDS ON THE MOOD I'M IN!
THIS IS GREAT WITH HOT CORNBREAD AND BUTTER!!
(OH, AND I DON'T THINK IT WOULD FIT INTO THE CATEGORY OF
"DIET FOOD"! *SMILE*)
ENJOY!!!
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You know, I sometimes think we can miss an opportunity to really minister to people by fixing food for them. Through the years, when we've had food leftover from supper or Sunday dinner, I've put it in containers that don't have to be returned, i.e. styrofoam plates, aluminum foil pans, etc. and given it to widows at church or an elderly couple or a single person living on their own and it has amazed me at how very appreciative they are of this simple, caring gesture.
I don't say this to pat myself on the back. I just consider it such a privilege to be a blessing to others, but perhaps someone out there is looking for a way to minister to others and can use this idea.
I've also fixed meals for a family that perhaps the Lord just laid on my heart. The mother might work outside of the home or perhaps their finances are a bit sparce. I've not always known. But I do know that anytime I have done this, I have been amazed by the overwhelming gratitude of the people, especially the elderly people, widows, and single people.
Last week, I believe it was Wednesday evening, I packaged up some of what Ed and I had had for supper and put it in a pretty St. Patrick's Day gift bag I had. I tucked tissue paper over the top of it and put St. Patrick's Day Mints on top of the tissue paper. I discreetly gave this to a divorced lady in our church who works long hours. I had made sure to put dessert in it for her because I KNOW she LOVES sweet stuff. *smile* I put the dessert in the bottom and put a little note on it that said, "Don't you dare eat this first! You are to eat the REAL food first, THEN dessert!" I knew she would get a huge laugh out of that and she did!!! *smile* And she DID eat the dessert first, with a hot cup of coffee.
So, if you have leftovers, consider fixing them up nicely for someone in your church or neighborhood. Or if you are just in a cooking mood or have extra or plenty, this is such a wonderful way to minister to others.

I was glad when they said unto me......

After not having church Sunday because of the inclement weather, it was so wonderful to make our way to the house of the Lord Wednesday evening and to be in service and worship the Lord. We also continued our bible study with Doug and Bill early that evening before church.
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The Section 3.2 rally is at our church tomorrow night (Friday) and we are all excited!! Bro. L.J. Harry from Mt. Vernon will be preaching and he is just awesome! We are expecting great things from the Lord as the youth and everyone gathers in!
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By the looks of things, spring is on its way. The temperatures have been in the 60's and it has been sunny and breezy. The snow is almost all gone but the ground is a mushy mess and we have to be sure and stay on our sidewalk or driveway lest we sink in up to our ankles! *smile* I am ready for warmer weather.

Ed will have a ten days off for spring break this year and we are thinking of taking some sort of vacay, though we haven't decided exactly what or where. I'll keep you posted!
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I don't have alot to post about but I thought I had better put something up so that you will know that I am still in the land of the living!! *smile* The Lord's best to each of you!

Political Correctness

Due to the climate of political correctness now pervading America , Kentuckians, Tennesseans and West Virginians will no longer be referred to as "HILLBILLIES".

You must now refer to them as "APPALACHIAN-AMERICANS".

I love it!!! LOL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some politically correct remarks about women:

A woman with blonde hair is no longer to be called a 'DUMB BLONDE' - She is a 'LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.'

She is not an 'AIRHEAD' - She is 'REALITY IMPAIRED.'

She does not 'NAG' you - She becomes 'VERBALLY REPETITIVE.'

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How to speak about men and be politically correct:

He is not a 'BAD DANCER' - He is 'OVERLY CAUCASIAN

He does not 'GET LOST ALL THE TIME' - He 'INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS.'

He is not 'BALDING' - He is in 'FOLLICLE REGRESSION.'

Let it snow!

Hi Everyone! It is still snowing in Ohio....and blowing and drifting and getting colder. Brrrrr!!!! Here is a picture of Ed doing some snowblowing and Rocky following along. *smile* Our county has been under a Level 3 snow emergency all day so we have stayed close to home, of course.

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Most of the area schools dismissed early yesterday. Ed does private transport for Logan-Hocking Schools and takes a 12-year-old boy to a spanish-speaking class in the Athens School District. He and his family are from Venezuela and he is learning to speak English in this particular class. He and Ed have a time! *smile* So Ed picked Richard up from school. Well, coming out of Athens and heading north, you go over this huge hill on Rt. 33. The road cuts through a hill. On the Athens side of the hill it was just raining but Ed said as they crested the hill, the valley and hills that spread out before them to the north were snow-covered and it was like a blizzard. When Richard saw it, he said, "Awwwwesome!" (His favorite english word at the present time *smile*) "Oh yeah, it's awesome alright, Richard," Ed replied to him as he drove on carefully. LOL Ed called me and told me that the roads were horrible and there were cars in the ditch and median everywhere. So when Richard saw the first wreck, he said to Ed, "Thees ees not good, Ed." *smile* Well, it normally takes Ed two hours to go get Richard and take him home. Yesterday, it took him 5 1/2 hours! So, Ed gets Richard almost home. He had to go a different route because the usual route had humongous hills on it. So he went the opposite way and sure enough, there was a hill right before you get to where Richard lives. So, Ed called Richard's dad and told him what was going on and would he be able to come get Richard. Well, Richard had to talk to his dad and let him know what was going on because his parents do not understand or speak much English yet. Ed said he couldn't believe how fast Richard talked in Spanish! Richard just laughed when Ed asked him what the heck did he just say to his dad! *smile* So a little while later, here comes Richard's dad, mom and little sister and his dad just drives downn the hill like it is summertime and goes right into the ditch at the bottom of the hill. "Thees ees not good," Richard says again. LOL Richard goes and gets his sister, brings her over and introduces her to Ed. She is three. "Thees ees my leetle seester, Ed." Ed says she is cute as a button. Just adorable. Well, Ed helped them get out of the ditch and then he turned around in the middle of the road and came home. He just loves Richard and they have such a good time together. This has been a good change of pace for Ed because normally he transports troubled teens to a counseling program in Athens and while most of the kids are okay, some of them can be a bit of a problem for Ed and it can make things a bit tense at times.
Sooooo.....I called Daniel at work and told him to please be careful on his drive home because the roads were terrible. He assured me that he would be and that he would call me when he got home. So, about two hours later, I get a phone call. It is Daniel and he says in a weak voice, "Mom, call 911. I'm in the ditch!" Well, I KNEW he was kidding! And he was. He was just pulling into his driveway. Thank you , Jesus.
It is supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow and the snow is supposed to move off to the east, so things should return to normal in the next couple of days. Ed drove into town this afternoon, though no one is supposed to be out on the roads unless it is an emergency. *grin* He said the only place that was open was Walmart and Speedway and I believe Bob Evans. He also said that the roads were indeed very bad still today.
I hope you all are doing well wherever you are!

I'm impressed!

I've been to most of the presidential candidates websites. When I've gone to them, it has been necessary to enter my email address to continue on. Having said that, I have received numerous helpful emails from the Obama camp, reminding me of numerous things concerning election day here in Ohio. But what has really impressed me is that today several precinct locations across Ohio had to be relocated in the middle of the day due to flooding. So, I get an email telling me where four precincts in Hocking County have been relocated to! Talk about a well-oiled machine!

I have received, oh, maybe a couple of emails from Hillary. Just the usual campaign jargon going on in them.

I haven't received any from McCain or Huckabee.

Again, I am very impressed with the smooth operation of the Obama campaign. It appears that they are able to get things done...pronto!

I know, I know.......

......I go from "no posting" to posting three times in one day! I have no excuse. *grin* But I wanted to share a recipe with you. Many, many years ago, the ladies at our church put together a cookbook. I believe it may have been the first one that we ever published. THAT'S how long ago it was! *smile* Well, I was single and thusly, did not cook much. BUT I did want to contribute to this cookbook, so at work I started asking for some really good recipes that I could contribute under my name. *wink* Soooooo, this is one of the recipes that I was given! Several months after the cookbook was published, Sis. Martin, who is now my pastor's wife, told me that this particular recipe was her youngest daughter's favorite dish! I felt compelled to 'fess up that I had never tried it. And I didn't for several years after that, either. But once I was married to my dear husband, I finally got around to fixing it and we love it! So here it is and you are more than welcome to tweak it any ol' way you like!!

Pork Chop Noodle Bake

4 Boneless Sirloin Pork Chops
1 12-16 oz. bag of noodles
2 cans of mushroom soup
1 can of mushrooms
1 cup of water

Season and brown the pork chops on both sides. While doing this, cook the noodles. After browning the pork chops remove them from the pan and put the mushroom soup, mushrooms and water in the drippings. Let this cook and simmer until smooth and thoroughly mixed. Put the cooked noodles in a lightly greased 9X13 casserole. Place the pork chops on top of the noodles. Next, pour the mushroom soup mixture over the pork chops and noodles. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
I usually fix green beans, peas, or broccoli with this. I have never done this but you could probably mix small broccoli florets in with the noodles and bake them right along with everything else. I like to mix broccoli in with alot of things to add some color. You do have to be careful about the flavor combos though. I wish I had taken a picture of this casserole to post here. But, trust me, it is delicious!!! Oh, and this is definitely not diet food. I don't even know if you could possibly tweak it and make it diet-friendly! Bon Apetit'!

Is Ohio on the map today or what?

Wow! All three major networks are in Columbus tonight. The three major candidates.....Hillary, Obama and McCain....are planning to hold their victory celebrations in Columbus tonight. Hmmm.....sorry to say, but one of them is going to be a bit disappointed, perhaps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About a year ago, we had an evening at church where the ladies that wanted to gathered to try their hand at different crafts and so on. Some of us did scrapbooking. Some did crocheting. Others tried making blankets and other things that I can't remember. *feeble grin* Well, at this gathering I took two big pieces of fleece material that I had purchased in order to make a blanket. My friend Neda and her daughters ended up making it for me that evening. They got down on the floor, tore into it and had it done in no time at all! Me getting down on the floor is not in my repretoire at the present time nor has it been for some time.....*little grin* Anyhoo.......have any of you ladies made one these blankets? They are sooooo easy. Mine is made of OSU print and gray fleece. The OSU print is not trademark but it is still nice. Anywayyyyy, after the blanket was made, I brought it home and tied it into a neat bundle and tucked it away. But one morning this week, I was so chilly. My eyes happened to rest on this bundled up blanket and I thought, "Why am I not using it?" So I got it and wrapped myself up in it, in my recliner, and it is heavenly! It is so soft and warming. Ellie the cat absolutely loves it! Everytime she sees me with an afghan or blanket of any kind, she comes running, jumps on me and starts kneading and purring like crazy. *smile* Here is a website that has good directions for how to make one. I think the fleece I used was 54" wide and I used 2 yards, so it is a really nice sized blanket. They are wonderful to make and give as gifts. Here is a picture of mine folded in fourths:

From snow to THIS!

You want weather? We have it here in Ohio!! *smile* We went from this a couple of days ago:

To this today:

With two sunny and 60 degree days on Sunday and Monday in between. It is in the mid-thirties now and going down! So hang on, you hardy Ohioans! It's March!! *smile*

Ed and I are continuing to teach a weekly bible study to two men who have been coming to church for about a year. They are two of the sweetest guys you would ever want to meet. And they are so hungry to know all that they can about the Lord. They are so faithful to church and always sit on the third row. It is such a privilege to share the riches of the word of the Lord with them. They are taking Ed and me out to dinner before church on Wednesday evening, so we are looking forward to that, of course! Bill is in his late forties and divorced, while Doug is in his seventies and a widower. They are best friends. Doug reminds me alot of my father. He is just the greatest guy. Bill started coming to church with his daughter and a short while later started bringing Doug with him. They just want to help with any thing that they can at church. It is inspiring to see their love for the Lord, His word and the church. I'll try to get a picture of them posted here in the next few days and yes, I'll be sure to ask them if it is alright. *grin*
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I've got a new physical problem that I am dealing with that has aggravated my back even more. It isn't anything terribly serious, meaning it can be taken care of in time with minor surgery....well, I believe it will be minor, but it has caused my pain level to really elevate and my walking ability to be impaired even more, which is not good. This is one of the reasons that I have not been posting much here. It's taking most of my time and efforts to just do the necessary things here at home and church and I just don't want to have to ask Ed to do any more than necessary, though he doesn't mind. There are no words to adequately describe how wonderful he is to me, even if he does make fun of me and tease me sometimes. *smile* But this is a good thing because he keeps me laughing. Sometimes I feel sorry for him because there isn't much that he can do to help alleviate my pain and so on and he feels kind of helpless, but it's enough to know that he is always there for me, you know?
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We have had two absolutely gorgeous days, weatherwise, today and yesterday. Oh, but the sunshine and warmth has been so welcome but it isn't going to last. Tomorrow it is supposed to turn colder and start raining. We take the good with the bad, hm? *smile*
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We went to Daniel and Erin's a couple of weeks ago and I got a really good picture of Max,their bald python, our grand-snake. LOL Here he is laying in the sun on the arm of the sofa:

Out of the mouths of babes

Antique Mommy has a wonderful blog HERE! This particular post caused me to recall a precious memory I have of me and Daniel. When he was just a baby until he was a toddler, I would put him in the bath tub with me and we would have fun bathing, blowing bubbles and just playing while taking our bath. This also saved me a little time. Well, when he got a little older, I thought the time had come to kind of make a change in this area and start giving him his baths by himself. But one night, as I was running his bath water, he begged and begged me to take a bath with him. I thought: "Ohhhh, he wants to blow bubbles and do all of the fun stuff we usually do." But I told him, "Daniel, Mommy is going to give you your bath with just you in the tub,k?" To which he replied, "Mommy, please get in 'cause you make the water go up realllll high!!!" (Being interpreted, that means I take up ALOT of space, right? *feeble grin* I got in. And the water went up. )

More news!

Ed and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on Friday, February 15! Daniel and Erin and Ed and I went to Outback Steakhouse in Parkersburg for dinner that evening and had a wonderful time. There is nothing like having a delicious dinner and spending time with those that you love the most, hm? *smile* To the left is a picture of Ed and me coming down the aisle after our wedding ceremony was over. My, but we look so young!! *smile* What a wonderful day that was!!

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I wanted to share a dessert recipe with you, especially for the chocolate lovers! I fixed this for the carry-in dinner that we had on Pastor Appreciation Sunday. Now, I am not particularly fond of sweets. Oh, I'll eat a poptart or cookie in the morning when I have my coffee but other than that, I can take it or mostly leave it! Anywayyyy......anytime that I fix this trifle, I get raves on it! So here it is and it is really easy to fix!!

Chocolate Trifle:

2 packages of premade brownies (i.e.Little Debbie or Freshleys or you can make a 9X13 of brownies from a mix. I don't think you'll use the entire pan of brownies.)

2 small packages of instant chocolate pudding

2 small packages of instant white chocolate pudding

1 large container of Cool Whip

Chocolate Syrup

Caramel Syrup

Butterfinger Candy Bar crushed

Break up one box of the brownies or half of the homemade brownies into bite size pieces and place in the bottom of trifle dish.

Mix both packages of the chocolate pudding mix with 2 1/2 cups of cold milk. Do the same with the white chocolate pudding. Put a layer of the white chocolate pudding over the crumbled brownies. Next put a layer of the chocolate pudding. Then a layer of Cool Whip. Sprinkle half of the crushed candy bar over the Cool Whip. Drizzle the syrups over the this. Repeat the layering process. This will more than fill the trifle dish. Again, top the Cool Whip with the remaing crushed candy bar. Crisscross lines of the syrups across the top. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

You could also sprinkle pecan bits over each layer if you like along with the crushed candy bar.

Hello, Everyone!

Yes, I am still among the living. *smile* It's been a rough couple of weeks but hopefully, prayerfully, things (my body in particular) are on the upswing. I mean, come on.....it HAS to get better!
Anywayyyy.......I finally got the prizes from the big bloggy giveaway sent out! Next time, IF I participate, I'm going gift cards all the way! To give away, that is! The first reason being that I had no idea of just how much it would cost to send a couple of rather small packages! Whew!! AND the second reason being that for some reason, Ed just couldn't get the peanut butter fudge right and ended up throwing out three batches! This just isn't like him! He had only used this particular recipe one other time, so after making some adjustments on the cooking time and so on, he finally got a really good batch AND the chocolate fudge with pecans was his very best ever! Yum! I wanted to keep it! BUT I didn't. I mailed it all the way to the west coast! Both of the ladies who won, live on the west coast. Congratulations, ladies!!
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As you can see, I have been playing around with my blog appearance. I am ready for spring!!! We have had snow, freezing rain, and ice. Then ice, freezing rain, and snow. Or maybe it was in reverse. It doesn't matter. We've had a seige of winter weather, including very cold temps and more is on the way I hear. Here are a couple of pictures of the weather we had last week. I do love the snow!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last week at church, we had Pastor Appreciation. I know, I know. It normally is in October, but October just hasn't worked for us the past couple of years and besides, this way it can be more of a surprise for Pastor and Sis. Martin because they don't know WHEN to expect it! *smile* Anywayyyy.....it was a wonderful day and week for them!
Pastor Clark Baker from Hamilton, Ohio, preached in the morning service and what a beautiful presence of the Lord was there! When contacting him to speak, I had forgotten that he had such a rich apostolic history with our church. His father, Bro. Bob Baker, along with his siblings came into the church in Logan many, many years ago under Bro. Stanley Hanby, who started the church here in his home. My, my. It was very moving to hear Bro. Baker tell of the spiritual history of his family here in Logan. And how fitting that he was the speaker on Pastor Appreciation Sunday.
Sunday evening, Bro. Jim Phillips from Nelsonville UPC preached and again, it was awesome! There was such a spirit of victory in our midst! Bro. Phillips is married to Sis. Neda who is also a part of the Baker family. She is Bro. Clark Baker's first cousin. I didn't even put all of this together when praying about who to have speak that day. The Lord has a way of just weaving it all together for good, doesn't He?
We had a carry-in dinner after the morning service and you talk about some wonderful food!!! Oh, Hallelujah!!! LOL I wish I had taken pictures of everything, but I'm sorry to say that I didn't. I'm not sure if anyone did. I'm usually the resident picture taker. *sigh*
Pastor and Sis. Martin received many wonderful cards and tokens of appreciation and the church family gave them a special gift of dinner, a night's stay and breakfast at Shaw's Inn in Lancaster, Ohio.
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I pray I still have some readers left after having been absent from my blog for so long. I will endeavor to get back to regular posting as of today!!!

Wanna win an Oreck sweeper?

Good Tuesday morning, everyone! The wonderful ladies at 5minuteformom are giving away....yes, you read correctly.....are GIVING away an Oreck XL® Ultra Vacuum Cleaner! Just click on the link above to enter!

We use these sweepers at church and they are wonderful! They are so lightweight, yet powerful!

Hey, someone has to win! It could be ME or YOU! *smile* You don't have to be a blogger to enter and win, so head on over and sign up!!

Helllloooooooo!!!

I'm sorry that I have not posted for like a week, I believe it has been. Hmmm....maybe a little longer? I'm not sure. Anywayyyy.....I haven't had the flu or anything like that, I have just been in a lot of PAIN. I am not sure what is going on but my mobility has really diminished, meaning that it has been very difficult to walk or get around, even here at home.
Sooooo.......I have had to put first things first in their proper order which would be: The Lord, my dear husband, my home, the pets. What? You can't believe my blog didn't make the top 4? *little smile* Oh, and I also stayed faithful to church which has been the only place that I have gone this past week. Prayer on Monday night, Bible Study on Wednesday night, church on Sunday. Then this weekend a dear saint from the Nelsonville church passed away and I was asked to do her hair, so Ed took me into the funeral home yesterday afternoon. Yes, you read correctly. I know that some may find it a bit......oh, I don't know......gross, morbid, whatever......to think of doing the hair of a person who is deceased BUT I look at it as a ministry. I really do. I mean, the dear saint isn't in that body any longer and I am so thankful to be able to do something to help the family at this most difficult of times. And there just aren't that many people who do long pentecostal hair any more. I am one of a few, it seems. What is really interesting is that the dear saint whose hair I did yesterday? I also did her mother-in-law's hair when she passed....dear Sis. Baker and also her sister-in-law.....dear Sis. Lyda, Sis. Baker's daughter. It was truly a privilege.
BUT.......after doing Sis. Baker's hair yesterday, I was a mess physically. I just came home and went to bed. I just don't know what is going on but the Lord does and I am trusting in Him to know what is best for me.
Also, our electricity was off yesterday for about twelve hours. I'm sure the wind took some lines down somewhere. Not to worry though because we have alternative heat, as in a woodburner and also propane wall heaters. But then, a few hours later, we also lost our water supply as there was a main break up the road somewhere. We always keep bottled water and the break was repaired around 8pm yesterday evening. Sooooo......everything looks to be back to normal around here except for my lower body. *little smile* BUT......we just keep on pressing on.
I know that some may wonder "How much energy does it take to put up a blog post, though?"
Well, it is just that when I am struggling with pain and a lack of mobility, I have to really apply myself to what HAS to be done, as I said above.....those things that are REALLY important and matter. And I have a little difficulty focusing mentally.
The only time that I can say that I am ever without pain at all is when I am laying down, soooooo I have kind of devised this little game for myself. I tell myself that if I get THIS, THIS, and THIS done, then I can go and lay down for a little while. Then after laying down and recovering for a while, I start over and do two or three more tasks. Some days I get more done than others. Trust me. *smile*
Now, I did not tell all of the above to get your pity or sympathy. It is just how my life is right now. But I would cherish you prayers. I really would. For healing. For grace. For my dear husband,who is so very wonderful to me.
I'm not sure how this week is going to progress but hopefully I will be able to get back to some regular blogging! ((BIG WARM HUGS TO ALL OF YOU))
Oh, and my adopted son put up a very timely and thoughtful post here that I agree with one-hundred percent.
Two other blog posts that I found very interesting, concerning ministering to today's youth, can be found here and here. Even though we are no longer youth leaders, I still read as much as I can about ministering to youth. I love young people and want so much to see them succeed in living for the Lord and finding salvation in Him if they do not know Him.
I signed up a few years ago with Larry Gibson's Yahoo UPC Youth Workers group. He sends out interesting articles and other helps to youth leaders and I have gathered great information and helps over the years.
Okay, that is all for now. I have sat here a bit too long so I must arise and get moving. Have a great day!!

And the winners are.......

Laura at Smiling Mother of 6 won the baking mixes! And Diane at Meyers on the Hood won the fudge!! Congratulations, ladies!! Thanks to all of you who entered and stopped by my blog!! This has been so much fun, even if I didn't win anything! :-( Okay, I HAVE to pout just a little, k? *grin*