Merry Christmas World!! :)

Da Bomb

I surprised my honey by taking him on a date. He had no clue where we were going. All he knew is I had promised to feed him, and feed him well. ;) Kiddo and I were watching a show on our Roku several months ago featuring the top 10 sandwiches in America. How fortunate we are to be not far from the home of the #1 sandwich! Meet Sasquatch!

 This sandwich is made with two grilled cheese sandwiches prepared with Texas toast and three slices of cheese. This isn't the sandwich mind you, it's just the bun! In between these two whoppin' grilled cheese sandwiches are your normal fixens, a half pound of house ground beef topped with 3 additional slices of cheese. plus 5 strips of bacon and a mound of freshly fried onion strips. The sandwich is so tall that no frilly toothpick is going to do you a bit of good holding it together. It comes with a steak knife plunged through the top of it. I have an exceedingly Happy Hubby right now :) !! I just love it when I get something this right :D

Want to go get one yourself? Here is the location, and here is a youtube video describing the place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqUwBD5ensw 

Happy Eating! 

btw I DID NOT eat one too, in case you're wondering! I had the spicy chicken wrap :)

There's no place like home...

Hold them close 

tell them you love them

share a smile

make a memory

This life is too short to waste

A Picture is Still Worth A Thousand Words

This is Kiddo's new shirt courtesy of her mom's imagination and vistaprint.com. (Yes, I am a shameless vistaprint junkie.) 

She is now officially finished with high school, and being that she is my last child to home school, I am officially retired!!! YIPPEE!!!!

She would like to point out that she graduated on 12-12-12 :)
Someone else just pointed out to me that she graduated from the 12th grade ha ha! I wonder what else we can work in there???? 
shoe size? LOL ummmm nope

To my family and friends: Graduation ceremony at the church on 1/20/13 2:00 p.m.!! (Pictures to follow!)

Maybe I'll have more time for blogging in my future?? ;)

My husband, my hero

                  

My Husband is one of the two most wonderful men ever. He shares that title with my Daddy, the first man to love and protect me, to shield me and guide me. My Daddy was without question the best daddy in all the world. I miss him so much. He is in Heaven, having a grand time sitting at the feet of Jesus and waiting there for the rest of us to follow.  Before he left us though, he gave me in marriage to the man I now share my life with. This man I am married to is beyond description... He's a manly man with a tender heart towards his family. A man with a sure and powerful sense of devotion and honor. I'd like to share just two examples of his care towards us.

When Daddy went to his home in heaven we were living a full days drive away, approx. 20 hours to get there. I'm not a very good long-distance driver, so my wonderful husband drove the entire way... straight through. Exhausted with grief I spent much of the time dozing in the front passenger seat, only to awaken every few hours to keep him company for awhile and ask him "Are  you alright? Do you want me to drive?" When we finally did arrive it was 5:30 in the morning. Not wanting to disturb the sleep of the grieving, we didn't wish to knock on the door. Hubby spotted a trampoline in the yard and at his suggestion, we all started hauling the blankets and pillows from the car and made beds for us to rest.  It was Summer time and it wasn't long before the heat awakened me.  I was surprised not to see my husband by my side. I scanned the yard and found him pacing back and forth. I approached him and commented "You're awake already? You didn't sleep long." He said he hadn't been asleep. Knowing how tired he must be, I was surprised at his response. Then he looked down at me and said, "My family was out in the open, unprotected. I wasn't about to go to sleep".  I am amazed at what a wonderful man I am married to.

Another example: It was the busy season and my hard working husband was putting in extra long hours. He was working 10 hour days, commuting 3 hours a day in the middle of Summer with, I might add, no air conditioner in his car. There's also an absence of cooling in the shop he works in, due to the presence of toxic fumes and the need for ventilation. In spite of the swamp coolers on the premises, with the bay doors open the temperature remains in shall we say, the barely bearable range.  

On one of these days it happened that my husband worked an even longer day than usual, 12 hours. He wasn't going to be home before I needed to leave the house. It was a special night at church. All the church congregation were meeting to share the evening playing games, snacking on goodies, and visiting with each other. I was sad that I wouldn't see my husband, but not wanting my daughter to miss out on the fun, I made my husband a plate and off we went. When I came home I saw that he had eaten his dinner and was tucked into bed lightly sleeping. I tiptoed over to him and kissed him softly on the forehead. He stirred and asked me if I were alright. I told him to rest assured, that I was fine. Then he asked about our daughter, "Yes, she's fine too." Finally he relaxed and fell sound asleep. What an amazing man it is that I am married to. One that will travel 3 hours, work 12 in the Arizona heat, then make sure his wife and daughter are alright before he can rest.  Lord thank you for this wonderful man, and Lord please help me to be deserving of him! 

And yet a third example of my husband's awesomeness... (yes, I know I said two examples, but he is just that good!)

Not long ago the heater core in my car went out. Now, living in Arizona, you might not thing that's a big deal. Trust me it is.  It gets below 20 at night here. No heater means no traveling at night because there is no defroster. No heater means no traveling in the early morning hours because there is no defroster. No heater means cold fingers and shivering bodies if you need to go any where other than 10a.m. to 3 p.m. Do-able, but not a whole lot of fun. And so, my most wonderful and loving husband went to the auto parts store and dedicated a weekend to making his wife and family more comfortable.

 

This is what my car looked like at the end of the first day. Yep, it only took one day to reduce my car to this. 

You might ask:

     Has my husband ever done this before? The answer would be no.

     Am I nervous? Perhaps a little bit, but you don't know my husband!

By the end of the second day it was finished. Why no picture? Because I was too busy driving it around town with a huge smile on my face and enjoying the warmth from my new heater Silly!

Being a mother, Being a grandmother...

I LOVE being a mom. There is nothing so wonderful, so heart fulfilling as bringing life into this world, and being given the awesome privilege of guiding, loving, nurturing, teaching, and enjoying your babies as they grow; then watch them bloom as they live their own lives, making their own decisions, following their own paths, and blessing you with sharing their lives with you. Being a mother has such joy that words cannot express.

Being "Grammy" comes with a whole new set of joys, all the love, and only half the worries. (My grands have AWESOME parents. I get to worry much less, I am female however so I MUST worry some!) Instead of all that worrying I get that much more time lovin' on them.   I remember one beautiful afternoon. My oldest daughter came over with her first (at that time only) child. Little Katherine was perched at a toddler size table and chair set in my living room eating pizza for lunch. As I watched in rapture at the joy of being with my daughter and her baby for the day my mind suddenly went back to when my daughter was her age. I said to her: "I know just what you're thinking. You're thinking...."I hope she eats all of her lunch. I hope she doesn't get pizza all over her dress and I hope she doesn't spill it all over Mom's white rug." My daughter laughed and said, "Yep! That's pretty much it!" I told her. "You know what I'm thinking?? I'm thinking "Isn't she SO CUTE"! LOL  Oh yes, being Grammy definitely has it's perks! I love my Kiddos, I love my Grands. I am blessed!!

Do ya s'pose I'm getting more forgetful???

So, I made this great big huge batch of my favorite cookies in order to have enough to share and enjoy... chocolate, cherry, coconut with cherry m&m's It's all baked, will not be baking any more of said flavor and I suddenly realized.... I forgot to put in the cherries!!! Are you kidding me?? That's almost as big of a crime as telling the wrong grand daughter happy birthday last Sunday... Yes, I actually did that Emily was quite pleased though and looked at me, gave me a big hug and beamed a thank you as if to say "Grammy, you are the ONLY one who remembered!! Thankfully I regained my senses before I gave the gift to the wrong child. Somehow I don't think Emi would really appreciate her own special mug with her sister's name on it, even if it were filled with chocolate! 

So..... now what do I do with 10 pounds of dehydrated cherries???? hmmmm salad??

As we enter into the month in which we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, I can't help but think. I'm grateful that he isn't in a manger, nor on a cross, but that he lives and reigns in heaven. He came for a reason.  To provide us a way to get back to the Father. To me it's mind boggling that the son of God, knowing that he would be rejected and scorned, tortured and killed would still choose to come and give his own life to pay for my sin. Oh wretched sinner that I am, 

Thank you Lord for your precious gift!