A month of Thankfulness

At the end of the month, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. I always think of November as the Thankful month.

I am thankful for so many things but most of the "things" we can not see.


I am thankful for God's grace, love and forgiveness. I am thankful I can wake up each knowing as a child of God I am saved.

I am thankful for the love of my hubby. Yes, I do see it. He does so much for me and does it with a cheerful heart. I am so gratefully and blessed for Rob's love!

I am thankful for the guidance of my dad, Aunt Moz and Uncle Bud all my life and even now daily.

I am thankful for my family, both families. I am thankful for my loving nieces who make my heart smile daily.

I am thankful for wonderful friends.

I am thankful for a church family. I am thankful for a Pastor who stays true to God's word.

I am thankful for the beautiful sunrises and sunsets in Kansas. We may have extreme weather but can hardly beat our sunsets.

I could go on all night. Take time to say what you are thankful for. Make sure you tell the people in your life you are thankful for them.

November is here!

October went by way too fast! I (Heather) had a minor surgery but it has made me very very tired the last week. Rob has been working on the basement and it sure is close to being completed. I am ready to do the before and after pictures! It has been hard work but rewarding knowing Rob completed most of it. I did paint! I have also help sand and stain some of the trim work!



Last night Rob flew us to KC to eat at the Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant.

The sunset behind us was another remind God is the perfect artist!

Supposely, the 737 was a charter for Pink Floyd. I was impressed we parked by a 737!
We always have to take a picture of us flying even though we have a few!!!






After dinner!




Yummy!

Enjoying traditional Ethi coffee. It is the best coffee!
Rob also enjoying it in the little bitty cup!

Fall is in the air

It is almost fall and the leaves will be changing colors soon in Southeast Missouri. The cotton is starting to bloom. The marching band is practicing every morning before school to be prepared for the Friday night football games. This time off the year makes me homesick for Missouri.

The cool crisp nights are on its way. The cotton carnival is around the corner. The smell of the carnival foods and the American Legion fish and burger stand are a wonderful memory of growing up in Sikeston. It is a small town but it is home.

In Kansas I will one day have the traditions of the season but until then I will be homesick for Missouri in the fall!

Blessings from God

Two years ago today, I married my best friend, my lover and the person who makes me a better person. God blessed me with such a wonderful, God fearing, loving husband! I can not imagine my life without Rob!

I have been thinking about the last two years together. We have been through more than probably most couples. We have experienced deaths in our family, miscarriage, traveling all over, construction project, and just every day life. Every day I love him more! We love just being together even if it is just watching Planet Earth at home. We have traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kenya, Illinois, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Chicago, Maryland, Oregon, California, NYC since we have been married. We have fun traveling but also have fun in Wichita.

We are blessed with each other and with great friends and family!


Rob, I am looking forward too many many more years together! Thank you for being an amazing husband who keeps God first!

basement project update!

I am excited we have a free weekend to paint the basement! We only have the theater room and the living room area! I can not wait to do before and after pictures once the carpet it done. So far we have taken pictures at each stage!

Goal to be done (except furniture) is end of September! Hopefully we will meet the goal!

A few pic from NYC

Rob and I promised our niece,Jamie, we would take her to NYC! We had a wonderful time and here are a few pics from the trip!



Jamie, her friend Chloe with Meghann Fahy, Natalie in Next to Normal!

Rob, Jamie and I acting crazy at M&M World, Times Square!

Jamie and I riding the Ferris wheel at Toys r Us in Times Square! We were in the My Little Pony cart!
The Cross from the rubble at Ground Zero! God is with us Always!
Jamie and I at Ellis Island!
Jamie and I with Lady Liberty!
The three of us on Liberty Island



More pics later! I will also need to post Oregon pics!

We are staying at home for a while and taking a break from traveling! Our bank account will thank us!

ANTICIPATION

Rob and I are giddy like little kids! We can not wait to see what the basement is going to look like when we get home. Today the sheet rock is being hung! It is so exciting to see a project step by step be completed. In three days the basement will have permanent walls! Praise the Lord for this accomplishment!

Rob and I have an idea what colors we are going to paint the basement! That will be the fun part for me! I can picture it all in my mind so it is so exciting to actually get to start painting! Of course trying to find the time to paint is going to be challenging now! July is so busy! We will have to paint during the week since almost every weekend has something booked!

We have all kinds of anticipation going on! We leave for Oregon in 5 days! I have my lists made out and somethings packed! I am so ready for a week without work and time alone with my hubby! It will be such a beautiful trip! I love waterfalls and just nature all round!

Our weekend

Well our weekend was pretty low key. Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market. We bought squash, tomatoes, beets, potatoes, and cucumbers! I am excited to eat all of the fresh veggies this week.

Then we went to The Donut Whole for donuts.

Rob stuffing his face with a cheesecake donut! Picture is sorta bad since it was from my phone!


Maple Bacon donuts and toasted coconut donuts! The coconut was my favorite!
We had a relaxing time down by the river also!

God sure does paint a pretty picture!

What I didn't take a picture of is what I am dreaming of! A new embroidery/sewing machine! Oh it is glorious! I am so wanting it. It has a larger space for embroidering. It has hundreds of stitched for sewing. You can do some many things with it! So know my mad money is being saved for the glorious machine!

Project updates

I am waiting to do before and after pictures of the basement when it is completed.

Rob and his dad are putting the insulation up and hopefully will finish tomorrow! I am excited the sheet rocking will be done before July! We will have walls that I can paint! Now I am not putting pressure on ourselves to get the furniture any time soon. Hopefully by the fall we will have carpet, the bar, and furniture all down there so we can have a movie party! I can not wait for the home theater. To recline back and watch a movie downstairs is going to be great. I know Rob will be one happy man!

I am not pushing to do the patio until the fall now. We do not have one weekend free until middle of August so I need to try to pace the projects! The fire pit will be nice on cool fall evenings!

My 9:00 am daily email

Every morning around 9:00 I receive an email from Proverbs 31 Ministries. It is a daily devotional. I read them faithful and think about the scripture throughout the day.

On more than a few hundred occasions, it is like the email is written to me for something I am going through in my life. It may be dealing with a coworker, or a friendship, death in the family ect. It always speaks to me.

Isn't God amazing! Even in today's world, God speaks through an email! Telling me what I need to hear. Sometimes it knocks me down a little off my high horse. He speaks not only through His word, but through songs, emails, friends or even a stranger. I am constantly reminded to listen and be still! God will speak to you if you are willing to listen and accept what He has to say!

Relating to Hannah

When I read 1 Samuel 1, I relate with Hannah how she feels year after year not having a child. Elkanah loves her and takes extra care of her. She still longs for a son for Elkanah.

It seems like everyone around me is either pregnant or having a child. There are days it is frustrating and it hurts. Month after month I pray I become pregnant again. The miscarriage has been too much to handle and I just want one baby.

When I feel overwhelmed with the longing for a child, I read 1 Samuel . Hannah poured her heart and soul, weeping and praying to the Lord. Trust me I pray and cry also. Then God granted her pray, Samuel! She gave him back to Him also.

I know God answers pray. If it is God's will, Rob and I will have a child one day. But like Hannah, my hubby loves me and takes care of me! I am truly blessed!

3 weeks and 3 days

Rob and I will be looking at this:




I can not wait until our Oregon vacation!

Memorial Day

This weekend people will be on the lake, having cook outs, and just celebrating a long weekend. We will also be celebrating at the lake with friends. Please reflect on the meaning of this weekend.So many of our country's heros have lost their loved ones so we can have our freedom. So many families have lost their dad, mom, brother, sister, uncle, grandpa ect fighting for all of us.

The Memorial Day before Rob and I were married, we visited his sister in Delaware. We went to DC one of the days we were there. One of the most memorable things of the whole weekend for me was finding my Uncle Carl Mays' name on the Wall. Even though I never had the opportunity to meet him, he was my dad' baby brother. It hit hard seeing all those names on the wall.

So remember those who have fallen for our country. Pray for the families of the fallen, of the ones serving and pray hard for our country!

Projects ect.....

I have way too many projects going but some are slowly being completed.

My sewing is at a halt at the moment. My sewing machine decided it needed a vacation! It quit on me and now I have to figure out what to do! I think it is an easy repair but I have to find out soon!

I am also learning croqueting. I have a long chain going. I just have to have Kathryn help me to do turns! I want to make a blanket! Or even a pot holder at this point would make me happy!

The garden is doing well! The weeds have decided to pay a visit to the flower garden. I will have to send them away soon! We have planted 12 apricot carpet rose bushes several weeks ago. They have had a few blooms already. One did bite the dust, literally! The winds in Kansas killed it! It had a dust several around it and it was gone!

The basement is really coming along! Rob did an amazing job on the lights! Insulation is what is about to be in progress now. The trip to Missouri threw us off a little! I need to start thinking about colors of paint. Picking out paint will not be a fun job for me.

The patio is what I want done before the end of summer. I have asked for a fire pit for my birthday.(my bday is in July) We are putting a patio at the bottom of our deck stairs which shouldn't take us but a weekend to do it. The problem is finding a weekend to do the project!

I also plan on making a cookbook. Yesterday I searched high and low for my favorite pizza recipe. I never found it but it has made me realize I have favorite recipes I need to put into one place. I recently did a cookbook binder for a friend's wedding present. I put around 40 of my favorite recipes in it. I think I am going to type all my recipes up and make a book out of it. It is something I have wanted to do for a very long time.

We have several trips this summer starting with this weekend. We are going to Oregon, New York City, and a trip to Sikeston for my 20 year reunion. We are also planning a trip for our 2nd wedding anniversary but really haven't decided what to do!

I think I will not have time for anything else this summer if I only work on the projects.

May almost over, how did that happen???

Time is flying by. May is almost over and summer is around the corner.

Last week, Rob and I made the long trip to Missouri. My dad's lady friend of 11 years passed away. Ms.Eula has been apart of our family. It is was such a sad trip. My dad will miss her so much. I think about their routine and how much time they spent each day together. My heart is broken thinking of the pain my dad must feel right now. I praise God though in this sad time, I will see Ms Eula again in Heaven!

While we were home for the funeral, Molly Claire turned 9! I can not believe my brother's little girl is already 9. We had an ice cream cake at dad's Friday night. All the nieces stayed with us at Papa's. It was a nice distraction. We painted finger nails and played Wii. I just enjoy being around the girls!

We came back on Saturday so Rob and I could rest up a little on Sunday. I was so lazy on Sunday. I did make one new recipe yesterday. Rob and I have had a cold since we were in Missouri. Tomato soup sounded so good to me yesterday. I found an easy recipe while I was hunting for my pizza recipe. It is one can of diced tomatoes, one package of cream cheese, 2 cups of milk, a little salt and pepper. It calls for basil but I used the Italian diced tomatoes. Throw it in a blender until creamy then heat on the stove. It was so yummy!!! I had some more for lunch! It reheats rather well!


Our garden is looking rather lovely! We have onions peaking up, garlic has popped up, carrots are barely up but they are growing.Our peppers and tomatoes are doing great! Our rose bushes are bursting with blooms! Even my calla lilies are starting to bloom. It's exciting to watch everything grow. I can not wait to make salsa from our garden!

This weekend is Memorial day! We are heading out of town with some friends! It will be a good time.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is always a hard day for me. Since my mom became ill when I was very young then passed away when I was 13, it is a reminder she isn't here with us! This year was h a little harder than the past years. I should be 7 months pregnant if I wouldn't have miscarried in December.It was a reminder we still are not parents yet! We both want a baby and pray God will provide us with one in the future.



Even though I was a little sad yesterday, we had a great day with Rob's family. It was a joy to be able to celebrate the woman who raised my hubby to be the wonderful, caring and God loving man he is! His sister's family was over also.

We had prime rib, roasted veggies, baked mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, cream cheese corn, key lime pie and peach cobbler! I enjoy cooking for others! It was the first large gathering I was able to use our new china! Rob was such a help yesterday making sure we made this dinner special for the family! He is such a blessing to me!






After playing board games and visiting all afternoon, Rob and I crashed when everyone left! It was a long fun day!

More Adventures

This past weekend, Rob and I wanted to leave town to spend some alone time together. We both had a very long week so our original plans to go to Texas for the week has been postponed. Instead, Saturday we jumped in the plane and flew to Kansas City for Ethiopian food. It was such a beautiful day to fly. The food was great and the coffee was so yummy.

They brewed our coffee at the table. It was brewed in a vacuum pot.

Of course I want one now. The heat source boils the water and it is syphoned up to the top glass. Once the heat sources is removed it drains in the bottom pot without the coffee grinds. It was a very smooth Ethi coffee.

Sunday we meet up the John and Jill at the zoo! We are excited they now have a zoo membership. We had a fun day!


We have several plans for the next month. Next weekend, Rob will be dodging paint balls at Jared's bachelor party day! I will be at a purse party with Jill! When Rob gets back, the four of us are heading on a road trip!

I am going to a personal shower for Emily the following weekend. Love Wichita is on the 24th and that evening we are having a game night with some friends! Busy busy times!

Jared and Emily's wedding is around the corner also. I am making cream cheese mints for the wedding! Rob is going to take some pictures at the reception and at the castle in Wichita! We are excited for the two of them. God has put another great couple together!

Life is busy but it is good! Looking forward to all of our trips this summer. We are going to the lake Memorial day weekend with a group of friends, Oregon, NYC, My 20 Year high school reunion, and we will also take an anniversary trip. Whew I need a vacation from all our travels!

Spring Time

This morning while driving to work, I noticed how the trees are blooming. Just on Monday they were still brown and dreary. I guess they were still trying to wake up!

With our strange Kansas weather, we have been up in the 80s on Monday in the 40s on Wednesday and today it is suppose to be in the 70s. The weather has really changed my mood. It is like you see the hope and joy bursting out everywhere. God sure makes it pretty in the spring.

Back in Missouri over the weekend, the dogwoods and redbuds were blooming. Oh I love SE Missouri in the spring. My allergies tend to disagree with me!

Well Happy Spring Ya'll! Now get outside and enjoy it before it is 100 degrees out!

Feb Recap

February was crazy and March has been hetic! I am finally posting a few pictures from February. I wanted to put more up but it takes too long to upload!

Jill and in the background Mandy! We were celebrating Jill and Rob's birthday. We all went to eat then back to our house for dessert and "Battle between the sexes" game.

The Walrods, Parks and Youngs. Mandy and Joe left before we took the picture!

John reading the instructions, Joe enjoying his dessert, and Rob is in deep thought how to win!
Work day the the Nellis' other house in Haysville! Trying to get it ready to sell! Mandy is having fun!
This was before we moved the stripping party outside. I think we all were a little loopy by the time we went to the garage!
Shawna's birthday dinner!

Mike and Susan, Rob's sister and brother in law!

Poor Shannon had fever on her bday celebration! Rob and Shannon's bday are a week apart! Fun celebrating together!

Valentines Day was fun and relaxing this year! Rob sent these to me! My favorite, calla lilies and gerbera daisies!

Then we went here for a couples massage!

He took me to see Valentine's day!

I made these (cheese biscuits)

To go along with this ( dungeness crab, bacon wrapped scallops and crab cakes)

February was a busy month and a great month with friends and family!

New Recipes

Just a few things I have made in Jan, Feb, and March......


Rob and Shannon's birthday cake! Made from Scratch!


My first ever roasted chicken, I forgot to take the picture before we cut it.


This is a Plan B recipe. When the store bought pizza dough failed, I used pita bread. This is a tomato, bacon onion with double with 5 cheeses!

Monkey bread


This was soo yummy, beef bourguignon!
This was the first meal served on my china. Oven fried pork chops with a rice-spinach salad!

House projects

It seems the only thing Rob has been doing lately is work in the basement. The wiring is almost completed! He has a few more lights to hang and then I believe we do the cable for the different rooms. We are also going to wire the two upstairs guest rooms. After the electrical work, we will do the insulation! Then sheet rocking, then painting. I am ready to paint but picking out colors will be an issue!

I plan on taking pictures of the basement this weekend so we can do a before and after the walls are up. I can not wait to show it off when it is completed. Our home will be a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house! I am ready to watch movies with our friends in the theater room and entertain in the new living area downstairs!

I keep hoping my birthday party will be in our new basement!!!! (July 23rd)

St Patrick's Day

Today I googled St Patrick. I came across some information I knew but some I did not.
One thing that made me think was St Patrick's Breastplate. He wrote a prayer to strength him with God's protection. When I was reading the prayer today, it reminded me of the full armour of God.

Here is St Patricks Breastplate from Book of Armagh.


I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., travelling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., travelling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Weekend Fun

Saturday I had a guest at our house. Kelly came down to spend the night from Gardner Ks. I was so excited to spend time with her. Kelly is like my little sister. Her mom, Judy is my best friend from Sikeston.

Kelly brought her two pugs down also. Budda and Chloe were so much fun to have around. Chloe has way too much energy but it was funny to watch her in our house.

Kel and I shopped most of the day Saturday. We took her to eat Mexican then back to the house for WII. We played Super Mario Bro for several hours on Sat night and also all afternoon (until 6pm) on Sunday!

I made Chicken tortilla coup for lunch! Rob and I really had a great time with her and the pups!

I couldn't breathe!

Friday night we went to see Jeff Dunham with two of our friends, Amanda and Matt. I honestly can say that the money was well spent! I laughed until I could not breathe, i am surprised I did not have an asthma attack.

You could tell that JD ad libbed in some places. Even he was trying not to laugh.

For those who do not know who Jeff Dunham is go here. Or go to YOUTube search Jeff Dunham.

Thanks Amanda and Matt for joining the fun!

New recipes

Every week this year I have cooked at least one new recipe. Last night was spinach and prosciutto quesadillas! Wow they were they so good.

I also tried Emeril's peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. They were not so good.

I am also making a apple turnover this evening. I will post pics (well maybe) and the recipes soon. I just was in totally amazement how yummy the quesadillas turn out.

I should be cooking a little this weekend. My best friend from Sikeston daughter is coming to visit. She wants to cook something. Her mother, Judy, and I have spent hours upon hours in the kitchen together baking and cooking delicious items. I miss those times with her. No one can replace cooking with Judy! She is one of my favorite people in the world.

More later.

Life without Facebook

I gave up Facebook for Lent. I have never giving anything up for lent before. I decided to do give it up since it is an addiction. I used to be on FB constantly. I started to realize I wasted too much time on it. I can figure out what the appeal of FB is really. So you keep up with everyone moves or comments about their workouts or their eating habits. I think we have way too much time on our hands people.

I have been trying to spend time doing other things. But now I think I am addict to the news channels. I think this addiction is depressing! All you see are the bad things in the world today. Why can't we have one channel with rainbow stories and happy endings for once!

I think the only thing I am missing right now is the communication with some of my family like my cousins and aunts on FB. I really do not need to know about their shopping trips, how many people are pregnant and who is getting divorced. So after Lent, I will definitely spend less and less time on FB.

OK now I am off my soapbox. I will eventually post all the great pics from February. But again that requires me to go to the basement and upload pictures. The basement is a dangerous place right now. The guys are slinging hammers and using staple guns. Not a safe place for me to be uploading pictures!

Time Flies

Well I have several posts from February I will post when I can upload pics. I really hate our computer being in the basement. IT is so cold down there.

Speaking (or writing) of the basement..... progress is being made down there. Bathtub/shower is installed and the electrical work is being completed this week! After the inspection in a couple of weeks, it will be time for drywall! Woo Hoo!

Spring is around the corner and I am ready to be out in our yard! We are planning on bricking a patio at the deck stars with a firepit! I am ready to plant flowers and a garden!

Valentines Day is around the corner.....

You know when Valentine's Day is close at our house when there is a girl's night to make sugar cookies for our sweeties.

Tonight, Amanda, Amy, Emily, Kathryn and I are decorating sugar cookies for our valentine. Last year we had so much fun and it was nice to have some girl time.

This year I am trying an experiment. I have two batches of dough chilling in the frig. I made on with Kroger flour and the other with Hudson Cream flour. I think the Hudson cream flour will make better cookies. I know it makes better homemade bread. ( I am soo addicted to making homemade bread from scratch right now).

I will post pic and tell you if there was a difference in the flours.


Also projects I am working on: baby blankets, bibs, wipes cover and burp cloths for my pregnant friend's showers. I will post pics if I ever complete them.

Just a great picture!

Rob and I love the Sedgwick County Zoo! We have a membership and we enjoy going whenever we have time. We had a nice day a couple of weeks ago so we wanted to see what the animals do in the winter.

The lions are amazing! Rob and I love to hear him roar. He did a little on this day! Aren't they beautiful?

SNOW FUN!

Rob and I are such kids at heart! We love to play in the snow and have fun on January 30th!


The snow was not the type you can make snow balls with! So we just threw it at each other! My snow angel is tiny compared to my gentle giant Rob's angel!
Well we might have another chance to play in the snow. It snowed another 4 inches last night!