Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

to everyone!

A New Kind of Me Me

recieved this meme from Tonja at Gatherings. The point is to go through and 'make bold' the ones you have done.



Started your own blog Slept under the stars Played in a band Visited Hawaii Given more than you can afford to charity Been to Disneyland/world Climbed a mountain Held a praying mantis Sang a solo Bungee jumped Visited Paris Watched a lightning storm at sea Taught yourself an art from scratch Adopted a child Had food poisoning Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty Seen the Mona Lisa in France Slept on an overnight train Had a pillow fight Hitchhiked Taken a sick day when you’re not ill Built a snow fort Held a lamb Gone skinny dipping Been to a Broadway show in NY Ran a Marathon Been in three states at once Ridden in a gondola in Venice Seen a total eclipse Watched a sunrise or sunset Hit a home run Been on a Cruise Seen Niagra Falls in Person Visited the birthplace of your Ancestors Seen an Amish community Taught yourself a new language Had enough money to be truly satisfied Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person Gone rock climbing Seen Michelangelo’s David Sung karaoke Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant Visited Africa Walked on a beach by moonlight Been transported in an ambulance Had your portrait painted Gone deep sea fishing Seen the Sistine Chapel in person Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris Gone scuba diving or snorkeling Kissed in the rain Played in the mud Been to Grace Kelley’s grave in Monaco Gone to a drive-in theater Been in a movie Visited the Great Wall of China Started a business Taken a martial arts class Swam in the Mediterranean Sea Visited Russia Served at a soup kitchen Sold Girl Scout cookies Gone whale watching Gotten flowers for no reason Donated blood, platelets or plasma Gone sky diving Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp Bounced a check Saved a favorite childhood toy visited the Lincoln Memorial Eaten Caviar Pieced a quilt Stood in Times Square Toured the Everglades Been fired from a job Seen the Changing of the Guards in London Broken a bone Been on a speeding motorcycle Seen the Grand Canyon in person Published a book Visited the Vatican Bought a brand new car Walked in Jerusalem Had your picture in the newspaper Read the entire Bible Visited the White House Killed and prepared my own meat Had chickenpox Saved someone’s life Sat on a jury Met someone famous Joined a book club Lost a loved one Had a baby Seen the Alamo in person Swam in the Great Salt Lake Been involved in a law suit Owned a cell phone Been stung by a bee

Are We Ready For Some Football?

Go Cardinals! Go Steelers! I really don't care who wins.

I just know Kurt Warner, who is an outspoken christian, and the third oldest QB to play in a super bowl, will honor his Lord no matter what the results. Just pass me the salsa and chips.


Doesn't this look fun to make? What will you be eating tomorrow?

friday "f"iesta

Friend - he's the best!

Will burrow under anything for a cozy nap. Took this pic yesterday. He only opened his eyes enough to see what was I up too.










Flakes - the dry skin kind. I bought this because it had oil in the name and it really did the trick.

Food - made scalloped potatoes and ham. Made it the old way with butter and flour in between the layers then pour milk over it. The new way is to make a rue. It disappears any way I make it.









Fertile - No, no, no not me anymore! Just call me hot flash Helen. Sorry Aunt Helen.

I get so hot even my leather recliner thinks it has heated seats! :)

Fan - my other best friend.

Facet - I want Jesus in every facet of my life.

Forgive - Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"




Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. "
Matt. 18:21,22

Have a fantastic weekend friends and let's forgive those who need our forgiveness not forgetting we are all forgiven.

FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE:

EVERY BLANKET BRINGS NEW OPPORTUNITIES!!!

friday "f"iesta

It's Friday already. It feels like this week zoomed by maybe because it did zoom by.

fatigue - describes myself today after a long day at work

fun - had dinner with my sister and brother in-law and solved all the world's problems - Why don't they ever ask us?

future - priscilla shirer - going beyond, coming to my church in april

futile - worry, why do i do it so much

finance - thank God the bills are getting paid

fedora - aretha franklin's hat, creation of mr. song's millinery in detroit - Do we really need any more bad press?

funny - ikea commercial makes me laugh every time. "Start the car! Start the car!"

free - smiles give them out generously and make someone's day

I Hate When I Do That!

Does anything look out of place? I almost broke out into the song I used to sing with my children from Sesame Street....one of these things is not like the other....one of these things doesn't belong. :) Remember that song? The day turned out a lot better than it started, just in case you were wondering.

I watched the inauguration. I am in awe at the sea of people who went to see history being made. I have not seen anything like this in my life time. The only comparison is the wedding of Princess Diana or her funeral. Our new president sure has a lot of things to try and fix. I will be praying for him as I know you will too.

Happy Birthday to Emily

Yesterday my baby turned 23. She had to work and we had the little guy for some Sunday fun. Grandpa bought his buddy a sled and a shovel. It was sunny outside and was actually comfortable if you were in the sun. We walked him up and down the block and he loved it. Then we had to do a little shopping at the mall for his mom. He loves the mall. The mall means "moothies" and this trip didn't disappoint. He had his strawberry/banana smoothie Surf City.

Since he was little his favorite toy was a giraffe that my daughter bought. We just made it something special and made it his symbol. So he got his mom a giraffe charm and put it on a necklace. He gave her a giraffe birthday card too.





















After work on Sunday, we took her to Carrabba's for a birthday dinner. The food was excellent and the little guy did great. That is, great after he squeezed the styrofoam kiddy cup filled to the rim with milk and it went all over him. You think one of us would have seen that coming. duh! We took him in the restroom only to find no blow dryer so we dried him as well as we could and stuffed his little pants with napkins to keep his wet jeans from touching his legs. He did fine after that.



The cake is a casatta cake. It is white cake with a cannoli filling. We were too stuffed to cut it last night so our birthday celebration will continue tonight. Birthday celebrations cannot last too long at least when you are 23. At my age there is a time limit...like the first 30 seconds when I wake up on my birthday. Oh, today is my birthday, oh my aching bones. :)



Emily you are a beautiful daughter inside and out and we love you like crazy!

friday "f"iesta

fajitas - would love them for dinner tonight

fun - shopped at Tuesday Morning (like Big Lots but only home products no food) and looked at EVERYTHING

fashion - need a new hair cut

frugal - bought a Cuisinart whisk for 4.99 from Tuesday Morning, best whisk I ever had

frosty the snowman - it is so cold here your nose hairs freeze

father - today my dad would have been 90. He always loved having his birthday celebration.

faith - where would I be without Jesus

face - here is my favorite one
















fanny - the thing I sit on toooooo much

flowers - I love them, miss them in the yard and need me some on my table real soon

feet - this is what my feet look like right now.












football - we got us a Tennessee Titan coach for the Lions-----yahoo! Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

fortitude - sometimes I got it and sometimes I don't

friday - Friday's here but Sunday's coming.

Dealing with Loss

This was in my email box today from Crosswalk. His timing is impeccable. I'm dealing with some big losses not to be blogged about here but very close to my heart. Some of you on very key days lately sent me a note to say I was on your mind and you dears lifted me up in prayer. On those days I felt them.

I come before my heavenly father with my losses like the helpless child I truly am. He tends to my wounds and is the only balm that satisfies my soul.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

Handling the Losses of Life - Part 1
Dr. H. Norman Wright

"What is the loss in your life that you've never fully grieved over?" Often I ask clients this seemingly unusual but necessary question and about 80 percent eventually discover a loss that's been neglected.

Over the years I have discovered that most people travel through life with unfinished business that acts as unnecessary baggage. Many are not aware that what they've experienced would be classified as a loss. Some try to ignore the loss, only to discover residual implanted in their heart and mind. Even when a loss is recognized, most people do not know what to do to recover; we are a generation that has not been taught how to grieve. And family life is full of losses.

Loss--a simple four letter word--is a constant companions throughout life. During the journey, the various stages we pass through include losses. They're inevitable. Some are sudden--others gradual. Some cause us to be racked with pain, while others provoke mixed responses.

Losses are especially prevalent in the first part of life. Most are developmental. For example, young people graduating from high school may experience a loss of status, friends and familiarity, but they anticipate moving on in life. In the mid to latter years, losses usually are not seen as a positive step of growth--as a 60- or 70-year old it's a sign that life will soon be over.
In later life they tend to accumulate. R. Scott Sullender describes it well:

"Losses also begin to become cumulative in nature after age forty. Losses build upon losses. Each loss is linked to previous losses, and in a sense fore-shadows the ultimate loss of life itself."1

When losses are infrequent they are easier to handle.

Most of us don't talk about our losses. Nobody likes to lose or be viewed as a loser. Believers should be the best equipped to handle loss and grief because of the rich resources of our faith, but typically this is not true. Christians are often given insufficient instruction and guidance on both the recognition of loss and on healthy grieving.

Did you know, for example, that:

mourning a natural death takes approximately two years (although various influences affect the length)?

the intensity of your grief peaks again at three months and twelve months following the death of a loved one and may be as strong as during the initial days?

it usually takes six to eight months to fully grieve over a miscarriage?

the loss of a child is called the "ultimate bereavement"?

Life is a blending of loss and acquisition. Every loss brings the potential for permanent emotional devastation and stagnation--or change, growth, new insights, understanding, and refinement. If there is to be wholeness, such growth requires both grieving and perhaps someone to assist you in going through this process.

Any event that destroys a person's understanding of the meaning of life is a loss. Moving, putting your "foot in your mouth," being burglarized or vandalized, receiving a "B" rather than an "A," having a child leave home, seeing an ideal or dream shattered, changing jobs, experiencing economic failure or job rejection, going through divorce, and experiencing death are all losses.

For the most part death is the only loss recognized as something to grieve. But other losses that we rarely acknowledge, such as divorce, could have more of a limiting impact that losing someone in death. When a loved one dies, there is closure, but all too frequently in divorce (especially if there are children involved) closure is lacking. Nina Donnelly describes our dilemma well:

"The trouble with trying to mourn loss when death isn't involved is that there is no body, no funeral, and no public shoulder to cry on. There is no traditional, socially sanctioned outlet for mourning when the loss isn't death. Loss of function, relationship, or financial resources, for example, bring no printed obituary, no "remains" laid to rest, no public gathering to cement the fact and focus love on the mourner.

"Trying to mourn loss when death is not involved is a lonely hell, with vague beginnings and endings defined more often by the intangible dimensions of lost and found hope than by the perimeters of the crisis itself."2

Dr. H. Norman Wright is a graduate of Westmont College (B.A. Christian Education), Fuller Theological Seminary (M.R.E.), and Pepperdine University (M.A. in Clinical Psychology) and has received honorary doctorates D.D. and D.Litt. from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary and Biola University respectively. He has pioneered premarital counseling programs throughout the country. Dr. Wright is the author of over 65 books--including the best-selling Always Daddy's Girl and Quiet Times for Couples. He and his wife, Joyce, have a married daughter, Sheryl, and a son, Matthew, who was profoundly retarded and is now deceased. The Wrights make their home in Southern California.

Oh Christmas Tree

Well I got this much done...and miles to go before I sleep. Come on in and take a look.

The Christmas Tree with a new star at the top from the dollar store!

Here are some of my favorite ornaments. I have about a dozen hand crocheted snowflakes made by my mom. I love these hand painted tin ones that attach to the branches by clothes pins. I also love these egg shaped ornaments with Christmas themes on them made by the "egg lady". I went with an all white theme this year with just a little bit of color. I didn't plan it, it just kind of happened.