Happy Father's Day

I am so thankful for my dad.
He has always been such a good example to me.
One thing I remember the most growing up with him is that he always, always, always got up early to read his Bible and pray.
Always.
Every morning.
Without fail.
Early.
I would see the light under his door and I knew what he was doing.
I want to be more like that.
I need to start out each day with my Heavenly Father.
I think my days would go much better.

I am also thankful for this dad.
My husband.
The one thing I appreciate the most about him is how he treats our children.
They mean the world to him and they know it.
When he sees them, he greets them like they are the most important thing in his life.
He asks them all sorts of questions about their day.
He plays with them.
A lot.
He lets them know they are important.

I count it a huge blessing to have these men in my life. :)

Happy Ending

In January, our family was blessed with a dog.
Someone was giving her away and we accepted her with very open arms.
Her name is Jessie and she is a miniature black Schnauser.
We never knew what joy a dog could bring to our lives.

Oh, how we love her.

On our kids' last day of school, Jessie threw up and collapsed all of a sudden. 
I thought she was dying.
I was right . . . she was.
I rushed her to the vet right away.
When we got there, she started losing blood out of both ends, poor thing. :(
She was diagnosed with Hamorrhagic GastroEnteritis, which is a very rare condition in which small dogs abruptly start vomiting blood and having bloody diarrhea (sorry I just said that word on my blog). 
I'm glad that I got her to the vet before the blood started coming.
They hooked her up to an IV and she stayed at the animal hospital for four days. ($$)

Miraculously, our sweet Jessie made it.
The vet said that if I had waited any longer, she would not have survived.
They have had only 2 other cases of HGE at that animal hospital and neither dog went home. :(
I am counting our little doggie blessing right now.
I am thankful that we were home when this hit her and that we could take her to the vet right away so she could be saved.

Writing Again

I have taken quite a break from blogging, but I have missed it.
Since the kids are all at school all day, I decided to start earning my keep around here.
I started painting signs.
I love it.
It is so therapeutic for me.
And people are actually buying them!!
Do you want one?
Visit my etsy shop and I'll make you one! :)

click HERE to visit my etsy shop

happy halloween

Happy Halloween from our house to yours!

flower love

We have just been having way too much fun over here.
I find myself sitting out in the back just watching my kids swim alot.
I love it.

The other day while I was sitting and watching, I was looking at my flowers and thought I would take a few pics for you.

A lovely friend gave me this hibiscus plant.

Did you know that the blooms only last for one day??

Ageratum. 
I love this annual because it is purple ALL summer.
Usually, I plant them in the ground, but Caroline wanted to plant it in a pot.

Dianthus.
I love, love, love this perennial.
The color is so vivid.
My sister's name is Diane, so they are even more beautiful to me.
I think of her every time I water them.

I don't know much about roses.
I have always been intimidated by them.

This bush was here when we moved in.
I just cut it back when it gets out of control and it is doing so well!
Love.

It has a million blooms this year.
Maybe because of all the rain??
So that's what happens when they get watered!
;)

Mini Petunias.

Blue Hill Salvia . . .
another favorite perennial because it has color ALL summer and is so easy to take care of.

I don't really have a lot of flower beds at our house yet.
I had so many at our other house.
I miss them.
(note: if you have ever put thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into gardens at an old house, never ever drive past the old house to see how the gardens are doing . . . sigh)
It has been just too overwhelming for me to start digging yet.
I have so many projects inside that I would like to finish first.
(like the cabinets!)
So, for now . . . I have my few little spots that I have made "my own" with the above flowers and I add more color with containers.

Thanks for stopping by.
~cheryl

Patriotic Jell-o

Since it is almost the Fourth of July, I thought it would be nice to re post this recipe.

* * *

I am not one to make JELL-O molds frequently, but on the Fourth of July . . . we just have to because we have this perfect USA mold!! (can't let it go to waste!!)

I got it free many, many years ago at a grocery store in Virginia. (it was one of those "buy 2 boxes of JELL-O, get the mold free" deal)

Even though you probably don't have a mold like this, I thought I would give you the recipe so you can make the layers in a different shape.

Layered Patriotic Jell-o

3 3/4 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (8-serving size) or 2 pkg.(4-serving size) any red flavor JELL-O

1 pkg. (8-serving size) or 2 pkg.(4-serving size) Berry Blue Flavor JELL-O

2 cups cold water

1 pkg. (4-serving size) Lemon JELL-O

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

Spray mold (or shallow dish) with no stick cooking spray.

Stir 1 1/2 cups boiling water into red and blue gelatin in separate bowls at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir 1 cup cold water into each bowl.

Pour red JELL-O into prepared mold. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set but not firm. Reserve blue JELL-O at room temperature.

Stir 3/4 cup boiling water into lemon JELL-O in bowl. Stir in ice cream with wire whisk until melted and smooth. Spoon over red JELL-O in mold. Refrigerate 30 minutes longer or until set but not firm. Refrigerate blue JELL-O (not in mold, just in bowl) 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Spoon blue JELL-O over lemon layer in mold. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Unmold.

Wow!

Enjoy!!

linking up with:

 

a trip to Trader Joe's

Luke and I took a little trip to TJ's.
I always like to see what my friends are buying at Trader Joe's, so I thought I would share a few of the things that ended up in our cart.
Come along as we unload the groceries. . .
(note the cabinets are still brown)
By the way . . . Luke is so much fun to shop with.

This is a MUST to keep in your pantry.
If you have this and a brownie mix . . . you have a fabulous homemade dessert ready to go!
I used to make my chocolate frosting from scratch, but now I am hooked on this.
It is soooo good (and easy).
I promise.

I love this hand soap.

If you like almond flavor, buy these.
They are amazing.
My husband loves them.

I like to keep these on hand for when I am "munchy".

Throw in a few chocolate chips, and it is a real treat.

I like to buy lunch meats that don't contain nitrates or nitrates.

I just feel better about it.

They are a little more pricey, but it's worth it to me.

Luke's favorite cereal.

Caroline likes these.

At only 99 cents a bag, I always grab a couple.

Again, throw in a few chocolate chips, and you have a real treat!

Luke's favorite drink.

The other kids won't touch it.

The funny thing is that Luke is our "Mr. Picky."

It is really good . . . it just doesn't sound like it would taste good.

I like to keep these on hand for when I need something to feed the kids fast. (like when it is 5:30 and the kids say, "What's for dinner??")

And I like to keep these on hand for when we have a little extra time (time??) and can grill some delicious salmon.  They are frozen and keep "fresh" for a very long time.

My favorite pb and j.

These peaches are AMAZING . . . better than any dessert I could ever make.

My kids love when I have these in the freezer for a little something different in the morning.

These are handy to have for a high protein snack for kids.
Just throw them in the microwave, stick toothpicks in each one, and serve them with ketchup.

And last, but not least . . . we LOVE this orange chicken.
I always buy two bags (I quickly figured out that our family needs more than one to make a meal).
Jake especially likes it.
I serve it with rice, orange slices, and steamed broccoli.
Easy meal and the kids enjoy it so much (even Mr. Picky!)

Thanks for helping me unload the groceries!!

~cheryl