Holiday Weekend

Turkey, family, friends, shopping, nosy children, coffee, a beautiful fairy tale wedding (Congratulations Scott and Amanda!), church, more friends, more turkey, snow, a snowball fight, and sleep.  🙂

Crazy People and Being Stood Up

OK a tradition I have my my brother and sister is that we go shopping VERY early the day after Thanksgiving.  Yes, we are those people.  However this morning everyone was to meet her at 4:45.  It is now 5:23.  They both overslept.  Hmmm…

Thanksgiving

This year I am responsible for making sweet potatoes, mocha pecan pie, and a French silk pie.  The mocha pecan pie is a yearly favorite.  It is from the cookbook, Sundays at Moosewood.  It is an amazing pie!  Even those that don’t like pecan pie, love this recipe. 

The sweet potato recipe that I am using this year is from the Ocean Spray website.  It looks interesting and uses bananas.  I will let you know how it tastes. 

Ok and I admit the French Silk is from a mix.  🙂

How about you?  What are your favorite recipes for Thanksgiving?

Nephew Turns One

So my nephew (great-nephew, if you want to get technical) is having his first birthday party today.  He is a beautiful sweet boy.I can’t believe that he is already a year old.  I remember last year being at school and getting the call that his mama had delivered.  I was so excited that I literally sprinted out of the school building.  I know I still feel like that when I see him. 

Well last night I made his birthday present.  I doubt anyone will be surprised.  He’s getting a Monster Doll (formerly aka Ugly).  I liked how his face turned out.  I used my sewing machine on the eyes.  I thought it would stay better than whip-stitching it.  Remember he is only one. 

 

I wish now that I had made a design on his body.  He is a little plain.  He was supposed to have feet, but I attached them wrong and they are sewn inside.  OOPS!  I was getting a little too cocky in my abilities, and didn’t double check my work.  (Hmmmm…sounds like my 2nd graders in math.)

We’ll see if he likes it.

My Momma Always Said

If you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything at all.  Today I am kind of feeling like that.  I’m just grumpy.  Time for a long bath.

Kingdom Project

I am loving the Kingdom Project that is happening in our church. N has decided he is going to have a crafternoon during Christmas break and organize people into an assembly line to create Monster dolls. His plan is to then give the dolls to kids either at a hospital or maybe a shelter.

I spoke to others tonight about their ideas. One is thinking about creating gift baskets to do a silent auction and then using that money to do a larger mission project. Another is thinking about finding a way to do some sort of scholarship for kids that academically have made great progress. Another is buying toys for Toys for Tots.

I am really curious to see what all happens here. Everyone that begins talking about it has a twinkle in their eyes. Seriously…I’m not exaggerating.

Said it Before, and I will Say it Again

I love this woman’s wall art!  The owl is my favorite, but they are all beautiful.  I have her birds in my bathroom and they were wonderfully easy to put up!  After I paint my living room next summer I am buying the owl!  It is just too cute!  www.vinylwallart.com 

If you are into stamping you should check out her stamps!

Psst…she has a cool give away at her blog right now.  You should check it out!

Going Out of My Box

Tonight I have to speak at a city council meeting.  Mainly just to educate them about our theatre.  We were asking for some money, but I don’t think it will happen tonight.  I speak on a daily basis to many kids.  I can even speak to large groups without too much problem, but this has me nervous.  It is my perceived idea of power and that they hold all the money.  It makes me feel vulnerable.  I believe it will go fine, but I am still nervous.

Update:  I need to learn more about politics.   I spoke.  N said my voice sounded nervous.  I knew my voice sounded nervous.  The funniest part is that one of the council members used to have a child in my class.  🙂  I tried to look at her.  I thought it might help calm my nerves.  They didn’t vote on the issue.  They didn’t even discuss the issue.  I said my five minutes and then they went on.  Then we sat there sort of confused (Erica and I).  I’m unclear why there wasn’t a vote and that is why I need to learn more about politics.

12 Year Old on a Mission

This morning at church our pastor asked for 25 people that felt called by God to come to the alter.  He didn’t say why.  My 12 year went to the alter.  He does not normally jump up for this kind of thing.  In actuality about 40 people or so went to the alter.  After they were there the pastor explained that someone donated 25 $100 bills to be handed out to these people to do something with, but it was up to them what they would do with it. 

My son actually got passed over the as the pastor handed out the bills.  (Remember I said 40 or so people went up there.)  After Pastor Craig got to the end of the line he had one bill left.  People sarted yelling and pointing to give it to N. 

So there N stood holding this $100 bill.  The pastor is explaining that in 3 months they will need to come back and tell how they used this money.  I could see on N’s face that he was thinking hard.  I’m imaging that  he is thinking about his WII and a new game he could buy.  I was already planning the speech on how it isn’t really his money.

As soon as he came back to his seat he started talking about using it to buy shoes for children in Sudan, or water for people in Africa.  After more discussion there were thoughts about doing something for his school to help with the epidemic of suicides in our school district right now (4 in 10 months.)  Then came an idea of making ugly dolls or monster dolls to donate to the pediatrics unit at the county hospital or a homeless shelter for kids.  He amazes me. 

I don’t know what he will decide to do.  I’m curious to watch and to learn from this child with such a big heart.  God has a plan for him.

A request

Please pray for Morocco.  She lost her husband a few days ago.  For those of you that do not know her she is one of the authors of The Ommy Diaries.  She visits my blog often and my heart just aches for her.