Warm Fuzzies

All of you out there who have had children can relate to my thoughts and memories today.  My "baby" is 31 today.  I can hardly believe it.  The day of his birth remains so clear in my mind.  So many details, so many thoughts, so many feelings about that day will stay with me forever.  Born at 11:54 a.m., April 28, 1980.  It was a beautiful, clear, sunny spring day, much like today.  My little baby boy, all 9 pounds, 7 ounces of him filled our hearts and arms with joy that day and for many days to come.  Yes, gals, 9-7, and that was before the day of the complimentary epidural that is offered today...and no I did not have a C-section.  I will always remember the Doctor saying he was losing a heartbeat, thinking the cord was around baby's neck.  After a fast and hard 4 hour labor, I was exhausted and just thought I'd give up.  But my ever-supportive husband told me otherwise..LOL  He put his arms under my head to lift me up as I pushed again and all the while he was praying for me.  I can still remember looking over at the sunny window covered with venetian blinds and the five student nurses watching my delivery (yeh, I know, stupid, stupid..I'd never agree to that again..lol)  Later, one of them came to my room and told me she had never seen anything like the way my husband prayed for me and encouraged me during the birthing process.  I guess some good came out of having the "observers" in the delivery room with me.  God answered my husband's prayer that day and our healthy baby boy was born.  Now, 31 years later, our "baby" is getting ready to have a baby of his own.  He and his wife are expecting a little girl in June.  Many happy memories of that exuberant, busy, rowdy, little boy in our home.  And today, we are reminded that time marches on but so thankful for those memories and the promise of making more with his little girl.

Cricut Give Away

For all my scrappy friends, here is an awesome give away you need to know about.  You really should check this one out.

http://www.cricutholiday.com/2011/04/enter-here-to-win-new-cricut.html

Great Sacrifices

My little nephew (well he isn't so little anymore) is graduating from basic training today in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  He is an honor grad, excelling in all areas of training the last nine weeks.  Because of this honor he was invited to lunch with the Colonel (exciting for him...I would've been a nervous wreck LOL)  I'm so glad my sister and her family were able to be there for this special time for their loved one.  What a sacrifice, not only for the soldier, but for the family.  I cannot imagine sending my son off to the Army, in peace times or time of war.  My high school sweetheart (now my husband) joined Army Reserves during his college days and I will never forget the hurt in my heart when we said good-bye.  So the thought of sending off my flesh and blood, well I cannot quite fathom.

But to my nephew, Spencer, I want to say a big Congrats!!!  We are so proud of you and your accomplishments and know you will continue to do well.  Our prayers go with you as you move forward, on to AIT (Advanced Individual Training).

Thank you to all our service men and women today and their families for the sacrifices made to protect our beloved country.  Remember to thank them and always keep them in your prayers.

Our heavenly Father made the greatest sacrifice of all, sending his only Son to take on the sins of the world, dieing on the cross that we might be saved and have eternal life.  Don't forget amidst the Easter egg hunts, bunnies, peeps and jelly beans to give thanks for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  Happy Easter to all my blogging friends.

Check out My Pink Stamper

If you ever thought you might want a Cricut machine, you need to check out this give away.  While you are there, check out some of Robyn's projects.  She is very talented.

http://www.mypinkstamper.com/2011/04/cricut-expression-2-machine-giveaway.html

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Did I grab your attention with that subject line?  LOL  I hope so.  As I finished pumping gas this morning, I was thinking how good God is and sometimes I forget to be thankful even for the small stuff.  I got out of the car to pump my gas with cash in hand (I like to just lock my purse in car while I pump gas).  I pride myself on stopping at just the right amount but occasionally I'll run past the amount I intended to purchase so I grabbed a few pennies as I exited my car, cash in hand.  I'll have you know, I ran over my amount this morning by 4 cents.  I looked at the pennies in my hand and what do you know....4 pennies.  Now that's a really little thing but I smiled and said "thanks God".

On a much bigger note, my mother had surgery last week to remove a nodule from her lung, near her heart.  Having had breast cancer 6 years ago, we were quite concerned about what this mass would turn out to be.  The afternoon of surgery was a long one.  Surgery was scheduled for 1:00 and finally started at 3:10.  Doctor was running late (imagine that).  I will say, we loved her doctor.  He is a chest specialist and was so caring and very informative.  When he came out around 5:00, I found myself sit up at attention, bracing myself for the worst.  But thank the Good Lord, he said "It is not cancer".  Believe me, that is a statement you will never forget.  She was able to go home yesterday and of course is still sore but feeling so much better and planning on seeing my nephew graduate from basic training in Oklahoma next week (with the doctor's blessings).

Another note of thanksgiving, I was following a small pick up truck yesterday piled with "stuff" when a BBQ grill and it's lid came flying off.  I was so thankful that after a few terrifying seconds, that grill bounced over to the shoulder.  I know God was right there protecting me.

So, now that you've heard my Happy Thanksgivings for today, I hope you will stop today and think of what you have to be thankful for and don't overlook even those very little things.  God cares about every aspect of your life.

Cards Completed Today

Following a recent death in our family, I found myself, once again, thinking of my sympathy cards.  I found card sketches on some of my CM groups that I thought could fit the bill.  Here is what I came up with:

This card is for a man so I didn't want it to be filled with flowers and pastels.  I think a lighthouse works and the brads at the bottom remind of cuff links.  The stitching around the edge of lighthouse is rub-ons.

100 Follower Give Away at Scrap Happens

Hey gals!  Jenn over at Scrap Happens has a give away going on this week celebrating her 100 followers.

http://scraphappensembellishit.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveaway-and-announcement.html

She'd love to hear from you, I'm sure.

New Beginnings..The Promise of Spring

I was challenged recently in one of my CM groups to make a spring layout, using spring colors, of course.  I had just purchased the butterfly paper at Hobby Lobby the day before and I think it screams spring.  I started thinking what I would do, thinking about spring and everything new again.  Of course, then my new little granddaughter came to mind.  I decided to tie in new beginnings and spring and this is the layout I came up with. 

A new baby=new beginnings....new plants emerging from a seemingly dead winter ground=the promise of spring.

Yummo!!! Hungry??

When I find a good recipe, I don't know what comes over me but I feel the need to share.  I'm so excited when I find a simple yet very tasty dish.  Wednesday evenings are always a rush for us.  We attend services at our church that begin at 7:00 and hubby usually gets home around 6:00.  You can see the need for quick suppers on Wednesdays, right?  And what can be quicker than a crockpot supper. 

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 boneless pork shoulder roast (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), netted or tied
• 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed French Onion Soup
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 12 round sandwich rolls or hamburger rolls, split

Directions

• Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned on all sides.
• Stir the soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the pork and turn to coat.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours* or until the pork is fork-tender.
• Remove the pork from the cooker to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the pork. Return the pork to the cooker.
• Spoon the pork and sauce mixture on the rolls.
• *Or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. Yield: 12 servings.
• My pork was so tender there was no need for shredding with the forks.  It simply shredded as I removed the ties.  I spooned the meat into a colander, then placed colander over my crockpot to drain a lot of the juice off and also to keep the meat warm.  This made some great sandwiches for a quick supper, serve with slaw, chips and you've got it...a great Wednesday night meal.  I hope you enjoy it.

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