Two pigs and a surprise!!

I've always loved surprises. Tom on the other hand does not like surprises. That's why he thinks it's so great when he can surprise me. Our anniversary was Monday, but to celebrate we went to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night. We went to the Bass Pro Shop and spent the evening just wondering around and looking at all of the stuff they sell. I've never been in a store with so much out doorsy kind of stuff. We ate a a fish place inside the store. The food was really good. I had deep fried dolphin. Tom had a salad with seafood (I can't remember what kind) on top. Along with a bowl of conch soup and a ton of the sweetest bread. I had New England Clam Chowder. My favorite. Soooo yummy!!

We found some really nice bargains while we shopped. Tom was in desperate need of blue jeans. He found one pair and a shirt he had been wanting. I bought some shoes.

We stayed at the Crown Plaza across the street from the Sawgrass Mall. We drove around the mall after getting our room taken care of and WOW!! that is the largest mall I have ever seen. I don't like to shop and just the thought of walking around in there was giving me nightmares!! Back to our room...we had a really nice room with all kinds of fancy amenities. We really enjoyed staying there. On Saturday we slept in and just relaxed. I love my children dearly, but it was nice not to have to get up and take care of them. And to know that they were in good hands helped us to relax even more.

We ended up at the mall around 12:00 and walked around in awe at everything that was there. They had a Cheesecake Factory and we had never eaten there so...we ate there. :):) We had a hamburger the size of Texas that was called a Kobe burger. I think that is the type of feed the cattle are fed. Any whoo, it was really big!! We couldn't have cheesecake. We were way to full.

My sole purpose for going was 1.) to celebrate my anniversary of course, and 2.) to find my girls a piggy bank. We looked everywhere. No one sells piggy banks anymore that aren't battery operated, talk to you, swallow your money and spit it out a slot on the bottom. I wanted an old fashioned piggy bank. The mall has a Super Target. Tom was growling about going to a store we could go to back home, but I was on a mission. I wanted those piggy banks. So we went in and after some directions from a nice sales lady, we found our pigs. Two of them. I was so proud of those pigs. I kept telling Tom not to clink them together and for heavens sake don't drop them. I knew the girls would love them.

Now that I had those banks I could rest in peace. We went back out into the mall and came across this booth in the center isle. They had these contraptions hanging all over the place that would turn as the wind blows them. They don't make any sound, but they are absolutely beautiful. They had so many different varieties and they were motorized by a little black thing that kept them going around in circles. I fell in love with the 3-d humming birds until I heard the price. $75.00 for two of them and that didn't include the motor. I told Tom no way!! and kept on walking.

We went into this outlet store because Tom had seen a Wrangler sign and was still looking for some blue jeans. While we were in there, I told Tom I wanted to sit down for a while and he could come and get me when he was ready to go. While I had my back turned, he slipped out of the outlet store and went back to that booth with those circling, hanging contraption thingys and bought the very one I thought was so beautiful. Not only did he buy that one but he added a metallic blue dolphin and a smaller humming bird in candy apple red. With the motor to keep them circling. I was in total shock. At first I wanted to scream "You spent $100.00 on this nonsense when we could have spent it on something more important!!" But guess what?? He had such a look of love and excitement on his face because he had bought those for me that I couldn't yell at him. It was such a thoughtful thing to do and it made me so happy to know that he loves me so much he couldn't resist getting me something that I really liked.

So there you have it. My two pigs and a surprise. If you live in our neck of the woods and want to see my circling thingy, just come on over. I'll proudly show it to you.

This was Kattie's bank. You couldn't put another dime into it. Below is the new piggy bank. She had so much fun filling it.

This one was Patricia's bank...And the new one. I didn't think she would ever get her money into this pig. She had fun.

This is the humming birds on the top. The 3-d humming birds is in the middle.

The dolphin's are on the bottom. The pictures do not do it justice. I did a video of them. I'll try to down load it so you can see them moving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVMHzjPagLY. Here's the link. You'll have to excuse Katie. She was having a moment. See ya.

Tag!! You're it!!

I've been tagged to tell seven random and crazy things about myself. I've done this before but you know, it's a lot of fun. So here goes...if I can think of seven things I haven't already told everyone.

1. When I was a little girl I liked to eat Elmer's glue...UGH!!

2. My Mom had sixteen siblings in her family. She was somewhere towards the end.

3. I wore braces for three and a half years.

4. I once was at a friends house when I was really young, maybe about nine, and I was on his friends horse. He proceeded to kick the horse in the rear and up the butt end of this animal came with little ol' me on top. Lucky for me I didn't lose my seat but I came really close to it.

5. I was raised on a farm where we grew all of our vegetables in seven gardens and we butchered all of our meat. The butchering was the least favorite job for me. I didn't like the smell of the blood.

6. I do not like coconut!!

7. And last of all, I'm not an emotional person. I don't like to be hugged and petted on unless it's my children. Sorry Tom. I never was one to cry but if I do, you know I'm really hurt.

Well there are the seven things about myself. And just for the fun of it I'm going to tag seven more people. How about....................Gwen, Jennifer, Carla, Sharron Teed, Windi, and Leora.

Come on ladies. I think you can do it!! Good luck and have lots of fun.

My "smoothe" little girl

Every once in a while I like to go to a restaurant called Tropical Smoothies. Boy are they yummy!! They are low fat and they serve sandwiches and soup along with their yummy smoothies. It is a little more costly than other places and so I only go about once a month. Maybe twice...depends on how bad I'm craving one.

They have all kinds of flavors...Kiwi Quencher, Peanut Butter Paradise, Tropical Collates (sp) and Sunny Day, just to name a few. I always get the Kiwi Quencher. It is the absolute best.

Well today I bought one and brought it home. I can't hardly drink them fast because my brain freezes after 2-3 sips and I get a blasting headache for about 30 seconds. So it takes me a while to drink one. I got home with this one and Katie wanted a drink. The little rug rat stole the smoothie from me!! After she got started on it she wouldn't let me have a drink. She would plop down on the floor and do her little pucker-up cry and make all kinds of sad sounds until I gave it back to her. She would then start drinking it and laugh. As soon as I would ask for a drink, down on the floor she would go again and start her little scene all over again.

Now you can say whatever you want. Babies are not dumb. They know how to get their way and under any other circumstance I probably would not have given the smoothie back to her. But you know how you just have those moments when they just look soooooo cute and you just want to laugh at them? This was one of those times. The cup is almost bigger than she is and she was so funny, I couldn't help myself.

I grabbed the camera so that you could see her drinking "her" smoothie. And if you are ever in South Florida, you have to try a smoothie.MMMmmmmmmmmmm!!! They are delicious!!

Treasures - both physical and spiritual

Today was a wonderful day. I went to a Women of Worth retreat and I was so thankful I had found time for it. The speaker was Sarah Fry along with some of the ladies from our own church. Sarah was amazing!! I had never heard a speaker who was so able to explain the Bible and biblical concepts the way she did. Some one who wasn't a preacher that is. She was really good. I gleaned so much food for thought from her words of wisdom.

She talked about being good stewards of our time and about living for Jesus in the real world. Sometimes we set our standard too high. We make our expectations way out of sight until we get so discouraged and just want to give up. Sarah reminded us that we are not perfect in body. We are human. There will be frustrations in our lives and we will not always walk a perfect walk. She also reminded us that we should fill our minds with the good things of God. To carry scripture around with us and say an encouraging verse every day. She made me feel like I don't have to worry about what other people think of me, but rather to focus on what God thinks of me. Am I pleasing to Him? Those kinds of things.

Sarah also told us about the Bear and the Duck. So cute!! :):) The duck was so clean and perfect and the bear was laid back and didn't worry about a messy house but focused on baking to give as gifts. She told us that we were either the duck or the bear and could be an extreme duck or bear. I guess I would be the bear in the sense that my house is never spic and span. I don't even spring clean. Bet that got your attention!! :):) Yet I worry what others will think if they see my house and go away and talk about me. Yet at other times I feel like the duck who has everything clean and sparkling (and that is very seldom) and when bear came over she made him take off his shoes and put newspapers under his feet while he had a brownie. I don't mean to come across like that and I guess it's because I have worked so hard to clean the floors (tile takes a lot of time if you have a whole house full of it) that I just want to enjoy it for a day or a few minutes. You know what I mean. I just have to do better in this area.

She talked a bout gossip and what a terrible tool it is for Satan to use against us. How much it hurts to have someone talk about you and ruin your influence. I had to stop and think that my influence will always be with me and I don't want it to be tarnished. Rather I want people to know that I cherish my reputation and would never do anything to harm it. I want to remember that there are other people who feel the same way that I do and not gossip about them. To tell tales on someone and spread hurtful things to everyone we know is not Christ like.

One thing that I really appreciated was Sarah's point about all of us being beautiful in God's eyes. Even though others may see our flaws and our disappointments, God sees the beauty He has created. We are made in His image. How can that be ugly?

She also focused on our devotions and the time we spend with the Lord. I fail miserably in this area. I am so busy that to get that extra 15 minutes of sleep every morning is so easy to do. But I have to find time for God. If I don't, I will die spiritually. If it's just 15 minutes a day, I have to do this. She gave us some schedule sheets and I started each day out with devotions. I'm really going to focus on taking that time to pray and read and to meditate on the Word. If you want to pray for me I would appreciate it.

Now for the physical treasures!! You've all heard the saying "One mans' junk is another man's treasure." Well I thought I found some treasures today. Not that I am saying that the ladies brought junk. Please if you read this blog don't be offended. I thought everything was so nice and well taken care of. And no these items were not "junk." :):) Any way, I was really pleased with what I found.

What we did was to have a silent auction. If your participated you got a number and then you would go around to see everything that was on the tables and if you find something you like you put your number on the list along with a bidding price. It's like no one know who bid for what. The first thing I saw was this crystal bowl. I absolutely love crystal!! I have several pieces, some of them antiques, that I love. I had to have this bowl...isn't that awful??? Any way, I kept going back every little bit to make sure that no one outbid me...lol. In the end I won this beautiful bowl (thanks to whoever brought it.)

Then I saw this lamp and just fell in love with it. I don't know if I will ever use it but I went home and put it directly on top of my computer desk (I have a high backed desk with shelves) so the girls couldn't break it.

I went on around the table and found these picture frames. I love Boyd's Bears and this one was actually a Cottage Collectibles but they look very similar. I just fell in love with this frame and I intend to put my girls pic in it.This frame is absolutely beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice. I am going to put one of our family pictures in it.

We also were supposed to bring a purse that we wanted to trade for another purse. I found this purse that I like really well....

I thought it looked really springy...is that a word? Any whoo, I ended up getting this purse (thank you whoever brought it) and bringing home the purse I had taken because no one chose it.

So that's what I did today and I really had a great time. Tom stayed home with the kiddos and mommy got to go be with other mommy's. What a relaxing time.

Maybe I could do this every Saturday....hhhmmmmmmmm!!!! :):)

New friends and a broken cell phone

Things come in pairs but it's so nice when one is a good thing. We had our very good friends, the Peters family, to move down from Ohio. They were wanting to relocate to a place where they could be in a Christian community, have a good school for their kids and hopefully find decent work. You don't always find everything you are looking for, but they were fortunate.

Brian Peters has been Tom's lifelong friend. Since grade school. They have done everything imaginable together. Tom was really excited when he found out they were for sure coming to live at Hobe Sound. They had been here several times to visit and fell in love with the area. Especially the ocean. They spent numerous hours playing at the beach in the sand.

Brian is working for Waterblasting doing training for a new position. Tiffany is a home maker and home schools the boys. The Lord willing they will be in HSBA next fall.

I met Brian and Tiffany over 7 years ago and since that day our friendship has grown. Tiffany and I have so much in common and I am thankful to have friend like her. They have 4 children, Darren, Brandon, Ryan and Kimberly. They are great kids.

So for all of you who live in the Hobe Sound area please give the Peters family a warm welcome. You won't be disappointed!!

Welcome to Hobe Sound Brian, Tiffany, Darren, Brandon, Ryan and Kimmie. We love you!!

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Cellphones are such an awesome invention. I feel so much better when I go somewhere if I know my phone is with me and I can call for help if I need it. Everyday Katie plays with my phone. Tom is forever telling me that she is going to break it. I just keep on letting her play with it. It keeps her entertained when I'm on the computer. So far she has never broken the cell phone.

But guess what? Yea, you guessed it. I was riding my bike two days ago and I had it in my pocket. These were deep pockets too, but it didn't matter. The phone worked its way to the top of my pocket and fell out onto the concrete. The top of the flip part is broken and if you move it wrong, you will turn the phone off. I was so frustrated. GRRRRRR!!!! Why in the world did that have to happen?

So now I am looking for a new phone. Something really rugged. That a baby can't break. Ha Ha!! Now you know that cell phones are kid proof but not Mommy proof!!

Easter Fun

The girls looked so nice in their dresses on Sunday. I took some pictures of them in the house before church because somehow between leaving the house for morning service and returning to the house from morning service they seem to get really disheveled. I haven't quite figured out how going to church can do that to a kid...lol. We had about 25 here for Easter dinner and then the children got to hunt for eggs. I think we hid around 160 eggs for them to find. Some of them had money in them while others just had candy. The kids thought it was a great big race and they took their starting places and when we said go they ran like scared rabbits. They had a lot of fun. Patricia gets so excited about running with everyone, she forgets to look for the eggs...lol.

Easter and Christmas are about the only time we buy special clothes. The rest of the time is out of pure need or watch them go naked. I really liked these because they were on sale and looked just as nice. Here are some pictures of the egg hunt.

Patricia and Darren running like mad to get to those eggs first. Mommy and Katie (you can barely see the top of her head) took is slow. We were too full of yummy Easter dinner to run...lol.

Brandon Peters finding treasure in the sand box. I see an egg hidden from Brandon. Can you see it?

I'm not sure if Ryan is after eggs or if he's getting ready to attack someone. I see another egg in this picture. Do you see it?

Everyone counting out their treasures. They sure had fun.I hope you had a wonderful Easter day. God bless.

Happy Easter Sunday!!

If anyone told me that I would have to go before the Roman soldiers and be beaten, spit upon, whipped, scourged, my hair plucked out, hung on a cross for something I had not done, I can promise you, I would have ran in the opposite direction just as fast as I could go!!

On this Easter Sunday, I am so thankful that our Lord, Jesus Christ, was willing to die for my sins. He was bruised for my iniquity. The chastisement of my sins were upon Him and with His stripes I am healed! No one had to force Him. He didn't have to be bound up and drug to Pilots hall. He went willingly with love for the very people who were nailing Him to that old rugged cross to die. And even while on that cross He took the time from His pain and agony to welcome another sinner into heaven.

There is no other Savior like Jesus. I praise Him for redeeming me and for giving me hope that I can spend eternity with Him throughout the endless ages. I praise Him that He saw me, the sinner that I was, and was willing to pick me up, set my feet on the right path so that I could make Heaven a reality in my life someday.

This Easter I want to focus on Him. As someone else has already said, His death on the cross was gruesome and so sad, but He did it for me and you. Let's not feel sad and sorrowful because Jesus died on the cross, but rather be joyful that He took our sins upon Him and that He has made provisions for His people in heaven.

He is not in the grave!!
He is not defeated!!
He has the keys to death, hell and the grave!!
He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for you and for me!!
We do not have to bow our heads in shame!!
We are heirs to the heavens and to the King of Kings!! I don't ever want to be ashamed of Him. He has done so much for me!!

It's not about bunnies and eggs and new clothes for church. Those are fun in their place. Easter is about the Savior of the world who died for lost sinners. Lost sinners like I was and you were. He came and redeemed us and we can know that our sins are forgiven!!

I pray each of you have a wonderful Easter and that the true meaning of this day will be on your mind and hearts throughout the day. And not just today but every day.

We are a forgiven people with the blessed hope of eternity in heaven!!

Thank you Father for sending your Son to take away my sins. Thank you for the gift you gave to me!!