Enjoying life

I want this sign to be over my house. I have had so much fun with grandchildren this weekend that I feel like I have been giving a super gulp size drink from the fountain of youth. There is nothing any sweeter than having an 11 year old tell you he wishes he could spend every Saturday with you because you are so much fun.

I think that laughter and fun are the keys to a happy, joy filled life. God wants us to rejoice and be happy. But too many times, we let the weight of the world rest on our shoulders. When you get up each morning and start to worry about the stress in your life, think about it. Address each concern and ask yourself what can I do about it today. If the answer is nothing, then don't dwell on it. God will provide a way.

I think a lot of us, me included, bring on our own stress by worrying about things we can not change and letting it eat away at us until we have no light left in our life.

So go out and have some fun. Whether it is spending time with your family or spending time with yourself. Find something FUN to do today and enjoy your day.

Here are some FUN things you might enjoy:

Get in your car and find an old country road and take about an hour drive. Do it in silence or roll down your window and tune into an oldies radio station.

Go online and find one of those sites that has cute gifts like http://www.lakeside.com/ or http://www.collectionsetc.com/ and look at the neat affordable items they have.

Fix a tall glass of tea or pop and go sit on your porch or patio and do nothing for about 15 minutes.

Read a book or inpsirational story.

Read about your favorite bible character, Abraham, Jacob, King David.

Give yourself a home manicure.

Bake a cake or make a pie.

I could list more, but you get the idea.  Have a great day.

The perfect day....

Yesterday was one of those perfect fall days. The temperature was just right for a t-shirt and jeans. A day you could spend outside and never want to go in.

We had a full day yesterday. Rise and shine to a beautiful morning. Then off to the hospital to visit the new baby. After that we spent the day at a local Fall Homecoming. The kids had a fantastic time. We wrote on an old wagon pulled by mules. The kids got to "cook" with sawdust, play in an antique firetruck, pet goat & llamas, and sit on a restored John Deere tractor.

Put in a little shopping time and a trip back to the hospital before heading home with some piping hot pizza and wings for supper.

With such a wonderful day yesterday, I can't wait to see what God has in store for me today.

Meet Colby James

Meet Colby James, my newest grandson. Weighing in at 4 lbs. and 9 oz and a mere 17" long, Colby has pretty much shot the theory that the more heartburn you have during pregnancy, the more hair your baby will have. My daughter-in-law had no heartburn with Colby. Zero. Zilch. She was convinced her baby was going to come out completely bald. See for yourself why we no longer believe the heartburn vs. hair myth:

Fabulous Friday

Today is going to be a fabulous day. We get our new grandson sometime this afternoon. I will post details tomorrow or later tonight.

In the meantime, I wanted to share something that one of my contacts has on her website. Deb, this is especially for you because I know you will love it:

Credit: http://trufflesfromheaven.com/



Shortcuts

I love to bake from scratch, but I don't always have the time. Over the years, I've adjusted many of my recipes to allow for the time factor. While I always bake from scratch for the holidays, throughout the year I will fix some of my favorites with minor adjustments.

One of my favorite cakes in the whole world is a Texas Sheath Cake. I bake it in a jelly roll pan or as a 9 x 13 cake. The light touch of cinnamon in the chocolate cake makes the taste supreme. If you want that flavor but don't have the time to make it from scratch, here is a easy way to get the same flavor:

Buy Duncan Hines Swiss Chocolate Cake Mix (do not substitue the Swiss chocolate mix as it is the only one that has a similar taste to the Texas Sheath Cake) and mix per the directions on the box.

Add 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon to the batter and mix well. Bake per the instructions on the cake mix box.

When cake is done, fix the icing immediately so you can pour it on while the cake is still warm.

Icing

In mixing bowl, pour in 1 box of confectioner sugar and 1 tsp vanilla and sit aside

In small sauce pan, mix:

1 stick of butter

4 tbls cocoa

6 tbls milk

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and bring to boil. Remove from heat and pour over

confectioner sugar mixture.

Beat until smooth and pour on warm cake.

Nut Option calls for 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts. I have made it with the walnuts and with pecans. Both ways are tasty. On the nuts, you can beat them in the icing or you can just sprinkle them on top after you pour the icing on the cake. If you are ever attending anything with a country/western theme, chop the nuts until they are a fine consistency and sprinkle across the top of the cake. This is the Sawdust Sheath Cake version.

Well, I'm going to go bake some chocolate chip, walnut cookies since I've made myself craving something warm from the oven.

I love a bargain...

I wanted to get me a new day planner. Between family, church and my job, I'm staying really busy. And with the holiday season just a couple of month away, it's gonna get worse.

So I made a run to Staples this morning since I knew they have a wide variety of what I wanted. I looked them over and finally settled on a red one like one I had years ago. I wasn't thrilled with my choice, but it was the only one I semi-liked. But it was $29.00 and I just couldn't see paying that so after debating with myself, I laid it back down and went to look at regular calendars (even though that is NOT what I wanted). There laying forlornly among the calendars was a day planner/organizer that I fell in love with it. It was marked down to $11.99 on clearance, which was more like it. I picked it up and took it up front, so pleased with my bargain.

She rang it up and said "That price can't be right." I thought, well great. The manager came up and checked and said that it did ring up correctly. She then told me it was discounted to $5.99. WOW.

I am so excited. I've got to add all my lists and things to do on the calendar now and I'll be good to go.

Call me crazy, but I know God has His hands in everything. This is just one of those daily blessings that most people take for granted. I know it is one of those moments my friend Debbie refers to as "it's not odd; it's God".

The Guiding Light

My sweet sister-in-law, Rob's widow, has recently taken a trip to Florida to visit the beach. I know this is a hard journey for her and her daughter to take. Rob loved the beach and their last vacation together was to the beach. She was taking some photos of  the sun setting over the Gulf. I fell in love with this picture. It's like a shaft of light guiding you to the other side.

I can't help but wonder, if this mere photo from a digital camera is this awe-inspiring, what must heaven look like? When our time comes and the gates of heaven open, what opulent beauty will we behold? I never see a sunrise or a sunset that I don't envision what heaven must be like. I don't think our human minds can ever begin to imagine what beauty awaits on the other side.

I have always loved that song "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be." I believe that the word beautiful will pale in comparison to the magnificence and opulence of that Holy City.