Monday, October 31, 2011

Dream A Little Dream

Dream a Little Dream.....


I think it's loads of fun to dream...to imagine ways of decorating your home in order to set the mood of a warm welcome for your family and guest.....



The best way to dream is to open our hearts to those things that make us happy....for me, it's family!

So therefore, I allow my vision to open up the possibilities of
telling a story, about those I love, and I do it right here in my own home...





My husband, my kids, and my grandkids, light up my world....
I love to decorate with light....I do this by using several lamps and several candles.....Of course, in the winter, you will always find a glowing light in the fireplace.....

I also decorate with family photos....You can never go wrong by placing pictures of those you love on any table or shelf....



Who can go wrong with color?  I love color and in every season, you can always find certain colors that will boost the decor of your home....



It is a well know fact that I love to move things around in our
home....the best way to acknowledge this to those who might ask me why I do this.....Is:  "It makes for a Healthy Home!  Oh yes, by moving things around, I find myself constantly dusting and picking up bits and pieces of trash....



The most important thing is allowing the Lord to be
the center of your home....."As for me and my house, We Will Serve the Lord."   Joshua    24:15

Don't be afraid to display your love for the Lord!



Dream, Imagine....Create.....

Allow yourself the sweet satisfaction of knowing that
you have created a place of warmth....and that everywhere you turn
you find complete happiness.....

Blessings,

shug ~


today,I'm joining Marty @ a stroll thru life .......for her cloche party...Be sure to stop by and visit her place....http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com

A Basket Full of Emotions.....

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to me."
                                                           Matthew 25:35-36


Good morning to my precious friends....I learned a lot last night....(Again)  Things that I know, but somehow have a tendency to forget from time to time...

Last night, I had a huge assortment of emotions bouncing all through me. Feelings of sadness, I had feelings of selfishness, feelings of sorrow and feelings of wanting to cry....(not only sad tears, but happy tears as well)

And then, I had these feeling of pride (not about me, but being so proud of my daughter.)  I had (and still do today) feelings of Hope and gratefulness.  I am truly thankful for my blessings....

                                                                ~ ~ ~

Today's story goes something like this.......Last night, our church held it's annual "Fall Festival."   This is an awesome opportunity to reach out to our community and to invite kids and their families to come be a part of some great Christian fun....There were games for kids of all ages, candy, fellowship, cake walk, wall climbing, a train ride and numerous other activities, plus free food.....YES, I SAID FREE FOOD!!

I did not know this until last night, but our precious daughter (Shanda) had invited a family to attend this event. Unfortunately, the adults of the home were unable to come, but they were pleased that Shanda had invited the kids....She drove about 15 miles to pick up seven kids (all in one family.)   To fully understand this story, it's important for you to know that these children live in a much less fortunate situation from most of us. A situation where having enough food to go on the table is the priority. Certainly not dressing up in costumes (like the other kids do) to attend a Fall Festival....

I wish you could have seen the faces of these precious children when they walked into our family life center.... expressions of total delight and amazement.....These children were very thankful for the free food, the bags of candy, and the three cakes (from the cake walk) that they were able to take home...

I am very guilty of making big fusses over the smallest things in life...I want this and that, I'm picky about what foods I like, and yes, I sometimes tend to be a little selfish when it comes to choosing the particulars of life....Is this the way we are suppose to act?  I don't think so.
It is OK to appreciate our Blessings, but to be a complainer, this is not alright. 

                                                         * * * * *

After I found out that Shanda would be taking these kids home, down through some pretty dark, back roads, I offered to ride with her.....The only thing was....there was no more room...Her suburban was full! I worried about this for a few moments and then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and gave me the assurance that God was in this and that Shanda was fully protected.....


                     
                                                                 * * * * *

WOW.......God used this situation to open my eyes last night.....I had to take a step back and remind myself of what it means to be a servant for God....

No matter what skills we possess, God places special ministry opportunities in our paths daily....I for one, want to be more aware of the paths that He is directing my way....

I am extremely proud of Shanda, not only because she is my daughter, but because she has the heart of a servant....God is always looking for men and women who are ready to serve and to embrace His vision....We just need to have that willing heart to allow God to use us!


                                  Lord,  Bless all my Friends today.

                                                   Hugs,

                                                  Shug ~









                                   

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Gotta Try This One.....


Happy Sunday Y'all.....

It's that time of the year......You know, when we are always looking for a simple dessert to take to some type of social gathering....

Well.....this is as easy as it gets and the BEST part about it is.....THE TASTE!   It taste great!!


Butter Finger Candy







16 ounces of creamy Peanut Butter.....

1 Pkg candy corns....(large bag)

1 Pkg.  milk chocolate bark...

*******

slowly melt candy corn....add peanut butter...

A dough will form....flatten out on a cookie sheet to the size you prefer.....

let cool!  cut into pieces....

You can either dip the entire piece into the melted milk chocolate, or top as I have done...

When serving....add Reese's Pieces or M & M's for color......

Delicious!!

Blessings,

Shug






Saturday, October 29, 2011

Always Fun Around Here!!

First things first.....let me show you some more pictures of "Fall around Town."



Flower Beds can really be beautiful....this time of year!!



Please pay close attention to the above picture.......Mylee Jo wanted to take a picture.....I think her little cookie smeared finger must have touched the camera lens.....


<*<*><*<>*<><*><

Well....Happy Saturday!

Today......I have laughed at myself!!  It is so rewarding when you can laugh at yourself and not be mad...

Sam and I had several things to do in town this morning, so we got up (a little late) and headed toward the big city of Tyler....At lunch time, we decided to eat at one of the new Mexican restaurants. 

Neither of us were very crazy about the food......but we did eat it!  Then it was off to finish our shopping.....We stopped in at Dillard's to pick up some new dress slacks for Sam and while we were there, we noticed that we had this strong odor wreaking from our clothes...

It was the food!!!  The odor was coming from the foods at the restaurant!!

I told Sam....."we can not finish our shopping smelling like this"......So, we bought him a (cheap) shirt that was on sale, and then I went up stairs to find me something to wear.....

While I was shopping, he decided to walk down the Mall to the GNC store....I shopped, found the perfect shirt...(On Sale)  The sales lady cut off the tags  .........I changed my shirt and headed down (through the MALL) to find him.....

We left the Mall.....went to Sam's .....bought some household items.....and came back out to the car.....As Sam was loading the car, my eye caught something that was moving underneath my arm.........OH YES.....THE BIGGEST RECTANGLE TAG THAT YOU HAVE EVER SEEN!!

How could I have missed it?  How did the sales lady miss it?  How did Sam miss it?

And, can you believe that Not one single person said anything to me??

I laughed....We laughed.....

What Fun!!

Blessings,
Shug


Friday, October 28, 2011

Fall Around Town....


I am so loving this cooler weather that we are now having....

Thought I'd show you some "Fall Around Town..."




love these stacked pumpkins.....good job Lori!!



Pictures from the Pumpkin Patch.....





More Pumpkins from the Pumpkin Patch....



These black rockers with the red cushions, make my heart go
Pitter Patter!!





Gorgeous!!!   The entire flower bed is filled with these flowers...



Gorgeous Garden.....

Hope to show you more tomorrow.....

Enjoy this cool, beautiful day...


Shug ~

Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Way It Looks Now....


It is actually a little cooler outside today and we do have a chance for rain......Much needed rain!!

I just wanted to show you all a few pictures of our nearby lake....The lake in the picture above is a big lake at the farm, which, when it is full goes all the way up to the treeline....


And this is the way "Lake Palestine" looks today....Normally, this whole area is covered with water...and I mean deep enough for fishermen to have their boats out there....



Today, we have cows grazing where the water used to be.....



I think we need Rain!!

Wishing you a fun-filled evening...

shug ~

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Friends Are Friends Forever


Last night was our 2nd annual "Ghouls Night Out."

Seems like just yesterday, I was posting pictures of last years event.......


If you have never attended a "Ghouls Night Out" then  you have no clue as to what you
are missing out on....



Our evening went something like this......

We gathered at the "Club House."   Not just any ol' club house.....NO, NO, NO.....this was

a very special club house......One where flying brooms have their own little place to park and

where creepy spiders might be looming!!

Right off the bat, the ghouls and I ordered up our own special brew......It was just what we

were needing to get this event into action....(TEA)

Next, we traveled down the hallway until we reached the room with the table that was filled

with all kinds of goodies....shrooms, mice tail beans, splintered fish bones, phantom pot. salad

gobbling corn, boiling broth and a whole slew of other gooey, gummy, things to delight the

tummy.....




We found ourselves being blobulous burbly full of talk as we munched and crunched on

massive amounts of treats......

~ ~ ~

Then it was on to the ghostly home of our sweet friend.....Susie Toosy!!


Game Time!!

Oh yes, a big game of Spooky Halloween Friendly Feud!!    Oooooooooo.


We had the  "Spookadoodles"



And then we had the

""BOOGIES"

who by the way, happened to be the Losers!!



Bad Attitudes....don't you think??

Check out the almost grins on the last two!!

~ ~ ~ ~

A wonderful time was had by ALL....
Just one of those things I love about FALL!!




Great Gizmoes.....I love these girls!!



Another successful "Ghouls Night Out"


Real Friends are Friends Forever......and I am so very Blessed to have each one of these
ladies as true friends....

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."
                                                                                  Elizabeth Foley


Hug a Friend today...

Blessings,

Shug ~


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Changing of The Clothes!

 I am so thankful for Today!!

I had to ask myself if there really was a "Yesterday....yesterday?"  And I have had to pinch myself to see if this morning is Today!

Now that's bad isn't it? 



This was me by late yesterday afternoon....

My yesterday, began with 2 lbs of sausage and 2 dozen biscuits.....as soon as these were all served up, I immediately had to get dressed for an 8:30 appointment with a doctor.... Oh...I'm sorry, they told me 8:30, my appointment card said 8:30, but they must have thought I needed a good rest in their waiting room....

Sonograms are fun aren't they??  NOT!  I had to get undressed, when just 60 minutes prior to that, I was getting dressed for the appointment....so, it was get dressed, get undressed and slip myself into some of those purdy navy blue paper shorts that make you feel like a true fashion diva..... a few minutes later, it was off with the shorts and time to get dolled up again...

I know that most of the Dr's are married, so you would think they would have some wisdom as to how long it takes a woman to get dressed?  And to think....they simply pull a curtain and expect us to get all those clothes back on in a matter of like 10 seconds....Any longer than that, and you have gone over your time..........This just might require additional charges!

Evidently....they are not very familiar with the actions that it takes and the twisting and turning that it takes when pulling up a pair of surgical support hose!! 

Back to those purty navy blue shorts....I was thinking it was mighty nice of them to give me those shorts, only to find out that the moment I lay back on the table....they took their scissors and made a huge cut all the way up the legs.......WHAT!!! They ruined my shorts!  Why put them on?  This was one step that could have saved me some time.....

Ok....Dr's visit is done.....and once again it's time to head to the local Wal-Mart for that one single little item....

27 registers and only 1 human operating them....(and, for my purchase, I couldn't use the self-check-out registers)

9 people later, I am done, only to create another problem for myself....I smelled the coffee at McDonald's....I ordered a small cup of coffee (knowing for sure that this was going to give me the boost that I was needing)  Wrong!

How many times have you ever been to a McDonald's and had to wait for the coffee to be made?  Me either!!
0000 times....until yesterday.....

There I am standing in line...waiting on my coffee, thinking to myself...."I am going to be late for the funeral of my dear friend."

Finally, I am out of there...I rushed home, only to get undressed again...shampoo my hair and get dressed again.....

By this time I had already changed clothes 5 times that day...

At last....I am dressed in time to attend the funeral services.  By 4:00, it's back home to change once again...(This time, I changed into sloppy, warm, comfy clothes)

30 minutes later....My sweetie is not feeling very well and he ask me to go to the store and pick up something that might ease his sick feeling.....

Here I go....YEP, you know exactly what I'm gonna say...I had to change once more....

I got all decked out for the grocery store, did my shopping and back home it was....Off with the clothes and on with the PJ's.......

and just to let you know....I am still sitting here with my PJ's on!!

Today....I might just bask in the comfort of these PJ's until (as some might say) the cows come home!!


Blessings Sweet Friends...

shug

Monday, October 24, 2011

Just Around The Corner


Well....a good happy morning to all of you too!

I know you are probably asking...."Why does she have Christmas trees on this post."  I am asking myself the same thing!

No.....really.....I do have somewhere that I am going with this....

Christmas decorations are out in all of the stores......and this drives me nuts!!  I kinda do understand why the retailers put them out..(because they want us to buy from them first) but, can't they just wait until after Halloween or Thanksgiving??




I definitely want to be able to enjoy my Thanksgiving and to let my Tummy enjoy my Turkey before having to think about shopping for Christmas....but I guess this is just not how it works....

Do you realize that there are only about 62 shopping days left?

Every single year....I say that I am going to start my next year's shopping the day after Christmas......But do I?? NO!!
I have good intentions that never seem to go anywhere...

For starters....I don't know what to buy....then there is the fact that the kids are growing so fast, so clothes are out of the question until about 2 weeks prior to Christmas.....And then, you have the constantly changing fashions!!   (Boys are just as bad as the girls when it comes to fashion)

Who knows what to buy when it comes to toys???  I can't be guaranteed that if I bought the toys they had been asking for, that they would even still want it when Christmas rolled around ...OR....that their parents would not buy it for them some time throughout the year.... (they are rotten for sure)



Dilemma's for sure!  With 6 grandchildren to buy for and four adult kids....the cost of Christmas shopping keeps getting bigger and bigger.......

Sooo.....here is another issue....How much am I gonna spend on each one of these little rascals?

When does it ever reach the point that enough is enough?
Are we spending enough??....are we NOT spending enough on each one of them  WHAT IS ENOUGH??

Since the government likes to give us charts for the taxes we must pay and everything else we do, then perhaps they need to make us a gift giving chart!
You know....kinda like this....

You make $ dollars then you have to give one gift to each person ranging from
$5.00 to $25.00 each.

You make $$ dollars, then you have to gift each person two gifts, but the gift must cost at least $50.00 and can not go over $100.00.

If you make $$$ dollars....then the limit is 3 gifts each ranging in cost from $100.00  to $200.00 each.
If you make $$$$....no limit on gifts...no limit on cost!

Wouldn't this make life easy?!?!

I have a few questions that you might want to answer and again, you might not....I just think it would be fun to know what others think about gift giving at Christmas....

1.  Do you have a budget for each member of the family and what do you base it on?
2.  Does everyone get the same number of gifts?
Are the number of gifts that each individual gets determined on the dollar allowance for that particular person...you know...what is someone wants a gift that cost as much as their budget....do they just get the one gift?


3.  Do you prefer to buy gifts that your kids (family) needs or things they want?

I would love for the focus to be all about the Birth of Jesus....
and not the gifts, but kids...they want to open packages....
 

For me, it's kinda like the song that Ronnie Dunn sings....
"The Cost of Livin".......is going up!!

These are my thoughts today....

Sending you hugs...
Shug ~


Sunday, October 23, 2011

Every Guy Needs One of These!




                      Happy Birthday Sam.... 


Sam......

He is the "BEST" husband to me and also the "BEST" father to both of our girls....Sam loves the Lord and he is a wonderful Christan leader of our home....

Let me tell you....this year he got something for his birthday that he has been wanting for a very, very, long time now....Hope all you guys won't be too jealous when you see it....



His own smoking hot  "Motorcycle".... This thing is loaded!

And check me out, there on the back.....Bikini and all!!


What guy wouldn't want a bike like this?

Happy Birthday Sam......

Hope your day is filled with much love, many Blessings, and
tons of happiness!!

Shug  ~





Saturday, October 22, 2011

My Friend.....


Finding STRENGTH.....Where does our strength come from??

THE LORD!


One of my very dear friends passed away yesterday and I know that her family needs strength in this time of sorrow.....She was a lady of great character and her name was carved in the hearts of those she knew, those she loved and the many, many people that she was always reaching out to. 

She was one of those ladies that would make you laugh and make you cry at the same time.  There were many times that she and I would visit and before we knew it, we would be doubled over in laughter.....to the point that both of us might could have used a "Depends."

If it wasn't a "Depends" that we needed, then it was a box of tissues....We had so many similar stories to tell and our personalities connected so well....She understood me, and I understood her, which sometimes led us to reach for that box of tissues, because of the tears that we shared....

I will miss this dear friend, and just because she is no longer here on this earth, does not mean that her story has come to an end!!  NO......she is rejoicing in Heaven at this very moment.......She is resting in the arms of God.

Please be in prayer for this family....I pray that out of His glorious riches, He will strengthen this family and bring comfort to their hearts...

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30


Sweet Blessings today......Enjoy your weekend...

Shug.....

Friday, October 21, 2011

So Much to Love About Fall...

Happy Friday.....



Have I mentioned lately, just how much I love "Fall ...Autumn"...

I do....I really do!  This is the season that makes me want to cook....to stay in the kitchen....(No remarks from the hubby please)

Things like breads....pumpkin bread, poppy seed bread, apple loaf, and banana nut bread....

And then there are those things like homemade Chile, homemade soups, Frito pie, coconut pie, chocolate pie, cookies, and apple pies....

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about "Smores."  Got to have some smores, along with roasted wieners on  hot dog buns....



I also love the outdoors....Going to all the Fall festivals and being a part of the sights and the smells....I love pumpkin carving...It's so much fun to give a pumpkin their own little face and to see it light up when a candle is lit inside....


Traveling the back roads....affords us the opportunity to see all the beautiful colors that the Lord has painted on the canvas of nature....
And then there are the hayrides!!  Oh how I love hayrides....especially when there is a nip of coolness in the air....I love getting all warm and cozy as the trailer filled with hay delights us as it travels down old roads and over the old wooden bridges......

There is so much to love about Fall.....

How about you all....what are some of your favorite things about Fall?

Enjoy the Blessings of this day!

Shug ~

Sunday Thinking

  Happy St. Patricks Day!   🍀 Tomorrow, I will be filling my hummingbird feeders.  The little beauties should be arriving any day now.  I a...