Through The Eye's Of A Child...

I usually help on Wednesday nights with the youth, but my Daughter so graciously volunteered me to be the teacher in her class for the month of July....

Did I mention the age group was 6, 7, and 8 year olds? AHEM...

Do you know it is a really bad idea to break out glitter and glue with 9 small children?

Did you know that when you let one child go pee they must all pee....

Did you know that you will know much more than you needed to know by the time your one hour class is over?

Now you must know that this class has changed me....challenged me...and forever made me look at our young children (including my Daughter) in such a different way..

They are eager to lift they're small hands to pray for:

-Mom or Dad that my not be saved
-a injury they occurred while out playing that day
-for Aunt's ,Uncles, cousin's
-and for pork chop (a dog)

They get that God cares about EVERYTHING nothing is off limits when it comes to prayer not even Pork chop the dog....

A few years ago our pastor ask that all the kids in the church come up front from ages 1-18... he gave a statistic and said by the time they were out of High School this is how many of these children would still be in church....he had over half of the kids to sit down...it shook me to the core...really I remember sitting there looking at those faces and tears running down my face...this was the reality we were facing and still are today....

I remember that Sunday often as I look at my children and so many others.

What do we have to reach them?


We have Time...

We have ears to listen..

We have voices to speak up for them..

It was just a month but I survived...and I got so much out of getting to know these small little individuals, that love God.



Never, Never pass up the opportunity to get to know them...


I found God today through the eyes of a child
He looked up at me and he gave me a smile
He brought me such comfort for which I have longed
Through the eyes of a child I realized I belonged (Author: Tommy Q)

Blessings

M

Up To Our Ears In Corn....

I am still mourning the passing of so many of our tomato plants...Blight has taken it's toll here on so many gardens.

But, the corn on the other hand has done really good...I put close to 85 ears up Saturday and we picked the rest today which I cut off....

That is a very, very , very, messy job...corn on my kitchen window, all over the counter tops, all over the floor, all over me..very sticky, very messy, and I'm very worn out...

Everyone got in on the fun work even Pete our dog...



Speaking of Pete...that silly dog tried to be a stow away on the UPS truck today...poor UPS driver comes shooting out of the back of the truck (as Pete was attempting to board the truck through the side door) I tried to explain that he doesn't bite he just thought since the door to the truck was open he would go ride'n with him...silly, silly dog!

Blessings!

M

Blood ,Sweat and now Tears....

We have spent many hours on our garden this year and up until about 2 weeks ago it looked great....

But I noticed a few leaves on our tomato plants looking well...dead (sniff)

I chalked it up as unnecessary roughness from waiting a little to late on staking and tieing them up, but then.....

Many, Many lifeless, brown, yellow, dead leaves started to appear...(sniff, sniff)

The diagnoses?

Tomato Blight...

More like the BUBONIC PLAGUE...

This stuff is brutal, the more I research it the more I feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle...I learned today that it can attack potatoes this is the same fungus that caused the Irish Famine in the 1800's...

Guess where my potatoes are planted?

You got it right beside my tomatoes.

Husband spent today digging up and removing the very dead tomato plants and I spent the afternoon trying to remove leaves and anything that may look infected with this nasty fungus...

My research tells me to remove infected plants and burn them...(sound a little rash hu?)
It also says I can buy a spray that may or may not "save" the rest of my tomatoes, we'll see...

I have talked to many people in this area who have the same problem, seems all the rain we have been getting is the culprit of this funky fungus that is popping up all over the state.

Guess what the forecast is tomorrow?

Yep...RAIN.

So tomorrow I will lay more plants to rest by cremating them in the field near by, and attempt to fight any lurking fungus that may remain in the garden....praying your garden is blight free! Blessings!

M

Never know what you'll see around here....

I have survived yet another day of canning and after I finished with my green beans for the day I decided I would try cooking a roast in the pressure cooker, it took 45minutes flat...I was a amazed and had to ask myself "Where has this stainless steel monster been all my life?" Yes it was a "love hate" relationship at first but anything that makes my life more simple! On a different note... you never know what you may see around here...thought I'd post a video of our silly dog and his favorite past time...he loves, loves, loves this!! Blessings! M

Canning 101

I spent more than an hour after I got home from church trying to sike myself up for firing the ol' pressure cooker up, with MOUNDS (I'm talk'n many, many green beans) to break (with the help of Cassie and Husband)I convinced myself I could do this (use the pressure cooker I mean) well in canning 101 today I learned it is always a good idea to have someone on speed dial that actually knows how to use a pressure cooker....and that would be my dear friend Karen, she walked me step by step through it and even called about 9 tonight to make sure I didn't blow beans on the ceiling. Actually it was fairly easy and I think (kinda) I know what I'm doing now....here's a picture of my first batch only about a gazillion more beans to break and I'll be done! Blessings!

M

Let The Canning Begin!!!

We've really been blessed with a beautiful garden this year, I have picked green beans today, when I stopped I had FOUR bags and one 2 gallon bucket full...that was one row of beans! Husband dug some potatoes and we are starting to get tomatoes...I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of beans and decided to go out and buy a pressure cooker to help speed up the canning...I have always used the cold packing method which takes about 3 hours for beans..I confess I am terrified of pressure cookers, once I was at my Grandma's house while she was canning beans and the pressure cooker blew up...beans were stuck to the ceiling, on the windows, stuck to the side of the refrigerator...I vowed to never use a pressure cooker when I grew up, but the time has come to overcome my fear (or call Mom to show me how the heck to use the thing) I plan on coming home after church tomorrow and coming face to face with the stainless steel monster...If I don't post by midnight tomorrow night be worried (grin) Blessings!

Spinach/Spanish...This will make you Laugh

Here in Kentucky we have lots of beautiful landscape....My oldest Son Chad went on a hike Friday at the Dale Hallow State Park at the end of a 6 to 7 mile hike (he thought it was only gonna be a 2 or 3 mile hike...SURPRISE!) the trail ended at a cove where they were able to swim, I sent the camera with him and he took some great pictures, so I thought I would share a little Kentucky beauty with ya!





Blessings!

M

You Are My Sunshine....

Chase.....What can I say, he is the middle child, the one who possesses the smile that will melt even the hardest of hearts, he owns a laugh that once you hear it you catch yourself laughing too...need a friend? Chase is your man. Who roots for the underdog? Chase. Need to know where to dig the best fishing worms? Just ask Chase. Need a volunteer to lay on the ground so you can jump your dirt bike over them...uhh..that would be Chase (and that would be big brother Chad that talked him into that once...ahem..)

I remember when Chase was around 5 years old...he loved catching bugs, lizards, anything creepy crawly...I was doing laundry one day and took a pair of his shorts out of the dryer and gave them a little shake while folding them...a very dried up lizard fell to the floor, seems Chase was planning on keeping him, except he forgot to remove the lizard from his pocket...one of many things that went on to be with Jesus while in my washing machine....

On the first day of school he sat beside a little girl that came with only a back pack, no crayons, no paper, pencials...nothing...I watched as my son got out of his seat and one by one took one box of crayons, a package of paper, pencils and handed to her....he possesses compassion.
a few weeks later I noticed he was asking for more snack money than I normally had given the year before...I later found out that he was giving the extra money to by a little boy his snack everyday..he possesses a giving heart.

He is my quiet child (most of the time)
He will be your friend, no matter what.

Today Chase turned 13, I'm not sure where the time went...but there's one thing I'm very certain of he is the sunshine in my life! I love you Chase! Happy Birthday!!

Blessings

M

Pete

So most dogs love to ride in trucks with the ears flap'n in the wind and drool string'n about...Pete our Chocolate Lab loves that too...but his new favorite thing to do we have found out is ride the lawn mower...Chad had taken a picture of Pete riding the mower not long ago with my Dad, but we can't get that picture downloaded (I'll have to remember to take one with the camera sometime) but I did snap this picture tonight when I looked out the door and saw where Pete was sleeping...this dog cracks me up..guess he's think'n "If I lay here maybe someone will take me for a ride again..."

Silly Dog...



Blessings!

M

Remember

There is a price for the freedom we have, many family's are without they're loved ones on this 4th of July, because they are protecting our freedom...you may not know them personally but they are fighting for you...Remember them.

***Please scroll down and pause my music before starting video****



Have a Happy and Blessed 4th of July!!!

M

Breaking Bread and Breaking Beans...

We all have them, and for some it is much more than others, the endless to do list the piles of laundry waiting when we get up and when we go to bed, dirty dishes, dusting, bill paying, appointment books that overflow at work (thank you Jesus) and of coarse hungry children wondering what's for supper tonight...it's the endless time consuming time eating monsters in our life. These things make us say things like:

"I'll get to that in a minute."

"Not right now."

"I don't have time today, maybe tomorrow."

"Shhh, honey can't you see Mom's busy."

"I'm sorry I was so busy with XYZ I forgot."

I am a Salon owner in a small town (small, like in a wide spot in the road small) but most days we are very busy...sometime back last year I received a phone call from an elderly lady and she needed a haircut, but she didn't walk well and she wanted to know if I could come to her house...I'll be honest with you...I was busy and didn't really want to stop my busyness.....

But I did, and from that one home visit developed a very special friendship with a
97 year old women...I have heard that some find her a little harsh at times, but I have never seen that side of her, now when I go to cut her hair she wants to feed me lunch....visit...talk...and slow down.

A few months back I went to cut her hair and we talked about the garden Husband and I had, I made the comment about all the beans he had planted and offered to bring her some when they were ready, after a short visit I went back to work in the wide open mode...later that day while working on a costumer I received a phone call from this sweet Lady and she said "I know your busy but I've got something on my mind I need to talk to you about when you get a free minute give me a call back."

I hung the phone up and joked with my co-worker that I was almost afraid to call back...what did she have on her mind?

Later I called her back and this is what she said:

"I've been think'n about what you said about those beans, about how many your Husband put out...I know how busy you are and thought if you would pick them and drop them off at my house on your way to work I could shell them for you and you could pick them up on your way home, I know it's not much but maybe that will help you out."
I was so touched and moved to tears that after I had left her home this sweet women had sat and thought about me......

She wanted to break beans for me.....
After I closed the salon that day I sat at my desk for awhile and thought about all the busyness that had went on that day and many other days, the laughing and rushing around, the conversations that had passed between women almost as a competition between each one on who had more to do and all I could think was...

She wanted to break beans for me....
I understand we all have lots of things on our plates, but God really showed me the importance of slowing down that day, one simple act of taking time to make a house visit has given me a friendship with someone that I wouldn't dare trade, she thought about me even when I went on with my busy day there are so many others out there just like her that if we only take the time to slow down we can see that they only want to be a part of our lives....so slow down a little and break bread with someone that needs you and maybe just maybe they'll help you break beans! Blessings!

M