Sunday Funnies

At church this morning we sat behind a young family, as we do many weeks.  After exchanging hugs mom told me that she loves it when we sit by them because she knows we never judge them if the children make noise.  Really though they have the most adorable kids and we enjoy the subtle interactions we have with them.

They have a two and a half year old and a newborn, both boys.  The older boy, M, is constantly making us smile as he stretches his wings and finds his footing in the quiet of Sunday worship.

Today we had a woman at the front doing the Bible reading.  Very quiet, we all followed along in our Bibles.  She finished, and in that quiet you hear the clear as a bell voice of a young boy say “All Done!”  And from where we sat we got to see the accompanying applause that he gave!

There was no way people could keep their chuckles to themselves after that.  :)

The song below is not our church, but it is the last song we sang today.  It is so heartfelt and hard to sing without tears welling up, but it’s one of our very favorites.  The song is Came to My Rescue by Hillsong.

 

** Linking to Spiritual Sundays

Card #2 - Happy Birthday Beloved!

I love stamping cards and because of that I have quite a few stamps in my craft room.  Like, probably too many stamps.  The good news is that most places either no longer sell them on the wooden base or if they do they also offer the unmounted version. So much easier to store.


But what I'm noticing is that when it comes time to make a card I rarely look to see what I have.  Instead, more and more often I turn towards digital stamps and search online.  LOVE cards this way because the only storage is a little digital file tucked away on a hard drive.


This is the card I made for Keith's birthday this year and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  It says what I feel about him and uses a pun, which we've really come to appreciate through our daughter-in-law.

I downloaded the image from Meljen's Designs and it was only two dollars!  Isn't it darling?  I printed the image on white cardstock, then cut it out using a die cut.  Then I printed it on the green cardstock, cut out the image and put it on pop dots to give it a little dimension.


And yes, we really are the Perfect Pear.  ;)


Supplies used for card:  Stampin' Up cardstock, digital image from Meljen's Designs, Top Note Die from Stampin' Up

Homemade Fudgesicles

I love making treats for my family and in the past it was almost always baked treats.  But my oven's not working AND I'm trying to watch what I eat, so believe it or not the only baked good this year has been birthday cakes for my beloved.

While perusing Pinterest one day a pin caught my eye for Homemade Fudgesicles and I had to give them a try.  The recipe is from Brown Eyed Baker and can be found here.

They were a hit!  And while all this chocolatey goodness is cooking on the stovetop you'll have a real challenge keeping yourself from dipping a spoon in, you know, all in the name of quality control.

I'm thinking that I should keep some of these in the freezer for any time my butterfly granddaughter stops by (face painting at the Easter festival at our church).

Yep, even the adults loved them.  I have a set of popsicle molds (see the one Brooklyn's holding above), but they actually were rather cumbersome so I think we all decided that going forward we'll stick with the tiny Dixie cups and craft sticks.  We liked the small size and they were easy to remove from the wrapper.

HOMEMADE FUDGESICLES
recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

1/4 cup chocolate chips

2/3 cups sugar

2 T cornstarch

3 T cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 t vanilla

1 T unsalted butter

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time at half power, stirring after each time, until creamy.

Add the melted chocolate chips, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and milk to a medium pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter, stirring until well combined.

Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes, then pour into small Dixie cups.  Place the cups in an 8x8 pan (or similar) and place in the freezer.  Freeze for 20-30 minutes, then insert craft sticks and freeze completely.

To serve - hold your hand around the Dixie cup for about a minute to loosen the fudgesicle and it will pop right out!

Note:  After these were frozen I put them all in a large freezer bag and sealed to keep freezer burn away.

This pan is ready for the freezer!




** Linking to Tuesdays at the Table, Terrific Tuesday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits, Tasty Tuesday

Card #2–Happy Birthday to My Son!

Every year on my kids’ birthdays I sit and smile to myself and think how lucky I am.  Wonderful children that have grown to adults we are proud of.

Today is my son’s birthday and when I raise my eyes just over the top of my desk and look at the pictures of him at about 7 years old I still smile.  He was fun then and he still makes me laugh now.

Tonight we’ll all have dinner together and of course nothing could make this mama/grandma happier.  Hopefully I’ll remember to snap some pictures tonight while having a grand time!

 

I find the masculine cards to be the hardest to make.  Girls are simple – bows and bling and color and so forth.  I based this card from one I’d seen on Pinterest  and I’m quite pleased with how it came out.

 

I’m trying to get better about putting a lighter color cardstock on the inside of the card so it’s easier to write something mushy inside.  :)

 

Supplies used for card:  Stampin’ Up cardstock; Happy Everything stamp set from Stampin’ Up

Flowers from a Friend Make the World Brighter

I’ve been sick.  You know how it can start out small and creep up on you?  Yeah….   I have pneumonia now and this week has been a bit of a blur.  The fact that I’m writing this shows that I’ve turned the corner somewhat and am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  :)

 

And when you are feeling blue, a jaunty floral arrangement arriving at your house can bring a smile to light up everything!  Isn’t this a cute and clever arrangement?  It took me a bit to see that it’s a martini glass complete with straws.  So spring-like and smells so good in the house.

You really can’t help but feel the love when somebody sends you flowers.   I love my friends and family. 

{Review} Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

Blue Moon Promise
by Colleen Coble
300 pages
Thomas Nelson Publishing

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:  Book Number One in the Under Texas Stars series

A love like Lucy and Nate’s only comes along once in a blue moon . . .

Lucy Marsh's worldly resources are running out, but she's fiercely determined to care for her younger brother and sister. When she discovers that their father's recent death was no accident, Lucy is eager to leave town. She accepts a proxy marriage she believes will provide safe refuge. But trouble follows her to Texas where her new husband is surprised to suddenly have a wife and children to care for.

Nate Stanton always hoped he'd marry someday, but running the family ranch meant he had no time for romance. When his father deposits Lucy Marsh—a city girl—on his doorstep, with two siblings in the bargain, he expects ranch life will send her running on the first train out of town. But Lucy is made of tougher stuff than Nate imagined. When danger moves in, Nate finds he'd give anything to protect Lucy and the children he's grown to love. Even if it means giving up his ranch.

 

MY REVIEW:  I have to admit right off the bat that one of the things that first drew me to this book was the fact that it was set in Texas.  Fortunately it also turns out that this book is the first in a series so we can look forward to enjoying these characters again!

After her father’s death Lucy is set to do anything to keep her young siblings safe – including the acceptance of a marriage proposal to a man she’s never met.  The proposal couldn’t have come at a better time for Lucy as her job was abruptly ended and her landlord had just delivered the news that they must move out.

Unfortunately the news of a proxy marriage didn’t sit well with Nate and he was not pleased at all.  However, through faith and patience a workable solution was found.  And did love follow shortly after???

This book was a great read for me, even though it took a bit for me to get into.  Once I did there was no stopping and I would easily recommend this book to anyone who likes period romances.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Best-selling author Colleen Coble's novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA’s RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.

For more about Colleen and her other books visit www.colleencoble.com

 

ABOUT THE PARTY:  Blue Moon Promise is a story of hope, romance, and suspense . . . immersing the reader in a rich historical tale set under Texas stars.

To celebrate Colleen is teaming up with her publisher Thomas Nelson for a "Blue Moon Promise" Facebook Chat party where she will giveaway a KINDLE Fire and a Texas-sized gift basket (fabulous Texas treats and fun Lucy-inspired housekeeping products)!

Click the banner, RSVP today for the Facebook Party and mark the date on your calendar!

Invite your friends and don't miss Colleen's evening of chat, trivia, prizes, and more.

Kindle Giveaway and More! Save the Date - 3/13!

 

** Thank you to Litfuse for providing a copy of this book for my review.