A Nice Surprise

Mom and Dad sent me flowers yesterday afternoon. They are so pretty and the Nurse Bee is too cute! Luke took some great pictures of them for me last night. He has been so good to me...fixing me pudding, apple sauce, potatoes, and even oatmeal (a first for him!). And on top of it all he's been dealing with a sinus infection too! I did great yesterday during the day, but last night I didn't sleep but 1 hour! I just couldn't get everything to turn off! So, I'm hoping today I will sleep good....as I now feel like I've been hit by a truck! My face is swollen and sore today, but thank God for IB Profen. I'm just glad it's all over with and I'm on the down hill track! Thanks to everyone for your care and prayers...I really appreciate and can feel every one!

Can you believe I'm blogging???

Yes that's right I'm blogging 30 minutes after having my wisdom teeth out. I want to thank everyone for all their prayers and concerns. I was an hour late in getting in to the surgeon, but it was really easy. I think Lisa was right when she said the anticipation is the worst part! Thanks again everyone. I'm off to watch a movie on TV and get Luke to pamper me. I'm feeling relieved and glad it's over!

I'm going in!!!

I'm going in at 9am today to have my top wisdom teeth out. They will be knocking me out so I'm sure I won't feel a thing. I'm still a little nervous and as of this morning I am STARVING!!! Well wish me luck....the Lord and I have already been talking this morning...He will help me for sure!!!

My heart is full!!!

Enjoying her new home!!!!

My heart is so glad tonight I can hardly contain myself. The Lord works in mysterious ways and blesses us when we do something He called us to do. You might remember the little dog I rescued off of University. Well I had just gone to bible study that day and heard Beth Moore talk about our destiny. She kept saying our destiny is not always something that makes us feel good, but something that the Lord has put before us. We can choose to accept what he has offered us or choose to ignore it and miss out on His blessings. She also told us that it's not always our time, but His time.

So with that on my mind, I stood in the rain for 2 hours and rescued that little angel. There was a time when I wanted to just quit. I kept praying, "Lord please just make her get in the car...I'm soaked here, the least you could do is make it stop raining!" Then I heard that still small voice telling me everything I had just learned that morning. To say the least it made me smile.

I begin to search for a wonderful loving home for that sweet dog. There was no way we could take her as we have so many ourselves. The Lord sent a special family my way through my pleading email. They went and picked her up today and she has a forever home now. I cried when I got off the phone with Stephanie at Dr. Mikes and found out they took her. My heart was so full and I KNOW without the shadow of a doubt that it was my destiny to pick up that little angel. Some of you may think that's corny but I don't care. The Lord spoke to me and I followed His will....in return he blessed my heart and another family...and even that sweet puppy!

And yes, He does have a sense of humor.....when Stephanie and I got her to Dr. Mike's that day, the sun came out! Go figure!!!

Chinese Chicken Wings

I tried this recipe the other night and it was GREAT! It's in the new church cookbook on page 221. I'll give you the recipe anyhow. You can even use chicken breasts with this if you wanted too, I think it would be just as good!

Chinese Chicken Wings

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. orange juice

1/2 t. salt

3 to 4 T. catsup

1 t. soy sauce

2 lbs. chicken wings

Flour and brown the chicken wings. Put in Pyrex dish. Mix sauce ingredients and heat until warm. Pour over chicken wings and bake 350 for 30 minutes. I baked mine 400 for about 45 minutes. They are too good!!!

Great Minds Think Alike!

I went to bible study last night so that I wouldn't miss a Beth Moore video while I was out getting my wisdom teeth removed next Tuesday. On the way home I thought how nice it would be to surprise Luke with a McFlurry from MacDonald's. Well I guess he had the same idea. We showed up at the house at the same time. He had my FAVE a Reece's Blast with Hot Fudge on Top and his usually Root Beer Float from Sonic. No, we didn't eat all 4 of them. We ate the Sonic goodness first and will save the flurries for tonight!

Happy Birthday Ma (lots of new posts below too!)

Nate & Uncle JR

Me & Mom

Chuck, Dad, Ma, Aunt JJ, Mom

That's cute!

Dad and Nate

Saturday we celebrated Ma's 73rd Birthday. It was a crazy weekend considering Aunt Viv went into the hospital after major drug interactions and complications. Thankfully she's doing better. We decided to go ahead and celebrate Ma's birthday on Saturday. Mom made Spaghetti, Salad, and rolls. It was too good. I'm so blessed to have Ma in my life. We laugh, joke, and knit together. Family is simply priceless!

Project Linus

This weekend we went to visit Ma for her birthday. We were able to attend a Project Linus group meeting with her. I am always amazed at how many blankets that group makes in a month let alone a year! They are an amazing group of women. They make blankets for children in foster homes, hospitals, etc. They even use their scraps to make pillows for homeless dogs in shelters. This meeting we were able to surprise Ma with a birthday cake which was really good! After Project Linus, we went to eat at a Mexican Restaurant in Neosho...one that we won't ever eat at again! It was awful...the girl didn't even speak English and didn't even know how to run a calculator. Ma had to help her make change! You know when you go into a place to eat at noon and there is no one there, you really should leave!!! Oh well....great memories for sure!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a HAWK!!!

The other day I kept hearing hawks outside. I looked up to see on in a nest. I thought they were going to build in the woods in the back of our backyard. We haven't seen them since, but I was able to get a few good pictures!

In Need of a Good Home!!

This here is the dog I rescued. She is still at Dr. Mike's. If you are interested in giving a loving sweet girl a home let me know. We really need to find her a forever home!

Happy "Birthday" Madison

I just wanted to say Happy "Birthday" to Madison today. Melissa is in Missouri and Madison is boarded so it's a little strange to be here without her.

The pic above is from just before Christmas. I made Melissa leave one night while I made new portraits of all 5 dogs...buy that was an interesting night. Melissa wondered for over a week why I was so hot and sweaty when she got back :)

Here she is when we first got her. Click the image to read the story on Flickr.

All in a Day's work!

Luke and I met for lunch after Bible Study at El Chico on Geyer Springs. Afterwards I headed to a place off of University to our tax guy. On the way there I noticed a black dog at one of the abandoned gas stations. Of course, it was pouring down rain....I prayed a quick little prayer for her to be OK. On the way back down University she was still there. So, I turned the car around and went to meet her. She was terrified!!! Wouldn't come near the car or me. I usually carry dog food in the back of my car, but this time I didn't have anything! I went to the gas station and bought 2 bags of Cheetos. I start tossing them to her a little at a time and of course it's pouring down rain at this point. An hour goes by and she is eating out of my hand. I am drenched and out of Cheetos and am no where near to getting her in my car. I go back to the gas station for more Cheetos. The guy just looked at me...imagine a soaking wet woman buy Cheetos again! I told him I was trying to rescue that dog....he said, "Lady, the dog catcher couldn't even rescue her!." That made me all the more determined.

I called Dr. Mike's office and talked to Stephanie. She said she would sneak out and be right there. She brought Lean Treats with her. I am drenched at this point, shoes, pants, hair, shirt...it's all soaked! I fed her while Stephanie grabbed her. We put her in my car and headed to Dr. Mike's. We snuck her into the back kennels where we gave her some food and TLC. So now, we are looking for a good loving home for her. She's about 40lbs...or will be once she's fattened up. She is solid black with a white stripe down her chest. She has a Cocker Spaniel head...and an under bite where her lower teeth stick out a little. Too cute.

I'm so thankful God gave me a heart to help those others can walk right by. I know some people may not have stopped (and I don't stop for every stray), but sometimes the Lord puts us in the right place for His purpose...and I believe with all my heart He cares about animals too!

Goodbye Wisdom!

I have been having wisdom tooth pain for the last couple of weeks. It actually started on my birthday, but I really wanted to ignore it. Well I can't anymore. I went to see an oral surgeon today to see about removing my top 2 (and only remaining) wisdom teeth. He is going to knock me out on the 24th at 9am to remove them. He said it should only take about 30 minutes or so. I have a weird thing where I don't stay numb for very long during regular dentistry stuff. I mean I'm usually un-numb by the time I go to pay at the front.....weird...and uncomfortable. So, he opted for the knock-me-out procedure. I'm not looking forward to it, but just thank God these things don't grow back!

Sunset Lake

Sunday night Luke and I went out to enjoy the sunset. The weather was so nice on Sunday we just couldn't resist. We went to Sunset Lake here in Benton. Luke was going to take some pictures but he forgot his memory cards! So, here are a few that I took. Enjoy!

I'm a student???

Yesterday afternoon I went to meet my little tutoree. I love volunteering for this job...she just really brightens my day. I pick her up usually in the cafeteria and then we head to the library. Yesterday, she wanted to take her roll and peaches with her which was fine by me. We picked up her folder and headed to the library. We just sat down by the computers when I hear a VERY loud voice say, "GIRLS????" I'm not really paying attention at this point and am just talking to my tutoree. The teacher then says again LOUDLY, "GIRLS...excuse me!!!" I turned around and realized she was talking to us. "Yes?" I say (not so loudly) "I'm just here to tutor...that's ok right?" She asks me, which I almost laugh out loud, "You're not a student here???" (At this point I don't know if that's a compliment or a real question. I then said, "Ma'am I haven't been a student in a LONG time!" She just laughed. My tutoree thought it was pretty funny too.

We then sat down and go to work. Only for me to realize that 4th grade math is harder than I thought! LOL!