Let The Joy Begin

I went to sleep after a huge crying jag, woke up to puffy eyes and started again this morning. I told my dh that I don't want to be sad. He wanted to know what he could do, but I said I just needed to make the decision. Then I read this post. So simple, but so true. Count your blessings.

I got to spend time with all my children (and new daughter-in-love), my mom and her husband, my only brother and his wonderful wife, two of my nieces and one nephew, and laugh a lot. My mother-in-law was able to return home a couple of days ago (heart surgery). Dan has relented and is allowing Sassy in the house. God has answered some very specific prayer requests. Everyone is healthy! Kiersten invited Rachel and me to do some Christmas baking. Did I mention that my sister-in-law Julie is a treasure?

I still have a lot of growing to do. It's pretty painful, but God is merciful and loving, patient and kind. He gives me a lot of grace and so do a ton of other people. I'm still becoming all the things I wish to be, but it's two steps forward, one step back. Sometimes it feels harder than that. But He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it.

Knowing that, how can I be sad?

Crying Binge

Life got really crazy at the end of September. So that's partly my excuse for not blogging for two months. The other reason is I was too busy crying.

It was like a binge. A sudden urge would come over me to cry. I would cry over anything and everything I could get my mind on. I would cry in secret, but the urge became so overpowering, I didn't care who was watching. I had no self control.

The aftermath took its toll. A frightened husband and children. Kleenexes were hoarded. Contacts were probably ruined. Excedrin stock went up, while everything else plummeted.

The purging was a giant list of excuses and reasons. Some were intolerable. Like the two weeks I blamed the watching of the movie "Hitler, the Rise of Evil". None of it made the binging stop.

Then...

Two days of blogging. Two days of Bible reading. Two days of on the knees praying. Two days of watching my daughter find immense joy in the midst of intense suffering.

It may be safe for the Kleenexes to come out of hiding.

Party Meatballs

I've promised this recipe to several people, so I thought someone else might like it, too.

3 lb. ground beef
1 c. milk
2 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
minced onion
1/2 T. garlic
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt

Mix ground beef mixture well and form into small balls. Put onto a sheetcake pan. Bake at 350° while you make the sauce.

SAUCE

1 1/2 c. ketchup
1 c. water
2 c. brown sugar
1 T. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Heat in saucepan and bring to a boil. Drain grease off of the meatballs, and pour the sauce over the meatballs. Total baking time will be 45 min. to 1 hour.

Make a Cornucopia that's Good Enough to Eat!

As promised, here are the directions to make the awesome Thanksgiving Cornucopia I make every year. First take a long piece of aluminum foil.

Wrap it around itself into a long cone shape, and stuff with loose balls of aluminum foil to help retain the shape. Twist the end.

Using three cans of refrigerated breadsticks (that come in the the cannisters like biscuits), wrap around the foil form, reserving three. Braid the three remaining and put at the "mouth" of the cornucopia. Brush with a mixture of egg white and water, and bake in oven till browned.

Let it cool, then pull out the aluminum foil.

Stuff and surround with assorted. colorful fruits and vegetables.

Enjoy the oohs and aahs!

Passing On The Torch

Moms, in particular, remind themselves of every failure, mistake and error. We are slow to celebrate the victories, big and small, in our parenting choices. Even when we enjoy a moment of triumph, we're quick to cast some kind of negative slant on the whole thing.

Case in point. My 15 year-old daughter Rachel attended a special class, on Sunday, for teens that want to develop a deeper walk with God. She came home with some homework that included several spiritual disciplines. One was to be spiritually aware.

What a great discipline that I'm also trying to develop. I just plain forget to include God in some of the things I do.

Then, surprise! Rachel told me that she thought I had helped her develop this really well. She remembered how we pray in the car. A lot. How I often point out something God created or did for us, or thinking of how we need to be as Christians.

Wow. It was a grip your heart, thrilling moment.

Then my second thought was, I guess I haven't done a very good job at teaching the other disciplines.

Stop right there. Rewind. Go back to Yea, Mom! I did something right. Praise the Lord. I could have never done it on my own. He has manifested himself through me to my daughter.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing me the privilege of raising four wonderful, talented, awesome kids. They all love you! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of that.

Oklahoma/Texas Border Wedding Part II

The groom's family had a pet deer! It licked Chase. Leaving town for the reception, I made Dan pull over to take a picture of these goats. Someone pulled up behind us, and I commented that they were wondering if we had never seen a goat before....
We have seen goats, just not the kind that freely wander from house to house like cats. No leash law, I guess.
It was so great to see my son Jeff for the entire weekend. We miss him so much. He thrilled my mom by dancing with her. She told me that he really wants tennis shoes that light up. Anyone know where I can get them in a size 11?

Wedding on the Oklahoma/Texas Border Part I

We attended my niece's wedding and had a lot of fun. The groomsmen arrived by stagecoach. Here come the Bride and her attendants.
Mother of the bride, my sister-in-law Julie. Doesn't she look so happy! We both married off our first born this summer.
Officially married on the groom's family's porch, in the shortest ceremony I've ever attended.
It's really flat out there. My husband (being from Nebraska) loved it!
Go to the next post for part II.