Wall Words

Today Nesters post was what will your wall say?

Mine says "Welcome"

This is the entry of my house. I had wanted a small table or pictures here but the area is to crowded so I got these words at Upper Case Living . I had my husband paint the wall in semi-gloss paint, so that hand prints were easy to wash off and then added these words.You apply by rubbing on the words and then when you are tired of them simply remove them with a hair dryer.

As you can tell this is where everybody drops there things at least for the first 30 minutes.

I love these wall words.

They give a plain and boring entry some personality!

Cooking

This past week our kids had Martin Luther King day off from school and my daughter was invited for a sleepover. She was excited as they usually are. I asked her what she thought they would do?Well the Young lady that she stayed with have 2 Doctors as parents and they have the latest and the greatest gadgets. I was surprised by her answer and even more surprised when I heard her talk about her time there.
They didn't watch Movies until they were brain dead, they didn't talk on the phone all day and night, they didn't put on makeup or play dress-up. They baked!
They made the best Pumpkin bread that I have ever eaten! All by themselves, with no adults in the kitchen to help. Deann brought home this loaf of bread that didn't last long, it was delicious.They also made 2 batches of cupcakes for which they made their own icing and when Mom left to go to work she laid out the casserole recipe and they made their dinner. My daughter loved it!
It got me to thinking .... I have never allowed my kids in the kitchen without supervision. I have never allowed them to make anything without some type of assistance. So I decided that I would back off and let them have some freedom. I had these packets of muffin mixes, simple. Add milk , mix, put in cupcake tins and bake. My youngest daughter smiled from start to finish and she did it all by herself, I even left the room!

I decided that I need to be more proactive in teaching my kids more responsibility. Stay tuned for some kitchen bloopers and some delicious meals made by the Cowell girls.

I also wanted to share this new magazine that I found this week! It has great recipes that are remade to be less fat but with all the goodness that we expect and enjoy. I hope that you will check it out.

Kansas State Honor Band

Yesterday we drove to Lawrence, Kansas

to Kansas University ( Home of the Jay Hawks).

We were there to support DeAnn as she

played the Bass Clarinet in the State Honor Band.

Over 300 students auditioned for this band,

We are so proud of her!

Happy Birthday to Dusty

Happy Birthday to a great husband and a wonderful father!

Cougar Pride

My middle daughter,DeAnn, plays basketball in 8th grade.This week her team has been on a winning streak. On Tuesday they beat Newton, 29-25, and last night in one of the best games of the year they beat their rival, Valley Center, by one point!

Congratulations DeAnn keep up the teamwork!

Moms In Touch

Moms In Touch

Moms In Touch is an organization that was started to connect moms who have kids in school .The focus of the time is to pray for our kids. Each week we follow an established form of prayer where we Praise God for an attribute, Confess our sins, Offer our Thanksgiving for His many blessings and then Intercede for our children, their teachers, the school and other Moms In Touch groups.

For the past three years every Tuesday from 2-3pm I have met with; Lynn who has 3 boys and Kim who has two boys and one girl.

This week we praised God for His Holiness. We also prayed a verse over our kids from I Chronicles 29:19. We prayed that he/she would have a good heart toward God, so that he/she will want to Obey God in the smallest detail.

If you are like me you worry, agonize and cry over the hearts of your kids. You can talk sometimes until you are blue in the face but until the Lord intervenes they don't listen.

I have found so much encouragement in meeting with these two ladies.

Does your school have a group? If you don't know type in the website.

http://www.momsintouch.org/

At this website they will give you a contact person, you leave your name, and she will call you.... that's how I found out about it and it has made a huge difference in my life.

Thanks Denae

Thanks Denae for helping me Picnik my blog header!

So Cool!

Cloche

I have been looking for a Cloche ever since I started blogging and saw how cute they are decorated. Two days ago I was walking through Hobby Lobby minding my own business , in a different part of the store than all the glass and there it set; dusty,alone and no price tag. I asked the sales lady did it belong to something like a stand or base and she said NO! they had sold all the other pieces and for some reason it was by itself so I inquired of the price....$4. I said I'll take her!

I am looking forward to all the things I can do with this cute Cloche!

Two Meals In One

At lot of us are really concerned about money and the economy and there are lots of things being published right now on how to save money and make your dollar stretch.

I thought this fit perfect.

On Sunday , instead of going out to eat, we decided that we should eat at home after Church.

So I bought a slightly larger roast to put in the crock pot than normal. For a few dollars more I got a 5-6 pound rather than a 2-3 pound roast, which is usually what we eat with a bit left over.

We had our normal Sunday roast meal with mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad and bread.

Yum, comfort food.

On Monday, I took the left over roast and added a can of green beans, a can of corn, a can of diced potatoes, a can of diced tomatoes and 2 small cans of tomato juice. I didn't have to turn it on first thing in the morning since the meat was already cooked . When I came home for lunch I turned the crock pot on Low and last night we had yummy Vegetable Beef Soup.

Take the Challenge

Psalm 27:11

Teach me your way, O lord; Lead me in a straight path....

Did you know that statistics show that less than 25% of

Christians open their Bibles during the week!

Christians who have 1-5 Bibles in their homes and who are legally allowed to read the word. I knew the numbers would be small but I was appalled and a bit embarrassed. Like a lot of other Christians with the Holidays and all that has been going on I have done less than that. This Sunday our Pastor challenged each of us to read our Bible for 12-14 minutes every day for 14 days. He gave us lots of options about reading... a word search, a book study, with a family or a friend, a reading list that you check off, web sites or even a Bible study that you may be in. Well I go to Bible Study Fellowship every Monday night and have the perfect opportunity to spend time in His Word every day.
This year we have been studying about the life of Moses and I have loved all the details that I have been learning. Today I was studying the 40th chapter of Exodus. The tabernacle had just been set up and Moses had finished all the work that God had told him to do.In verse 44 it says "Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." After that the cloud directed the people. If it was time to move on the cloud would lift and the people would follow, it was there in the day and at night a fire burned in the cloud. The Israelites who did not have the written Word had the direction of God.
One of the questions that our lesson asked us is "How can I apply this direction to a change in life or location you may plan". Splat , right there, I was struck with the fact that if I am not reading the Word of God, His Love Letter to me , I am not going to know the direction that He wants me to take. I wish we were like the Israelites and had a visual cloud leading us but instead He left us with His word to lead and guide us. I want to know His will and His way so I am taking the challenge and hope that with 14 days of reading it will become a habit .
If you are not reading His word every day, I hope that you can take the 12-14 minute challenge, who knows it just might change the direction of your life!

New White Dishes

I never really knew I needed White Dishes until I started blogging.

They are all over blog land and so cute with so many different options of dressing them up.

So this year I asked for a specific set but they ran out before Christmas.

But yesterday, with three coupons in hand I found this set and had my husband carry them to the car, I was so excited!

They are from JCPenney from their Home Collection , Embossed elegant pearl .

There are place settings for 12 with 2 serving pieces and a sugar and creamer set.

I also found eight of these cute napkin holders at Hobby Lobby for 3$.
Dinner Anyone?...

Happy New Year

Clap your hands, all you nations: shout to God with cries of joy.

How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!

We are looking forward to 2009