"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"

Philippians 4:13

I am writing this post in honor of one of closest friends Vicki. I have been friends with Vicki for almost 14 years, her husband, Hunter is one of Dave's best friends. So we have spent LOTS of time together, especially the four of us. We were in each others weddings and have shared in so many different parts of each others lives over the years, from our first homes, to having children, to moving away, and back, death and now cancer.

Vicki was diagnosed in May of this year with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Thyroid cancer. Vicki is the wife to Hunter, and the Mommy of two precious girls, Elizabeth(6) and Lauren(3).
Vicki found out that she had cancer, right after Hunter got an incredible promotion that moved them to Dyersburg Tennessee(which is in the middle of "nowhere land" compared to here or Nashville). So not only did Vicki have to begin the fight of her life, she had to do it away from her family and friends and the Doctors that she felt comfortable with. I have been amazed at Vicki's strength through theses past 6 months and I am so proud of her!
A few weeks ago, we had a special dinner at this restaurant to celebrate Vicki's last round of chemotherapy. Let the remission begin! There were 9 of us including Vicki and we had such a great time!

These are some pictures from our celebration dinner, Vicki & her sister Angie, Vicki with her Mom, and her sisters Angie & Julie.

A few pictures from over the years....New Years 2001, Meeting Matthew, 6 Flags, Michael's Easter Birthday Party.....

I am so thankful to God that Vicki is doing so well!

"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to ever forget."

Always remember that I love ya Vicki, and will be here for you no matter what!

Love,

These are some pictures from our Thanksgiving....Our "new" family photo

Our 1st visit to a Tree Farm


It's a bird, it's a plane, it's "Super Elf" :)


We had a nice Thanksgiving "break". We had Thanksgiving with Dave's Dad and family on Wed. night. Then on Thursday AM, we had brunch at Natalie's with her and Brent's parents and family. Then we came home to begin the cooking for our Thanksgiving dinner. I made turkey, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, peas, broccoli cheese casserole, cranberry fluff, rolls and pumpkin trifle. We had dinner with my Dad, my brother, Dave's mom and my Aunt Susie. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. It was bittersweet not having my Mom here. I was thinking that I spent 34 Thanksgivings with her, 34! So of course it is going to be different, not having her here for holidays and other special occasions.
My Dad wrote this prayer for us, it was really beautiful!

Father, there is someone conspicuously absent from our table today...a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother.
Lord, any tears we have shed are for ourselves, not for her, for we have complete faith in where she is this very minute, where every day is a thanksgiving unto you and your son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Father today, we truly and humbly give thanks that you have released her from the earthly body that had become her prison, to a place with no more pain, no braces, no crutches, no wheelchairs, no oxygen tanks, and yes, no nursing homes.

Thanks Dad, I know you miss her, and so do we!!


Friday, I met Natalie at 5:20 AM and we spent the next 7 hours shopping for DEALS! We had a great time and came home with lots of things... mostly for the kids. Last year, was our 1st year for this, and now it has become "our tradition".
Friday night, we went too dinner with our friends Hunter & Vicki. They were in from Tennessee and it was so great to see them and hang out. We miss them so much... *Look for a special post about my friend Vicki this week.....


On Saturday, we went to a tree farm, in the "country" to pick out the "perfect" tree..... We normally use an artificial tree, but this year ours got wet and we had to throw it away. Since we are still in "construction mode", and are not sure how big of a tree we want to buy, we thought it would be fun for the kids and us to experience the fun cutting down your own tree. It was the perfect cold and crisp day. We rode in a wagon, out to the field, and picked our tree. Afterwords, we enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate and let the kids ride the little train around the trees....It was a great day. I will post pictures of our decorated tree, later this week.....

We adopted a new tradition this year, Elf On The Shelf, Thanksgiving night, when we read the book and introduced our new friend(they named "Super Elf"), the boys were a little unsure. Matthew said, he was not sure if he "believed" or not, and Michael was scared to death!
The last 3 mornings have been spent with searching for Super Elf the minute their feet hit the floor. They are so excited and I have heard them tell each other more than once, that "The elf is watching"..... This is such a wonderful tradition to start with your family.

We spent today celebrating Thanksgiving with Dave's Mom and family. Tonight we had our small group bible study, we are still studying Fireproof. I am really enjoying it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....we even had a couple inches of snow here today :)

*P.S. This is my 50th post!

Words for Wednesday...

Pause and Give Thanks

Wherever you find yourself today,

Whether filled with joy or wrapped in pain,

Remember to pause a moment and give thanks

For no other event in our history and time,

Can change our lives like the birth of Christ – so Divine.

His love never failing, and His Presence always near

The greatest wonder in Heaven on Christmas did appear.

God’s gift full of grace that brings life, love, and hope,

Can be unwrapped by us all - changing life’s scope.

For when we invite His life into our hearts,

No love is greater than that He imparts.

So wherever you find yourself today,

Remember to pause and give thanks,

For He is the Truth and the Way!
© 2007 – Carolyn Lynn Schwartz

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6

I wish everyone a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Love,

Jennifer

MMMMM Monday.......

This is a picture of my parents and the boys taken on Thanksgiving 2005(Michael's 1st)

I am gearing up for my yummy Thanksgiving "feast" .... I went to Trader Joe's today and got my turkey for this recipe and a few other things. I plan to finish the rest of my grocery shopping tomorrow.....I will be buying the ingredients for the pumpkin trifle that my friend Julie made this weekend. I will also be making this recipe that I got from my blogger friend Lisa. I will also make my Grandpa's stuffing recipe, mashed potatoes, peas, and broccoli cheese casserole. I love Thanksgiving, because I love to cook and entertain. We will celebrate the day with the four of us, my Dad, my brother, Carol(my mil), my Aunt Susie and???

I always keep an "open door" Thanksgiving..more the merrier :)

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes???

Pumpkin Trifle

Pudding:
2 (3-oz) pkgs, vanilla pudding
4 cups of cold milk
1 cup solid packed pumpkin
1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 frozen pound cake, thawed(not fresh)
Topping:
1 cup of fresh whipped cream
2 T powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla`
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 English Toffee bits
In large bowl with wire whisk, mix pudding, milk, pumpkin, and the 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice until thickened; set aside. Cut cake into small square chunks. Line bottom of a 2 1/2 quart deep glass bowl with half of the cake slices, cutting to fit. Spoon half of the pumpkin mixture over cake. Arrange remaining cake slices on top of pumpkin mixture. Spoon remaining mixture over cake. Cover and chill for 4 hours to overnight(less is better).
To Serve:
Beat cream with powdered sugar, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice until soft peaks form. Spoon over top of trifle, spreading to edges; sprinkle toffee over top. Serves 12.

The Turkey

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

Jennifer

We had a good weekend....we had a light night on Friday, rented a couple of Wii games and hung out as a family. On Saturday morning Dave and Matthew picked up the Scout for Food bags. Then the boys and I headed to Matthew's friend Tyler's, bowling birthday party. We had a great time :)
After the party, Dave picked us up and we headed to our friends, Matt & Julie's house for dinner. Dave and Matt & Dan(Julie's brother) headed to the "man-cave". Apparently it is cigar shop where men just "hang-out"....They had a great time, relaxing and doing "boy-stuff"....While they were gone, Julie cut the boys hair(I will post pics) it looks soo cute! We are leaving it a little longer, and I love it! We had an awesome dinner, Lasagna, salad, bread and the best part... her Pumpkin Trifle, it was awesome. I planned to post the recipe, but I can't find my copy, so after I ask Julie tomorrow, I will post it. I plan to make it for my Thanksgiving here on Thursday!

Today, we celebrated our Church's 25th anniversary with a special two hour service at a local affiliated high school. Then afterwords we all (several hundred) stayed and enjoyed a wonderful luncheon prepared by our school's chef. It was a great time of worship and fellowship.

Then Dave came home to continue working on the house, while I dropped Matthew off at a birthday party, and Michael and I grabbed a muffie and a coffee, then ran a few errands.

Since we are still in "construction mode" here, after I picked Matthew up from his party, we picked up Dave and headed to Red Robin for dinner. Then stopped by Barnes and Noble to let the boys choose a book, because the school was having their book fair fundraiser day there.

Then we had baths, one Wii game of Sorry Sliders, and books and prayers.......

I had another blessed weekend with family and friends!

I have had a few requests for this recipe so here it is.....

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

1 3-ounce package cream cheese softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups of cooked chicken breast, cubed

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp o pepper

2 tbs milk

1 tbs of parsley

1 tbs of chopped onion

1 8-ounce package of refrigerated crescent rolls

Melted butter and bread crumbs

• Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth
• Add chicken, salt, pepper, milk, parsley, and onion.
• Separate crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. Seal perforations.
• Spoon chicken mixture into center of rectangle. Pull up 4 corners.
• Brush with melted butter. Place squares on baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs or crushed croutons.
• Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

*I always double this recipe to make 8.

*I also add a jar of drained pimentos

*Is awesome left-over

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed

Proverbs 16:3

*It was 7 months ago yesterday that my Mom passed away....Hardly seems possible!

"Threes" Thursday...

I remember when my oldest Matthew turned 3, Dave and I said "Terrible Two's? It's a scam...the twos are a "breeze". Now the threes on the other hand......
So now here I am again with my Michael, who is my "spirtited" child. According to my Dad(who just laughs at me every time he is around), I am kind of getting paid back :) He also says that he wishes my Mom were here to see it....So do I, then I would have her wisdom and maybe more of her patience......Ha!
Here are some pictures from this week of my favorite three and a half year old!

Who, Me?
"Shooting" the painter working on the basement with a LOUD laser "gun"

He really is cute :)

A leaf, for Mom......

Your wish is my command........


And patience, experience; and experience, hope
Romans 5:4

This picture is one of my favorites....it was taken the day that Michael was born, when Matthew came to the hospital to meet him for the 1st time.

* I got the idea for this post from Gwendolyn's blog, you should visit her sometime....she is a great writer and her posts really make me laugh!