Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope that today was a beautiful and blessed day for you and yours. We (Kirk, Edward and I) had a traditional Thanksgiving meal....well, pretty much traditional. We fry our turkey instead of cook it in the oven. YUMMY!!! It is a great time saver too. Took about 1 hr and 15 minutes to cook a 20lb bird. I made cranberry sauce for the time. It was yummy. Don't think I will ever go back to canned again. I also mad a Sweet Potato Casserole this year instead of the Sweet Potatoes we usually make. Of course we had pie for dessert. It was basically a nice simple meal. I can't wait until tomorrow when we get to have left overs in the form of sandwiches. We do miss sharing the holiday with our family though, that is the down side to living so far from home...can't just hop in the car and drive to grandma's for the extended weekend. All in all it was a great day.

Gratitude

I just wanted to post what I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. God has blessed me during this season of my life with wonderful friends, that mean more to me than words will ever be able to express properly. They are older women (Titus 2 type Women) who have been there to help guide me through my first years of homeschooling, who encourage me and love me in spite of my faults (and trust me they are many). They see the "diamond" in the rough and know that it can one day be a thing of great beauty. God knew that I needed these type of women in my life and to me they are more precious than any gemstone. There are days I wonder where I would be without them.
2. I am grateful for my friends around my age also, ones are facing the same issues that I am. These gals also love me in spite of my faults, encourage me, and gripe me out when I need it. They too are my sisters that God has provided to me in this season of my life. Some I have known almost all my life and others just a few years, but still to me each is just as precious as the next.
3. I am grateful for my son, he is the light of my day. Homeschooling brings our relationship to a whole new level. We are together 24/7 and pretty much 365 days of the year. While we have our moments and our struggles, those could and will never out weigh the special moments of I Love Yous, Sticky Hugs, Wet Kisses, Quirky Stories, Rambunctious Games and Lazy Days. I dread the time when he will be grown and leaves the nest. Until then I will cherish each and every moment with him, even the rough ones....as they are all learning and growing experiences.
4. My Husband of almost 17 years. We have weathered some pretty stormy waters together, yet we still cleave to each other. I have been asked, how I managed to go through all that I did with Kirk when he lost his arm 4 years ago. I say it is love, devotion and taking my wedding vows seriously. I said for better and for worse and I meant it...plus God was there to help us each along that dark and storm path. Those days were some of the worst but we made. Trust me not every day is all roses, kisses and whatever you want darling. After all he is still him and I am still me, we are human and have our own faults, opinions and characters. We just strive to work it out when it gets rough.
5. I am also thankful for my extended family and their love for me, good health, that I have a roof over my head and healthy things to eat.

I challenge you to post what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving Day Week.

Call the Fire Department

Today is my 36th Birthday....hard to believe that 20 years ago, I was celebrating my sweet 16 on this same day. Where has the time gone? Anyway, I digress....Today Kirk wanted us to come to his work as they were having a lunch (I cooked about 4 chickens for the thing...2 whole chickens and then various pieces in homemade BBQ sauce). This morning he told me he would have a birthday cake for me. I told him that was okay but I would rather not. Well he did it anyway, claiming it was for Edwards benefit. I get there and he has a beautiful 1/4 sheet cake with red roses on it. It says Happy 21st Birthday again on it. However my darling husband, decides to be the funny man and buys 3 boxes of 24 count birthday candles. He puts all 72 on them (he says this way no one will know my true age unless they knew to divide 72 by 2). Yep, I know know what a blazing cake looks like. When he started to light the candles they were so close to each other some actually were lighting others. He has them all along the left side of the cake and in the right hand corner, so they were stuffed together on the cake. I asked poor Edwards to blow them out for me because poor mommy was afraid she would have an asthma attack doing so. There was so much smoke afterwards that you almost need an oxygen mask to breath. Bless his heart, guess that is why I love him so much. It is just his way of being sweet.