We have a new nephew!

Please help me welcome to the world....

Shawn Christopher Lee

Born May 12, 2009 @ 6:49 A.M.

6 lbs, 15 oz; 20 and 1/2 inches long! :)

Thanks Heavens for little boys! If you know Hill, congratulate her!

A creation of mine

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Scrapbook Sunday

So today is pretty much the first day of the rest of my life since I graduated yesterday. My hobbies will be returning which is nice. One of my favorite hobbies is scrapbooking which is why I labeled this scrapbook Sunday. I thought I would let you know about a business that I love...creative memories. They have amazing products and they are absolutely the best place to get ideas on what books to create. I have a digital program where you can make a book in a night with digital photos and digital layouts. I thought I would give you some links to check out!

Creative Memories Main Page

Their New Products

Project Center

Find a consultant in your area!

Singer/Song Saturday

Sorry this is late, yesterday I was busy getting my Master's Degree!!!!!! YAY!

Today's Singer/Song is something that makes me think of my accomplishment and God's place in all of that. This song makes me think of the incredible calling that God gave me to be a therapist and how every breath needs to be rooted in Jesus and what he has me to do and say! I have included the lyrics so you can follow along. The following video is from a live performance of his so some of the lyrics are changed to honor the place he is singing! :)

Singer: Shaun Groves

Song: Should I tell them



Walking with you is not without hazards
Trippings this traveler's curse
Price paid for falling is more than my stumble
In a world that is watching and waiting for words

But I listened when You said to go
And I set out in spite of my fears
About truth mixed with my imperfection
And the question of what to say when I got here

And now that I'm here
Should I tell them that
You are the one who has made me
And saved me and set up a home there inside
Should I tell them that I am a perfect example
Of all You can do with a life.
What should I say to them?
What if I'm failing them?
What should i tell the tonight?

Now don't get me wrong
I'm thankful to be here
With this song to sing and a spotlight on me,
But lately I'm wondering if you are mistaken,
If you're seeing all of me there is to see.

Cause on every face I detect
The same questions I've posed to you
Like do you speak through the imperfect
Are we too dirty for your light to get through?
I want your light to get through.

Chorus:

What should I tell them when
They're thirsty Lord
My cup is empty Lord
Come and lead me here in this place
Cuz I'm unashamed, yeah, but I'm unprepared
And I'm just plain afraid



Song:

Faith Friday

1 Corinthians 2:9

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who loved Him (NIV)

Today's post is going to be about the above verse because I am reminded of this concept every single day in my walk with God. Last night is a great example. I gave my speech last night for the Hooding Ceremony for my Masters Degree. It was amazing. The whole ceremony was very good and my speech went well. The thing that amazed me was how God was truly there through the whole thing for me. My professor gave me a little matchbox Mustang after I spoke in honor of my grandpa and that filled my heart and reminded me of how proud he would have been.

The overall thoughts in my head last night were that God has done such amazing things in my life through pain and suffering and I could never have forseen any of them. Even as I prepare for my commencement this Saturday, I realize how special these times are. As I saw my boss show up to hooding last night and enjoy my speech on God (when he is not a believer) really showed me that I can not conceive what God has prepared for me.

I am going in to a time of complete trust with the Lord and I am actually really excited to see what God has prepared for me. I know that things are not happening the way that I forsaw them happening and sometimes if I am not careful this can cause me anxiety and disappointment as opposed to excitement of how God is going to show his character and provision for me. As I read this verse I realized that he has amazing things planned and it's not for me to know or figure out but to just rest and trust him through it.

Isn't that an exciting truth that we cannot even begin to conceive what he has planned for those that love Him! :) Thank you Jesus for your love and plan for my life!

Thrifty Thursday

Today's thrifty post is about making everything go the extra mile. Here is an idea that I have been using for some time. At the store, the larger cuts of meat like whole chickens, beef roasts, and turkeys are less expensive per lb due to bones, convenience etc... What I do is buy those cuts of meat and make them go two to three days in our two person home. Now I realize if you have a larger family, this might not work.

I'll use the chicken as an example. A chicken at our house can survive about 3 days. First I make a whole chicken in the crock pot by doing the following:

-- Clean chicken thoroughly

-- Put in bottom of crock pot with a few potatoes, lemon juice, spices to your taste and about a cup of low sodium chicken stock.

-- Cook on high for about 5 hours

-- When chicken is done it is amazing...serve is up beside the nice tender potatoes and a vegetable and you have round # 1

The next day in our house we always have left over chicken. I usually just get as much as I can out of the crock pot and put it into a storage container.

The next day I make chicken and dumplings and this is how

--- Store bought cresent rolls

--- left over chicken

--- One can of cream of chicken soup

--- 1 cup of low sodium chicken stock

--- Vegetables if you choose (peas, corn, carrots, etc...)

I take a 9 X 13 baking dish and lightly spray with olive oil spray so nothing sticks

Next I take the cresents and unroll them. In each cresent I put a generous portion of the leftover chicken and roll them up into dumplings

I place these in the bottom of the baking pan. I then cover with stock, soup, and vegetables.

I bake this in the oven for about 1/2 an hour at 350 degrees or until the cresents are nice and brown as everything else will be heated and your chicken is fully cooked.

I serve this besides some mashed potatoes or rice and of course your veggies are in the dumplings if you used them, if not serve up with some veggies.

These two days of meals are the following:

Whole chicken: as low as $2.00-4.00 when they are on sale

Produce: about $2.00 for everything

Stock: about $2.00 (you can use broth also if it is cheaper)

Soup: $1.00

Cresents: $2.00

At most this is about $11.00 for two days of dinner. More likely it is less as I rounded up for every item.

I use these tips for things like Turkey also and make Turkey salads, open face sandwiches, etc... with leftovers

With Roasts, I cut up the extra roast and create a vegetable stew. Two days of dinner for the price of one dinner! :)

I hope that you find ways to make leftovers into whole new experiences!

Also, if you haven't already done so, make sure and print your free coupon for a two piece grilled chicken dinner at KFC that Oprah made available. You do have to install a coupon printer application so be aware of that and use your security measures to make sure all is safe. Mine did not find any problems with it. Here is the link.

Free KFC from Oprah!

Witty Wednesday

-- Baked goods and Ladies of the night-- *Warning, inappropriate in nature*

When Anthony and I first moved in to our apartment there was something strange that we noticed almost immediately. There is a donut shop on the corner across the street from our complex and it is literally busy all hours of the night. It is open 24 hours and it always seems to have business. We thought, "wow, they must have good donuts." Eventually we started to notice women dressed a little bit scandalous around that shop and started to wonder if they were selling more than donuts over there.

We were driving home from work one day when I saw what had to be a shall we say....lady of the night. I started to laugh to myself and said to Anthony "I know they are prostitutes babe, I just know it" and I continued to laugh hysterically and Anthony finally said "what is so funny?" and I said with a big cheesy grin on my face..."They are donut hoes"

We lived on that joke right there for several weeks. Then one morning we were headed to take Anthony to work bright and early at 6:30 am and we saw one of the "ladies of the night" walking back to the donut shop. She was probably around 60-65 years old and had on a shiny shirt, a short skirt, fish net stockings, and house slippers. Yes, I said it...house slippers.

So, I then got yet another grin on my face and said "I bet she is going back to the donut shop to get her a long john"

They never stop coming! Anyway, I thought I would share one of Anthony and my favorite funny stories to make you laugh. We are constantly watching out for the "donut hoes" and "long johns" by our house so if we have anymore funny stories...prepare to hear them.

I apologize if anyone is offended by the inappropriate nature of this story. Have a lovely Wednesday!