Do ANYone really use these?

When you buy a good quality sweater, blouse or pair of pants, they always give you an extra button in case you lose one. I've NEVER used one of these.

What are you supposed to do with them? Label them? File them?

I have a jar of them in the laundry room. They're going into the trash can tonight.

Balance!

While it is fun to have a laugh (see Ugly Christmas Sweater post), and be merry, it is also good to remember those who aren't even CLOSE to being as fortunate as we are. Here is a link to our friend's blog. He and his fiance are doing amazing things with the poorest of the poor in Haiti.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest

I DARE you to find one uglier!

Jessica is hosting a contest... the more the MERRIER!

Bring 'em on.

(I was going to photoshop my face into the picture, but I have my limits.)

Comfort Foods

Thanksgiving is NOT the time to be counting calories unless you have taken "higher math"! Potatoes, gravy, yams, dressing, rolls, corn, cranberries, pies... all those yummy foods teeming with carbs. Traditional meals are sometimes called Comfort Foods. I don't know why they are called that; I am always left with an uncomfortably full tummy after Thanksgiving!

Here is a new recipe for an old Comfort Food. We'd never had it until last night at a church dinner, but we loved it! It's an old Betty Crocker classic.

"Scalloped Corn" - 4 servings

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen whole kernel corn; cooked and drained (or 16 oz. can whole kernel corn; drained)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green and red pepper
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Dash pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg; slightly beaten
1/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 tbsp. butter or margarine; melted

Heat oven to 350* Cook and stir onion and green pepper in 2 tbsp. butter until onion is tender. Remove from heat; stir in flour and seasonings. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat; gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in sour cream, corn and egg; pour into ungreased 1-quart casserole.

Combine cracker crumbs and the 1 tbsp. melted butter; sprinkle evenly over corn mixture. Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes.

"Betty Crocker's Cookbook" - 1974

Another Prayer for Obama

Although I am not Roman Catholic (anymore), I am greatly concerned when a man of the cloth is sanctioned by his superiors for instructing his flock to live by godly principles.

And, I must heartily add my own "AMEN" to his prayer (above).

Regarding the New President

A Prayer for the New President

and
A Gracious Commentary

Annabelle

Ain't she sweet?
Counting the days until we meet!

For Rebecca!

I don't know anyone who loves brownies more than Rebecca does. Personally, I like the centers of the brownies, with no crust, but for those that like the crunchy edges, here's a recommend!

I must also tip my chef cap to "Mrs. Dean", a friend whose brownies are renowned around the world thanks to Yvette's delivery of a sampling when she went to Singapore in October.

I can't wait to bake some brownies for Rebecca at Christmas time. Somehow, I think Caleb will appreciate that as well.

Which Way Will the Cookie Crumble?

Our local (favorite) bakery is offering two new decorated cookies through Tuesday. Do you want to guess which sell more often? Personally, I think one should have been lemon and the other full of nuts. ;-)

Haiti Charity Jewelry Auction

Recently our good friend Yvette visited Josh and Rebecca in Singapore. While there, they all went to Bali for a long weekend. Yvette brought back some fabulous hand-made jewelry. We have made these available on auction on our ebay store.

ALL proceeds from these pieces will be given to the HAITI CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL. Our young friend Dustin is helping there full-time and permanently. The people are the poorest of the poor, and have recently been further devastated by Hurricane Ike. They have been cut off from food and water, and are suffering malnutrition and disease as a result.

We invite you to look at these great pieces of jewelry and consider bidding on them. They would make lovely gifts, or personal items. We would consider it gracious if you would link to this blogspot!

Photo by Dustin V., full-time aid worker in Haiti

BFF

Debbie was in town for one day only, but it was wonderful to spend seven hours with my BFF. (I didn't know what that meant until last week...it's Best Friends Forever)

I'll always be grateful to my B.Bro (that's Bigger Brother to me) for giving me not only a great sister-in-law, but a BFF.

Thanks Dave!

A Princess' Logic

Yesterday, while working in San Anslemo, Shay and Charity stopped by with the kids. Samantha, aged just-turned-four, asked if we had brought our dog with us. I told her we hadn't, and that she would have to come and visit Olive.

She opened her sweet eyes wide and punctuated her words with her little hands waving,
"Gram, I really, REALLY, REALLY want to see your dog,
because I really, REALLY, REALLY don't have a dog."

Can't argue with that.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

I can 't believe you are already TWO YEARS OLD! And what a fine young boy you are.

Thanks for telling me your first joke tonight on Skype. Let me see if I can retell it right...

"Row, row, row your boat.. to the BUS stop!" (followed by the cutest giggle)

I love you SO much!

If My Faith is Fraudulent

I am taking a stand on personal things in my life right now that are very costly.

If my Lord Jesus Christ is just an historical figure and his dried bones heaped in a long-lost tomb somewhere in Israel, if the Scriptures that I have believed for 34 years are merely man's musings, if the cries of my heart are not heard from above, I am making painful sacrifices for a Lie.

Anyone who thinks being a Christian is like leaning on a crutch is mistaken. It is more like diving off a high cliff and trusting that you will be grasped before you hit the canyon bottom.

I am falling, once again, into His Everlasting Arms.

A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words!

The Source of Traffic Laws

Have you ever grumbled while sitting at a l-o-n-g red light, watching a car two blocks down approach, going the other direction, and sail right through? ("Not fair!") ...I've done my share of complaining, and have thought about the reasoning behind traffic laws many times while waiting. I recently read the following short article in a favorite magazine of mine, Answers, and took the liberty of publishing it here. It succinctly presents the same conclusion I've come to...

It is impossible to pass a law that is free from moral implications. The real question is not whether man can legislate morality, but which system of morality will be legislated. All laws are either explicitly moral or procedures that uphold a moral concept. Even laws requiring traffic lights impose "morality". The purpose of traffic lights is to stop people from having accidents, thus protecting property and preserving life.

Even simple laws, like traffic lights, presuppose that:

a) order is good and chaos bad
b) property rights should be honored, and
c) life should be preserved

Each of these principles is rooted in the Genesis (Biblical) account of origins:

a) God the creator, who declared His work "very good" (Genesis 1:31), is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33)
b) He commanded man to bring order into creation by taking dominion over the earth, thus laying the foundation for property rights (Genesis 1:28), and
c) He established the sanctity of life as the first principle of lawful government (Genesis 9:5-6)

These are the unspoken moral assumptions behind a traffic light.

Name That Female Vocalist/Musician!

Listen and then, guess.

Don't look at the other guesses in the comments until you are ready to make yours!

I'll confirm or deny in a while....

She's the Little Sister... in case you were wondering.

VACATION!

Since we've not had the opportunity for a vacation in a while, I've been thinking of what sort of vacation I'd like if we could plan one.

I'm interested in your reflections on the subject!

One of the best I remember was in 1997. The three kids and I had only ONE DAY to spare, and we headed to the ocean. We visited two different beaches, and had dinner at a surfer joint. Ask any of the kids; we all agreed that one day *miraculously* stretched to feel like a week. We thoroughly enjoyed each other, the sparkling ocean and the weather- and came home so refreshed!

All for the cost of a tank of gas
(not too much $$$ in 1997) and a pizza dinner.