Happy New Year........Tribute to my Dad

So, I "stole" this picture from my sister's blog....sorry Lois...but I just love it so. It's a picture of my Daddy. I think it's from the 60's. I was born in 1966. This is Dad in his study in our old church where he use to pastor, see him holding his bible. Dad pastored there for 31 years. He was an awesome pastor, everyone LOVED him. He had compassion, and love for everyone. Dad did a great job at pastoring our old church there in NYC. He would remember every one's name, and it just wasn't a church, it was a FAMILY! Our church was run so well, all the holidays were festive, and the church was in order, clean, it was "The House of the Lord". Whenever the church doors were opened, we were all there. Daddy loved his church, and the church people.....it was his life.

Daddy passed away this past May. Most of you know about his accident....really it was a tragedy. I have never experienced a tragedy in my life before, and never really considered Dad's death as one. But when I look back at this man's great life, the way he died, and his sickness, and then that night when he fell down the stairs, with all those bones broken, the suffering, and not being able to do anything for himself, yes it was a great tragedy in my life and my family's life.

You see Daddy was such an independent, strong man. I trusted every word he said. I felt comfortable with all his decisions and would go to Dad with help when I needed to make a decision. He always had the right answer, and sometimes I didn't want to hear it! Over the years, I have had so many arguments with Dad, didn't want to agree with him, but then in the long run, he was always right. I never wanted to agree with him.....why was I like that? I wish I could take back all those arguments now, and just keep my big mouth SHUT!

He was always on the go, eager to do the Lord's work, and was always there for his kids....well we did have great competition with church, and all it's activities, but in the long run, Dad was always there for us! Dad loved his grandchildren. He would always give them extra money whenever he would see them. He gave them his time, and I know they always loved going to Oma and Opa's house for the day. He would call here a lot, and of course when he called, I never had time to talk to him, I made small talk. He would always want to talk to the kids, and sometimes I would say, we're too busy, maybe next time. He wouldn't say anything, I know he was hurt, but I was just too busy for my Dad........now I wish he would call here.....why was I like that?

Then he was diagnosed with diabetes some years back, but that never held Dad back. Dad retired back in 95, and all was well, he was still preaching, and on the go, but slowing down some. Of course his diabetes caught up with him, and he ailed over the years. His eyesight was VERY poor and his whole body just hurt. We think towards the "end" he was even getting the early stages of dementia.

Mom and Dad moved to PA this past year in April. We were all excited for them...to live closer to my sister, she would really take care of them. Their house was smaller and would be easier for them to take care of it....no stairs, except those cellar stairs!!! After only one week living in their new home, Dad fell down those cellar stairs, broke 8 ribs, had a head trauma, and much more. He fell down something like 12 stairs! Dad should have died that night, but the Lord had other plans for him, and me!

Like I have said in earlier posts, those 3 weeks of Daddy's life in the hospital I loved on him like never before! I loved my father but we always seemed to be in some kind of conflict...well I always had some kind of conflict...Daddy would always turn the other cheek with me, and love me anyway. But I loved on Daddy for those 3 weeks of his life. Then when he was transferred to the nursing home, for those 3 days I loved on him again. He was suppose to get better, but he didn't. The Lord took Daddy home on Monday night, May 19th......I was with him, holding his hand. The little girl who hardly ever got along with her Daddy, was with him the night he died.

All I can say is have a blessed and Happy New Year!

Christmas was W O N D E R F U L !!!

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately. They all are so eloquently written, spiritual and inspirational. I have no problem with that, and I do enjoy reading them. But lately, I've been feeling a little lonely here on my blog. I haven't been getting any comments. I guess my blog isn't that "spiritual or inspirational" for some bloggers.

Like I said in my very first post, this blog is for me. This is my journal, so I have something to look back on when my kids are older, to help me vent, and sometimes I really need to do that.

I'm not the best writer, (and my sister is probably agreeing with me as she reads this post) but I do enjoy it, for me! So, if I've been "boring" you all, and not posting "inspirational" topics, it's just not me....my Dad was the preacher, not me. I am more the "sarcastic funny one" all my friends and family know me as that. From time to time there will be a "little inspirational piece".....but more about my family and me. That's why my blog is called......"A day in the life of Liz"......not "Your daily inspiration from Liz".....Ha, that sure doesn't sound like me! Enough said, I sure hope you leave comments, I sure have missed them. Here's a little post about our Christmas here at the Somma's. enjoy!

Well, Christmas is over, what a wonderful time we had here in the Somma household! We all woke up early, Davey was up by 6am! Had to drag Becca out of bed, unusual for her, but she's a preteen now. We started opening our gifts, and what a delight it was watching our kids open them all, and expressing their happiness. Hubby loved his gifts as well. My hubby surprised me....and what a nice way of doing so. All the gifts were done, and just the stockings were left. Well, I went into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee and came back into the living room, and there it was for me. First I opened the stocking stuffer, and it was one of those memory cards for my camera. I said "what do I need this for?" Then Hubby said "here, open this one!" Wow, what a surprise, a new digital camera! I love it...and it's RED! My favorite color. Thank you Hubby. Don't forget my birthday is coming in February!

Becca got the Uggs she wanted, and much more..........

Davey got the Geo Trax Airport that he wanted...and much more..............

Hubby got Madden Football for the Wii, and a little more....

Then we packed up and went to my brother's house for the day. On the way, we traveled to the cemetery to visit with Dad. It was cold, and his grave was covered with snow. We couldn't even make our way to his grave. So, I got back into the car, and Becca and my nephew Michael went to the grave. Dad's body is in that grave, not his spirit, that's another post...and hey, maybe I will even get "spiritual" on that one!

Anyway, we had a very nice time at my brother's house. All in all our Christmas was wonderful. I still have all the decorations up. I'm not one to take them down before New Years. Yes I know Christmas is over, wow how fast it came, and then over.

Pictures of us on Christmas Eve..............Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to all my friends out there in "blogworld". This year has been such a blessing connecting with you all......some old friends, and some new. I am so grateful for the opportunity to blog. It has really helped me get my feelings and words down. It's my daily/weekly journal.

We are all set for Christmas. I am so relieved to say. Christmas Eve is here. We have quiet plans tonight. I made a bunch of appetizers for my family, and we ate early. Then we'll get ready and head over to our church for our candlelight service. It's all so festive, and wonderful. And I'm looking forward to seeing our friends at church on Christmas Eve.

Then we'll come home, get little Davey to bed, and watch one of our favorite movies...."It's a Wonderful Life".......haven't seen it in a while, so I hope it will be like new to me....and Becca hasn't seen it yet, so she'll just LOVE it. My hubby will make me a cappuccino, so I'll stay awake, and we'll eat some homemade cookies that we made, and just relax!

Then when Becca goes to bed, Hubby and I will creep down into the garage and get all the presents, (a lot this year) and we'll put them all under the tree. It's all so exciting, and each year we keeping this tradition. Then we'll take pictures and go to bed ourselves. Usually on Christmas Eve I can't sleep...the excitement is in the air for me.

We'll wake up early, like 6:30, since I want to be up before Davey, and we'll probably start unwrapping the presents around 7am or so. I have special sticky buns to bake, and we'll have eggs to go with them, a nice big breakfast, since we probably won't eat until 2ish. My hubby bought me special coffee from Duncan Donuts, which I love, and we'll brew it, and drink it while we're unwrapping the gifts, another tradition we've kept over the years.

Then we'll have our breakfast, and start getting ready to travel to my brother's house....but first we're going to visit Dad at the cemetery. This will be the first year without Dad for Christmas. It will be another bitter-sweet holiday for us. Dad loved Christmas so much. I have many Christmas memories.......our parents always tried to make it so special for us. And I want to do the same for our children.

Again, Merry Christmas......may all your Christmas dreams come true....and let's all remember, it's fun to pretend about Santa and all that fun stuff. But let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas....our Saviour's birth. Thank you Lord Jesus for coming to earth as a baby, and then dying on the cross for me!

Well it's all done. The decorations are up, the shopping is all done, gifts are finally wrapped, the cookies are made, and the menu's are planned. Cherish the time with your family, try to enjoy every moment of it. My kids are so excited, especially little Davey. Becca is just worried she won't get the IPod she wanted (Oh boy!) We'll be traveling to the cemetery tomorrow to visit with Dad, and then on to my brother's house. I am looking forward to relaxing, and letting someone else do all the work for once...... The snow is still here, so we'll have the "white Christmas" that I was so looking forward to.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

It's my choice.....today, I will be joyful!

Well, "tis the season" right? All the decorations are up, the baking is done, all my shopping is about done, not wrapped, but that will happen tomorrow, and we even have snow....and it's coming down again right now. The outside looks so pretty, like a winter wonderland. But, what is it? Why then, am I not joyful? Sometimes I feel like that mom on the "Wonder Years" remember her, "Norma" that was her name. She was such a kind mom, who was always so giving and loving to her family. She kept her house perfect for her family, made a meal every night, helped her "Kevin" with his homework when he needed help, and even gave advice, when her kids didn't want it. She did all that, and in return, what did she get back....no kindness. And what about her husband? All he would do is grunt, mumble something under his breath, (I hate that, it's so unkind!) so she couldn't hear it, but she really did. He had a temper, and was hardly ever in a good mood.

Well, to be very honest with you, (sorry family) I've been feeling like "Norma" lately. Kids are moody, not obeying, giving me a hard time, especially Becca. no appreciation, I keep the house in order, make a delicious meal EVERY night for my family, try to be in a good mood for them.....talkative with everyone. I wake up happy all the time, but then something happens, bad attitudes are everywhere in this house lately. My hubby is a GREAT guy, loving, that's why I married him....my best friend, but I've notice he's very much starting to have some characteristics like poor "Norma's" hubby, and I'm not liking it one bit!

Is that why I'm not joyful? I do think it's a big part of it. Ephesians 4 :32 says, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" Now, I'm not perfect, and everyone will agree with me, I need to learn this verse as well.....but I'm tired of feeling like "Norma", and I want to start feeling like Liz again! I think it's my choice, even though everyone around here is moody, can never compliment, and doesn't know how to show any kind of appreciation for all the "stuff" I put up with. I don't have to do all the "nice" things I do for my family, but I choose to, because, guess what.... I love my family. And even though they ALL, yes all, of them walk all over me, I'm the wife and mother, and I still do it all. Someday, I sure hope the appreciation and kindness will follow, cause it just ain't here! But today I will start, and I will choose to be joyful, no matter what.......hey you never know, it may filter out all the moodiness in this house.

Just some pictures....................

I had some time this morning to post again. I'm really into it these past few days. Today we leave for my in laws to celebrate "Christmas with the Somma's". All my baking and decorating are done. I still have presents to wrap, and still more shopping...only a couple of gifts. Enjoy the pictures below, just some of the family and my decorations. Enjoy!

These are pictures from the Children's program at church last Sunday night. Davey is in the front row, in the red sweater....he really sang, and was so cute to look at.

This is Becca singing in her Children's choir...she really did love to sing!

Our Christmas Tree.......all the pretty decorations!

Dining room all set for tomorrow's company!

I have more updated posts keep reading.

It's the prettiest day ever..............

It's snowing here.....really snowing!!! Finally, the weathermen got it right, and sure enough at 10am today it starting coming down, and I mean really coming down! We have about 10 inches already, and it doesn't look like it's gonna stop sometime soon.

My hubby couldn't make it home from work today, since he had to go back tonight for his last night at work, and traveling back tonight would have been too dangerous. My hubby will be off for about 12 days for Christmas vacation anyway starting tomorrow...yippee... what a treat, so I think :) So, I've been busy doing all my hubby's chores: feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, filling the pellet stove, shoveling, but only a bit, since my wonderful neighbor Joe, came over today and snowblowed us out...he came twice....what a great guy! (note to hubby, you owe him big next snow storm). But I would have snowblowed too, but we got this big new snowblower, and I didn't know how to operate it, otherwise I would have done it all...like I usually do when hubby doesn't come home during a snowstorm.

Anyway, seeing all the snow really put me into the Christmas spirit again, I go in and out of it these days. I have been listening to Christmas music all day long, found a great music channel on tv and it's wonderful, (Yulelog move over!) all the old songs, and continuous. I got all my chores done, and squeeze some more baking in too. The kids are outside just loving the snow, giving me some time alone. No, I didn't go out in it. I never said I like to play in the snow, just look at the snow. not play in it.

Tomorrow we are going to my hubby's parents house to celebrate our Christmas with them, and the rest of the family. I baked my "Mom's Cheesecake", which is the most delicious cheesecake in the world! I remembered to take pictures of the process....you all should be very proud of me, and I probably won't be doing this again, took up too much time!

Here's the recipe:

Mom's Cheesecake
3 - 8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

All these ingredients must be at room temperture, including the eggs! This is a must!
Mix the cream cheese until really creamy, then add the eggs one at a time, add the sour cream, and vanilla. Scrape the sides down a couple of times, and really beat for about 5 minutes, scraping the side down yet again, until really smooth and creamy.

For the Crust, combine 1 & 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs, 1 & 1/2 Tbs. sugar, and 1 stick butter already melted.

Mix all the crust ingredients together and put them into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Lined the outside of the pan with foil...pat the crust into the bottom, and up the sides a bit. Bake the crust for 10 minutes in a 350 oven. Cool.

Pour the cream cheese mixture into the springform pan....put into a large baking pan (see below picture). Bring about 3 cups or so of water to a boil, and gently pour the boiling water halfway up the sides of the cheesecake....into that baking dish, without getting any water into the unbaked cheesecake. This will help the cheesecake to cook evenly, and help it not to crack.

Put into a 350 oven for 45 minutes. Then shut off the oven, and let stand in the oven for another 45 minutes. Then take out of the oven and let stand at room temp for another hour. Meanwhile prepare the sour cream topping.

Sour Cream Topping - 1 & 2/3 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla. When the cake has sat at room temp, mix the sour cream, sugar and vanilla with a whisk, and pour on top of the cheese cake, and spread with a knife or offset spatual. Preheat oven to 350, and cook again for only 5 minutes. Take out and let sit again for 1 hour at room temp....and then refrigerate.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished cheese cake.....it came out really nice, and honestly I'm too tired to get up now, and walk into the kitchen, open the frig, and take it out, uncover it, and take a picture of it. I had a busy day, and this post took me FOREVER to complete, since I've been interupted too many times by my kids (who are in now), Perdie, Pongo, phone calls, making dinner, putting Davey to bed, folding laundry, cleaning up dinner dishes, baking bread for tomorrow, and everything else that goes on in a day in the life of Liz. Make the cheesecake, it looks really difficult, but once you get the hang of it, it's really easy....ENJOY!!!

Christmas Baking................

Well, it's a snow day here, finally....and the house is quiet this morning. The kids are still sleeping, and I'm hoping they remain sleeping so I can finish this post. It's been very busy here at our house preparing for Christmas! Over the last week I've baked 6 different kinds of cookies. I promised myself this year not to do so many, since I'm a diabetic, and need to "control" myself. But I felt guilty (moms are always guilty!) for the kids, and honestly they don't need the extra sugar either. But what's Christmas without Christmas cookies? When I was a little girl, my mom would bake cookies starting in early December. She would get them all done early, and we would all enjoy them throughout the whole month of December. She would use them for her Christmas parties, and just give them away. I loved the way she displayed the cookies. Every year she would get out her beautiful "lazy susan" cookie tray, and lay them out just so. I've always loved that "lazy susan", and this past year she handed it down to me when she moved to PA! I was so excited to finally take it out this Christmas and use it. It's on my dining room table waiting to be filled with cookies, but this time, it will be filled with my cookies!

Christmas is coming! The preparations are starting already. I must say all is going very smoothly this year. Last night we did our annual Christmas crafts. I like to do a Christmas craft with the kids. This year we made the candy cane ornament that I made with Becca when she was five. Davey wasn't here then, so I thought he needed one with his picture in it. They came out so nice. Becca surprised me and made a beautiful wreath ornament, and put a picture of Davey and herself in it. And then she surprised me again, and made a beautiful stocking ornament. Davey traced his hand, and then we glittered it. He loved using the glitter......the cleanup was OK, and I didn't freak out! Here are some pictures of the kids making their crafts, and really having a great time!

We also did our annual Gingerbread house. This year it was kind of difficult since all Davey wanted to do was eat all the candy. Becca was a bit moody, and actually my hubby was being inpatient while helping the kids put the house together....its only normal...a day in the life of Liz. I never said I live or have the perfect life, but it's close to it :) I told the family this will be the last year making a gingerbread house if they continue acting the way they did! We'll see. But the house came out really nice, Becca decorated the front, and Davey decorated the back. I do think the kids really enjoyed making the house. And Davey really loved eating the candy.

Yeah, they act like they love each other in pictures!

I managed a "smile".....................

Becca decorated the front with Red, White and Blue....so pretty!

Entertaining...and Christmas parties

Don't you love this picture? It reminds me of our old home in Queens, New York. The door, and the stairway look just like ours in our old family childhood home. Mom and Dad entertained a lot in that home. Dad was a pastor of a big church there in Queens for 33 years. Mom was the perfect pastor's wife, entertaining and hosting missionaries, evangelists, and our yearly Deacon Christmas Party. It was all so festive. Mom would be cooking for days. The day of the party was always a Friday night, and it was always the Friday after Christmas, so she had the time off of work to prepare. Mom would set the table for 22!!!! We had 10 deacons at our old church, and of course their wives would come too.

When the guests came, my sister and I would be ready for our "chore", which was "coat girls". Dad would give us the coats and we would run them up and down the stairs dumping the coats on our parents bed!!! What a chore! I remember Sister Antonio's (yes, back then we called everyone brother and sister) coat, she always had her "fur coat", and Lois and I would always make fun of it.

I don't remember the menu, but I know it always included soup, the main meal, and many desserts. Mom wouldn't expect any help from any of the deacon wives, and she would cater the whole party all by herself. It was always a buffet, and the line to the buffet was from the dining room, through the kitchen, into the nook where our kitchen table was. My sister and I would always sit on the kitchen floor watching all the guest fill their china plates, yes china plates, never paper! We would wait until our guests were done, and then we would run over to the table filled with food, and make ourselves a plate. Sometimes even after the first round there wasn't any food left, and mom always made a lot of food.......those deacons loved to eat! One year mom made one of my favorite desserts, "Ricotti Rice Pie", and I couldn't wait to have a piece. After everyone was done taking a piece, there wasn't even one piece left for me, so I ate the crumbs!

They played games fter the dinner. The laughter of everyone playing the games was so enjoyable! What happy times. Then everyone would leave around 11pm, how late that was back then. Mom and Dad would do all the cleanup.....I remember Daddy vacuuming, and mom cleaning up all the dishes and putting whatever food there was away. I don't know how mom did all that preparing and entertaining back then. But she did it, and she always entertained with a smile on her face. I do miss those days. I entertained here too....these days I feel so overwhelmed with it. I do wish I had the spirit mom had back then, to just do it joyfully unto the Lord. I'm having a big Christmas party here in a couple of weeks, I will remember this post and prepare and cook joyfully......I think it will be easy, since we're shipping the kids off to my moms house, and it will be easier for me. Happy entertaining.

It's suppose to snow tonight. If you know me, you know that I love snow! We're not getting too much, only an inch. But I can't tell you how excited I get when we have snow, and especially for Christmas. About 5 years ago, it actually snowed here in New Jersey, and on Christmas Day! What a delight it was to wake up on Christmas morning, and everything was covered with snow! My in laws were suppose to come, and they cancelled, of course.....I even suggested they come the day before so they wouldn't have to travel in the snow and sleep over, but they didn't want to come. But my parents still came. Mom called me early and said they would come but leave early. So I had to get the turkey in the oven very early......it was rushed, but I was so happy they came. After dinner and my parents left, I think it was like 3pm......but it was ok. We all watched a movie and had the best Christmas Day ever. Becca was at the age where she could sit with us and watch the movie. We got about 20 inches that day. It was wonderful, quiet, and a very relaxing Christmas. I think that was the best Christmas ever!!! I sure hope we get snow this year again....I won't mind being snowbound again.

Decorating for Christmas.......

Greetings to everyone. I hope you all starting decorating for Christmas. I am happy to say that we are just about done! It does take about a week to decorate the house and outside. I went and got fresh evergreen wreaths this year. I put one on our lamp post and another one between the garage doors. I have a beautiful wreath already on our front door. So, yesterday I finished decorating, and I am relieved....what a job! Davey was such a big help this year. He wanted to decorate the tree all by himself. I let him put the ornaments on, but he only decorated the bottom of the tree, and I couldn't keep it like that. So, I moved them around when he wasn't looking. He was very excited when the boxes came out, on the other hand, Becca could care less...oh well.

Our tree is all decorated mostly with handmade ornaments and store bought ornaments as well. I do love the handmade ones, especially from my kids. Some people put the handmade ones in the back of the tree, not me!!! Most of them were made by Becca. Davey did a couple, remember he's only 4. This year Davey is really into crafting, and he really wants to add his own creations to our tree. So, we went to the craft store and bought some stuff to craft with....he is so excited...I hope I will be too :)

Here is one of the many ornaments Becca has made for our Christmas tree. She was 5 years old, and I found this great idea in a magazine. You just put the candy canes backwards, and then glue a picture in the middle, cover the back with construction paper, and put a hanger on it. It cracked a couple of years ago, but I just glued it back together. This year Davey is so excited to help! He has helped in the past, but always got bored and left his craft half-done. I know this year he will finish it!

And here is a picture of our Christmas as of today.......looks like the top is leaning a bit.

So, I do feel like I'm in the Christmas spirit....it will be another bittersweet holiday this year without Dad. My first Christmas without my dad. Mom and Dad always came over to see my tree and decorations right after I was finally finished. They didn't come this time. Dad always bought me a fresh evergreen wreath to hang on our front door.....I was always so happy to get one. This year I bought one myself. Mom probably won't get to come this year to see it all. I usually make Mom and Dad a dinner leading to Christmas....to use up the free ham I would always get from the grocery store. This year that won't happen. I surely will miss those traditions.

Now, if it would only snow........I love snow. Happy decorating.

Just a little bit about our Thanksgiving.......

Ok, so I changed the look of my blog again, thanks to my sister. She helped me after everything was done on Thanksgiving Day/night. I do love this new look, it's for Christmas, and I may even keep it for winter.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful! The food was delicious, and the fellowship with our family was wonderful. We all missed dad, but all in all the day went very well. Mom looked great, and she really helped my sister with the dinner. The kids all played so nicely, they all get a long so well together. We sat by the fire, watched the "Cowboys", my hubby's favorite team! The turkey was moist and delicious, we had mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, two kinds of stuffing, one sausage with cranberry's and pecans, and one plain...which one do you think I went for? Yes, you are correct, the sausage with cranberry and pecans....yum!!! My sister made green beans with bacon, corn spoon bread, and then of course rolls. My sister-in-law Beth, made her delicious pumpkin bread, which I just love. Mom made the pies, of course, just like she always does. This time she put sugar in the apple pie, thanks mom! Lately, she wouldn't add sugar to her apple pie when dad was still here, but honestly, it never was very good that way:( She also made pumpkin pie, and I made my pecan pie, which I thought was too sweet, so I probably won't be making that pie anymore. My sister-in-law Beth, made these delicious mini chocolate cheesecakes, they were delicious, and I love cheesecake! But lately, I'm having a problem with sweet foods, ever since I've been watching my carbs, and sweet intake, I just don't care for sweet foods......which is very strange for me, since I've always been a sweet lover. Enough about that, afterwards what a treat, my sister set up a special activity for us.....decorating gingerbread houses!!! We used graham crackers already formed into houses (thanks Lois and Phil) and then we all went to town decorating our little houses. The kids absolutely LOVED it. It was a true highlight of our holiday. Hope your Thanksgiving was as special as ours! Enjoy the pictures.

All of us at the table..............

Michael, Grace and Davey...........

Becca and me with our gingerbread house.............

Hubby & Davey........................

Mom, Beth, and Lois.....and turkey...........

Davey and Mommy!!!!

Thanksgiving

I just love this picture....it reminds me of when we use to have our Thanksgiving dinners at our old house in Queens, NY. Actually, our dining room looked similar to this one, and the table setting the same too. Mom would be cooking for days. Mom always did the BEST job with preparing our Thanksgiving dinner. What memories I have of our Thanksgiving when I was a little girl. Our house was all decorated for Autumn. The dining room was huge, and the table was huge, too. Sometimes Mom would even let me stay home from school the day before just to help her set the table and prepare. And I mean we "set the table"....we didn't use paper plates, we used her best china, linens, and stemware, and we had like 15 guests, too! The table was always so beautiful! But the smell of Thanksgiving was in the air even the week before. Our church where my dad was the pastor, was all decorated for Thanksgiving, too. Everyone really made such a big fuss over the day. It was wonderful. Grandma, and Grandpa Behr, Aunt Gundel, Uncle Fred and the cousins would all come over that morning and join us in church. I remember waking up on Thanksgiving Day morning, and the smell of roasting turkey would be throughout the house!

Our church service was really festive, we sang all the Thanksgiving hymns, and the choir would sing a special song, and then Dad would preach his sermon. Then after church we would all hurry back to our house for the feast! And what a feast it was. Mom would be busy at the stove, Dad would be carving the turkey, us kids would be running around waiting to eat! Then it was time to sit down for dinner...and one special touch that mom made special every year were the place cards. On each place card was a Thanksgiving verse from the Bible. We would all take turns and read our special verse. I remember as a little girl taking my card and practicing the verse, so I would say it just right! After the dinner we were all so full, it was delicious. Then when evening set in, our relatives didn't run home, like some do now....they stay and we would light all the candles in the dining room, it was beautiful! Then out came all the pies...apple, pumpkin, mincemeat...and not just one of each...mom would bake from scratch, 3 of each. Then after the pies were done, still the relatives didn't run home, we all sat in the living room that Thanksgiving night and watched the "The Waltons, Thanksgiving Special"....it was one of the best times of my life. Everyone was happy to be there...no one was complaining. We all enjoyed each others company.

What happy memories from my childhood. We still follow the same traditions....decorate the house for Autumn, set a beautiful table with our best china and stemware. We still eat a delicious feast, and pies...mom still makes the pies, but only 1 each these day....3 each was way too many. We still keep the place card tradition, too. This Thanksgiving will be bittersweet for our family. It will be the first without our Dad/Opa. We will miss him dearly. Daddy loved Thanksgiving. Now he's celebrating Thanksgiving in Heaven with his loved ones, and his Heavenly Father. Dad is out of pain, and his eyesight is restore!!! Happy Thanksgiving Daddy!!! And Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends.

Another Post....wow!

So, I'm hoping you'll all be very happy with me since I'm posting again. This will probably be my last post before Thanksgiving, since life here will be busy. No, I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner, we are going to my sister's house...and she's doing all the WORK!!! Well, I'm bringing my famous Pecan Pie....love pecan pie! And yes, I mean work. I've had Thanksgiving here before. The first time was when Becca was in preschool, some 7 years ago. I had it all together then. The turkey came out great, all the sides came out delicious too. I was excited about it, didn't dread all the work. Now I dread everything..... I don't know what it is....life was so much more simpler than. I also had Thanksgiving here the year before Davey came. It wasn't very good. The turkey wasn't done on time. I don't know what happened that day, but I feel it was a disaster! I think everyone had a great time, we had 14 you know. I've cooked many a turkey before, but that year wasn't very good. I think my kitchen is way to small for a large crowd and me preparing Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone loves to gather in my kitchen, which is fine, but when I have tons to get done, please get out of my way :) So I'm very happy to be going to my sister's house this year....and every year to follow to be honest with you all.

Thanks to my sister who helped me with the changes in my blog. I had a hard time doing it. Thankfully, Davey was sleeping while we spent almost 1 hour on the phone going through the changes. I really think it looks good. Do you like the sign "Live, Laugh, Love"? I love that saying. I have a sampler of it in entrance way......"Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much"...absolutely love that saying.....now if only I can do the laughing more often.....I use to laugh so much way back when...............

It's still very cold here, only 33 today. I do like it, again, it's the cozy feeling of winter setting in. So, to all my friends in "blogworld", have a wonderful, and blessed Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for.

My New Look....

So, I changed the look of my blog...how do you like it? I had wanted to change the background for some time now, but never had the time to do it, and honestly, didn't know how to do it. I love the color green. If you know me, my two favorite colors are green and red. Pink use to be one of my favorite colors, but that was years ago. Now if I can only personalize my blog like my sister's and Sue's blogs. They have these really neat pictures on their blogs...but I don't know where to download them from...help would be appreciated girls! Let me know. Scroll down, I had more time today and I wrote another post! Enjoy!

The Coldest Day so far...............

Well, as you can see life for me is a busy one. I try to blog, but can't do it everyday. Some of you out there blog every day! How on earth do you do it all? Anyway, today it's the coldest day here so far this Fall. I love the Autumn. I love everything about it, the changing of the leaves, the pumpkins, making pies, apple, pumpkin, you name it....with my own pie crust I might add! The coziness in the house with our pellet stove on. I do dislike it when the leaves fall, and we have to get out there and rake them all up....including our neighbors!!! Get out and rake your own leaves up - all they do is blow on my property, and I'm sick of it! Anyway, back to being happy.......I knew it would have been short lived......Like I said, today is one of the coldest days so far...and I just LOVE it. I feel the holidays, oops, sorry Dad, I mean Christmas in the air, I can wear all my pretty sweaters, and hide my fat arms, yeah I got these fat arms from my Grandma Santelli, and I even lost weight over the past 8 months, and these arms won't go down.....there I am again, going off track...just a day in the life of Liz....anyway, like I said before it's cold outside, and I do enjoy the cold. I know some of you enjoy the warmer temps, but if it's gonna be Thanksgiving, and especially Christmas, it must be chilly, or cold outside, and snow would be a real PLUS! But I do enjoy the heat in the summertime too...I enjoy all of my seasons. Go to Florida if you want a warm Thanksgiving or Christmas. We even had some snow this morning. Davey was so excited about it, he tried to catch some flakes on his tongue, don't think he got any, he's so cute!

I enjoy baking in the colder days, bread, cookies, you name it. I really can't bake much, cause then I'll eat it all....and it's not good for me. I enjoy making comfort food in the fall/winter months (I posted some delicious comfort food recipes earlier in the summer months I was thinking of Fall then, so go look at them) food can be so comforting on colds days, and I know my family really enjoys it all, too. Ok, it's gonna be a very cold week here in NJ, so go and put the fireplace on, light some candles, bake something hot and comforting for your family, and enjoy it all...I sure will, tonight I'm making Shepherds Pie...not sure if I shared the recipe with you already....maybe in tomorrow's post, if I have time.

Update and Being Thankful

Hi, I bet you're all wondering where I've been. Well life here has been very busy for me. The "stuff" with our daughter Becca has been getting better...thank you all for your prayers. You all would be very proud of me, yes I've been very consistent with her, and for NOW it's been better. There is power through prayer.

We are getting excited for Thanksgiving. We are going to my sister's house this year. It will be a bittersweet Thanksgiving for our family. This will be the first Thanksgiving without my Dad. Today actually is my parents wedding anniversary...I know it must be a very hard day for my mom. I spoke to her last night, she sounded ok. I usually have my parents over here for dinner on their wedding anniversary and make them a special meal. So it's kind of weird and sad not preparing a meal for them this year. But anyway, back to Thanksgiving. So, yes we're going to my sister's house this year for Thanksgiving, it should be very nice and relaxing for me. I haven't "done" Thanksgiving since Davey came some 4 1/2 years ago....no time....maybe next year I will prepare the Thanksgiving meal....if my sister lets me. Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. When you get some time list the things you are thankful for. Here is my list:

I am thankful for my wonderful hubby, he puts up with me, and really loves me after all these years!
I am thankful for my wonderful (sometimes) kids. They are true miracles in my life.
I am thankful for a giving, caring, and loving Mom and Dad.
I am thankful for my brother and his family and for my sister and her family, even though I hardly say it.
I am thankful for my hubby's family....after all these years, we are truly FAMILY!!!
I am thankful for my church family - you all have been such blessings to our family!
I am thankful for all my girlfriends...you know who you are - ok Paul, you too!
I am thankful for my little kitty Pongo...he sleeps with me every night, and is so cute!
I am thankful for my love of cooking, and sharing my cooking/meals with others.
I am thankful for the wisdom of my doctor who helped me get my diabetes back on track...and helping me feel so much better this year!
I am thankful for starting this blog almost one year ago....to get my thoughts out, and to journal my days.
And most of all....I am thankful to my Heavenly Father who knows me inside and out, who never gives up on me. And for HIS loving faithfulness to me, even when I don't deserve it!

A little on the "light/Liz" side....
I am thankful for great hair...I really mean this one!
I am thankful for a small nose!
I am thankful (I think) for being TALL - better tall than short!
I am thankful (not really) for big feet......I take that back, no I'm not thankful for having big feet!
I am thankful for being full-figured....well I would like to be thin...but I never will be!
I am thankful for my Dog (no not really, anyone want a dog?)
And what I am mostly thankful for.....and this is a tribute to my Dad....I am thankful for "having a big mouth".....as my father would say...."Lizabeth, you talk so loud"....This one is for you Daddy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Am I a good mom? Cause today I feel awful!

Ok, life here in our house has been tough the last couple of weeks. Things have been going on with our daughter Rebecca. She is a 12 year old girl, going through what 12 year olds go through, and I'm not liking it at all!!! I feel that mostly its my fault cause I didn't put a stop to it months ago. So today I finally had it, and put my big foot down!!! I won't go into the things Becca has been doing, and if I told you, you would probably say, "that's nothing!" But in my little world, it's a big SOMETHING!!! Today Rebecca was suppose to go roller skating with her friends, under the supervision of my friend Donna. Like a usual morning, Becca's attitude showed, freshly, and that's normal around here, and we just put up with it.....and I had to put an end to it. I didn't want to punish her, but my hubby is the strong parent here, and now I understand that he is right, and we need to punish Becca, and keep to the punishment. You see, I am a real softy. I'm like my dad in that way. I say to Becca, "keep it up, and this will happen..." and nothing happens. My hubby has been saying this to me for years...and I would never listen to him...it's all my fault. I want to be my daughter friend, instead of her mom. Don't misunderstand me, I want Becca to be happy...she's basically is a "happy go lucky girl", but lately she has thought she could get away with doing things behind my back...and guess what? I found them all out! Thank you Lord for that still soft voice. So, now that we still have this "hold" on Becca, my parenting skills will change, and with the Lord's help, I will make a change and keep to the punishments that I give out. One of the punishments is taking her cell phone away (wish we never got it for her, it was a gift for getting straight A's)...awful for a 12 year old...her friends can't believe she's punished again...that's all she hears from them. I then tell her, "well if you would stop doing this and that, then you wouldn't be punished again". I hardly had to punish Becca when she was younger....now it's all the time. What has happened to my wonderful little girl? Thank God Becca still tells me things, and she is convicted to confess to me. I hope that never ends. So, now I have my little girl who is mad at me, and of course I feel badly. But if her attitude didn't show badly this morning, and if she would have listened to me when I asked her to do a chore, instead of saying yes she did it, and then I find out she didn't, then she would be going roller skating today, and I would have the afternoon alone! It just wasn't her attitude this morning...it was everything that I have learned that was going on with her for the past 3 months! Mother's intuition is very good here...or should I say the Lord!

Anyone out there with preteen/teen nightmares?

What's wrong with Trick or Treating?

Ok, so I have some time before we have to get ready and leave for my in laws house this morning. I wasn't going to do a post...cause I don't have the time. But I knew if I didn't write about this, then I (like most times these days) would forget! Yes, my family goes trick or treating! Yes, I'm happy to say that. I grew up in a strick, but very loving christian family. My father was a pastor/preacher for over 50 years! We went trick or treating when we were younger, except when it fell on a Sunday, and our mom took us the Saturday before...how embarrassing that was! Anyway, so many Christians are looking down on trick or treating, and looking down to us Christians who let our children celebrate the day. May I say Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!!! Yes, don't fall off your chair, please! I do not worship satan.....and I am not a spirit worshiper either. I do think it's what you make Halloween to represent...and if you think Halloween is about satan, and all his crew...then of course, that's in your mind, you can think what you want. I love the Lord with all my heart....but to be honest, I don't feel that Halloween is a Satan Worshiper Holiday like some of you believe. Ok, you have stuff to prove it, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear it! What about all the other holidays we celebrate...Christmas is suppose to be for Christ's birth, and Santa, Christmas trees, presents, and that stuff is brought into the picture, Easter, Christ's Resurrection, and then the Easter Bunny, candy is brought into that. I don't let my kids dress up in "dark" costumes, and we don't bring "spooky things" into our house. We kind of celebrate the Fall. I love the Fall, and cooler weather, especially after the hot summer days. I love the fact that my kids get excited to dress up in their favor characters....and then go around with their friends trick or treat, it's all very innocent. And how wonderful is it, that people actually give treats to our children for FREE! No one does anything anymore for free. And in this day of age, when prices everywhere are sky rocketing, our neighbors give our children free candy and treats. Amazing! But then yes, I agree when people make it not so innocent, and they want to ruin the day. Mostly everything in this world is of satan lately, he has his hands in everything...not just Halloween. Look around you, he's everywhere, tempting us to do wrong...trying to get to our children with his evil ways. That is something we all should be worried about...not pointing your fingers at Christians who go trick or treating innocently with their children. What I say is in Love. Anyway, Happy Belated Halloween!

Eggs - glorious eggs - Martha Junior

Eggs - glorious eggs - what are we doing with all these eggs? Well Becca is taking home-ec in school these days...and she is really loving it. So, she wanted to cook something, and I suggested how about a quiche? Becca loves quiche, and she was all for it. So, she comes home after school and we start making the quiche. I always make homemade pie dough, the store-bought stuff is way too expensive, and taste GROSS, and I can make 2 pie shells for pennies. I have a really easy and delicious recipe for homemade pie dough, it's a never-fail recipe. Becca is in charge of the kitchen this afternoon, and it's really hard for me, cause it's my kitchen, and I want things done just so. But she is just like her mommy, and she wants things just so too. She starts cracking the eggs, whisks in the milk, sautes the onions and mushrooms, adds the cheese. I show her how to roll out the pie dough, she's an old pro at that too. Hum.....maybe she can do this once a week for us? She adds the bacon and cheese, and we add everything to the freshly rolled out pie shells, put the quiches in the oven, and they bake. She, of course, then got an attitude with me, something my 12 year old does often these days....so I told her since she made the mess, she must clean it up. She didn't like that idea...but she cleaned everything up very tidy...just like her mom. The quiches came out terrific, we all had them for dinner that night with a fruit salad. DELICIOUS! Thank you Becca :)

Davey's School Trip - a day on the Farm

About a couple of weeks ago, Davey's preschool went on a class trip to "Heaven Hill Farm". We all went Pumpkim picking...and did so many other fun activities there. We saw the pigs and piglets, they were sooo cute! Checked out the chickens....our "girls" are prettier :) And then took a "scary hayride". The kids loved it, and I did too. Check out the pictures from that day. Enjoy!

Apple Picking and other stuff

A few weeks back we all went apple picking. We had a blast! The kids loved the tracker ride, and picking the apples. We used up just about all the apples, making apple pies, apple sauce, and just munching on the apples...delicious! After apple picking, we went out to dinner to one of our favorite places, "The Chatterbox". It's one of those old fashion 50's kind of places. I had the best hamburger in the world there...if you know me, you know my favorite thing to eat is a hamburger...but it has to be a "good" hamburger...not one of those frozen patties. And the "Chatterbox" makes one of the best hamburgers around. It was a great day - enjoy the pictures!

House still smells a little

Well after 6 days, our house still smells a little. We've done everything to get the skunk smell out. The bathroom is the worse, since that's where I had to bath Perdie that dreadful night! I think its in the exhaust fan up there. We've used every de-skunking product.... Perdie went to the groomer on Monday, and she came back smelling wonderful...then by Thursday she began to stink again! So, I bathed her outside on the deck that afternoon, and then took her back to the groomer on Friday for a FREE bath! Wasn't that nice! So today she is smelling really nice...but the house still has this hint of skunk in it. Very upsetting! I still have the smell on my hands too....my advice to you all....DON'T GET A DOG!!!! When Perdie was a puppy, she had Mange - a very contagious mite in her body. We had to bath her in this yellow stuff, she smelled like rotten eggs and she turned yellow!!! The mange is very contagious, like I said...and guess who got it??? Yes, I got it all over my body...since all Perdie would do is lay on me when she was a pup. She really was cute....back then. No she's cute and loving now...just more of a pain. But she's part of the family.

Davey was sick at the beginning of the week, now Becca has Strep today. We just got back from the doctors, and sure enough, STREP! I kind of knew it was Strep, she came home from school yesterday with a slight fever and a very bad sore throat, wouldn't talk much....that's not Becca. She went to the Harvest Dance at school last night. She was so excited to go with her best girlfriends...but when she came home at 9pm, she didn't look good, and would hardly talk about the dance. And I wanted to hear everything!!!! So, this morning she got up early, she had a fever of 101. She's in bed now, sleeping all day....it's very quiet in our house! Now if only I could get Davey to take a nap, I would have some alone time.

I'm making Lentil Soup for tonight, it's cold, windy and rainy outside...perfect day for soup. We have been getting 5 eggs a day still, so I will use some up and make a nice quiche for tonight as well. Two of Becca 's favorite meals...hopefully she'll eat tonight. Later.

It's our 20th Wedding Anniversary!

Today is our 20th Wedding Anniversary!!!! I would like to wish my hubby a Happy Anniversary! David you know how much I love you...I know sometimes life is so busy for us to take time alone...but you know I love you...and will cherish our marriage always! I love you! Lizzie

The smell is about gone! What a job!

I know some of you are so concern for my situation here. And I wanted to update you all about our smelly house and dog. Perdie got to the groomer today at 9am. She is all clean and fluffy...and that skunk smell is GONE!!!! Praise the Lord! We got some good "skunk begone" cleaners today...and for the most part, the house is pretty well skunk free. Thank the Lord today was a beautiful day...and we had all the windows open to get rid of that smell. So, I think we will all be able to sleep tonight. Thank you all for your prayers...and isn't it just wonderful that our Lord even helps us with the "small stuff"? He is concerned for every little thing that goes on in my life...even a smelly house and dog! AMEN!

Worst smell in the world...Perdie got skunked!!!

Ok, life here for me has been so busy....but it's all good. So last night we come home from our friends John and Christine's house....they made a delicious dinner for us...the fellowship was wonderful....kids all played nice. So, my hubby is downstairs putting on our pellet stove, since it's very cold outside...it's around 8pm, got Davey to bed....trying to relax some. Perdie, the dog has to go out. Becca lets her out the front door, and she goes running!!! She won't come back in...finally she comes back in....and I hear...."what's that smell?" I didn't smell anything....then it came...that horrible skunk smell...."Perdie got sprayed by a SKUNK!" My worst fears!!! "GET HER OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!" We put her in the front, tie her up with her leash. The house smells awful, and my hubby goes around opening all the front windows...big mistake! The smell from Perdie came right in the windows...and wow what a smell...and now I have to get THAT SMELL off my Perdie. Well, right away I go onto the internet and found the solution...1 quart of Peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda, and 1 tsp. dishing washing liquid. So, we take our smelly dog into the bathroom, into the bathtub and I wash her down. The skunk only got her chin down her neck...it was all yellow. So, I scrubbed her clean.....she was all wet, dried her up, and we gated her in our laundry room downstairs. But the house, oh did it SMELL!!! So, my hubby got the carpet cleaner machine...did all the carpets including the stairs.....I washed down all the floors, washed down the bathroom so well...we got the candles going, cooked some cinnamon in the oven...on top of the stove a mixture of Cinnamon, cloves, water.....but now the smell is in our bedroom....we awoke from it several times. It's coming from the bathroom. In the middle of the night we opened all the windows...yes it was like 29 out....and when I finally woke up (or should I say got out of bed, I didn't SLEEP!) the smell was still in the bathroom. So, I baked a loaf of bread this morning....saute onions, made breakfast...trying to get the smell out. Right now all the windows in our bedroom are open...since that's were the smell is coming from. Perdie doesn't stink anymore...she's still down in the laundry room....she's very sad. I made an appointment for a bath today at 9am....they will take care of that problem....and just continue to let the house air out. Davey woke up this morning and said, "the house doesn't "schmell" anymore" and Becca said the same. Becca was so cute..she usually lets Perdie sleep with her in her bed...but not last night! So she got the sleeping bag out, and slept downstairs with her....what LOVE!

This is the way my hubby and I are going to celebrate our 20th anniversary....going to the store today...buying a new leash, new collar, skunk cleaner....and then coming home and washing all the clothes we had on last night...all the throw rugs...all the towels, you name it. I would say last night was one of the worse nights I have ever had....well not really....but it was really smelly!!!!

Sorry...it's been a while

Hello...yes it's been a while. My life here at home has been so full! I do mean this in every good way. Just some quick updates, the chickens are doing so well. We get 5 eggs every day! The eggs are delicious, and I am surprised I enjoy taking care of "the girls". Becca has been so busy with her schoolwork, and homework. She's doing so well in school. She received her progress report and got all A's and 1 B in Math...yes, Math, surprising since she's always been a math "whiz". She's doing pre-algebra, and it's very hard this year for her...but she's in a high math class, and it's very challenging. Davey is doing so well...he's in his second year of preschool, and really loving it this year. No crying! I've been very busy with my new endeavor...I'm the new MOPPETS coordinator with our MOPs program at church. Last Friday was our first meeting, and yes, I did enjoy it. It's a lot of work so far, but I know everything will fall into place. I started going to Tuesday morning bible study at church, Davey comes too, and goes to his class...we are doing a study from Beth Moore. I've never done a Beth Moore study, and it's very good, but challenging for me. There are 5 days of homework!!!! Yes, and it's about 40 minutes of it, per day. So, I had to find time to fit this into my very busy schedule, when the house is quiet. So I do my bible study at 7pm when Davey is off to bed, Becca is watching t.v. down in the family room, and my hubby is at work. I'm doing this study for me, and no one else, I'm expecting great things from the Lord through this study. Hubby is doing fine...working hard of course. We are enjoying the Fall days here in New Jersey. The colors are spectacular this year...orange, red, yellows, so PRETTY!!! I decorated the house for fall, and the outside. Fall is my favorite season of all.

My hubby and I will be celebrating our 20th Wedding Anniversary next Wednesday, Oct. 22nd. I know you all can't believe it, since I look so young!!!HA! I surely can't believe it's been that long already. The Lord surely has blessed our marriage with wonderful blessings...2 of those blessings are Rebecca and David. Thank you Lord for blessing our marriage, and always being so faithful to us. Just wish my Dad was here to help us celebrate! Until next time..I'll post pictures soon.

The eggs were GREAT!

So far we collected 5 eggs from our chickens within 3 days! I wanted to save them and wait until we had enough, so today I scrambled them up for breakfast. They were very yummie. I really have to say I am enjoying the "girls". I go out every morning around 6:30 or so, and talk to them, and give them their cheerio snack, which they LOVE!!! They all come to me - seems like they are all liking me as well. The hen house doesn't smell or anything like that...thanks to my hubby who is keeping on top of things over there.

Another Egg!

Yep, that's right, the chickens laid another brown egg! I went out this morning around 7:30am, and no eggs....I gave the "girls" their annual snack of cheerios, and went back in the house. My hubby came home around 8:30am, and he went to check on the "girls", but no eggs. So I went back out around 9:45am, and sure enough, there was the EGG!!!! It was still warm - and clean, which I was happy about. I'll use the eggs tomorrow morning for our breakfast.....this is very exciting!

Our First EGG!!

We are all so excited! One of the 6 chickens laid an egg, finally! I went out this morning, around 6:30am, and gave the chickens their snack, some cheerios, said my good mornings.....checked the box, again, no eggs!!! So, I went back in the house, and got my morning chores done, and ran out of the house to take Becca to school and then go to church for our MOPS Workers Orientation Meeting. So Davey and I get home around 11:30ish and I see this note from my hubby...."guess what I found, look on the top shelf in the refrigerator". So I'm wondering what on earth did David find, and it's in the frig? Now I know he wouldn't be bringing me food or sweets since I've been on a strict diet, so what could it be? So I looked, and of course didn't see anything special. So I read the note again, and looked in the frig again, and in a bowl on the top shelf was a BROWN EGG!!!! What an exciting feeling. I didn't tell Davey yet, cause I want to tell Becca and Davey at the same time when Becca gets home from school. They will be so excited. It figures the chicken didn't lay the egg for me......but she laid the egg for a man, my hubby! Typical women!! I guess it's right, since he's the one feeding them, and cleaning up after them. How sweet!!!!

We have new additions to our family!!!!

Just wanted to show you the new additions to our family! The chickens have finally arrived, and the Hen House is finally complete. We are so excited, and the chickens are enjoying their new home. We got 6 hens....Becca named them all.....Elizabeth, Louise, Starlite, Kloe, Lollybye, and Chickie. Davey wanted to name one of them "Bob", I wanted Becca to name them "old fashioned" names, but she insisted on using these names....at least she used Elizabeth and Louise. So, here are the pictures, enjoy!!!!

The chickens are HERE!!!

Yes, the chickens are finally here. Our friend Paul brought them over today. We are so excited about it...well, my hubby and the kids that is.... I'm not too thrilled with the idea. I will be happy when they start laying their eggs! I will show you pictures of them later on, when the hen house is completely finished. It's been 2 months in the making, and I really think you will enjoy the pictures....my hubby and our friend Paul did an AWESOME job!!!! Becca is thinking on what to name all 6 of the chickens......my kids are so excited! Pray for me!!!!HA!

Fall is in the Air - now the clean-up begins

Well, I do feel Fall in the air. Well, maybe not today, since it's a beautiful sunny, and HOT day here in good old New Jersey. But, my flowers are really looking all bloomed out. The marigolds in the back are really dying, and I do feel badly about it. But, everything must come to an end, and my flowers really looked spectacular this year. I'm happy to say that our pool is still open. Hubby and the kids are in there now actually. I won't go in, the water is just too cold for me, even though we've had the solar cover on, the water isn't warm the way I like it. But, next year we will have to close the pool. No need for it to remain open any longer if we're not using it. I don't like closing the pool. It's really a chore. The big ladder with the steps has to come out. All the hoses have to be disconnected, we have to put in special chemicals so the pool water stays clear, and no algae gets in, but the water is always green when we open it.... who knows why. And I might add, I help my hubby close the pool every year, and every year he can really be a bear. So, I don't enjoy closing the pool.

Today Davey is sick with a cold, so I stayed home from church with him. I organized my closet, which was a total mess. Seems like everything ends up in my closet. So I took some time to clean it out. I think it looks very nice. When the cooler weather comes, I will have to change my closet around, and put all my fall/winter clothes back in. I also cleaned out my "office" in the kitchen. Well, I call it my office, but it really isn't an office. I use one whole cabinet for my papers, address books, coupons, kids school papers, etc. It looks so nice now, my sister would be very proud. Ok, not much to talk about. Later....

Happy Birthday to My Brother Billy!

Just want to wish my brother Billy a very Happy Birthday! I know your family always makes it a wonderful day. Let's see, will Beth make your favorite meal like Mom always made for us when we were growing up? What is your favorite meal anyway???? I know you will miss Daddy calling you today on your Birthday, and singing to you....I'm sure Mom called first thing this morning...but it probably wasn't the same without Dad's "off-key" singing voice. Ok, enjoy your day....Happy Birthday again.....Billy!

How Great Is Our God!

Ok, I have been thinking maybe I shouldn't share this story with everyone...but I don't have any secrets in my life, I kind of live my life as an open book...so here it goes. Like I shared earlier, we all went to Cape May about 2 weeks ago. Everything started out smooth, and wonderful. The Friday when we got there, we went down to the beach around 4ish, since we couldn't get in our room until 3pm. So we were all so excited, and ran down to the beach. Christine and her 2 kids came down, along with all of us, and the beach wasn't crowded. So, we were all having a great time, jumping the waves, the kids were playing in the sand, and in the water. Davey was with my hubby building a sand castle, and Christine and I were sitting in our chairs talking. The kids went behind us, and Christine turned her chair around to watch them.......everyone was in our sight. Then after several minutes, I screamed, "where's Davey?" Davey wasn't anywhere in our sight!!!! We called his name, and he wasn't anywhere. At first I knew he would come running, "here I am Mommy...." But no, not this time. Panicked and scared, we all ran around the beach screaming his name! My hubby, Christine, and Becca ran up and down the beach, but Davey was no where! I was numb, just standing there yelling his name, confused, and scared. My hubby ran back towards me, and ran the other way down the beach, calling his name. Christine went with him. I just stood there, scared like crazy, and crying out to my Lord, "Lord, where is my baby? Protect him wherever he is." The lifeguards were told, everyone on the beach was looking for Davey. My thoughts were going crazy, I was thinking that my baby was lost forever, someone had him, kidnapped him, that I would never see him again....never see him grow up....my mind was doing terrible things to me....I was crying, and just numb, not knowing what to do, the beach was so big, the ocean was so big...where on earth did this little boy go? He never leaves us, he is always by my side. All I could do was pray, and I prayed and prayed.... My hubby had help from another beach goer, and his family, they all went running down the beach looking for Davey. I just stood there, by our spot, praying, pleading with the Lord to make a way, that it can't be like this. We waited so long for Davey, he was a miracle sent from the Lord....I prayed for his little life to come into our home some 4 years ago.....how could the Lord give us this precious little gift, and then take him away. All I would have is 4 short years with my little boy??? Everything was going crazy through my mind. Where was my faith?

But oh, the power of prayer! The power of our Lord. After about 20 minutes or so, I heard Christine, "Liz, they found him!!!!" I will never forget hearing her voice yelling to me, running to me, then holding me and us both crying, holding each other. I was stunned, where is he? I kept saying, are you sure it's him? Do they have the right little boy? I wouldn't believe them until I saw my little boy. Then a woman lifeguard came to me, and said yes they have Davey. Then where on earth is he? She said he's a little ways down the beach. Ok, let's walk to him, I said. No, he was so far down the beach that we had to drive to him!!! They put me in one of those lifeguard trucks, and there we went down the beach. I kept saying to the man lifeguard, are you sure it's my little boy? Where's my husband, I have to tell him, he's out looking for my little boy. I saw Becca on the beach and told her to go back to our spot and look for Christine. We were driving for about 3 minutes, are we there yet? How far is it? Where is he? Finally, about 1/2 mile down the beach there was this crowd of people, and I could make out a man walking towards me, holding a little boy, it was my hubby and DAVEY!!! Oh, what a relief, my heart was in my mouth!!!! My hubby was out of breath, and all sweaty. It looked like he was having a heart attack, he was having such a hard time breathing...but I knew he was just so relieved, and that he was scared crazy too. I grabbed my little boy, hugged him so hard, and just started crying. I asked Davey what happened, and he said "I couldn't find our spot, I was looking for seashells, and then I couldn't find you"! We rode back to our spot, everyone on the beach was giving us the thumbs up...we all felt like celebrity's.....what a feeling to have my little boy back in my arms.

Two weeks have past since that incident. I think about it all the time, day in and day out. I find myself crying happy tears of relief at any point during the day. Sometimes I can't sleep because I am still rethinking the whole incident. I am so grateful to my Lord for His wonderful shield of protection over my little boy. For His faithfulness to my family. Anything could have happened that day. I will say it again, the Lord is so FAITHFUL! This story could have gone a different way. But the Lord was faithful, He put the right people in our path to help us FIND OUR LITTLE BOY. Words can not express my thankfulness to my Lord. And I must add this. I believe that our loved ones who are already in heaven, can see us here on earth at times.... I believe that day, my Dad was looking down from heaven, and he saw everything that was going on, that his little grandson was LOST! I believe that Dad, while in heaven, went to the Lord, and said, "Lord, do you see what is going on down there with my Grandson? Do you see my daughter Lizabeth crying, and worried?" And then I can see the Lord putting His hand on my Dads shoulder, saying "don't worry, I have everything under control. Look there she is, holding Davey again....all is well". Yes, all is well...I have my little boy back. It seemed like forever, even though it was 20 minutes.

Our Vacation in Cape May

We went to Cape May about 2 weeks ago, and I have wanted to share pictures and tell you all about it. We went with our friends John and Christine and their kids, Mark and Christopher. We had a blast!!!! The beach was beautiful, and the ocean was so clean and WARM!!! I love the ocean, but if it's cold, I won't go in. But this water was wonderful. The kids played so nice, built sand castles on the beach, rode the waves, and just had a blast! We played mini golf, and the kids just had a great time doing that as well...this was Davey's first time at mini golf, and he did so well, that he and Becca won a free game!!! We took a trolley ride to the mini boardwalk, and then had ice cream. We went shopping, and I found a picture with the saying, "Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much"...I love that saying, and been looking for it for a while now. We had a wonderful time with our friends, and will hope they want to go back with us again. We got along so well with John and Christine...they like to do the same things we enjoy doing. Next year we plan on going back for a week, it was just so much fun! The best part of my vacation was sitting on my beach chair, with my feet in the water, enjoying the waves hitting me. We had wonderful weather, sunny warm days...what a way to say good bye to our summer.....I would say this summer was one of the best ever!