Showers to Flowers

New series our preacher is preaching on this month. Just thought I would share the notes I took away from it this week.

Showers to Flowers...Lesson 1: 'When Life is in the Pits'

When life is in the pits, how to find showers to flowers.

Our text was Genesis chapters 39-50. The story of Joseph.

Joseph was a youthful dreamer and sharing the truth got him in lots of trouble. When life gets us down, we are to continue to share the truth and not quit chuch or give up on God.

When life is in the pits we must:

1. Keep our integrity.

Joseph shared the truth and never faltered. God was with him.

Genesis 39:2,3,21,23 all say that God was with him.

~2 Timothy 3:12. We will be persecuted but we must continue to share the truth to this lost and dying world.

~Genesis 39:8-9

~Romans 8:18

~When we are in the pits, God is with us. We must remain faithful.

2. We must have TOTAL trust in God

~If God will bring us to it, He WILL bring us thru it.

~Matthew 7:20

~Genesis 45:8. Joseph credits God

~Our faith is going to be tested, tried and purified!!

~Be faithful with the little before God gives us much!!

~Jeremiah 29:11-13. We must seek God with ALL of our heart.

3. We must have a forgiving spirit.

~Don't be a grudge holder

~John 7:5

~Genesis 50:20 God meant it for good

~There are a lot of similarities between Joseph and Jesus. Look for them and you will see.

Our showers can be turned into flowers if we follow the above 3 things faithfully.

I will post more notes each Sunday until this series is over. ENJOY!!!

March 18th, 2012

March 18th was a very rough day for me. Bill and I woke up for worship and when we walked in the door, Chad, our preacher, handed me the phone and walked me to the front of the building and told me to call my mom. I knew instantly that something was wrong because of how Melvin, one of the elders, treated me. I went into the office and called my mother. She was crying as soon as she answered the phone so I knew something was very wrong. She preceeded to tell me that my pap passed away earlier that morning. He died in his sleep. Probably from another heart attack. The doctors told the family that he had less than a year to live so we knew our time was short, but we didn't realize it was going to be that short. I cried a little during worship, but not much at all. I tried to be so very strong. Mom and dad were in the Norfolk, VA area and could not get home until Monday night. Got home from worship and decided to call and talk to my mom a little to see how she was doing. I also called my Aunt Amy and my Uncle Jim and talked to them a bit. It was the least I could do. Mom and dad came home Monday night around 9pm. Tom and Drew came up and the family was there together. Bill grilled hamburgers and I chopped up potatoes for french fries. It was a great supper.

Tuesday, Bill went to work and I went with my mom and dad to Somerset. Mom needed to go pick up her glasses and we were meeting the family for breakfast. It was a good morning. We then went home and made supper. Bill came home and we spent the evening as a family. Bill's kids called and talked to my mom.....that made her happy. I just wish they would call and talk to their dad at times. Seems they are drifting SOOO far apart from him....from us.

Bill took off Wednesday to be there for me and the family. I sure was proud of him. I told him he didn't need to take off, especially since we can't afford it and I didn't want him to burn a personal day....but he took it off anyway. That showed me just how much he loves me. We decided to ride with mom and dad to the memorial service. We arrived at Laurel Highlands Church of Christ before anyone else got there. We were only 20 minutes early. The funeral directors arrived right after us. None of us could get into the building...we had to wait for a church member. Pretty soon some members of the church showed up and started carrying food in. I watched the funeral directors carry the flowers in and I watched them carry something else in that was covered up.....that must be my paps ashes I thought. Sure enough....that is what it was. I helped the family set up the Memorial table. I got to see a lot of family and friends that I haven't seen in a really long time....years!!! The service wasn't that bad....I thought I would be a mess, but I wasn't. We all did good!! I thank Bob and Chad for doing the service. I sure am blessed with a great hubby, family and church family!!! Not sure what I would do without them. I also want to thank LHCC and WMCC for supplying all the food. What an amazing church family!!! I love you all!!!

Something I won't ever forget is that my gram and pap both died on the 18th of the month (pap in march and gram in december) and their services were both on the 21st of the month.

I pray I can be half the person my pappy was. He was all about family!! He loved his family more than anything. He also loved the Lord. I hope I can read and study my Bible like he did. I love you pappy and your memory will always live on in my heart!!!

Need a good laugh

The kids are coming again this weekend so I will be making this short so I can get supper and other things ready for their arrival.

Things have been a little rough for me lately but I am doing my best to not let them bring me down. Wednesday, my preacher's wife asked me to go to Bedford with her. She came to pick me up at my house and we went and spent the day together. I SOOOOO NEEDED that!!! Being stuck in the house day after day gets very old. Plus I knew that if I spent the day with her that I would have some great laughs. You know.....laughing is good medicine for the soul. That's what the doctors say anyway!! I spent the day with her and then we went to her house where I spent the afternoon with her and Chad (her husband and my preacher). Their son Drew came home from school and geesh.....all I did was laugh all afternoon. It was great!!! We went to Bible Study that evening. Got a call from my mom while I was there. She told me that Bill's work wasn't going good and that he wouldn't be there and I would have to find a ride home from church. Oh no.....now to rely on the Fatula's again. They never seem to mind....allthough I am sure its a burden at times. I feel like a major burden ALL the time. Chad drove me home and as we pulled in, Bill pulled in. Great timing!! Of course we stood out in the driveway and talked some more and laughed. What a great day of laughter!!! I so needed that!!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one that needs a good laugh so I thought I would add this picture!! I actually laughed out loud and I can totally see Chad and Bill and probably Drew doing this!!! LOL.

Have a great weekend. Hope you get some good laughs!!!

Missing my BEST friends!!

It's been kind of a rough day, but its still a great day!! It's 70 degrees outside, I'm alive, I have shelter and food, so I really can't complain!!!
Bill's work is changing a bit this week so today he is working a 12pm-8pm schedule. YUCK!!! Makes for a very long day for me. I miss him already. I've kept myself occupied most of the day, but now is when it will get lonely. I am really missing my best friend. On a normal day, he would be home by now. My mom and dad are so far away and are having trouble with their phones and things and my best friend Susan lives thousands of miles away and is busy with her own family right now. To top it all off....been without internet all day (until about an hour ago) and no phone. So it has been a very lonely day.
Oh well....now that the temperature is getting better and spring is coming, I guess I should find a new hobby. I need something to do or I am going to go crazy....seriously. Oh I pray that disability goes thru soon or I will be forced to just get a job so I can get myself (health) taken care of. I hate to do that though because I will lose all that money for the past two years that I have been fighting for. I just don't know what to do......just babble I guess. Thanks for reading!! More babbling later!!!

Amazing Weekend

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You SOOO much for blessing me with an amazing husband, amazing stepkids, amazing family and friends, and an amazing church family. I truly am blessed beyond comprehension.

Now...to start babbling about my amazing weekend.
I had a lot of plans or Friday evening but I happened to forget that Bill was going to have to work a little late due to some painting they were doing inside the Pepsi warehouse. Yes, my hubby works at Pepsi for those of you that didn't know that. Anyway....he didn't get off work until after 8 and then he had to go pick up his kids at their house. Their mom went to Atlantic City for the weekend so we were keeping the kids. Well, two of them. Bill got home a little after 9. I had supper ready for when they walked in the door. Just something simple and easy since Kailey just got her braces on Thursday. Her mouth was so very sore. I made hot dogs, hot sausages, and perogie casserole. I cut the hotdogs up real small for Kailey and even had some pudding for her so she had something to eat. We prayed, we ate, and then we watched SwampPeople and went to bed. Bill and I went upstairs and finished our devotions on the book of James. Can't wait to study James with Chad and the church.
Saturday we woke up around 8. We had no internet so we all decided to do something to occupy our time. I made everyone breakfast while Bill and Hunter went outside to work on the jeep. Kailey still didn't feel good so she layed around a lot. She watched Chronicles of Narnia. I chopped up potatoes and threw them in the skillet. I also put a roll of sausage in with it. I fried that up until it was done and then whisked in some eggs and mushrooms. YUMMMM!!! Those are the kinds of breakfasts we have when the kids are here. After breakfast, I did the cleaning up and Bill and Hunter went back outside. They worked on the jeep some more and didn't get anywhere with it so they decided to chop down the pine tree that mom wanted down. They had fun with that. Hunter decided to drag all of the limbs to his fort that me made in the woods. He sure does love it here. I finished cleaning the kitchen, did some laundry and then I watched a movie with Kailey. I then went outside myself. Did some cleaning up in the yard since it was nice out. Around one we all started to get ready for Kailey's basketball game. Right before we left we got a call from Bill's oldest daughter asking us to stop by the house because she was having an issue. She stayed home with her step-sister Cora. She was babysitting all weekend. Wish she would have been with us, but oh well. We have only seen Allison once since Christmas. Anyway....we drove over to the kids house and helped Allison and then we headed to Kailey's game. We had to drive to WestMar which is near Loneaconing, MD. It never dawned on me that we would have to pay to get in....so I looked like an idiot. We never have money so I looked pretty stupid digging in my wallet unprepared. Oh well....there went gas money for a couple days. It was worth it. We got to spend the day watching Kailey play basketball with her friends. Bill got to talk to his one friend from school. I'm glad we went. After the game we had to stop in Frostburg and get a few groceries. We were out of so much but could only get the necessities. We also had to get gas in Bill's truck. Boy did that make me cry. We just filled up on Thursday night and we were already filling up again.......UGH. BUT, once again I tried not to let it get to me because we did it for the kids. SOOOO....once we got home we had the most amazing supper. OOOPPPPPSSS....forgot to mention that before we left for the game Bill put chicken in the smoker so it would be done when we got home. When we got home, the chicken wasn't quite done. It had about a half hour to go. Kailey wanted to have mashed potatoes and gravy and Hunter wanted noodles so it was like a Thanksgiving feast. The kids even helped me make all of it. Kailey was a HUGE help. She kept stirring everything for me while I was getting everything else ready. I have to admit that it was a great meal. The kids ate everything on their plates. That made me happy!!! After supper we all sat down (still no Internet) and Kailey picked the movie.....it was 'Courageous'. I'm so happy that Bill's kids love to watch the Christian-inspirational movies. It was their first time watching it. They loved it. After the movie we went to bed. Bill and I did our prayer and devotion and finished up the book of James. Woooohoooo....what a day!!!
Sunday we got up for worship. I got a shower, woke the kids, and then realized Bill was still in bed. He was having trouble getting up and moving. Not because of being tired but because his back was absolutely killing him. I felt so bad for him, especially since there wasn't much I could do for him. We attended Sunday School first and then worship service. What a great sermon on 'Defeating the Enemy'. Chad preached on defeating 4 specific enemies. They were sin, unbelief, apathy and ignorance. What a powerful sermon!!! Kailey really paid attention and followed along in her Bible. I was so proud!!! Hunter went to Jr Church. Brian was the teacher. Hunter told me about his lesson. I was also proud of him for paying attention. After services we went to the fellowship hall and ate. I just love having dinners every week. It saves me from going home to cook. We ate and then drove home. We spent the afternoon outside since it was so nice outside. Kailey watched a movie and I started watching it with her but then Hunter came and got me and wanted me to go outside with him....so I did. We went to his fort. I then spent some more time outside and gathered the garbage for the garbage truck. Bill was washing his truck, took a ride on his motorcycle and worked on the pond and the jeep. We were busy!!! We had the kids gather up their things to take home to their moms and then jumped back in the truck for Sunday night youth and services. Kids had a blast at youth. We had play practice for a half hour and then practiced our song we are singing for the hymn sing next Sunday night. The kids had so much fun. Chad preached another great sermon. Hunter even took up the offering. WOW....Bill and his kids are becoming so involved in serving. I am so very proud!!! I am one VERY proud wife and stepmom. I hope someday the kids will see just how much I love them. I'm sure one day they will realize it. After services Bill and I had practice for our performance for the Hymn Sing. The kids got to watch all of us practice. Then we took the kids to meet their mom.
It was such a great weekend. I hated to see it end. After we dropped the kids off....Bill and I drove home. The whole way home I thought of just how blessed I truly am. Even though Bill was in so much pain, I could tell he enjoyed the weekend as well. We both went to bed knowing that the kids had a great time!!! We did our prayer time and studied Abraham. Then kissed and said our I Love You's and then went to bed.
Thank You, Dear Lord, for an amazing weekend!! Thank You, for Your constant blessings!! In Jesus' Name, Amen!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH

Have you ever just wanted to scream? For some reason we always think screaming is going to make everything better. Never happens though, does it?? It doesn't even make us feel better after we do it even though we think it will. Doing an AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH may make us feel better for a moment, but it doesn't take the problem away.

Why the random babbling about screaming??? Today is one of those days where I would just love to scream. I want to scream and it take the problems away, but I know it won't happen. I can think it though, right?? LOL.

I had such an amazing weekend with Bill and the kids and my church family, but then Monday comes along and...........BLAH!!! Why do Monday's feel so horrible?

So much more to say....but I will save it for my next babbling. I sure hope the day gets better!! I'm sure it will. With an awesome God, an amazing husband, and a wonderful church family.....I know things will get better!!! I sure am blessed!!!

Hope you all have a great day!!! No screaming, it doesn't work anyway!!! LOL. Pray instead!!!

Update on my parents

Well....mom and dad left the house, here in PA, on Wednesday afternoon. I always hate seeing them leave. I get so lonely when I am here alone all the time, but I am starting to get used to is. I should after a year and a half.

Anyway...mom and dad headed straight to Pittsburgh and then to Missouri. They left Missouri and went to Omaha for their layover. They were there all day yesterday to rest up.

Mom called and talked to me today and they still had no load. We no sooner hung up the phone and I got a message from her on my IPOD. She told me that they got a load to North Dakota. They were going to be hauling over 5,000 pounds of Girl Scout cookies. How awesome is that??? Wish they would drop a few while unloading and maybe ruin some boxes so they get to bring some home to me.....LOL. Just kidding!! Wish I had some girl scout cookies. I didn't get to order any this year....just don't have the funds for a non-necessity!!!

Mom and dad will be in North Dakota tomorrow and I will keep you updated if they get any other loads this weekend. Follow them on their journey at: http://www.nonipops.blogspot.com/

Quick Shout Out 2012

Here are 2 blogs you should follow as well as mine.....

1. thehotspot-caf.blogspot.com
2. nonipops.blogspot.com

Be sure to click on FOLLOW

Let Your Light Shine!!

Does it bother you that there are lost souls that we don't reach out to? Or deliberately refuse to reach out to?? The Bible says we are to 'Let our light shine' always!! It is a direct command from God in Matthew 5:16. Are we, as Christians, making a difference in this world? Are we evangelizing the towns/world we are living in? Are we following God's Word and commands? Does your daily walk reflect Christ? We sure do have A LOT of work to do church!!!

I did come up with the paragraph above all by myself. However....its just random notes I took from Chad's sermon that he preached on Sunday. His sermon was titled. "The Church MARCHing forward". It is his series for the month of March. I enjoyed the sermon so much....as I do all of them. This particular sermon really hit me though....it hit me right in the heart where all sermons should hit. The sermon made me want to make an even bigger difference in my life. I am going to make it my goal for 2012 to reach out to those that 'most' people (even the church) would look over or ignore or steer clear from. My parents travel all over the USA in a truck and see a lot of homeless. Do we realize that they are lost souls too? They may not look the best or smell the best, but we must be a light to them and give them hope. Encourage them and show them love and witness to them. Are there people in your own town that you don't like their looks, don't like the way they smell, or steer clear from??? WELL....STOP IT!!! That is NOT a Christ-like attitude. We are to be MORE like Christ and let our light shine. Be fruitful.

I encourage each one of you to reach out to someone this week...someone that you 'normally' wouldn't reach out to. Witness to them this week and show them some love.

Have a great day and God Bless!!!

YUP....I'M BACK!!!

I'm back!!!! Some people have been asking me why I don't blog anymore. I really didn't have an answer for them. I'm not sure why I never blog....I guess because I feel I am not good with words and I read my moms and Chad's blog and am blown away with how the words flow from them.

Well....I have decided that I'm going to blog anyway. My blog is entitled 'Random babblings' so that is what I am going to do. Most of my blogs will be about my Christian walk, church activities, youth group activities, my church family, my family, and other things that I feel are important in my life.

So....for this first blog, I am going to blog about what is on my mind right now!!! CAMP MEETING....PREACHING IN THE MOUNTAINS!!! I am so very excited!! Only 124 more days til kickoff!!! Camp Meeting is June 24-28th in good ole' Hyndman, PA. Here is a quick line-up:

Raymond Bennett (he has a facebook page)
Neil Gilliland
Joe Guthrie (has a facebook page)
Daniel Davenport (has a facebook page)
Timmy Phillips
Mark Billiter (has a facebook page)
Kevin Yeager
Wayne Jocelyn
Buck Ryan (has a facebook page)
David Jones (has a facebook page)
Danny Jackson
**Plus all of our local guys:
Bob Long
Chad Fatula (our new evangelist at Wills Mt. He also has a facebook page)
Bob Chambers
Roy Worsham
Randy Reynolds (has a facebook page)
Leo Lavin

I know a lot of you like having encouraging people on your friends list on facebook, so I wanted to let you know what preachers above had a page. Add them and talk with them and encourage them!!

Mike Mitchell will be leading the youth again this year!! He also has a facebook page!!!

Marv Whiteman will be leading the music again. What a joy he is!!!

Rhonda Ryan (my mother....who also has a facebook page and a blog) will be leading the ladies sessions again this year.

I am looking forward to an amazing Camp Meeting season!! Please pray about our camp meeting daily. It will be greatly appreciated. I will keep you updated on any changes that may be made.

Thanks to those of you that follow my blog and I will continue to TRY to blog daily or weekly!!!

I will end with this.....my favorite Bible verse: Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Don't forget to pray today!!!

Happy Birthday to my friend Lettie!!!

Today my friend Lettie turned 33. She is excited about this age and blogged about it. Follow her blog or read it at: collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Lettie!! Have a great day!!!

Cooking and baking

I am SO excited!! I made peanut butter fudge all by myself and did a great job. It tastes almost as good as my mommy's. Actually, most of the people at the church thought it was my moms. That made me feel good!!! I didn't even use my moms recipe, only because I couldn't remember all of it. LOL.

With all of this time I have, I've been cooking and baking and trying to find some great recipes that Bill and I both like.

Everyone says my lasagna is the best so I make it often. My mom requests it every time she is home. My step kids always request my chicken alfredo and homemade mac n' cheese.

I am going to blog periodically some of the things I have made. I really need to get back into blogging.....it keeps my mind busy!!

I hope all of you are having a great week. Don't forget to pray for others and give God all the glory for each and every blessing!!!

Love ya's
Starla

Oh how I LOVE the sunshine!!

YAY....finally the sun is out and our snow is melting. We have not seen the ground since before Christmas. We have had snow for the past 60+ days.

The sunshine brings happiness and warmth to my soul. I've had a good week already and the sun will make it even better.

Why the good week? Well,this past weekend Bill and I went to Harrisburg to the Sportsmans Show at the Farm Show Complex. WOW was it big!! I was amazed at how many vendors were there trying to sell their things. I will get back to the show in a minute. While in Harrisburg, mom and dad happened to be there with their FedEx truck. YAY...we were going to get to meet up. We got to visit with them for about 3 hours. It was great!! We spent some time in their home, went to eat, and just had good fellowship!! Sunday was church and then a ride to go visit my pappy at the personal care home. We were there for a long time. He is happy and doing well and that made me happy!! Then Monday Bill took his last personal day. So...Bill and I got to spend the day together and it was Valentine's Day. The perfect gift for me....spending the day at home with my hubby!! More on Valentine's Day in a minute too. What a perfect weekend......the sunshine I needed.

Now...back to the Sportsman Show. WOW...I was overwhelmed the moment I walked inside the complex. There were so many people. As soon as you walk in they give you a map. Well....it was about 20 pages thick and we weren't carrying it around so we pitched it. Bad idea...we could have used it a couple of times!! (Hint for those that may go in the future). The first section we came to was boating. Lots of gorgeous and high priced boats. Bill and I saw a lot of nice ones, especially pontoon boats. Someday my parents will buy one and I will get to enjoy it. (HINT....HINT). Then we came across sections and sections of fishing. They had everything imaginable. They were even doing demonstrations on how to fish, how to bait a hook, how to fly fish, what kind of rod and reel to buy, etc....It was great watching two people compete against each other in a simulation fishing competition. That was fun!! We kept walking and came across log home vendors, hot tub vendors, bath fitter vendors....etc. I was wondering what on earth they were doing at a show like this, but people were actually at their booths. Oh well....they gotta sell their things too. Bill and I really didn't go there to buy anything, we just drove there to get away for the weekend. We did happen to find a set of knives we liked. It is for deer processing. I am excited to use them, but we have to wait until hunting season starts back up again. There was just so much to see in that place. Too much for one day. We came across all kinds of hunting and fishing clothing, games, boots, pictures, and other gifts. I got a Cabela's hoodie for Bill and I to share. He says that he will never get the chance to wear it....LOL. He is probably right. I loved it. It was on sale at the show too....so I couldn't pass it up. It was originally $55 and I got it for $25. Great price!! We looked at truck decals (hunting ones of course) and didn't see any that we wanted to spend money on. They were actually cheaper online. We finally reached the hunting and archery sections!! YAY....I was excited and I know Bill was!! There were vendors from all over the USA, Canada, South America, Africa, and others. They were trying to sell hunting and fishing trips. I was excited. Bill and I want to go to Alaska for our (late) honeymoon. He wants to go on a hunting trip there. I am ok with that for our honeymoon. I will still get to explore while he is hunting and we will have the evenings together....and we will be in Alaska. I can't wait!!! So I picked up at lot of brochures from the Alaska vendors. I also picked up some brochures from the Alligator hunt vendors. Most of them are located in South Carolina and Louisiana. Well....I could type a book about the rest of the show, but I will spare you. LOL. Bill ended up buying a Hoyt shirt that came with a free Hoyt hat. I bought him a Hoyt bow for his birthday/Christmas/Valentine's Day. He is really hooked to Hoyt now. His bow is awesome. It should be though, it was expensive!! That is why he just got it. We had to save up for it. SO.....after almost 4 hours at the show, we left. OH WAIT....I did happen to get a picture of Tiffany! If you are asking yourself who Tiffany is, I guess you don't watch the outdoor channel. She is married to a guy named Lee. She is on a hunting show called The Crush. She is beautiful and she hunts with her husband. Guys just love her and I am sure lust after her. I did get a picture of her though for Bill and my daddy.

Now...Valentine's Day!! Bill and I woke up and gave each other our cards. Both cards were heart felt and brought tears to my eyes. Bill wrote in my card and told me how much he loved me. WOW, what a great guy I have. Bill made me breakfast. We had ham, eggs and potatoes. He is a great cook. We then went to his Aunt Sharons and got firewood for Melvin and Ginny and then delivered that and went straight home. We spent the rest of the day just sitting on the couch cuddling and just hanging out with each other. We had some great talks. Bill also bought me my new camera. That is my Christmas and Valentine's gift. Oh how happy he made me!! I made lasagna and garlic bread for supper and we had chocolate cake that his Aunt Sharon made. We spent the rest of the evening watching American Pickers and Pawn Stars and just enjoyed each others company. Oh how I love my husband....he really is wonderful!!!

SO.....back to the sunshine! I have LOTS to be thankful for. I really am blessed!! The sunshine has brought joy to my soul today so I thought I would share this "Random Babbling" with you!!

Enjoy the sunshine and have a great week!!! I love you all. Continue to pray for me, I appreciate it!!

Quick shout out....

Check out all the bloggers that I follow. There are some really great reads, especially my moms!! (Noni & Pops)

If you follow some great bloggers that you think I will enjoy, let me know!!

Did I ever tell you how much I love snow days?

Oh how I love snow days. I have been off work for almost a month and a half now (not my choosing....my boss just doesn't need me due to being off herself) and have been going crazy being couped up in this house. There is so much work to do around here, but a lot of things I can't do myself.

Well, the weather has been so crazy lately that even Pepsi shut down yesterday. YES, Pepsi shut down. So, Bill and I both had a snow day. It was perfect!!! We made breakfast together (usually Bill does this himself). We had eggs, potatoes and chopped up roast beef. All mixed together in the electric skillet. The only thing missing was mushrooms!!

After breakfast Bill took our new electric smoker and got it ready to smoke some deer meat. We love our new smoker. While Bill was messing with that, I decided to organize all of my photography stuff. I have so much of it. Drew, my brother, does photography too and has a basement big enough to store both of our equiptment. YAY....now I can clear up more space here at the house. Bill brought all my totes to the living room and I emptied them. I then sorted my stuff back into the totes. I labeled the totes and have them color coordinated so it is easier for me to find what I need. It will be easier for Drew too. It is going to be great using each others stuff because we don't have the same things.

Once that was done I carried the totes to the front porch so they were out of the way. At this time Bill was sitting on the couch relaxing and playing games on facebook. He is addicted!!! No doubt about it!! It was ok, he was out of my way!! We decided to go for a ride and take these totes to Drew's. Yes the weather was bad, but we were bored. We decided to take the tanning bed too. Yes, I did say tanning bed. My mom has one in the basement. She has had it for years. I don't like them and never use it so it is just sitting here collecting dust and cobwebs. Drew has been tanning occassionally so he is just going to take the tanning bed and place it in his basement. It will save him a lot of money. He is fair skinned like me so we burn easily. He will use this to get a base tan. I would rather just wait and use sunscreen for when I am in the sun.

Anyway....once we got home from that adventure, I ran the sweeper, hung up the curtains that I washed, scrubbed the kitchen and living room, and brought the computer desk in. Bill got the deer tenderloin marinated and ready for supper while I did this. Plus he played more games. LOL. We got a call from the plumber asking me what the issue has been. We got a new pump last week and now we have no water pressue. The plumber told us what to do so Bill played plumber for a while. It didn't work so the plumber will be back down this week when the weather clears up.

Bill and I made supper together. We had marinated deer tenderloin, shells n cheese, and french cut green beans. YUMMY!!! I also made 7-layer cookies for Bill. I only get 1 out of the whole pan of 24. He loves those things!!!

After supper and both of us cleaning up, Bill decided to play more games while I just relaxed. I was so tired after working hard all day. Bill got bored with his games so he decided to fix the floor upstairs. We have a broken board in the hallway on the landing at the top of the steps. He ripped up the carpet, went to the garage and cut the board, and came in and fixed it. WOW....he really can do everything. He is definitely a handy man!!

After fixing the floor, we both relaxed the rest of the night on the couch and watched a movie!! What a perfect snow day!!! I want more of those!!! The only bad thing about it.....Bill now has to work Saturday.

More posts to come!! I am looking for a job to do at home, not much luck there. Drew used to do typing from home, but he said the company he worked for no longer does that. Too bad....that would have been the perfect opportunity for me. I am looking for a babysitting job or a job sitting for elderly. If you know of anything, please let me know.

The beginning of something new

WELL.....here goes!! I am not a good writer, but I guess this may help my creative skills.

A few people told me to start a blog. I have been doing a lot of cooking lately and taking pictures of the things I make so I guess I should start sharing.

My blog won't be about cooking, photography, church activities, or my wonderful life, but it will be a combination of all of the above.

I absolutely love my life, even now when I am at rock bottom. Being at the bottom has humbled me more than anything and I think it has also humbled my husband and made him an even better man. I truly have been blessed with a great guy. He is someone that I have never dreamed of being with, but he has changed so much since the day we started dating. Thanks be to God!!!

I guess this is the start of something new for me. Since I don't work a lot and get bored frequently, this is something that should keep me busy!!

I love you all so much and hope and pray your life is as wonderful as mine!!

In Christ,
Starla