What we are eating this week ...

It's cold outside and we are cooking up a storm (with the crock pot of course!)

Sunday - Meat Loaf/Mac&Cheese/Green Peas
Monday - Baked Chicken/Brown Rice Pilaf/Green Beans
Tuesday - Roast Beef/Potatoes/Carrots/Greens
Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie/Green Salad (Chicken from Monday)
Thursday - Fajitas/Black Beans (Beef from Tuesday) Green Salad
Friday - (Movie Night) Chili
Saturday - Tortilla Soup

Ethan's surgery update ... God has good news!

Thank you to everyone who stands with us as we uncover what God is doing in Ethan's life! I just spoke w/ his surgeon and Ethan is doing WELL! The tumor fragments that were left after the surgery are dormant and not cancerous!!! Hallelujah! He will continue to have MRIs every three months and if the fragments start to do anything, they may consider radiation therapy to get rid of them. BUT AS FOR NOW .. they are not a concern. Ethan is also doing well in school 5 "A"s and 1 "B" and seems to be getting back A LOT of what he lost over the last 4 years. Anyway, just wanted to provide an update on the goodness of God and we say thank you, thank you, thank you. You will NEVER know what your prayers and support mean to our family.

Little Red Corvette

Oh my gosh .. did we have fun yesterday! Darrell took off work and we scooped the boys up, geared up for a road trip, got in the van and had a grand ole' bang up day! The weather was beautiful (God is into details) and we had a great day of laughter and fun. One of our stops was the auto show and the boys (all 4 of them) did not want to leave. This is the one time I did not mind being the only girl in the midst of my men.

Photo: Ethan and Austin

Warms my heart to see where Ethan is now and what we are able to do as a family now that his seizures have stopped and the surgery is over! We are not out of the woods, but so VERY far from 4 years ago.

Thank God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Don't you EVER judge a book by it's cover ...

Today was a day from hades, starting from this morning when we ALL woke up at 7:15am and we ALL had an appointment at Ethan's school at 8:00am to reevaluate his learning, classes and the almighty TAKS test. We made the meeting on time, but I have to admit, I was NOT at my best ... appearance or contributions (I think) at this very important meeting ... BUT GOD allowed me to make it through with grace as well as the ability to stand up for my child!

When we got home, Austin cried and cried and wanted to be held ALL DAY because he has been constipated and DeClan cried and cried because he is teething .. and I have been battling w/ heartburn (never before I tell you, never before) can somebody say STOP!!!!! HELP ME!!!! Nothing went right today, NOTHING .. so I can I tell you that when I heard a few weeks ago that my friend Priscilla would be featured on Life Today with James and Betty Robinson and that I could go to the taping, you better know that NOTHING was gonna stop me, NOTHING! My yahoo mail reminded me of the taping tonight and I got everyone ready and off we went to daddy's job to drop off the kids so I could head to this very special taping. I wasn't taking no for an answer. I got lost, but asked God to help me find the studio because I needed to hear a word from HIM and I knew with Priscilla I would .. a few minutes later, I found the street, the studio and low and behold a great parking space!

And that's when God said Guess what???? .... I walked in the studio, read the taping schedule and saw that Priscilla was NOT on the schedule, but some guy who used to be in the band KORN....Who? I'm sorry, who did you say? I drove ALLLLL this way to see and hear from who?Then he came out for a second and this is what I saw ... Brian "Head" Welch.

DON'T Judge! When I tell you that he has one amazing story of how God is for us and not against us and that He loves us and loved us enough to die for our sins!!!!!!

So, I sat down in my seat and prepared myself for some boring interview, I'm serious, this is what I really thought, BUT GOD surprised me and before the end of the interview, I was balling my eyes out .. do you hear me? God is soooo good. If you know anyone who has never been to church, lives in the street, doesn't get the whole "church" thing, read his book and pass it on! God did a complete 180 for this my new brother in Christ and he is ready and willing to share his lifestory and what God did for him ... without witeout.

Anyway, Priscilla did in fact speak and God spoke through this child AGAIN and He spoke to me and said how could ever hear what God is trying to tell you, if you cannot recognize His voice? I need to roll up my sleeves, get on knees and get to know my Lord and Savior again and again so my ears, heart and mind will be clear and ready to hear from Him.

Thank you Lord for using ALL your children to proclaim Your word ... and I will try not to judge a book, just open and read the pages ... for when I do, I might just be missing something you want to say to me ... Thank you even for this crazy day .. because of how things went, I was able to be more open to what you had to say even though your message came in a unique package.

The other good thing that blessed my socks was finally meeting a blogsister in Christ .. Rachel Anne .. you WILL indeed be blessed by her blog ... pictures DON'T do you justice .. you are so pretty!

So what started out as a day I wanted to end around 8:30am bought me to my knees and provided MUCH conversation between me and God.

More on Priscilla later in the week ... I got hit right between the eyes ...

Fall into cooking something comforting ...

The first breeze of the fall hit my face this morning and again this evening when my hubby came home, so I decided to get out the "stew" pot and make a version of this wonderful italian soup we had at Macaroni Grill a few weeks ago. It's soooooo easy and I think I hit the nail on the head!

1 pound of ground italian turkey sausage (browned, made into meatballs or diced links)
1 1 /2 cups of cooked small pasta (your preference, NOT bowtie or macaroni)
2 cans of italian seasoned diced tomatoes
2 cans of chicken broth
2 cans of northern beans
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1 packet of italian dressing mix
parsley flakes for "color"
1/2 cup italian blend shredded cheese
2 dashes of dried basil (chopped fresh sprigs if you have them)
1 tsp. hot sauce (added when almost done)

Mix all your ingredients together, simmer for 30 minutes on medium low. Add toasted garlic bread and salad if you like. Enjoy! This is soo much better the second day. Lunch, here I come!

We are sick and so is she ...

Since the stomach virus, flu, junk, whatever you choose to call it is going around (and yes, it stopped by our house last night), I thought a little humor was in order just in case it comes your way and you need a fresh outlook while making yet one more trip to your powder room. (SMILE)
This is one of the blogs I read often and it's author BigMama has the stomach aliment right now and she cracks me up .. read her story here. It really will make you invest in a little more Lysol.

My mommy didn't tell all this ....

I started this post when school began, but left it in draft form. Today I have some strong feelings after emailing Ethan's teacher back and forth to get some "clarification". My momma never said there would be days like this ...

After 5 weeks of school and countless emails between Ethan's teachers and myself, I am even MORE convinced that parenting is NOT easy and certainly NOT the same for everyone. There is NO cookie cutter answer for dealing with children. One thing IS clear, you must be an advocate for your children. You must become a student once again, you must do research and you must be able to handle conflicts. Don't get me wrong Ethan has had a great year so far especially in light of his brain surgery this past July, but I have had to stay on top of my game and his schoolwork and classwork. This is his 5th grade year and he has 6 teachers me and hubbie have to deal with. He has homework from each of them at different times each week and I must admit keeping it straight even boggles my mind. We keep a folder for each class and each teacher sends home work for all of us to do so Ethan does not get behind. This year we are doing Ethan's mastery AND regular fifth grade work. Ooohhhh Boy!! Anyway, I am saying all this to say, that having children IS a gift from God, but you gotta know what you are getting into and you absolutely MUST be there for them and advocate for them. So many parents are letting the school do everything and don't give a care until the teacher calls home and says "Johnny" is having problems, and then the parent wants to get mad. No, No, please let me know when "Johnny" is having the problem, WHEN he is having the problem and not weeks later or on his report card. I am there for my children and will spend as much time as I can at the school, on the phone and send emails until the cows come home. My children also need to know that me and daddy will be there when they need us, even if I don't feel like driving to the school for the 3rd time today. My daddy called his own teacher parent meeting, every year and I hated it, but you know what? Those teachers NEVER had a problem out of me and always knew they could call my dad if they needed anything - - even today 21 years later, when I see some of those same teachers and principals, they ask me how is Mr. Jay? That is how I want it to be for the boys - a working relationship w/ the staff - I don't want anyone making decisions for my children for me, BUT with me.

Lord, thank you for these children you gave us and I pray for those babies who parents could care less ...

Oh, how I long for .... COOLER weather ...

Hey, it is the 1st day of October and it is 93 degrees .. YIKES! I want cooler weather, so I imagined it was and made some homemade gumbo. Oh, how I long to bring out all threee crockpots and cook dinner for the weeks .. oh the aroma, oh the Jiffy Cornbread ... fall .. fall ...



Maybe if I keep cooking like this, a sweater will be needed by next week ....