Happy Wedding Eve Eve

In 48 hours we will be at the wedding venue ~ cooking, setting up, decorating, and trying to remain calm.  Lots of fun, maybe a few tears, hugs, tons of picture taking and lotsa love.

Can't wait to have all my children together ~ that will happen in just 24 hours!  And the last time it occurred was Andy and AmyKates wedding in March.

My latest crafty wedding project was making the veil.  It turned out well ~ and its the first veil I've ever made.  Pictures will be posted next week....we have to keep some secrets from the groom!

Get "Er Done or Gettin' It Doneished

Wedding plans are moving right along.

We got to Atlanta, ate a yummy homecooked dinner at Moms, and went "power" shopping with Allen & Jennifer.  In 2 hours last night we went to JoAnns, Walmart, Marshals, Ross, Target, & Belks.  Got the stuff we needed and came home very tired.

This morning we made lots of lists, and have already been to Goodwill, Mens Wearhouse, and Kroger.  Next is JoAnns, Kroger, Sams Club and possibly Hobby Lobby.  40 pounds of Chicken are cooking in 2 big electric roasters and 2 hams are on the smoker. 

A few details are being altered and there are things we can't do till Friday.  Tomorrow is an all day cooking day.  Probably cleaning all the vegies tomorrow, cutting them and bagging them up for the dinner on Sat.

Its a rainy, cool day here in GA.  The temps are just in the mid 60's.  Very fall like and pleasant.  Last night got pretty cool after dark.  Wedding day should have mid 70's and 10% chance of rain.

We are excited to be here and part of the "action".  Gotta go....duty calls!

Wedding Week!

Its WEDDING WEEK!  Oh, the list of things to do and get accomplished is seemingly endless.  But it will get done!

We are heading to GA this week to help/celebrate/encourage/cook/plan/carry out/try to remain calm leading up to Allen & Jennifers wedding on Saturday evening.  We are super excited for them to be married and the bonus.....I get a new daughter! 

A little "funny"~ I had boy names and girl names chosen during my pregnancies.  For the oldest James/Jessica, the Allen/Jennifer, and the youngest either Jennifer or Jessica/Jonathan.  So its really funny to me that Allen is marrying a "Jennifer".  Then the rest of the story is...neither James or Allen liked the 2 girl names I had planned and they changed it to Amy ~ so Amy Lynn it was/is!

We've got one vehicle packed that James and Will are driving over.  They've been instructed to not remove 1 item from that vehicle ~ penalty could be harsh!  We need everything in there.  They are driving over 2 days after we are because of work schedules.

My van will be crammed full.

By Friday night, all the kids will be in GA.  And we get to see our little Robert ~ this Grandma is excited!  He is walking and "talking" and acting like a monkey...so excited to see this in person!

Sat. will be a long day.  Besides being wedding day ~ the venue is near Athens and there is a UGA/LSU football game that day.  Traffic will be a nightmare!  The game is at 3 or 3:30 and the wedding is at 6, not too bad except we will be driving down there that morning from my moms house ~ that will be the nightmare part!

With the wedding couple and the rest of the kids plus Granny ~ we are hoping the set up and cooking goes smoothly.  After the short but sweet ceremony...its time to celebrate!

And not everyone gets to have a Pirate themed table at their wedding ~ but this is also my nephew Bobby's 8th birthday and Amy is making him cupcakes.  So there will be a Pirate table, that's what he requested (well he requested pirate cupcakes & doesn't know all the goodies that we and Granny have planned for him).

And this Mom is strongly encouraging/telling/imploring/demanding that none of the rest of her children (4) even contemplate marriage in the next year.....I need a break!  3 weddings in a few days less than 2 years is a lot.  And I can say now ~ that being the mom of the bride and being the mom of the groom is no different....you still do just as much!  But I love my kids and are excited to share these happy times with them.

AND ~ I've got an awesome friend who is not only looking after our rabbit, dogs, & chickens...she is taking and checking in our fair entries on Friday!  Now that is a FRIEND!  Many, many, many thanks to Angel! 

Here is a picture of our wedding couple ~ taken the weekend of Andy & AmyKates wedding just 6 1/2 months ago ~

A Little Sign of Fall

A little sign of Fall ~ on our crape myrtle tree outside ~~~~~

I love fall colors and am looking forward to Gods glorious show of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns.  And I like walking and crunching is crisp fallen leaves! 

I saw this little cartoon last night on pinterest and have to share ~

Amazon

I just found out about a cool service Amazon has through the Frugal Hacks blog ~ which is an awesome blog and resource!

Amazon has a "club" called Amazon Mom ~ if you are a Prime member you can save 20% on your purchases if you set them up to be delivered monthly ~ has to be 5 or more items that are available for the subscription.  If not a Prime member then you would still save 15% monthly per item.

And the items don't all or any have to be baby/child related.  You choose your items and see if they are eligible.  Instead of listing myself as Mom and using Amy as my "child", I listed myself as family member and used Robert as the child!

And I would be most appreciative if you use my link to set up your account and order through.  For your first $10 order, I get a $10 credit with Amazon.

My link is
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/info?ie=UTF8&refcust=E3KVDB7MT3TVHDS7AX2B7DINZ4&ref_type=generic

And if you are not a Prime member......why not?  We pay for ours in Nov/Dec and get free shipping on our orders for 1 year.  The membership pays for itself.  I think students get either a free or discounted membership....you really can't go wrong if you order from Amazon.

Happy Monday!

Went to the dr. this morning and lost 3 1/2 pounds last week!  AWESOME!  So right now, their scales and mine are the same.  We really need to toss ours and get new ones, but that's an expense we don't need right now!

Celebrated by going to Kroger and buying a bunch of sugar free jello~yep, livin' high on the hog here. 

Last night I made homemade Chili for supper ~ just left out the beans.  And was it yummy!  And a really easy recipe....

Chili

1 pound ground beef (browned & crumbled & drained)
1/2 chopped onion cooked with ground beef or couple of tbsp. dehydrated onion
1 reg. can tomato sauce (no sugar added)
1 reg. can diced tomatoes (liquid and all)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt

Dump into pot. Simmer together for 20 minutes ~ top with cheese & enjoy!

Makes 4 servings

This is the recipe that was published in the Harvest Gooseberry Patch cookbook last fall!  Today I bought some ground turkey to try in place of the ground beef for lower the fat content some.

We have signed up to sell goodies at 2 craft fairs this fall ~ crocheted dishcloths, embroidered aprons & towels, hand scrub, smocked dresses, etc.  Amy is also going to have a cupcake table at both to sell/advertise her business.  The embroidery machine has been busy sewing all kinds of wonderful stuff!

Sat. may have been my last pool day.  While the weather is still HOT (90 +) the water is not, which is quite unusual.  I got in there to swim & exercise, there was a refreshing breeze, but that made me cold.  After just a little bit, I ended up floating on my chair ~ yesterday, I just stuck with the treadmill. 

We did another sign language class after church yesterday & our next one at the deaf school is tomorrow night.  Amy & I can kinda muddle our way through signing the "Jesus Loves Me" song.  We are teaching Greg some signs too, so he can talk to Lauren also!  Lauren may look at all of us and think we are crazy, but hey, she is 3 and just learning herself!

Wills got a full week of work this week.  Amy & I are finishing up fair projects.  My friend Angel is turning them in for us since we will be in Atlanta for Allen & Jennifers wedding.  Gregs got a full week at work!  We've got lots of household projects to complete ~ sometime!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Memories

Last night we started watching a college football game ~

I like football.

Then the walk down Memory Lane started.

Daddy used to take us to the Tucker High School football games on Friday nights.

We would eat dinner ~ from what I can remember our Friday football pregame dinner was usually a delicacy we named GLOP ~ browned ground beef and onions mixed with baked beans ~ yummy!

Then we would load into the station wagon & set off for the game.

Into the stadium we went ~ toting our thermos of hot chocolate (Daddy's had coffee) and carrying our big bag of peanuts to shell and enjoy during the game.  And our stadium blanket went along.

We would sit with our friends ~ who started out being Daddy's highschool buddies.

I am sure that we did more sipping hot chocolate & eating peanuts than watching the game, but we sure had fun!

And as a teen, we still went to the highschool games ~ same school ~ however this time I was a student there and didn't think it was cool to sit with my Daddy.

How I wish I could sit at one more football game with him and cheer for the Tucker Tigers! 

Love you and Miss you Daddy!

Think First then Speak

When confronted with a situation or conversation ~ do you listen?  Or do you assume you know what the other person is saying, meaning, or implying?  Do you ask questions for verification?  Do you really listen before you speak?

I've had several situations in the last few years, at home or church or out, where people assumed they knew what I was talking about but really didn't have a clue.  They didn't ask ~ just went with their own assumptions. 

I've had others where folks told me things they were doing, get togethers they were hosting, events they were planning, gifts they were giving others ~~~ and none of this involved me.  So why tell me?  I don't have any idea.  Some do it foolishly, some do it maliciously, some do it to create strife.

Foolish talking, foolish actions, foolish attitudes are "unthinking".  Everyone needs to listen, think, then talk. 

If our boasting, pride, foolishness gets in the way of calm, quiet, careful speech & actions ~ then we need to get rid of the boasting, pride, and foolish ways or speech.  The Bible is very clear about fools, foolish behavior, pride, boasting ~ and we as Christians still act in these ways.  These actions aren't pleasing to the Lord and go against the Biblical teachings we know.

Its really easy on a blog to portray everything as rosy, lovely, perfect, calm, etc.  This is a downside to not actually knowing the person whose life you are reading about.  Life isn't easy.  Life is messy, organized, emotional, quiet,  hurtful, loud, aggravating, filled with new experiences, exasperating, busy, transparent (to some), creative, contemplative, private, public. 

So maybe the title should be "Pray, Think & Then see if you need to Speak"!

Ephesians 5:29-32
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.

James 1:19-20 & 22
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for mans anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Do not merely listen to the word, and deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 & 12
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

So scripture is clear ~ don't let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths (just because you think it doesn't mean you have to say it), don't be bitter, brawling, or slanderous, listen first, be slow to anger, lead a quiet life, mind your own business................and I didn't even touch on the tremendous teachings of Proverbs. 

Our prayer is to live a quiet life, to mind our own business, and to work with our hands.  To be busy with the tasks the Lord has given us.

What is Happening?

What in the world is happening?  The world is full of rude, selfish, insensitive, dishonest folks.  Is there a hole they could crawl back into?  Did their mamas not spank them as children?  Were they encouraged to lie & steal in their childhood and youth?  Did anybody care about them? Tell them what they were doing was wrong?  Demand that they grow up and act like decent, law abiding citizens? 

In more cases than not, the answer to the above would be no ~ parents were off doing their own thing, kids had to fend for themselves, had the attitude that it was ok to do as long as they didn't "get caught". 

Argh!

I've not decided why?  I certainly don't have perfect children ~ and they don't have a perfect mom.  But they were all brought up to know right from wrong, how to treat others, and behave.  Do they all do that, all the time, no.  Do I do that all the time...unfortunately no again.  But we don't make a habit of doing wrong either ~ its not our lifestyle.

There are some folks that have dealings with some of my children that seem have this lifestyle!  Since my kids are adults, that lessens the influence we have over them and their choices (but doesn't cancel it out...we are still the parents).  What I would like to do is bash some heads together ~ prove the dishonesty ~ right the wrongs ~ erase the mistakes, but I can't.  I am thankful to know whats going on, know the circumstances, and the details.

So I just sit here...as a mom I can pray, I can talk & counsel, I can encourage, I can suggest some solutions, I can keep praying, I can use these moments as teaching moments with my 2 still at home, I can love on the ones being attacked.

But what I really want to do ~ well, use your imagination!

Awesome News~

 

Our

 

Next

 

Grandchild

 

is

 

a

 

Boy!

 

Katie, Bryant, and Robert found out yesterday!

 

And the little guys name will be

 

Thomas Jonathan Jackson Cutler ~~~~~

 

appropriate that he will be joining his big brother

 

Robert Edward Lee Cutler!

 

Robert E Lee & Stonewall Jackson back together again!

 



Longing for.......

 

Longing for....

 

lots of scenes like this.....

 

Gorgeous Picture from Pinterest!  I love brilliant leaves dressed with fall colors!



Our Success ~ So Far

Its been a while since I reported on our weight loss journey ~ everything is going great!  Greg is at 43 pounds and I just hit 30 this morning!  Yippee ~~~~ confetti, streamers, balloons, & coke zero!!!!!!!

News Flash Update ~ there is a dress I wanted to wear for Allens wedding...its been hanging in my closet for several years and I just didn't want to get rid of it even though it didn't fit ~ but now it does!  I am doing a happy dance!

Its been interesting to use Pinterest to find no/low carb ideas for dinners.  I will go ahead and confess ~ we do eat at least one meal a day.  We just weren't happy with no food, but there are tons of ideas out there and some have been downright tasty!

We all love pasta at this house and that's a huge no-no.  I found an alternative recipe to use and we tried it Monday night.  This recipe called for using broccoli slaw instead of noodles.  Their instructions were to spray a skillet with non stick cooking spray, add the slaw, and 1/4 cup water and sauté until the water was evaporated ~ then top with your spaghetti sauce and serve.  I used 1/2 cup water because a 1/4 just didn't look like much.  Greg liked it ~ it was ok to me.  But part of the ok was from the broccoli still having a crunch to it.  Next time, I am going to boil it.  Honestly, the broccoli didn't seem to change the taste of the sauce too much.  So that was a success!

We've got some other ideas for things to try that I will report on later!

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Its just 22 days till our next family wedding! 

Low/No Carb Funny

 

Happy Anniversary

 

Happy 8th Anniversary to my best friend, protector, provider, confidante, dream fulfiller, handyman, travel coordinator, chef, griller, painter, woodworker, father of our children, generous, loving, all round great guy ~ husband Greg.

 

In our 8 years of marriage we have ~

 

flipped a house,

 

put in a pool,

 

traveled lots,

 

had our daughter marry & move out of state,

 

had our son marry,

 

graduated 6 of our 7 children from highschool,

 

become grandparents,

 

travel to Honduras, New York, & Oklahoma on Mission Trips,

 

become members of a church we love & can serve at,

 

become owners of many pets,

 

have completely changed our lifestyle, traditions, etc. (ongoing process),

 

have increased our Faith & love of the Lord.

 

I love You Greg!

Thanks for our lives together!

 

 

 



Kitchen Redo

 

A couple of weeks ago I posted that we had been to Ikea and I was ready to gut my kitchen ~ technically I still am, but the reality is, that will be a while.  So we are changing up some things at a much more affordable price.

 

First, is the kitchen cabinets.  I would love new cabinets.  These are old ~ nothing wrong with that except for the former owners "faux" finishing techniques.  They took custom built beautifully stained cabinets, put a new finish on them that was a purple mess.  When Greg bought the house (a few months before we got married), he and his dad painted over the mess with crisp white paint.  Which looked great for a while ~ but white cabinets in a house hold full of teens and budding cooks, doesn't stay crisp and white for long.  We have repainted, touched up, & gotten fed up with them always looking dingy.  I was inspired at Ikea ~ I had NEVER thought of painting my cabinets gray...but they had a lovely kitchen with gray cabinets.  Right now, paint cost a whole lot less than cabinets....so here is a before and after of one of our sets of cabinets ~~~~~

 

 

I really like the color and the way the knobs look on the gray!  We've done the desk, cabinets above and over the fridge.  There is still a wide border of white including decorative molding and we are leaving it alone.  That will be a great spot to hang some of my smaller cross stitch pictures and decorative signs. 

 

Greg is also going to find me some inserts for 2 of the deep corner cabinets.  I can't reach into the back of the cabinets and there is no telling what is back there.  When we do eventually redo the cabinets, I want some of the cabinets with the turntables in them.  But the inserts/pullout drawers are an affordable alternative.

 

And we have bought some gorgeous tile to do a backsplash and stacked brick tiles for behind the oven.  The painting has to get done first and then the tile work.  We bought everything last weekend to accomplish these projects!  Now the time will have to be whittled out of the schedules, so we can accomplish the goals.  By doing it in sections, and completing 1 section at a time, its easier on the nerves.

 

We are also going through all the cabinets and getting rid of stuff we no longer need/want.  I already have a box going for the church garage sale next year and we started a "hope chest box" of sorts for Will for the future.  I also discovered that over the years, my glasses have been dropped or "walked out the door" and I don't have a complete set of drinking glasses.  I have 2 incompete sets that look completely different.  So, a new complete set of matching glasses is going on the list of wants.  Or 2 smaller sets that match. 

 

I am also un~homeschooling my kitchen, which was our classroom.  I no longer need reams of notebook paper, multi boxes of colored pencils, crayons, or markers readily available.  Some of these goodies Amy is taking to church to use for her Sunday School childrens class.  And the rest is getting stored for visiting children to use. 

 

I will post more pictures as we make more progress!