Gram's Place

We spent a few hours in the hospital today getting another xray of the broken arm bones. Why, you ask? Well, Haleigh mopped the floor last night that's why. And... it just so happens that a certain someone with a certain week old broken arm and cast came walking into the kitchen at a certain time, which happened to be the wrong certain time, and slipped on a certain floor twisting a certain arm behind her back to a certain uncomfortable position causing incredible and UNcertain pain.... ...so we called the ortho surgeon again, who was on vacation, who referred us to another ortho who decided it should be xrayed again.... ... so we waited in the waiting room .... got the xray... waited again... found out the xray wasn't done right... got another xray...waited again.... ate lunch... came back... waited some more... ..........................................................................................................................................................................

Lightning, Sparky, Allen, Jessica, Tom - Those were the names of the fireflies Emily caught and put in a jar at Grammas house. It was a georgous night out... just the perfect night for fireflies. They were everywhere! One got out in the house, because he was too little. Allen. She let him go. Too small to be captive in the jar with nail-sized holes. Goodbye Allen. We will miss you... "Sparky, you sure are a big healthy guy. Such a great light you blink so quickly!" "Grampa, do you think 15 lightning bugs is enough for a world record? Or how many do you think would be a world record?" "I dunno, I think you might have it there... " I flashed back for a moment to my childhood. I was a little more volatile with my lightning bug collection. I would always rip off the light and try to make beautiful glowing bracelets and neclaces and rings.... ew. bug guts all over me. yuk.

It's officially been 48 hours since the big break.... we have had a rough 48 hours with sleepless nights and uncomfortable positions, unexpected reactions to medication. We go to the orthopedic dr. tomorrow AM to see what the next step is. The good side - I have to look at the bright side of this right?-- for Abbers, it's the great CANDY that people keep dropping off for her. For us, well, heck, it's the great CANDY! BRING ON THE CANDY!

We are officially on vacation. It started Monday. We are off for a week or so and decided instead of going somewhere fun, we would take the time and get some things done around the house that we need to do, maybe do some fun things around here. We made a list: Things to do on our Vacation Week. Here are the things on the list. Clean the Grill Go Canoeing Pack up the burgundy dishes we don't use right now Make some decisions on the new house. Sams Club Trip Clean the Basement Camping Jet Skiing Get the boat going for the year Go to the Lake Waterpark Clean off my desk Rotate the tires on the van Deep clean the vehicles Some fun, some work.... there's more work on the list. I just can't find it right now. (great working list that I can't find) So, here we go... Day One... Yesterday... Monday. We spent the day shopping at Lowe's Home Depot Menards trying to find light fixtures, medicine cabinets, etc... for our new house. Came home, made supper, hang out. Abbie had gon...

If you decide to try this recipe... my suggestion is to omit the optional cayenne pepper.... we were all breathing fire. WHEW! Also, the 1 tsp cinnamon, to me, is a bit much. I think next time I'll cut it to a 1/2 tsp. Try them! You'll like them! Moroccan Chicken Kebabs Dry Rub: 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional) 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp cardamon 1/8 tsp cloves 1/8 tsp nutmeg 2 tsp brown sugar Kebabs: 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 small red onions, cut into 1 inch wide sections 2 bell peppers, cleaned and cut into 1 inch squares 1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper 12 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes In small bowl, combine the rub ingredients and mix well. Cut the meat into 1 1/2 inch cubes and put them in a gallon size ziplock bag with the rub mix. Seal the bag and shake it vigorously until all chicken is well coated. Place the onions and peppers in a gallon size bag, add the olive oil, and season w...

I made the smoked turkey wraps last night. I decided I needed to share this recipe with you all because they were WAY good. I have one recommendation. I think the smoked turkey with the garlicy pesto was a bit much for flavor. I think next time I will use regular turkey breast, because the pesto with it was awesome! 3/4 c. cream cheese, at room temperature 1/3 cup pesto with sun dried tomatoes (I made it with the dried mix from Tastefully Simple - it had basil and sun dried tomatoes in it) 6 (10 inch) burrito size flour tortillas, warmed 12 thin slices of smoked turkey breast Romaine Lettuce chopped tomatoes 3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion alfalfa sprouts Combine cream cheese and pesto in small bowl; stir well. Spread evenly over each tortilla. Place turkey slices, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and alfalfa sprouts over the bottom third of tortillas, making sure ingredients don't touch the edges. FOLD the bottom edge of the tortilla toward the center and gently roll until tortilla...

Our church is doing the 1000 Wells Project - Sunday when we went home from church, we talked about it. We all decided that we would go ahead and participate. ALL of us. Here's the jist of it .... 2 weeks - drink nothing but water - whatever you would have normally drank, put that money in a cup, and give it to the 1000 wells project to dig a well in Africa for clean water. Simple. Right? Okay, well, it has been three days. That's all. just three. I have messed up three times. Once was when I went to the Pizza Ranch and ... well, what could I do? The drink was included in the price you pay for buffet? I had to drink it..... Second was when I had a meeting at work. They had donuts. I had no coffee for two days! I HAD TO DO IT!!! Get off my back people! I HAD NO CHOICE! Lastly, it was the cookies that did it. It would have been no problem for me except that I baked those DARN cookies! And they were so good.... but not perfect... and it was only a HALF a glass of milk, not a whole...

I discovered a great tool at familyfun.com. You should check it out. If you go to the "recipe" section... and look at their recipes, you can create an account and a "recipe box". Then, you can print a grocery list. It prints out in an organized format, and you take it to the grocery store and get everything you need! I have another one at meals.com - that's a pretty good site too, but the shopping list prints out for each meal, not as a whole compiled list, so it's a bit harder to find your way through it. The menu this week: Mon: Grilled Steaks and Salads Tues: Beef Penne Pasta Casserole with breadsticks Wed: Smoked Turkey Wraps and fresh fruit salad Thurs: Morroccan Chicken Kebabs, Rice, and Jello Salad Fri: Black Bean Chicken and Cheese Bake, Chips and Guacamole Sat: Stuffed Pasta Shells and Tossed Salad

Moe over at Motherhood asked me to expound a bit on our missions trip after I suggested she send her kids on one... It was two years ago. My two oldest girls were 17 and 15. The church we attend had decided to go with a larger group of people on a trip to Chetumal, Mexico to help the Christians there with their efforts to learn how to evangelize the communities in which they live. My girls are not spoiled rotten brats by any means. They are very loving and caring people. I wanted them to go on this trip more to see what God can do with them... their talents and abilities.... and to show them that they can give and care for others in ways they never thought they could. So, we headed out for a ten day trip. A trip we all will never forget. We spent 10 days in the 110 degree heat, going from village to village, inviting children to come to the park for a program we put on for them... to show them who Jesus is... we did dramas, puppet shows, played with them, music, stories.... all of the...

Ang tagged me.... here we go.... 2 things you compliment your husband on while in his presence. 1. His ability to fix virtually ANYTHING! 2. His incredibly underestimated ability to both stay awake longer than anyone I know and sleep longer than anyone I know. 2 compliments you make about your spouse to your friends. 1. His ability to fix virtually ANYTHING! 2. He understands that sex begins in the kitchen. 2 traits you married him/her for. 1. His positive attitude 2. His complete love for me 2 days you cherished the most with your husband being together. 1. Labor and Delivery. Okay, that is technically four days but I'm counting it as one. 2. The day I gave my life to Christ. I was 16. He was 21. He led me to the Lord. 2 things you would miss the most if she/he left for two weeks. 1. Killing my own bugs 2. Fixing my own stuff. 2 thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw (or noticed in our case) your spouse. 1. He is hot 2. What could I do to get him to notice me? ...

Sorry sorry sorry.... I am having some technical difficulties with blogger and it is a pain in the drain to post anything! Ang said my blog is dying a slow death... I have lots of things to share, just can't quite do it. Hopefully, I will get it corrected and have something exciting soon. I miss you TOO!