WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

It is amazing how pictures made from the exact spot can change on a day to day (well.... almost) basis. The first picture was taken from the side of my porch in late June.
The picture below was taken from the same side of my porch when we returned from the beach on July 11th. They had started digging our pool. We actually signed our contract in early May and the next week it started raining....and it rained....and it rained....and it rained!!! I thought it would rain for forty days and nights. We had been told for every day it rained it would delay our pool two days. They meant every word of that!!!

This picture was taken today when they were pouring the concrete around the pool. I'll have to admit that we've been swimming for several weeks but couldn't invite friends because of the "dirt" around it.

There's still much to be done....landscaping and a pool house but I have learned to be patient (my husband may not agree). I remind myself that we will have the rest of our life to enjoy this. By the way....the man in the pool doing the "finishing" is the husband of Kristin. He is also my son's best friend from high school. I think he's pretty special myself.

REMEMBER WHEN

I showed you these pictures of some thrift store finds several months ago. When I saw the bread box I knew that it wouldn't be used for bread. I wanted something to put my phone books in and knew this would be perfect. I have been gone so much since then until I have just finished the project.

It now looks like this sitting on my desk in the kitchen. My phone books are hidden (except for the crack in the bottom where you can see through with the flash of the camera). I promise you can not see it if you are just looking.
Can't wait for my next post.....it will be a HUGE project that is finally being completed (enough for now). Don't even think it is something that I have done because all I have done is pay for this project. Maybe pictures tomorrow of this :-)

SEW EASY

One blog that I visit every day is that of Darby. I love to visit her because she is talented, but also because she is real. She tells just what it's like raising three little ones. One day this week she showed a picture of her with the cutest pleated apron and promised a tutorial for making it. Well, yesterday she gave a link for step by step directions. I had fabric from making my daughter's classroom curtains and found a piece of yellow large enough for the insert and sash in my scraps. I'm not a seamstress by any means but the directions were SO EASY to follow. I am a lover of aprons so this was one I wanted to make quickly. I love this apron....wish I looked as cute as Darby showing mine. She also has great tutorials for other projects. If you haven't visited her blog, you will want to do so.

A CROWD PLEASER

I promise this will not turn into a recipe blog, but after posting about Amy's birthday dinner, April requested my chicken casserole recipe. This is one dish that I make regularly for my family (all of my grandchildren love it) and I'll make a couple if I plan to have many over. I hope you will like it as much as we do.
CHICKEN CASSEROLE
3 cans of chicken (white meat) (I get the bigger cans at Wal-Mart)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 16 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackers
1 stick margarine

Put chicken in colander and drain. (I run water over mine). Place chicken in sprayed 9 x 13 pan (break chicken chunks up). Next mix soup and sour cream. Spread over chicken. Melt stick of margarine while you are crushing crackers. Mix the crackers and melted butter and sprinkle on top of soup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I serve mine with rice.

ENJOY and have a wonderful weekend!

YOU ASKED FOR IT

I promised on my last post that I would give you the recipe for the cake I made for Amy's birthday and had some requests (even those who didn't leave a comment but saw me). If you like coconut and pecans, this might be a favorite from now on........
GERMAN CHOCOLATE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
1 cup coconut
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 stick margarine
1 8 oz. cream cheese (soft)
1 16 oz. powdered sugar
* Combine coconut and pecans and spread in 9 x 13 sprayed pan
* Prepare cake mix according to directions on box. Pour cake batter
mix over coconut and nuts mixture
* Place margarine and cream cheese in a sauce pan and heat until
mixture is warm enough to stir. Take off heat and add sugar.
Mix well (I used my mixer).
* Spoon over cake batter and bake for 30 - 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
* Let cake cool.

Oh, my......SO GOOD!!
Next will be the Chicken Casserole Recipe that someone requested.

33 YEARS AGO

33 years ago today God blessed my husband and me with a beautiful baby girl. We had no idea before her birth if this baby would be a boy or girl because they didn't do ultrasounds then unless there was a problem. I had gone to my regularly scheduled appointment and my doctor decided I was ready and wanted to send me straight to the hospital. My husband coached football and I had to call and get him off the football field to come to the hospital. Amy entered the world several hours after he arrived and we both were so excited to have a girl. In fact, we only had a girl's name picked out. She has brought us so much joy....is the best mother....best writer.....and a wonderful teacher. Amy had her second teacher work day before the children come later in the week so I cooked dinner for her tonight. Of course it had to be her favorites.

We had chicken casserole, rice, greenbean casserole, corn, fried okra, 7 layer salad, yeast rolls, and German chocolate upside cake (this was a new recipe). I will post the recipe another time because it was DELICIOUS!

The "birthday girl" had her own plate. You never know who will be eating from the "YOU ARE SPECIAL" plate, but there was no doubt tonight. Amy, YOU ARE SPECIAL and we love you so much!!!

IN APPRECIATION

Our church honored the faculty and staff from the high, middle, and elementary schools in our community today with a luncheon. Over 100 teachers and staff filled the gym on their teacher work day. We wanted them to know that we appreciate what they do to make a difference in the life of students. They were served chicken salad croissants, pasta salad, potato salad, fruit salad, chips, and cookies. MANY ladies from our church worked so hard to make this event possible. As a former educator I was blessed to be a part of a day such as this. I pray that this year will be a wonderful year for all our teachers and students. Thank you for all you do!

THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

I've always felt like I should have a picture with each post but that isn't true today. Just wanted to post a quick Praise God, and thank you, to my many friends and family who have been praying for me. I haven't mentioned it here, but the month of July has been a roller coaster for me. A yearly check-up on July 2 revealed the need for additional mammograms and ultra sounds. I had that done before my trip to Costa Rica and didn't find the results until I returned. There was a message for me to call my doctor (that's not usually a good thing) and was told that I had a "solid mass" and should see a surgeon/oncologist. This past Monday I had a biopsy and the report came back yesterday that it was benign! Prayers were answered! Thanks to all who knew about this and have prayed for me. GOD IS GOOD!!! Reminder.....go for your check-ups each year!

COSTA RICA

Our Mission Trip to Costa Rica was a life changing experience for me. The 17 people from our church left knowing that we would be ministering in various ways but until we actually got there I had no idea what it would be like. We arrived in San Jose around noon (their time) and did not get to the camp where we would be staying until around 6:00 p.m. that night. The bus ride over the mountain (in the rain) was scary enough! We were met at the camp by our missionary and told a few "important" tidbits which included....."there is a flu epidemic right now and they have closed schools for the week so we won't be able to go into the schools" and "be sure and wear bug spray because if a certain fly bites you it will lay eggs in your skin and you may not know it until you see your skin moving". My first thoughts were not peaceful!!! After hearing this information we literally 'hit the ground running'. Although schools were closed there were 300 children at the camp for the weekend and they were waiting on us to arrive for their night service. We rushed to eat dinner.....rice and beans and a few chips. Service was awesome (outside in the POURING rain). The kids were leaving the next afternoon so Sunday was spent at a church miles away. I never understood one word the preacher said (I know only how to count to ten in Spanish) but learned during the altar service that God's love is universal.....I felt His presence and was able to minister to a sweet lady. Monday was spent working at the camp...various jobs to do.....I helped paint. Rice & beans were served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On Tuesday we hiked two hours into the jungle to minister. We had to carry our backpacks and tents (this was the hardest part for me). The hike had us crossing the river five different times. The water was only a little above our knees but very swift. In fact, we held hands as we crossed to help support us. I must say crossing the river was welcomed by me because it helped cool me. When we finally got to the reserve we set up tents to prepare for the night. There was NO electricity or facilities for us there. It amazed me to see these people living like this. They seemed so happy. Wednesday we hiked out and spent that day getting back to camp. Thursday was another day working at the camp on projects. Friday was our free day and we took a boat ride to see all kinds of animals (monkeys, crocodiles, alligators, iguanas, etc.) and then we were able to zip-line across the rain forest. TOTALLY AMAZING experience for me. Saturday was our flight back home. I came back realizing that we in America are so spoiled. I saw children playing happily with no toys, shoes, electricity, water, etc. We were served rice and beans EVERY meal but I must say that rice keeps you from feeling hungry. They have no stores nearby and have to take the same hike we took getting in to go to school. I know that this post is long, but there was no other way. Below are some of the MANY pictures taken.

Our tents set up after our hike through the jungle where we were spending the night.

This is the school the children attend. They must hike out through the jungle and rivers to get to the school. See some of our group as they are taking a break from hiking out.

This HUGE crocodile was on the edge of the river as we rode the boat.

This is one of the houses where we spent the night in the tents. They had no beds....slept on a piece of foam.

Our missionary making coffee for us the morning after sleeping in the tents.

I'm so happy that I had the chance to take the mission trip. Hope you enjoyed hearing about my adventures.

HEADING BACK HOME

It has been quite some time since my last post. We spent 9 days in Costa Rica and that was a life changing experience. I will devote an entire post to that later. When we returned my son and his oldest two daughters rode the train from Louisiana and the girls stayed with me this past week while Chris and his dad flew to Chicago to see some baseball games. I enjoyed spending time with my precious granddaughters. I don't get to see them often and when I do it is only for a weekend. The week was full....my house is a disaster because it became a bakery, beauty salon, hideaway, and whatever else they wanted it to be. I hope that I will be able to get pictures from my daughters camera to post about the week later. (My husband had our camera with him in Chicago). This picture was taken when we were about to leave home for the train station. Can you tell that Gigi and Granddaddy love these girls just a little???

Here's Maddie, Breanna, and their dad (our son) before we left. See my sign by my front door? My sister-in-law gave it to me several years ago and it's so true!

Here's the sweet girls waiting for the train. It was coming so I was rushing to make the picture.

The girls getting on the train. Maddie (the youngest) had just been crying because she was going to miss us.....talk about having to fight tears....just about too much for me!!!

I know this is a horrible picture but you could see them looking out the window as it was pulling off. Maddie still isn't too happy but I know she REALLY wanted to see her mama and baby sister. This was a week I will cherish forever. Grandchildren are truly a gift from God.