Preparations are being made...

I've got the overflow room set up for tomorrows Thanksgiving dinner. I think I can seat about 20 out here and Tool Belt Jim is putting the door up on the outdoor gazebo that he has been enclosing and I think I can seat about 20-25 out there. Then when you count the kitchen which seats 8 and then the living room I should be able to seat 55 or so.

Wish all my family could make it tomorrow but one son lives in South Carolina. Police Officer son gets off work at 7 in the morning and has to be back at work at 3 in the afternoon so he needs to stay home and sleep. But I am thankful that I get to see family that I haven't gotten together with for a long time. I know we'll have a good time.

I have my ham slowly baking today. I have already made my dressing as well as the brocolli/rice casserole. Tomorrow I will add some broth to the dressing and add some ham juice to the brocolli/rice casserole and I think they will taste great.

I am cutting up the turkey and just leaving the breast whole. Then instead of putting the whole turkey on the table, I will put some dressing around the breast and it will still look nice but I won't have all the other mess. That way all the dishes are cleaned up, the turkey is deboned etc.

Nothing like the smell of ham baking and turkey roasting.

A Cloud of Witnesses...

A CLOUD OF WITNESSES‏
By David Wilkerson


Hebrews 12:1 tells us that the world is encircled by a cloud of witnesses who are with Christ in glory. What does this multitude of heavenly witnesses have to say to the present world? We live in a generation that is far more wicked than Noah’s. What can these witnesses say to a human race whose sins exceed even that of Sodom?

Our day is one of great prosperity. Our economy has been blessed, yet our society has become so immoral, violent and anti-God that even secularists bemoan how far we have fallen. Christians everywhere wonder why God has delayed his judgments on such a wicked society.

We who love Christ may not understand why such gross evil is allowed to continue. But the cloud of heavenly witnesses understands. They don’t question the mercy and patience that God has shown.

The Apostle Paul is among that cloud of witnesses, and he bears witness to God’s unlimited love for even “the chiefest of sinners.” Paul’s life and writings tell us that he cursed the name of Christ. He was a terrorist, hunting down God’s people and dragging them off to be jailed or killed. Paul would say to us that God is being patient with this present generation because there are many who are like he was, people who sin in ignorance.

The apostle Peter is also among the cloud of witnesses, and he too understands why God is so patient. Peter’s life and writings remind us that he cursed Jesus, swearing he never knew him. God withholds his judgment because there are multitudes still who curse and deny him, just as Peter did. The Lord won’t give up on them, just as he never gave up on Peter. There are many like him whom Christ still prays for.

As I consider this cloud of witnesses, I see the faces of former drug addicts and alcoholics, former prostitutes and homosexuals, former gangsters and pushers, former murders and wife-beaters, former infidels and pornography addicts—multitudes whom society had given up on. They all repented and died in the arms of Jesus, and now they are witnesses to the mercy and patience of a loving Father.

I believe all of these would say, in one unified witness, that Jesus didn’t judge them before they received his mercy. God still loves this mad, immoral world. May he help us to love the lost as he does. And may we pray to have the love and patience he is showing the world right now

More grandkids pictures...

Loved this photo of my son Kevin's kids. Their mother is a great photographer and I am sure she is the one who took this picture. They are doing a great job of raising their kids in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" as the Bible says. Hope they always stay as close as they are to one another now. They are growing up fast! The next generation!

Thanksgiving is approaching...

Gonna do something different this year and have both sides of the family over at the same time for Thanksgiving dinner. Looks like we should have about 50 people . The enclosed gazebo is just about finished and just in time. Tool Belt Jim put the final exterior door up this past week and the weather has just turned cold with light snow possible in the forecast.

I've got two turkeys to cook, a couple hams and a pork loin smoked. Does that sound like enough meat for that many people? Rather too much than not enough, that's my thinking.

The older I get, the more I want to see my family spend more time together. Hope you all are looking forward to having a Thanksgiving dinner with your friends and family also!

Another blonde joke...

A strawberry blonde named Kristie Girdner was weed-eating her yard and accidentally cut off the tail of her cat which was hiding in the grass.


She rushed her cat, along with the tail, over to WAL-MART!


Why WAL-MART??


HELLOOOOOOOOO!WALMART is the largest re-tailer in the world!!!

Giving to the local community

The local church that I have been attending was given a 23 foot trailer filled with coats and winter clothes by a group called The Trinity Tribesmen. As the Bible says as you have been freely given, then freely give, we opened our doors to the community and gave everything back away. Enjoyed being a part of that worthwhile project. And I believe it was a blessing to others also. It was dark by the time the trailer arrived but we had lots of help to unload

Here's my grandson Caleb carrying one of those very large and heavy boxes.

My friend Ellen shows off one of the coats that she unpacked

We tried to go through the boxes and sort them by gender as much as possible

Finally we were ready for the doors to open at 8:00 in the morning..

We gave away lots of clothes, shoes and winter coats today. You should have seen the happy faces on those kids. And their parents too cause everything was free and no limit to what they could take. It was a good day! Doing the work of the Church!

My dad wanted to show me something....

and it was out in the barn...

I remember sitting on the steps to this old barn and cracking walnuts and picking the nuts out with a nail and eating them as I went when I was a little girl....

Here is his wood pile all stacked and ready for the winter. Wow!

I am afraid of heights and even though our old barn isn't all that tall, I could never go up and see what the loft looked like cause I was too chicken to climb the ladder.

Did I ever tell you how much I enjoy old barns? Probably so. Anyway....