It's that time of year again...

Hello....wow it has been  quite a long time since I have posted.  Life gets so crazy.

Today the kiddos went back to school.  The were not looking forward to  it.  Ari was excited until she learned that some of her friends weren't in her class.  Then she got nervous and scared!!  Walked her in and dropped her off and she did just fine!!!

Molly started high school today!!  She was so nervous...it is a big change for her.  I'm so thankful for some great upperclassmen that have taken her under there wing and helped her and encourage her.  One of them even picked her up to take her to school and help her out.  The other one had been one of her small group leaders and gave her directions to a class.

I can't wait for them to come home so I  can hear all about how the first day went!!
I hope to be a little more faithful about blogging.

Coincidence....I think not!

Last Friday I was helping in the nursery for Double Duty Mom's a program our church has once a month in the evenings.  My phone was about dead so I decided I would run it out to the car to charge it since I had a busy evening I would need my phone. 

As I'm going out to my car I see a lady in the foyer kind of standing there looking at things.  At first I thought she was from the DD Mom's.  I smiled at her and kept walking.  She then asked me if there were any pastors available to talk to and I said no they are gone for the day.  I then turned around and asked her if there was something I could do.  Which shocked me because I'm not very good at stepping out of my comfort zone. (I had been praying about that which led me to give a talk in February)  I had just said in my talk that I know God has prompted me to talk to people and I don't listen!!  I listened this time!!  This sweet lady was starting to cry and said she just knew she needed to stop, she is having a hard time with her pregnancy and just needed to pray for her!!  It still shocks me but, I replied well would you like me to pray for you?  She said yes so I prayed for her. 

We talked for awhile and I invited her to church and gave her some info on what goes on at Bethel.  She thanked me over and over and gave me a hug.

Lo and behold she came to church Sunday!!  It was so exciting I was a little giddy. 
Another cool thing is I drive past her house everyday to go home.  What an awesome God we serve and am so thankful that I listened to him that day!!!

Oh yeah I do have a blog...

Good thing I don't count on my blog as a means of survival. We would starve to death. It is so crazy busy. I also don't ever think I have anything to say. Granted I can always talk about something. I am never at a loss for words. Just ask my hubby!! I don't want to bore everyone with the things that bounce around in my head. I can rattle...I know what I'm talking about but others might not be able to keep up with me. My close friends usually know what I'm saying and how I got to that point.
I'm excited I'm getting ready to start another sewing project. This is for a friend. I'm going to make two blankets for her using some of her grandpa's flannel shirts. I can't wait. Will definitely post pictures of that!! I just might document the process. Well that's all for now. Must go look at Pinterest!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Fifteen years ago today I married my best friend!!! That is so hard to believe. The time has flown by! He is my life. I love him with all my heart! I am so thankful to God who knew that Charlie was the right man for me. We have two beautiful girl's together. He is a wonderful father to them. He is also a great father and role model for my son!

I can remember our wedding day like it was yesterday!! It was perfect. The food, the ceremony, the guests, the music, the weather...even was snowing a little. It has been an amazing 15 years. like everyone we have had our ups and downs. Fortunately more ups than downs. We have grown a lot!! We serve an amazing God! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the next 15 years.

Thought it would be fun in honor of our anniversary I would share how we were introduced at our reception. A dear family friend Dorothy James wrote this." It's my privilege to introduce to you today all those involved in the latest merger of Keating tarms and Bailey Exc.-Roto-Rooter service.These three have done all the footwork for this merger:Todd Henderson, usher and an employee of Butler mfg. is the one who engineers this enterprise around any threatening obstacles.Todd Anderson: usher and employee of Ink and Image does all the graphic designing for this enterprise. I think he's working on a new logo of a pig driving a bulldozer.Scott Twidwell: usher and employed by the City of Galesburg police Department is head of security i this merger. It seems that all his experience driving machinery at the Keating Farm didn't prepare him enough for driving a police car.She is a Galesburg native and received her real estate license through Carl Sandburg college. Currently she is secretary of Bailey Exc. and may be the one who leaks out secret information about boss Charlie to her very good friend Sherri. Bridesmaid Malissa CashHe is the chaplain of this enterprise also a youth pastor at Bethel Baptist and the father of a two year old. Rumor has it he has just mastered his moodiness...I mean got his masters from moody. Groomsman Matt HarrisShe is an Illinois Wesleyan freshman who is responsible for bringing this merger about by taking Sherri to Insight on Thursday nights, thereby meeting Charlie. She also engineered the plan for tping the inside of Charlie's truck. Bridesmaid and good friend Jennifer McKennaHe is employed at national coating and attends Carl Sandburg College. Being married to secretary Malissa, Sherri's friend, and being a friend of Charlie's makes him a natural for probing both sides of this merger. Groomsman Charlie CashShe is a Monmouth native and attended Trinity Christian College. As a lifetime close friend of Sherri's she's the operator to contact if you want to dig deep to find out anything about Sherri. Bridesmaid Kathy RobertsonHe is a dedicated good friend who's soon to become a father. An inside informant reports that Bailey's may be going into the roofing business also because Charlie and this young man have been to known to check out the roofs of Galesburg High School and the Orpheum Theater. Groomsman Jamie BledsoeShe is the Sister of the bride and lives in Greenville, IL attending Cascaskia college in Centralia, She's well acquainted with the Keating Farms as she and Sherri worked together many years on the farms. The Keating girl's shared their first car a Buick with license plate keatin 2. Maid of Honor Anita KeatingHe is the older brother, co owner and president of Bailey Exc. who always had a shadow named charlie when he was growing up. If there's any embarrassing moments taking place he's probably at the root of them. Best Man Ted BaileyShe brings to this merger all the expertise she has gained working full time the last few years for Keating Farms. Isn't it ironic that this hog farmer's daughter would root out a lifelong companion who loves to play in the dirt.Ladies and Gentlemen, the bride- Mrs. Charlie BaileyHe is co-owner, Vice president and operator of Bailey Exc. and Roto-Rooter service. Such a determined young man is bound to bring success to this merger. For example even though he has really liked his hair longer since he was very young, when he met Sherri and became interested he cut his hair to make points with a certain dad. What a promising future this merger has and we wish it to be lengthy, full of love and blessed by God. Ladies and gentlemen, the groom Charlie Bailey

Life Happens

I trust all of you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! I know I sure did!! For the first time in probably 1o years or so we had Christmas at our house!! The girls' loved waking up at home. We had been going out to my parents and spending the night. So this year we changed the tradition and they came here!! I love having my family around and entertaining. We enjoyed a full day of food, fellowship, and fun!! Celebrating Jesus birth is always a blessed time. So thankful that we have that to celebrate!! Love the freedom I have to worship Jesus!!

I don't know if any of you made any resolutions for the new year, I didn't per say but I have some in my mind that I would like to do. Didn't write them down because then I don't have to worry if I don't fulfill them!!

I have been praying lately that God would push me outside of my comfort zone. I really didn't know what that would look like. But, low and behold he had a plan.
I'm not much on public speaking and it makes me nervous. You guessed it...that is what I'm going to be doing at the end of February! I have been asked to give a talk at a youth event. Talk about being pushed outside of my comfort zone!!

Well that is all for now. Will defiantly try to blog more often!!

pictures

well I was going to put some pictures up from our Thanksgiving meal but alas blogger won't let me right now!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This year I was able to host Thanksgiving at my house. Which is one thing I am thankful for a home big enough to have many people over. This is the first time I have ever hosted a major holiday which means I was in charge of the turkey. Charlie had wanted to grill it but, he talked himself out of it. His reasoning is he did not want the weight of the meal in his hands if it didn't turn out right. I will have to say we researched cooking a turkey in depth...some of you may laugh at me so go ahead. When it comes to cooking and entertaining I'm a little anal and somewhat of a perfectionist. If I mess up I feel it reflects that on me. I really do love to cook so I enjoyed the challenge. We didn't have as many people as I thought we might. My parents didn't come (they went to Quincy to be with my mom's brother) and Charlie's brother and his wife already had plans. We did have his sister and BIL, his dad and a friend of ours who was going to be by herself. Each person brought a couple of things: like pies, baked sweet potatoes, green bean casserole.
For breakfast that morning I had found two recipes on my new favorite past time...Pinterest! That is a post all in its own!!
So, I made a baked french toast casserole and cinnamon roll cake!! They both were yummy.

For lunch we had stuffing, sweet potatoes with marshmallow's, homemade rolls, veggie tray,cranberry fluff, turkey, ham. I had even made bacon wrapped little smokies with a glaze, but we had soooo much food that I baked those the next day. Everything was very yummy.
The best thing about hosting is ALL the leftovers!!
Call me silly but, I took pictures of my food...the only thing I didn't get a picture of was my turkey and ham... *sighs*