WALKING WITH ONE ANOTHER
By Gail Rodgers

Where your feet walk today, be reminded of how God asks you to treat those around you.

“Greet one another.” Romans 16:16

“Be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2

“Be kind and compassionate to one another.” Ephesians 4:32

“Accept one another.” Romans 15:7

“Serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13

“Encourage one another.” 1 Thessalonians 4:18

“Build each other up.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“Don’t slander one another.” James 4:11

“Don’t grumble against each other.” James 5:9

“Forgive each other.” Ephesians 4:32

“Confess your sins to each other.” James 5:16

“Stop passing judgment on one another.” Romans 14:13

“Be at peace with each other.” Mark 9:50

“Be devoted to one another.” Romans 12:10

“Carry each other’s burdens.” Galatians 6:2

“Teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.” Colossians 3:16

“Pray for each other.” James 5:16

“Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24

“Love one another.” John 13:34

Monday~
Slow cooker pork chops & potatoes
brocolli
rolls

Tuesday~
empanadas
green beans & new potatoes

Wednesday~
curry chicken
rice
carrots

Thursday~
Taco Chili

Friday~
Leftovers or takeout…

Saw this on Ann’s blog, gotta love a good meme

1. What time did you get up this morning?
About 7:30 a.m.
2. Diamonds or pearls?
diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Charlottes Web
4. What is your favorite TV show?
ANTM
5. What did you have for breakfast?
leftover chinese (brunch)
6. What is your middle name?
Ann
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
german
8. What foods do you dislike?
fruit of any type!
9. What are your favorite chips
the new pringles szechwan chips
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Eva Cassidy ~ Songbird
11. What kind of car do you drive?
Suburban
12. Favorite sandwich?
blackforest ham & baby swiss on good sourdough bread
13. What are characteristics you can’t stand?
meanness, bossiness, judgemental
14. What are your favorite clothes?
jammies
15. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go?
Europe, countryside… off the beaten path…
Where is sixteen? Would I want to be 16 again?
Sure!
17. Where would you want to retire?
in heaven
18. Favorite time of day?
bedtime!
19. Where were you born?
Ft. Smith Arkansas, although only lived there one week
20. What is your favorite sport to watch?
WNBA
21. Coke or Pepsi?
either
22. Beavers or ducks?
neither
23. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
neither
24. Pedicure or manicure?
Both! I love having a good pedicure! It is such a treat and my feet look and feel great. Although I still can’t help giggling when they work on my feet. I don’t do it often, but like to have it done when sandal season begins and always on my birthday!
25. What did you want to be when you were little?
an author, or a hairstylist, or a moviestar
26. What is your best childhood memory?
Playing until the sun went down.
27. Ever been to Africa?
No
28. Ever been toilet papering?
No
29. Been in a car accident?
a few but nothing major
30. Favorite day of the week?
Monday when everyone is at work or school!
31. Favorite restaurant?
Panera bread, old germany, county line
32. Favorite flower?
tulips
33. Favorite ice-cream?
vanilla
34. Favorite fast food restaurant?
Don’t really like fast food…
35. How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
I passed the first time
36. From whom did you get your last e-mail?
Tiffany, Abbie’s mom
37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Target
38. Last person you went to dinner with?
My brother Mike
39. What are you listening to right now?
Norah Jones on Rhapsody
40. What is your favorite color?
pink
41. How many tattoos do you have?
None
42. How many are you sending this Email to?
None
43. What time did you finish this e-mail blog entry?
11:28 a.m.
44. Favorite magazine:
Real Simple
45. Coffee or tea?
tea
46. Do you tan easily or burn easily?
I burn once then tan
47. Do you color your hair?
highlights
48. What was the first car you ever purchased without the help of your parents?
86 Pontiac Trans am with t-tops (red)
49. What is your most dreaded household chore?
taking out the trash
50 Who do you tag to complete this meme? Julie, Jenna, Sheryl & Carrie … I’m sharing the love.

Whew … what a week!

This was Spring Break and I think the kids had a great time, it’s a nice little taste of the Summer to come.

Bailey & Emelia went to Gram’s house on Wednesday and just returned home. They had a great time… went to the Tulsa Zoo, the air and space museum, shopping, the movies… I think Gram and Aunt Jane Ellen are pooped!

I made Michelle’s taquitos last night, they were a huge hit. There were several left and they were nice to have on hand. Tonight it will be empanadas… back to the menu that got abandoned with Izzy’s procedure Thursday. (Mom made a pork loin, so I got to skip that night :).

I really do feel blessed. I am so thankful the kids are all so healthy & happy. They are really the best kids, I’m so proud of them. I know that this is a time to be reflective and thankful, remembering all the great blessings… I think I’m in a bit of a funk? right now. I am tired, and I am tired of being tired. I do not like to complain, I really try not to at all and I am not complaining now, I’M BLESSED. I know it. I just don’t like myself very much this week. Nothing specific. Maybe Satan is trying to mess with my mind, I just seem to be focusing on all my failures. I need to shake it off and pull myself out of it. Maybe writing it down I can move on. I didn’t intend to unload that. Oh well.

The hospital thing with Izzy went well, it was so hard to see her look so pitiful. It was all I could do not to fall apart. Maybe I should have… She is doing well now. I don’t think her mouth is very sore today. She was a bit cranky yesterday (who wouldn’t be with 3 removals and 16 root canals).

The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the dark valley of death,
I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 NLT

Thank you Judi for hosting Weekend Reflections.

I almost forgot to do a recipe for FIF today! I guess things are really busier than usual around here. With Izzy recovering from yesterday, we are spending the day pampering and snuggling her a lot. She is better today though. Thanks for your prayers.

I saw this recipe last week on Paula Deen and it is a lot like the taco soup recipe but calls for dried beans, sounds fabulous right?

Head over to Overwhelmed for more!

Whew… what a day. I am so glad that is behind us, particularly Iz.

We arrived at Deaconess Hospital early this morning and they took Izzy in the room to prepare her for the surgery about 9:00 a.m. They were so sweet to her, they put a warmed blanket on her and gave her a pink bunny puppet. She acted very calm and relaxed as they wheeled her to the surgery room. The dentist was very sweet and let us know as soon as he was finished.

The worst part of the day was coming into the recovery area to see her afterwards. She was crying so much it was heartbreaking. Her little mouth was so swollen and her eyes were as well. She was scared and coming out of the anesthesia. I finally maneuvered around the IV and monitors to hold her and after an hour of crying she was finally ready to head home. We put her Dora DVD on for the ride home and she was pretty calm.

I waited about an hour to try to feed her anything and she was hungry. Her little mouth looks so odd to me now, without her front teeth. She looks like a snaggletooth, it will be cuter when the swelling goes down. Of course she is always precious and beautiful to me… with or without swelling .

This is the pic Matt took on the way home with my

phone camera.

Kind of blurry but you get the idea…

Thanks to everyone who prayed for her. One comment the dentist said was how amazingly she did with the whole thing and that he could tell she was incredibly healthy. She is. I praise God daily for her good health. She is on a very nutritional diet too, along with JuicePlus nutritional products. She is the healthiest of all our children.

We will be at the hospital Thursday morning (I’m actually typing this Wednesday night) with Izzy to get her dental work done. We have to arrive at 6:30 a.m. and will probably spend most of the day there. After Izzy’s near drowning accident, she did what they call neurostorming… this was extremely high heart rates, clenched fists, gritted teeth, high muscle tone so much so that her liver stopped working properly like an athlete that over trains. She was fed through a tube in her tummy called a g-tube. This neurostorming was terrible, and it lasted for about eight weeks. After we came home from the hospital, it was our mission to get her to be able to eat by mouth. I started with yogurt and Popsicles. I remember the speech therapist saying that we had to be so careful that she did not aspirate. Her motor skills are the main target of her damage… which includes everything you can think of including swallowing. Izzy passed a swallow study and we were able to have the g-tube removed about six months after her accident. This was pretty miraculous in itself. Her teeth, however, were still pretty tightly clenched. I was feeding her pedisure with a thickening agent to assure adequate calories in the beginning and then would try rinsing and brushing after every meal. The problem was her mouth was so tight I couldn’t get her mouth rinsed well enough and the grinding during the neurostorms along with that caused her teeth to almost melt. The back teeth went first because I could get the front pretty rinsed. Now her mouth is much looser, we do a lot of oral exercises and I can rinse with clear water now and she doesn’t choke. I still brush her teeth about four times daily. It was just too late. So, she is having her two front teeth pulled along with her little bottom tooth (she lost one little bottom tooth last month) and the rest of her teeth will require baby root canals and crowns.

Pork Chop & Potato Dinner
What You
Need:
6 bone-in pork chops
1 T olive oil
1-30 oz. package frozen
hash browns, thawed
1.5 C shredded cheddar cheese
1-10 3/4 oz can condensed cream of celery soup (undiluted)
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1-2.8 oz can french-fried onions
What To Do:
Brown chops on both sides in a large skillet. Set aside and keep warm. Combine potatoes, 1 C cheese, soup, milk, sour cream, seasoned salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir in half the onions if using them. Place mixture in a greased 5-quart slow cooker. Place pork chops on top of potato mixture. Cook on high for 2.5 to 3 hours (until meat juices run clear). Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions, if used. Cover and allow to cook for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

You know how I love a good meme, thanks Jenna! The object of this meme is to list 7 songs you are really into right now. That’s it! So, here are mine:

1. Healing Rain ~ Michael W. Smith

2. Blessed be the name of the Lord ~

3. Sand & Water ~ Beth Nielson Chapman

4. Songbird~ Eva Cassidy

5. Mercy ~ Sarah McLachlan

6. Just As I Am ~ Accapella

7. One Night Only ~ Jennifer Hudson

Let’s see… I will tag Judi, Michelle & Julie! Have fun.

What works for me:

Spicy spaghetti seasoning &
my garlic press!

There was some discussion recently about a recipe I posted for chicken spaghetti in the crockpot.

What I failed to mention is the spice that I have been buying for as many years as I can remember, I know it’s been with me all my married life

I use this spice in spaghetti sauces, goulashes, any recipe that I would use basil and oregano. It really gives a kick of flavor.

I buy it at Sam’s wholesale club, it’s about $5 for a pretty big container and lasts me about 6 months.

Another use is to slice up a loaf or baguette bread, melt some butter, press in some garlic cloves and then stir in a little of this spice… pour over the bread down the slices, top with grated parm and wrap in foil… bake until hot. Very good! If you like things a bit spicier, add a packet of those red peppers from the pizza place (we always have those in the drawer).

The other thing that is necessary in my kitchen is my garlic press. I always keep a couple of garlic heads on hand so I can press fresh garlic into everything, yummo!

Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more great ideas!