Spring has sprung!

I love spring. Who doesn't? I know allergies are high, pollen counts are crazy, and sneezing and runny noses are just another every day thing. And yet, everyone is itching to go outside and celebrate the awesome weather.

Along with the sun, sweet breeze, and blooming flowers come memories of my childhood. My grandfather owned a farm, and on that farm he had chickens and geese that laid eggs. I remember walking through the coops and collecting eggs. It was so much fun -- when the chickens were out of the coop. But if they were sitting on eggs, it could be a little dicey, but for the most part, they allowed you to collect the eggs.

Geese, on the other hand, are mean, mean, MEAN animals. Especially if you are going after their eggs. They would chase us, hissing and snapping at our fingers, legs, fannies, and anything else they could reach. It could leave an otherwise normal little girl, scarred for life.

But along with those rather hysterical memories of two little girls running through the goose coop, out into the field, screeching and giggling while being chased by rabid geese, I also remember sweet traditions. I hadn't thought of them in a long time, but now that my son is old enough to actually participate and understand, the memories seem to be rushing back.

One, in particular, is decorating goose eggs. They are so big, and we would have fun poking a hole in the middle of the egg, draining it (keep the egg to cook with), cutting the whole bigger with tiny embroidery scissors, and gently washing the entire shell. Then, we would decorate the inside with those small plastic felted rabbits, grass, and any other tiny birds or eggs we could find. Finally, we would glue rick-rack, ribbons, or decorative edges from the fabric store around the large opening to finish it off. They were so beautiful.

Another tradition was receiving the spun sugar eggs with the panoramic scenes in them. My grandmother had a friend that would make them for us. We would never eat them, just look at them like treasures that children conjure up. I could only find a small handful of pictures of them on line, and none of the goose eggs.

This spring, I'm going to make decorated eggs with my son, but I doubt I'll be able to find goose eggs anywhere!

This spring, share your special memories! Don't let them die by the wayside!

Screams of Spring

I love spring. The trees are budding, the grass is turning green, the flowers are starting to pop their beautiful petals out, and the birds are ... screaming.  Not just "screaming," but "SCREAMING."

Each year, we have the same problem. Birds sneak their way into our vents, make their nests, have babies, and scream their heads off. It literally sounds like a woman screaming. And its behind our microwave.So gross.

And today, my husband is home. He fixed his breakfast, ate it, and suddenly stood up and said, "that's it--I'm evicting those birds!" To which, I laughed and said: "Yeah. Right. They'll be back." And he replied, "Not this time. I'm taking wood, nails and duct tape. They're outta here."

Allrightythen.

He's out there now, and I hear knocking, scraping, struggling, chirping, screaming, dragging... it makes me shudder and think of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds." But so far, it looks like Man is winning over Bird.

I give it three months.

You Put the Lime in the Coconut!

We have friends that have moved to another state... so sad!! Really! But they were so kind and gave me a pantry FULL of goodies before they left ... including organic virgin coconut oil, coconut milk, and coconut juice!!  So much, I don't know what to do with it!! That alone was a challenge for me to find a way to incorporate it into our daily life.

And we began with ... dum, dum, DUUUUM ... Oil Pulling.

It looks easy enough, and evidently offers many health benefits that would GREATLY affect my health/personal life. I have lupus, sjogrens, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and some other stuff, and coconut oil, more specifically, Coconut Oil Pulling, looks like it could bring wellness into my daily life.

Looking at just ONE of my health issues, Sjorgens, your body's white blood cells destroy the glands that specifically produce saliva and tears. It's an autoimmune disorder, and it's miserable. Your mouth is so dry that your tongue and mouth feel like dry leather. Your eyes feel like a hundred needles are pricking them - or like a bad chlorine-salt water-sandy beach day. It's the pits. And one of the claims of Oil Pulling is that it causes your mouth to produce more natural saliva and promotes oral health. When your mouth doesn't have an active production of saliva, you are more prone to problems with tooth decay, enamel erosion, gum disease, and it helps you chew, taste and swallow. If I had a dollar for each time I choked swallowing food, well... I'd be close to a millionaire.

Oil Pulling looks promising. It looks easy. It sounds weird, and maybe a little "hookie," but I've had several friends of mine, one in particular who has ROCKING teeth and has the best oral hygiene that I know of (including her two handsome boys), said they practice oil pulling with good results. So, it must be a good thing, right?

So, what is this mysterious oil pulling? Basically, it's swishing oil (usually Sesame, flax seed, Sunflower or Coconut) in the mouth for up to 20 minutes (not a typo!) to improve oral health. Of the three, coconut oil offers the best results, as it has detoxifying effects, antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, and breaks through plaque and bacteria, pulling them out from between the teeth and in the gums. Oh, yeah ... it also whitens teeth. I also found so many testimonials from people who experienced benefits from oil pulling, including help with skin conditions, arthritis, asthma, headaches, hormone imbalances, infections, thrush, liver problems and more (a lot of those are symptoms of lupus or side affects of the drugs I take!).

How Do You Do It?

These tips are found all over the Internet. They are not MY tips, but a gathering from dear friends and the good old web.

1. It's best done first thing in the morning, before eating and brushing.

2. Use 1-2 teaspoons of organic virgin unrefined coconut oil (Trader Joes). A friend pointed out that it has a very low melting temp (76 degrees), and said she fills her sink with hot water and puts the jar in the sink to melt the solid coconut oil. You can put it into your mouth while you shower.

3. Place the oil in your mouth and "PULL" the oil through your mouth, similar to swishing.

4. Pull the oil in your mouth for 20 minutes. YES! Twenty minutes! That's long enough to break through plaque and bacteria but not long enough that you start re-absorbing the toxins and bacteria.

5. Spit into the TRASH CAN. You'll know why when you see how hard coconut oil is, and well -- melted oil re-hardens. Do not swallow the oil because of bacteria, toxins and puss that are now not in the oil! And it's just gross.

6. Rinse well with warm water and brush well.

How Did it Go???

BWAHAHAHAHA!!  Oh, baby. Who was I kidding?!?  It's NOT easy.

I first made the mistake of placing two TABLESPOONS (oops) of the solid oil into my mouth (as I had read others use it solid). Big mistake. The texture is awful. I gagged, and gagged and spit it out straight away.

Then, I had a slight issue with the whole 20 minutes (which a friend said I would at the beginning). Like 19minutes and thirty seconds. Epic failure. EPIC.

Finally, while I love coconut, after those two failed attempts, I couldn't even THINK about oil pulling without gagging. SERIOUSLY. So I took a day break away from it and will try it again tomorrow.

I'm determined!

Take My Own Advice, Right???

Today, I gave some friendly advice to a younger friend of mine. She's in her early 20's, and just going through a lot of life changes that are causing anxiety, and sleepless nights because her brain is running at 5,000 miles per minute.

Been there, done that. Still doing it.

I suggested she try blogging as a release for her brain. Then I realized... I haven't blogged in, well -- forever.

That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I MISS blogging! So, I think I'll begin blogging again! Yay, me... I guess my writing voice is back. Plus, it's a creative outlet. Who can argue with that?

So while my 8 year old is out weeding the flower beds (HEY! He ASKED!!), I'm updating my blog. Feels like old days.

Looking at sunnier days!

Bad Parenting? Guilty!! Trusting God? Trying!!

Yes, I'm guilty of bad parenting. I allow my 7 year old son to almost fall asleep in our bed, then I walk him to his bedroom and tuck a drowsy little boy in bed for the night. It's either that, or I'm getting up every five minutes to reassure his irrational fears and answer a myriad of questions from a scared little boy, like: are the windows locked? are the doors locked? is the garage closed? is the house safe?

Recently, however, my husband decided that having him sleep sideways in between us was not only taking up OUR space, but he was getting too comfortable! He thought that if he "banished" my son to the end of the bed... where our feet are he'd eventually either get over his irrational fears and trust us when we say he's safe, or realize he's laying his head in between our feet. It's a stinky situation.

It's like that with us and letting go of OUR irrational fears. We hold on to them not realizing they are weighing us down, when God just wants us to release them into his hands and let go of the fear, trusting that He'll give us the strength and courage to get past our fears.

I was recently diagnosed with lupus, among a bunch of other things, and fear was the first thing that filled my heart and mind. The medications they prescribe are really toxic and can damage organs, but then again, so do your white blood cells! Its a loose loose situation that can be frightening. But the other day, as I was thinking about my sons fears, I realized I had my own fears I resisted letting go. I guess I had to get to the point where I realized my fears were weighing me down and putting me in a stinky situation!

What can I say... I'm an analyst by nature, and I google and analyze everything to the extreme, and when I see all the bad things that could happen, I freak out. I decided the other day that I just couldn't carry all that fear around. I had enough to worry about for today. I need to be more like my positive and optimistic husband and have FAITH!!! I can do that!

What a load off my back!!

Home is: Cooking with Leftovers

Today I'm linking up with my sweet friend Sandy at Reluctant Entertainer on her weekly Home Is... Today she's featuring cooking with leftovers. Head on over to get other yummy leftover tips.

We don't usually eat leftovers for dinner throughout the week, because my husband always packs leftovers for lunch.

But occasionally, I'm found with a bit of extra chicken, seafood (shrimp, scallops), pork or beef (skirt steak, roast or steak) that isn't enough to pack for a full lunch, or even more rarely, more meat than my husband can pack for lunch. Also, whenever I'm serving rice as a side dish, I will usually make extra rice so we can make this yummy, quick and cheap, cheap meal.

My husband came up with a wonderful way to use up the meat: "Throw It In the Pot Stir-Fried Rice." I know everyone knows how to make this, but sometimes I think it is an easily forgotten "go-to" leftover meal.

This isn't a "recipe" like you are used to seeing, with measurements ... it is mostly "toss this in" or "add a splash of that..." but there are some basics that are the back bone of this easy dish that you can toss together.

Here's the "food" part we usually put in it:

Rice (white or brown, or Jasmine)
Leftover meat
Egg -- scrambled
Finely diced carrots
Chopped onion (any kind: white, yellow, red, spring, etc)
Frozen peas
Any veggies in the refrigerator like mushrooms, broccoli, etc.
Leftover cooked vegetables (add these last)
Garlic, diced
Ginger (sometimes)

Sauces/Condiments we add:

Soy Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Hoisin Sauce
Sesame Oil
Fish Sauce
Oyster Sauce

We usually use two or three kinds of sauces. Always soy sauce, and then one or two of whatever else we have in the refrigerator. Don't go crazy with the sauce -- just a few tablespoons.

Basic Instructions:

Place a little oil in a large frying pan or wok. Cook or heat each ingredient separately, placing it all into the same bowl or plate when done.

In order to keep the rice from getting starchy or sticky (in a bad way), you need to cook it on a high heat. When you add the rice, let the rice sit without stirring it. When the rice is heated thoroughly, flip it over with a spatula so it doesn't break down and get sticky.

Add all your ingredients back into the large pan or wok and add your sauces, drizzling them over the rice and flipping the rice over until coated.

And that's one of the ways the Sunshine household eats leftovers!

Housekeeping...

I have been off the internet for what seems like an eternity... How could I possibly have kept my winter blog dress on for so long? It's SPRING! It's sunny! It's garden time!

Time for a new dress.

Happy Spring y'all!

Rocket?

Hunter: Mom, I love that song. It's my FAVORITE.
Me: What song?
Hunter: You know, the one I love! Because its so awesome.
Me: Ummmm... can you sing it for me?
Hunter: Yeah... "We are, We are, ROCKET!"
Me: You mean, "We will, We will, Rock You!"
Hunter: Yeah, "ROCKET!" Can I go to a dark place where people are yelling and sing it? And can I jump all over the place?"
Me: Ummmm... I need to talk to Dad about that.
Hunter: "We will, We will Rocket! We will, we will Rocket! We will, we will Rocket!"

Me: (in my head, of course) Ugh!

Resting in God's Care

These past few months have been stressful, to say the least. Despite the fact that I "KNOW" God is in control and knows where we're at, stress and depression still have a way of sneaking in and robbing me of joy, peace, and a sense of security.

I've been having constant headaches/migraines, pains in my neck and shoulders, dizziness... and depression. As in -- "not wanting to get out of bed" depression. I haven't wanted to do anything that required any thought whatsoever (writing my book, blogging, facebook, church stuff, family stuff, etc.).

Yesterday, I experienced an emotion that I haven't experienced since I got laid off in December. I broke down and cried. I was talking to a sweet friend, and the stress just exploded and bubbled out of me. Fortunately for me, I was on the phone with a friend I trust implicitly, and I'm so grateful that she had the presence of mind to pray for me and my family and to pray for PEACE... which I thought I had ... and maybe I did ... but like I said earlier, stress and depression have robbed me of that without my realizing it. God used my friend in a mighty way yesterday! I'm so thankful that God puts the right people in our paths when we need them for comfort and strength!

Today, I was reading Psalm 46, and I was reminded of some important things in a time of stress, trial and difficulties:

1. God is a safe place to hide, helping me when we need him. I'm telling you, I needed that.

2. It doesn't matter what's going on around me... I don't have to fear! He is BIGGER than everything going on around me, and he takes care of me!

3. I just need to stop struggling and fighting against life's current, and remember that HE is God. No one else is. He is the authority and power around me, and no matter what happens, he's completely in charge. HE IS, and I am WITH HIM.

Even though life may be full of confusion and stress, when we are in God's presence there is peace. There is rest.

What is it about boys and socks?

Does this picture (below) bother anyone else but me?

I mean... what is it about little boys and their socks? Why can't they keep them on? And... why don't they care if they are missing one? It's almost like they don't notice it! Actually, it's EXACTLY like they don't notice it. It's so annoying to a type-A personality... it really, REALLY is!

I guess my son doesn't have a type-A personality, because he could care less.

I, on the other hand, have a new nervous tick I have to deal with.

Being snowed in...

It has a lot of disadvantages... like one four year old in particular, who just loves the movie Up, and has watched it no less than 15 gazillion times. In a row. The entire week we've been cooped in this house because of the snow. Ugh. Actually, it is a pretty good movie with a good theme and ending. But after the gazillionth time, it just wore on us old foggie adults!

The other day, out of the blue, Hunter quoted a line from the movie Up... almost flawlessly. So I thought I'd quiz him...

Me: Hunter, what does Kevin say? (Kevin is the beautiful bird that "finds" them.)

Hunter: Kaw!

Me: Very good! What does Russel say? (the little boy)

Hunter: With my [Wilderness Explorer] GPS, we'll never be lost! (then Hunter imitates Russell throwing his hand sideways and the GPS flying out window) Oops!!!

Me: That was awesome, Hunter! What does Mr. Fredrickson say all the time? (grouchy old man that just lost his beloved wife, Ellie)

Hunter: All the time he says "Baah!"

Me: (laughing) What does Doug the dog say? (a dog who wears a translator collar)

Hunter: My master is very intelligent. My master is good and smart. I have just met you and I love you! SQUIRREL!!

Me: Wow! You remember all that in a scary kind of way! Does Kevin say anything else?

Hunter: Yes, KAW!

He's so much like his daddy. He'll remember at least one quote from any movie he's ever seen. I think we have a prodigy on our hands, because Hunter remembers WAY MORE than ONE line! And he's only four!

We're ever so proud!

KAW!

Just a little bit of snow!

So we've been just a little bit busy these past few days. Well, since last Friday, really. Can you say... "Snow, snow, snow"???????

This first picture was a "little" snow from last week... they were predicting one inch. We got seven. What a surprise.

The second picture was this past Friday and Saturday ... when we got 29 inches of snow. YES. TWENTY NINE. I measured it with a yard stick.

Then we helped all our neighbors, including digging out the sheriff's car. The last picture is today... in which we are under blizzard conditions and are set to accumulate another 20 inches of snow. It's been snowing since last night, but the wind is howling so hard that it was blowing snow in our front door through the cracks. Lovely.

So as we hunker down and stay warm, we are finding that Wii can be boring after 4 hours straight... there isn't much on TV during the day, and I'm getting pretty tired of the food we have on hand.

And you can bet we're not going out until the wind stops blowing and howling.

Why is it that children LOVE SNOW SO MUCH? I mean... I do love snow ... but I DONT like being wet and cold. Kids DO! Weird.

Can anyone say... Pina Colada???

The life and days of a temporary stay-at-home mom...

Here's a few things I'm enjoying about being a temporary stay-at-home mom...

1. Having the time to cook dinner without rushing like a crazy woman.
2. Cooking dinner for my family instead of my husband always cooking.
3. Having a "laundry DAY" -- yes indeed - today was laundry day and ALL my laundry is washed, dried, folded and put away (with the exception of the load in the dryer right now). That's a WONDERFUL feeling!
4. Saving money by not eating out for breakfast and lunch every day like I did at work.
5. Having a straightened family room every single day... just about.
6. Having CLEAN bathrooms!

And last but not least... feeling like a good mom. Being there for my boys, and loving each minute.

Earthquake in Haiti

If you're looking for a charity that you can trust and can make a much needed and welcomed donation to, would you consider: World Vision. They are reputable and honorable.

In previous years when I co-pastored the youth ministry at our church, we would lead the kids in World Vision's "Thirty Hour Famine" where we all fasted for thirty hours. It gave us all a small taste of a child's life (a very hungry life) in a third world country and to raise money for those less fortunate. It really left an impact on the kids lives.

World Vision is already in Haiti, and they also just sent 18 metric tons of lifesaving goods including food, clean water, blankets, and tents to Haiti -- the airplane just left at 5:30 this afternoon, and will arrive tomorrow morning in Haiti. They have more than 370 staff that were there when the earthquake hit, because they have been working with them for many years.

I can't believe that nearly 80 percent of the Haitian population lived on less than $2 per day before the earthquake! Can you imagine??? The article on their website is excellent and informative... click on over to World Vision for more information.

Please keep the victims of this earthquake, and the relief workers in your prayers!!!

Head Scratcher, Eh?

I have recently been on a bread-recipe hunt to find and perfect the best yeast roll dough recipe possible for the bread machine. Mmmm, I love me some good buttery yeast rolls like the ones you'd find in Bob Evans, or typical steak houses.

So, I came across THIS RECIPE. They look really good... but after I read through the recipe, I had two reactions... first I scratched my head. Then... I researched it. Then I laughed my head off, because I had never heard of such a thing!

So here's the term I read that caused such a reaction in me...

"4 cups white flour (more as needed, U.S. residents use bread flour, Canadian residents can use all-purpose flour"

Did you notice that?? "U.S. residents use bread flour, Canadian residents can use all-purpose flour" ... I thought they were kidding... haha ... real funny, right? I mean, really -- what happens if you aren't a legal resident of either Canada or US - does that mean you can't make this bread? Just kidding...

So anyway... I googled Canadian flour and American flour. Who thought there would be a difference... but... there is!!!

Mystery solved. How do you like that, eh?

P.S. -- I made THIS recipe today and they turned out like GOLF BALLS. ICK. Failure, failure, failure!!!

(Photo By: Breezytoo from Recipezaar)

Restful, relaxing... yeah.

So this past week, I've spent each day at home working on "projects."

So far, I have removed ALL the toys from my family room, moved them down to the rec room, and made a play area for Hunter. I organized, cleaned and made the play area super kid friendly, but left room on the shelving for growth.

Then, I cleaned the family room, dining room, kitchen, steam-mopped my floors, caught up on all my laundry, folded everything and put it away, cleaned half of my bedroom and VACUUMED (GLORY BE), pulled everything out of my husband's armoire, purged old shirts, re-folded them and organized the armoire, organized my linen closet, and last, but NOT least, I cleaned the master bathroom. The one everyone uses. The one that looked like a truck-stop's bathroom. Trust me. I know. It is now shining clean! Can you hear the angels singing???

Next on my list: Clean my living room, my closet, the rest of my bedroom, and the spare bedrooms, and my PANTRY (what a mess). That should take up the better part of next week!

The biggest project? Clean up the storage rooms. I am SO NOT looking forward to that and I'm saving it for LAST. Yes, indeed.

It's very nice to be home so that I can get my home in order, and take care of my boys.

So what did I do today? I slept until 10, lounged around, read a book, had lunch, took a nap, fixed dinner, planned next week's menu and grocery list, planned my daily schedule for when I'm caught up on all the hard core cleaning, read some more, relaxed, rested, and did nothing but enjoy my boys as they wrestle each other on the floor in front of a warm and cozy fire. That's exactly what I did.

And I don't feel one bit guilty either.

Amen, and amen.

Menu Plan Monday

Yes... I know it's Tuesday ... but better late than never, right???

My menu is short this week, since we're headed off to my parents in North Carolina on Thursday... unless we have freezing rain, of course.

Any way, here's the line up:

Monday: Risi e Bisi (Rice and Peas) with Ham and Parmesan Cheese Soup: This is a great recipe for using up your leftover ham -- you can even substitute the ham with turkey and it would taste just as delicious! It had a great flavor, but I would add more broth to it, because it really does get thick. Also, be sure if you try this out to use LOW SODIUM broth!

Tuesday: Perciatelli with Homemade Italian Sausage and Tomato Sauce with Peas and salad -- Perciatelli is a super thick spaghetti which is HOLLOW!!! I can't wait to eat it with a hearty Italian Sausage sauce.

Wednesday: Lasagna with Beschamel Sauce and Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and cream

I got a couple fun toys for Christmas... one of the was a Ronco Set it and Forget it Rotisserie (yep! I asked for it!). We made a roast in it on Sunday, and honeybunny... it was deeelish! Yum! Moist, juicy, tender. And the clean up was a super easy snap! I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys yummy food!

Hop on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for hundreds of other menu plans!

Merry Christmas!

To all my family, friends, and fellow bloggers...

— On this silent night, have you missed anything while you were sleeping?
—Have you made room for the King yet?

If you haven't, take a moment to do so now, as it is the most valuable, yet free gift you will EVER be given!

Merry CHRISTmas!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
John 3:16-18

We are Stupid, yet Redeemed People

And I say that with love.

And don't worry. I'm not referring to the Human race... I'm only referring to the Sunshine family, as you will soon see... but I beg you to remain patient as you weed through my story. I am, after all, a woman, and we all know women can multi-task, as you'll find evident in the following train(s) of thought.

You remember that wicked head cold I got on Sunday? Turns out it was a double ear infection and sinus infection. AGAIN. I just had one in October. I'm so lucky! Yay me! Added on top of that, Thursday was my last day at work. It was bitter sweet. And no, I did not sleep in on Friday. I was up early to take my son to his Christmas party at school. I went home for 45 minutes, went back to the school, helped the teacher, then the party was over and I bundled my son into the car to begin a busy day FULL of errands and such.

My busy day started with taking Hunter to the "$5 and Under" store, because he wanted to buy some Christmas presents with his OWN money. As I was unbuckling him from his car seat, he turned to me, all alarmed, and said: Mommy, where's my CASH? I need my CASH to pay for the presents. Ok. Who taught my son the word CASH, along with the proper meaning and how to use it in a sentence? I was very impressed. And totally hilarious!

Then I ran to K-mart because I didn't have any snow boots, and the weather man was calling for 5-8 inches of snow beginning at midnight on Friday, and not stopping until Saturday evening. Then I got lunch for us and ran to my house to pick up some gifts for an adopted family, because at this point, they had changed the forecast to 8-10 inches of snow and I wanted to make sure they got to the church safely. Then I ran to get my hair cut.

It looks so cute!

Then I ran to the church to finish painting the scenery for our children's Christmas pageant on Christmas eve. At this point, the weather forecast was upgraded to 10-12 inches of snow, and I really felt pressed to get as much done as I could on the set because I wouldn't be able to come back on Saturday. I am creative, and I can draw ... but I must admit... I am SOOOO not a scenery painter. Praise God for my sweet friend and prayer sister - Lovely Rita. She and her hubbypastorman live in the parsonage, so she came over to help. She IS a great scenery painter, and was help with painting critical details. She totally rocks the painting scene.

So at this point, it was six pm, and my sleepy four year old was starved. So I packed us up in the car and headed to Chick Fil A for some yummy nuggets and a chance for some four-year old play time. I was headed to the grocery store next, and my husband was going to go pick up my prescription, and then meet me there and pick up Hunter to take him home while I got groceries.

This is the critical turning point of the whole convoluted tale of my day.

I turned the radio on. The weather forecast was now ONE TO TWO FEET of snow.

Dude.

Come ON!

The forecast had gone from five inches to TWO FEET! In ONE DAY!

I called my husband at this point, totally freaking out because we HAD NO FOOD IN THE HOUSE.

NONE.

And it was going to SNOW TWO FEET.

And we NEEDED FOOD.

So I asked him to start shopping for our much needed food while Hunter and I finished dinner at Chick Fil A.

And this is where the story turns from critical ... to STUPID.

My husband called to tell me that there were NO carts left in the store, food supplies were low, and the lines were all the way down the grocery aisles. He said one woman waited an hour in line just to get to the check out.

He informed me that he would not go shopping tonight, but rather, he'd go first thing in the morning. I was stunned and argued that we NEED FOOD. He argued that he would get it IN THE MORNING.

Enter stupid: I agreed.

I was so tired, feeling so sick, and overwhelmed by my busy day that after arguing for a few minutes, I actually agreed to this game plan.

Stupid.

NO FOOD.

What was I thinking? But, my husband threw out the ol' TRUST card: "Trust me! It will be okay! I'll go early in the morning when no one is at the store." And I'm thinking, "yeah, including the manager and employees because they will be snowed in."

But he's always right. I decided to spin the Crazy Wheel and trust him.

And in the back of my head, I was already formulating how I was going to feed my family with those last three large cans of tuna in my pantry.

Enter Redemption: He was right.

He went to the store at 7 in the morning, with about 6 inches of unplowed snow on the ground, and foraged through the wilderness of slim pickings left by scavengering families with NO FOOD the previous night, and brought home LOTS OF FOOD for his family.

He's my hero.

He totally rocks the grocery scene.

The End.

Favorite Christmas Memory

Donnetta over at My Quiet Corner is hosting Favorite Christmas Memories this week. I totally forgot about it -- I tell you, this wicked head cold that I mentioned yesterday has me in a fog!

Her memory is quite precious, and is very similar to one of my favorite childhood Christmas memories... beside my father making such a big deal about checking for Rudolph's poop and even pretending to step in it while my sister and I sat huddled together and giggling at the top of the stairs!

Anyway, my favorite Christmas memory was when (I believe) I was in 6th grade, and my sister was in 4th grade. It may have been later, but I'm not sure.

My dad worked for AFL-CIO - he was a union representative. His union happened to go on strike before Christmas time, which meant we would have no presents. We were new Christians at the time, and while we knew the real meaning of Christmas, to two very young girls, it was still all about about presents.

My father explained that we would not have much under the tree this year because there just was no money. In fact, we would each only have an outfit that my mother sewed for each of us from fabric she had previously purchased.

Then, either Christmas eve or the day before, the union gave each union member a large box that contained items to cook a full Christmas meal, along with some gifts for the children. I remember getting little toys and this silly stuffed-animal thing that you put in your boots to keep them upright... and even though I didn't have boots, I would hang it from my closet door know. It was bright and cheerful, and I appreciated it so much. I held on to that until I got engaged and had to pack up all my things to move. I got rid of it only because it was badly torn and ragged, but it was a sentimental piece that brought back lovely memories of being a happy little girl on Christmas morning.

I honestly believe that no matter how young or old you are, God always shows his love through the generosity of others. It is a lesson I never ever forgot, and is one reason why I always like to pick an angel tree tag or other such opportunity to give to a less fortunate child at Christmas time.

Having lost my job in November, and facing so many uncertainties, we did not participate with the angel tree giving this year, and I tell you... my Christmas season has been markedly different. I feel like it is a sacrifice I should have made anyway, and I feel like I've missed out on a blessing, so I will be helping give a few gifts for children in a family our church is sponsoring.

Hopefully, those children will be touched also, and will remember their gifts for years to come as a gift from someone who loved them with the love of Jesus.