Happy Memorial Day.........

Dear Heavenly Father,
As we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we think of how they have followed in the footsteps of your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please hold our service men and women in your strong arms. Cover them with your sheltering grace and presence as they stand in the gap for our protection.
We also remember the families of our troops, and ask for your unique blessings to fill their homes and your peace, provision and strength to fill their lives.
May the members of our armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and may they trust in the Lord's mighty power to accomplish each task. Let our military brothers and sisters feel our love and support.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

hugs...love... & blessings

.::Tam::.

9th Place...........

Our School DI (Destination Imagination) Team took 9th Place in Globals!
WOO HOO..........Way to go girls! We're so proud of you!!! Their structure held 615 lbs. They scored 100% on their Instant Challenge.

Patrick.....Michael and David decorated Patricks friend K's house to Welcome them home and Congratulate them for a job very well done!
Streamers..... Balloons..............

a Welcome sign.

and left in a cooler right in front of their door............. these muffins made by Patrick! One batch of Blueberry and one batch of chocolate chip.

Go Conestoga DI Team!!!!

hugs... love... & blessings

.::Tam::.

Freebie Friday.........

Homemade Rhubarb Pie................... by Patrick


Yep.......... Patrick made this very YUMMY pie. He and David went out to the Rhubarb patch in the yard and picked just enough for a pie.
I cleaned the Rhubarb and Patrick did the rest.

Recipe.............

1 - double crust Pillsbury Pie crust
5 - cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar
5-6 tablespoons flour
4-5 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 450*
Mix sugar and flour together.
Roll out bottom pie crust into pie plate. Sprinkle 1/4 of the sugar/flour mixture into bottom of pie .... place chopped rhubarb in pie.. sprinkle rest of sugar/flour mixture on top of rhubarb... dot rhubarb with butter. Place top pie crust over top... securing the edges and cutting of excess crust around the edges. cut a few slits in the top crust for venting. Place in oven on low rack.
Bake for 15min. Reduce temp to 350* continue cooking for 40-45min.

Let cool.......... enjoy warm or cold!




hugs...love & blessings
.::Tam::.

Psalm 112........

1 Praise the LORD!

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

Who delights greatly in His commandments.

2 His descendants will be mighty on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches will be in his house,

And his righteousness endures forever.

4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;

He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

5 A good man deals graciously and lends;

He will guide his affairs with discretion.

6 Surely he will never be shaken;

The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.

7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings;

His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

8 His heart is established;

He will not be afraid,

Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

9 He has dispersed abroad,

He has given to the poor;

His righteousness endures forever;

His horn will be exalted with honor.

10 The wicked will see it and be grieved;

He will gnash his teeth and melt away;

The desire of the wicked shall perish.

hugs...love... & blessings
.::Tam::.

A Bunch of Fun stuff..............

Lets start with this neat picture of the word CUBS cut in the grass at one of our local Apple Orchard stores. On the way to the store last week... I had to stop and snap a pic of this... thought it was fun!

And here we have a picture of our turtle 'Daytona' He sure has grown since Christmas!

This is just too neat! I went to a hardware store in the next town over last week for a few things and the guy running the store was showing off this cool gift he just got from his brother. Its a Pencil Sharpener. You can see a pencil sticking out of the top... you crank a handle and this little blade slips by and slices off a piece of wood as the pencil is turned to have the next slice taken off.... it reminds me of whittling.

YEP...............David is at it again. My little rescue hero is nursing this little birdie "Hope" to be a strong adult and set it free. So far... So good............ he had fed it a few times today! And boy is this little peeper noisy! heheheheee

Now here we have a rather cool picture! This is Abe Wagner. He is an American professional mixed martial artist training out of Mid-American Martial Arts in Omaha, Nebraska.

He stands 6 ft. 4 in. tall and fights in the heavyweight division at approximately 265 lbs.

Patrick is 6ft tall and is the pitcher of his baseball team weighing in at a whopping 150lbs. :)

Abe was at a Baseball game this weekend watching a nephew who played on the team we were playing against. Ken noticed him and took Patrick over to meet him after the game. Ken...Patrick and Christopher (one of my older boys) actually got to watch him fight a few months ago. This was pretty exciting for Patrick to meet him in person! I think it was pretty awesome of Abe to take a few minutes to talk to Patrick and snap a couple pictures with him.

Well.. there you have it.............. my handful of fun photos for today!

have a wonderful day! We're off to a ball game of Patricks tonight!

hugs ... love... & blessings

.::Tam::.

May "Daisy May" Hook Case.............

is this months RAOK. It's on the move! Hope the one who receives this is happy with it!

Daisy May Hook Case

hugs...love.. & blessings

.::Tam::.

Does God Heal today?

I've heard people say "It's God's will" or "I'll just leave it up to God" when faced with a serious illness or tragedy. Don't fall into that trap. God wants us to pray to him for help. In Luke 18:1 Jesus told his disciples that they "should always pray and not give up." and then Jesus asked "...will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?" Pray to God from your heart for healing. Don't stop. Don't give up. God wants us to ask him for help. He loves us.

Over 20 percent of the Gospel is about the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and heal. He sent them to carry on his work. Wouldn't Jesus want his followers to pray for healing today?

The Bible actually gives us some directions on how to pray for healing. For example, in James 5:14-15 we are told: "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." and in James 5:16 we are asked to "confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." and then told that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." In Mark 11:23-25 Jesus further instructs to forgive when we pray "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25) And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Only someone facing or sharing a serious sickness, pain or tragedy knows how hard it is. They know how hard it is to cope with the fear and uncertainty. They know how absurd it sounds when someone first tells them to "keep a positive attitude". They know how terrifying it is when the doubt comes. They know how hard it is to throw a mountain into the sea. But remember what Jesus told us in Matthew 17:19-20 when he said "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Faith as small as a mustard seed sounds a little like hope to me, and that's a good start.




hugs... love... & blessings
.::Tam::.

Last Day of School.................

Woo Hoo................... Home for the Summer!!!

David and Michael had a fun last day of school having a pajama day. Patrick enjoyed a day of watching movies and just hangin' with his friends.
David got to bring his class pet - Guinea home for the summer. Its going to be so fun having him around! He's so darn cute!

*Patrick... our jealous cat (Charlie) David holding Guinea and Michael *

hugs...love... blessings............ and summer time fun
.::Tam::.

Big Sisters are great............

David had a field trip to the Nebraska State Capital - the University of Nebraska Football Stadium and the Morrell Hall Museum.
My daughter - Jamie went with David............ he was so excited and they had a GREAT time!
I packed them some yummy lunches ... which they were happy when lunch time came... heheheeh they were hungry!
Jamie took these and many other pictures so we would have our collection of memories.

This is David standing in front of the Nebraska "N" in the tunnel the football players run to enter the field.
Silly David in a gift shop trying on a Corn Cap................ What a little sweet pea... um... kernel.

Mural of Nebraska Football Players

David enjoying his day!!!
Case of football trophies................ arent they awesome?!

David & Jamie ........... What a great day! Big Sisters are Great!




hugs..... love... & blessings

.::Tam::.

Get back up again......

You turned away when I looked you in the eye, And hesitated when I asked if you were alright, Seems like you're fighting for your life, But why? oh why?

Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare, You saw it comin' but it hit you outta no where, And theres always scars When you fall that far

We lose our way, We get back up again It's never too late to get back up again, One day you gonna shine again, You may be knocked down, But not out forever, Lose our way,
We get back up again, So get up, get up, You gonna shine again, Never too late to get back up again, You may be knocked down, But not out forever

You rolled out at the dawning of the day Heart racin' as you made you little get away, It feels like you've been runnin' all your life But, why? Oh why?

So you've pulled away from the love that wou'd've been there, You start believin' that your situation's unfair

But there's always scars, When you fall that far

We lose our way, We get back up again Never too late to get back up again, One day, you gonna shine again, You may be knocked down but not out forever, Lose our way, we get back up again,
So get up, get up You gonna shine again It's never too late, to get back up again You may be knocked down, but not out forever, May be knocked down, but not out forever!

This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken, This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin', out to the broken This is love callin'.
This is love callin', love callin', I am so broken
This is love callin' love callin

Lose our way, [way way way ay ay ay] We get back up, [get back up again] It's never too late [late late late ate ate ate] You may be knocked down but not out forever!

Lose our way, We get back up again, So get up get up You gonna shine again Never too late to get back up again You may be knocked down, But not out forever,

This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [get back up again] To the broken
This is love [never too late] callin' [may be knocked down but not out forever]
This is love [lose our way] callin' love callin' [we get back up again]
To the broken This is love [never too late] callin' [may be knocked down but not out forever]

This is love callin' love callin' Out to the broken, This is love callin'....

by: TobyMac

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Awesome song!!!
hugs... love... & blessings
.::Tam::.

Cute little Show & Share.........

My Chicken Hotpad & dishcloth.
I'm putting together a box for a Round Robin. We will be exchanging Hotpads and matching dishcloths. This is one of my sets so far!


hugs...love... & blessings
.::Tam::.

Great end ...............

to a fun Track season! Great Job Patrick!!!! I'm very proud of you!!!

These are last of the many ribbons Patrick earned this Track Season. He did a Great job.

hugs... love... & Blessings

.::Tam::.

Cell Phone vs The Bible...

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don ' t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think, where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

hugs.....love.... & blessings

.::Tam::.

A good day for Baking Cookies.......

YUM............ homemade Chocolate Chip/Walnut Cookies!
I sure hope the family eats these................. because if they dont... I will be forced to eat them all myself. :)

Ever have one of those days when you are just in the baking mood? Well... thats why the cookies. Its cool outside and homemade cookies just seemed like a good idea!
I had made some for after a Concert of Patricks and they were so good... had to make more!

Its funny how the weather will cause you to feel like cooking or baking a certain food. I like to make homemade soups... or chili on cool days... maybe the Winter or just a rainy Spring day.

Okay... all this talk about food has me hungry.... and its lunch time.
I'm outta here!
have a GREAT Day all................
bake some cookies........ :)


hugs... love.... & blessings
.::Tam::.

The Window through which we look........

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.....

The next morning while they were eating breakfast,
The young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
That laundry is not very clean,' she said.
She doesn't know how to wash correctly? Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.'
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: 'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?'
The husband said,'I got up early this morning and Cleaned our windows.'

And so it is with life.
What we see when watching others Depends on the window through which we look.






Thank you Aunt Joycie for a wonderful reminder email!
Hugs... Love... & Blessings
.::Tam::.




When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better

Happy Mother's Day...........

Blessed be all mothers
Who have come into our lives
Whose kindness, care and loving
Remain with us to guide.

Your inspiration in us
Made us strive in every way
Especially to remember
Helping others makes our day.

Mothers, this little tribute
Flows directly from my heart
You are so loved and cherished
Invaluable, one and all, you are.



hugs... love... & blessings
.::Tam::.

Freebie Friday..........

Knitted Round Coaster

Materials: Left over worsted weight cotton yarn

Size 6 (US) Knitting needles.

Coaster size is about 5 inches in diameter.

Directions:

Cast on 8 stitches.

Row 1: (wrong side) Knit

Row 2: K2, yo, K2, turn (4 unworked stitches on left needle)

Row 3: K5

Row 4: K2, yo, K5, turn (2 unworked stitches)

Row 5: K8

Row 6: Bind off 2 stitches, K7 (all stitches worked)

Repeat rows 1-6 (16) times, for a total of 17 wedges. Do not bind off.

Cut yarn, leaving a 10-12" tail for sewing. Sew the "live" stitches on the knitting needle to the cast-on stitches of the first row. Using yarn needle, draw a running thread through the stitches of the inside circle to tighten up the center circle

Enjoy!!!!

hugs...love... & blessings

.::Tam::.

Great Track Meet......

For Patrick and his team!
One more track meet and the season will be over! I have to say as much as I have enjoyed his track season... it will be nice to have it end... only because baseball season has started and I'm POOPED from all the running around.... to practices... games... meets... *whew*
Although... baseball season with 3 boys and 4 teams.............. is going to be exhausting in itself.... :)
The life of a mom.......................... wouldnt trade it for anything!

hugs... love... &blessings

.::Tam::.

Happy 14th Birthday ...........

to my sweet baby boy! Yeah... I know... he's 6ft tall... 14yrs old and not a baby.........but he will always be MY baby!

Fun with some friends at Chuck E Cheese!!! :)

hugs... love... & blessings,

.::Tam::.