Friday's Feast on Sunday

Appetizer: How are you today? Reflective and appreciative after hearing a wonderful sermon this morning from 1 John 2:1-6. The appreciative is two fold. . . praising God that I truly know Christ and have a relationship with Him. The second is for my neighbor who has weed wacked around my mobile home and is now pressure washing it as well.

Soup: Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis. Not much of a television watcher. I generally watch CSI on Thursday night and college football on Saturday when it's on.

Salad: What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced? Hurricane Wilma hands down.

Main Course: If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be? England

Dessert: What do you usually wear to sleep? Pajamas. That was a weird question.

Have We Met?

I just began reading a new book and as I read the first six pages I couldn't help but wonder if Stasi Eldredge has met me somewhere. Seriously, I know we have never had the privilege to meet. However, this section I just finished reading led me to believe we have.

UNSEEN, UNSOUGHT, AND UNCERTAIN

I know I am not alone in this nagging sense of failing to measure up, a feeling of not being good enough as a woman. Every woman I've met feels it - something deeper than just the sense of failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not old enough, and, I am too much at the same time. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not kind enough, not gracious enough, not disciplined enough. But too emotional, too needy, too sensitive, too strong, too opinionated, too messy. The result is Shame, the unviersal companion of women. It haunts us, nipping at our heels, feeding on our deepest fear that we will end up abandoned and alone.

After all, if we were better women - whatever that means - life wouldn't be so hard. Right? We wouldn't have so many struggles; there would be less sorrow in our hearts. Why is it so hard to create meaningful friendships and sustain them? Why do our days seem so unimportant, filled not with romance and adventure but with duties and demands? We feel unseen, even by those who are closet to us. We feel unsought - that no one has the passion or the courage to pursue us, to get past our messiness to find the woman deep inside. And we feel uncertain - uncertain what it even means to be a woman; uncertain what it truly means to be feminine; uncertain if we are or ever will be.

Aware of our deep failings, we pour contempt on our own hearts for wanting more. Oh, we long for intimacy and for adventure; we long to be the Beauty of some great story. But the desires set deep in our hearts seem like a luxury, granted only to those women who get their acts together. The message to the rest of us - whether from a driven culture or a driven church - is try harder.

Does this sound like how any of you ladies have felt in the past? I'd love to hear from you.

Chicken Noodle Soup & Lap Quilt

Tonight after work I came home to try out a new recipe. Tonight was the perfect night since David is at school and Angela is at Evangel Assembly Youth group. Both of them were eating away from home and this gave me the opportunity to prepare the new recipe without being distracted and also have a meal prepared in advance for tomorrow night. I knew by looking at the recipe that David would not want to try it, so I made him chicken and rice to have tomorrow night.

The recipe was very simple and it turned out well. I was pleased when I tried some tonight and think Angela will like it as well. Here's the recipe in case someone wants to try it for themselves.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

2 cups uncooked yolk-free wide noodles

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, saute the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the flour, oregano, thyme and poultry seasoning until blended; saute 1 minute longer. Gradually add broth, potatoes and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Stir in the chicken and noodles; simmer for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Reduce heat. Stir in the milk; heat through (do not boil). Yield: 8 servings.

As I was cooking the soup, I thought of a single friend of mine from church and decided that if she was at home I wanted to take her a bowl for her dinner. After calling to make sure she was home and if it was a good time to drop by with a bowl soup, I served her up a bowl of the soup and dropped it off. We chatted for just a few minutes and before I left she told me she had something for me. She is an excellent seamstress and loves using the talent God has given her to make things for others. Before leaving she gave me a beautiful handmade lap quilt with the instructions to go home, put my feet up and wrap up. I love it! I am sitting on the couch as I type this wrapped in the quilt. God is so good! I went tonight to minister to a friend and yet I was the one that walked away with the blessing. I treasure this ladies heart for God and for others that serves daily.

For some unknown reason I can't blogger to load pictures so I made a slide show in Bubbleshare of the soup and lap quilt.

X-Ray Results

After twenty eight hours I finally heard back from the doctor concerning the x-ray. The report showed that my foot is sprained. I am supposed to stay off of it as much as possible, evaluate it, and ice it. If it is still giving me problems next week I am supposed to call and he will do a MRI.

My patience had worn thin by the time I finally got an answer. But at least now I have my answer.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: What is your favorite type of art? Music it is hands down.

Soup: When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it? This past Tuesday. A friend from church that lives in north Georgia was in town and we had lunch together. She refused to let me pay for my meal.

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you? I'm pretty emotional. I cry when reading greeting cards unless I go to the humor section. I cry at movies, I have a temper (although I've learned to control it more as I get older), and I laugh easily. I'm just one big bag of emotions.

Main Course: Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails? An hour, but not at once. I don't get many emails as I once did.

Dessert: To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat? It stays at 73 unless David lowers it when I'm gone or asleep.

Foot Injury

Yesterday morning I injured my foot at the office. I always sit at the computer with one leg under my rear end and this is the way I was sitting yesterday prior to getting up from my desk. When I got up, my leg buckled and I turned my left foot completely over on it's side. When I realized that I was falling I grabbed the desk but the glass on the top started sliding so I turned loose of the desk and landed on top of my foot. I was thankful that no one was standing in my office at the time of the accident because I know I looked foolish.

After falling my foot began to swell and ache. Pastor Brian tried to get me to go to the doctor to have it x-rayed, but I put it off until today. This morning I went to the doctor and he ordered a x-ray after examining my foot, my ears, eyes, nose and throat. I still don't understand why he felt it was necessary to do a complete examination since I went in strictly to get an order for x-rays, but I'm satisfied that he wanted to be thorough. On top of having me go for x-ray's I have to go back tomorrow for a complete blood work up because I haven't had one done in over a year. I still haven't heard what the x-ray showed but am hoping that when I go for the blood work in the morning he will have the results.

The kids have been awesome waiting on me and helping out around the house. They have tried to get me to use the crutches but I am afraid I'll injure more than my foot if I use them. I tried them last night at church and I was very uncomfortable on them. I'll just be relieved to have my foot return to normal or at least know if it's fractured or sprained.

Fourteen and Still Amazing

Today is Angela's 14th birthday. My how time has flown, it seems like yesterday you were so tiny and needed me for everything. My heart is overflowing with love and joy that you have brought into my life. As I think back on the last fourteen years I feel so blessed to be the one that God picked to be your mother. You are a beautiful young lady with a heart for everyone you meet. You are always encouraging others, sharing the material possessions that you have, and lending a helping hand. You speak your mind and love to make others smile. I pray that as you continue to grow into the woman God desires you to be, you will seek after God's heart and stand firm in his truths. Happy Birthday!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: When was the last time you visited a hospital? When Angela had her ACL surgery in July.

Soup: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you? I'm pretty average so I'll go with a five.

Salad : Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.) Leg - Let's eat granola.

Main Course: If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it? A club for parents to be encouraged to teach their children the importance of being committed to Christ and his church. I have no clue what I would name it.

Dessert : What color is the carpet/flooring in your home? The carpet is a light green and the tile is white.

Dinner with Girlfriends

Two of Angela's friends (Jena & Cheyenne) threw planned a dinner at Sonny's with her friends in honor of her 14th birthday tomorrow, since everyone will be at the Tiger game tomorrow night. I wasn't allowed to eat with them, but I stayed in the main dining area and enjoyed dinner with Kathy while they partied. Cheyenne and Jena brought a Hello Kitty cake for all them to enjoy for dessert. In all there were 13 girls, so you can imagine the laughter coming from the back room. It was sweet of the girls to come out on a school night to be with her. She enjoyed it and I managed not to embarrass her too much. Only when the Sonny's crew sang the "Happy Birthday" song to her. I couldn't resist getting in the line with them as they sang and clapped.

Here are some snapshots from the night.
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Changes

Every now and then change is good. So today, I made some changes to my blog. I love autumn and wanted something to reflect that. I love the new header since I can change it to fit with the different seasons. Let me know what you think.

Our Weekend

Angela and I spent the weekend at home while David was in Orlando at Rock the Universe. He and Tommy left Friday at 1:30 p.m. for a weekend at Universal Studios for a weekend of Christian rock. Angela and I would have went, however, we it was time to purchase tickets we weren't sure if she would be able to walk around Universal all night.

On Friday night we drove to LaBelle for the Tiger football game. Sadly the Tigers lost the game in a shut out (28-0). We enjoyed it in spite of the loss. Next week we will be traveling to Belle Glade as they take on the Glades Day Gators.

On Saturday I woke up early to meet a group of ladies from church to clean the staff house in preparation of our new associate pastor and family moving in the week of September 17. Although we were cleaning it was a wonderful time with this group of ladies. I tried to convince them that they could come to my house afterwards to clean it, but they just wouldn't go for it. Later in the evening I met up with Kathy & Skip at Beef O'Brady's for dinner and watched the 2nd half of the FSU game and the 2nd half of the Georgia game. At least the weekend wasn't a total loss for the teams I like. Florida State won, but I was hoping Georgia would win against South Carolina. Maybe next year.

Today we went to church and we were back in our Sanctuary for the first time since June. George and Grace Thall graciously opened their home to us for lunch after church. The meal was delicious and the fellowship sweet. Then it was off to the monthly meetings at church. Grace and I had the opportunity to share ideas about small groups, women's Bible studies, and other ways to get together with the women of our church. Now to figure out how to implement some of the ideas we talked about. It was refreshing to hear another woman share her desire to see the women of our church come together for time spent in God's Word.

Appetizer: Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel? Frustrated.

Soup: What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn? Football!

Salad: Have you ever had any bad experiences online? Just not being able to get online.

Main Course: Name three things that make you happy daily. My children, my job, and my salvation.

Dessert:What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without? A broom.

The Newest Member of Our Church Family

We are blessed to have Luke as an addition to our church family. We praise God that we have the opportunity to love, encourage, and pray for this little one as he grows up.



Luke Andrew Hamrick is doing well. Mom and Luke will be coming home tomorrow morning. I can't wait to hold him.

Big brother, Nathan, Dad, and Luke.

I wanted to post a picture of Katherine with Luke and Nathan, however that will have to wait. I'm not sure how Katherine would feel about a picture of her in a hospital gown appearing on my blog. So here's one of Katherine and Nathan at a Tiger Football game.

College Football

So this weekend was the kickoff for college football. No, I didn't sit in front of the television all weekend watching the games. In fact the only game I watched was the Florida State - Clemson game while babysitting our pastor's son, Nathan. Around 9:30 p.m. Nathan was ready for bed but he enjoyed the first hour and half of the game with me. He was so cute talking about the game. He has been to the high school games and he kept asking where the blue uniforms were. The Noles didn't win the game however it was great to see them try to come back in the 2nd half of the game. It's gonna to be a tough season, but as always I'll be there cheering them on win or lose. But at least one of the teams I like won this weekend. Go Dogs!

I'm sure going to enjoy watching the games with David this year!

Luke Andrew Hamrick

Congratulations to Brian, Katherine and Nathan Hamrick on the birth of their son and brother, Luke Andrew Hamrick. Luke was born this morning weighing in at 8 lbs 8 oz. and measuring 21 inches long.

I will try to post pictures of Luke as soon as his daddy email's them to me.

What We Have Been Up To

We have been busy getting back into the routine of school, homework and such for the past two weeks. It's been a couple of weeks since I took the time to post anything regarding our lives, so I thought it would be nice to give an update of what has happened in our lives in the past few weeks.

Angela started school on August 19. She has all male teachers except for two (reading and typing). She actually likes having men as teachers, although at first she wasn't sure how she would like it.

Her latest doctor's appointment for her 1 month check up after the ACL surgery went really well on Friday. Dr. Shannon released her from crutches and the wheel chair use at school. He increased her therapy to include working with weights and told her to begin to increase her activity but not to be running just yet. He was impressed with her progress thus far. He told us around the 12 week point we should notice that the fluid (swelling) on the knee will decrease and return to normal. He also advised us that it's typical for patients to become over confident around the 12 week point and that she needs to beware that it is still healing and not overdo it.

We have also hired an associate pastor, Joshua and his wife, Cari, and son, Benjamin, and our church is trying to get the house ready for them to move into in mid September. I am in charge of getting a group of ladies to clean on next Saturday.

Football season started Friday night for our high school. We went to the game on Friday night to watch the Tigers take on American Heritage Plantation. Although we lost 14-3 we enjoyed the game. The Tigers have a young team this year however they have potential. Over twenty of the players graduated in May so this will be a building season. Win or lose we will be there to support the Tigers. Also with the high school football season starting Clewiston Middle School has a football team and we went to watch them play on Thursday night of this week. They won their game 50 - 14. I love fall with high school football on Friday night and college football on Saturday's. Florida State will play Clemson on Monday. Go Noles!

Today we drove to the east coast to look for David a new car. We spent 7 hours driving from one used car dealership to another. I was amazed at how well David handled talking to the salesman and asking questions about the vehicles. He even talked two of the salesmen down to the price he was willing to pay. He's a man that knows what he wants and will walk away before letting someone convince him otherwise. When all was said and done today he drove away in a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer ES for the price he said he was willing to pay when we left home. Below is a few pictures of his new car.