Worship

Last night at youth group one of our youth workers spoke and he did a bang up job. He spoke about Jesus as our king what we give our worship to. We worship things all day long...our work, friends, family, FOOD, TV, shopping, school, etc...etc...etc.... Then we wonder when we go to worship God that there is nothing left.

We wonder why.

We have already given our worship to other things. Oh Lord forgive us.

God has made us to worship. We will worship something today.

Please God let it be You and You alone.

John 4:23
"But and hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth:for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers."

I am not sure what this looks like exactly, but I want to be one of those true worshipers. Don't you?

Amen and amen.

Grace and Peace,
Dana

HE is risen...Indeed!

So I know that I said I would blog about Las Vegas, but I have slept since then. We went, we saw, we ate...it was nice to get away, but not my favorite place. Enough said. Hubby has all the pictures held hostage on his computer :( so maybe someday I will play show and tell.

Easter was a great day. Hubby and boy #2 got up at 5:45 to go down town to Ecclecia to a sunrise service and then to breakfast. Good bonding time and wish I could have gone but the other kids would have looked down on us leaving them alone. We all got to church on time, except son #1 who is always late to church...but he still goes, so there is the blessing in that one. No excuses for being late with your appointment with God though! Our pastor did an outstanding job giving a very good sermon and the music was incredible. We lifted our Lords name high! Fantastic!

I didn't get up to prep lunch, so we didn't eat until almost 2! Blessing #2, you eat late enough and then the fam isn't hungry till the next morning! After lunch, we hunted eggs, just the younger two, then we dove into a vat of Not yo' mamas banana pudding. This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen, and ladies, it is stinkin good. I mean, it is hurt yourself good. It is slap yo mama good. Here is the recipe, but please, use with caution....


2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.


Our good friends and neighbors the Jones' came over, then the men took all the kids plus some extra neighbor kids behind our neighborhood for a bike ride, and I used that time to call my weight watcher friends and grip about the 7 lbs I have gained eating the pudding. I have to get back on this program folks, or else...pray people!

So, the party is over, spring break is a wrap and it is back to normal. The homework alone this afternoon should send me right back to the pudding!

Grace and Peace!
Dana

Spanx part deux

I am in Vegas now relaxing in my hotel and hubby is facing yet another morning at the convention. We are having a good time, saw" MAMA MIA!" last night (sat on the FRONT ROW! very cool) and have eaten a lot of great food. I don't care too much for the casinos though, depressing if you ask me! We also witnessed a prostitute getting a date last night. I could have wept right there, but I was too mad. Oh Lord Jesus...

This post was supposed to be about spanx...sorry I digress...

Girls! Go get you some! I was afraid that I would be uncomfortable (I wasn't) or that it would show (it didn't). It is THE confidence builder for us more curvy types. Especially if you have had more than 2 kids! (I have 4).

And the best thing about it....my husband couldn't take his eyes off of me!

Run! Run now and get you some!

More Vegas stories to follow.....

SPANX

I am getting ready for a trip with my hubby to Las Vegas and I went shopping to get a few new things at Macy's. (Gift card had to be used!) I have never seen so many polka dots in my life.

I was having a hard time finding things that would look good on a 40 something and I kept hoping that Tim Gunn would jump out and say "STOP! No, no, no, my gag reflex is kicking in." He didn't show. But I finally found a few things and then I was off to find the dreaded "shapewear".

I have never worn shapewear but have evidently always needed it because when I tried it on I think I went down 1 size...I mean I looked great in my jeans.

But let me go back to the part about trying it on.

The sales lady directed me to the best ones and they have this rubber ribbing stuff on the edge to keep them in place so they don't ride up...

OK.

So as I am pulling them up, the said rubber ribbing stuck to my thighs and just about pulled off my skin.

This can't be good.

After I wiped my tears, I figured out that you should fold over the rubber ribbing before pulling up the shapewear so as not to remove large portions of your skin.

There should be directions on those things.

Anyway, I had a thought, how am I going to get dressed in the shapewear without my husband being the wiser. I want him to think I look this great all the time, or that the lighting in LV is fabulous or something.

Putting on shapewear in not pretty people, but the result is worth it.

I guess I will have to lock myself in the bath room and stick a sock in my mouth so he can't hear my groans!

Wish me luck!

Western Day

So Ethan wakes up to remind me that it is Western Day at school. He is all boy and all 8 and likes things to be in order, so he reminds me constantly about everything. He then proceeds to tell me that he will be wearing his basketball clothes to western day.

YEE HAW.

Not a problem.

Except that his Grandfather owns a boot company and made Ethan a pair of boots to wear to Western Day AND he loves to see pictures of his grandchildren in their boots on Western Day! So, the battle begins...

I don't usually fight him too much about clothing, (except when he doesn't want to wear a coat when it is 30 degrees) but come on! He has a great pearl snap shirt, boots and jeans! What's the problem? He is so afraid that someone will make fun of him in his great ostrich boots. I tell you what, this is too much. A second grader not wanting to wear great boots on western day. All because some kid probably told him that boots aren't cool.

Hello, we live in Texas!

So I did what any self-respecting Mom would do and I used the Grandfather card and got him to wear his boots. We rode to school on our horse (kidding) and I wore my boots too and so did Hubby. We looked fabulous and very Texas and our pictures look great.
We two-stepped with our son and watched him do some kind-of westerny dances to some corny western songs.

Ethan had fun, and there were no tears over boots.

He changed into his tennis shoes after the dance.

Sigh.

Taco Stand

Can I tell you how much I love to cook? Now, there was a time in my 30's that I couldn't stand to cook. But now, I love going to HEB (here everything's better) and finding all the cool food there is in the world and then cookin' it up for the fam. They do enjoy/appreciate it which makes it oh so much easier for me. Anyway, I had the fabulous idea to whip up some food for Brendan to take to Austin. He is playing a show this weekend with his band Zap Em Dead Bartholomew...(don't ask)... and they don't eat well when they are together. I was feeling for them, so I started to cook. 40 breakfast tacos later, I packed everything up and sent it with him. Boy, did they enjoy it! But, my other kids looked at me like sad, starving children because I didn't make enough for them. So its back to the kitchen folks, more breakfast tacos...I think I'll open a taco stand in my driveway. :)

Hamburger Meat

Hamburger Meat? Meaning...how I feel after a weekend youth retreat! Boy, we had fun! But, I feel very 40 after one because of lack of sleep and eating like a 15 year old. I ate so many jelly beans that my tummy feels like a "Jelly belly!" I drank so much coffee that my skin smells like columbian supremo. Not attractive! This was my first retreat with this group of girls. They are the new freshmen and they are great! Very eager to listen, learn, and they get along pretty well. Amazing! Now, there are problems of course but that comes with the package. We did a study on knowing without a doubt, the fact that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. We ended on Sunday at an actual court room with real lawyers and a judge. Scary, exciting and really cool. The students were called to defend the Christian faith, and they did great. One of my girls was called and she really worked it! Go Sarah! Her parents have done an excellent job with her, teaching her God's word and God has given her a gift of speaking. What a combo. Can't wait to see what God will do with this group and what he will teach me through it all. I got a text from one of my girls that just graduated last year. I had her for all 4 years of high school and she said "have fun this weekend with your new girls!" So sweet, but she about killed me with that one. I miss those girls so much but it is time to move on with another group. Wish me a nap today, I need it!