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~Here he is completely at ease

~Obviously not afraid of anything!

~I was doing the laundry and found him here :)

Here are a few pictures I captured when I happened to find our cat laying lazily about. He has such a funny personality. Benjamin and I are constantly laughing at something he is up to! He doesn't know what fear is. He loves dogs and people, especially when they take their shoes off at our door. He love to look and play with their laces :) So here are a few pictures of him, I am sure there will be more. I will post some time when he is lounging in the shower. That is his favorite spot!

Wilton 1

~I thought this cake was really cool :)

One week from today I start my Wilton class! I am so excited about it! My sister Marie had started a class about a month ago and has loved every minuet of it. I have had to wait a while to start mine, because of class scheduling. But it is almost here and Marie and I can't wait. When we were little girls our mom had us take a basic class on cake decorating and I think it left us with an itch! I will be sure to post pictures of my adventures! And hopefully they will be worth posting~

Fry Bread and Wreath Making

Today I went over to my sister Himilce's. She had found all of this great Christmas decoration stuff for 90 % off. She had told me about it after she had bought a lot and had made a really pretty Christmas wreath. So today we went back to the store and had so much fun picking out what I wanted and then we went back to her place, had lunch and watched a movie while we played and worked at our wreaths. She helped me with all of it, including the bow, which was quite difficult for me. I think I can muster up the courage to make another one now that she showed me so well. Thanks Himilce! It was such a nice day!!! :)

The other day our friends from Colorado, who has just moved here recently, brought us a deep frier that they were getting rid of. I have never cooked with one and I have never fried anything. We have had such a ball make french fries, potato chips and Indian Fry Bread! Oh my goodness! I don't know if it was such a good thing for us to have taken it now!!! We are going to have heart problems if we don't watch ourselves :) Those french fries are delicious!!! :)  

New Book

Here is what I have been occupying myself with this last weekend. Ever since I have watched the movie I can't get enough of it! If you haven't watched the movie I highly recommend! There is a lot more to the book, and quite a bit more detail. The BBC network did a pretty good job following the story considering how big the book is and how it was so nicely written. They have kept it aligned to the true story so far! This story ranks in my top five :)

Getting The Wax Out!

                            ~ Here is our culprit!                                  

               ~ Actually it was my fault :)

                        ~Benjamin is so smart!

                            

       ~As if nothing had happened!

We had our friends over for dinner and I who love candles, lit all the candles up in our place. While we were enjoying our meal, I heard the dripping! Right onto the carpet. I know, I should have been more careful. So we had a big plot of wax on our new soft carpet!

I had been wondering how I was going to get that off. Benjamin had the best idea ever. He told me to put a cloth onto the dry wax and hook up the iron and go at it! I held the iron onto the cloth and the wax went right into the cloth! Make sure you don't use a cloth that has color in it, it will bleed onto the carpet! The carpet is soft and free of all wax! :) Thank you Benjamin!!!

Isaiah 61

I love this chapter of Isaiah. You find it in chapter 61:1 Then later in Luke chapter 4:17 Jesus quotes this same part right out of Isaiah. Proclaiming himself.

 Isaiah 61:1, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

In Luke 4:17, The scroll  of the prophet of Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 

Later in verse 21 he says, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

I love this scripture and how Jesus fulfilled its meanings. He literally fulfilled its meanings and continues today. 

I have had such a nice day of reading and studying. It has been a long time since I have had one of these days. I have also been reading a book by Derek Prince on Fasting. It was really encouraging and simple. If I am going to be fasting, I want it to be effective. What a waste if I am misapplying it! :)

No news yet on Benjamin, they postponed his meeting on Tuesday and hopefully he will hear something tonight. Since they postponed it, I am wondering if they really have his specific job, they may just be trying to bring up their numbers and offer him something else. Then again I don't know! :) I will post as soon as I can! :P

Dinner and a Cake :)

On Saturday we had some friends over for dinner. It was a really nice evening, except that one of my candles that I have up on one of the walls going up stairs leaked over and made a pile of wax onto the carpet. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to get that out? Other then that it was a great success. I made a chocolate cake, same one that Himilce had made when we made dinner for our Pastor and his family. I had melted some left over christmas chocolate over a pan of boiling water added a little cream and then poured it over the finished cake. It was so nice and moist :) The picture is a little dark, but I think you get the picture.

It looks like Benjamin may be leaving next week. I can't believe it has come. They said it wasn't very likely he would leave before June, but now he has an evaluation tomorrow. We will find out the rest of the details then. Its hard when I wake up in the morning realizing he isn't going to  be there. I am determined to busy myself and make myself useful :) I should be finding out about the classes I will be taking sometime this week. So we shall be busy getting everything ready for Benjamin's departure. I need to learn a lot of the things that Benjamin is responsible for around the house. Like the BILLS! Ah! :P 

I will update as soon as we know the details about our futures! 

=)

Pictures of Our Place

Here are some pictures of our new little place. Its a two bedroom. One bedroom on the bottom floor and the master upstairs with a bathroom and walk-in closet. It has a nice private balcony and a fire place in the living room. Benjamin gets the downstairs bedroom for his office and all of his books, there is a walk-in closet in that bedroom as well. He said I get to have the rest of the apartment :) Its not as nice on picture, but it will work. Just know we are much cozier then it appears! :) 

Almost ready to post pictures of our apartment :)

Almost everything is in place and looking clean. My mom came over today for tea and to look at the finished product! She liked it a lot, but one of the cats managed to pull down one of my curtain rods! So I need to fix that and then I should be ready for pictures. 

I made homemade chicken soup tonight. I hardly had any ingredients, just potatoes, onions and a big ol chicken carcase. It came out nice and tasty though! We had a little lemon to squeeze over it with corn bread and butter. Ruthie's boyfriend Jonathan was over for dinner and he had like five bowls! Either he was really hungry or he liked the soup! Maybe both! :) 

I will be back to post pictures soon! Have a great week everyone :)

Happy New Year everyone! I am so excited for this year and all that God has planned for us. So many changes right before too! :) It always makes me laugh when things happen so quick! Wheww! In the midst of Marie and John's move, Benjamin and I moved into our new little apartment. Ruthie and Bobby have gotten a place of their own and we gave up the house and have a nice little place! So the week after christmas we were packed up and moved! It really was perfect timing for everyone. I can't wait to post the pictures of our new place. We haven't gotten internet yet, so I won't be as up to date as I would like, not that I was before :) but I will drive over to the library if we don't get it pretty soon. I have a couple pictures of us last night, we built a fire in the fireplace, had tea and relaxed after church. It was one of the nicest things all year! :p 

Also, if you want to see a Christmas picture go over to my sister newmom she posted a picture of us all. It was a really nice Christmas. We couldn't get everyone in the photo to have a perfect face, but at least I look good!!!! :) Benjamin on the other hand has a blank look! He he he :) 

Update on Marie, she is just about to get internet and will post as soon as she can. Their move was safe and is finally over! They have their bed up, a shower curtain and toilet paper :) Im just kidding :) She said they unloaded yesterday and have all the furniture in place. She is starting to attempt the boxes now. The cold is pretty bitter! They have hardwood floors throughout the house, which has been her dream, but when it is so cold outside its a little chilly! :) 

I have been trying to update myself on everyone's blog. I will be back soon! I haven't forgotten all of you!!! :) God bless and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Home!!!!

I am home! Well, kinda. Benjamin and I went up to Flagstaff for the weekend. It has been so nice here. There is a foot of snow outside and we are snug in this very nice hotel :) We have been planning this little getaway for a couple of weeks now. We were thinking about going to the Grand Canyon, but it is too snowy and cold! We just want to stay inside and enjoy this lovely sleep number bed! :) Has anyone ever tried a sleep number? This is my first and boy did I sleep good last night :) Well, here comes Christmas! I hope everyone has a beautiful Christmas! :)

Merry Christmas!!! :)

Here are some pictures from today. Olga's basket ball game and Christmas shopping with Marie :) We found a gift card to starbucks in Marie's purse :) with $15 on it! Then we met up with one of our life long friends who is getting married in January! Our grandparents knew each other and our fathers grew up together and so did we! :) I only got one picture of Olga. We had several pictures but this one is the clearest of her. She is the one in the white. It was a home game and we won 43 to 28! =)

Pictures

Here are some pictures YAY! I was able to upload them to photo bucket :) 

NAVY

I have an exciting announcement to make :) and no I am not joining the NAVY :) but Benjamin is!!!!!!! He has been waiting to join for two years, he just received his permanent residency! I can't believe two years have gone by already, but they have and it seems to be perfect timing! We haven't said anything, because things don't always turn out the way we plan, but this has! :) He isn't scheduled to leave until June, but there is a good chance he could leave earlier for boot camp. He scored high on his ASVAB, so he has a nice job option, he is going for flight engineer. Our future residence could be Florida or San Diego.( I am really excited about how nice he will look in his uniform :) he he! My blog name fits perfectly now! That wasn't planned :)So many changes for us and now with Marie and John moving too. But God has us all in his plan :) and I am so grateful for Him. 

 He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust."  Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge, his faithfulness with be your shield and rampart..............

                                               Psalms 91

That must be one my favorites :) the rest of it is enriching. :)

 I wont be heading back to Phoenix for another ten days or so. I will try to update before then =)

Family Happenings =)

I just got back from shopping with Olga and Marie. We attempted the crowds and went out on black friday, we awoke at 4:30 A.M. :) The lines were pretty long, all the way back to the end of the store! No one shoved, pulled, kicked, or wacked! Thank goodness! :) Did any one get any good sales?

We had such a nice Thanksgiving. It snowed and the house was filled with the aroma of turkey! The lot of us went on a walk and lounged around all day. The girls mainly knitted (we have just learned how to knit recently and can't seem to stop) the boys played cards with dad and it was so peaceful!!!!

I just picked out some random pictures from the last couple weeks and also from yesterday, I am having such a hard time loading them because of the internet connection, I will have to try later.
=)
Hope everyone is having a great holiday! It has been so nice to being in Colorado :) I have missed my family so much.

No Internet....

Sorry everyone! Marie and I took a surprise trip to Colorado (and are having a fantastic time) but we don't get any internet out here! Our family lives right next to the mountains and no internet! We shall be back eventually and we will update galore!!! :) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope you all are doing good. I miss all of your blogs =( 

Happy Turkey Day :)

Time goes....

So fast! Marie and I had such a nice time. We talked and talked and played! She touched up my hair and then I decided I wanted a new look with my bangs too. Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures, but I will post some pictures of my slightly new look soon :) We also had fun trying on this really nice facial mask. By the time we did all this our time was gone and we had to get to bed! I think we needed two days! =) Lisa, no we didn't watch any movies, we tried but we ended up talking over the movie! 

Im Off....

Im off to visit Marie! Her husband John is away on a business trip and she cant stay alone right? I think girls sometimes need a little feminine time! :) The last time I had Marie to myself was the night before my wedding. She is going to do my hair and we are probably going to do each other's toes! And of course we will have our cup of tea. Benjamin will be fine right? :) Maybe we will take a few pictures and I will share =)

Antiquing

Yesterday Ruthie and I went antiquing! We found two antique malls close to our area and they were side by side! The real nice thing about it was that everything was very affordable. We wanted to buy up everything just because of the prices. :) I found this adorable little writing table and I couldn't pass it up. I love white furniture. The best part about it was the price :) So I am trying to figure out the right place it belongs in the house. The cats are really enjoying it as well! :)

Cash Flow

Has anyone heard of the board game Cash Flow? It is rather expensive, but VERY educational! Our friends have it and brought it over last night. We were up until 12:30 A.M. playing! I learned so much about investing, stocks and being brilliant with money! Its great for all you homeschool moms! All I want to do now is go out and buy a business! :)

A Gift From Mom

Benjamin received some plum preserves from my mom for his birthday. I'm afraid I will eat it all up before he gets a chance to try it! :) When we were kids we used to go out and pick plums close to our house. We did it every year. It has been a long time since I have tried mom's jam. Boy did it bring back memories! Thank you mom! :)

Fall is Here

Fall is here!!! The high today is 75! We turned off the air conditioner and opened the windows and oh is it nice! 

Elon is visiting us for the day! He is having his nap right now. His parents forgot his net that goes over his little crib (he can get out of it) so we had to put a mattress over his crib! It worked so well, he went to sleep right away! He he he! I took some pictures of him playing with our cats. Bobby tied some string around his little wrist and Elon just loved it! The cats did too =) Here are some pictures of them at play.

Lemon Feta Cheese Green Onion Dip

We are going over to my brother's house tonight and everyone is bringing a snack, so I made this recipe, I was going to bring pita bread, but I couldn't find it at the store, I even went to Whole Foods and they didn't have any. So I will have to make do with french bread or crackers. Its very different, but I love feta cheese. Hopefully everyone will like it as well =)

This is Bobby Flay's Recipe. (I love him :)

Ingredients

• 12 green onions, green part only, grilled and chopped, plus additional thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for grilling pitas
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
• 8 pocketless pitas
• 
  
• Directions

  Place grilled green onions, oil, lemon juice, and zest in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the feta and garlic and process until combined and smooth. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and garnish with the additional sliced green onions.

  Heat grill to high. Brush the pitas with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill for 1 minute per side or until lightly golden brown. Remove from the grill and cut each pita into eighths. Serve with the feta dip.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Date Night

We finally had a date night! Life seems to be really busy lately and so it was really nice to enjoy each other on our friday night! =) We went and saw a movie. Which was very patriotic and quite amusing...... American Carol. I wouldn't recommend it for the family, because of language and a lot of junk talk, but the message was brilliant. And its so nice to see truth being spoken on the big screen! Have a great weekend everyone!