Drawing on February 21st!
Lots of changes going on here. Once again, my grandkids are no longer just down the road. They, and their mommy moved about an hour away. I see them every Friday, and every other Friday I have them overnight. Divorce is so hard, but I am happy that everyone concerned is working hard to do what is best for those babies....they feel loved and safe. Emerson strapped herself in her car seat, right next to Sassy, who LOVES TJ's car seat. She makes it her bed every Friday evening.
We still have some favorites....homemade pizzas made with whole wheat tortillas.
Homemade whole wheat bread....the kids love this. The bread slicer my mom bought me in Amish country is a blessing.
The kids have been on a puzzle binge...Kyle took pictures and asked me to share these on my blog, so here they are....
The Lemongrass soap picture is up on the Spiced Cakes website. It smells so good!!! All the soaps will be ready to ship on Tuesday, so place your orders now.
The kids and I are not the only ones needing diet changes...
While shopping for her food, my oldest son remarked that Sassafras needed the weight control formula. She doesn't think so, yet, what she doesn't know won't hurt her! Poor girl jumped up to a stool the other day and didn't quite make it...the entire stool came crashing down. She escaped without injury, but her lean jumping days are over!
The Bears lost....they didn't even show up til it was too late. 
Now the Steelers are playing to clinch their spot in the Super Bowl. It looks like it just might happen!!!
It is a big day here....we are all instructed (by Sweetheart) to wear Bears shirts...he has even passed some out to those of us who don't have our own. He is like a little kid on Christmas Eve...all excited and nervous...it is actually cute (don't tell him I said that). I hope they win for his sake...not sure what the evening will hold if they lose! That crock pot of sloppy joes will not sit well! 
There really hasn't been anything to blog about lately. Life has been slow. I haven't quilted much at all since Christmas, but that is the norm for me. The month of January is one of respite for me. Charlotte has been crocheting like crazy and has her blanket for her bed almost finished. Sassy climbs on it and kneads her paws in it at every opportunity!
We have been staying busy in the kitchen these days. Eating more unprocessed foods means more cooking. 
Today I made Challah bread (my cousin's recipe) and braided it. I had only braided bread one other time and it was an utter failure. That was 3 ropes...today I did 6. My first try was not half bad.
Not as nice as I would have liked. I ended up with a braid that was much wider at one end than the other. It will be wider at the top, but not THAT much difference. I had pulled too much on the dough toward the end. All in all, for a first try it was not too bad. My second loaf was a success.
Isn't that dough GORGEOUS??!!
Dinner was Niki's homemade chili. (I am a great cook when I use other people's recipes! LOL)
Look at those beautiful beans. I used 4 different kinds this time.
So other than spending some extra time in the kitchen, life here has been at a snails pace. The future, however, will be quite different, but more on that another time.
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is IT! Faith in Him is Salvation. P.E.R.I.O.D. No one..no man, woman or child....can convince me otherwise. Nothing I DO will get me to heaven. Only my faith in Jesus allows that. He is my Sacrificial Lamb. No offering of grain, barley, or a ram will cover my sin. The Precious Blood of Jesus has done that, Praise God. (I feel like singing that old time Hymn, "There's Power in the Blood"!!)
Ok, now that that is crystal clear, I can move on with my thoughts...and please know I am thinking things through here. So I have been looking at the law. I was spiritually brought (from 18 on) up in a denomination which all but ignored the Old Testament. We are no longer under the law, so why look at it?
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" Galatians 3:13
I am so elated to be set free from the curse of the law. Still I felt pulled to read through it....which I need to do several times, cause MAN is it tough to chew on!
Name one of these that is now ok with God because Christ died for us. Can I, under the guise of grace, kill my neighbor because I want her new sewing room and tell everyone she was a harlot and then sleep with her husband? OF COURSE NOT! We, grace-taught, believers do not believe that either! So there has to be some rules to be obeyed. While looking at my life and setting goals for 2011, I noticed many (probably all) of the negatives in my life are listed in the Word as DIRECT consequences of disobedience. But God does not punish us...only good things come from Him, right?! I wonder. In my time with Him this morning I prayed on these things and I felt the Lord share with me...yes, I do that. (Don't judge) He gave me the coolest illustration. Zachary. My Zachary is adopted...grafted into me, just as I am grafted into my Heavenly Father.
....hand poured soy candles. 
