Wednesday, December 9, 2009

An Exciting Giveaway....

A sister blogger, McMama and others, http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/ are giving away this wonderful computer, an HP TouchSmart 600 machine. You can win it too by going to the blog, above, and leaving a comment.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

all new!

Well, to say the least, I have been, and will be, a very busy woman. Not only am I in my second block of classes at Phoenix, I have taken a part time job. I started working at FoodCity in Paintsville Kentucky on Saturday. I am being trained in the Deli. I don't believe I have ever worked soooo hard. Between housework, schoolwork (mine and the boys) and now work work, lol, I probably won't be posting as much, I know, I don't post that much anyway!

Monday, July 27, 2009

I AM A PHOENIX!




After giving it a lot of thought and prayer, I decided to apply myself and go back to school. I started college classes June 29, and today starts my 5th week. I decided to take information technology, and it is a very hard course so far. I will be doing this for the next 21 months, and hopefully after I am finished, I will be able to get a good job, doing what I love!
On another note, 1 week from tomorrow, my 3 boys will be back in school. I will have a Juniopr, a Freshman, and a 7th grader. Hard to believe that these 3 babies pictured above are that old now. I mean, that picture was just taken what? Yesterday? Last Week? 10 years ago, you say? No way. I gotta go cry now!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

my favorite recipe!







Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

For a fantastic finale, this trifle makes any meal a special one. Because it is best made ahead so the flavors can blend, there's no last-minute fuss.

SERVINGS: 14-16

CATEGORY: Dessert

METHOD:
TIME: Prep: 20 min. + chilling

Ingredients:
2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup sugar, divided
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 loaf (10-3/4 ounces) frozen pound cake, thawed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, grated
Chocolate curls and additional strawberries, optional
Directions:
In a bowl, toss strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.
In a bowl, beat cream cheese, orange juice and remaining sugar until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream; set aside.
Drain strawberries, reserving juice; set the berries aside. Gently toss cake cubes with reserved juice. Place half of the cake in a 4-qt. trifle dish or serving bowl. Top with a third of the cream cheese mixture, half of the strawberries and half of the grated chocolate. Repeat layers. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture. Garnish with chocolate curls and strawberries if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Yield: 14-16 servings.



Sunday, July 19, 2009

we will remember you.

Michael Jackson dies and it’s 24/7 news coverage. A real American hero dies and not a mention of it in the news. The media has no honor and God is watching

Ed Freeman

You're a 19-year-old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doc tors and nurses. And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.















Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID. May God rest his soul.
Medal of Honor Winner Ed Freeman! Since the media didn't give him the coverage he deserves, send this to every red-blooded American you know.
THANKS AGAIN, ED, FOR WHAT YOU DID FOR OUR COUNTRY. RIP

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Are women born this way?

This is absolutely the cutest baby in the world!


Monday, May 18, 2009

Busy...busy...busy...

Sorry I haven't been back...I have just been soooo busy and running around...Busy getting visited by this sweet girl...Ava May. I have babysat her since she was 4 months old, and she likes to come visit and eat popsicles, lol. She got kicked by a young mare and we almost lost her in February, that is why her hair looks lopsided. But praise the Lord, she is fine now.

Also busy trying to figur out what this gorgeous wildflower is...

And watching beautiful spring sunsets like the one below...




and relaxing on the glider with my 2 best friends...Jake the dog and Jester the Cat.

After all...what is more important than good friends?



Thursday, April 16, 2009

16th birthday...can't be, shouldn't be...I don't want to believe it!

Happy Sweet Sixteen©
By Shirley J. Davidson
Happy Sweet Sixteen Sweet sixteen!
Sweet sixteen!
We can't believe it's true;
The person sitting before us
Is really, really you.
You've grown from the colicky baby
With wailing through the night.
We have a tape of screams you made
That would give a ghost a fright.
We'd tiptoe to your little crib,
And put you down to nap.
The trouble was the squeaky board
Would give a little snap.
Then up you'd pop to play again.
We would sigh and try anew
To get our little child to nap
So we'd see the whole day through.
As birthday celebrations changed
The years have brought great fun.
From cupcakes at the skating rink,
To clowns, balloons and sun.
You've done swimming at the Y,
And movies at the mall.
We've pinned a long and bushy tail
On a donkey in the hall.
You'll always be our sweetie --Our baby in disguise;
And you should know you're very loved
In both your parents eyes.
May the days that lie ahead
Bring happiness untold;
Choices that are good and wise
For your life as it unfolds.
Sweet sixteen! Sweet sixteen!
Colored candles on a cake!
We send you a Happy Birthday
With a wish for you to make!

Good evening internet. You see this precious little thang? This picture was taken April 26, 1993. The baby was Conley Eugene Swafford III. He was exactly 1 week old. Cute lil' feller, huh? He was 8 lbs 9 oz. at birth, and 20 inches long.

This is him at the hospital when lil brother was born. He was 19 months old. Around 20 lbs, about 27 inches tall. (and cuter than a 2 day old pup!)

Lower left corner (your left) here he is again. Christmas of 98. He was 5 1/2 yrs old, in Kindergarten. About 45 lbs. little over 3 feet tall. You can probaly guess where this is going, huh?


Now here is the whole gang, but the important person is the one in the upper left hand corner. This was at 13 years old. Still not taller than me...still cute as a bug in a rug...



This is him, today, on his 16th birthday. He is 180 lbs, and yes, taller than me AND his Daddy...at 5 ft. 10 inches. A very handsome guy, if I do say so meself! lol. I have been on the verge of tears all day, thinking about that wonderful day he was born, thanking God for giving me such a precious gift.
Happy Birthday" Means Much More
"Happy Birthday" means much more
Than have a happy day.
Within these words lie lots of things
I never get to say.
It means I love you first of all,
Then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I'm proud of you.
But most of all,
I guess it means
That I am thinking of
Your happiness on this,
your day,
With pleasure and with love.
poem copyright: Nicholas Gordon




Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!

What is more precious than this? A child's first Easter egg hunt,where they are more interested in the grass and flowers than the eggs? This is my nephew Adam, hunting eggs almost on his own, (mommy had to keep hold of his hand so he didn't run away.)
Look how beautiful these flowers are. I am not sure of the correct name, so I am not naming them, except to call them gorgeous!

And last but not least, here are my tulips that I posted about a few weks ago. Aren't they pretty. God has been so good to us, beautiful weather, christian family, great food!


Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Chickens, cabbage, and the dreaded 4 letter word s***!

These are the fluffy lil darlins I posted about a couple weeks ago. http://kentuckysunflower-amber.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-they-are.html On March 18th, to be exact. They were only 2 days old when those pictures were taken. Now they are 3 weeks old, and they are huge! They are now outside in a homemade brooder on the back porch. Cute, aren't they? This next picture is my cabbage I planted last Saturday...see the white stuff? Any guesses as to what that is? No, its not the white stuff in potting soil...its the snow that has been falling all day here...Luckily, it is NOT sticking...lol.

Here is more of that yucky stuff, see the puppy? The flakes were huge...for a few minutes, I believe it was hail, it was loud, hitting our metal roof, but by the time I got outside with the camera, it was gone...

Here you can see the walkway to the house, this fell in just a few seconds, I am so glad it was almost 80 here yesterday,...if it hadn't been, we would have had a real mess here!




Now this little hen is saying "get out of here!" And on that note, I am gone!





Thursday, April 2, 2009

Strawberry bread...

I made this for our church's bake sale tomorrow...it turned out pretty good, I thought I would share the recipe with you.


2 cups fresh strawberries
3 1/8 Cups all purpose flour
2 Cups white sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 Cups oil
4 beaten eggs
1 1/4 Cups pecans
Preheat oven to 350.Butter and flour pans (it calls for 2 loaf pans, I used mini loaf pans) Slice strawberries, sprinkle lightly with sugar. Set aside while preparing bread mixture. (the 1st batch I made, I just sliced the berries. wasn't too good. next batch, I diced them up...lots better.)
Combine dry ingred. blend oil & eggs into strawberries, add berry mixture to flour mixture stirring until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in nuts. divide into pans. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

A giveaway!

There is a super giveaway at this website...5dollardinners... and she makes some of the best dinners for 5 dollars and under...go check it out!

http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/03/sister-schuberts-giveaway.html

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Here they are!

The first cute fuzzy thing I wanted to show you are the new baby chickens we got. They are Golden Comets, (hens). We got 12 of them, yes, 12...fuzzy lil balls of fluff that are just sooo cute and adorable, except for the mess they make, lol. We have them in a blue tote lined with newspaper, but it won't be long before they have to have something bigger.

Tell me the truth, have you ever seen anything as cute as these lil darlins'?

Except maybe these sweeties! Baby bunnies! We purchased 3, 1 buck and 2 does...but we probaly won't name any babies they have, because my husband wanted to raise them to (enter gasp here) eat them....I know, I know how could you eat those cute sweet furry little things? I have never eaten rabbits, but I will try it, as long as I don't have to kill them...





I mean, look at how cute they are...this is the male bunny, I had a picture of the female up, but I don't know what blogger did with it...It just now disappeared...
But I will go for now...I will write more later...and get some more pics up...I want to show you my forsythia in bloom, and a picture of my grape hyacinth bean vines, and my easter flowers that I thought were dead... more on that later...and also show you the big yellow thing...but I have hungry family waiting on soup beans, sauerkraut and weiners, cornbread, and salmon patties...come on over for supper!




So So Sorry...

I have neglected my blog...but never fear! This afternoon, after I get home from work, I will post and have pictures of all the new additions we have made to our lil farm up the holler! Furry things, fuzzy things, big yellow things, and hard gray lumpy things. Betcha can't wait! I will be home around 3...

Sunday, March 8, 2009

giveaways...new friends

Ok. first things first...I have a book I want ya'll to read. The Secret Life Of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. It is a wonderful book, great for anyone who loves to read. If you want a chance to win it, 2 things you gotta do...leave me a comment, and put a post and link about my give away on your blog.
Second thing...a blogger who calls herself the Lucky Mrs. T, is having a super giveaway on her blog, http://blog.theluckymrst.com/2009/03/giveaway.html#comment-form go on over and check her out... she is giving away earrings! wow! I love earrings!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Our first egg from my chickens!


You might think I am a little bit off my rocker, but here they are! Pictures of the first egg from our chickens! I was so proud and happy when my boys brought it to me! I almost cried...not quite, just so glad that I didn't buy defunct chickens! It will go into scrambled eggs tomorrow morning for Sunday breakfast...mmmm good!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Updates...

Well, my big guy has the flu. Our sweet assistant pastor's daughter is a nurse practitioner at the medical clinic in Louisa where the boys doctor at. She was able to see him, and they did the nasal swab test for flu, sure enough, Strain B. which she said wasn't as bad as strain A. So she wrote out prescriptions for him for Tamiflu, and then she wrote them out for everyone else in the house also. Insurance covered the boys, but not mine and Eugene's. Our was $94 per prescription. I did not buy it. I hope and pray we don't get the flu, but if we do, I will probaly be glad to pay for the medicine. lol Everyone pray for us, that we do not get sick...Eugene has no sick days at work, and I do not want to be sick...

Sick children, has to be Monday

See what cute children I used to have...how much they loved one another? The bigger one in the photo is Conley, my oldest son, he was 3 in this pic, and the little one is my Middle boy, Kenneth. He was 18 months old, I was pregnant with the baby, Josseph when I took this picture. Cute, weren't they?
Well, I can sure tell that this is Monday! My oldest is home, sick with what web md tells me may just be the FLU! My son, the healthy one, the one that usually eats like a horse, the one that never gets sick...is in his bed right now, knocked out on Tylenol cold & Flu nighttime medicine, until I can get a call in to his doctor, so I can get him in there. I hope it is just a cold, because with one child in this house who has asthma, we DON'T need the FLU virus circulating...luckily, my asthma sufferer is the one who has the FLU shot every year, because after 3 yearrs of hospital stays from the FLU, I don't want to go thru that again. So everyone, please pray for my boy, and my others and the treeman and me that it will be just a cold, ( but I doubt it, with a fever, body aches, sneezing, coughing, eyes hurting, headache, I doubt it) and that no one else gets it.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

March Serenade


March Day Serenade
The frosty days are put to rest
As winter turns to spring
We cast an eye up to the sky
To what this month will bring.
A day when dark clouds gently brew
With not one leaf a stirring
When thunder peals as lightning cracks
A raging storm, enduring.
As shifting winds blow here and there
Without a rhyme or reason
When Ides of March come out to play
A turbulent sort of season.
We've waited long for nature's song
For freshness in the air
For rainy days and purple haze
For breezes sweet and fair.
A time of kites and windy days
A time when dreams are made
A time when God blows forth a kiss
A March day serenade.
Author/Written By:
Marilyn Ferguson
©2002
Happy March! And may Spring be right around the
corner!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

A must see movie

I just finished watching Fireproof, and it is a movie every Christian should watch. It IS about saving a marriage, but it could be applied to any kind of relationship that is in trouble. Now, I just need to convince my husband to watch it too. lol.

more cute puppies, and Cute Chickens? Are Chickens cute?


Do you see what I see in this picture? My tulips around my mailbox are coming up, and I am worried they won't make it through the cold spell we have coming up tonight and the first part of this week. So I went out today and put straw around them, hoping it will protect them...fingers crossed...maybe we won't get the 2-5 inches they have fore casted us for.
These are two of the 7 roosters we have. They are on death row...lol. Seriously, we are going to butcher them and put them in the freezer to eat...chicken -n-dumplings anyone? mmmm good!

Here is a few cute pictures of puppies, or in the case of this one, puppy tails...this was about all I could get, because those lil boogers are fast...



Here's all 4 of them around Jobug's feet. They are rambunctious lil guys.

She found Luci's toy. Luci is the boxer who we can't keep chained, penned or anything. It is an insult to her if you have to put her up, she will find a way to get out.




Saturday, February 21, 2009

More cute puppy pictures and a new do'!

Our puppies are growing, they get noisier every day. This is the bravest of all four, he likes to play king of the hill. He gets up there and the others try to knock him off.
Here, he is looking down at the others like he's telling them "come up here and try to knock me off" So brave.

I went to my friend Brenda's Beauty Shop in Louisa Thursday and got my hair cut off. Here is my new do. It is quite a bit shorter than it was, she took 8 inches off of it. Of course she had it looking pretty good, but I still can't do anything with it. lol.



Friday, February 20, 2009

dry clothes are...

Today, I finally get my brand spanking new clothes dryer! and gas range! I have been double spinning my clothes in the washer now for 2 weeks, and they still take 4-5 hours to dry. :(
I am so sick of not having clean dry clothes when I need them, lol.
Listen at me tho! This is the girl who used to have an old wringer washer on the back porch, and a very short clothesline..with 3 babies all under 4. wow huh?
We get so spoiled sooo quickly by our modern shortcuts and conveniences.

Monday, February 16, 2009

All tuckered out...

Today, I went to Fort Gay, a little town across the river in West Virginia.I ttook my car to a garage to get it fixed. For about 3 months it has been making a noise in the front passenger side, sounded like a bearing, but we weren't sure, and we didn't have the money to get the parts to fix it ourselves, or the time. So finally (taxes) we got the money, I took it to get it fixed...$500 dollars ! Parts and labor. The front axle fell apart as they took it out, and the bearings were beaty to pieces by the bad axle. Go figure, huh? The mechanic said it was a wonder (miracle) that it didn't fly apart on the road. Since it started making the noise, we have went to Louisville 3 times (a 420 mile round trip) Ashland several times (60 miles round trip) and Paintsville several times 9a 40 mile round trip) on the interstate and highway, where you run 70 and 55 respectively. I credit it to God watching over me and my family. While my car was in the garage I multitasked and took 10 loads of laundry to the laundromat which is luckily just one street over from the service station. I haven't been getting a lot of laundry done here lately because somethuing has messed up on my gas dryer and it takes about 4 hours to dry a SMALL load of laundry. So 10 loads doesn't even make a dent in my mountain of laundry when you consider 5 people live and make messes here,lol. So Saturday, I went to Lowes in Paintsville and bought a new gas dryer, which of course wasn't in stock, and I also purchased a new gas cookstove because, oh yeah, my oven went out also. lol. We have had it rough here the past few weeks with everything going down...but I need to say that all the appliances in my house are 15-20 years old, so I guess replacing them isn't so bad.But to top everything off, my ankle, (the one I broke 8 years ago) has been absolutely throbbing the last few days, and now there is a bulge on it. The dr. who did the surgery said anything that had to be done to it after the surgery would be covered by the payments made then, so tommorrow I have to call him and see about getting it checked out. But I believe the good Lord takes care of us when we need him to, whether we know it or not, so one way or another, things will be fine! But oh yeah, the lady over at 5 dollar dinners http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/02/walmart-and-giveaway.html is having a walmart gift card giveaway. Go check it out!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Puppies!!!!!

Sorry for the blurry images, but thats what you get when you combine a 12 year old, a camera, and 4 wiggly squirmy, excited,hungry puppies.
My father in law had these pups, and he decided he couldn't take care of them due to his health, so we got them :).

And what do boys love more than anything? Puppies of course.


They are super cute. I am in love with them. If only they stayed puppies. But oh no, they have to grow up.
Like kids...too bad they can't stay little longer. I really took my time at home with my guys for granted when they were babies and toddlers, now they are teenagers and a "tween" and it is so scary knowing that in 2 years my oldest will be graduating highschool, going to college...ugh. I am gertting scared already. But all I know to do is cherish the time that the Good Lord has given us, and make the most of it.



I am Sooooo excited!

I got a follower today. You would think I had won a bunch of money, the way I whooo-hoooed! Thank you Jessica, at http://jajalarue.blogspot.com/ for deciding to follow me. And thank you God for leading her my way. You have a wonderful sight, I checked it out briefly, and I will be back. I love blogs, especially clean Christian ones. The type that my kids can read with me.
We got new puppies today, beagle puppies. They are about 9 weeks old, and so sweet. There are 2 boys and 2 girls. I had to give them worm medicine today, I hope I didn't overdose them, because they look so much alike, I could not tell them apart to remember if I had dosed them or not. They will be fine if I did though. I already called the vet and he said they would be. I will post pictures later today, I have to go back to town this evening to meet my husband to do some business.
Oh, and I got a surprise for renewing my driver's license last month...JURY DUTY...The first time ever that I have been called. But I figure it might be a change from my day to day stuff that I usually do,so why not. But more later, I got to get a note written for my kids, and get on the road.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Finally!

The snow has finally melted here, as you can see from this picture, which was taken yesterday from the ridge beside the house. The boys went on another hike (it hit60 degrees here yesterday!) It was a gorgeous day at Mattie! In the picture, you can still see snow on the hills surrounding our house,but now it is almost all gone. There are a few icy spots, which I discovered this morning at 5:30 when I went out to start my husband's truck.


These are the strawberry cupcakes my boys made last week while we were snowed in.My boys are a rare breed. They actually like to cook. I had found heart shaped ?cupcake? pans at our local catholic charity store, and I really like using them, and so do the boys. They made the cupcakes, iced them, then they disappeared, the cupcakes, not the boys.




This is a picture they took yesterday while they were hiking. This is the spot where we go when we camp on our mountain. My husband sets up a zip line, and the boys have a ball riding that thing. I haven't worked up enough courage to try it yet...
But now I have gotta get cleaned up for Sunday School, which we haven't had in 2 weeks, and get some breakfast made for my three noodle heads, who by the way,are still asleep in their beds...not for long though!