School, Kira & Grace

When I went to the student orientation before classes started, we were told that we needed to prioritize our studies.  That might mean cutting down on other activities in our lives.  Well, for the most part, I have concentrated on studying for my class.  I've had to forego Saturday activities because of attending classes.  In fact, I have no choice there because if even one class is missed, it's an automatic failure.  And for every 30 minutes you might be late, you get a whole letter grade lower in your final grade.  Needless to say, I am careful to get to class early and made it there even on the week I was sick.  Fortunately, I wasn't feeling my worst on the day of class, just suffering with a runny nose.

My first class is over but I still need to write the final paper which needs to be 2,500 words.  We have 2 weeks to get that in.  I'm planning to concentrate on that this weekend because I have Friday off from work.  So Friday and Saturday, and maybe Sunday afternoon will be spent inside at the computer.  I hope I can manage it without an attack of spring fever.

We have managed to fit in some grandkid time.  On Saturday, Tom & Dawn had a family wedding to attend, so asked us if we would keep Kira overnight and take her to church on Sunday morning.  She came over Saturday around noon.  I wasn't home from class until close to 2:00 pm, so Andy played with her, then put her down for a nap.  She had dinner with us, played some more, then bath time and bed again.

Here she is playing doctor with Andy.  The bracelets on his face were his medicine!

Sunday morning she let me put her hair in a pony tail while she was eating her breakfast.  She's not too keen on having her hair fixed.  I can't wait till she'll let me braid her hair, but for now, I was happy to do a little brushing and fixing.  I don't know why she's looking so sad in this picture.  It is a pose, though, since she knew I was taking it.  She was so excited to be here with us.  She kept hugging us and kissing us.  How fun to be so loved!

Sunday night we had our singles group here, women only this time.  One of the girls offered to make chili so I didn't have as much to do as usual.  I had made lemon bars on Saturday afternoon, then on Sunday, made cornbread and a salad to go with the chili.  The lemon bars were a big hit.

Andy and I left work early on Monday and drove up to get Grace for her overnight with us.  Her birthday had been several weeks ago, but I felt this was a good time to fit her in (between classes).  We have so much fun with her.  She is a delightful young lady.  Her requests of things to do with us included:  watch a movie, have ice cream, make lemon bars, go bike riding, go on a hike, play games.  I'm happy to say we fit it all in.

We borrowed a friend's bike and she and Andy rode to the church.  They rode around in the parking lot around cones that Andy set up.  They did all kinds of games using the cones, then went into the gym and rode around in there, too.

We took a hike before lunch at Laurel Acres park.  It was pretty wet, but we wore our boots and enjoyed the outdoors.  It was cold and windy, but we still had a good time together.

After lunch, we drove over to Amico Island Park and hiked around in there, too.  That is a cool place right on the Delaware River.  The tide must have been in because there was no beach at all.  Another time we had been there, there was a nice beach to walk along.

 

 Grace is a lot like her daddy and PopPop - instigating and causing "trouble."  She kept throwing the sweet gum sticker balls at Andy until he had to "take care" of her!

I mentioned to Grace that she might not have too many more years of overnights with us because she's getting older.  Then she asked how long she could keep coming over.  I told her we would keep the tradition going until she was married.  That prompted her next question:  "couldn't she still come over even then?"  Well, her husband might have something to say about that!  But I took it as a compliment to think that she's happy to be here with us.

It was a fun couple of days, but now the parties are over and I've got to put my nose to the grindstone again.

Keeping Busy

I've been busy, to say the least.  But in spite of all the homework for my class, I'm managing to fit in some grandkid time. 

 

March 5 was Grace's birthday.  I can't believe she's 12 already.  We didn't spend a lot of time with the family this time because they already had plans for the day.  So we got there in time for a yummy dinner of pizza and salad.  Grace is developing into a very sweet young lady.  I'm very proud of her and happy to have her as a grandchild.  I hope to have her over for an overnight with Andy and me, but it will have to be after my last class (the end of the month).

Then last weekend was our church's women's retreat.  I couldn't go this year because I have my class on Saturday.  But Dawn went and asked if I could babysit Kira on Friday until Tommy came home from work.  I was able to work it out that I could leave work by 12:00 noon.  I gave Kira lunch and we played for a little before I put her down for a nap.  She slept a very long time, over 2 hours, which gave me time to work on my paper that was due for class the next day.

When Tommy came and picked Kira up, I invited him to stay for dinner.  And believe it or not, he accepted! 

I'm really enjoying my class.  I'm learning a lot and enjoying the reading and writing part.  And I especially like that the prof of this class isn't giving tests, exams or quizzes.  The grade is based completely on reading, writing and class participation.  I have a reflection paper due every week (so 5 in all) with 500 words giving a summary and my thoughts of what I've read for that week.  I also had a 1,500 word paper due last week.  And the final paper needs to be 2,500 words due no later than 2 weeks after the last class.  So far 2 of my papers have been graded and I was so excited to get 2 A's!  Yahoo!

Needing a Break

My brain is frying and I'm feeling like I'm going to explode.  I've been studying, reading, writing, living and breathing The Triune God which is the class I'm taking right now.  I'm only 2 weeks into the class, 3 more to go.  I'm learning a lot so I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing, BUT...

So I'm taking a very little break to do some blogging.  It feels like I've been holed up in the house for the last 2 weeks so I don't have a lot to report.  So how about some food pictures?

A couple of weeks ago, we had a couple over for dinner.  I made a favorite recipe:  chicken with stuffing dish along with red skinned mashed potatoes and green beans with bacon (not exactly low calorie, but very yummy!)  

EASY BAKED CHICKEN BREASTS 

 (recipe from my good friend, Jane Wilson)

 

8 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

8 (4 x 4) slices Swiss cheese

1 (10 ½ ounce) can cream of chicken soup undiluted

¼ cup dry white wine

1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix, crushed

2-3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Parsley (optional)

Arrange chicken in a lightly greased 12 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish.  Top with cheese slices.

Combine soup and wine; stir will.  Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle with stuffing mix.

Drizzle butter over crumbs. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Garnish with parsley.  Yield 8 servings.

Mashed Red Skinned Potatoes (from Allrecipes.com) Prep time:  10 minutes      Cook time:  20 minutes   Ready in 30 minutes serves 8

"This recipe doesn't skimp on creaminess. Unpeeled red potatoes are mashed with butter, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper."

Ingredients:

2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered 1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup sour cream salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 10 minutes. Drain, and place in a large bowl.
2.	Combine potatoes with butter, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Mash together until smooth and creamy.

 Green Beans with Bacon

(I don't remember where I got this recipe, but probably from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 8 slices bacon, diced
• 2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in 1-inch pieces
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter; add bacon. Fry bacon until crispy; set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add beans. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached. Drain beans; add them to the skillet with bacon and butter. Toss well and heat until well coated. Add pepper; serve.

Serves 8.

For dessert I served Blueberry Kiwi Fool.

 Blueberry Kiwi Fool

(recipe from Better Homes & Gardens website)

Makes: 6 servings

Prep 20 minutes, chill up to 2 hours

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 - 4 kiwifruit, peeled and cut up (1 cup)

Directions

1. In a shallow dish mash 1 cup of the blueberries with a potato masher. (Or puree with a mini food chopper, food processor, or blender.) Stir cinnamon into mashed blueberries.

2. In a medium bowl beat whipping cream and sugar until cream is very thick. Fold in mashed blueberries.

3. In individual 6- to 7-ounce glasses or dishes, layer whipped cream mixture with remaining blueberries and kiwifruit. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 hours before serving. Makes 6 servings.

 Ok, break is over...back to the books.  Well, maybe I'll have a snack first.

Retirement

For a number of years I've been thinking of retirement.  When should I retire?  What will I do when I retire?  I can't wait to retire.

 

When I turned 60, I went into Pastor's office and told him that in 2 years, I would be able to collect social security.  Well, 62 came and went, and I kept working but still thinking and dreaming of retiring.  I was thinking things like, "I'd just love to be home every day with no responsibilities and nothing to do."  It sounds kind of selfish, doesn't it?  And realistically, would I be happy if I had nothing to do?

Well, my thoughts have been taking a different turn recently.  The Lord has been leading me to reading material that challenged me in my journey. One of those was a book entitled, Mary Slessor of Calabar: Pioneer Missionary.  What an amazing woman she was.  What impressed me as I read Mary's story was how determined she was to keep working in spite of the way she felt.  She was often ill with fever and other tropical diseases but she felt the call of God to continue the work He had led her to.  Even at the end of her life when she was no longer able to walk, she had men carry her to the villages where she taught the natives about God and the Bible. 

Mary's example really ministered to me.  Here I am in a comfortable job, requiring little of me other than getting up every morning, driving 1 mile, working with people who love me and God.  Granted I am not Mary and I should not beat myself up because I'm not "suffering for Jesus" and my life isn't as difficult as hers.  However, I couldn't help but think that this life is a prelude to the next.  What am I doing to get ready?  Why do I think I need to retire now when I'll have all of eternity to rest and enjoy life in heaven.

re·tire·ment

/riˈtīrmənt/

Noun The action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work. The period of one's life after leaving one's job and ceasing to work.

Synonyms retreat - seclusion - withdrawal - superannuation I'm not crazy about the synonyms of retirement, especially the "seclusion" and "withdrawal" ones.  Do I really want to withdraw and become a hermit?  I can't imagine that. Then, too, I've been reading and journaling for my devotionals this year from Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest.  Some of the thoughts: My life is not my own.  I have been bought with a price.  I did not choose Jesus, but He chose me and appointed me to the task He has given me.  Do I bring God into my plans?  I love to organize and administrate, but do I consult Him and trust Him if my plans don't go as expected? Do I serve the Lord by doing it my way or do I listen to His voice and wait for His instruction? Am I recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered and separated by God for one purpose?  To proclaim the gospel of God?  (Romans 9:3) Do I ask God for petty personal things that have to do with my comfort and nothing to do with the furtherance of the gospel? Am I ready to be poured out as a drink offering?  Philippians 2:7.  Am I willing to be poured out, used up, spent, not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister?  This reminds me of the old hymn: Must I be carried to the skies On flowery beds of ease, While others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas? Oh I must fight if I would reign Increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the toil, endure the pain Supported by Thy Word. In the face of persecution, the early Christians did not pray for comfort and safety, they prayed for courage!  See Acts 4:29. My life of service is the way I say thank you to God for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Do I allow God to be the source of all my dreams, joys and delights? On Sunday we sang a Robin Mark song:  Jesus, All for Jesus.  As I'm singing it, I'm asking myself, do I really mean what I'm singing?  Jesus, all for Jesus, All I am and have and ever hope to be. Jesus, all for Jesus, All I am and have and ever hope to be. All of my ambitions, hopes and plans I surrender these into Your hands. All of my ambitions, hopes and plans I surrender these into Your hands. For it's only in Your will that I am free, For it's only in Your will that I am free, Jesus, all for Jesus, All I am and have and ever hope to be. I'm not my own, I've been bought with a price. I want to want what God wants.  His way is best and He does what is best for me.  It's only in His will that I am truly free and happy. He has given me the gifts that I need for the job He has given me.  How can I think of not using those gifts for Him when they help the body of Christ and bring me fulfillment and joy? So until God shows me clearly that I need to stop working, I will keep on keeping on.  Lord, help me.  I live in a culture that needs to know.  If I have a question about anything, the answer is mine as soon as I type "google."  But God doesn't operate that way.  He wants me to trust Him enough to wait.  I love the verse in Isaiah 64:4:  "God...who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him."  He knows the end from the beginning and His ways are best.  I can trust Him with my life and future.