I love pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin pie is my all time favorite pie! I usually only make it in the fall, maybe once or twice. I was in Walmart the other day and they had pie pumpkin's on sale. I have always wanted to make a pie using fresh pumpkin, so I bought one. I split the pumpkin in half, scooped out the seeds, cover each half with foil, then baked it for an hour. I then washed the seeds, laid them out on a pizza pan, sprinkled them with salt, and baked them. Pumpkin seeds are a tasty snack!

After the pumpkin had cooled, I scooped it out of the skin, and pureed it in the Vitamix. Then I made my pie crust, mixed the pumpkin with all the ingredients, and baked it. It is absolutely tasty! Probably one of the best pumpkin pie's I've ever had! And this photo shows what is leftover today! LOL!! Ronnie liked it too!

Here is the recipe I used:

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
12 oz evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup Rapadura (unprocessed, unrefined cane sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

The crust recipe:

1 1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
5 tblsp cold water

Once you have it all assembled, bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool for 2 hours. Then enjoy!!!!!

Trying on hats!

Ronnie looks SO cute in hats! But he doesn't like to keep them on his head! But he had fun modeling them for us at Old Navy!

Ronnie's ride!

Just a few weeks ago, we decided to put Ronnie in the car cart at Publix. He LOVED it! So now, whenever I go to Publix, I try to find him the car cart. He thinks it is pretty neat!!

Can I borrow $25?

I received this in an e-mail and thought it was worth posting on my blog.


Can I Borrow $25?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?' The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions.

How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you.

Here's the $25 you asked for.'The little boy sat straight up, smiling.

'Oh, thank you daddy!' He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now.

Can I buy an hour of your time?

Please come home early tomorrow.

I would like to have dinner with you.'The father was crushed.

He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.




It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.

We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

1930's housewife status

I guess I am just average! LOL!!!!!!

55 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

Cookie Lee jewelry meeting

This is John Lin, Cookie Lee's husband. He came all the way from California, to Chattanooga, this weekend for a "mini convention". It was great to hear him speak, to see some clips from the convention, and to hear from some other consultants who have made their way up with this business. It is always inspiring and encouraging to attend meetings like this. I come away with some good ideas, with inspiration and excitement, and having met new friends.

This is my upline Lorie. She is as sweet as they come! When you think about the sweet, southern hospitality of the people from the south, she is IT!! She is caring, warm, friendly, welcoming, encouraging, and she knows how to sell jewelry! And how to wear it too! But beyond all that, she loves the Lord, that is first and foremost in her life, and she shares that with everyone. She shared it at the meeting too. God is certainly using her jewelry business for His glory, because she is touching hearts and lives everyday. And she gives Him all the glory for her success. That is one thing I love and admire about her!

My birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. Here are some photos from the days events. I think they are pretty self explanatory.....

"Religion" and the biblical gospel

I highjacked this from my husband's blog. This is the clearest discription I have ever read of the difference between "religion" and the biblical gospel.


I got this off of the Mars Hill Church website (where Mark Driscoll is pastor) and regardless of how you feel about Mark you can't argue with this description of the gospel.


What is the Gospel? The word gospel simply means “good news.” The central message of the Bible is the gospel, or good news, about the person and work of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Paul provides the most succinct summary of the gospel: the man Jesus is also God, or Christ, and died on a cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sins; three days later He rose to conquer sin and death and give the gift of salvation to all who believe in Him alone for eternal life. The great reformer Martin Luther rightly said that, as sinners, we are prone to pursue a relationship with God in one of two ways. The first is religion/spirituality and the second is the gospel. The two are antithetical in every way.

Religion says that if we obey God He will love us. The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey.

Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people. The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant.

Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person. The gospel says that you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because He alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live.

The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control. The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God as the gift given to us by grace.

Religion is about what I have to do. The gospel is about what I get to do.

Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God. The gospel sees hardship in life as sanctifying affliction that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus.

Religion is about me. The gospel is about Jesus.

Religion leads to an uncertainty about my standing before God because I never know if I have done enough to please God. The gospel leads to a certainty about my standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf on the cross.

Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fall short of God’s commands). The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because of the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/about/the-gospel

Simplifying and decluttering

Please don't feed the dust bunnies. ~Author unknown


Okay, here is a photo of our attic from earlier this year. It has not changed much, so I didn't feel the need to take another photo. As you can see, the attic is in serious need of organization!!!! Stuff needs to be sorted; some tossed, some donated, and the rest just organized. I was hoping to do this before Ronnie was born, but it never happened. But now I have the itch to get it done!! My wonderful neighbor Rachel, who is a fellow stay-at-home mom and homeschooler, agreed to help me tackle the attic this fall. I am really looking forward to it! All I am waiting for now is the weather to cool off a bit so we won't melt up there while working. LOL!

I do have to report though that today I was able to throw out some boxes and load up the trunk with some stuff to take to Goodwill. It felt great and I plan to keep at it little by little until the day Rachel comes over and we hit it hard! I'll share again after we get it accomplished. So stay tuned!