When They Grow Up.....

If y'all have been around my blog for long

then you know of my deep love for 

my boy Dak.

When I first started this blog

he was a freshman in high school.

Things have changed so very much 

in almost six years.  

We have had many happy moments,

and many sad.

We have survived a rebellion of epic 

proportions

and many ups and downs.

Today we just really like hanging out together.

This boy has grown up.

He is still a wanderer in many ways,

but I trust the LORD, 

my Covenant keeping God.

He knows.

He does.

Just as a way of encouragement mama's,

especially of teenagers or even tweens.....

your children really do love you.

They need you.

You may think they hate you.

They don't.

They may spend a season in the wilderness,

love them.

deep.

Pray for them.

hard.

Enjoy them while they are home.

When they leave your house,

it.is.excruciating.

Then when they have lived some life,

with its ups and downs,
and ins and outs,

they will appreciate you.

The look in their eyes will tell you 

they do.

The little, hey mom wanna have lunch.

Means the world!

Dak will always be my little boy,

but he is grown.

I respect him.

I love him.

He is my sweet, sweet son.

Here we are back in the day.

And here we were are on Tuesday.

The above picture was of obligation.

The bottom is because he loves me =)

He is the sweetest.

Silly then.....

Silly now =)

And he plays so beautifully.

I put just a tiny snippet on Instagram 

a couple nights ago.

He really started playing in earnest 

after he moved from home.

Funny how that happens.

I taught him a little while he was here.

He has taught me oceans since he has moved out.

When I think of the tenderness of his heart,

and the gentleness of his music,

I could just cry.

In fact, I did on the way home.

Had me a good cry, 

but with such a heart

of thankfulness to the Father

for letting me be his mom.

I just love him.

MaMa's they grow up.  

Really fast!!

Savor every moment.

Have a Blessed and Beautiful Day ~~ 

Thanksgiving Goodness Complete ~~ And now onto Christmas!

So let me share our Thanksgiving 

in a few pics.

Shall we?

Yes Indeed.

We started out at My Mr. Winslow's

family.

Look how cute.

And calm.

And then we went to my families.

Ummmm.....yeah

ANYTHING but calm =)

We are just cool like that.

Me and my Dak.

Oh my Dak.

Isn't he cute?

Mom and her boyfriend John.

Aren't they sweet?

Adam and Anna....

and the photo bomber =)

And the photo bombing continued.

Yeah, it was epic!! =)

Hahaha......

my sister is cracking.me.up.

Yeah.....

Pretty much sums us up.

Ahhh.....so sweet.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

My sister cracks.me.up.

Funny, Funny, Funny.girl!!!

And speaking of funny.....

your welcome =)

And now I'm just tired.

Seems all this Thanksgiving goodness

leaves me tired.

And stoic.

And Tired.

=)

Hahahahaha.....Sir Cuteness is just completely

intrigued with Photo Booth on my new computer.

Yeah I just eat him up.

Caught me.

=)

So now its on to Christmas.

I will be sharing some fun fun stuff!!

Love y'all ~~ have a Blessed and Beautiful Day ~~ 

Thanksgiving Goodness ~~ The Meal

ONE WEEK PEOPLE!!!!!

ONE WEEK!!

Okay come down off the cabinet,

its ok.

I didn't mean to scare you =)

I have a couple of GREAT recipes for you from our

featured guest:

the beautiful, talented, HILARIOUS, and gorgeous redhead

Rebecca Jo.

Seriously if her and Deidre and I don't meet this side of heaven,

wait,

 can you imagine the three of us meeting this side of heaven?

We should sell tickets!!

How fun would that be?

I mean seriously, we mean business when it comes to Jesus.

The sweet Presence AMAZING!!

And laughter.

Oh the humor.

God has a sense of one ya know?

Ok the brain took a detour.

anyway.....

So when I contacted these two lovelies,

they were both so completely on board with my Thanksgiving ways,

and I didn't even know that Rebecca was a Thanksgiving Scrooge.

HILARIOUS!!!

She wrote a post about it

here.

Cracked.me.up.

Rebecca Jo is a vegetarian,

so I was so excited she agreed to share a couple of

recipes with us.  

Sometimes it can be quite challenging to enjoy a traditional

Thanksgiving meal if you are vegetarian or vegan.

But I believe new, healthier traditions can be made. 

It is a beautiful thing.

Honeyed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes & apples get baked with a drizzle of honey & a sprinkling of cinnamon, then pureed to a creamy consistency.

(You had me at Honey) =) 
Serves 8
2 large sweet potatoes - peeled & cut into large chunks (2 lb)
2 large Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored & cut into large chunks
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
 
Preheat oven to 350 - Place potato & apple chunks in 13x9 baking dish & drizzle with oil & honey.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, & season with salt if desired.  Cover with foil, & bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil & bake 30 minutes more, or until tender.  Cool 5 minutes.  Transfer mixture to food processor & puree until smooth
 
(I've also cut the chunks into small pieces & left that way instead of pureeing it)
 

So I have not had the opportunity to make these lovely recipes this week,

but I did find these picture of Honeyed Sweet Potatoes (the not pureed version)

on Pinterest.

I mean seriously look at these yummies!!

I am hoping to get this made and tried this weekend.

I LOVE sweet potatoes!!!

And the second recipe she sent was:

Whole-Grain Stuffing with Caramelized Onions & Pecans
 
Serves 8
1/4 cup olive oil
6 large onions, peeled, quartered & sliced (10 cups)
2 tsp dried thyme
1 16-oz loaf whole grain bread, cubed
1-1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
 
 1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions & thyme, season with salt (if desired) & reduce heat to medium low.  Cook 30 minutes or until deep brown, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in 2 cups water & increase heat to medium.  Simmer 10 minutes.
3. Pour onion mixture over bread cubes in bowl & stir until liquid is absorbed.  
Stir in pecans & season generously with freshly ground black pepper
4. Preheat over to 350 - Coat 11x7 baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread stuffing in preparing baking dish, & bake 30-45 minutes, or until crisp & brown on top.  Cool 5 minutes before serving.
 
(Prep tip - you can assemble this stuffing dish a day ahead, then bake it just before serving!)

Look at this lovely.

I am kind of a stuffing snob.

 I am a mid-western girl (grew up city)

and had only had Stove Top 

for the first up-teenth years of my life.

So when I was finally introduced to the real thing,

well.....

I thought it was disgusting.

Yep, I'm cool like that.

It was gummy and pasty and I wanted Stove Top back.

Then I developed a lovely allergy to MSG,

and out went the Stove Top as it takes a bath in the stuff.

So I set about making my own.

And since I adore corn bread,

it pretty much makes the food world spin for me,

and enlarges the hips

(another story, another day)

I decided I'd try Cornbread Stuffing.

Oh good gravy train!!!!!

FAVORITE!!

I started making it,

and bathing in it,

=)

(not really that last one,

but you know) .....

And became a lover of the stuffin' 

as stuffin' should be.

And then RJ (Rebecca Jo)

brought this into my life.

I can't wait to try it.

Do you see in the pic?

No gummy, pasty mess.

Nope just stuffin' goodness.

Can't wait to try this bit of loveliness. 

Now let's talk all things turkey for a minute.

(RJ look away-skip to the bottom my vegetarian friend)

My family are carnivores at their finest.

Me not so much.

I was actually a vegetarian for years,

and was even vegan for about 2 years,

but because of major surgeries and my

completely depleted immune system,

I started eating a little organic meat again.

A little fish and chicken and turkey,

but I really do not enjoy Thanksgiving turkey that much.

I'm not sure what it is about it.

But not my favorite.

Now I LOVE all the accoutriments,

ya know the sweet taters,

mashed potatoes and gravy (kinda)

STUFFIN' (made right)  =)

Sweet Corn

Cranberry Salad (not the gelled stuff)

(What is up with that?)

ROLLS ('nuff said)

But turkey,

eh.....take it or leave it really.

And usually I leave it,

but I can cook a mean turkey.

Turkeys are a lot of easy work.

If ya know what I mean.

You wash 'em,

baste 'em,

talk nice to 'em,

(at least I do)

And then stuff with some herbs and an apple or 

orange or lemon or some such goodness,

and slap that whole business in the oven.

But you do have to watch said bird, 

because dry turkeys are YUCK!!

And it happens quickly.

Brining helps.....

A LOT!!!!!

If you have a big enough fridge for such business.

So take a look at this beaut.

Turkey all basted up nice like in orange juice.

You can find the recipe here.

I think it sounds amazing,

but my boys would never go for it.

They like straight up turkey,

no funny business.  

So if y'all are hosting this year,

kuddos to you.

I usually do, but this year we are going to my FIL's

and then hopefully make it to my sweet mama's

for dessert.

You could say a prayer for her,

my sweet mama.

Will chat more about that later.

She could just use 'em.

Anyway, before I get weepy.....

I love y'all 

and

Next Thursday is THANKSGIVING!!!

So get to shopping and planning!!

Oh boy, even though I'm not hosting,

I have a lot to do before then as well.

Love y'all!!

Have a Blessed and Beautiful Day ~~ 

Day 27 ~~ Days of Thankfulness ~~

My word for this year has been.....

When 2011 started, I didn't have a word.

To be honest, didn't even really know about it.

And then I started seeing people on other blogs talking about their word.

So in about March, God really impressed on my heart the word for me for the year,

and it has been steadfast.

I have learned a lot about being steadfast this year.

I have learned what it is to be immovable in the Word and the things of God,

even when difficult things have come up.....

even when others haven't understood.....

even when I've needed time.....

God knew I would need to understand what it is to be steadfast.

Immovable.

In Him.

"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast.

I will sing and make melody."

Psalm 57:7

As I started moving through the year with this word being on my heart,

another word started making its way into my heart to go with it.

Grateful.

Being steadfast makes you grateful.

Being steadfast helps you to remember to be grateful for that which God has given you.....

to be grateful for all God is.....

steadfast has been the perfect word for me this year.

And so lately I have been thinking about what my word will be for 2012,

and God has already given it to me as well.

I will be posting about it, much closer to 2012,

but oh the word He has chosen for me.....

I love you so ~~

Day 24 ~~ Days of Thankfulness ~~

Ok, so the ham is in the oven doing it's thang.....

The turkey is hanging out and getting ready to be placed in a roaster pan ever so gently

for it's turn in the oven.....

This girl has some coffee running through her body, (thank you Casey's),

And I'm ready to get it started!!!

I love Thanksgiving!!

I LOVE having my family all around me.....

I LOVE having my kiddo's home.....

I LOVE seeing my Mr. Winslow just doing what he does (he is SO helpful!!!)

Soon my sweet mama will grace our home with her humor and wisdom....

My baby sis will come bounding through with her energy and spunk,

wearing her "Street Meet" 5K shirt that her and her family will be wearing

after their run this morning....

My older sister will come through with her wit and charm (oh and Orange Salad..... LOVE.).....

My sweet Dak will be home soon and I can't wait.

He will be here to eat all of the Pecan Pie and Sweet Potato Casserole his tall drink of water body can handle.

Legg's right now is just feet from me, dreaming happy dreams and getting ready to get her cook on with her mama =)

This girl is just the sweetest.  

She leaves me the sweetest wall posts.....

She laughs with me.....

She even cries with me when its needed,

but mostly, she just loves me, 

even when I make the wrong Pecan Pie recipe and have to start over.

My Mr. Winslow will soon be up and willing to help me with whatever is needed.

He loves me like no other.

There will be so many more family surrounding the table today.

All with their own beautiful stories.....

I am thankful.

Very thankful.

Sir Cuteness will be here after while too,

and I can't wait to get me some baby lovin' on Thanksgiving!!!

So I hope you all have a Beautiful and Blessed Thanksgiving!!

I LOVE YOU ~~

Day 21 ~~ Days of Thankfulness ~~

THURSDAY IS THANKSGIVING!!!

Y'all know I do love Thanksgiving.

Usually I do several posts on Thanksgiving recipes and decorations and love.

But this year because I have been trying to participate in "The Days of Thankfulness" 

I haven't been doing my countdown to Thanksgiving,

but know that I am planning lots of Thanksgiving goodness for my family.

I love my family so and I absolutely love to serve them on Thanksgiving.

*****

So you can call this a "catch-up" Day of Thanks.....

I am planning on doing a give-away tomorrow,

but have not heard back yet, 

so be looking for my first ever give away 

THIS WEEK!!!

*****

And well, since this is Thanksgiving week,

that means my sweet Dak and precious Leggs will be home from college.....

well, Leggs will be home, 

I think Dak is just coming on Thanksgiving day.....

either way, my chicks will be under one roof for a little while.....

Love.that.

*****

So today I wanted to leave you with this song from Jesus Culture.

We sing this in church a lot right now, and I just love it.

If you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner or just want to read some GREAT tips and fun stuff,

head on over to Beth Moore's Blog  here.

It is SO fun!!!

Have a Super Blessed day ~~

Day 15 ~~ Days of Thankfulness ~~ Pain

Today, I am so thankful for pain.

Weird huh?

But I truly mean that.

Pain has been a blessing in my life.

Especially arthritic pain.

It is constant a lot of days.....

It is generally hard.....

But the lessons it has taught me:  priceless.

I know what it is to move through it.....

I know what it is to have pain and smile and no one even know that I am in

excruiating pain.

Seriously, some days you would never know,

unless you are my husband.

He knows me.

Knows me well.

He knows when I hurt.

He feels my pain.

Sometimes I think literally.

He is such a tremendous Blessing to me.

Lately, pain is been pretty constant.

I am back to trying to control it with ibuprofen,

which is pretty much a no-no for me because of my ulcer issue,

but right now, it is knocking the edge off.

I don't tell you this, so you will feel sorry for me,

or even wish it different.

I tell you because I want you to know

GOD IS ABLE!!!

HE IS ALL I NEED!!!!!

HE IS THE SUSTAINER!!!!!!!

HE IS THE HEALER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE IS MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND I AM HIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Through pain, I learn to be steadfast (my word for this year).....

I learn to be constant in my walk with Abba.....

I learn to be content.....

I learn to be peaceful in the storm.....

I learn He is ALWAYS present.....

ALWAYS.

So today, I am thankful.

I am Blessed.

Even in pain.

***********************

Here is a video I did yesterday.

WOW I wish I could control what picture they put up.

I look sick.

I'm not.

But I'm not wearing much make-up here either.

Okay.

Enjoy.

I love you ~~

Have a Super Blessed Day ~~

Day 13 ~~ Days of Thankfulness ~~ Addicted!!

On Friday evening our church had the last Ladies Rally of the year,

so I took Leggs, Lovely and Legg's friend, Sweet Pea.

Here is Legg's and I.....

Isn't she just beautiful?....

I love her so!!!

 Sweet Pea and Leggs ~~

Gorgeous!!!

Lovely and I.....

This young lady is so beautiful inside and out!!!

She has such a heart for God.....

I LOVE THAT!!

Okay, so Dak didn't go with us,

but brought Leggs home, so she could go with us.....

Legg's was taking pictures.....

look at this.....

Here I am cute-ing it up and look at him.....

Stinker. =)

(Doesn't he look all grown up?)

 And here I am at dinner, before church.

We had SUCH a beautiful time.

Well, while we were there I bought an "I (heart) My Church" shirt.

It is pink and girly and just beautiful.

Well, this morning, I ran to my local gas station before church to get a cup of coffee,

and in line in front of me was a lady with a JRA (James River Assembly) shirt on as well,

from Friday evening.

I said, "I like your shirt."

She whirled around and saw my shirt =)

and just bounded right over and hugged my neck.

We talked about how amazing Friday evening was and then she said the most wonderful thing.

She asked if I went to the Wilson's Creek Campus (our satellite church that is closest to our home)

to which I told her no, we go to the home church.

She said that they just LOVE JRA,

and then she said,

"I AM ADDICTED!!"

"YOU JUST FEEL THE SPIRIT SO STRONG!!!  I LOVE IT!!"

How awesome is that?!!

If I'm going to be addicted to something

LET IT BE JESUS!!

So I came back and told my husband what happened and he asked me if I knew her.

I told him "Nope."  =)

How neat is that?

Drawn together through JESUS!!

So I thought I would just post a few pictures of our dear church.

I love our church so much.

I love it because Jesus is there.

He moves in our midst and speaks to us.

He is saving souls and lighting our hearts on fire for Him.

He is teaching us how to be like Him.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!

So here is our church.

James River Assembly

This is the sanctuary.

And here are our dear Pators:

John and Debbie Lindell

They love Jesus unlike anyone I have ever seen.

They take being like Christ seriously.

Very.seriously.

And they teach us to do the same.
It is truly incredible!!!
They live it out loud!!

We celebrated, today, 20 years of these two beautiful people, John and Debbie Lindell, being the lead Pastors of James River Assembly.

Numbers are NOT everything for sure,

but I wanted to give you just a few statistics that were shared with us through a video tribute to them.

The most beautiful statistic they shared this morning was this one:

26,000+ Salvations!!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

Over $19 Million Dollars giving to missions ~~

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

Please hear my heart here, I do not post this on here to say look how great they are.
They would NOT want that.
I just want to acknowledge all that Jesus is doing in our church,
using these two beautiful people to lead us.
You see, it is not about them or us,
it is ALL ABOUT GOD!!
And they were very quick to point that out this morning.

Pastor told the story of how they came to be the Pastors of JRA.
It is truly a beautiful testimony of God's faithfulness.

*****

Today, we also had a special baptism service and there were over 500 people

Baptized today.

Just today.

They brought in 3 swimming pools and put them in the fitness center

and Baptized 3 at a time.

It was simply A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

I am SO thankful for my church.

I am SO thankful that God lead us to this church so long ago.

We live in exciting times.

I want to be ALL I can be in Christ!!

And my church helps me to do that!!!

I am SO thankful!!!!!

Day 9 ~~ Days of Thanksgiving ~~

Uncommon Love & Grateful Submission

*****

So today is my stepson Chase's birthday.

When I first married my husband, I had NO idea how being a stepmom would enrich my life.

I was nervous as to how to relate to his son.

At first, I wanted to love his son, because I loved my Mr. Winslow so much,

but over time I started loving him, because of who he is.

His struggles, his pain, and his heart has drawn me to him over and over again.

I have fought with him, laughed with him, and cried over him,

but most of all,

I have loved him.

Being a stepmom has given me the unique opportunity

to love outside my comfort zone.  

It is a rare Blessing when you can love so completely,

which only happens through Christ.

I love Him so!!!

So today I want to give a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

to my sweet stepson Chase. 

*****

When I married Mr. Winslow, I had no idea how to be truly submissive.

He has been so extremely patient and kind with me.

I sincerely wanted to love him well.

I sincerely wanted to be submissive to him.

But I had to learn what that meant.

You see, this is what I have learned:

When you are loved like Christ loves the church,

which is how a husband is suppose to love his wife,

and which is EXACTLY the way my Mr. Winslow loves me,

then submitting to his authority is beautiful.

He doesn't lord it over me.

He doesn't demand it.

He just loves me.

I love him so.

Please enjoy

"The Day Before You"

by
Matthew West

So let me encourage you today,

Jesus loves you SO much!!!

He wants only His best for your life,

and that my friends,

is a beautiful thing!!

I love you so ~~ Have a Blessed day ~~

Day 9 ~~ Days of Thanksgiving ~~

~~ Super Hero's & Words ~~

Yesterday was a better day for our little Super Hero, Sir Cuteness,

although he still didn't feel great, it was still a better day.

He slept a lot, but didn't throw up one time.

YAY!!!

He has been SO sick, so we were so happy that he got over that hump.

And last night, he was well on his way back to his Super Hero self.....

(not taken yesterday, but several weeks ago =)

But he will be back to leaping off couches in a single bound,

probably as early as tomorrow.....

Just in time for his daddy's birthday =)

And last night was also a very special evening because it was Tuesday,

and if you have been around my blog long enough, 

you know I have a rare affection for Tuesdays =)

Well, I have a new reason to LOVE Tuesdays since college has started.

It is the day Dak comes into town for Glee night at a friends,

so I usually get to see him for just a few minutes,

and because Leggs has started coming home with him and spending the ENTIRE evening

with this mama.....

Sheer Girl Time Bliss!!!!!

Well last night Leggs and Lovely were here for a very special dinner.

You see Lovely helps run a farm with her dad and she is an AMAZING cook!!!!!

So she had given me a recipe for homemade Alfredo when we went to dinner Friday night,

so last night was the night to try it.

And it was a HUGE success!!!

It was SO SO good!!

(I have NO idea why I didn't take a picture of it.  slacker.)

Well, after dinner, I asked if the girls would like to here my composition of "Mary Did You Know".  

Lovely didn't realize I played the piano, so I sat down and played for her and Leggs.

They are just the sweetest girls EVER!!

From there, we started singing.....

Yes singing with my girls..... SHEER AND TOTAL BLISS!!

God has Blessed me so.  

We sang "By Your Side" "Jesus Messiah" and many others.

It was a wonderful evening.

I love to sing and play the piano.

I.have.missed.it.

Then afterwards, we moved our party into the kitchen and popped Kettle Corn,

and started talking.

It was such a beautiful conversation.

I went to bed thinking about the impact of our words.

Just how life-giving they can be,

and sometimes how life-taking they can be.....

yes they can suck the life right out of someone if your not careful,

but last night was all life-giving, getting to know a new beautiful girl,

and basking in the glow of how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of people who

love Him and have a desire to grow in the LORD amidst difficult situations.

Beautiful.

Something else that struck me about last night

were the words that weren't said.

Those are just as powerful sometimes.

One of us, is going through a really hard time,

and so few words were said in that regard.

But we knew.

Most importantly, God knew.

And knows.

And loves.

And so do we.

Words unspoken.

Powerful.

Profound.

Beautiful.

*****

I am REALLY enjoying being alerted to things in my everyday to be thankful for.

It is a beautiful thing.

I love you ~~ Have a Beautiful day ~~

Day 8 ~~ Days of Thanksgiving ~~

So I must tell you ~~

I AM OVER THIS KNEE.

OVER.IT.

Ok, so having said that,

I am also

SO THANKFUL FOR IT!!!

The lessons I have learned and keep learning from these knees are priceless.

Priceless.

Let me explain,

At church Sunday, during prayer time, my ligament on the outside of my left knee popped and it hurt so much.

After that, it was NOT a good knee day.

I ended up icing it that night,

and oh.my.stars.

That was SO painful!!

Obviously you are NOT suppose to ice ligaments,

well unless you want intense seasing up and pain.

Not.fun.

So after Mr. Winslow got it warmed back up,

it just went back to pain and annoyance.

Well, yesterday it was better, just really tight.

I told my husband on Sunday,

as I limped in from church.....

I.AM.OVER.THIS.KNEE.

To which he smiled and said,

"I'm sorry sweetie."

It helps because I know he really is.

Well, today as I think about thankfulness,

I'm thankful that I can still walk.

I am thankful for my husband, who traverses the daily pain and issues that knees like mine seem to produce.daily.

He is such a trooper.

So in being thankful for my knees,

I have to remember that this is where I have come from.

When I have difficult days like Sunday,

I try to remember that this is the way it was about a year ago. 

This.was.bad.crazy.bad.

Those blisters drove me CRAZY!!!

I show this not to gross you out, but to remind me of how far this knee has come,

especially when I get discouraged.



So as I lift my hands to the LORD today, I will remember from hence I came.

And I was much worse looking than this knee.

Yep, I was a.mess.

And God picked me up out of the muck,

saved my soul,

and set my feet on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ.

I am very changed and very grateful.

I am thankful for Jesus Christ, today and every day.

I love you all so ~~ Have a Blessed day ~~