With Cherries On Top….

  I am lonely today!  Did you know Avery started 3-School last week and will now go every Friday?

Yup, it’s just Paxton and I here a good portion of the morning.

{SIGH}  How is it that all my kids are so quickly approaching school age?

   3 of my 4 are in some form of school, 1 or more days a week. WAH!  My years as a Stay at Home mom seemed to stretch as far as the eye can see, but in reality, they are quickly passing by.  I don’t like it.  You know what they say, “Days are long but years are fast.”

  Anyhow, I thought since it was so quiet here, with Pax taking his morning nap and all,  I’d use this time to update you on things at the Ferguson home……..

 

This is the space formally known as my front yard:

  Apparently we have a crushed lateral pipe that needs fixing, promptly!

This was taken day 1 of digging. You should SEE it NOW! Twice this at least!

Look at Ty’s shovel parked next to his daddy’s,  AWWW!

This is poo water: 

Every time my kids go outside they ask “Ew. Who tooted?” Yup, it’s disgusting!

This is the Tahoe:

Well, the wheel of the Tahoe…hey, it’s the only photo I could find in a hurry!

It died on me in the middle of the gas station, multiple, multiple times. The middle, as in the DRIVEWAY. Not the side, not at the pump, the MIDDLE.  Of course!  It will cost $700 to repair. 

This is Saprina, our beloved kitty:

 

She is MIA and my kids are totally broken-hearted over it. Lots of tears last night and this morning.

This was my checking account balance as of last night:

$250 worth of bills will hit in the morning.

This is the pile of dishes.  Nasty, crusty dried Mexican night dishes:

  I decided to leave them as they were, as in all over the kitchen counters, to go get the kids down early.  They all had school the next day, so it seemed like the right choice. I usually AT LEAST give them a good rinse and stack them neatly, before doing bedtime, but this time? Nope, that would’ve been TOO convenient!

This is where I did dishes last night after Dale hit the point of no return on the pipes during bedtime songs and prayers…..this occured BEFORE he could warn me that no running water was going to be allowed until further notice!

Super crusty dishes plus cold water doesn’t equal very clean dishes. Yuck. I will re-do them as soon as the water privileges are back!

The list of things that broke this week goes on longer than I’ve mentioned, but I am going to choose to quit here, lest you think I’m a complainer.  Rather, I’d like to say this:

 

God is SO good.

Here is the tractor, loaned to us for free to fix the broken poo-water pipe, saving us from renting one:

By the way, here is the culprit of the broken Lateral line aka Poo Pipe:

ROOTS!

Here is the Lowe’s gift card we were blessed by early this morning by one of the Lord’s vessels:

We used it for NEW poo-pipes. Thank you for the blessing, Angel from the Lord! This Do It Yourself Project just saved us the $1500 it would’ve cost to hire it done!!!!!!

This is my ride until the Tahoe is fixed, loaned to us by a generous uncle:

I might be a truck girl after all! 

*I am jumping in here to add a new note before I publish this, I just got off the phone with Dale.  Remember how the Tahoe cost $700 to repair? Guess who is getting a $700 commission check in 2 days.  YUP, us!  God is GOOD!

Here is Pax, totally entertained while I make supper:

No crying baby at my feet!!!!

Yay for free entertainment!

  I wish I had good news about little Saprina, but she is still nowhere to be found.  We did drive around last night and talk to some neighbors. We also put up a few signs to make Destiny feel like we are doing SOMETHING to find her wayward friend.  Even our wiener dog, Sophie runs around outside, whining and crying, running to and fro looking for her BFF, Saprina.   😦

May the Lord guide her little furry steps safely back to us, or may the right people see the signs and return her….Amen.

Remember my $4 account?  Here is our bank account the next morning: 

PTL! Just in time and just enough to cover the $250 in outgoing bills, with a little extra even!
Know why?  Because God is a God of EXTRAS. 

He is lavish in His love.  Even down to details we deem “silly”.

And there is more…..

Here is my cherry on top for the day:

Sweet treats from a precious friend who knows my need for comfort food, as well as my major Ice Cream weakness!  She even picked one of my top 2 favorite brands, and look at all those flavor choices!!!

One scoop of each? Why yes, please!

And….another cherry on top!

WHAT?!

A Bonus bonus?!

Another person sent over the Christmas décor I wanted from her garage sale but knew I couldn’t buy!  What a great surprise!

God is good all the time, All the time God is good……

He always provides, and sometimes even throws in a couple cherries on top!

Praise His name!

~T

 

And Then There Were 2….

  I have a “MOM, What’s for Dinner?” Recipe for you. Well, not really a recipe, more of a throw it all together sorta thing.

I had nothing planned for dinner, which is unusual for me. I love to try new recipes and usually have one picked out in the morning and prepping supper by mid afternoon.  On this particular night, it was already 5:30, and we had just walked in the door from a SUPER busy day.  The kids tummies were going off and the clock was ticking. Hmm, no money for frivolities like take out or pizza delivery, so it was time to come up with something, and QUICK!

Here is what I made:

Y-U-M!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s call it Garden Italian Creme Pizza.  OR “MOM! What’s for Dinner? Pizza”.

I had one of these Philadelphia Cooking Cremes that I got for next to nothing with a coupon, yay!  And a garden full of basil, jalapenos and red peppers.  I also had a container of tomatoes that needed to be used. Hmm, what could I make?! 

 I took 2 crescents (set out for a bit to soften) and spread them into my bar pan from Pampered Chef, you could easily half this and make a circle pizza. I think circle pizzas taste better in general!!!! Dale thinks I am nuts.

“Shapes don’t make a difference.”  Uh yeah, they do.  Why do you think no one wants to share the first bite of pie? You have to eat the tip, its part of the yum factor!

  Back to the non-recipe recipe.  Ok, I just made a crust.  Bake it until starting to turn golden brown, probably 425* for maybe 15 minutes? I can’t recall, just watch it closely and remember, it’ll go back in the oven again.

Next, spread crust with Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking crème.  I used almost the whole thing for my big rectangle pizza, so 1 circle pizza would use half.

  Wash and thinly slice 1 red pepper, seed & thinly slice 4 fresh jalapenos and thinly slice your basil leaves as well.  Sprinkle all these garden goodies over your crème sauce.  Top with mozzarella cheese (FRESH if you have time, which I didn’t) and top with tomato halves.  Back in the oven it goes, just until the cheese is gooey, remember your crust is already baked.

OH MY WORD! We have had this TWICE now, and I don’t repeat recipes. It was that good!

In other news, Tylan started preschool yesterday! 

Please excuse his butchered head of hair, er, lack of hair?  He dipped when I dodged and snip…bye-bye long bangs that I loved.  I’ve cut his hair always, but of COURSE this happens the week before school starts!!!!!  Thankfully his luscious locks grow super fast and my little curly head will return quickly, but poor kid, talk about locking into history a rather AKWARD moment!!!!  🙂

“Oh look, here is a photo of Tylan on his first day of preschool.”

“Mom! What happened to my hair?”

“Sorry son.”

He’ll forgive me, right?!

Right.

 

  Ok, it’s time for school, Buddy! 

And then there were 2……

~T

Potato Stick Chicken Salad

  What does supper prep look like at your house?  Mine pretty much looks the same every night. 

This is what I see:

  No matter how hard I try to have supper ready at a decent time, my babies….every blessed one of them….have picked 4:30-5:30 pm as “Fussy Time”.  It doesn’t matter if I have done every lick of supper prep in the AM, or whether I’ve saved it all for 4:00. It doesn’t matter whether they’ve had a big snack or a little snack, no matter what……they cry and cling to my leg. 

  Thank God they outgrow it soon after the year mark, but MAN, until then….AHHHHHH! I want to pull my hair out.

  Despite the crying urchin clinging to my leg, I was able to make this yummy supper for us last night. 

  My mom made this all the time when we were kids, and I LOVED it! Especially the crunchy potato sticks you get to put on top.  This is such an easy salad to throw together in the morning for a delicious supper on the fly.  We love to serve it with fresh corn on the cob!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Cubed Cooked Seasoned Chicken
• 1 bunch Celery, Finely Diced
• 10 ounces, weight Package Carrot Shreds (I Take Out 1 Handful As I Feel The Whole Package Is Too Much Otherwise)
• 6 Tablespoons Sweet Pickle Relish
• 2 cups Frozen Peas, Thawed
• Miracle Whip, Just Enough To Moisten
• Garlic Powder, Salt And Pepper To Taste
• Dill, To Taste, Optional
• 7 ounces, weight Container Of French Fried Shoestring Potato Sticks

Mix together all of the listed ingredients except potato sticks, adding just enough Miracle Whip to moisten it to your taste. Refrigerate until serving time, this will keep great overnight as well.

Serve the salad topped with potato sticks in individual bowls.

Summer’s over, and fall foods are just around the corner, so you better make this quick! 

 ~T

Re-photographed 6-25-2013

Fall On Jesus

  If you read my “Broken” post last week, then you know things are tough here right now.  Really, really tough on all sorts of levels. In addition to everything else we are dealing with, we have an issue with the pump on our well, which randomly leaves the entire house waterless (at the most inopportune times of course), a lateral line that is crushed and needs to be dug and replaced so the sinks and showers stop backing up, and to top things off, the Tahoe died no less than 7 times yesterday, again in the most inopportune moments!  I’m seeing $ signs and all I can do is trust that once again, the Lord will provide a pay check in time to take care of this.

Interestingly enough I had a message from an acquaintance that lifted my spirits.  She was an upper classmen when I was at Central.  Here is what she wrote:

Hi Tonya – I am praying for you! I dreamed about you Thursday night and woke up suddenly with a desire to pray. In my dream huge ants were stealing all kinds of stuff from your house, they had overtaken everything and you were powerless against them. I barely know you, but we are sisters in Christ. I just now skimmed through your “Broken” blog entry, and felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to tell you God is even waking up people that barely know you to pray specifically for you.

This is one of two messages I received from people being woke up to pray for me and my family.

Woah. {Chills}

Despite all these bumps in the road, we are still trucking along.  I’d like to thank you all for your outpouring of messages, comments and prayers in response to my Broken post! You are such a blessing to my family & I!

 I feel as if we have spent more of 2011 IN the Refiners Fire than out.  Between continuing the journey through our year financial discipline (read that No regular paychecks yet no bounced checks, praise His name!) and this newest heartbreaking development that I referred to in Broken, the heat is ON!  I know God disciplines those He loves, and that as we experience the pain of the Refiner’s Fire and Him chipping away at the dead weight in our lives, we may cry out “Stop! It’s too much!”….but, in the end, when something new and better emerges, we’ll be thankful; when beauty comes from the ashes, it will all be worth it. 

This “chipping away” at the dead weight, is illustrated beautifully here:

God’s Chisel:  http://skitguys.com/index.php?/videos/item/gods-chisel

  I can’t get it to attach, but please, just take a quick moment and go watch it.  Please?  Then come back, I’ll wait.

  Ready to go on?  Did you find a kleenex to wipe away your tears?  Wasn’t that an INCREDIBLE illustration of what God wants to do in our lives? 

  God is making me His Masterpiece so He can use me to do great things. Little ol’ me.  Woah.

   It’s so disheartening to me, that the Sunshine of Tonya-land is not shining as brightly as it used to. In fact, some days it’s completely hidden by a wall of dark, foreboding rain clouds.  This is not how I choose to live my life, it’s not!  But here I sit, in the rain, miserable at times, as I deal with a circumstance I feel unable to control.  Dealing with several circumstances I AM unable to control, actually….Man, I hate that!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another lesson I suppose: Giving Up Control.

  I cling to the hope that you have to first have Rain to see Rainbows, and I have to believe that I will have my “Birds Always Singing, Sun Always Shining, Lemons Come in the Form of Lemonade” Life once again. 

I miss it.  Tonya-land was a really nice place to live.

 

I don’t know much right now, but I do know this…….

I, Tonya, am a Child of the King. An original masterpiece. This chipping away process has to happen in order for others to see Christ in me.

Sometimes you run towards Christ,
Sometimes you can’t run, so you walk towards Him.
If you can’t walk, you stand, facing the right direction.
If you can’t stand, lean.
Lean on Him, for He IS the right direction.
And if you fall?
Fall on Jesus.
In Him there is hope, life, and the promise of a bright future.

Face down at the feet of my Savior,

~T

A Birthday Bash: 82nd Style.

Happy Labor Day! I forgot we all had the day off and went ahead and planned a post for you.

  My Grandpa turned 82 last week, so we decided that was a great reason to get together and celebrate over the long weekend! 

“Did you say 82!?!?!?! When did THAT happen?”

  We enjoyed BBQ ribs, pulled pork, Linguini Oh-Yeah, chips & dips, followed by Grandma’s FAMOUS  chocolate chip cookies and Nana’s nearly as famous, Homemade Peach ice cream made with Colorado Peaches, of course. YUMMO! 

During dessert, Paxton decided to take matters into his own hands and use an Everyone-is-Distracted Moment to help himself to some homemade ice cream…

  Well goodness sakes, how can I be upset looking at a SWEET face like this?

Yes, I let him have some, we all did. Little beggar got his fill, no worries!

After supper the kids BEGGED to play The Game With No Name.  Ok, maybe it has a name, but at the moment I cannot recall it.  I’ll explain it to you instead:

All the grown ups and kids stand in a circle.

  Whoever is “it” takes the ball round and round the circle, sneakily dropping it behind an unsuspecting grown up or kid, then runs….

If you get the ball dropped behind you, you grab it and RUN in the opposite direction of the “it” person, trying to beat them back to their spot.

Hey!!!! It’s kind like Duck Duck Goose expect with a ball and no talking! (Did you see that light bulb moment happen?!  What can I say, I loose brain cells with every pregnancy!)

To say my kids enjoyed The Game With No Name That Is Kinda Like Duck Duck Goose with No Ducking or Goosing, would be a bit of an understatement.  In fact, I am surprised Destiny has a voice left at all as much cheering and screaming she did!

Great Grandpa and Grandma had just run a 5k that day, and their legs hurt, so they decided to sit out. 

Ok, not really, but either way, they had fun watching!

  Time for a few gifts!

  We gave him a Daily Journal called “Grandpa, Tell Me Your Memories…”

 

  I am so excited to have him fill it out, that man has STORIES like you would not believe!!!!!  And I sure can’t recall them all, you know, with brain cells missing, as previously discussed. This book will be priceless to my kids as they grow up!

  As everyone gathered around the Birthday Boy, I saw an opportunity and called for a Group shot! 

Easy right?!

Wrong!

Close enough! That’s a wrap, people.

Happy 82nd Birthday, Grandpa! We LOVE you!

xoxo

~T

Broccoli & Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes

   This is the view to my left as I type this:

Nosy little guy! He is supposed to be napping, but mean ol’ teeth woke him up early.  He has learned to step up onto the little reading chair down there, and is so proud as he stands big, taking it all in.  🙂

  I have a recipe to share with you and then I need to go snuggle that sweetie-pie…….this recipe is a starchy side AND a veggie all-in-one, how can you go wrong?!

BROCCOLI & CHEESE TWICE BAKED POTATOES (click to print)

Recipe by Once  A Month Mom

• 4 medium Potatoes
• 1 cup Broccoli florets, steamed (or use frozen broccoli and steam)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup Ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 4 T. butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Directions: Wash and poke holes in each potato. Cover each in foil. Bake at 400 degrees for an hour.

Remove from oven and unwrap the foil. Let them cool for 30 minutes.

*Use a hot pad or kitchen towel while handling the potatoes, they will be very HOT*

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the insides, carefully leaving a 1/4 inch in the skin. Place all the scooped out middles in a large bowl. Set the potato skins onto a cookie sheet.

Mash the potatoes with a fork, mash only until lumpy, not smooth. Then add the broccoli, ranch dressing, butter, sour cream, garlic powder and ONE cup of the shredded cheddar cheese. Mix together well.

Spoon the mixture into each of the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

  Dig in, these are so GOOOOD! 

  Gotta go play…….someone special is waiting for me!

~T

This post shared at:

Gooseberry Patch

Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday

This Chick Cooks

 

Oh How the Years Go By….

 

When I saw Ty and Dale out mowing together last night, I had a flashback…..

  Little Tylan used to mow with his Daddy for HOURS on end.  He’d just sit there and doze off, wake up and sit some more.  Just content to be with his Hero.

Oh how the years go by…..

~T

Broken

2 Kings 6:1-6:  An interesting story tucked in scripture…..paraphrased in story form below.  Seriously, fascinating stuff! Don’t scroll past this, please read it!!

An Axe Head Floats

  Because Elisha was so well-known, many men came to him to learn about God. They were servants of God and prophets, too. The place where the men lived as they learned from Elisha was too small for all of them, they needed a bigger place to stay. These men were not wealthy, they spent most of their time learning and studying with Elisha. They did not spend their days working to make money. So if they wanted a bigger place to meet and learn, they would have to build it themselves.

The group of men approached Elisha and told him, “Elisha, the place we meet with you is too small. Let us go to the Jordan River and cut down some trees to build a bigger place.” Elisha said, “That’s a good idea. Go and do it.” “Won’t you please come with us?” they asked. Elisha replied, “I will go.”

Elisha and the group of men went to the Jordan and they began cutting down trees. As one man was cutting down a tree, the iron axe-head fell into the river.

  “Oh no!” he cried. “It wasn’t mine. I borrowed it from my master. What will I do?”

  The axe-head sank quickly to the bottom of the river. It was too deep to go in and find it. It seemed like the axe-head was lost for good.

Elisha asked where the axe-head had fallen. After pointing it out, Elisha cut a stick and threw it to that spot. Amazingly, the axe-head floated to the top! Iron does not float! It was a miracle!

  While Elisha asked God for a miracle to retrieve a lost axe head of all things, consider what he did not ask. Elisha did not ask for a supernatural construction of their new dwelling from the Lord. (I’ll bet they would rather have had God build it!) If God’s prophet could retrieve lost axe heads, then why could he not also miraculously construct buildings?

  The truth is that God is able to do all things, but Elisha did not ask God for such things. What God did provide through Elisha was a tool—an axe head—so that this prophet could cut down trees for construction.

   How many times I have wished that God would do the tough jobs Himself, supernaturally, and not leave any of the hard work to me. But what we read in our text is very true to the way God works:  He provides us with the means—the tools—to do what He has planned, and then He expects us to labor to accomplish it. These “tools” are not just material things, like axe heads, but are divine gifts from God.

—————————————————————————————————

   The reason I shared the above story with you, is because it’s the story of my life. 

See, as I was “clearing the trees” to grow my life, my faith, this blog…..the axe I was given by my Master, broke. 

  In fact, it broke back in July already.  The axe-head broke off and fell deep down into the murky River of Life, and because I am a glass-half-full-kinda girl, I just kept swinging at the tree in front of me, with only the handle of my axe.  Swinging and swinging, hoping to still accomplish something, ANYTHING that could be counted as good and worthy.  Asking the Lord to allow me to continue working, to continue clearing….even with a broken axe.

  But, my arms are tired.  My hits to the tree are fruitless. I’ll accomplish nothing without the sharp edge of my axe head. 

I need a miracle.

I need the Lord to raise up my axe head from the bottom of the river, so I can be productive in life, and on this blog for Him once again. But quietly He said,

“Sorry Tonya, not yet…rest in my arms for I know you are weary. Let Me minister to you for a while.”

  Yes, Father.

 So I come to you today, broken. So very very broken…

I cannot tell you the details of what occurred, what caused my axe head to be lost, because I cannot bring myself to share them with you, so please, don’t ask.

To own the words that would be written would make it all too real.

  It would be a slap in the face all over again.

Just pray for us, please.

Pray for my family, my precious little ones.

The enemy is attacking at all sides. 

    I won’t quit this blog, as my first thoughts dictated, the Lord was the one who asked me to start this, it will be Him who gives me permission to quit.  He said no to quitting, but I will need to slow down, and I do feel I have the Lord’s blessing on that decision.  I need the freedom to choose to NOT come sit at the computer if something arises that I need to work through.   

    But, what about the posts you all respond to most?  Do you know the ones I am referring to? 

  The “Wake-Me-Up-in-the-Middle-of-the-Night, Nudge-From-the-Lord, Time-to Share-From-the-Heart” Posts that I have sobbed through in the past?  The ones that I am usually SO embarrassed to share?  Yup, those. 

  Man, do I love it when you respond to my soul-bearing posts, encouraging me that I am not alone and that this was just what the Lord needed you to hear today.  Telling me my tears were worth it, that I heard Him correctly, that the missed sleep was for His glory after all.  Those kind of posts will have to wait…I’m just too broken right now to share.   (These posts are found in the new “From the Heart” category if you’d like to re-read some of the old ones.) 

The good news is……

  When I am weak, He is strong.

  When I have no words to say, He will say them. 

  As soon as He nudges, I will write from the heart again, I promise you that.  Until then I’ll just keep posting recipes and stories from the Ferguson house as time allows. 

  I know the Lord will miraculously bring my axe head up to the surface one day, sharper than ever.  Then, I’ll know it is time to start swinging away for His glory once again!

Right now?

 I am hurting.

   I have no words to say, no heart-felt nuggets from the Lord to share with you, the tears streaming down my face are all I have to offer. Everything He is speaking to me goes straight to my heart, where I selfishly cling to it.

Someday, this circumstance will be shared for His glory, I know it.

Someday.

But for now?  Just pray.

~T

 

Bible Story resources:

 http://www.theheights.org/preschool_lessons/CStory-ELI-8.pdf

http://bible.org/seriespage/life-and-times-elisha-prophet%E2%80%94-saved-syrians-war-never-happened-2-kings-61-23