Hope and Sunset

Our hope is to be able to end each day in a beautiful way with a Grateful Heart. At the end of the day all we need is Hope, and strength to prepare for the upcoming day or week. Rainbow is a symbol of hope.

HOPE

A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. 

A sunset symbolizes the completion of a day's work and shows the passage of time. There are three phases of sunset; Civil twilight, Nautical twilight and the Astronomical twilight. Amazing!

Gulf Beaches

Gulf State Park is a public recreation area on the Gulf of Mexico. Rangers providing around-the-clock security and enforcing anti-littering regulations. In addition to the beaches, the park includes marshland, boggy tea colored streams, pine forest, three spring fed, fresh water lakes: Lake Shelby, Middle Lake and Little lake.

The beach at Gulf shores was so peaceful on this beautiful, cool, briski day in February.

Gorgeous white powdered sand and soft blue colored water. A great family vacation in the near future. Many restaurants and shopping for the whole family.

A beautiful sun set by the bay

Spring Has Sprung

What a beautiful day today with some gorgeous sunshine and a cool breeze. Flowers are beginning to bloom, trees and fields are getting that lush green color to them. Lots of planting to be done and getting ready for the Humming Birds as they make their way to the feeders. We have already had a few drop by to enjoy the food we prepare for them. Planting some Firecracker bushes this year. They are supposed to be great for Humming Birds and Butterflies so we were told. New to us, but it's worth a try just to be able to see the beauty of the flower.....

Strawberries are ready.
Time to get into high gear and get your strawberries for you jam and syrup. We love to make the frozen strawberry jam. It is delicious on toast, biscuits and makes a great topping for ice-cream.

FROZEN STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

6 cups strawberries (can use frozen, but thaw in ref for 4 hours)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 (1.59-oz) envelope freezer jam pectin

Pulse in processor, keeping it a little chunky. Place in bowl; stir in sugar.
Let stand for 15 minutes

Gradually stir in pectin.Stir for 3 minutes, and let stand for 30 minutes.
MAKES 5 CUPS

You may use freezer bags or small jars. Make sure jars have been washed and dried well.
Ready to freeze and eat immediately....ENJOY

December Birthdays

Happy Birthday to all December folks. 

A special Happy Birthday to our son Robbie on December 17th.
12/17/1965-10/23/2009 

Fall Rainy Days

Rainy day and no where to go....take that opportunity to sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, read a book or just snuggle on the couch with a great movie. I love to just sit and watch the rain coming down on the trees, flowers and leaves. 

Tonight will be soup night for our family.

Easy Potato Soup

Dice 4 medium potatoes

add: 4 cups of chicken broth

One medium onion diced

boil for 20 minutes 

One cup of shredded carrots

(adding salt and pepper to taste)

One cup of heavy cream

One stick of Butter (use real butter)

Simmer for 20 minutes

OCTOBER IS GONE & NOVEMBER IS HERE

Oh my, where did October go? Halloween and all the festivities at home, school and church. Loads of candy and "special" treats galore.

Now it's time to settle into our next Holiday which is Thanksgiving. So many things to be thankful  appreciative for. Such a joy and so thankful for my family and friends most of all and the many things that we share through the year. All the baking and preparation for such goodies to enjoy with the family on that special day. As a family we share the cooking and we enjoy the tasting of great dishes from each one of our children. Enjoy your family time and share the memories.

September Birthdays

To all who have had Birthday's this month!! Our family has had several and we have been celebrating all month. Just to share a few of ours.....

Our great granddaughter Gracie....precious!


My husband Charles on the 19th as well as my brother Johnny.

 Our son Chuck,  September 23

Our granddaughter Kheri and grandson Adam both on the 16th

 Gracie our great granddaughter 

Fall is Near

Fall is just around the corner. I am so ready for the changing color of the leaves. The beauty is always breathtakingly beautiful.

Beautiful Autumn leaves, breathing the fresh air as you walk through the winding road.
The glimmering shadow of the trees shinning on the lake. So relaxing....

School Days Are Here

School day's are here again. Seems like the summer break was much too short. This year it is Kindergarten and all the things that go along with it.  Early to rise, rush, rush..... Time just flies anymore....slow down please!
A REAL schedule is back on the board and in high gear.  Time to get up, breakfast, brushing teeth, getting dressed and out the door to get in the car line at school.
Home in the afternoon. Snack time and play time until dinner. More reading.
Meal preparations for dinner. All at the table for dinner at the same time, wonderful family talks as always during this time. Lots of laughter, especially hearing what took place at school then teeth brushed, reading a story, prayers, cuddle time.....
At the end of the day you are trying to figure out where the time went...lol
However the most precious memories made today and each day to follow through the year.
I lovely children & grandchildren!

Beach Trip Panama City Beach Florida

Beautiful view of the beach at St Andrews Park early afternoon and sundown. A very peaceful area and very family oriented. We managed to witness two beautiful Wedding's late that evening. Lot's of camping and boat rental's in the park.

 Beautiful wild life as we entered the park. A day of picnicking, boat rides, bicycling and just chilling on the beach taking in the sun.

 Pigeon Forge Tennessee

The Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge is a great family restaurant with a wonderful view of the river. Not only a great atmosphere, but the view from the window's of the river is awesome. The wait is normally a bit long, but most definitely worth it. The children and adults as well love feeding and visiting with the ducks after diner or while waiting.

HAPPY 4th of JULY

    FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOUR'S, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Road Trip to the Mountains

Had the opportunity to visit the Mingus Mill House in Cherokee N. C. this weekend. What a beautiful scene and such great history presented. I purchased the cornmeal and wheat flour during our visit. Tonight our family enjoyed the corn muffins with our meal. It was very good along with our meatloaf, coleslaw, green lima beans, and garlic potatoes.
Very interesting visit and something for the family.

Pictures below are the inside of the old Mingus Mill in the early 1900's and the water chute on the outside. It was still an operating gristmill grinding the corn and wheat for families in the area during that era. The mill continued to run until around 1930 when the land and mill were bought by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Fathers Day Celebration

First of all I hope that all our dad's and granddad's have had a wonderful day! 

As for our family we enjoyed the day. We had a celebration last night with homemade ice cream and Lunch with my two favorite men, my husband Charles and our son Chuck.

Below is a picture of the day we married, July 23, 1972 and the one below is present. He is still my sweetheart and has been a great example of a dad to our 4 children. Very Blessed!

This is a picture of Charles and Chuck at his dad's Birthday dinner in September. Chuck is also a great dad and has had a very good example in his life. 

Gatlinburg Tennessee

 CROCKETT'S BREAKFAST CAMP

One of our most famous breakfast places in Gatlinburg Tennessee. The best food and giant cinnamon rolls, pancakes and my favorite, the bacon waffles. I plan to have one next week on our road trip.

Another place that we enjoy is the Tennessee Aquarium. We will also be going again next week. There is so much to see and something for everyone to enjoy. It's impossible to see in one day so make sure you plan your trip well.

Our Mid West Travel

Cow Boy Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. One of our most favorite visits this year. Lots of art work and a fake little western town. It is a great place to visit.

John Wayne was my favorite statue in the Museum. I love the way he holds his right hand. Amazing place as I said and we plan to go for another trip in the future. It will take a few hours to go through to really enjoy. We were not allowed to take pictures of the beautiful art work that was painted by many well known artist and went for a "price".

Graduation Time

This is the time of year that our families get into high gear. All High School and College Graduation is here. What an exciting time for all.
To our grandson Kaleb and Ashlan and their many friends from Coastal College in Brunswick, GA we are so very proud of you.
To ALL of the HS and College graduates, dream big and continue your journey in life for that
wonderful future that is ahead of you.

CONGRATULATIONS

School Days 2016-2017

School is almost over for this year. It has flown by as usual. I am so excited for our little Brittini. She will be going into Kindergarten next year and she is already looking forward to the new school year, but until then there will be lot's of picnic's, Library visits, Mall and definitely the Beach scene.
I hope everyone has a marvelous summer!!