"They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned...strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith." (Acts 14:21-22)


I received a comment from Mylinda the other day, directing me to her blog. I was a little surprised that she'd awarded me the Mathetes award.


"Mathetes" is the Greek word for disciple. The Mathetes Award originated at Management By God and is given to those who exemplify the life of a disciple of Christ by having a heart to share God's Word and further His kingdom by carrying His message to the ends of the earth.





Mylinda is definitely worthy of this award. Check out her blog if you haven't already. And now I must nominate 5 others for this award. I have been reading some newer blogs (or at least new to me,) that I'd like to share.

Kristin at Yankee Mom
Ann at Small Town Life
Julie at Pearls In A Nutshell
truevyne at The True Vine
Pam at Pinnacle, Pitfalls, and Potty chairs
Annie at My Life as Annie & Pray for Izzy

Dan King prayed this prayer over his nominees. I pray the same for mine and for the rest of my fellow bloggers who exemplify the life of a disciple of Christ.

I pray a blessing over the bloggers that receive this award, and ask that the Holy Spirit use them mightily as they share the Word of God with the world around them. May all of their efforts be fruitful, and their words carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Time To Get Serious

Okay, I was hoping to not have to do this. But my boys, the Rockies are down 3 games. They need a little extra encouragment. Bring on the Spartan Cheerleaders!!!

GO ROCKIES!!!!

Really, I'm not advertising for Budweiser. It's just that they were taking free pictures with the clydesdale for the World Series. How could I resist???

I forgot to mention. Last Saturday was a gorgeous day for Homecoming. It was sunny & 80 degrees. Hilary spent the night with a group of friends after the dance. She came home barefoot, wearing shorts and a t-shirt. This is a picture I took Sunday morning:





Our first snowfall of the season!!!! Colorado is the best place in all the world to live. The beauty, variety, sunshine, snow...I love everything about it. Oh, and GO ROCKIES!!!!!!!!

(P.S. I've been having to edit my picture posts. Blogger seems to not like my photo size anymore.)

New Site

I began getting phone calls for recipes, shortly after my offspring began to leave the nest. After a few calls wanting to know how to make frankfurter goulash, or that dish with chicken and maybe tomatoes and noodles, I decided to put together a recipe book. I thought how fun it would be to give each of my kids their own personal cook book with some of the families favorite recipes. I thought it would be nice to include photos of each dish to help them recall which one they were remembering.

It hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, I decided putting the recipes online was an even better idea. I still plan to make a hard copy for my family members. Living in the 2000's, books such as this could very well become obsolete, collector's items.

For now, here is the beginning of my labors. http://13recipes4me.blogspot.com/

I will try to put up a recipe a day and add photos as I take them. Enjoy!

To Jay Alves, Rockies Spokesperson

I realize that this is the first time ever that the Colorado Rockies have had the privilege of selling tickets to the World Series. But please! If you were unsure of how to sell tickets, why didn't you consult other, more experienced teams on how to accomplish this? The Boston Red Socks didn't seem to have any problems selling the tickets for games in their city. AND, they reserved some specifically for diehard fans to purchase at the gate on game day. How sweet is that for fans who couldn't get tickets???

Selling the tickets strictly via the internet did not make our city appear high tech. On the contrary, it showed the rest of the country how inept we are at hosting the World Series-or at least our inability to adequately sell tickets period. What about those who bleed Rocky Mountain Purple? Shouldn't we have a chance at tickets? By selling strictly through the internet, you have opened the door to the world to scalp tickets to the game in our own beloved city. Can't a few tickets be sold locally, making it easy for Denverites to see our home team play?

I am very disappointed. And yes, I wasted a good portion of my day trying to access the site for tickets. I don't think I can afford to waste another day for another chance. Afterall, in the few hours the site was up, it received 8.5 million hits. How is it going to be different tomorrow?

Go Rockies! Rah, Rah. (Said with less enthusiasm than before.)

Homecoming

Sarabeth & date


My girls & Ethan

Hilary & date

This is "the worm" portion of Hilary's dance. She performed this the day after her injury.

Oh Louis...

Exactly one month ago, I posted this. I mentioned the calming affects of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" on driving, especially in stressful situations. Last night's occasion was no different.

I was about to mash a pot of potatoes when my phone rang. A cheery voice sang out,

"Hi, Mom!"

"Hi, Hilary."

(Pause.) "I'm at practice right now." Yes, you are every day at this time.

"We were doing the worm, and I got kicked." Quit pausing, and get to the point. Why are you calling? This mom gets a bit impatient with unexpected phone calls.

"The trainer says she doesn't think my nose is broken, but I need stitches. Do you want me to wait until the end of practice?" What, does she think I can't be bothered right now?

I picked her up, even though her sister, who drives, was at the school. I couldn't remember which urgent care accepted our insurance, so opted for the ER. Hilary had a pretty good attitude. She told me the details while listening to Louis.

Emergency Room doctors and staff think humor is encouraging to their patients.


Doc: "When noses are that swollen, we don't bother ex-raying them to see if they are broken.
You'll know in a couple of weeks anyway. Just look in the mirror. If it is crooked, you can bet it is broken.


Nurse: "Your homecoming is this weekend? Just wait 3 weeks, put on your dress, then take your pictures. Or just take them Saturday looking like a racoon."


Doc: "Usually we try to use glue on faces to minimize scarring. But I'm going to stitch this instead. Just 3 tiny stitches across your nose."


Nurse: "Ice is your friend. If not, your face will be very swollen."


It was after 9:00 when we arrived home. She's at school today, a bit nervous to perform the worm portion of the dance at the pep rally. Tonight is the game & tailgate party, tomorrow the dance. I hope she will keep smiling when she sees the photos from these events.

I've joined the craziness in Colorado & turned my blog purple to honor our World Series Team. After the sweep on Monday night, I woke up Tuesday morning to be one of the first to get Rockies t-shirts. It wasn't an original idea. I had appointments to get to, so I came home empty-handed.

I spent over 3 hours at Children's hospital with Elisabeth-a bone scan and CT scan. Children's hospital went through a huge move across town to a brand new building. Touted as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the nation, the new facility was needed to provide expanded services and I thought more parking. I was unimpressed when I arrived to cones in front of the parking garage that indicated it was full. I do believe I could get used to Valet Parking. I wonder if I could hire them full time?

This week is Homecoming week at the High School. I thought the festivities were for the high school kids? I'm expected to be at the pep rally on Friday, make a main dish that serves 12 for the tailgate party, help find proper attire for Spirit Day, Bling Day, Crazy Sock Day, and I can't remember the others. Let's not forget ordering flowers, buying new dresses/shoes, hair, nails, makeup....Saturday is the last big event. I'm tired already. I'm sure I'll feel much better after the soccer game and choir concert tonight.

(You all know I wouldn't miss a minute of it. Hilary even let me paint her fingernails silver with little black paw prints because I couldn't find the right green two stores later. Of course those will be removed and redone in a french manicure before Saturday.)

Autumn

Autumn

such a fickle season,

teasing with your constant changes.

Warm sunshine dances upon my skin

reminding me of past summer days.

Fierce winds blow rain, sleet, and (gasp) snow,

bite at my face.

A foreshawdow of winter.

Brilliant displays of red foliage,

oranges, & yellows alive like fire.

Too soon, all I see is barren nakedness

Crunching. Dry leaves crushed beneith my feet.

Days get predictably shorter,

darkness cuts into my afternoons.

Spicy hot cider, pumpkin bread,

Sweet hot cocoa, I drink in your delicious scents

Even the smoky wood smell from the crackling fire

intrigues my senses.

You flaunt your loveliness

Taunting me with your bounties,

But I've seen your other side

You are Fall.

To my friends and family in Arizona:
(Except Christopher)

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. A loss can be so hard to accept. Please don't resort to throwing things, as others have done. We all need to learn that losing is a part of life. Especially since we expect you to experience 3 more losses like the one last night.

Go Rockies!

P.S. Christopher, enjoy the game tonight, but watch out for the Diamond Backs' fans-they don't handle loss very well.

Weekend of Surprise

It was a much anticipated weekend for Hilary. On Thursday, her cousin from Arizona was flying in to spend the weekend. We'd timed it just right, so Cara could see Hilary perform for half-time at the football game. Well, that is until we realized the game started at 4 instead of 6:00p.m. Her flight was at 3:30. It would be a close call.

The traffic was horrendous. Her flight came in early, we arrived late. More traffic, but somehow we managed to show up just before half time. Hilary was excited to see us walk through the gate.

It was a very close game, but her team lost. Hilary was undaunted. She was looking forward to spending the next few days with her favorite cousin. As the players were coming off the field, she was surprised when one of them stopped, gave her flowers and a card, and asked her to Homecoming. I didn't get a picture, so we hurried out to the bus, where the players were pulling off their equipment/shirts. This is the best I have. Boy, did her siblings harass him about being half naked!

Later that evening, Christopher surprised me by flying in for the weekend. He brought with him a spiderman costume for Ethan. It was a great weekend.