Daylight Fades

We are blessed with a wonderful backdrop for photos right out our back door. We are also blessed by such beautiful sunsets. These are just a few of the many sunsets in our collection. I know Michael took this first picture, but since we often trade off on these photos, I can't say with complete certainty which of the others are mine.

Attempted breaking & entering

Hard at work...

Caught!

Showing off...

Back to work...

A decided that she wanted something out of N's room. In order to help protect N's things, we put on a doorknob cover. A discovered once that she could use a pencil to pop off the cover. This time the thing that gave was not the cover, but the pen...

Reading Level

Found this neat little thing on a friend of Laura's blog. (Laura is Michael's sister)

I'm not sure how this works, but I thought it was pretty cool for a high school grad! However, I think the reading level goes down with the more pictures I add...

Pictures

YAY!!! I have discovered that Michael has the same photo software on his computer that I have on mine! So I can post pictures again!!!

YIPPEE!!!

Rachel

Let me tell you about my sister...

She is 17 months younger than me and I picked on her mercilessly throughout our childhood. I have since apologized and I hope she has forgiven me. We took dance classes together and had Sunday School together every other year. I think she was known as "Julie's sister" until she was in middle school/ high school. In high school, on occasion, I was referred to as "Rachel's sister", but it was infrequent at best.

Rachel has since graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Chemistry. (she is the book smart one! I have other talents) She married and has 3 adorable boys who keep her busy. And they are adorable because they are my nephews & I can send them home.

Now, Rachel is starting a new adventure. She has become an Independant Silpada Designs Representative. If you are looking for Christmas gifts, I know where you can find some! You can go to http://www.mysilpada.com/sites/rachel.salazar and find some beautiful jewelry.

I love you Rachel and I wish you the best as you begin this new business!

Blessings abound

I was in Old Navy the other day because they had a really good clearance sale. I figured I'd look for some nice pants that I could wear to church since I only have one pair of nice pants. I didn't find any that I felt comfortable enough in to justify spending almost $20 on them.

Tonight, a woman in our church came to me and told me that she had been praying that God would show her someone about her size that she could give a couple of bags of clothes to. Apparently, as she was praying, I walked into the sanctuary and she knew that she needed to give me the clothes.

I thought she was talking about maybe a couple of WalMart bags or a couple of paper bags. Instead, she brought 2 trash bags over to our truck. You know, those BIG, black trash bags. The 33+ gallon trash bags. I was speechless. (and yes Mom, I did say thank you!)

All I could think was "Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!"

As I sorted through the bags, many of the items were way too big for me. (YAY!!) But then, I came across some items that looked as though they might fit. Of course I tried them on and modeled them for Michael because he is sometimes my best judgement on how something looks.

I now have 2 new, dressy shirts and 3 new skirts. Just what I needed for this winter as I work on losing weight.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.

Arrrgh!

The screen on my computer is toast! Done. Dead. You name it.

My laptop was, fortunately, closed when it slid off the dining table a couple of days ago. When we picked it up and turned it on, there were all sorts of pretty colors and patterns, however, nothing I could really use.

So, until I get the computer looked at, I am using Michael's computer. Which I don't really know how to use all that well, since, ya know, it isn't mine.

Of course, I may just get the cable to hook it up to our TV. That would save the expense of repairs or a new laptop. The one Michael's looked at after this happened was about $1600. But it did have an 18.4 inch screen. Since he wanted me to have a bigger screen for my pictures, I figured that the cable would be the most cost effective option. After all, we have a 42 inch screen on our TV. That should be big enough, right?

PAIL Remembrance Day

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. A day set aside by our federal government to remember the babies who are lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, and as an infant.



If you know of someone who has lost a baby, give them an extra thought, hug, or prayer on October 15th. You acknowledging their loss could just make their day.

Overheard...

"I've got a light saber"

"But I need a gun."

"Use my Transformer."

"The bad guys are here."

"Shoot them."

[photos added]


Did I have boys or girls??

Photo Challenge # 3

I realized that I had not posted my photo challenge during the last 2 weeks. Our challenge was signs or walls.

I liked the marker floating out in the water as we made our way toward either Ocracoke Island or Cape Hatteras. Not your typical sign, but yet still something that points us on our way. It makes me think of the signs that God places in our lives. The markers that tell us we are on the right path. How many times do we (I) ignore those signs?


As stated in a previous post, a Nova that "runs good" makes me laugh!

Ironic

So, Michael's mom & my mom talked and they decided that my blogging was much more important than Michael playing XBOX.

After Michael's parents headed back home, I got on the computer to do some blogging and Michael started up the XBOX. I had barely finished checking email when a window pops up to tell me that one or more networks were detected near my computer. Did I want to connect?

Ummm.....of course I want to connect! So, after a few days of our wireless internet connection disappearing moments after the XBOX is turned on, Michael finally figured out what was going on.

The few days that I put up with it, I got pretty frustrated. After all, here I am trying to upload pictures and update my readers. Not to mention that a friend of mine is going through an extremely difficult situation and I was trying to stay updated with her. (think life & death literally!)

However, I have just connected to OUR internet connection, not someone else's, AND the XBOX was still on!

YAY for Michael!!!

And by the way, Larissa & Peter could use all the prayers they can get. Thanks!

Nova

Nova (no va) in Spanish (loosely translated) means that it won't work. Seeing a Nova that "runs good" just made me laugh.

The view from the top

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was our last stop on Thursday before the hotel and dinner. For a total of $14, Michael, N & Martha were allowed to climb to the top of the lighthouse. Because of my knees and 256 or 257 steep steps, I chose to remain on the ground. So, the following pictures were taken by Michael from the lighthouse.

This house was the assistant keeper's cottage. I think I liked this one better.
I'm not sure what Michael was looking at, but it is a beautiful view.
Probably my favorite. We got to the lighthouse at 3:45 in the afternoon. The shadow is incredible. I didn't notice it from the ground, but Michael got this wonderful picture.

Clouds and ducks

We looked outside one evening to see this beautiful sky. In the intrest of being totally honest, I am not sure if I actually took this picture. Michael & I both took pictures that night.
This one is definitely mine. Michael was at work. :)
Once again, possibly mine. Possibly Michael's...
The fighting ducks. There were several across the street from the Ocracoke Lighthouse. These two males just started fighting. The female in the picture paced back and forth as they fought.
These two just ignored the others as they fought.

Girls

At the park. I wore a long sleeve shirt and A had on a dress. What I had not counted on was the wind. 30+ mph blowing across water is COLD!!! So, the sweet girl got a jacket and I shivered. Fortunately, my camera has an anti-vibration feature...



Michael's parents came for a visit this past week. On Thursday we took a ferry ride to Ocracoke Island. N was busy working on her journal of the trip. Outside the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
Our hotel had this great tree in the front. The tree branch was almost parallel to the ground and the chair under the branch was just the right height to climb into the tree. So, I did what any good Mommy would do. I grabbed the girls & put them in the tree. Then I took pictures. At least this time I didn't have to worry about ripping A's dress...

Happy Happy Birthday!!

Happy birthday to my sweet SIL, Shery & to Michael's mom, Martha!

Double trouble!

These two love each other. They love to play. They love to fight. They love to throw rocks...

We were at church Sunday night while the older children were in practice for their Christmas play. These two were being a little loud and just a bit disruptive, so I took them out for a photo session. They both love the camera.

Collecting rocks.

Almost ready to toss...
Sitting in a tree...
Playing peek-a-boo...
...on both sides of the tree.

We have a name!

"Passion" does not refer to love, but to the Christian theological icon of
the passion of Christ
on the cross. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries
discovered this flower and adopted its unique physical structures, particularly
the numbers of its various parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus Christ and especially
the Crucifixion. For example:
the radial filaments which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower
to flower were taken to represent the Crown of Thorns. The ten petals and sepals
can represent the ten faithful apostles. The top 3 stigmata
can represent the 3 nails and the lower 5 anthers the 5 wounds. The flower has
been given names related to this symbolism throughout Europe since that time. In Spain, it is known
as Espina de Cristo (Christ's Thorn). In Germany it was once known as
Muttergottes-Schuzchen (Mother-of-God's Star). Popular culture being what it is,
however, passionflowers and especially passionfruit are frequently
used with sexual or romantic innuendo, giving rise to such
uses as a one-time soft drink named Purple Passion.
In Israel they are referred to as
clock-flower (שעונית). In Japan, they are known as clock
plant (時計草, tokeisō?).
In North America
they are also called the Maypop, the water lemon, and the wild apricot (after
its fruit). Native
Americans in the Tennessee area called it
ocoee, and the Ocoee River and valley are
named after it. In Hawaiian, they are called lillikoi.

Thank you to Melody for giving me the link to the Wikipedia entry. Amazing that this little flower can represent something so incredible. And just to be clear~ The above explaination of the flower is copied from the Wikipedia page that is shown in Melody's comments under the Unusual Flower post. And thanks to everyone else who chimed in to tell me the name of it!

Unusual flower

My friend Cari told me about an unusual flower that she had seen growing along her road. But, every time we went out together, it was not in bloom. Until one day she called me to say that had bloomed. She told me where it was if I wanted to take a picture of it. IF, is she crazy? Of course I wanted to take a picture!!

So, I drove over and took a few shots. Here it is from the side and then from the top. If anyone knows what type of plant this is from, I'd be interested to know what exactly it is. (ps- it grows on a vine)


I posted this one for our 2nd photo challenge and someone commented that it looked like it had a starfish on it. I personally saw a thigh bone....

Photo Challenge Take 1

I promised I'd share the photos from the challenge, so here they are. Our first challenge was to find something abandoned, rusted or broken. I think I got all 3 in these photos.

Anchors seen behind the museum at the Bald Head Island Lighthouse. This abandoned building caught my eye because of its condition, but also because of the small white cross on the side.

Tag! You're it!

I knew one day this would happen. I've been tagged (asked to share a bit about myself). So, I hope you enjoy another pictureless post. More pics coming soon!!

Attached or single? Attached. Michael & I celebrated our 11th anniversary this past August. It has been an eventful journey, but I can't wait to see where God takes us next.

Best friend? I haven't had one of those in a long time.... However, I have been blessed with several close friends for the first time in years. Being a military wife and moving every year (except for 3) does not allow too much time to form solid relationships.

Cake or pie? Cake AND pie. I can eat an entire cake of the course of a few days. Just don't give me German Chocolate Cake or Coconut Cake. For some reason I've never liked those. But then again, I LOVE Key Lime Pie. And French Silk. And Village Inn has this Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pie (or something like that) that was really good too.

Day of choice? Hard to pick. I love Sunday because we can go to church to worship. I love Saturday because Michael usually lets me sleep in. I love Friday because we get to hang out as a family and stay up late. Friday is our family night. We usually eat pizza and watch a movie.

Essential item? Gotta be my camera. Michael & I went out on Saturday and we saw something that would have made an incredible picture. Where was my camera??? At home. My camera bag & a lens were in the truck with us, but they don't work too well by themselves.

Flavor of ice cream? Mint Chocolate chip. However, I must respectfully disagree with my sweet sister-in law. Blue Bell Ice cream all the way!!!

Gummy bears or worms? Ummmm....YUCK!!!!! Need I say more?

Hometown? I was born in Texas City, TX. We moved to Titusville, FL when I was 6. I have since lived in 9 other towns. This year home is in North Carolina.

Indulgences? Right now it is "The most dangerous chocolate cake in the world." See my previous post about this if you do not know what I'm talking about. I think I have just enough cocoa left to make some for breakfast...

January or July? January. I am not a hot weather person. And lots of really cool people have a birthday in January. Like my mom & my neice & my nephew! And a family friend who is pretty much an "extra" grandparent!

Kids? 2 beautiful girls here on earth and 2 I am waiting to meet in heaven.

Last movie seen in a theater? The Dark Knight. I didn't like it. So, in a couple of weeks, I'm gonna make Michael go watch Fireproof with me.

Middle name? Anna. My parents wanted to name me Juliana, but they could not think of a middle name that they liked so they split the name to be Julie Anna.

Number of siblings? 3. I have an older brother and 2 younger sisters.

Oranges or apples? Give me a good apple with a tub of caramel any day!

Phobia or fear? How many pages can this post take up?? Long lines at the bank start panic attacks. Being widowed. Having to get a "real" job. I admit it. I'm lazy. I'd rather read a book or take pictures than do house work.

Quote? "Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done." ~ CS Lewis

Reason to smile? Praise & worship! God has done so many wonderful things in my life. I don't know why I have had the experiences I have, but I know that God is making something beautiful out of them and that just makes me want to sing!!!

Season? Tough one to pick.

Tag 5 more? Well.... Since I don't really know too many people well enough to feel comfortable tagging them, I'll just say my sister Rachel, my other sister Sarah, and my sister-in-law Shery.

Unknown fact about me? I just recently started teaching the 5th & 6th grade Sunday School class at my church. Until now, the oldest children I have worked with were 1st grade. I also eat frosting right out of the can. And Laura is my SIL.

Vegetarian or oppressor of animals? Vegetables? What vegetables? Meat & potatoes are the way to go!

Worst habit? Eating and exercise. I have struggled with food since I was a teen and was allowed to make more choices about what I did & did not eat. I had been in situations where I had no control over what was going on and so eating was something I could control. There are still days where I eat very little and others where I can hardly stop eating.

As far as exercise, I used to be a compulsive runner until I had knee surgery. Since then I can not run without pain and so, exercise is hit or miss for me now. Which also explains why I weigh 60 pounds more than I did 11 years ago.

X-rays or ultrasounds? I've had both. X-rays when I broke my hand. Ultrasounds for both girls.

Your favorite food? Pastichio. My granddad came to the US from Greece. Somewhere, my mom got a Greek cookbook with a recipe called "Pastichio Simplified III." Now, I don't know what they simplified it from, but it is a challenge to make the first few times without a helper. It is also not a food for people watching either their weight, salt intake, or cholesterol. It contains 6 eggs, at least 4 tablespoons of butter, and over a tablespoon of salt. But it is sooooo good!!

Zodiac? I'm gonna skip this since, well, I am not a fan of astrology.

I'm late, I'm late....

But here are the final birthday pictures!!!

N & A before the wrapping is removed!

N looking at her beautiful journal...
Reading the card very intently...

Putting on the slippers...N wears the slippers every chance she gets. Each night before she goes to bed, she lays down and sits up to make sure her slippers are in the exact right place for the morning. She took the pencil bag to school & her teacher asked her to bring in the journal & slippers to share with the class.

Thank you for sending such beautiful things Mom! We love you very much!

The MOST dangerous.....

.....chocolate cake in the world!



A friend of mine who lives in Australia posted this recipe on a community forum we are both a part of. And this is word for word straight from my friend Kat!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!

(this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any timeof the day or night!

(and it adapts really well - we made it with spelt flour - we made it with a mix of gluten free flours - we are in TROUBLE!)

*****Tonight I sprinkled a bit of powdered sugar on top for the girls & went with the leftover buttercream icing for mine. YUM!********

Team Impact pictures!!

CJ shows off his strength by ripping phone books in half. After the show the first night, N was disappointed that she was not able to get a "souvenir" from the stage. CJ asked what was wrong & N told him she had wanted a phone book. Well, CJ picked up another phone book and ripped it in half just for her. Of course, A wanted the other half, so we have a complete phone book. A mostly complete phone book.

This is Shawn, though when he wrote his name, I really couldn't figure out how he spelled it. He took a small piece of cloth and wrapped it around a 16 penny nail. He then took the nail and drove it through a piece of wood. No hammer needed for this guy.
You know what a hot water bottle is, right? CJ blew up a hot water bottle like a balloon. Until it popped.
Shawn was asking the crowd for some encouragement. Driving a 16 penny nail through a piece of wood was not enough. Sunday night, he took another 16 penny nail and put it through a skillet. And then he rolled the skillet up to look like a burrito. N told me she wanted that skillet, but I was glad I could convince her a piece of broken wood was just as good!
And finally..... Lifting the telephone pole. Shawn bench pressed it and CJ did a clean jerk & press. (At least that is what Michael called it) When we were preparing for the storm, Michael & I moved this pole from the front of the church to the back. It is ridiculously heavy and for one man to pick it up is just amazing!!

Mom~ the pictures of N opening her gift are coming soon! I love you!

Quick Update!

Last night before the storm. (after it rained all afternoon)

This morning after the worst had passed.
Early this afternoon, I peeked out and saw these little guys bathing in the puddle that always forms on our driveway.
As you can see, the storm was over quickly. The only damage I noticed was our neighbor, Sara, lost a couple of small tree limbs.

This, that, and the other thing

We have had an interesting week. My friend Cari & I took a day to work on our Sunday School classroom. The next day, Friday, was dedicated to putting some partially finishing touches on the youth/ everything else under the sun room. That is a whole other issue that I will address only briefly...The youth meet in a room at Salem that is supposed to be just for the youth. Well, the Women's Circle, the Lion's Club, OASIS (senior adults), and several other groups also meet in the "youth room". So, the new paint job was done for the "youth room" in colors that the older generation approved. Cari & I cleaned, touched up the paint, and arranged the tables & chairs. Took us 6 hours...

Then came Team Impact... An amazing couple of guys!! There are 22 men who are a part of Team Impact, but they only sent us 2. They broke baseball bats, both wooden & aluminum. They crushed tin cans with their bare hands. One of the men rolled up a skillet like a burrito. The other ripped phone books in half. The crowds grew each night they were here. (Friday -Sunday) Finally Sunday night rolled around. After amazing the crowd with what they could bend, 1/2 inch thick cold rolled steel bars for example, they took a 300-400 lb telephone pole. And bench pressed it. Then one man picked the pole up to his waist, rolled it up to his chest and finally pressed it up over his head! YIKES!!! The love they have for our Lord just poured out of them. Many decisions were made over the 3 nights. Praising God for how He just draws people back to him. We even had a Muslim attend the first night. While I am not aware if he ever came back, the Gospel was spoken loud & clear. Sunday night, our next door neighbor came with us. Please pray for Sara. She is Jewish, but she also has books about Zen, Buddhism, and other religions lining her bookshelf.

After Team Impact, came the phone call I really didn't want to hear. On Tuesday afternoon, Michael called to tell me to prepare for a hurricane. Hanna has seemed to become a bit more disorganized and she has weakened back to a tropical storm. However, school is out tomorrow so shelters can open. Hurricane Ike is more of a concern for us. There is the possibility that the base will order an evacuation. We will be keeping an eye on things and I will try to update as I can. Anyway, we have our food, water, gas & enough propane to fire up the grill for a few days.

Yesterday and today, Cari & I have prepared for a hurricane as well as tried to finish painting our classroom. We now have a coat of white paint on 3 walls and a very pretty yellow on the 4th wall. I think we need to do another coat of the white though.

So that is our picture-less update. I will post pictures once I get my computer back. The girls are watching Star Wars again...

Creatures from the deep...

Ok, maybe not so deep. But these little guys were found in the water behind Cari's house on Saturday.

Believe it or not, but this is a shrimp. It doesn't quite look like the ones we had for dinner.
My pastor's son brought a cup up to the house. I thought he just had a drink. That is, I thought he had a drink until he pulled out this little fish. After I took a picture of the shrimp, the kids asked me to take pictures of the other creatures they found. It was sweet.
And no, I did not touch any of them!!