Happy Thanksgiving. . . .

Just a quick post today to share how truly thankful I am for my family and friends.  We have been blessed this year by many prayers.  I am not sure we would have survived this year with out prayer and the good Lord above directing our path.  He does move mysteriously, sometimes he takes things away from us only to give us something better and make us realize that we still need Him.
Thankful and looking forward to what 2017 holds for our clan.
Stay tuned for we do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds it.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

I Can do that, I've Seen Mom do it. . .

I can do that, I have seen my Mom do it a hundred times.  This is the the thought that bounces around in my head right before something goes horribly wrong in the kitchen or anywhere really.  Case and point, I grew up watching my Mom make gravy for Sunday lunch and here come those awful words...  I can do that, I have seen Mom do it a thousand times.   Those were the words that I uttered right before my first attempt at making gravy after my sweet hubby and I were married.   Just because you have seen it done does not mean you can do it.   My first attempt at gravy was very sad and bless my dear hubby for trying to eat what I had made.  We could have spackled the walls with that concoction, it was very sad.  I just knew I could make gravy, like I said, I had seen Mom do it a thousand times at least over the years.  There is an art to making gravy though, I am proud to say that after twenty three years of marriage I have perfected that art.  My first successful gravy was, chip beef and gravy, and it was very good and it was many months after that disastrous attempt.
At my first job after the hubbs and I were married, I was always the first person at the office in the mornings.  My boss asked me, since I was the first one in, if I would start the coffee.  My reply was, sure I can, I have seen my Mom do it plenty of times.  I did not drink coffee at this point and I do not drink it often even now, so I really did not know how to make coffee.   I would not dare tell my boss no, that I could not make coffee.  That first morning for my new task was disastrous as par for the course.  They never asked me to make coffee again.
I told you all that to share another coffee catastrophe at work yesterday.   A new co-worker was asked to make coffee, actually he volunteered to make coffee.  I saw him struggling with the pot so I approached to help out.  I still do not drink much coffee and I do not make coffee at all so I really did not know how to help my co-worker.   There was water coming from everywhere and pouring out on to the counter and we could not get it to stop.  It was the blind leading the blind, but I could not just stand there and let him drown in hot water.  (no pun intended)  After almost half of the water had gushed out he realized he had not put the part that had the coffee grounds back where it belonged.  Once he did that every thing was fine.  We both laughed and he admitted that at home his wife made the coffee and I admitted I did not make coffee at all.
I guess today is a tribute to my Mom and all the things I thought I could do because I had watched her do it a million times.  This should make for some very interesting conversation over Thanksgiving.
What does your Mom do well that you thought you could do just because you watched her do it so many times?

More on Giving Money. . .

I thought this topic deserved another post.   I have written a few times about the letters that I am writing to my boys and adding a little cash in each one.  Those stacks of letters will be given to the boys when they graduate from high school.    I saw on Pinterest where someone took a pizza box and had put dollar bills of varying denominations spread around to make a fan, I thought that was a neat way to give money to a teen or young adult.  These were suggested for graduation gifts but I think they could be given for birthdays and Christmas too.  I also saw a wreath made out of dollar bills to give as a Christmas gift.  I think that would be more appropriate for a girl than a boy though.  I cannot see my boys wanting a Christmas wreath, even if it was made out of money.
Here is one for someone that likes gift cards, you could buy a cheap box of playing cards and take them out and put an assortment of gift cards in the box instead.  I may use this one for Sprat, he has asked for gift cards to a couple different places.   He does like his playing cards too.    I like the Visa gift cards I give those a lot to my nieces, that way they can use them wherever they want, they are not locked in to one store.  
Would love to know how you give your family money as a gift.  Let me know what you think.

Clever Ways to Give Money. . .

I always hated giving money to kids as gifts, this was before I had kids.  I felt like I was being lazy as the gift giver.  What I did not realize, was that sometimes kids really want money because they really do not know what they want.   My hubby and I were married for six years before we had kids so we were giving nephew and niece gifts before we knew anything about kids.
This particular year my hubby started in November telling his niece and nephew that all they were getting from him were a bag of nuts.   I took walnuts and cracked them open and took out the nut part and folded, very tightly, a dollar bill and put it inside the nut and glued it back together.  Walnuts crack very easily and equally so that you can glue them back together and you could not tell they had ever been cracked.  We did this for five nieces and nephews that year.  We gave them the nuts in a stocking with a nut cracker and an ornament.   I did put some real nuts in their stockings, I did not want to make it too easy for them.   The hubbs family was the first stop on Christmas morning and his niece and nephew were not impressed with the stocking full of nuts and neither were their parents. My hubby knew how to tell what nut had money in it and he snatched his nephew's stocking and proceeded to crack open a nut with a dollar in it.  It did not take them long to figure this one out.  We had a good laugh about it.
Sprat's first Christmas the niece and nephew got a very special present from Sprat.  I need to preface this by saying my husband's family is a little warped anyway so I do not recommend this for everyone.  You really have to have a special sense of humor to appreciate this one.  My nieces and nephew did not get this gift.  My hubby took the money we were giving and put it in a ziplock bag and tapped it inside a clean diaper, then he made chocolate pudding and slathered it over the baggie.  He then folded the diaper as if it had poo in it and we put it inside a grocery bag and tied a knot in it just like you would if you were disposing of a dirty diaper.  We then placed that in a gift bag with pretty tissue paper and all.  I know this is unbelievably gross but it was also very, very funny!!
Yes, we are that aunt and uncle and now that mom and dad.  I believe I shared how I filled the heart chocolate box with money for Valentines for the boys this past year.
If you have given money in a unique way I would love to hear about it.   Stay tuned for more Christmas ideas.

What to Give A Teenage Boy for Christmas? ?

Trying to think of gift ideas for the boys for Christmas.   I have teenage boys so, I know at their ages the gifts get more expensive.  They rarely ask for things so I have to play the mind reader game.  Three months ago we thought Christmas would be slim, yes I have my Christmas envelope, but it still looked bleak.   Today I feel like we have already  celebrated Christmas because we have been so blessed.  I know that will not fly with my boys and I would not expect it, they are still just kids. 

Now, what do teenage boys want for Christmas?  Don't  say teenage girls,  because that is not happening.   This is what I have been thinking about:  pj's (lounge pants), t-shirts, fluffy blankets for TV watching,  food gift cards, playing cards, money given in an unusual way, sweatshirts, ear buds, phone case, Google Play $$, auto accessories for Sprat, movie tickets, and concert tickets.
Can you guys come up with any different ideas?  I would love to have some feedback on this one. 
Tomorrow I will  tell you how to give money in a most unusual way.  Stay tuned.  

Feeling Accomplished. . .

I am feeling accomplished today.  It has been a long week but I feel good about myself, my job, and my family.  There were several days in these last seven weeks or so that I felt completely overwhelmed.   I am a little ashamed to admit that I also felt like giving up a couple of times too.   I felt like; what am I doing trying to go back to work after thirteen years?   I must give huge thanks to my sister, my mom and my very sweet, loving, and supportive husband.  I am very serious when I say if it were not for their support and confidence in me I would have given up on myself.   My sister reminded me that God was working in my life and that I should walk in Godficance (confidence in God) and that is what has gotten me through to this point of thankfulness.   I am also very thankful to my friends that have kept us in their prayers.   I have renewed my relationship with God on this journey and that may have been His ultimate plan.  I have really leaned on Him as well through this tumultuous time in our lives.
The hubbs is back at work with his old job and we will not be as naive as we were the last time.   There is no trust there anymore with job security for either of us.  We are saving for the kids college and paying off our house as fast as we can.  In true Dave Ramsey fashion we are also padding our emergency fund for when this happens again.   Based on our experience, I suggest you shoot for at least a six month emergency fund.   It took my hubby exactly six months to get his job back and it took me three months to find my job.   I talk an awful lot about Dave Ramsey but, we are a prime example of what can happen and that Dave's plan does work.   You do not have to trust me check it out for your self do your own research but, make a plan.  As Dave says, it will rain and you should be prepared for that rainy day.

Still Climbing

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  The boys are winding down their grading period and I am continuing training.  Twelve hour days takes some getting use to.  I am learning new things every day and I enjoy that. 
Football season is almost over and lacrosse  season is fast approaching.  Sprat is going to try his hand at lacrosse  this year and Big T is ready to get back at it.  Big T has been in an instructional league this fall with a local University team and their coaches.  Big T loves lacrosse, I hope Sprat will like it as much.   
We are adjusting to me working again and the hubbs is starting back this week too.  We are very excited and feeling very positive for our future.  We are each still learning how everything is going to fit together.  I know we are on the path that He has laid for us, so we take comfort there.
Stay tuned, when we reach some normalcy in our lives I will be posting more routinely.