Manners Candle

What works for us in a major way? The Manners Candle!!! The Manners Candle originated out of well you know. . .bad manners at our dinner table. I read something in Family Fun Magazine one time and then we elaborated on it. We have a four wick candle on our dinner table. When dinner begins we light the wicks on the manners candle and then the compliments and incredible atmosphere begins. If someone displays poor manners (burping, gassy conduct, complaining about my cooking. . .well you get the idea) including mom and dad then we blow out one wick. If we have any wicks left lit then we get to have dessert (or some form of treat, possibly a game night). If there are no wicks left then we forfeit our right to dessert or fun.

Also, my husband and son and their passionate love for bonuses (I think from playing too much game cube) came up with a bonus candle. We have added two candles to the edge and if there are extraordinary manners displayed then we light the "bonus candle!" Our kids immediately begin thanking me for cooking hot dogs for the fourth time this week. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but they really shape up at dinner time. We have been doing this for about a year and I can think of only a handful of times that we have not had all four wicks lit at the end of the meal. Impressive, huh!!!

We light the manners candle when we have special guests too, especially when other kids visit our house and even if the child does not like what I fixed I hear very little complaining. It more than "Works for Me!!" For more great ideas of What Works for others, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Please comment if you found this in the least bit helpful!

Swimming with Purpose

Today, in the midst of getting ready for lunch with some friends and homeschooling my 7 year old as well as answering my work phone I was reminded of this poem. It was my favorite poem in college. I found it in a devotional book that I was reading at the time. It especially encouraged me to persevere through my senior year. Sometimes, I just get overwhelmed and I think the struggle is for nothing. I feel like giving up and I want to take the gloomy view!!! I am reminded today that I want to come out on the tip top of the butter!! Hope you enjoy the poem as much as I have! Don't forget to keep swimming!

Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl;

The one was wise, and a cheery soul.

The other one took a gloomy view

And bade his friend a sad adieu.

Said the other frog with a merry grin,

"I can't get out, but I won't give in;

I'll swim around
till my strength is spent,

Then I will die the more content.

And as he swam,
though ever it seemed,

His struggling began
to churn the cream

Until on top of pure butter
he stopped, And out of the bowl
he quickly hopped. The moral you ask?
Oh, it's easily found! If you can't get out, keep swimming around!

The Stinkiest Birthday Ever

I have had the plumber at my house the whole day. Big bucks later, we find out that our septic system is clogged and it needs to be drained. I promise it has barely rained more than an inch in months and today it is pouring rain. So, the plumbers and I are out most of the day in the rain looking for a place to plug in the BIG POOPY HOSE to get out all of the stinks. Just FYI, when your toilet is gurgling that means that your septic system is about to explode. It is time to call in the big kahoona. The funniest thing about the day, is that the guy in the septic system truck pulls into our yard and he has a big sign on the truck that reads, "We are #1 in the #2 business!" These are my kind of friends.

Yep, a crappy birthday it has been! But, now that it is all over it is time to POTTY. . .Did I say POTTY, I meant to say PARTY!!!! :) Love, Your 32 year old friend.

Magic Eraser

I know no other product like the Magic Eraser. When I was moving (just pick one of the many times) I used the magic eraser to get the crayon off of my walls. This was after I ironed paper towels to the wall to pull off the crayon! I am so glad that I found something a tad bit easier than ironing my walls. Also, I heard that it works to get off soap scum in tubs. I am going to try that asap so that my family can take baths again! I am sure they appreciate me sharing that with the rest of the world too!

This is just one of the many Works for Me Wednesday posts. To see the rest of the best, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer!

Help Me Rhonda!!

I am not sure who Rhonda is, but I was sure asking her for help a while ago. Yes, it is that time again. Time to decide, "What is for dinner?" Some days I just get stubborn and say I am not cooking and then we pull out some sandwich meat or scavenge for chips and dip. Tonight, I really needed to make up for lost time and I started to panic. I do that when my blood sugar gets low too. My eyes stare glassily into the fridge. My hands start the jitters. Sometimes I just lay on the couch and say there's nothing in there and my darling husband says sure there is honey, you just have to find it.

Tonight, I had one brain wave left and I moved my computer into the kitchen and got on one of my favorite websites, All Recipes. I clicked on 15 minute or less meals because that's all I can stand tonight and guess what I found. Spaghetti!!! I know it sounds ridiculous, but sometimes I can't think about the simple when I am so hungry. So the supper mystery is solved. Rhonda came to the rescue! Thanks Rhonda. Oh and by the way, just so you know . . .I googled "Help Me Rhonda" and it is by the Beach Boys. Happy Cooking!

Really need to be cookin supper but. . .

I thought I would catch up on my homeschoolin, demolition crew workin, coffee drinkin, kiddo lovin, almost birthday comin self!

Yeah, all about me! Isn't there a song about that? :) and a passage or two of Scripture against that. Well, you know us mom's, not a lot of time to think of yourself during the day. Anyway, homeschooling is still really fun for me. Who knows if it is fun for the student. I see glimpses of enjoyment when he is finished with his work and playing game boy in the middle of the day when most kids his age are at school standing in a line for the water fountain. (sorry for the snide comment, he will probably be back in that water fountain line next year anyway!) So, I get to use my God-given teacher passions and he gets to use his God given gaming fingers!

My darling diva was disappointed when she came home from school the first and second day and only learned the rules and did not get to do any WORK. Now, that is who I need to be homeschooling!!! :) A workin' woman! She had "the best day of her life" though today. I am not sure where she gets the drama from. Her birthday is coming up on Friday and I cannot wait to see how insane I make it! I am sure that I will post in another week or two or three after I get over the melt down of adrenaline and sugar that we all have after her "tea party."

ba di ba di ba di . . . that's all folks! Time for sup!

Home-schooling First Day

What a fun day I had yesterday. It started a bit rocky though. Ever since the day that I found out I was pregnant I wanted to home-school my kids. I have a teaching degree and I thought who better to teach my kids than me. Unfortunately, we have never been in a position that I would have that opportunity. When we lived in Dallas I needed to work full time to help out our family and last year was such a year of transition that I did not think it was healthy for me or my kids. This year, I have randomly selected my firstborn to spend each day with and to inflict as much knowledge on him as possible. Lucky guy!

We are testing out a really cool home school program that the public school pays for. . .lucky tax payers! It is the Arkansas Virtual Academy. We are equipped with a computer, a flat screen monitor, a printer, all of the curriculum, a school teacher that we correspond with, as well as paper, paints and tons of other equipment. As far as my lesson plans. . they are online and already spelled out for me as well as a lot of his work. It was a pretty magical day getting all of that in the mail and opening the packages. The smell of fresh paper overwhelmed my senses. My only wish is that something would have been laminated! Ah, the smell of lamination!

As you can see it was due time that I taught someone other than my cats not to potty on the floor. I think my son was sensing my excitement and got a little concerned that something had gone awry. The last few day he had seemed a little apprehensive, but yesterday when we began our day he started coppin' a tude with me. Fortunately, principal dad and former home-schooler extraordinaire was there to have a man to man conversation with my my little disciple. Pretty soon we were rockin' and rollin' through math and then on to language arts. We even had popcorn in between. I insisted he wear his best pj's to school and he thought that was pretty nifty.

Today we have a fun day of science experiments, math refreshers and I think we are going to start cursive. If there is anyone who has excellent handwriting and is worthy of teaching cursive to, it is this guy. I might post some samples of his work soon. Pretty neat stuff around this house! Truly exciting. . .

Smash Brothers

My five year old girl is playing Super Smash Brothers. Yes, a fighting game! Some will say bad parenting, I say she may need to defend herself someday against the bad guys and she is learning some moves. And you dare not mess with her because I just heard her yell at the game, "Who wants a piece of meat!!!?" instead of who wants a piece of me! :)

The Monster At The End of this Book

Have you ever read, The Monster at the End of this Book? It is a Sesame Street book. I read it as a kid and so did John Mark. We have read it to our kids and they think it is hilarious. They just shriek at the chance to turn the page.

I started thinking about this, probably more than I should have, but if you know the story, it is about Grover from Sesame Street and he is scared about everything. He does not want you to turn the page because he does not want to get to the end of the book. He "seals" up the pages with bricks and ropes and all sorts of things to try to get you not to turn the page. At the very end, and sorry to ruin it for you if you haven't read it, Grover, himself, is the monster at the end of book. What a terrible realization that you are what you have feared all along. Should he have feared the monster? Maybe, but he decides he's just furry, loveable, old Grover and he was really embarrassed to discover that it was him all along!

Now let's think about that for a minute. How often have you wanted to seal up the pages of the book not wanting to discover what is at the end? You are fearful of the monster at the end. Are we the monsters at the end of the book causing the fear all along? Are we fearful that someone else might discover what's at the end of the book and not like it? I know I have felt this way so much. I feel like if someone really truly got to know me that they might not like what they see. I might not be so furry and loveable! I might be just downright despicable to them.

As I ponder this silly little children's book, I realize that it has more meaning than meets the eye. I, in the end, am what I fear. hmmm. . .

What about you?

Me and the Preacher

Last night I watched a really good movie at a Ladie's Night that we had with our church. We watched "I'd Climb the Highest Mountain". It stars Susan Hayward as the preacher's wife. It was really sweet. It exposed a lot of the difficulties of being in the pastorate. The thing I liked the best about the movie though is that it dramatically played out the great satisfaction of seeing lives changed after going through the daily grinds of sickness, death, marriage and everyday trials. The joy at the end of the movie would not be complete without experiencing all of the things I just mentioned. When we experience trials and joys together as the body of Christ we are brought closer to one another and to Christ Himself. I love how God shapes our character together.

This picture was taken after the preacher's ordination! The light was kind of in his eyes (as it should be! :)), but still a cute picture. I love you preacher man! and you don't kiss like a preacher!

Facebook

I entered the blog world, now I am entering facebook world! I have 9 friends. I feel like I am in junior high school again hoping someone will be friends with me. What if they don't like me or want to be friends with me? :) Now I know why teenagers have issues. . .they are waiting on the sidelines waiting to be picked to be someone's friend or to be on the right team. Yeah, that was me!!

So, let's get to the point. . .anyone want to be friends with me. . .pleeeaaaase!!!

Consignment Shops

Ok, this a little OCD, but I did not want the consignment shop to "lose" my clothes so I decided to take pictures of them before I took them in. That way I could keep track of what I took and I could count me $$ and make sure it was all right when I get paid or get my clothes back. Was that OCD or greedy, ok. . .don't answer that! It was a rhetorical question. :)

Craft Room Creativity

I hope I am not the only one who lacks creativity a lot of times because I can't find anything in my craft room!! I was inspired looking at other craft rooms online this week. It encouraged me so much that I had to get my in better shape. It is not 100% the way I would like it but it did help me to think better.

I bought the fabric off the dollar table at our fabric store and I found a bunch of Mason jars in my shed. The shed has been a source of distress for the most part but when I find exciting things like sewing machines, mason jars and old chest I am encouraged.

Officially Homeschooling Next Year

It's official, I am homeschooling my darling son next year!! We are going to try out the Arkansas Virtual Academy for FREE!! It is very self-initiated and hopefully I can juggle work along side of this. We will see indeed. PA - Prayers appreciated!

and by the way yesterday was another Terrific Tuesday!!

Terrific Tuesday

Tuesday is the second day of the week following Monday. The name comes from Middle English Twisday, from Old English Tiwes dæg, named after the Nordic god Tyr, who was the equivalent of the Roman war god Mars.

But to my kids, Tuesday means fun at the local Baptist church in town and to the "Mickey Mouse" pool we go!!

One day!!!! after we got back from our vacation and moving toward "normalcy in our home" my kids were going bananas and I was searching the paper to find anything and everything to sign my kids up for. Now, you moms have experienced these summer battles and blues before and were smart enough to have your kids already signed up for stuff. But not this mom, I was going to do fun "crafty" things all summer and we were going to continue our schooling :) Yes, for one day!!! and I bought a coloring book at Cracker Barrel that has all of the states in it to prove it. They get to color one page a day and that concludes school for the day! :)

I have enjoyed one Terrific Tuesday and I hope to enjoy many many more this summer. Thank God for the local Baptist church and the Mickey Mouse pool!!

Finds in Destin

Find #1 - Fun times and Memory Making


Find #2 - A portugese man-of-war


Find #3 - beautiful sunsets

Destin was really fun. Vacation #1 for the summer.

Ok, I know you are wondering what the second picture is. Abby Kaye and I were on the beach looking for last minute sea-shells to bring home. It was evening and the winds were pretty wild throughout the week and especially while we were walking. We saw something blue lying in the sand in front of us. Being the wise mom that I am, I thought it was a jelly fish so I threw it in our bag that we were collecting sea shells in. We showed it to several people on the beach on our way back. One guy said that it looked just like what had stung his nephew earlier because it was blue and it stung like a bee. I went home thinking it was an interesting looking jelly fish. Abby Kaye and I "googled" it for quite awhile until we found what it finally looked like-just like the portugese man-of-war that I have linked to. Apparently, this would be a rare find in Destin and they are extremely poisonous and dangerous for up to two weeks after their death. My mom made me quadruple wrap it in a bag and I took a picture of it in the bag. I was so sad because I wrapped it to bring home (who knows to do what with, maybe dissect it!!) and it lost it's color and legs :(

Anyway, that was a rare find as well as the beautiful sunsets. Hopefully, the fun times and memory making will not be as rare this summer.

Love,
Desiree'

Happy Nine Honey

Thoughts on Slow Restaurant Service. . . warning a complaining station

Last night we went to a place that I knew was a little on the expensive side, but wanted to try as a special treat. We were told that the wait was 30 minutes so after about 40 minutes I went in to inquire about our status on the sheet. First the lady laughed at my mom's last name and then after I pointed out our name on the waiting list she said she did not know, but it was probably about 10-15 more minutes. We had eight in our party and they said that the people in front of us were staying a long time at their table. :( What I discovered was that they were short-staffed, the cooks were slow and short-staffed and the people there at the restaurant were fairly incompetent. :( That was why the people were staying a long time at their table; they had not received their food yet!!! We ended up having to sit at two tables of four. Me with the kids (which I really did not mind because they are easily entertained and fun to chat with). And the other four at a table across the restaurant. So after awhile of sitting there I asked who would be our waiter. The person replied that they would have to inquire. Finally, a person came to take our order. By that time we knew what we would wanted to order. We ordered an appetizer to split as a main course, a cheese pizza and crab legs (one of the more expensive on the menu). We ordered drinks as well (3 in kid cups and 1 adult) and the guy brought out my kids adult glasses of which my son spilled all over the floor and chair.

My mom and her crew ate their food and dessert and we still had not received ours. There were people all around me calling the manager and I just felt bad about calling him when obviously our waiter was doing all he could and it was not his fault. . .but it sort of was. I talked with the waiter and said I was dissatisfied and would like a discount or something because this was just silly. I was lamenting as well that I could have made that food at home-including finding the recipes on the internet, going to the store to get the ingredients for cheaper and faster!!!! Anyway, so I paid the bill because the guy never brought out the manager and my aunt came up and she said "that is ridiculous" and went and had a word with the manager. He gave me about a 10% discount and said good-bye. The interesting things is we waited a really long time for the manager to come back. . . .agh!!!

Anyway, I guess my dilemma is that I wondered if I should have complained. Our motto at home is "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit." should I have tattled??!! What do you think?

May 3rd- May 27th

And it's outta there. . .he runs to first.



The growing Japanese garden. . .


One of my Mother's Day gifts. . .it is an antique Buffet from New Orleans.



A whirlwind of activity at the Rutter household. We have taken kids here and there, worked extensively on the yard, celebrated a wonderful Mother's Day, gone to every field trip possible, and ended the school year. We have a great summer planned along with a wonderful summer sleep-in session!!!! This is particularly enticing to me.

Our plans for the summer include a trip to Branson for a family reunion, a trip to Florida for some lazy time on the beach, a trip to Minnesota for some close family time and on the way back some time for some extended family time at another reunion. What fun! and in between all of that I will work from home, teach the kids some unique household cleaning skills, and enjoy some time in our above ground pool. Hopefully we can keep it algae-free this summer! :) I will post more on the household cleaning when I see if it works or not.

Cooking Chicken Parmesan with Love

Here is a recipe for you. I have not blogged in a week or so because of the craziness around here. I mistakenly, but wonderfully am helping with a school fundraiser for Abby Kaye's school. So this really is all I have cooked this week.

It is funny to me. I started making this chicken parmesan when John Mark and I first
got married. At that time, I was really trying to impress him with my new-found cooking abilities so I would make these elaborate meals for he and I to enjoy. I mean, I would make several courses of food and he would just say, "wow you really shouldn't go all out." He had after-all been eating Rice-a-Roni for his main course before we were married. And I really shouldn't have been doing all of that, but I just thought it was fun and like I said was trying to be a "good wife."


Now on Monday, I made this with some broiled squash (yuck!) and some random noodles that we had (macaroni and spiral) and he has raved about it all week! It is so funny your change of perspective after being married for awhile and having two kids. You really find yourself barely cooking and when you do you are really a big hit!!

My mom gave me my first Southern Living Cookbook when I got married. After I came back from my honeymoon I found this cookbook on my kitchen counter. Inside it read, To: Desiree' June 13, 1998 "Always Cook With Love" Mom. So that is what I have tried to do for the lot of almost 9 years. Whatever I cook, whether it be grilled cheese or chicken parmesan, I always try to "cook with love."

Chicken Parmesan from the 20th Anniversary Edition of Southern Living:
6 skinned and boned ckn breast
1 large egg
1/4 c water
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
3 T butter
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Hot cooked egg noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp grated parmesan cheese

Start water to boil and add noodles when boiling. (I always forget this so that is why I include it first :))

Place each ckn breast between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap, flatten each 1/4 in. thickness, using meat mallet or rolling pin. (This is good therapy that is cheap):)

Combine egg and water in a bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl. Dip ckn in egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add half of ckn and cook, turning once, until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining ckn.

Return ckn to skillet; add spaghetti sauce. Cook and simmer 10 minutes. Place noodles on platter. Spoon ckn and sauce over noodles; sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Cover and let stand until cheese melts. Yields 6 servings

If you are on a low-carb diet like me please have self-control when serving your noodles. Don't eat them out of the pan and do not give yourself too much or you will regret it! :) Watch your family eat them and gain weight! :)

Hope you enjoy!! Love,
Desiree'

Pictures I promised!

Caleb posing as a farmer at the Little Rock Zoo on a class field trip!


Dad and Abby Kaye pose before her ballet pictures are taken!



One of the many flower/herb beds that John Mark and I have been working on around our yard!


Also, below is the Easter Egg Hunt and one of the groups during story time.

The Big Game and the The Big Quote

"Lucky" #13 is up to bat!!!

Caleb had his first ever "pitching machine" baseball game last night. I cannot describe the adrenaline I felt as a mom. I felt as if I were playing in the World Series myself. My kids have never really been involved in sports activities until this year. Caleb has been practicing for several weeks on his team and I really felt excited for him, but nothing like last night at "the big game." His team was behind four points at the beginning and then they came back and tied this team 6-6. Caleb was awesome. He was one of the 6 points!!! I was so proud of him. I am definitely his biggest fan!!! He was so proud of himself too. You should have seen his face. He actually got to second base later on in the game and one time he struck out. He was just awesome though.

The very coolest part of the game was afterward. We had watched, Facing the Giants over the weekend. If you have not seen this, I highly recommend it. It is a low budget film, but the point is very clear in it. On the way to the game Caleb repeated a quote from the movie. "If we win we praise Him, if we lose we will still praise Him." He asked what that really meant and I said that our God is still good and awesome even if we lose. Even when we are going through hard stuff, God is still in control and worthy to be praised. He totally clung to that. At the end of the game, the coach told all of the kids to take a knee. The coach was talking about next Thursday's game and how great of a job they did. Caleb interjected as the coach was about to move on to another subject and said, I just want to say one thing. "If we win we praise Him and if we lose we will still praise Him." John Mark and I smiled at one another and looked at his primary coach who looked a little confused. His other coach totally got what Caleb was saying and said, "that's right." I noticed that that coach warmed up to us a lot as we were getting our after the game drinks. It was a very neat experience to see Caleb speak boldly as his name applies, "bold one." He has no idea that so many other people and Christians would be so nervous to say something like that to their peers and their coach. He has no fear and he shouldn't because the Lord is with that little guy. Very cool moment for his parents!!! Baseball might just be the topic of this blog for awhile and I promise to upload some pics as soon as I find that darn cord!!!!!

Lost Cord

I cannot find my cord to upload pictures and I am going nuts!!!! I have suspicions of where it might be found but I am too scared to venture there. ie. my daughter's closet, in a bag that I used to use, underneath the computer area where there are a billion cords. . one thing for certain I am having picture upload withdraw!!!

Weight Loss

I will not say much about this because I know this is an area that almost all women struggle with. I have never really had a problem with this area or even given it much thought until after I had two kids. Even after Abby Kaye was about one I had about 5-10 pounds to lose, but that is pretty typical after having kids. I realized that I was needing to work on this area after Thanksgiving this year when I bought a scale. I was kind of given indications of that from a couple of pictures that I saw of myself. Another hint is that I kept having to buy bigger clothes and ones that I had bought when we first moved to Dallas did not fit anymore.

I am kind of slow as some of you might have guessed. My only thought on the matter was that I spent a lot of my Dallas days (of about 3 years) in the car. My jobs that I held there involved a lot of travel and I was very busy so I would grab a candy bar here or there. Also, I discovered some yummy bread from this bakery in Dallas that had olives and some other amazing stuff in it. We would get it for free when we lived in our first apartment and we would get it every week. Ok, so between the candy bars, the bread, and my incessant love of sweet tea I could shed a few pounds (like 40). I could not believe it when I first got on the scale. Sure enough, I had gained at least 25 pounds since I had Abby Kaye. Now I am not saying that I was ugly this way. I know that God made me beautiful and He loves me either way. Also, I know that my husband does not care one way or another either. He loves me regardless! But He and God both want me to take care of my body and to feel good and have the most out of life. So that led me to "The Diet".

I was a little unsure of what diet to choose because I have heard the good, the bad and the ugly from all of them. I decided to go with Atkins, you'll love why! I love bacon, sausage and any kind of meat. I could live off of meat and cheese. Now, I will say that I usually like some bread with my meat, but I decided that if I could have meat and cheese I can do without the bread. So that began it. From a little advice from my mom I started with only 20 carbs a day. I cut out all of my cokes and sweet tea. I switched to Crystal Light and asparagus! :) The end result, I have lost 25 pounds as of December first. A lot of people said I was crazy to try to make it through the holidays on a diet. My thought is that it made me stronger for the long, weary days ahead. I stuck with the 20 carbs or less for a couple of months very strictly. I did bars and drinks to supplement when I was in a bind or starved for food. My goal now is to just lose one pound a week. I should hit my ultimate weight goal on July 17th. I can tell that my body is very happy with it's new life. I plan to maintain my goal by keeping the carbs low and continuing to give up my coke and sugar addictions.

I still have a treat every now and then, but really I do not feel deprived and I really just needed to get started and get my body weaned off of all that sugar and bread that I was eating. I had to break those habits of stopping by Sonic for this or that.

Just a side note for those who are struggling with your weight. Your weight is not the end all of life. God loves you just the way you are and if you are married, your husband loves you just the way you are. My sweet husband just now decided that I am a little skinnier (after 25 pounds). He wanted me to mention he really thinks I am hot now even after some of my areas have diminished. :)

This was good for me not just because of the weight loss but having my body under submission. I am the one who makes the calls here. Just because my body says, "I must have sugar now!" I can choose what my body needs. Now, I know that Splenda and Atkins have gotten a bad rep because after all the guy is dead but I just needed something to kick start and get on a better track. I eat more salad than I used to. I almost always eat breakfast. I eat a good lunch and I try to not eat as much dinner as I used to. Another trick I learned is to have a Protein shake before dinner (in that I am ravished and stressed time. . .you know the time. . .the kids are whiney. . your husband is coming home. . the house is a wreck. . .and you want to just say, "Calgon, take me away!"

So that's the scoop on the diet and weight loss. I have not only shed pounds, but I have shed addictions. I will update you every now and then on the journey. Since it is a little warmer, I have started walking to give my body and health a boost. I plan to continue this. I have to admit though, I am a bit of a bum when it comes to cold weather. I am almost in hibernation during the winter. But now that the weather is a little nicer I am enjoying my walks and time to reflect on life. Ok, so I said I wouldn't say too much and I guess I stretched that a little. But if you know me, I don't say just a little about too much of anything! :)

Love,
Desiree'

Easter Update

It was a very cold morning to wake up to. Help started showing up at 9:00 with their Spring Parkas on. We got the signs hung up first that were donated by RC Cola. The huge banners read "Easter Egg Hunt, Rain or Shine, 10 am sponsored by Fellowship Bible Church of Batesville."

Honestly, this hunt was more fun than I have had in a long time. I think there are a couple of reasons that it is fun for me. For one, I am bossy by nature. I can see it in my daughter. She yells in her adorable five year old voice, Caleb Rutter!!! You get in here this instant!!!! So, yes I realize that I have bossy blood. I prayed before the event that my bossiness would come out loving and caring way, thinking more about the person than the details of the event. Hopefully, that is what happened! I guess I will find out later.

One of the other reasons is that I love planning something like this is seeing it come to fruition. It is a wonderful feeling to see all of the details loved and embraced by each individual. We set out coloring tables for the kids and it was wonderful to see the kids (and even some adults) hovered around it, drawing their finest Easter pictures while they waited for the next event.

The other thing and hopefully the most important thing I love about things like this, is that no matter how much I plan and fret and stress and yell and worry. . . God has it under His control and no matter what I do. . .His plan will be fulfilled! He will show Himself and He may even show out! I really felt like Christ Himself were there with those little children. The kids had fun hearing the stories about Christ and His resurrection. They even got to take the story home with them in the Resurrection eggs that they made. What a wonderful celebration. We had about 75 kids and about the same amount of adults. We even made the local newspaper, first page. We beat out the story of the Easter Egg Hunt with hay on the street and the man who was arrested for stealing a chicken. Big stuff here!!

Love,
Desiree'