Luv My Family!

Beautiful flowers my Hubby gave me! He is so sweet!

Fruit Tart

Chocolate Pie

I wanted to do something special for my little family on Valentine's Day! I made up my mind I didn't care how much school work I had; I was going to spend some time preparing something nice! I came up with a tasty meal and decided to have it on Monday, a day before Valentine's Day, since other activities were planned for Tuesday. The menu for the evening was: Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade rolls, cauliflower, a fruit tart, and homemade chocolate pie. I thought it turned out quite good! I have made chocolate pies before, but this was a new recipe and was very tasty and rich! I also have never made a fruit tart, but I thought it looked absolutely delicious, so wanted to try it. Here is the link to the recipe if you are interested: http://www.joyofbaking.com/FruitTart.html

This is the link for the chocolate pie recipe: http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dessert/pie/chocolate-pie-6.html?p=67

I think my little family appreciated the time I spent to create a good meal for them. We usually eat meals at home, but they do not take as much time since I'm busy with school. I enjoy doing something special from time to time. :o)

I didn't think to take pictures of our meal before we ate. I thought about taking a couple of pictures afterwards. Excuse the messy look!

~Time~

Our interesting family photo in 1994!

Christianna ~ 4 yrs., Evangelyn ~ 1 yr., Nathan ~ 7 months

Our family photo in 2011

Time sure does change things (ha ha!)

Christianna ~ 21 yrs., Evangelyn ~ 18 yrs., Nathan ~ 17 yrs., Joshua ~ 4 yrs.

I've started another semester of classes with quite a heavy load for a married mom with four children. I have six classes to complete and am hoping that some of them won't be too difficult so I can get through this. After this semester, I will almost be finished, thank the Lord!

Evangelyn began classes at a local college in January to become a nurse. She doesn't care for school, but is excited about gaining her degree as an RN. Nathan finished high school in January! He will officially graduate in June. He is not exactly sure what he is going to do in the near future. But, I know God has a special plan for him.

With all of these changes in our household over such a short period of time, I have come to the swift realization that life is so fleeting. I can hardly believe all my children, except for Joshua, are finished with high school!!! Life truly flies by so fast! I often find myself reminiscing about the days when the three oldest children were 8, 9, or 10 years of age. It seems I had all the time in the world to spend with them, but now those days are suddenly gone. It is a rather sobering thought, needless to say! I find myself asking so many questions, wondering if I made the right decisions or wishing I had changed some things. I guess this is all part of parenting and growing older, but I certainly dislike the idea. I wish life would come to a standstill and at least allow me to take a big deep breath. I have truly tried to do my best in raising the children, but I'm only human and sometimes we don't always do what we should. God knows my heart!

I have found in rearing children that there are many difficult decisions to be made. How much freedom to give them at certain ages has been especially troublesome to me. Have I sheltered them too much or should I have sheltered them more? I'm not sure, but I have tried to do what God would have me do. Many times the children have not thought that I was fair since others were allowed to do something and they weren't. I have learned that despite what others do, I must remain faithful to God and my convictions. No one else is going to answer for the decisions I made on Judgment Day, so I must be careful to adhere to God's Word and His will.

I have no idea why I wrote all that, but I guess I needed to share it for some reason. Ha ha! I hope everything is going well at your house. If you still have children at home, cherish every moment you have. Seek God's will concerning any decisions that need to be made. Enjoy them all you can (sometimes it is hard to enjoy when there is fussing, arguing, whining, ...)! It will end all too soon, and you'll wish for those days again!

Non-Centered Heading

It is definitely time for a new post, but since I'm so frustrated I'll have to do that some other time. I cannot get the header centered despite numerous attempts. I'll have to try again another time. Hopefully it doesn't bother you too much. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know the secret. I've done it before with no problems, but something just is not right this time. I know it has something do to with the "Add CSS" in the "Advanced" design section.
Hope all is well with you. :o)
Good night!

January 1, 2012

This is what I saw when we came home from church this morning through our bedroom window. It is not clear, but I thought it was very pretty.

December in pictures

The view at night.

The chapel where two to three services are held daily. A singing group was practicing at the time of our visit.

We enjoyed a fantastic tour of Pacific Garden Mission. We were very impressed with the extent of their ministry! The tour guide was wonderful, as he was given new hope found in Christ six months ago and is now working at the mission.

Downtown Chicago viewed from Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago

World War II Submarine you can tour (We didn't, since it costs $) James and I toured it years ago when there was no charge.

Model train layout

A misty swirling cloud that is supposed to represent the center of a tornado

Airplanes hanging from the ceiling and one you can actually tour

Christmas Trees Around the World

At the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago

On our way to Chicago, IL. You can see the Sears Tower in the distance.

St. Joseph Medical Center where Evangelyn and Nathan were born. They have added on to it a lot.

The house Mom and Dad moved into a few years before they moved to Sidney, OH.

Taft Elementary School, Joliet, IL ~ All three kids attended Kindergarten here and were transferred to Eisenhower Academy (except for Nate because we moved). He would have gone to Eisenhower the following year.

Side view of the church. The back part was the parsonage where we lived. The girls' bedroom was upstairs in the attic. Shed is still there, but needs a good paint job. Our dog, Princess, is buried out there in the yard. :o(

Our little church which is now apartments. It is sooo pathetic looking. My heart was torn apart when I saw this. This is the first time we've seen it since we moved away. It really broke my heart. So sad!! (Vines all over the building~Steeple is gone~Not kept up!) I loved that place!

Some of the same attorneys still practice here. I wish I would have had time to stop in and see them.

Rooks, Pitts, & Poust (as I knew it) My first place of employment in Joliet, IL ~ A lawyer's office

The Steelman ~ Joliet Central Mascot

Joliet Central High School (I attended all four years here and graduated in 1987) Yes, it is huge, and was very scary at first! It is a historical landmark and obviously looks like a castle.

The Back of Joliet Central High School where I attended

Some of our wedding pictures were taken here in front of the Greenhouse (of course, it was summer time and very beautiful)

Birdhaven Greenhouse (Joliet, IL)

Birdhaven Greenhouse in Pilcher Park, Joliet, IL

Eisenhower Academy in Joliet, IL (Magnet school where Christianna and Evangelyn attended until we moved to Bradford, OH ~ Nathan would have went here too)

House I grew up in after we moved to Joliet, IL

Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma's

Christianna's 21st Birthday

Visited the God's Bible School Christmas Program (Christianna is 2nd from left)

Visiting the free area of 'Entertrainment Junction' on the way to Cincinnati

December has been an exciting and busy month. I have posted some pictures of our adventures we enjoyed the past few weeks. The days have flown by, but we had a great time throughout this busy time of year. (The order of the pictures begin at the bottom, just above this post.)