Fall Comfort Food

Okay- since I do not get around to posting all that regularly, I might as well make it good, right? I got this FABO! recipe from some teachers at school and I ran right out and got the ingredients and made it that night! It was excellent and worth sharing and VERY EASY! Enjoy!

Southern Chicken and Dumplins'

3 cans of Buttermilk Biscuits (the 8 oz size)
3 cans of Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup (I used the Healthy Request)
4 cups of water (you will have to add more later as it gets thicker)
6 cooked and chopped chicken breasts
1 cup of chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste

Okay, here's what you do. Cook your chicken breasts in your crock pot on high until done, say two to three hours. Take them out and shred them. Then cut into quarters your biscuits and add them and the soups with the four cups of water to the crock pot, reserving chicken for later. Let this cook for a couple of hours on high stirring every 20 mins or so. 20 mins before serving, add your chicken and add more water as needed to get it the consistency you desire. This is so good served with a green salad and some fresh bread and butter for a great Fall Dinner!

Fall Break

I love Fall! The weather turns cooler. The leaves start to change colors. Football, sweaters, marching band, hayrides, apple pies, chili, hot cocoa, and pumpkins! Everything seems fresher. I have more energy, when it is cooler outside. I think we also sleep better. Before we know it, the holidays will be here. It is very important to be thankful and grateful for each and every season. Find something you love about each one and find a reason to celebrate it!

We will be leaving for Destin with friends in a few days, and I cannot wait for a slower, more relaxer pace that comes with a vacation. It is a time to get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life as we know it. To get away from cooking, cleaning, litter boxes, and laundry. To get away from homework, gymnastics, band practice, and bedtimes. To cook out, and eat out, and lay out in the sun! (and to sleep in!) I am looking forward to playing in the pool and lazy river, laying on the beach and reading a good novel, playing some good games, and just laughing with family and friends. We get so "busy" with every day life, weeks can go by with out so much as a phone call or a visit, for a friendly catch up. I NEED that. I am READY for that! Take time out, this Fall break, and enjoy the season, enjoy your family and friends, enjoy the cooler weather. We certainly are!

I Wish I Could.......

I wish I could...................................put my children in a bubble and protect them from all harm. Forever. I wish there was a guarantee that if you do the best you can, teach them right from wrong, take them to church, rock them as babies, read out loud to them when they are small, that everything will be okay. Better than okay. Terrific! I wish that if you taught them to be kind to animals and all of God's creatures, to look both ways before crossing the street, to treat people the way you want to be treated, to speak words of kindness, to be helpful, to be respectful to their elders, and to clean up after themselves, that life would be incredible! I wish I could be guaranteed that they would be successful in life, in every area. I want them to have an excellent education, to obtain a great job, to live in a nice neighborhood, to marry someone who truly loves them for who they are, not who they WANT them to be. I want them to make beautiful babies, and to be happy and healthy and to be thankful for ALL Things. I want them to have the right kind of friends and TO BE the right kind of friend, to those who come in their lives.
I guess you could say, I want what we all want as parents: THE VERY BEST FOR OUR CHILDREN.
But, (you had to know it was coming) we do not have a guarantee. They come to us with NO DIRECTIONS attached. We live and we learn how and what to do, as we are doing it. It is truly, on the job training. We pray and we do the best we can, and we make mistakes along the way, and life goes on. We wake up one day, and that tiny little baby we brought home from the hospital that was 8 lbs. and 20 in. long is now 6'2 and 170 lbs. (The other little darling is 9 yrs. old and she is 65 lbs.)
When did that happen??? It happened while we were living life. While we were laughing and loving and crying and driving carpools. People say: "you better enjoy every minute of it! You will miss the chaos when it is gone!" So this is my prayer:

"Lord help me live today to the fullest. Help me parent this child in the way you would have me to. Help him make good decisions. Help him know that he has a good foundation on which to build on and parents who love him. Help him know Lord, that nothing is impossible with you. Be his protector. Go out before him and show him the way. Give him wisdom, direction and guidance. Thank you Lord, that even though I do not know what the future holds, you do, and you have a plan and a purpose for our lives. Above all else Lord, I pray for him to have a heart for you. I know that if he has a heart for you, everything else will be okay. That is my guarantee!"

Mrs. Catherine

My Mother's office recently had a retirement party for Mrs. Catherine Hamill. She was an incredible woman. Few like her have graced this earth. She was beautiful, inside and out. I have many memories of her, from when I was a small child. Her hair and her lipstick were always in place! She was always dressed perfectly and smelt so good! Whenever I would go to my Mother's office, she always had a big hug for me and some sort of treat. She would ask ME about things that were important TO ME. (my school, my friends, my new puppy) She and her husband never had any children of their own. (They were content loving on everyone else's ) I have incredible memories of her helping my Mother at my wedding reception with all the food! My Mother insisted on doing the food herself and Mrs. Catherine was her right hand! This is a poem that she gave everyone who attended her Retirement reception as a little "Thank You." I think it sums up the way she has lived (and continues to live) her life. We all should learn a little something from it.


Promise Yourself


Promise yourself to be so strong
That nothing can disturb your peace of mind
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
To every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel
That there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything
And make your optimism come true.
To think only the best,
To work only for the best,
And expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
As you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
And press on to the greater achievements of the future
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
And give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time
to the improvement of yourself
That you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry,
Too noble for anger, too strong for fear
And too happy to permit the presence of trouble.


Author Unknown

Today was Monday all day long........

Well wouldn't you know it? I got a phone call to sub at Anna's school. Normally, does anything EVER happen NORMAL around here?!? that would be great, except.......Dalton has been gone since Friday night, Tom left right after church on Sunday afternoon and my back was killing me. I. Mean. Killling. Me. But, not wanting to let that opportunity pass me by...I did it. They were Hillarious!!!! I went from class to class because the Insurance man was there trying to get everyone to up the anty on their insurance. I watched the classroom for the teacher while she went to check on her school benefits. Oh the Joy! The Kindergarten class was so adorable on their nap mats with their lullaby CD playing. The First graders loved reading the book, "Ruby the Copycat!" and they loved telling me who they like to copy! (for the record- it was mostly their big brothers and sisters) The second graders were reading and having center time and some were writing their spelling words. Can I just say they were one of the busiest bunches I saw all day long. They really know how to "Get 'er done!" The third and fourth graders were working on social studies and math, and covered quite a lot of territory today! I was impressed at their level of enthusiasm for learning. I did not see the fifth graders, but let me assure you- THEY ARE THE TOP DOGS ON CAMPUS- in case any of you were wondering... and we will NEVER be as cool as they are.....I am sure they were doing something very important. I came home to find that my first appointment for physical therapy is tomorrow at 10:30 and I could not be happier. I will sleep good tonight.
Oh- and Dalton got home at 2:50 a.m. and I woke him for school at 6 a.m. for school. He got home at 3:30 p.m. and has been asleep ever since. He will eat the whole house when he wakes up. He sure does love Music City Legends.

The Doctor said...

Okay- here is what I found out. The Ortho Doc. confirmed what the MRI showed. I have Degenerative Disc Disease and a bulging disc. The good news is 70 % of the people with this problem are greatly helped by physical therapy and meds. (anti-inflammatory drugs-not narcotics!) So- I guess I am going to have to exercise after all! Those of you who know me well know how much I LOVE to exercise!
I have been VERY emotional about this whole thing. You cannot enjoy the life God has given you if you are in constant pain. You find yourself thinking of it all the time because it is always there. I look forward to finding some relief from this, this thing that holds me down. Thank you for your prayers, phone calls and encouragement. It TRULY means more than you will ever know.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us ENCOURAGE
one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25

Today was not a good day.
My back has been bothering me for some time now and I finally decided enough was enough. I went to the Dr. who sent me for an MRI. They called with my results this afternoon. I have Degenerative Disc Disease. It is in my L4 and L5 and I am to see an Orthopedic Dr. at Summit Hospital tomorrow.
This is not what I expected. I am sad and angry and mad. I am 37 and I want to scream, "I am not supposed to be in this much pain!" I want to shout, "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" Then I remember, life is not a fair. The county fair comes but once a year and there are rides and popcorn, cotton candy and Ferris wheels! If you are waiting for life to be fair.....keep on waiting', cause it ain't ever gonna be.
We all have difficulties in life, and I have to now take a dose of my own medicine. You see, it is easy to tell someone else these things, but much more difficult to swallow them yourself! Remember when your Mama told you to "choose your words carefully, you just might have to eat them!" Well, it is my turn. I must now tell myself, "Shannon, the Lord Jesus himself made you and he didn't make any mistakes. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and if this is something you are to go through, then so be it. It may be so that you can encourage someone else when they suffer with this very same disease. It may be so that you can learn to "give thanks in ALL things." Yes, even this. It may be so that he can reveal himself to you in a new way, and show you that"his grace is sufficient for you, for his power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9 It may be so that he can work a miracle and heal you and then you can use it as part of your testimony. We do not have a testimony without going through some tests! He DOES NOT WASTE ANY PAIN. He will use this for his glory.
I do not know the Lord's plan, but I DO know this. He has not failed me yet. He is with me in this storm. "The Lord stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven." Psalm 107:29-30

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits-
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases." Psalm 103:2-3