Let's Hope not Fear

Town Hall for Hope with Dave Ramsey was so encouraging. Things aren't nearly so bad as they seem.

Hope makes all the difference.

I like the definition of fear Dave gives:

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

Town Hall for Hope

Laura

Fresh Spring Blooms

Fresh spring blooms from my son, Matthew's friend Jeremy.

I love this color. It's just so rich.

Happy Spring

in spite of the

BRRR

Cold!

Call Me Crazy But...

Isn't April a Spring month? It's supposed to be down in the 20's tonight here at the edge of the Ozarks just east of Oz.

BRRRRRR!

Laura

Shrimp Pasta Salad A Lane Family Favorite

Pasta Salad with Shrimp

~ A Lane Family Favorite ~

Ingredients:

16 oz pasta cooked and drained
2 cups of fresh broccoli florets, cut in small pieces and steamed lightly

1 c chopped green pepper
1/2 c chopped green onion slices

1 cup tomato, chopped

16 oz of tiny frozen shrimp, thawed (I've also used imitation crab meat.)


Just a note, we like our salad creamy, so I double the dressing ingredients. The amounts below are the single ingredients. Try it as is, and make more if you'd like it creamier.

1 c Miracle Whip salad dressing
1/2 c Kraft House Italian dressing

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, I use Kraft.

salt

pepper

~

I boil a box of macaroni in whatever shape and amount that I fancy. Rinse the pasta in cold water, drain, and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

~

Cut or chop all your veggies.

~

Rinse your shrimp in a colander under cold water and drain well.

~

Mix together the dressing and Miracle Whip. Add salt & pepper and lots of grated Parmesan cheese to your taste.

~

Now, mix it all together and let it chill for a few hours.
Add tomato right before serving so that it doesn't get soggy.

***

My kids and husband absolutely love this.

I hope your family does, too.

God bless you,

Laura

Something to Think About... Setting the Stage

~~~

Hey Y'all,

I've just read a wonderful post at The Blessed Nest about staging your home to prepare to sell it. Stacey is selling her home and explains what it means to stage it in such a warm, clear, inviting way. The photos of her home and her advice are worth the click! Here's the staging post. Here's the post about the steps to go through to get ready to sell.

So many folks are trying to sell their homes today. You need every little tip, hint, and prayer to sell yours. I was just thinking, why do we wait until we move to spruce up our nests? We've painted, decluttered, repaired, cleaned, and freshened up three houses in the last 8 years for sale. After they were ready, I always wondered why we waited so long. They were then such nice houses. We've rented our current home for a bit more than 2 years now. If we had painted when we moved in, we wouldn't be looking at flat white paint that gets dirty every time it's touched and can't be cleaned! Hmm...perhaps there's a lesson in this?

Just something to think about....

Blessings to you!
Laura

May I suggest...
A Few Ways to Enjoy Homemaking
There's No Place Like Home

Marveling at the Wonders of New Life...Spring Chicks!

Marveling at the Wonders of New Life....

Our latest family project is raising chicks. We bought our six little chicks from my friend Joyce's young sons. They're making a little business of it. We've had the chicks for a week and a half now and all are healthy and strong. I recommend buying from someone locally.

We've got the chicks in our garage now that it's getting warmer and they're getting bigger. It's amazing how much they've grown in such a short time. These photos were taken when we first got them. It's another great hands-on homeschooling project. I hope the little critters will reward us with some eggs, too.

They are a "straight run" meaning that there are girls and boys. The girls will be our hens. They should start giving us eggs in about 6 months. The boys will be the roosters. At 8 weeks, they'll either be in the soup pot or sold.

My friend Nancy told me that I could hold them by the head for a moment and they would either pull their feet up or put them straight down. The ones who pull their feet up are hens and the ones who put them straight down are roosters. We tried it and found we had three of each. Nancy tells me that the test is 99% accurate. We'll see, won't we?

Well, that's enough for tonight. I've got to be up bright and early to work on a mailing for the Shepherd's Guide.

Blessings to you!

Laura
Adding a Few Feathers to Our Nest


Too good not to share!

~~~~~

This post was featured!

A Return to Loveliness

I've Struck It Rich!

At a yard sale, that is!

I have an adorable nine year old boy who is oh so hard on the knees of his jeans. He has two hard and fast rules that he lives by. Rip out the left knee first; and, make sure the rip's so big it's hard to repair! Because of this, I'm always on the lookout for jeans at yard sales and at thrift shops. I have tried repairing his jeans; but, by the time I see them, they're ripped from seam to seam most of the time.

Praise God! I went to a yard sale today and found 6, count them 6, pairs of nice jeans for him. They were only twenty-five cents a pair! Woo Hoo!

I cannot tell you the number of times that I've needed or wanted something and God has filled that need or want through a friend or a yard sale. He is so very good. I feel like Father God's just taking tender loving care of His little girl. He is.

To top it all off, He spoiled me by showing me a McCalls Country Canning candle for only $3 that sells for $20 in the store. I snatched it up. I love this brand. I found the first one partially used at a sale last Autumn. I just finished burning the one I got for Christmas. It filled the whole top floor of my house with the fragrance of shortbread in the oven. I disappointed my gang a few times when they thought I was baking. I was really wanting another candle. This one is Sunflower. It smells so fresh and clean. I'm going to burn it this afternoon. He is just so on time!

Thanks God!

Laura

So completely blessed and cared for.

By the way, you can buy the McCalls Country Canning Candles at Wilkinson Pharmacy in Carthage or go to http://www.mccallscandles.com/ to find a store near you. You can also look at yard sales like I did!


Good Morning Monday