Simply Fye's

It was such a pretty table....

2011-04-25T13:59:00.001-07:00

Rachel picked out the inspiration for our Easter table from the newest Celebrate! magazine.

It is more of a casual table for us, but so pretty!

The gold nests were made from a glittered netting ribbon that I crimped and turned into little nests.

The eggs are just decorative eggs that I got from FF. As I was placing them in the nests I remembered that they make eggs that look like that and are edible!!!! Where was my head!!
I wanted to use purple napkins, but couldn't find any. These are from Target.
I used the white dishes that was a gift from my Mother-in-law, my brushed silverware set, and the napkin rings are the ones from the clearance rack of BBB.
They are silver-plated and are tarnishing... I kinda like that look.

I usually use stemware for dinners, but to keep it more on the casual side

I used the swirl tumblers that I got for Christmas.

For the centerpiece I used the large brandy sniffer that Rachel got me for Christmas. I have to admit that I have never been crazy about those glass pieces, but I think it is perfect for this arrangement!

This is one of my favorite tablecloths. It is reversable. The top side for this table is more gold and french country looking. The other side is more formal looking with the satiny cream side with the gold scrolls and border.

Our Easter pictures before church turned out blurry. We invited Brandon's parents and sister for Easter Dinner. They don't have set yearly plans and neither do we so we wanted to celebrate with our new family members! I thought we would take some pictures when they were here, but our plans kinda changed. As you saw, the table was set, the food in the oven and as they choir was singing my Larry got a coughing spell. It lasted a bit and then at one point when it was in full force he got a sudden severe headache and felt something 'pop' in his forhead. The pain was so intense and he thought it would go away quickly, but it didn't so when the choir selections ended he made his way off the platform. I was already on my way out and met him in the hall as he staggered out. Dear friend Sara, a retired nurse, came out also and she took care of him as I got the car and Rachel and I decided which hospital to take him to. Sara rode with us to the hospital in case his sitaution took a turn for the worse... thankfully it did not. His blood pressure was 178/124 when his vitals were taken. They ordered a CTscan, ekg, chest xray and a lumbar puncture. All tests came back negative,except he does have a sinus infection. For that we are soo thankful. They gave him 2 doses of morphine while in the ER and so when we got home he went to bed. Today we had the follow-up appt. with his doctor. He is now on 2 bp meds and some other meds. He still has a headache and has been in bed most of today.

We have discovered that some otc meds he was taking for the chest congestion he has been having probably caused his bp to go up. So we will read labels from now on!!

We feel so blessed that this chapter in the story of our lives had this outcome. It could have been so different. We are looking at it as a wake-up call. Some things just can't be replaced... and Mr. Fye is one of them.

Wild Ride

2011-04-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

The last several months have been far from normal and it has been a wild ride for sure! But it was a good ride... Last August when Brandon sat down with us and told us that he wanted to make our little girl his wife we were thrilled. Brandon had already won our hearts. If you know me you know I like lists and planning and decorating and in weddings general, but for my Rachel all that fun was taken up a several notches!! We didn't meet our original goal date for having everything finished, but by March 8 I had everything done that could be done. I had a family and friend shower for her on March 10 and so after that my refrigerator looked like this! As we completed a job we took the paper of the fridge so we could see our to do list become a ta-da! list.

Makenzi could hardly wait to try on her purple dress! Purple is her favorite color so the dress was a hit! Here she is with her very handsome Daddy. My Mom always says Rob is very distinguished looking. ;o)

Here's the Bride and Groom on the rehearsal night. That night and the wedding day deserve a post all of their own. The end result was that we got to witness this man make my baby girl a very happy woman.

They are so in love and it shows. I love that.

On Saturday we met Larry's family at Golden Corral. Not exactly my favorite place to eat... one member of my family wouldn't even go in the restaurant.. the baby was conveniently hungry at that time! This is Larry's Mom and her husband of all of 5 months! He told us last summer that his weight stays the same, but this time he says he has gained weight! He said he found out that if Ann knew he liked something he'd get lots of it. One summer she made Larry 15 reubarb pies because he mentioned he liked them... He finally had to tell her he'd had enough!

She likes to make her family happy!

This Larry's oldest sister, Debbie. Rachel gets her personality from her Aunt Debbie. She is a take charge kind of girl! No grass grows under their feet! Also, in the picture is Milton and Anna.

Crystal is the oldest of the Fye grandchildren. She came up from NC with her Mom. We missed Randy and Steven, but were happy that Deb and Crys came. Mr. Trenton has finally quit closing his eyes when we go to take a picture of him! His Mommy is going to have a baby brother or sister for him and Chloe in October.

In this picture are Curtis (Donna and Milton's oldest) Ryan, Trenton and Donna, Larry's younger sister.

After meeting at the restaurant we went back to the hotel where everyone stayed, since my house was soooooo not up for company! We played games by the pool...

and then later moved in to the breakfast room. We played Phase 10 for hours!!!!! It was so much fun... I love that game. The "kid's table" played Risk and Stock Market.... Fye Family Favorites! Stradegy games.

This picture is out of order but that night when we came back to the house I kicked off my shoes in the kitchen and Kenzi came in and said, "Look Mamaw, I put myshoes with yours!" That was after she ran in the house and said, "Mamaw! Mamaw! I have candy! For me and you!" She was so excited... and I loved it!

Trenton asked me to take a picture of him and Chloe. Aren't they cuties?

And he asked me to take a picture of him "in the hilarious hat!" He's a funny one!

And here's my sweet, sweet Maddison. Aren't baby yawns adorable?

At first I thought she looked just like Kristi's Mom, but she changed in the week she was here. I ended up seeing some of Rob in her and in one picture (my FB profile picture) she looks just like Rachel did as a newborn.

Whoever she looks like she is adorable!

Kenzi in her travelin' clothes... she wanted to help so she pulled this out to onto the porch and then down the stairs and right on out to the car. All by herself. She loves to help with whatever is going on. When Rob put the dishwasher in at Christmas she was right there watching every move!

Uncle Ryan getting in a last snuggle before they head out.

I love being a Mamaw!

Kisses and hugs from Kenzi! (Please don't focus on the mess in the house... but sadly, it still looks like a storage unit!)

Papaw drinking it in... I loved seeing this man hold our babies and now seeing him hold our grandbabies is just extra special.

In March our family grew by 2, we got to see Larry's family, we got to see my family. It was a good month.

ahhh, fall is here

2010-09-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love autumn. The colors. The scents. The food. The coziness of it all. I probably look forward to autumn more than any other time of the year. I did get my fall decor up the week before Labor Day. Even Mr. Fye said he enjoys this season's decor additions most. This year I have a thing for peaches! I say "this year", but really I go through cravings where I eat one thing for a while and then I am over it... all year long. Right now, it is peaches! Succulent, flavorful, juicy peaches! You'll notice this dish seems to be missing one..... really, it is missing two!

Yesterday was Rachel's 23rd birthday. It was here before I knew it! We had a steak dinner for her. Don'tcha think the McD's cups add that special touch to the table? I did think about removing them for the picture but decided to go for reality.

I forgot to take a picture of the cupcakes we had. I got them at a bakery that we are considering for her wedding. She said I was multi-tasking. For those who have seen the pictures of Brandon when he shaved his head, it looks like he misses the mohawk look. Hopefully, he wasn't trying out his wedding hairstyle!!

Kenny, Becky, Laura, Steve, and Me

The last several times I posted pictures I had to load them backwards so they would go on right.... sooo, I did that this time and look! They went on the way I loaded them..... urrrgg! Anway, my Mom, sister Becky, and brother Steve came up from Texas for the week of Labor Day. Mom and Steve came last year and so it was great to have Bec join them this year! This picture is the Platts cousins. There were 3 Platts brothers. Uncle Bill, Daddy and Uncle Don. Uncle Bill had a daughter, Cheryl, but I don't recall ever metting her. Kenny and Laura had a brother, Gary, that died last year from melanoma. And we had an older sister, Debbi, who died 10 years ago next month. It was great to see visit with them, hear family stories and catch up with each other.

We used to spend Christmas Eve with Uncle Don and Aunt Pat and they would always give us those huge candy cane sticks. Bec talked to Aunt Pat about getting together she said she wanted us to come for dinner, that she had a surprise for us. My first thought was the candy canes... maybe she had some for us to bring back a great memory. Then I had a second thought and well, let's just say that was it and it was ok that it wasn't the candy canes! She made the traditional Platts Family Christmas Dinner of rump roast, Grandpa Platts's Yorkshire Pudding, mashed potatoes
and gravy, green beans, jello salad, applesauce and pumpkin pie and homemade carrot cake. It was such a wonderful meal and so thoughtful!

Back at Anut Barbara'a we celebrated some of the family's September birthdays... this year was for my cousin Leslie, Mom and cousin Tim. Any excuse for more sweets! We do love our sweets! My sister came to stay a couple of days with me, so we went to get donuts at Dunkin' Donuts, since they don't have them in Texas. Of course, I had to get some from Long's to show her how much better they are and then a couple of days later we patronized Jack's Donuts in New Castle because they are the very best! Jack's has been there as long as I can remember. We just went there for memory's sake..... yeah, right!

In photo: Brenda, Denny, Ted,

Karen, Tim, Steve,

Aunt Barbara, Becky, Leslie, me, Mom (Gloria)

These are the Turpin cousins with Mom and Aunt Barbara. We missed Aunt Harriett and again, my sister Debbi. The cousins are arranged by age. Debbi was the oldest so she would have been top left. It was a fun "photo shoot" and it was fun to catch up with the Turpin side, too! When we go to Aunt Barbara's we expect homemade ham salad and coke cake. She didn't disappoint us!

Cousin Karen hosted a family cookout. She and her husband Nick have a nice big farmhouse east of New Castle that would hold all of us if it had rained. But the weather was absolutely beautiful! Pretty windy, but wind is better than extreme heat! Steve was the Grill Master for the day and Larry and Ryan were there giving their two cents worth I am sure.

The Sherry Three. I lived with Aunt Harriett and Uncle Paul from age 13-18. So these three and combination cousin/siblings for me.

One of the food tables... I have to admit I have a slight twinge of coveting when I see this table. There was one other table/desk like it when they bought it in PA (for $15 no less!!!) and so it isn't like I can go get one like it... thus the "coveting." The other end looks like this end and the center is filled with drawers on both sides! LOVE it!

I had planned on having a photographer friend come and take pictures, but timing got mixed up and it didn't happen. It was a great place for pictures! The barn had this cute little window in it. So we filled it with a cute little girl and a cute big guy!

Then her Poppy had to get in there! Poor Brandon.

Our family... Ryan, me, Larry and Rachel.

Our family plus one... Brandon! Next year he will have to claim us!

I love generation photos.

My Mom and her children. Steve and Becky look like Mom... Me... I am a Daddy's girl!

I love this piture of Mom and Aunt Barbara. Oh, the stories we heard! I now know where a child or two of mine gets their "rules are just suggestions" attitude. ;o)

Isn't family great?!

It's a wrap!

2010-07-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

A summer delight... Cherries!!

Well, the menu for the next two weeks has been made! I don't know why it is so hard to make a 2 week menu! I should just put money back and then go weekly to the grocery, but shopping isn't one of my favorite things to do so the bi-weekly shopping works for that! Oh, well, here it is!!

Thursday- chicken picatta, linguine, peas and tomatoes

Friday- lexington style chicken, baked potatoes, salad

Saturday- tacos

Sunday Dinner- pork roast, mashed sweet potatoes, caulifower and broccoli, eggs, rolls, caprese salad, white cake with homemade buttercream frosting (This will be my birthday dinner)

Sunday evening- blt's

Monday- lemon basil chicken, red potatoes, carrots

Tuesday- salmon patties, salad

Wednesday- mexican pie (hamburger and chili beans in a baked pie crust topped with taco fixin's)

Thursday- YOYO (You're On Your Own) (I may be going to a party)

Friday- Steak, roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli

Saturday- Family Fun Night at church- Taco Salad, Twinkie layered dessert (Twinkies cut in half length-wise for crust then a layer of each: vanilla pudding, peaches, bananas, strawberries and top it with Cool Whip) (the original recipe just used bananas and pineapple... switched it up to suit my family)

Sunday Dinner- Lasagna, green beans, salad, bread

Sunday evening- mini pizzas (crust is flattened Grands biscuits)

Monday- Chicken Sorrento (chicken chunks, broccoli, carrots and onion marinated in creamy italian dressing)

Tuesday- balsamic bbq chicken, mac and cheese, baked beans, green beans

Wednesday- nacho chicken ( chicken slow cooked in 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup salsa with a pinch of chili powder and then served over crushed tortilla chips and topped with cheese)

Thursday- Parmesan Chicken served over linguine, salad, bread

Calvin Trillin said, "I don't care where I sit as long as I get fed."

That is not true in our house... the food must taste better when they are sitting next to Daddy...

they still fight to sit by him!

July Happenings

2010-07-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

There are lots of pictures in this post... you know, if I'd do this more often I wouldn't overload like this!

July has been a good family month!

My baby turned 18. I know! How did that happen?? Look at those dimples.. he's a cutie!

In June I had the bright idea to paint his room. Rachel had a bright idea to change rooms with him since her room was bigger and she is hardly ever here. So, I set about moving furniture around and painting. It took a lot longer than I planned due to an unplanned trip to Baltimore, but I did eventually get it done. So, this is a new poster for his room... "101 Best Movie Quotes." He likes to quote movies and can do awesome impersonations... Shrek is my favorite!

On July 3 Beech Grove has their fireworks and since it is just a couple of blocks over we usually have Ry's party on that night. We throw great parties... fireworks and everything! Well, really this year he didn't want me to go "overboard." Me?? He just wanted to have some guys over, play video games and eat pizza. He wanted cinnamon rolls for dessert, but our a/c was caput so I made individual Oreo sundaes instead... he didn't complain!

On his actual birthday I made his usual birthday treat- peanut butter pie. It was yummy!

He deserved a big 18th birthday blow out since he is such a great guy.

But he got what he wanted... low key, and hopefully he felt how much he is loved!

Makenzi and her Mommy came to visit us. I just love this girl! She is a bit shy at first when she comes. She knows us but it does take a while to warm up. The older she gets the less time it takes...

I am anxiously waiting for the day when she runs from the car into our arms!

This is what she first played with after she got here... She got all the dishes out and lined them up to prepare a feast for everyone. The next day she was making "snacks" and I asked her if I could have some. She "made" it and then held it up ad said, "This is for Rachel." The next one was for "Rachel's friend" and then Rachel got at least 3 more...

I never did get any! She is so much fun!

I made ice cream sandwiches with Pop-Tarts... she really liked those and thought they made the perfect breakfast!

Here's the bathing beauty enjoying the summer sun! If we got to see her more in the summer I would have bought a bigger pool. Next year this one will be perfect for the new Baby Fye we will have and Kenzi can get a bigger one!

This morning he woke up and sat on her Mommy's lap for a quick hug then sat back and and said,

"I want to go to Wal-Mart." She wanted to buy more fireworks. She does know what she wants!!

We spent a few hours at the Beech Grove Park with Liz, Trenton and Chloe until the storms rolled in and forced us home. It was a hot day and it was fun for the kids to spend time in the creek.

The enjoyed watching the crawdads scoot along from rock to rock. Trenton called them lobsters.

Makenzi's Daddy didn't get to come home this time, but I caught glimpses of him....

Kristi WAS enjoying the crawdad dances until she thought they were turning into attack crawdads!

She'd had enough!

This was actually before we went to the park... we got cleaned up after wading in the creek! We are making cake balls!! My family loves cherry chip cake so I thought making it into cakeballs would just be the ultimate!

I was so wrong! Perfection shouldn't be messed with!

Now, chocolate cakeballs.... oh,yeah! They are sooo more-ish!!

We had a lot of fun making them and eating them!

We made a trip to Build-A-Bear! She had a tough time deciding which animal to get.

She first grabbed the pink teddy bear, then her eye caught several others...

We thought she had settled on the black doggie....

Then she spotted the pony! Cinnamon the Pony even has a button to push that says "Mamaw Loves Makenzi!" I am sure Kristi is so tired of that!! Aunt Rachel and I thought Cinnamon needed a cute little skirt but Makenzi knew her ony loves the outdoors and had to have a beach chaise lounge chair! Cinnamon even shared it with Kenzi's babies!

You need some history on this picture. Robby, although not a complete health nut, did try to limit his added butter. He never complained about anything I cooked, but when he would see me prepare vegetables he always commented with "What are trying to do? I can feel my arteries clogging now!!" He said it in love and it didn't stop him from eating anything! Now, enter Kezni... that sweet little girl that is so much like her Daddy loves butter! If you put it on a roll she will lick it off... This picture is of her idea of a cup of dairy... not ice cream.... butter!

She put the butter in this little cup and was licking itlike ice cream!

Rachel and "her friend" Brandon. Brandon went with us to PA and rode back with Larry, Ryan and me since Rachel went on to Roxbury to help at a youth camp. He met family, spent 3 days with all of us and had a 7 hour trip back home with us and he is still coming around! Might have something to do with that pretty little girl! She took at picture of him at a friend's wedding in April and when I saw it I said, "Rachel, he's not ugly." She said, "I knoooow!" They have known each other for years... isn't it funny how after years of knowing someone you finally "see" them?

I had 40... yep, 40 pictures of them to choose from.

They said they were for me... some I think was more for their benefit. ;o)

We got to meet Ann's fiance, Pat. He is avery nice man. He walks several miles a day and stays in good shape for his 75 years. He has a 3 wheel motorcycle and a camper and enjoys traveling. Ann will enjoy that!

See that smile on her face? I don't know that I have ever seen her so happy!

This is his home that he has lived in since the early 60's. Isn't it adorable? He takes very good care of his home. He does his own cleaning and honestly I don't know of anyone that out cleans him. You can tell things are not new by the style (when he bought, he bought quality, to last) but things look like they were put in yesterday!

This will be Ann's home come October. A family friend said it is the best kept house in Harrisville.

On Sunday we spent the day at Lake Erie. It was a wonderful day. Hot, but not too hot. I really do not like beaches. Well, I like them, thoroughly enjoy them, once I get to my spot. I hate (yes, I know 'hate' is a strong word, not to be used lightly) walking through sand. Not because the sand is dirty, but becuse of all the litter in the sand. auggggh. But when I get to my spot I love the sound of the water, relaxing in the sun

and the squeals of laughter coming from all the children.

Ryan doesn't read my blog, so I am going to insert this... I thought it was cute. I won't expound too much,

I'll just say that in effort to remain "decent" he built up a sand wall. I thought it was pretty creative.

Here's Miss Chloe having fun in the sun. The sun was too bright to look up. Why didn't I bend down??

And here's Master Trenton... they had a great day!

" Sexy Men Speak French" The back says in French, "Excuse me, madam. Do you speak French?"

Last year's birthday gift from his sister... it was supposed to say "hot guys"... that would have been Mother Approved!

July for the Fye's has been fun and eventful. We are busy, happy and tired people!! We have a few more days left in July, but other than normal busy-ness, I don't think there will be anything news worthy!

Looking forward to a great August, though!

I'll leave you with this thought:

Families are like fudge. Mostly sweet, but with a few nuts.

Just sayin'.

Magnolia Beauty

2010-04-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening I realized that I did not take one picture of our family or of the Easter table. I did get this one picture of the roasts... only because Liz reminded me to. That is so sad! I need to relax on holidays and at dinners and remember to take pictures and enjoy the moment! And if I would have had someone else start taking family pictures that would work, too! I just don't like for my family to have to wait too long before the meal is on the table... but a few minutes wouldn't kill them!

The cheesy pork roast was absolutely fabulous! It has a cream sauce that goes with it and makes it fantabulous!

Today's Daybook...

This is the view from my living room window. This year we have more blooms on our Magnolia tree than we have ever had.

It is beautiful.

Today I am thinking about the menu for the next two weeks. Why is it so hard to come up with two weeks worth of menus?

I am thankful for the visual pleasures the Lord gives us.
Fresh, bright, vibrant spring colors to help us stretch out of our winter hibernation.

In our learning rooms we have moved from winter boredom to spring daydreaming.
The transition was smooth. Home Educating one has its trials.

In the crafting room I am gathering ideas for my next round of card making.

Thinking I will use some of these pictures that have been cropped just so!

From the kitchen I am looking forward to Sunday night's SNAC (Snack Night After Church) when I will be taking Yummy No Bake Bars and chicken salad on croissants. We have been wanting the Yummy Bars but I didn't dare make them without someplace to take them! I keep having mixed thoughts... "I hope everyone eats them all!" ... "I hope we have leftovers!"

I am wearing work out pants and a multi-colored topped. Comfort is the cry of the day!

I am going to help a friend with wedding ceremony decorating on Thursday. I am looking forward to that!

Maybe next week I will have pictures... depends on if the Bride puts pics out first... Not gonna steal her joy!

I am reading a lame, lame, lame mystery that I got from the Dollar Store.

Ready to go to the library or the church's library!

I am hoping that I will get to see Rob and his family before too much longer!

We are praying for hail here in central Indiana.

I know that sounds terrible, but that is how we will see Rob this summer.

He travels all over the country and if he could spend work time here that would make us very happy!

Some of my favorite things are dishes. I just dishes... they make me smile!

Today's quote:

"Any child can tell you the sole purpose of a middle name

is so he can tell when he's really in trouble."

Dennis Frakes

What's Going On Today

2010-03-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Outside my dining room window... I noticed today there are bright purple little buds starting on one of our trees out front. It is the tree we used to take Easter pictures in front of, but it hasn't been in bloom the last couple of years. If it's not ready Sunday, maybe it will be when Makenzi is here mid-April.

I am thinking... I have quite a lengthy project list for this spring!

I am thankful for... Pastor Bailey and Esther. When our church has communion Pastor and Esther serve us. I love that. I said that to Rachel on Sunday and she said, "Mom, you say that every time." But it is true, I love how they, as our Pastor and wife, serve us together.

From the learning rooms... catching up on keyboarding.

I am wearing... a short jean skirt, my one and only sweatshirt, it's eggplant in color and I have on Colts Blue socks! Yeah, I'm not going anywhere!

In the crafting room... wall words for my kitchen. I decided on "Together... our favorite place to be." It seems that some of our best family times are around our table... talking, laughing and yeah, sometimes eating.

I am going... to work on our next Kids Konnect Bible lesson. I will be using 'Who Will Be King?' from Matthias Media.

I am reading... Ulterior Motives by Terri Blackstock

I am hoping... Larry feels much better tonight. Cat allergies=no fun.

I am hearing... 24.

Around the house... a few dishes, but all looks pretty good... well, there is that laundry that needs done...

I am creating... an Easter tablescape.

Favorite things... glue dots.

Today's picture... is of some of my Sunday School class and my wonderful assistant teacher, Theresa. This is from our bowling BLAST (Beleving, Learning, Adventures in Studying the Truth). We have one BLAST event each month.

Today's Quote: When we do what we can, God will do what we can't.

Quest for Healthier Menus

2010-03-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided that to get past this almost 3 month plateau I am on I needed to plan healthier menus. So I searched the wonderful resources of the web and the local library, and my dear cousin gets me a subscription to Healthy Cooking for my birthday (it changed this last year from Light and Tasty to Healthy Cooking). I was determined to find meals that my family would like and that our waist lines would like also. You know... that's not so easy. We like what we like. There is a reason I am on this particular weight loss plan. So, on my quest to healthier menus, I got sidetracked. The healthy cookbooks from the library and the magazines are all earmarked and ready to be copied, but to get to the lighter fare on websites (at least most of the ones I looked at) you have to pass by the good stuff... or is that, the not-so-good for you stuff. So, I am thinking that tossing in a lighter fare menu or recipe here and there is definitely a good thing, but moderation is probably where we should live. Afterall, God gave us those different tastebuds for our enjoyment, not to torture us.

In the last 4 days I have tried 4 new recipes! I get tired of the same ol' things to eat. I remember a childhood friend's family had spaghetti every Friday night. At the time, it sounded wonderful to me and I remember thinking that is what I am going to do when I grow up... Monday night is chicken night, Tuesday is hamburger night, Wednesday is.... well, you get the picture. There's no way I could do that! The only thing we may have 2 weeks in a row is pizza!

When I started the "Quest" I also opened another Delicious account just for recipes. I love this!! I have one account for business and personal. It has all the blogs I follow and they are listed under various tags such as decorating, crafts, Sunday School, weddings, etc. Then the one for recipes has tags for resources (recipe blogs or sites like Taste of Home), appetizers, breakfast, fruit, pork, etc. So when I go to plan my menus I go to that Delicious account and can pull up those recipes or I can search for more ideas. It is so handy. It probably won't be long before I open another account for A Mari Celebration. If you haven't checked Delicious out, you ought to. A free organization tool! Fun!

Here's the 2 week menu for this round. I am going to go back to Friday so I can include the recipes I tried this weekend, since there are keepers and I want to share them with you!

Friday- Homemade pizza with copy-cat "Papa John's" sauce (mmm, so good! I made a double batch and the rest froze it in 1/2
cup containers)
Saturday- Cowboy Sandwiches (the recipe has a different name... these were ok, don't know that we will have them again..)
Sunday- dinner- homemade lasagna, cauliflower, green beans, salad, rolls and lemon crumb cake (this cake was in the Healthy
Cooking magazine and I couldn't get a link to it. It is a dense cake. I liked it, but my family isn't real hip on
lemon.)
Sunday- after church- slow cooker pulled pork with homemade coleslaw and perogies. (oh, my! the recipe said the pork tastes
better the second day and boy was he right! Last night, I was thinking it was an awful lot of steps to go
through to get that result.Not hard steps, just time consuming, but today I am thinking it was definitely
worth it. I will double the sauce recipe next time, though. It's a keeper for sure!
Monday- Butter Roast Chicken, crash hot potatoes, and peas (The chicken recipe is one I have hadfor years and my
family loves it.)
Tuesday- beef tips and homemade noodles, mashed potatoes and carrots
Wednesday- leftovers
Thursday- enchiladas and corn casserole
Friday- Lexington Style chicken, baked potatoes and broccoli (another favorite chicken recipe)
Saturday- taco roll (taco meat and cheese rolled up in a pizza crust)
Easter Sunday- Cheese stuffed Pork Roast, cheesy mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, carrots, cauliflower salad, homemade
yeast rolls, deviled eggs and I am sure dessert will be served but I don't know what it will be yet!
Sunday night- chili dogs
Monday- chicken paremsan, linguine and green beans
Tuesday- cube steaks and gravy, mashed potatoes, and peas
Wednesday- pizza roll
Thursday- bbq ribs, mac and cheese and baked beans

So there's a peek into our culinary world... as you can see we will be relying on moderation! If it is between food that we don't enjoy and adding more exercise to my schedule it will have to be exercise!

Happy 70th Birthday, Ann!

2010-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we went to Missouri to celebrate my Mother-in-law's 70th birthday! We thought it was a surprise, but she "had an idea" that something would happen! She wasn't allowed to do anything this weekend except enjoy her family! Liz took a breakfast casserole and taco soup, Rachel made three large pies (in deep dish 9x13's): peach, apple and dark cherry (all from scratch!), and I took cheesy potato soup, pecan tassies, and gobs (cream filled chocolate cookies, like Suzy Q's). Donna added chili to our soup menu and Milton and Larry grilled steaks and ribs for the birthday dinner menu that Donna planned.

And of course we had birthday cake!

Grandma and her grand-daughters, and GREAT grand-daughter! Kara, Anna, Makenzi, Rachel and Chloe... missing is Crystal, who couldn't make it! When Larry's grandma was living she would alway stress the GREAT when telling her great-grandchildren who she is... maybe it started with Crystal calling her that... can't remember,

but anyway now Ann is the GREAT-Grandma!

(This picture is supposed to go after the birthday cake, but I accidentally deleted it!!

and can't figure out how to move pictures within the post..)

Chloe, Jerry and the birthday girl!

Liz, Donna and Milton. Donna and Milton have a wonderful home! It was Milton's parent's home and it is filled with history and love. D&M have added on and it has made the home very company friendly! We always feel welcome and comfortable in their home!

The birthday cake was delicious! Crystal Schaper made it. It had a strawberry filling in the center... it was all delicious, but if you know me, you know the frosting was my favorite!

Donna, Ann and Rachel

Ann with her kids that were there... Donna, Jerry and Larry.

Rachel and I were hoping that we'd get there and Debbie would be there!

But she couldn't make it and we certainly missed her and her family!

Grandma and the grand-sons! Curtis, Ryan, Trenton and Rob. Missing is Steven, Debbie's son.

Makenzi and Trenton had fun playing together!

Larry and his Mom... I like this picture of them.... they knew I was taking the picture, but they don't look like they are in pain!!

Ann with some of her goodies!

Chloe loves to sit on her Daddy's shoulders!

My Sweetie and Me!

It was raining, but Papaw took Makenzi out to see the "bears." Donna had their cousin, Davey Lane carve (don't know what the correct term is..) bears in a tree trunk for her front yard. Anyway, they got out to the front and then Kenzi said, "I'm scared." It was hard for her to get her mind around wood bears in the front yard. But she stuck with Papaw! Doesn't she look so cute in her little coat? Like I said, it was raining or I would have got a picture of them out there!

One of the games we managed to fit in the short weekend! We also played Bananas!

A new game that Donna has and it was soo much fun! I could play it for hours!

Mamaw sure does love her Kenzi! Ryan came up and hugged me and Kenzi was not impressed!

"That's MY MAMAW!!!" She had to run and claim me her own!

Needless to say, I loved it!

My favorite girls!

It was hard to say good-bye to this fun-filled little girl!

We don't have a set date when we will see them again, and that seems to make it harder.

By the looks on Kenzi face, she isn't so crazy about saying good-bye to us, either!! We can think what we want!!

I had hoped to have someone take a picture of our family, but it didn't get done!

I didn't get a picture of Kristi, but she was there!

We hope Ann had a great birthday weekend. We enjoyed celebrating with her!

Valentine's Sunday School Party & Bulletin Boards

2010-02-17T12:53:00.001-08:00

In the photo: Brittany, Ashley, Tabby, Me, Sarah, Theresa, and Layla

I teach the Kids for the Journey Class for grades 4, 5 &6. They are a great group of kids and I love doing special things for them. Last summer as I was looking ahead to the fall and wondering what we should do for memory and attendance challenges I decided to go a different route. I decided to keep having the memory verse (of course!!) but not do any challenge with it. Instead, we are having a monthly BLAST! (original anagram came from the 91st Street Christian Church's website). It stands for Belonging, Learning, & Adventures in Studying the Truth. I wanted to do something to bring us together so we could get to know each other better and I had hoped that it would boost regular attendance. So far we have been miniture golfing, had a scavenger hunt and picnic, make your own pizza and game night, bowling and then this Valentine's party. Since Valentine's Day was on Sunday I decided to have the party during Sunday School. Of course, we had a Bible lesson using conversation hearts, but we had fun, too.

I looked on the internet for weeks for fun things to make for my kids.

I saw these candy coated marshmallows and knew I had to do them.

I started doing them only covering half of the marshmallow, but I was afraid the marshmallow would dry out,

so I then went to covering all of it.

Aren't they adorable!!

Here's the party table. My bulletin board was simple but used the party theme.

That's a mirror that I got from Dollar Tree in the center.

We have donuts every Sunday for the van kids to eat before Sunday School, so I didn't think that cupcakes would be that different. White cake, homemade ~BUTTERCREAM~ icing.... love, love that! My favorite combination! and we had Strawberry milk to drink!

Another internet idea... I think it originated from FamilyFun. These are supposed to be roses. I'll just call the flowers! They are made out of Fruit by the Foot. They don't look like the example, but hey were cute non-the- less!!

On the wesite they used mini muffin tins and the flower covered the whole top of the cupcake.

Another internet inspired idea. It doesn't even look like what inspired me, I just saw one thing that reminded me of another and this is what I came up with. The 4x6 frame is from Dollar Tree, I used a scrapbooking paper for the background, printed the theme on the computer and glittered a Cricut cut heart. These were my Valentine's to them.

I had snack bags that they could put these goodies in and take wiht them, altho' most of them ate them there!

The little boxes with the ribbons at the top of the picture are match boxes that I covered with craft paper and a ribbon and then I put 2 Jolly Ranchers inside.

For the craft we made jean Bible covers.We ended up hot gluing the beads on after they got them on the thread. With the time constraints we couldn't sew on one end, thread the beads and then sew in the other end.

Jesus Loves these kids... and so do I!

This is the Valentine themed bulletin board for Family Center at church. It is very large (4'x8') and so I decided to divide it this time. The border is made up of velvet roses. The roses and the floral piece are from the wedding I did in December. The right side of the board is a reminder of the missions trip that several from our church are participating in. They will share the Jesus Film with the people of Guatemala. The background is the same tablecloth that I had up for the Christmas bulletin board. I get the tablescloths from Big Lots for $6. They are better than paper because they can be used over and over and not going to tear and wear like paper. I will probalby be switching to all cloth backgrounds. Goodwill will be a good source for the smaller boards in my classroom.

Thanks for letting me share some of the fun I get to do at church!

Super Bowl & More Kenzi Fun!

2010-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

These first pictures are kinda mixed up... brain wasn't working to get them in the order I wanted!

For Super Bowl Sunday we had Jerry, Liz, Trenton and Chloe over. None of us are die hard fans, although we would have loved for the Colts to win!

Makenzi and Trenton loved playing with the kitchen set... they loved putting the babies down through the hole where the sink goes. They'd do that then they'd squeal with laughter! (I really need to get the kitchen set fixed!)

Kenzi enjoyed the food and the game with her Daddy!

The crew holding down the couch!

Chloe seemed interested in the game, too!

Jerry and Trenton staying close to the food!

I didn't do a lot of decorating for this. This is the first time we ever had a special menu for the Super Bowl. Like I said, we are not really game night party people! But on this night we had buffalo wings, cheese sticks, sausage rounds, dogs in a blanket, veggies and dip...

sausage and cheese dip, tortilla chips, salsa, popcorn, pickles, cookies and candy bites, buckeye bars, and Liz brought peanut butter cookies and savory cream cheese filled cresent rolls. It was a good food night!!

Makenzi loves her Papaw and I think he's kinda taken with her, too!

Makenzi and Mommy went out to play in the snow! She's making a snow angel here.

Check out that cute little red nose!

Eyes full of wonder.

She had a fun day in the snow!

Makenzi wanted to have her toes painted like Mamaw's! So Aunt Rachel painted them and then her own. She wanted her fingernails done like Aunt Rachel's but we decided it was best to just do toenails like Mamaw!

Nothin' like painting toenails for fun girl-time!

She loved the results, but I couldn't get her to hold still long enough to get a picture of them!

Mamaw's Kenzi

2010-02-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

Oh, my goodness! Makenzi is so much fun! We were thrilled when we heard they were coming, but we had no idea how much fun we would have with Makenzi! She has grown so much since we saw her in December. She talks so much more and she has such good manners! (Great job, Rob and Kristi!) She's just amazing!

My two favorite girls! Kenzi had so much fun with her Aunt Rachel! Rachel had to work a lot while they were here, but she made the most of her time with Kenzi. When we were alone Rachel would say "She's so silly!"

I'm thinkin' she might get it from her Aunt Rachel!

Sitin' on the countertop... nothing's changed... couldn't keep my kids off of them

and it looks like it has carried over to the next generation!

This picture is in here because, well, quite frankly, she looks like her Mamaw in this picture. =o)

Makenzi works out along with her Mommy. In these next two pictures she is demonstrating some moves.... This one is the squeeze! You should hear her doing it! So cute!

She's quite the little mover! She loves to dance! And she dances just like her Uncle Ryan did when he was little.

Yep, she's a fun, silly girl!

"I love this little person, and it is not a slight thing when she, who is so fresh from God, loves me"

-paraphrased from Charles Dickens, The Curiosity Shop

Barely Blue

2010-02-17T10:06:00.000-08:00

My hutch is fun place for me... I change it according to seasons or holidays. I like change and since the hutch is a focal point in the dining room, it gets changed often. This is what I came up with for my post-holidays look. I have used the white dishes and the blue dishes separately, but this is the first I have used them together.

I have been thinking about painting this hutch black. My curio cabinet is oak, but my dining room chairs have a black wash over them and so I think it would be ok.... but.... I really do want dark red walls for this room. So, I am thinking it would be too dark. Now I am thinking about just getting new hardware for the hutch instead. I am concerned about the size of the back plates... it may be hard to get some to cover the area. Just thinkin'...

The blue dishes are Fostoria and they are a gift from my step-mother. They were hers, a gift from her first husband. I have always loved dishes and I think she knew I would treasure these. When I was young, before I was a teen, I would go over to my Dad and Mary's and she would always have the latest Montgomery Ward catalog. I would pour over that catalog and choose dinnerware sets for every day of the week ... the pretty blue and yellow print for Monday, the green mosaic design for Tuesday, and on and on it went. And of course I dreamed of the space to store it all!! I was going to write that now I can't imagine having different dishes for every day, but secretly I am still that little girl that would love it!

These little yogurt cup are part of a set that Rachel got me for my birthday last year... or was it Mother's Day? Anyway, they were from Rachel. She knows the way to my heart. The lid that you can see goes to the urn type piece that is under the doily that you see. We have a few pieces like that that are from Larry's sister, Debbie. Her husband was stationed in Turkey and those were some Turkish tresures we got from them.

The white dishes are a set my Mother-in-law got me for Christmas one year. They have a white on white floral band with a thin sliver band along the edge. For this hutchscape I went with ivy and white gardenia. I love gardenia. It is so delicate.

This is a basket that Rachel made for me for Mother's Day in when she was a Girl Scout. It always makes it into my spring decor... it's just out a little early this year to go with the blue dishes. I think these flowers have been in the basket since she gave it to me. They were just some I had on hand, but I have never changed them.

Spring really is just around the corner. As a Sunday School teacher and since I do the bulletin board in the family center at church I am always looking ahead... Easter and spring are the next things on the plans! Doesn't that make you happy?

"Unshared joy is an unlighted candle."

Thanks for letting me share some of my favorite things with you!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-02-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

For Today...

Outside my window... a new snow is gently falling, covering the old snow, making everything look fresh and clean again.

I am thankful for... a solid wall next to my front door... Thanks, Robby!

I am thinking... about continuing the remodeling projects in the kitchen with paint and an island install.

From the learning rooms... we need to focus more on proper keyboarding.

From the kitchen... will be a day-late Valentine dinner. I had so much going on last weekend that it just didn't happen. On the menu will be chicken linguine alfredo, carrots, tuscan bread and peanut butter pie for dessert.

I am wearing... a jean skirt and a hot pink sweater.

I am creating... bulletin board ideas for Easter! Easter is the first Sunday in April, so I will put the Easter bb up around the second week in March.

I am going... to work on a new memory verse challenge for my SS class.

I am reading... There Goes the Bride by M.C. Beaton, One Conversation at a Time by D. Michael Henderson, and You Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less by Josh Hunt.

I am hoping... that Larry's meeting at work goes according to God's Plan.

I am hearing... the news talk about the weather... they tell me to stay home and not go to the gym.... =o)

Around the house... is a total mess. After remodeling projects, I am thankful for the mess, and I am trying to not stress and realize it will take more than one day to get everything done.

One of my favorites... my daughter.

I am remembering... the happiness we felt waking up and knowing Kenzi was in the house... she is so much fun!

A few plans for the week: Put Kenzi's toys back in the attic till next time =o( , paint the kitchen, laundry and ironing (there are mountains!) , and make soup and sweets to take to Missouri to celebrate my Mother-in-law's 70th birthday... shhh, it's a secret!

The picture I am sharing is of one of my favorite people and me. This is Brenda. She is actually my cousin, but she is like a mother, a sister, a friend, a Spiritual Mother, a confidant ... well, just all things good! She does wear rose colored glasses and that is one of her many charms.

I am pondering these words... "Our job in Christian education is not to make smarter sinners. Our job is to make disciples." ~Josh Hunt

Stand

2010-01-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

Pray

you never stand taller than when you are on your knees

Yesterday I bought a framed art with this quote in it. I declared it our family quote for the year. We must pray. We can try to make decisions and plan our lives and that is all good. I think the Lord expects us to plan and think ahead. But unless we pray and ask Him where He plans for us to go, what He plans for us to do, what He plans for us to not to do, we cannot be prepared for what comes our way. If we pray, when the trials and temptations come that try to hinder us as we are following Him, it is then that we can stand tall. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:13 That's what we have to do to say we have truly planned. Truly prepared. When we can say we have done all, it is because we have prayed.

photo courtesy of angelfire.comu

I'm a Mover!

2010-01-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

I was reading Beth Moore's blog and since I came in late in the "conversation" it took me awhile to figure out what she was talking about! She obviously asked whether her readers were movers or non-movers as far as furniture! One person said she had a friend come over and move things around for her then after her friend left she made pencil marks around all the items on her shelves so she would know exactly where to put them back! Funny! My things usually end up in different spots everytime I dust! And then Beth mentioned that some men don't even put their things down after work until they have seen their wife's face to make sure they are in the right house. The house I am in now doesn't leave a lot of moving options. That is very disappointing to someone that was raised that when you clean, you move. If it isn't moved it just doesn't seem as clean. The post brought back wonderful memories..... Larry hollaring out in the middle of the night when he went downstairs to get a drink of water and not knowing the furniture had been moved. (I was a night mover) Or having Robby come down the stairs the morning after the furniture had been moved and he'd stand there on the landing and cry because I had changed things. It was quite funny. I know, I am a horrible Mother for thinking so, but it just was... He does much better with change now. So, what are you? Mover? Non-mover? Daytime? Night-time? I have changed, but probably because of the house. It doesn't get moved as much and well, I am not a night mover any more. Everyone was in bed in those days... these days there's always someone up!

Christmas Eve Dinner

2009-12-27T09:18:00.001-08:00

Since we had our family Christmas on the 10th, we decided to invite the Budensiek's over for dinner. With work schedules to consider we chose Christmas Eve. The camera didn't get used much while they were here...

Rachel and Brenna got in a cheesy shot and there was a shot of Vern sleeping on the couch.. she wasn't feeling well and since I am her friend I am not going to show you that picture! That was it as far as people pictures.... how sad!

This morning I told my sister-in-law how to load pictures on here... you know, it has to be done in reverse order... well, between telling her and working on this I had a brain freeze or something. So, these are backwards, but that's ok.... it is just a tablescape.

I didn't want to use a large centerpiece because we had a lot of food to go on the table and we had 10 placesettings. I've had these candles for years and decided to do a variation of something I saw on Shanty2Chic.blogspot.com. You can see the inspiration piece on her 12.22.09 post. I really like it and may someday do it. She has lots of great ideas! I planned to use my cricut, but I found stickers that I had and it saved me some "work." That wonderful ribbon that is on the framed wreath in the living room showed up here, as well as the berries that are popping up all over the house.

I chose the gold brocade tablecloth. I got it on clearance at BBB a couple of years ago and just love it. The plates are Pfaltzgraf Winterberry. The glass dessert dish, that we used for salad, is from Dollar Tree and the chargers were also. The globets are Claret by Libby.

The gold napkins and the napkin rings were more clearance purchases from BBB. Ryan helped a little with putting the table together and chose the napkin placement. It is one of my favorite placements.

It was a time of joy to spend the evening with our friends. The menu included turkey, dressing (not as good as my Daddy's was!)and stuffing , mashed potatoes and gravy, homemeade noodles, green beans, carrots, broccoli slaw, deviled eggs, homemade potato rolls and lots of goodies for dessert! Kathy brought all the good healthy stuff and I did the starches! We played a game exchanging Dollar Tree gifts later in the evening. Don't know who go the "best" gift... think it was a tie... Rachel with the box of rocks, (decorative rocks, of course!) or Pete with the glo-stick jewelry! It was a fun night! Great friends, great memories! We did miss our oldest boys and their girls though!

I decided decorate the chairs. Dollar Tree had amazing Christmas decorations! I got the deer in a 2 pack and I got 3.5 chairs out of a roll of ribbon. I was very happy with the way they turned out. The problem was that they ended up sliding down. I tried to use glue dots to keep them in place, but that didn't work. I will have to work on that. But they were pretty!

Here's the whole table... I loved the dark red, gold and creams. As usual, Mr. Fye asked for someone to please pass the salt and pepper. Hands reached up and then halted as they realized everyone had their own.... he laughed, we groaned... Gotta love 'im!

For a year now I have been waiting for turkey leftovers to make this recipe. I know I could use chicken, but I made it for the first time last year and I used the turkey broth and meat. It was sooo good, and I think it is one of those recipes that I probably would only make once a year anyway. Who knows. Maybe this year I will try it with chicken. Anwyay, this is what we are having for lunch today with cornbread muffins.

White Chili

In a large saucepan cook until tender:

1 T oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalepano pepper, seeded and chopped

2 galic cloves, minced

Stir in:

4 cups chicken broth (0r turkey!)

2 15.5 oz. cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 T parsley

1 T lime juice

1 t cumin

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occaisionally.

Combine and stir into chili:

2 T corn starch

1/4 c cold water

Add:

2 c cubed cooked chicken (or turkey!)

Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Enjoy!

Well, the new year will arrive this week. I am ready for a new year. I am not real big on New Year Goals, but if I were, I have one I am already working on that will be accomplished hopefully by the first of April! No foolin'! I may gather some thoughts on goals and share them. We'll see. I told Larry last night I am ready to get life back to normal. He asked what that is exactly... don't really know, but I'd like to find out!

This and That

2009-12-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

Larry informed me last night that I have several typos in my posts. He was appalled. He couldn't believe I could do such a thing! He even said I used some bad language in my typos... I haven't checked to see what that is, but it is kinda funny.

Do you all have family colors? The other day Rachel and I were talking about my party/wedding planning business and I mentioned that I need to decide on a color scheme. I mentioned that I really like dark red, black and then I like the bling.... much like Natalie's wedding (but a darker red than she had). Rachel said, "Well, those are our family colors... " A lot of what we do and have is in red and black. Larry's business colors were red and black, my kitchen, we wear a lot of black and red. I have red in almost every room in my house. Larry "got" me the picture frame in the picture. It is the direction I want to go in the living room which is open to the kitchen, and again, more red and black, but I also have browns involved, too. (The living room has been birdhouses and a casual cottage feel.) Maybe I should branch out to some other color.... but then would it be "me"? (By the way, my business name is "A Mari Celebration." ) Does your family have colors that it seems to migrate to? Colors that just catch your eye when thinking about your family? Robby's bedroom before he got married was deep red and black lacquer, but now their home is mostly browns and creams.

This is another funny thing... I found it funny... I hope you won't find it offensive... We went to Buca di Peppo for Natalie and Kurt's rehearsal dinner. Now that I think about it there were two things... They brought out calamari (the boys were eating it up until Rob got a whole "baby" one and Ry stopped practically mid-bite, he didn't know what he was eating... but he decided he liked it more than he was put off by that site and he kept on eating!) and they had salad and bread for appetizers. For the main entrees they served lasagna, chicken parmesan (really good!), and manicotti. For dessert they had a delicious cheesecake and then brought out tiramisu. I said, "Oh, that has coffee stuff, I don't like that.." Rob said, "It also has rum!" So, to be funny, I said, "Oh, well, I 'll try it then!!" It was pretty funny. I think they thought I was serious. I did try it, but I wasn't just wanting the rum!! We decided that it is ok to have it if it is in your food! Not really. It tasted horrible! And then a couple of days later I was telling Rachel about the restaurant and I said, "Rachel! There were pictures and statues of naked men ALL over the place!!" Rachel- "Mom. Did you not see the women, too? There are pictures and statues of women all over the place, too." Nope. Didn't. See. One. Woman. I know. I am horrible. Your opinion of me just changed drastically, didn't it? I am horrible, but I just thought that was kinda funny. At the time it was kinda embarrassing! I tried not to look around too much!

This week isn't so busy for us. Tonight is the Jewett's Open House and then we are having the Busensiek's over for Christmas Eve dinner. I am doing the turkey and all the starches (stuffing, dressing, noodles, mashed potatoes, rolls... all homemade), and eggs and some kind of dessert. She is doing all the healthy stuff... veggies and salad and she is doing a dessert, also. We love getting together with the Budensiek's. It's always a party!! I am sure I will have some pictures later in the week! We will have stockings for the kids to open and a big brunch on Christmas Day and Turkey Tortilla Soup for supper. Pretty low key. We are enjoying it!

Just thought I'd share those few random thoughts with you! Merry Christmas!!

December Happenings

2009-12-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

Natalie and Kurt Friedrich's Wedding and Reception

The theme for the wedding was simple elegance with lots of bbbling! Natalie wanted to use the mirrors and containers that the church has and so I added risers for some of the mirrors to add some dimension. The roses were velvety and full.

The containers were filled with crystals and lights to frame the floating dark red rose candles.

A photographer I am not.... in person it was a very pretty table. Natalie's photographer took some amazing pictures that you can be sure I will be ordering!!

The wedding cake was designed and created by Yolanda Seese. It was beautiful! A new trend for wedding cakes is to have a "fake cake." And that is what this is. The served sheet cakes they had also ordered. They were high, moist and very good!

This is the Bride's Table. This picture doesn't do this justice... I love this effect. It is one big tulle skirt with lights and bling! It was so pretty!

There were 2 of these arrangements on the Bride's Table... one on each end. We used liquid marbles and lights to make the vase glow like diamonds.

This is the centerpiece for the Bride's Table. The church owns this candleabra, and I think I feel the need to find one of my own!

I put the toss bouquet here and you can see the red votive candles that were at each place setting at this table.

Here's a brighter picture of the one centerpiece. You can better see the bling in the flowers and the if you look closely you can see the bling in the table skirt.

Chef Harry Greene was the caterer. The food was delicious! He caters a lot of things for our district and I have heard many great things about him and we weren't disappointed. They set a beautiful display as well.

For the gift table I placed a single black band of ribbon and fastened it with 2 "diamond" pins.

It was a beautiful wedding with a beautiful bride and handsome groom! And one of their ushers was mighty handsome, too! It was a privilege to be asked to do the flowers and reception for Natalie's wedding. She is one of Robby's best friends and that made it extra special for me to be able to do it.

Now on to our family.....

This is our little Angel.... she's such a stinker!!! We enjoyed having her here sooo much! But she is still so hard to get a picture of! We did take lots of video! She is her Daddy's girl! She likes to tell stories and add sound effects actions. And she loves to do things to make you laugh! And you have to watch out for when she wants to do something to provide that shock factor!!

Oh, she is a doll!

Every year the last ornament I place on the tree is this little gerkin pickle. If you read my pervious post you know that this year it is the first and last ornament I put on the tree! The one that finds the pickle gets a small gift....

The boys usually get into it and have been known to lay on the floor and look up, or climb in behind the tree and search high and low! Makenzi got into the search this year. She kept saying, "Here pickle!" This year was a challenge because there were 9 trees in the living room so I gave them a hint and told them that it was on one of the 3 big trees! I don't think they thought that was much help...

Kristi found the pickle nestled in the area that all the trees come together! The problem was that with the wedding and all the changes to this year's plans I forgot to buy the pickle gift! :o(

Kristi was a good sport and said it was just fun to look for it!

When the kids attended public school, on the last day of school when they got off of the bus I would have hot chocolate and cookies waiting for them. When we started homeschooling and then when Rob and Rachel went to college the day hasn't been as "set." But it happens every year. Now, not so much for the last day of school before break, but just for the fun of doing it.

We use this egg nog set that my sister made for my Daddy. It is so much fun to drink from these little boots! We have to have several refills, but maybe that is part of the fun!

This year we had sugar cookies (always on the menu!) cinnamon crunch cheesecake bars, and peanut butter cookies.

Rob and Kristi got me this sleigh serving dish for Christmas! It is so me! And it fit right in with my other kitchen Christmas dishes!

Several years ago I bought this Debbie Mum set. I do enjoy it. Most of my decorating is not cutesy and these provide a bit of whimsy that I probably need!

Here's the set with the cocoa in it! It sure was yummy!

The guys are so good to join in in all the fun, too!

Doesn't he look like the little boot is just his style!!

Kenzi wanted to have her picture taken like Papaw in front of the oven! She's so much fun!

I would have included pictures of the others but they are on the memory card that Rob accidentally took home! Since we have already had our Christmas so early, I get confused in the store and then think I am missing out on all the clearance sales!

"Christmas is together time."

~Charles Shultz

We enjoyed our together time with our family. This year's whole holiday season has been very different. I won't go into details but even with it being different I still had the joy of having all the kids under one roof. I loved hearing my boys play video games and laugh together and me not being sure which son it was laughing so hard at the other's mishaps! Until they would talk they'd sound so much alike. And watching Rachel with Makenzi is a joy... she is not really a baby person, you know. ;o) But she is a Makenzi person! Yes, it was wonderful together time. They will be back in Febraury and yes, I am already on the countdown!

It's Christmas Time!

2009-12-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

Rob and Kristi were here for Thanksgiving weekend and we really enjoyed Makenzi! She has grown so much in the last two months! She has always been so hard to get a picture of! She is constantly on the move! We have very few pictures of her that aren't blurred! We took alot of video of her this year since still pictures weren't to be had!!

These next 3 pictures are out of order. So, I will just tell you about them in one fell swoop! Trisha Jewett gave me napkin that she wanted me to use as the inspiration piece of the the large bulletin board (4'x8') in the Family Center at church. They are the napkins that will be used for the reception following the "It's a Time for Joy!" cantata. So, this is what I came up with. I wnated to use one of those paper mache deer, but I think that would have been too much fo rmy budget so I used the trusty projector and enlarged the deer from the napkin and used spray glue and 3 shades of glitter. I sued my Cricut for the verse and it says, "O, the precious name of Jesus! How it fills our souls with joy!" I used a cheap cloth tablecloth for the background that I will cover over in January and then uncover for February's board.

For years I have done bulletin boards and I am just now getting into the habit of taking pictures of them. These are the two that are in my Sunday School classroom. I got the ideas for them from http://www.boardsgalore.com/. GREAT site for bulletin boards- children's SS, adult bulletin boards, school classrooms and special events.

The "wood" is contact paper that I used a permanent marker on to make the individual planks. I first tried to hot glue the straw onto poster board, but spray glue worked best. I didn't have time to freehand Mary and Baby Jesus so I used my projector and enlarged a picture of them from a gift bag and made a few adjustments.

This year's Christmas decor is very different for us. Last year the kids said they wanted to do the trees like the trees at church... clustered and no ornaments, just white lights. Now, I live with a bunch of Scrooges, so when they ask for something as far as Christmas decor that I think is do-able, you better believe I am doing it! I am very happy with the results!

I focused in the living room and didn't do every nook and cranny. The overall look is more winter than Christmas, and I prefer that.

This architectural piece has been floating around my house for a couple of years, but never in an actual decor spot. I think it found it's home..

I saw a fireplace mantle done similar to this on a website and decided I had to do it! I wish I could remember whose blog it was on so I could give proper credit. They used a frame they found at a thrift stroe. I tried. Really, I did. I went to 5-6 different Goodwill's and even on their 1/2 price day I would have only saved less than $7 than this frame that I bought at Flower Factory. The ones I would have got at GW I would have had to clean and paint. I hope to have family pictures taken this soon so I can use this frame for that later. This is different, but I love it!

These candlesticks were some I had in the dining room. I didn't get candles for these so I just put a band of ribbon around them. It is the same ribbon that is on the wreath and frame. I should have taken a close-up of it because it is so pretty. It is a sheer cranberry with a gold embroidery.

I did get a close-up of this material. I have been eyeing it FF for a while and wondering where I could use it. It is a tone on tone sheer. It is a brighter red and adds the right amount of pop for all of the darker reds.

Here's the overall look of the living room. The three trees are make our own little winter wonderland. With all sizes of trees (those 2 little ones by the big trees being the smallest)
we have 9 trees in the living room. Usually they are scattered around the house. The urns/pots that the smaller trees are in were already in the living room on the hearth.

The hutch in the dining room got most of the attention this year, with jsut touches around the room. I haven't even done a centerpiece yet because Natalie's wedding is this weekend and I still have a tiny bit of work to do on that. (I cannot wait until I can show you pictures from that!) On Thursday we will have our family Christmas so I will have a center piece for that and will probably take pictures then.

I love my Pfaltzgraf Winterberry dinnerware set. As you probably know, I love dishes and I love them even more when they aren't locked into one day. I use these well into February.

This is my Nativity set that my sister Debbi made for my Daddy and when he passed away I got it. My step-mother had it on straw... me... I have it on lace this year.

This is Makenzi's Christmas Corner. The little stove and sink is a set I "helped" a dear friend of our make for Rachel when she was about 4. As you can see I need to get new knobs and a new "sink." And the door to the oven is needing to be replaced. Someday.... In the cabinet is "food" and dishes with pot and pans!

These little friends are jsut waiting for Kenzi to come and play! My sister also painted the little sled on the step. Two little bunnies are putting up a banner that says Merry Christmas!

Debbi also painted this teddy bear plaque. She was amazing! She her work freehand. She passed away in 2000. We loved her work before but they are treasures to us now.

So, there's the 2009 Christmas decor for the Fye Household. I think I made my Scrooge's happy. Now, maybe, just maybe, they won't complain too much when the Christmas music is playing.

I'll leave with this thought as the cry of our hearts:

"Each year some new heart finally hears, finally sees, finally knows loves, and in heaven, there is great rejoicing! The Child is born anew, and one more knee is bowed!"

- Ann Weems

Fye Family Time

2009-10-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Quick Weekend with Family

Much of the time spent together with the Fye family is spent around the table. Now I would like to say that it is not because we are eating all of the time, but really even when we are playing games there is always something good to snack on close by! I will say that this year we did cut down on the sweets a bit! There were only 4 pies, 1 batch of fudge and 1 bundt pan of pumpkin bread. We all have have pretty healthy sweet tooth so this was a big deal!!

Not everyone was able to make it for the weekend. Randy and Steven were missing from Deb's family and Rob, Kristi and Makenzi were missing from our crew. And really it seemed Milton was missing, too, even though we stayed at his house! He had to work all weekend and so when he was there he was pretty zonked.

This is Trenton Dale, Jerry and Liz's boy. He's such a good little guy.

Of course, these are my babies... if you could see all of the pictures taken you could tell she was the one taking them since she is in most of them!!

We had Mother/Daughter outfits for this day... no, not really. We never did have matching outfits. And somehow I just don't think she'd go for that now!

Some families all look alike. You can see someone out and say, "Ah, there goes a Jones!" But Larry's family doesn't really look alike... except in this picture! You can tell they are related here... same tight-lipped smile!! My kids don't look alike either. Occasionally in a picture I might think Ryan is Robby if it is a distance away, but then I realize he is much bigger than Rob is!

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of them without one of them talking??? Yeah, we have no problem with Jerry... the main problem children this time were Larry and Debbie!! Larry kept making his usual faces and Deb couldn't stop talking! On Ann's camera there is one of Deb with her mouth open wide, laughing! Wish I had it... funtimes!

So, Mom had to get in there and straighten them all out! Those of you that know Ann, know how funny that is! Yeah, there were lots of shots of this one, too. In this picture is Jerry, Ann, Donna, Debbie and then Larry in the chair.

Three of the five grand-daughters... Kara (Donna and Milton's), Rachel (ours)and Chloe (Jerry and Liz's).

Miss Anna (Donna and Milton's) with Ryan and Rachel. It had been a year (I know that is awful!!) since we had seen Donna and Milton and their family. I noticed the biggest change in Anna. She has grown so much and is becoming a lovely young lady!

Ryan and Miss Chloe. He is so good with babies and children. He will make a wonderful Daddy some day!

One of the many things we look forward to when we are with Grandma is her noodles. She makes wonderful noodles! Since we weren't getting together for "Thanksgiving" dinner we were a bit disappointed in thinking we wouldn't get some of her specialties! But we were happy to see that noodles made the weekend's menu!

It was such a qucik trip, we didn't really do anything, but some made their way to the cave that is on Donna and Milton's property. They got a little dirty! The little kitty cat even went with them! That's Crystal holding kitty, Liz and Curtis (Donna's oldest). Jerry and Trenton went to the cave, but didn't go in very far. Just far enough for Trenton to be satisfied that he went in.

Crystal, Debbie's oldest, here with Jerry. Debbie and Crystal drove 12.5 hours to be with the family for the weekend! It had been a few years since they have been able to come so we were happy to see them, just wish it could have been for longer!!

Curtis and Ryan playing Risk, it looks like. Family favorites are Stratego, Risk, Castle Risk and Stock Market. (Wow! I was writing the next paragragh and noticed Curtis' left elbow and thought it looked like it is scarred froma burn... then noticed Ry's arm and realized it is from the light hitting the plastic table covering that Grandma has on the table... just thougth I'd tell you in case you noticed it and wondered about it!)

Donna is working on her Master's Degree in Elementary Education, I believe... don't quote me on that... anyway she is taking classes and she needed to work on a project and it just so happened that I knew something about what she was doing so we were looking at her assignment and I realized I could use what she was having to do. She had to set up a Delicious account and have 50 bookmarks and 5 people on her network. Well, I just love Delicious! It is a site that organizes all your favorites and you can share them through this networking site. And you can mark some private for ones you don't want to share. Like your dashboard, your broker, your bank, etc. And it is easy to add to it. Just link the page to your site. I love things that keep me organized! Maybe there was a way to do it before and I just wasn't aware of it. But I do like this! You ought to check it out. It is fairly easy to understand... you know what they say, if I can do it, you can do it! Since then I have seen one other person that put her Delicious bookmarks available on her blog. I am sure it is something that is going to catch on quick or maybe I will just notice it now that I know what it is! Have you seen it before?

I'll leave with this thought... Families are like fudge. Sweet, but with a few nuts!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2009-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well, for some reason the pictures were put on here in reverse order!! But there are so many I have decided that it'll just have to do. If there is anything I am, it is flexible!! (family joke!)

This first picture is of the new me! Larry introduced me to someone we've known for years as his new girlfriend~ I had put up with a very bad perm for 18 months and kept trimming it thinking it would get better, but I realized I just needed to bit the bullet and get all the fried hair cut off!

This is a before picture... that is after for some reason. And this is what my hair looked like when it was at one of its better times... see, it really needed help! Now my hair on a bad day looks better than it did on a good day! This was over a month ago and it has grown out a bit already.

My Mom and brother, Steve came from Texas over the week before Labor Day weekend. We went on our annual Burress-Fye labor Day weekend get-away so didn't get to see a whole lot of them. Rob and Kristi were here for the weekend so they got to see them, also.

These are my cousins. Karen is Aunt Barbara's daughter and Brenda is Aunt Harriett's. We all look like our Daddy's!!

It was great to see Steve. I didn't get to see him when I was in Texas in June. I hadn't seen him since Mom's heart attack in January 2007. Steve is an amazing person. He is so talented in many areas and such an enjoyable person to talk with. Hopefully when he comes back next year we will be able to spend more time together!

I love this picture of Aunt Barbara and Mom. Mom will shoot me for putting this on here, but that's ok, she's shot me before!! Their time together was filled with "remember when's." A favorite was when my Mom tried to sneek in the back after getting home late from a date and Aunt Barbara wouldn't let her in because Grandma and Grandpa were downstairs waiting for her. I guess Mom had a problem obeying rules... if curfew was at 11pm she'd have her date drive around the block a couple of times because she refused to go in on time! Hmmm... guess that is where someone in my family got her reluctance to obey curfews!

This was our 11th annual steak dinner for the Burress-Fye "Camping" weekend... obviously we have moved on from camping. Rachel says it is now "cabining!" The larger the families grow the more money it costs! We were tossing around the idea of going back to tents next year, but we were going over the percentage of times it rained and now we are thinking of tossing it out! If we had choices of weekends to go that would be different, but when this weekend is the only option for a long weekend I don't know if we want to chance it.

The fire pit had to be cleaned out so that Larry could cook the steaks for dinner. Makenzi was such a good little helper!!

Isn't this too cute?? Uncle Ryan having tea with Kenzi. This was the cutest little playhouse. It has 3 sides that are hindged together so it can be folded to be put away. I took lots of pictures of how it was put together.. I may tackle that project someday!

Kenzi couldn't wait till dinner to have corn on the cob! We had them sitting out on the deck in their husks and she just grabbed one, started shucking and got it all cleaned off and started eating! Is she a doll?

Rachel and Ryan love the time with Makenzi. Bo and Lucky even made this picture. We hadn't seen Lucky for a while. They got along pretty good. Lucky is older and has calmed down which suits Bo just fine! My Mom always comments about how Rob always makes funny faces for pictures. It was such a quick trip for them to come for just the weekend, but I am so glad they did. I love having my family all together under one roof.

This was at the State Fair. We actually went twice this year. Once with our friends the Budensieks (if you know them, you know we had a good time!) and then we went back for more chicken and ice cream!! Actually, I love going through all of the 4-H exhibits and so we did that on our second trip, too.

This is out of order, but a good one to end on! She must have been eating cheese curls... see her orange fingers and lips? She is a good "mixture' of her Mommy and Daddy, but my, she does look like her Daddy in this picture! I think it must be that ornery gleam in her eye!! ('Tween you and me... she got a double dose of that!!)

July and Feeding the Fam!

2009-08-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

In July we celebrated Ryan's 17th birthday.

(I will have to post more pictures later, because my computer isn't cooperating with adding pictures!!) And Kristi and Makenzi came for about a week and we have fun pictures I will share with you another time, but oh, we LOVED having them here! This was the first time Kristi came without Robby. We did miss Rob, but we were happy Kristi stayed here with us

(she could have stayed with her aunt).

This is Kenzi in her "Daddy Mode." If there is a video on that has their attention,

you might as well, forget getting it!!

After her trip to Chuck E. Cheese!!
Isn't she a doll?! Oh, I miss her!!

We went over to Jerry and Liz's to celebrate Jerry's 33rd birthday.

Jerry and Larry... They look about as much alike as my boys do!

Jerry, Liz, Trenton and Chloe

Some weeks I have such a hard time coming up with a menu! This week was one of them, but I do love to have my weekly menu all planned out! It makes life so much easier! So here it is:

Breakfast Options:

eggs, omelettes

blueberry muffins & fruit

pancakes

cereal

Lunch Options:

Spanish Rice

salad with grilled chicken

mini pizzas

chicken patties

homemade "corndogs"- (I make corn bread and place hot dogs down into the batter)

Monday: Penne-sagna (all the same ingredients as lasagna, but using penne)

Tuesday: My Birthday!! Pork roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, deviled eggs and rolls and white cake with buttercream icing! This is one of my favorite meals!

Wednesday: Homemade"Hamburger Helper" Deer burger, mac & cheese, seasoned with seasoned salt... YUM! and tossed salad

Thursday: Lexington-Style chicken, baked chicken, green beans, blt salad

Friday: hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, veggies and dip

Saturday: Taco salad

Sunday: Sirloin steak, baked potatoes, tossed salad

I will try to get some more pictures on tomorrow and share a soup recipe...

fall is just around the corner, you know!!

My Life Today...

2009-07-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

As I look out the patio doors I see a yard that needs to be mowed and patio chairs that need to be painted, but beyond that I see the sun shining and that a gentle breeze is blowing. It looks like a lovely day in central Indiana!!

Homeschooling is still part of our everyday life here... He got a late start last year and we have had lots of "breaks." That is a perk of homeschooling, but when you're in the middle of summer and still doing school work it doesn't seem so much like a perk! But really he spent most of June at youth camps so that is the way it goes! He hasn't complained! This week will see the end of another subject so we are drawing it to a close!

I am thankful for the time we got to spend with Kristi and Makenzi last week. Makenzi is at such a fun age! She is such a Mommy's girl, but she did let me comfort her after a boo-boo and she let me take a nap with her. I treasure those little moments.

As far as feeding the Fye's today, we will have mini pizzas for lunch and something made with chicken tonight.

I am reading "The Body on the Beach" by Simon Brett. I am a mystery buff and this one is set in England. It is fun to try and decide what exactly they are talking about sometimes!! That is what I read before I go to bed... another book I am reading is "Rise Above" by Gwen Shamblin. It is a Biblical weight loss program. I did it several years ago with great results and decided to revisit it. The main idea is that God designed our bodies to tell us when we are needing food (our tummy growls!) and that we should only eat when we are hungry and stop when we are satisfied.

I am amazed at what the weekend does to a house! So, today I will be setting the house back to order and work on my to-do list which involves laundry and wedding flowers! I am getting a late start today so I better get going!

My camera is broken (broke-broken?) and so I had to use Ryan's while Kenzi was here. I hope to get those downloaded soon and then I will share some of her visit! A blog post just isn't right without a picture, so I will share this one with you.

I love my family!

Happy Birthday, Larry!

2009-06-20T18:47:00.001-07:00

This week has been a busy one for the Fye's! This week always is... in one week we celebrate our anniversary (this year our 25th!!!), Larry has a birthday and we celebrate what a great Dad he is. To add to the mix this year we had 2 business trips!! I love this picture of Larry. Twenty-five years ago I never dreamed I would still be so in love with this man. My family history wasn't exactly a legacy of long and lasting love... I didn't know we could still be friends and want to spend time with each other. Even though his family dyanmics were different, he didn't know it could be like this either. I can't exactly say when, but somewhere along the line we knew we wanted our marriage to be above the norm. Has it always been easy? Nah, we have had a few rough patches, but staying committed to each other and "enduring" has made us stronger. I am thankful for my husband. I have confidence in him and I know he does all he can to make us happy. I love how he leads a careful life and how he makes me laugh everyday.... this is what I live with....

When I looked at this picture I told him to be serious for the next one and not so cheesy...

Happy Birthday, Larry! You are the Greatest!

Tablescape Thursday

2009-06-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to our friend's Family Day at their church and so I didn't do a tablescape that day, but I do have a few photos to share from a Tupperware party I had last month.

The shabby chic garden theme was one I used for my sister-in-law's bridal shower. It was a little more embellished... I used planters (like the one on the mantle, in the background) and put glass dishes in them to serve the salads. Since I am decorating with them and my menu for the TW party wasn't as extensive I didn't use them. I love this counter that overlooks the family room. It is great for setting out the food for get togethers that aren't formal! You can't see it here, but it "L's" a little bit on the right.

I love this two tiered basket! I lined it with plastic wrap so I could use it to serve the chips. Soon the basket will be used in my office/craft room to hold who know what!

This candle was actually pink! I love pink, green and a creamy white together! I got busy and didn't take pictures of the food, but we had chicken salad croissants, vegetables and dip, chips, brownies and Spanish Coffee Cake cupcakes.

Although this is a favorite color palate, this was the last time of this year to use this cheerful springy collection. Pink and green will show up again, but not the garden theme. Be sure to check out other great tablescapes over on Susan's Porch!

Tablescape Thursday

2009-06-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Becky had a birthday in May. (I won't tell how many candles were on her cake!!) We have a wonderful gift that we keep giving each other for our birthdays.... a meal that we cannot lift a finger for! Some years I take the meal to her house and have it there when she gets home from work, and other years, like this one, she and her son Kirk come over for Sunday dinner. The menu this year was hamloaf, sweet potatoes with pineapple, corn casserole, broccoli with cheese, eggs, rolls and strawbery cake for dessert.

May of you will recognize the dishes. I saw these at the Dollar Tree and I agonized over them for weeks. I just love that store for their dishes!! Becky looks good in blue, so I thought it was a good choice for the main color for the table.

The silverware is my good set... I only have two. Actually, I forgot I do have 4 sets! I bought 275 place settings when we did our son's wedding reception here in Indiana. I got a great deal at Old Time Pottery on Pfaltzgraff.... I will have to get those out and use them soon. This set is Onieda.. not sure of the pattern name. Whenever we eat at this table I always use the individual salt and pepper shakers. Almost without fail my crazy husband will ask for the salt to be passed. He loves to see everyone reach for it and then it dawns on them. Never a dull moment with him around!

As I said, I agonized over the black and white dishes for weeks, saw them on TT, wanted them realllly bad, and then when my sweet daughter Rachel got me this black vase for Mother's Day that just sealed the deal! I went back to DT and planned to get enough for a seating of 8, but they only had 6 good bowls so I bought what I could and planned to go to another DT.... did that last week and lo, and behold! they had another set of dishes to drool over!! So, I am seeing aqua plates in my future!

These black plates are from Meijer. I tried to get a pictue of the leaf design on them , but it didn't work out. The stoneware plates were the same price as the plastic ones so I went with the stoneware. Since the black and white dishes were from DT, I am sure you won't be surprised to hear that the 8 black salad plates cost more than the 8 plates, 6 bowls and the 6 candles that are table. But I am happy with the way the table turned out!

Head over to Susan's at Between Naps on the Porch for more tablescape creations!

Spanish Coffee Cake and more

2009-06-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't make the posting of the cake for Tuesday's meme. But I thought I would go ahead and post it today.

I got this recipe years ago from a dear friend, Sharron Maloyed. In my teen years I spent a lot of time with her and her family (those of you who know me are chuckling right now!). Sharron is a pastor's wife and a wonderful cook! This recipe has been one of our family favorites. I have some pictures to share featuring this cake....

This is the first time Makenzi helped Mamaw in the kitchen.

I had dreamed of this day... baking and creating with my grand-babies!

I have cookbooks with lots of great kid friendly recipes and presentation ideas. I am looking forward to breaking those out in a year or so when she will really enjoy them.

Here is the finished product. It tastes like a wonderful cinnamony cake donut! I like Cool Whip on mine, but some like it just plain... either way it is yummy!

Here's the recipe so you can enjoy its yumminess, too!

Spanish Coffee Cake

Combine and then reserve 3/4 cup:

2.5 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup oil

Add and mix well:

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan. Crumble reserved mixture over top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in a preheated 35o* oven for 30 minutes.

While still hot top with glaze made with:

1.5 c powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

enough water to make glaze

Enjoy!!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-06-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last week's and this week's menus were hard to plan for some reason. I like to rotate meats for the meals ( beef, chicken, pork, beef, chicken, pork) and last week we had a lot of beef and this week we are having more chicken! Here's the plan for the week:

Monday- roast chicken with carrots and potatoes, corn on the cob, french bread, watermelon
(I roasted 2 chickens so I would have extra for tomorrow and to put on salads.

Tuesday- chicken pot pie, salad

Wednesday- Pork steak and rice casserole, green beans, fruit salad

Thursday- chicken picatta, fettucine, broccoli

Friday- homemade pizza

Saturday- going to a friend's wedding

Sunday- Family Day at our old church... haven't decided what I am taking yet

lunches- chicken patties, lunchmeat, salads, quesadillas, tuna, leftovers

breakfasts- waffles, muffins, eggs, homemade sausage egg and cheese biscuits, cereal

Be sure to check over with Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menu ideas!

Tomorrow I hope to participate in Tempt My Tummy Tuesday with a family favorite... Spanish Coffee Cake! Thanks for stopping by!

May Madness

2009-05-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

The last three weeks have been busy and we don't have all the end of school activities that a lot of you do! I don't know where we would have put them! We've had lots of company and family in. On the 17th we had a birthday dinner for our friend Becky. I will hopefully be posting the tablescape for it on Thursday. That night we hosted the Christian Couples Connection here with a Mexican Food theme. We had a great time and had, I think, 19 here. On Thursday the 21st I had a Tupperware party. It had been years since most of us at the party had been to one. That Saturday we got to keep Trenton and Chloe and that evening Rob called. He said they were trying to see what they were going to have for dinner the next day. Thinking they were calling for a recipe or something I asked if had a kitchenette there in Atlanta. He then told me they planned to eat with us!! Of course, I was thrilled!! On Memorial Day we got together with Rob's "other family," the Budensiek's. Then the week had other family members coming over to visit and we ended the week with a trip to the zoo and BouncerTown! Rob and Kristi left this morning. Tonight Larry and I are keeping two little guys for our friends the Stewart's. Then tomorrow.... are you ready for this.... Rob and Kristi will be here in time for dinner again! The storms this evening gave some hail that may give Danny and Rob some work here! Since they weren't in OK yet they decided to come back this way. Doesn't hurt my feelings any! Well, I will get on with the pictures! I told my sister-in-law last week that I would post some of the kids. I hope to post more next week!

This is Little Miss Chloe! She is a cutie! She is the only Fye grand-daughter that has dark hair... She wanted to stand out in all those blondes!

Master Trenton Dale. He is such a good little guy!

Chloe is a good baby, too! We had them several hours and she refused to take a bottle, but she hardly fussed at all.

Makenzi with her Uncle Ryan. She was a little shy when they first got here, but she warmed up to us pretty quick!
This was on Memorial Day. We had bbq chicken, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, veggies and dip, corn on the cob, green beans, strawberry cake and no bake cookies.

Part of the crew... left to right.. Vern, Rachel, Wesley, Larry, Michael (hidden) and Jon.

The cooks! Kathy and Me!

Michael, Rob and Ryan YouTubing!

An exciting game with the Shap-O toy!

This was on the 28th. Liz and the kids, my cousin Paula and her kids and my cousin Brenda came over for a while and we had a nice visit... Kenzi loved having all the kids around.

Trenton loved all the kids, too!

Kenzi loves babies!

Well, I think that is all the pictures I will do right now! This week looks busy, too, but maybe I can get my postings done this week! Things have been busy, but I love having company and I certainly love having my family here! So, it has been a good month! Sorry if this sounded rushed, but it was! Thanks for stopping by!

First Tablescape Thursday

2009-05-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

I look forward to every Thursday! Usually Thursdays aren't very productive days for me because I love looking at all the wonderful tablescapes for Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Thanks, Susan, for creating this wonderful resource for creating beautiful tables for our loved ones!

This is my first entry and I am a bit nervous! I find that they look different in person than in a photo... maybe my phototgraphy will improve! Also, most of my tablescapes will look somewhat bare because I plan to enter the tablescapes I will use for our Sunday dinners. Since we serve "family style" I have to leave room for the food!! All right, here we go!

I have had this tablecloth for a couple for years. It was on clearance at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I always look at their (or any other store's) clearance area first. This is a beautiful gold scroll on a creamy background. Our table is usually set out this large because of my chairs. I usually have 6 around the table and we have 4 others that match that we use in the kitchen. We can get 12 around the table comfortably.

I used gold chargers that I found at the Dollar Tree a few weeks back. And the little glass pedestal cups are also from Dollar Tree. The china I recieved from my Mother-in-law probably 20 years ago. It is white on white with silver bands. The goblets are just a boxed set from BBB. they are very delicate and the kids don't like washing them! But they are so pretty.

Thjis little angel is one of two that sit on my hutch. She is usually looking, ever so longingly, at a dish of "muffins." Here she sits wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. The "blanket" she is on is a valance that I just tucked the edges of under and made a pillowy cloud for her.

The centerpiece vase of flowers was sent from Rob, Kristi and Makenzi as my Mother's Day gift. It is so beautiful. I love rich rose colors of deep red, peach, lavendar and cream. Thank you, Rob and Kristi, the roses were the star of the table... missed you so much!

Larry bought the napkin rings for me for Mother's day. They were at BBB (surprise!) and on clearance (surprise, again!) There were 4 to a package and they were regularly $19.99, on clearance for $4.99 and I had coupons so I only paid $1 apiece for 20 0f them. They also serve as name cards... I like that. And he also bought the gold napkins on clearance there.

This picture is a bit dark... noonish on Sunday! We didn't take pictures of the kids with me... don't know why! But Larry, Rachel and Ryan enjoyed sitting down to a beautiful table!

Rachel made the Mother's Day meal with a little help from her Daddy. He peeled and cooked the carrots. We had steak, baked potatoes, green beans, carrots, rolls, eggs and cheese. For dessert we had a cake from a bakery that we love to get donuts from and wanted to try a cake from there.... we'll stick to the donuts! Thanks, Rachel, for an absolutely delicious meal!

Rachel also bought me new "toys" for Mother's Day!! There are 7 of the yogurt cups. They are white with a silver band. And one red and one black planter/vase. The black one is already in the plans for next Sunday's table!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this tablescape as much as I had doing it! Be sure to go over to Susan's to check out what kind of fun other ladies had with their tables!

This week's menu

2009-05-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to get the time to post anything on this blog!! There are always so many distractions.. maybe the more I do it the easier it will get. And when your kids grow up shouldn't that mean less distractions??

Since I PLAN to blog on Thursday, I will just post the menu for the week now. I know... I am a day late, but I will include last night's menu anyway.

lunches:
hot dogs
tuna
pancakes
steak sandwiches
fish
leftovers

suppers:
Monday- lemon basil chicken, parmesean red potatoes, cauliflower

Tuesday- business dinner out (Ryan is at Kirk's, Rachel will grab whatever)

Wednesday- cubed steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and salad

Thursday- pork chops, fried potatoes, carrots and applesauce

Friday- pizza!! probably out, maybe homemade

Saturday- leftovers

Sunday- Friend Becky's Birthday Dinner- hamloaf, sweet potatoes with pineapple, corn casserole, broccoli and cheese, deviled eggs, cheese chucks, rolls and strawberry cake (different recipe than Easter's)

Sunday night- Christian Couples Connection at our house, Mexican themed menu- chicken enchiladas, corn casserole, spanish coffee cake and whatever everyone else brings!

I hope to do better about posting pictures on here. I am always slightly disappointed when I go to read someone's post and there are no pictures. Again, practice makes perfect, and I will try to do better.

On Thursday I hope to post my first entry into the Tablescape Thursday hosted by Between Naps on the Porch. I am excited about it. It will be of our Mother's Day table. As I was getting everything all set up Larry kept saying, "You love this don'tya?" I had so much fun, but it was kinda scary knowing I was setting it up to take pictures for Tablescape Thursday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kinks

2009-04-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Don't know how I got the long dead space after the last post...

New Tool

2009-04-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

I know last week was a busy one for just about every household! The clothes, the Easter meal, the programs, Easter baskets... it goes on and on! I spent Monday getting things for my Easter tablescape. (Oh, how I love to do that!) While I was at Bed, Bath & Beyond I thought I'd ask about my Calphalon pan. My dutch oven's non-stick surface was coming off and I wanted to check on the warranty. One of the clerks asked if I needed help so I asked about the pan and he said it shouldn't do that and to just bring it in and they'd give me a new one since Calphalon has a lifetime warranty. Then I remembered that some of the lids have a seal that was coming off and I asked about that... No problem! Bring in the whole set and I'd new one! So, a couple of days later I packed up the whole set and exchanged it for a brand new set! The set is valued at $550.00, and it was funny to make Rachel think I bought them just because mine were showing some wear!! Lesson learned: buy quality and they will stand by their product.

I suppose that the pan set is a "tool" I use to keep my family fed and happy, but the new tool I wanted to mention is a web site: http://www.cozi.com/. It is a family information center. It has a calendar, list center, journal, and a photo thingy I haven't used. Now if you have little kids and you are the one that plans and executes all of their activities, it may not be as useful to you. But on the other hand, the main reason I like it so much is because of Larry. He was constantly asking what my schedule is and would forget as soon as he asked!! Now, my schedule is online and it is color co-ordinated for each family member. So, Larry can now look at my schedule without having to wait for one of us to get home or whatever. And with older kids and all that fills their schedule it is nice to keep up with their plans. This is still pretty new at our house and the kids haven't exactly participated other than what I put in the calendar, so we may have to see how that goes. But for Larry and I to stay in sync it is working good so far!

Another tool I got this last week is a Cricut!! I am so excited about that! If you are thinking I am getting ready to go fishing you couldn't be more wrong!! I suppose I could do a scrapbook page about fishing.... anyway, I have wanted one for quite a while. My sister-in-law has one and when I was at her house for Thanksgiving I used it to make lettering for my Sunday School bulletin board. It will make letters up to 24 inches!! I am actually more excited about the many bulletin board uses I will get from it than I am for scrapbooking. It sounds like a "good" excuse, but it is true: It is for church work! The "It's All About" is from the Cricut. Our unit was named "Move Over Santa" so I wanted to do a bb using that.

On Sunday we had our friends, the Stewart's, over for Easter Dinner. I set the table using 3 plates and I'd never done that before. It was a little awkward when serving a meal family style and not in courses. It was pretty, though! I meant to take pictures of the table after the tablecloth was ironed and after all the chocolate crosses were put on. I couldn't put the crosses on until the last minute because Bo is a Fye and loves chocolate! He usually is very good about not getting onto things but I didn't want to tempt him!! The menu was alot like everyone else's: I made ham, sweet potatoes with pineapple, green beans, corn casserole, cauliflower, and cheese chunks.... Amelia made a wonderful layered salad, stuffed eggs, and broccoli salad to compliment what I made. For dessert I made a Paula Deen recipe, strawberry cake, and banana pudding. We were stuffed!!

I used the blue Fostoria I got from my step-mother and a white on white set I got from my mother-in-law. Last month my centerpiece was too tall for conversation and this one is a little on the short side. Next time maybe I will get it just right!! This year was different all around. We had never had company over for a holiday meal. We didn't take one picture of us in our Easter clothes or in front of our usual Easter background, the purple budded tree out front (I don't know what it is). And the biggie for the year was that this was the first Easter we celebrated without Rob here. It was a bit hard for me and it was probably good for me to have company and not focus on him not being here. I hope to get Easter pictures of Makenzi soon!

It is Monday and I have yet to figure out how to do the meme thing.. but here is the menu for the week:

Monday- Easter leftovers

Tuesday- balsamic bbq chicken, scalloped potatoes, and carrots

Wednesday- spaghetti, french bread and salad

Thursday- cubed steak and gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans
Friday- we will be gone... McDonald's?

Saturday- taco salad

Sunday- pork roast, baked potatoes, broccoli, rolls and deviled eggs

Well, I hope you have a great week. We have another busy one lined up, as I am sure you do too. I have come across this quote twice lately and thought I'd leave you with it:

"You can't speak a kind word too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late."

-unknown

A New Week

2009-03-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend. Friday night we hosted our Christian Couples Connection get-together. We had 16 adults and 5 kiddos. Our menu was a baked potato bar. We made the potatoes and chili and others brought toppings, drinks and desserts. It was just a time of fellowship, so we didn't have any games or devotions. We really enjoyed it and are ready to do it again! I must add here that with the neck problems I have been having it was up to Larry to do pert-near all of the cleaning to get ready for this! He did a great job! I told him I was ready to do it again so he could clean the house again!

Saturday I spent the day with a Bride. She asked me to do the flowers for her wedding. I am so thrilled she asked me... she was Rob's best friend until he got the one he calls his wife!! She is still a great friend! Another bridal talk got re-scheduled. I was exhausted but Larry, Rachel and I ended up going to Outback for a late supper. Oh, I love that place! The salad with tangy tomato dressing and extra croutons is just wonderful! The problem is that the salads are so small! If I do take away I usually order 2 salads and eat them both! Prime rib was in order also and I have to admit it was pretty tasty!

Sunday night we had Piano Praise at our church. We had about 20 pianists. We had 2 grand pianos on the platform and for a couple of arrangements there were 2 pianists at each piano! The last number was of the 2 pianos, the organ and 4 accordians! It was exciting!

But here we are in a new week... more dishes to be done, more laundry to do, more school work to grade.... oh, you know the story... you have one just like it! Providing we don't have plans on Sunday night I usually spent that time after church getting my list and schedule ready for the week ahead. It is something I enjoy doing. Doing things always go according to the plans made... nah... how boring would that be!!

I really need to talk to someone about the fun things one is able to be involved in when blogging. One thing I enjoy following is Meal Planning Monday hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. I love planning my menus and grocery list and I enjoy knowing what other people are feeding their families. So, until I talk to someone I think I will just post my menu... you know... for the fun of it! Here goes:

Monday- homemeade chicken strips, french fries and peaches

Tuesady- sirloin steak, shrimp scampi and broccoli

Wednesday- hamburger and mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and corn

Thursday- bbq chicken, macaroni and cheese and fried green beans

Friday- parmesean crusted fish, fried potatoes and carrots

Saturday- homemade pizza

Sunday- roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and rolls

ahh, the stages of life

2009-03-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

When talking with some friends the question is, "Do you have any children?" Now the question is changing to, "Do you have any grandchildren?" Seems kinda depressing... you know... the thought of getting older... that is, unless you have grandbabies!

Head In the Sand

2009-03-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

For the last several months our lives have been so crazy that I just haven't had the heart to check online to see exactly where Ryan should be in his school work. Rob and Kristi moved on Novemeber 8 and the time leading up to that was so busy with enjoying them every moment we had them here. That involved keeping Makenzi while Kristi packed. Of course, I was not about to tell Ryan that school work was more important. She adored her Uncle Ryan! After Rob got his things moved out there he came back here for a couple of weeks.... hunting season!! Then there was our Thanksgiving trip to Missouri, Rob and family came the week after Christmas, they came back mid-January so Rob could help Larry with the business... they were here 2 weeks then. We loved every minute of it, but I kept worrying about Ryan getting horribly behind in his school work. Then just 5 days after they left (7 weeks ago today) my C7 nerve was pinched and it has been a rough 7 weeks. I don't know what it is like at your house, but at our house when I am down everything else shuts down also. Ryan did get videos done, and the quizzes and tests are less than a week behind. All that to show that our lives haven't been very conducive to home schooling. So, today I decided to pull my head out of the sand and check to see where he is supposed to be. I was thrilled to see that he is only 2 lessons behind!! Two! yeah!! I know this is due to the fact that he starts his school work within a day or so of when we get his materials... we will keep up that practice!

I'll sign off with this thought... "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

A Servant's Heart

2009-03-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

I started to say this blog is sorta random, but after months of not blogging, anything is random!!
Through the years we have tried to teach our children to give. Not only financially, but through acts of service. We have a hard time sitting back when there is something that needs done that we can do. Because our lives have revolved around church that is where most of our service is geared toward- church bus, Sunday School, building projects, food committees, and clean-up crews are just some of the areas we have served. Last month our church went through a major Sunday School restructuring moving classes, cleaning, painting, and new carpet for some rooms. Ryan and I went to help out. Ryan is 16 is still "in training." I did find out that he can mop!! He offered to mop! I was so proud of him! I'd never had him do that before. When we left that night we commented on how great it feels to contribute in that way. Today, Rachel helped out with Children's Church when she saw they were short staffed. But I am happy to see that as we have trained our children to help out with church events that it has carried over into every day life. When Rob is home he helps out with dishes after meals, as well as doing helping his Dad organized. Rachel's friend's Mom commented that she likes it when Rachel comes over because she helps. Ryan's friend's Mom likes to have Ryan there when she moves furniture because "he's a horse!" ;o) As you can tell I am proud of my children. They don't sit back and expect everyone to make life easy for them, they jump in and help make other's loads lighter.

I know we all remember this quote by D.L. Moody, but it is one of my favorites and very fitting with this blog..."I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do, by the grace of God, I will do."

the lazy days of summer

2008-07-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah, right. Remember when summer time was a time to slow down? I find myself looking forward to school starting and the schedule that comes with it. And then in the spring, true to my nature I look forward to the change in schedule that summer brings. But lazy summer days?

This summer is especially busy with our college reunion coming up next week. What on earth was I thinking when I agreed to be the secretary for the reunion committee? It is so exciting getting things ready for friends to come together for a weekend to get reacquainted and caught up. When I was around 5-6 years old, my aunt and uncle opened their home to some of the first students of the college. Then my cousin went to the college in the mid to late '70's and Larry and I were there in '83-'84. So, I know lots of people from several of the college years. And it helps that it was our church denomination's college. That makes it a smaller world.

Some of my summer highlights so far are:

1. A trip to Oklahoma City to watch our grand-daughter be dedicated to the Lord.

2. A trip to Amarillo, TX to see my Mom and sister

3. Starting back to work at the library, but this time in the library not the cafe.

4. Celebrating my baby's 16th birthday.

Coming up:

1. CFC Reunion

2. Annual Burress-Fye Labor Day Weekend- 10 year anniversary!

3. Our Baby Girl's 21st birthday bash

We are planning to homeschool Ryan again this year. We did for 5 years and then he has been at a Christian school for 2 years. The curriculum we used when we homeschooled works better for him. He made excellent grades with the curriculum the school used, but it just didn't work for him. It will be different with me working, but he may get a job also, or he will work some with Larry.

Well, I finally got another post in, brief and though it be. I am going to try and insert some pictures in here.

*** Okay, i thought I would pu the pictures at the end... for some reason they are at the beginning of the blog. No time to figure things out now, but at least they are on here

I will leave with this thought,

"God decides what we go through. We decide how we go through it."

I showed her!

2008-04-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Rachel may know me better than I know myself where computer time is concerned. I did try to post 2 other times, but I had trouble with the keyboard. I was seriously wondering if I should even be doing it! One other time I was on Bebo and I had written this long blog and Larry and Rob came home from work and had to check their stocks and instead of checking on my screen name they switched to Larry's... so, you see I have had several attempts to blog go wrong one way or the other! And I have been busy! Last week was testing at Ryan's school and so I helped out with that, we were in revival and I shopped for a new refrigerator. I don't like to shop, but I do like to get new "toys!"

My new toy arrived yesterday. Our old refrigerator is older than Rob! We bought it and a stove when we moved into our first house and although we have been on the second stove for a few years the refrigerator is still running strong, we just needed more room. We have needed one for a few years, but the kids were in college and then Rob got married and so finally we were able to get it. They cost a little more than they did 23 years ago! And then if you know Larry you know he had a list of things that it had to have. That is one thing I appreciate about my husband. When he buys something he buys quality. Right now I have 2 refrigerators in my kitchen. I moved a free standing cabinet and put the old one in its place. We already have 2 freezers in the basement (beef and deer) and there really isn't anywhere except the laundry room to put the old fridge so that it won't be on the same circuit. And I don't really think I want it in the laundry room, but I know I will like having the second one available, especially during the holidays! Oh, well, we'll see!

I haven't had time to figure out how to get all of the banners and such on the blog page. But one thing I enjoy reading on others blogs is the Monday Menu Planning. Usually my menus start on Thursday. The ads come out on Wednesday and so I make my menu and my grocery list. I have a list that is on my computer that goes according to the aisles of my grocery store. (I would rather go back home and get my list than try to shop without one!) Anyway, I am always interested in what other people are cooking. I know it is not Monday or Thursday, but here's our menu for this week:

Tuesday- balsamic bbq chicken, baked potatoes, baked beans and salad
Wednesday- chili
Thursday- pulled pork & slaw sandwiches and curly fries
Friday- chicken parmesean, green beans and salad
Saturday- "second blessings"
Sunday- ham, scalloped potatoes, carrots, broccoli, devilled eggs, cheese chunks and rolls
Sunday after church- pizza burgers, veggies and dip, sugar cookies
Monday- sirloin steak, roasted red potatoes and salad
Tuesday- roast chicken, fettucine, broccoli
Wednesday- church dinner

On Wednesday nights our church serves dinner at 6pm to make it easier for people to get to church. We have very dedicated ladies that prepare a meal every week! We haven't been going because our schedules are crazy, but we are going to try to start going. We will be going more to get to better know the people we worship with, but having someone else fix dinner for me sounds pretty good, too!

I need to get going for now. This has been fun and I hope to meet you all back here in a day or two!

Talk to you later! Mari

"The best way to get on your feet is to get on your knees." -unknown

Decisions, decisions

2008-04-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

A few months ago a friend suggested I start a blog. I told her I was too busy and just didn't have time for that. That was true then. I was working at the library and even though it was a part time job I couldn't have squeezed in another thing. Since then I have given up my job. Life is still busy, but I have had so much fun reading the blogs of my friends and their friends that I decided to join in on the fun. My Rachel says I will never last.... but I'll show her!

I would have started one a few weeks ago, but there are just so many things to consider! Do I have the time? Do I have anything to say? Larry is the talker of the family. If he had a blog you'd know every step of his day and every bite he took. Me? I am more of a "Yeah, I had a good day and lunch was really good." And then the hardest decision was that I had to name the silly thing! I ran several names past Rachel and settled on "the Fye Files." I am known for making lists and I like things to have a home and be "filed" away. I have several files for crazy things like seasonal decorating (actual pictures from our house), emails with some friends (so I don't repeat myself), and of course, a Grandma file (fun things to do with my grandbabies). So, I thought that was it. Then the other day I was looking through a magazine and saw a sign that read, "Simplify." It clicked. That's us. Simply the Fye's. Not real fancy. Just us. I used to tease Larry that his hobby is working. Mine is taking care of my family. So, you see, we are just the normal busy family that loves the Lord and loves each other. So, here I am ready to share little peeks into our world. I hope you will check in with us again!

"Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simplier." -Albert Einstein

Have a Great Day!
Mari