Changes......

Wow, I cannot believe it has been February since I have made a blog entry. I guess I'm a bad blogger! It's hard to believe that the last time I blogged it was winter. Since then we have had a scorching hot and dry summer ,and now are in the middle of my favorite season, autumn! I love all the colors of fall and the changing of the weather.

Speaking of change.....where do I begin? I have had so many changes in my life in the past 2 months.I thought my major change this year would be my son graduating from high school. While this was new territory little did I know what was just around the corner. In July we found out that my husband would be appointed pastor of a new church in another town about an hour away. Although this was our hometown, we have been gone for several years. Not only did this mean a new church family, but it also meant a new house, a new job, new schools for the kids, and a new routine for everyone. It seems that I have had very little free time with all of the unpacking and settling that takes place with a move.


I sat down the other day and was thinking about all of the changes and how everything was different. Don't get me wrong, I know that God orchestrated this change in our lives, but we all like our comfort zones. Change is hard. But, I began to think about how God never changes. Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change. That is so comforting to me knowing, that in the midst of ALL of life's changes, God--who is in control of EVERYTHING--never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As I look back over my life, He has been in control and has always sustained me even in the times of uncertainty and change.

Another favorite scripture of mine is Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowlege him and He will direct thy paths. As I reflect on these scriptures, I know that God who has never changed, will guide me through all of the change and seasons of my life.
 

Praying for God's blessings on all my old and new friends and family.

Blessings,

Tonya



Umm...Umm....Good!!!!!

Nothing is better to eat on a cold winter day than a hot bowl of soup. In fact, that is a favorite around our house during winter. I personally, love anything that I can cook in the crock pot and soup makes the house smell so good. For the past several years, we have had a soup competition at our church. This is an annual fundraiser for our ladies' department, but the entire church participates by bringing or eating soup. In fact, it is a much anticipated event every year. To enter the contest, you simply bring a homemade soup. Each soup is lableld with a number so that you don't know who made the soup.  For only $5.00 you can sample as much soup as your heart (or stomach) desires. You then vote for your favorite soup. Each year we have had approximately 17-20 differrent soups and we divide the soups into 3 categories: tomato, broth, and cream-base soups. There are winners in each category. Winners receive a trophy and runners up receive ribbons.

This year, I entered a taco soup and a potato soup. The taco soup is a version of a Weight Watcher's recipe. I am allergic to beans (weird, I know) and therefore I substitute the beans for rice. My husband doesn't like corn (again, weird), so to make him happy, I leave the corn out of my recipe. The potato soup was just a recipe that I found in a cookbook. I am a simple cook. I look for recipes with the least amount of ingredients. This was my first attempt at homemade potato soup, and my family LOVED it. In fact, it was perfect during those cold snow days.

Of course there were also  desserts..........

The fundraiser was a success and special thanks to all of those who participated!!!!

God Bless,

Tonya

Snow Day....WooHoo!!!!!!!!

Last Monday morning, I received a text message bright and early from my friend, Lynett, whom I carpool with to work. She was letting me know that the local school was closed. My first thought was, "That's odd, maybe the heat is broken at the school." A few minutes later, I received a text from the college where I teach letting me know that our classes were cancelled. I realized then we must have gotten some snow or, most likely ice. I was suprised when  I looked outside and saw a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground. Lynett and I sent each other a text message almost simultaenously that read, "Snow Day...WooHoo."  That is one of the perks to teaching...we get snow days!

Now, I am sure my family in Nebraska and Indiana do not consider this much snow, but where I live, we are lucky to get snow once or twice a year. Most of the time it is more ice than snow, but last week we had beautiful, fluffy white snow that was perfect to make snowballs and of course a snowman.

Even big boys cannot resist playing in the snow. If you're wondering where Caleb is, he was inside sick with a cold, and didn't get to come out and play (poor, Caleb).

In the end, we decided to make a snow- lady instead of a snowman. We gave her a necklace, scarf, sunglasses, and an umbrella. She was a true "Southern Belle" snow lady. Of course we gave her a name. Introducing...........Elaine Pankey.........................................................

Although it was fun, I admit I am glad to see the snow melting. I am ready for some sunshine and warmer weather!

God Bless and stay warm!

Tonya

Christmas 2009

It's so hard to believe that it is the first of February and  I have not posted since a few days before Christmas. My New Year's Resolution was to be more organized, and I have been busy with some small organizing projects that have taken up a lot of my spare time. Nothing major, I started out by taking down, organizing, and storing the Christmas decor here and at the church. It seems like it takes me a while to get my house back in order after Christmas. There's always new items to find places for and odds and ends that need to be put away. My goal now is to try and update my blog at least once a week. I would like to do it more often, but at least putting a small goal in writing will help me to be accountable (at least I hope so!)


I wanted to share some pictures from Christmas. It seems like I'm taking a lot more pictures these days. Probably because the kids are getting older and it's making this Mama very sentimental about holidays! I also miss my extended family that I don't get to see very often which is one reason why I started blogging. Hope you enjoy a few pictures from our home.

This picture was taken in front of the tree in the living room.

This is a picture of my sweet brother-in-law, Billy. This picture was taken at the Blytheville Christmas Parade. I told Billy I was going to put his picture on my blog and he told me as long as I labeled it as "the most unsocialable man in the world." Whatever....!  Does this look like an unsocialable face to you? I don't think so!

I love this picture of me and Josh. In fact, it is my current Facebook profile picture.

Caleb..............

Katie Beth showing off some Christmas Rice Krispy Treats.

Me with my hubby.................

I hope that all of my friends and family had a blessed and not stressed holiday season. The older I get, the more I desire to keep things simple and stress-free. That is my goal for 2010.

God Bless and have a wonderful week!