Dan's grandmother

My husband's grandmother - Marge Langston - passed away this morning. She had been in poor health for the past few years. (A few weeks ago, she developed pnuemonia and edema.)

We were blessed to be able to spend her 87th birthday with her last weekend.

Here is part of an email Dan sent to our LIFE Group at church. Please keep our family in your prayers.

"Just a quick note to thank all of you for the prayers that had been lifted up on behalf of my grandma over the last few weeks. I wanted to let you all know that the Great Physician has "healed" her by bringing her home. It is obviously very sad for us that will miss her, but she is at the feet of our Lord this morning, celebrating what eternity has to offer her. I ask for your continued prayers in the coming days and weeks, as most of my family will be traveling great distances to be together and as we try to cope with our loss."

(I will be putting together a special post in her honor after we return home from her funeral.)

Left, right, left, right...

What happens when you are the visting team at my alma mater...and you foul out playing basketball?

Click here to see.

HILARIOUS!!

Friday's Feast #180

I'm feasting today. Won't you join me?

Appetizer ~ Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim?
How timely this appetizer is. See the following post.

Soup ~ What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?
We have several sets...but my favorite set has the logo for the Chicago Cubs.

Salad ~ Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)?
Dan and I are planning to go somewhere in March for our 12th wedding anniversary...but not sure of the destination.

Main Course ~ What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?

Eucerin Daily Replinishing Lotion

Dessert ~ Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name.

"Karla's Slice of Heaven" - Take a corner piece of white cake with a thick layer of real buttercream frosting. Top with a huge scoop of Marble Slab Sweet Cream ice cream. Cover with fresh straweberries.

Mission Accomplished

For those of you who are reading this post and this post and scratching your head, here is an explanation...

Dan and I wanted to pull a prank on our friend, William.

Since Dan and I are die hard Chicago Cubs' fans, William let Dan bring home a baseball signed by the entire 1984 Chicago Cubs team so I could see it. As you can imagine, this baseball is something William would not give us...just let us borrow.

So...I pretended that I didn't know that the ball was not ours to keep and decided to try to "sell" it on my blog.

I secretly asked for some help from a few of my favorite bloggy friends. I asked them to post a comment showing an interest in the baseball. (Thank you - Melanie, Mick, LAR and Lauren!)

It worked! As soon as William heard about my post (Thank you, Tom!), he called Dan right away to find out what was going on. I don't think he was too worried...but nonetheless...it was fun to pull this prank on him.

WILLIAM: We have your baseball and will be returning it to you on Sunday. Or will we?

Hey, William...

You've been punk'd!

FOR SALE: Baseball

Dan and I have in our possession a baseball signed by the players of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.

I am unable to post a photo of the ball. (our camera is not working) You can click here to see some of the players whose autographs are included on the baseball.

This baseball is incredible!

While we would love to keep it, we are hoping to sell it for our "vacation fund" for this year.

If you are interested, please leave a comment with the price you are willing to pay and I will be in touch with you.

EDIT TO ADD: My friend, Melanie, suggested we sell it on Ebay. I think that is a great idea. I want to give you, my bloggy friends, the opportunity to purchase it first.

Wordless Wednesday

The Book Meme

Heidi at God's Grace in Practice tagged me for this book meme.
(Thanks, Heidi!)

I love to be tagged for memes. So...here goes:
*****************************************
Here are the rules:

Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
Open the book to page 123.
Find the 5th sentence.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.
****************************************
My book is "A Common Life" by Jan Karon. I have read this book several times. It is my favorite book of the Mitford Series. (If you haven't read the Mitford books, I highly recommend them. They are wonderful.)

"Maybe he would someday, but not now. Now he was trying to keep from puking up his gizzard because he had to sing a song he didn't even like, at a wedding he still wasn't sure of.

In the kitchen of the little yellow house beyond the hedge, Cynthia Coopersmith stood barefoot in her aging chenile robe, her hair in pink foam curlers, eating half a hotdog from the refrigerator and drinking coffee so strong it possessed the consistency of tapioca."
****************************************
The five people I would like to tag are:
LAR
Carolyn
Christy
Melanie
Sonya

My totally awesome Valentine's Day gift

Here it is...

"The Wedding Singer" is my absolute favorite movie. Believe it or not, I have it on VHS...but not on DVD. So....my totally rad husband gave me the extended version on DVD for Valentine's Day.

That's not all.

Guess where we are going tonight???

To see the off-Broadway production of "The Wedding Singer".

I'm so excited! I just can't hide it!

EDIT TO ADD: About 10 minutes after I posted this, our babysitter called to let me know that she was not feeling well and would not be able to be with Ainsley tonight. With the very late notice, we won't be able to find anyone else to babysit.

So...we aren't going to the show. {sigh}

(This reminds me of the time we attempted to go see "Movin' Out". I'll save that story for another time.)

Growing

There is a Bible song I taught Ainsley back a while ago that goes like this:

**********

"Read your Bible and pray everyday and you'll grow, grow, grow!

Read your Bible and pray everyday and you'll grow, grow, grow!

You'll grow, grow, grow!

You'll grow, grow, grow!

Read your Bible and pray everyday and you'll grow, grow, grow!"

**********

Today, while I was dusting, Ainsley was reading her Bible.

I said, "Ainsley...I am so happy you like to read your Bible."

She replied, " Mom. I need to read my Bible everyday so I don't shrink."

My Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day to

my loving husband

and

sweet daughter.

I love you!

A great sign

Wordless Wednesday

Ainsley with her cousin ~ Sienna

"Grizzly" Valentines

Several weeks ago, Ainsley told me she wanted to send each of the Grizzlies' players a Valentine's Day card.

So...here is what she created (with a little help from me):

On the inside of the card she wrote who the Valentine was "to" and signed her name. Dan took them to work yesterday so the cards could be placed in the players' mail.

Ainsley also wanted to send one to Grizz. (who is pictured on her card) Griz has been sick and away from the team for two months. Ainsley misses him a lot.

Ainsley...our little Grizzlies' fan.

The perfect name

Our dear friends, William and Robin, are expecting a baby in June.

Today, they found out that they are having a...

BOY!

We are so excited for them!

Here is what Ainsley said about her choice for the name:
"I think William and Robin should name him 'Jesus'.

I know there is already a 'Jesus'...but it is such a nice name."

White Chili

Here's what's for dinner tonight at my house:

White Chili

1 pound ground turkey, browned
1 cup medium salsa
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup water
2 (14 oz) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz) package jalapeno pepper Cheddar cheese, cubed

In a large pot, combine the browned turkey, salsa, corn, water, beans and cheese. Stir together and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until cooked through and cheese has melted.

So easy to make. So YUMMY!

Praying

Several things are heavy on my heart this week. Here a few things I am praying for:

1 - Dan's grandmother - She is currently in the hospital. Praying for her to feel 100% soon.

2 - Beamon family - Precious Maddie earned her angel wings on Saturday. Praying for her family to feel comfort during this time.

3 - Ethan Powell - Ethan is fighting leukemia. Praying for the leukemia to be destroyed.

4 - Union University - Union received severe tornado damage on Tuesday night. Praying for the students who were injured during the storms and for the rebuilding of the campus.

5 - Ainsley's education - We are homeschooling Ainsley beginning in the Fall for Kindergarten. Praying that we make the best decision for an umbrella school and curriculum/program.

6 - Presidential primaries - Praying that the best person to lead our country will be elected.

7 - Eric McMahon - The mascot for the Memphis Grizzlies is fighting Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Praying that his treatment will be successeful.

Two months, four days...

...since I last blogged.

Why has it taken me so long to start blogging again? I'm not really sure. I guess I have had a bit of the "bloggy blues". (a.k.a.- being unmotivated)

I am sure by now the few readers I had of my blog got tired of checking in with "Ainsley's Mom" to see that there have been no new updates...and have now forgotten all about me. I don't blame them at all.

If you're still with me, though, will you let me know in the comment section? Thanks so much.

It really is good to be back!