On the Road Again.....

Last Friday I decided to take a little drive down to Rising Star to Hardwick's Nursery to get flowers and plants for my windowboxes, pots, flowerbeds,etc. I couldn't find anyone to go with me so I just took off by myself. It was a beautiful day and a pretty drive. As I pulled into town, I hit the "jackpot", as it was Rising Star Trade Days. I parked the car, looked at all the goodies, listened to a little Willie Nelson coming from one of the booths and just enjoyed "the moment". Not all of the vendors were there, but I was told it would be full on Saturday! I drove a little further to Hardwick's and spent a couple of hours roaming through their greenhouses, picking out my flowers, asking questions,changing my mind, and going through the same routine at least a couple of more times. I wish I had taken pictures of their little country market with all of their produce, jellies, etc. but I had already put my camera in the car. All in all it was a great time and I will show you in my next post the results of my trip. For now, just enjoy these pictures of my journey!

Empty Nest

Some friends and I just started reading and discussing the book "Barbara and Susan's Guide to the EMPTY NEST" by Barbara Rainey and Susan Yates. Barbara and her husband, Dennis, cofounded Family Life, an international ministry to families and marriages , and have cowritten several books together. All of that being said, she is a very godly woman (as well as Susan Yates) and they together wrote this book to minister to women experiencing the sometimes confusing and surprisingly difficult time called EMPTY NEST. Yep, I'm one of them and they have nailed me in the first two chapters. Yesterday as I was thinking about what I had read, I got out my paints and painted a little picture of a thought I had. Now don't laugh, it's a very elementary piece of art, but I had fun doing it. If you are one struggling with this time in your life, I urge you to pick up a copy of this book and I know you,too, will be blessed by their struggles, their humor and their insights into this topic! I would love to hear your thoughts on it, too!

Key Lime Pie

Here is my Key Lime Pie recipe that some of my friends requested I post. It is the Weight Watchers version and is yummy.....and a lot less fat. It is a great and easy dessert for last minute entertaining. You can place a little fat free Cool Whip on top or a sweet little flower for garnish before serving. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust

14 oz. fat-free Eagle Brand sweetened, condensed milk

8 0z. fat free egg substitute-I use the Egg Beaters brand in the carton

1/2 cup of fresh lime juice-I use the bottled lime juice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place graham cracker crust on a baking sheet; set aside.

Whisk together condensed milk, egg substitute and lime juice. Pour mixture into crust.

Bake until the center looks set but still slightly quivery, like gelatin, about 18-20 minutes.

Cool completely (VERY IMPORTANT) on a wire rack.

When completely cooled, transfer to refrigerator and chill completely, about 1 hour-2 hours.

If desired, spread whipped,fat free topping over cooled pie!

A Fun Day at the Gregory's!

The Happy Cooks!

Mary's wonderful roasted veggies!

My Grandmother Stewart's wonderful sugar cookie recipe. Don't they make pretty Easter eggs?

After lunch,we went outside and enjoyed the beautiful day. This is Emily in the swing....

....and this is the view when she looked up. Wow!

Even Lucy had a fun time at the Gregory's!

Anna, Emily and our sweet friend from Nigeria, Bimpe.

Mary's daughter, Anna, invited several international students from Hardin Simmons to join us for Easter. It was a blessing to get to meet them and spend an afternoon together! Afterall, that's what friends are for!

Josh and Emily before they left to go back to Dallas! We had a great time with them but we missed our Stephanie!!

The Most Important Easter Message of All...

I hope you had a blessed Easter!

Springtime

I love Spring...I think it is my favorite season. The green trees, the flowers, the sinus headaches, Easter, the smells, the sinus headaches , etc. I love decorating my front porch for Spring and thought I would share a few of my favorite things with you. By the way, I am just kidding about the sinus headaches!!! Enjoy the pics!

Wreaths on my front door...Lots of eggs and a little birdie and a nest!

I love my big, "chocolate " bunny. Isn't he cute????

A little herb garden and one of my favorite hanging baskets. Below, it looks as if a cute little duck found my pansies.

Happy Birthday, Poncho!

This past weekend we went to Odessa to surprise Josh and Emily while they were there to celebrate Josh's 23rd birthday with his family. We had been planning this for a couple of weeks and I can't believe we didn't let it "slip" that we would be joining them for his birthday party. As soon as we got there around noon on Saturday, we went to a little Mexican food restaurant for lunch. As we finished our meal, the waiters came out with Josh's birthday dessert, placed a sombrero on his head and sang "Happy Birthday, Poncho! It was so funny! Afterwards,we went back to the house and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. Josh opened gifts, we played with precious Rayleigh and cooked out hamburgers for dinner. Next stop, the Community Theater where we saw the musical "Grease". It was a fun weekend and it came to a close all too quickly. Below are pictures to show what a great time we had!

Josh's sister, Krista ,with her beautiful little girl, Rayleigh!

Rayleigh in her new swing and showing off in her Rainforest Bouncy!

Aunt Emily feeding sweet Rayleigh

Josh and Emily at the musical "Grease"

Uncle Josh and sleepy Rayleigh