Happenings in the Hive

Our neighbors have chickens, and although they usually stay in their own yard, sometimes they wander into ours!

6:00 am...the day after Thanksgiving! Ben's first time hunting.

Mighty hunters are ready to go get meat!

Neal's Dad gave Neal and his sister Janet tickets to a Virginia Tech football game a couple of weeks ago. It was really cold and there was even snow on the ground. See all the orange? If you look close, you might even see a Hokie bird!

Touchdown! I was on the phone with Neal when the fireworks went off. It was loud even on the phone!

Tech wins! (Sorry Duke...)

Beth's 14th birthday! Beth had her party a month early this year, so we had our family come over for dinner. I made Beth's favorite: Mexican! In this picture is Neal's Dad, Neal's sister Jessica, and Neal.

Beth and her Mamaw (my mom)

Beth and Grandma and Grandpa

Beth being "gangsta" in her new jacket and sunglasses.

Aunt Janet being a friendly gangsta

Aunt Jessica being a bug (she said the sunglasses make her look like a bug!)

The Simple Woman's Daybook - Dec 1

Please visit The Simple Woman's Daybook on Mondays, to learn more and find links to other ladies who are participating.

For Today...

Outside my window...naked trees

I am thinking...that I'm glad our Christmas tree is up and decorated!

From the learning rooms...along with our "book learning" today, our kids have been working on their housekeeping skills! :o)

I am thankful for...my warm home and the smell of soup cooking on the stove.

From the kitchen...Turkey Vegetable Soup

I am wearing...blue sweatpants and a Navy t-shirt.

I am reading...my Bible and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

I am hoping...that the weather is nice this weekend when Mom and I go to Colonial Williamsburg.

I am creating...a mess! (putting up Christmas decorations)

I am hearing...music from my daughter's blog.

Around the house...cleaning up after decorating, laundry, need to write Christmas cards...today I made soup, wrote out bills (and hand delivered one), did school with the kids, caught up on my blogs, visited briefly with my best friend.

One of my favorite things...listening to Christmas music.

A few plans for the rest of the week...tomorrow is a Ladies Night Out and cookie exchange, Wednesday is church and shopping, Thursday is piano and shopping, Friday and Saturday will be spent in Williamsburg with my Mom (our 2nd annual Mother/Daughter Christmas shopping trip)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...



Memories from our weekend away at the cabin.

Booked for the Holidays

I am so excited about the book Linda (at Mocha with Linda) is giving away this week! I love Amish fiction books, and this is one written by a new (to me) author! The title is "Plain Perfect" by Beth Wiseman.

If you'd like a chance to win this book, click on the Booked for the Holidays button in the sidebar and enter the contest. The deadline is this Wednesday - Dec 3 - at noon.

Thanksgiving Quiz

I found this on Linda's blog and thought it looked like fun:

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I'm not too sure how I feel about this!!!

Beth

I had one of the happiest days in my life fourteen years ago today! My daughter, Elizabeth Jayne, was born! Life has never been the same. She has brought so much joy into my life. She was a good baby, a cute toddler (except at bedtime!), a fun preschooler, a sweet little girl, and now she is a funny, interesting, helpful, beautiful, caring, and Jesus-Loving teenager! I've always been told "just wait until she hits the teenage years!" Well, I'm so excited about these teenage years so far! My daughter is just getting better and better! We have lots of fun together, whether it's at home or shopping or going to church...playing games or doing school work. I love her and I'm so thankful to God for giving me such a precious daughter!

I love you, Beth!

I am thankful for

so many things!

Tonight we had a Thanksgiving service at church. We were given a time where we could stand up and give a testimony or tell what we are thankful for. I wanted to stand up so badly, but every time I started to do so I'd feel the tears start to come. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to be understood through my tears, so I didn't say anything. :o( So, I will say what I wanted to say here:

I am thankful for my husband and for modern medical technology! For anyone that doesn't know, my husband Neal was diagnosed in March with an aneurysm in his aorta. His only real option was to have his aorta replaced. If he let it go he would be a walking time bomb, and his aorta could have ruptured at any time.

(Miracle #1 was that they found the aorta!)

On April 8th Neal entered the hospital and had a catherization. Other than the aorta and his defective aortic valve, his heart was very healthy. No blockages (Miracle #2).

On April 9th at around 5:30 in the morning, they wheeled my beloved off to surgery. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. We had enjoyed a wonderful time of prayer together around 3:00 in the morning. He told me that although he wanted to live, that he was also okay with dying. He was sure of his salvation through Jesus Christ, and everything would be okay.

The waiting room rapidly filled with my family and friends. It was a wonderful testimony to Neal that so many people came out to support him! There were even more people who were supporting us through prayer that could not be at the hospital. We are so thankful to all of them!

The next 8 days were an emotional roller coaster. His heart didn't start back on its' own, so he had to have an external pacemaker. The bottom of his heart wasn't working at all. I prayed and asked others to join me in prayer that his bottom half of his heart would start working. The doctor didn't give us much hope on Saturday. He was very discouraged. On Sunday morning Neal's heart was beating on its' own! Praise God! The top and bottom were not "communicating" but his heart could beat without the pacemaker. They took it off on Monday. He was discharged Tuesday. We had a couple of days at home and went back on Thursday for them to check his heart beat and see if the top and bottom were communicating yet. Not long after we arrived at the doctor's office his heart rate dropped into the 30's and they could not get a blood pressure. (Another Miracle -- it happened at the doctor's office). I immediately took Neal to the hospital and he received a pacemaker the next day. (Thank you, God, for modern medical technology!)

Friday night we returned home and that was the start of his real recovery. He spent two months at home before he went back to work. It was another miracle how God provided for our financial needs during that time!

Today Neal is healthier than he has been in years. He is stronger and working out more and more. His color is good, and he feels good. I am so thankful to God for giving Neal good medical attention, good friends, and a new lease on life!

I love him more than I can say, and if I could have said anything tonight at church, I would have at least said "Thank you, God, for my husband!"

Neal's Addition to the Husband Meme

I know many people do not read the comments, so I thought I would post what Neal wrote about the previous "Husband Meme."

I would also have to add liver, cooked carrots, and salmon to foods I don't like.

I like any kind of sandwich that I happen to be eating that particular day - but my favorite is a Whopper with extra pickles. Other than that I will eat anything if necessary. I am ready for the Great Depression II where we have to eat rocks and twigs and stuff like that including the parts that now go into souse and hotdogs.

I REALLY dont like sweaters - they are hot and itchy and you can't take them off.

So, there you go...Neal's revision to my aforementioned post! But my question is "what is souse???"

Husband Meme

I read this over at Marsha's blog, and thought it would be fun to do!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? He's watching Fox News or Spongebob!

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? It would depend on the restaurant and the salad. If he gets his favorite Buffalo Chicken Salad, then he would order Blue Cheese Dressing. His favorite dressing at home is Ranch.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? There's not much he doesn't like, but I'd say his two least favorite food items are sweet potatoes and cinnamon.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? We don't go out to bars, but he occasionally has to go with work. I think he orders sweet tea or a soft drink.

5. Where did he go to high school? Amherst County High School in Amherst, VA.

6. What size shoe does he wear? 9.5 wide

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Hmmm...probably tools

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? This is so difficult because he doesn't get stuck on one of anything...however, I would guess and say a Club sandwich from Subway. (what would you say, Neal?)

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Probably a spinach salad. He loves anything green!

10. What is his favorite cereal? He doesn't eat cereal anymore, but when he did his favorite was Basic 4.

11. What would he never wear? As soon as I'd say he'd never wear something, he'd probably wear it. But I know he has a strong dislike for sweaters!

12. What is his favorite sports team? This one's easy: Virginia Tech Hokies Football team!

13. Who did he vote for? McCain/Palin!

14. Who is his best friend? That would be...ME! :o)

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Snore!

16. How many states has he lived in? Two: Virginia and Georgia

17. What is his heritage? Redneck! lol No, I'm not really sure. His family's like mine...we've been here in America for more years than any of us know!

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what would it be? Trouble! He hates cake (oh, I forgot that one up above!!) I usually make him a big cookie or a cheesecake.

19. Did he play sports in high school? No, with his heart condition he wasn't allowed to play sports. He did like to play football in the front yard though!

20. What could he spend hours doing? In the summer he could spend hours working in the yard and garden. He loves working with his plants and doing landscaping.

21. What's something cool about him? The "coolest" thing about Neal is his love for our family. He would rather be home with us than anywhere else. It was not a problem at all when he had to spend two months at home earlier this year. It was hard for us to have him leave and go back to work!

Neal is a great husband and father and I love him very much!

Fridays Fave 5

I had so much fun doing Fridays Fave 5 last week, that I decided to give it another go. Again, Susanne at Living to tell the Story is hosting it. If you want to read more, or join in, click on the picture above.

Here's my Fave 5 for the week of November 16th:

1. Our Fireplace: When we built our house six years ago, we did not put in a fireplace. Neal said that if we wanted to add one down the road, we could get a mantle and gas logs. We did that at the end of the season last winter, but we are really enjoying those logs now! This week has been unseasonably cold. When we woke up Thursday morning we were out of gas! Yikes! Neal filled up our tank and we had a fire again Thursday night. The Fireplace has been one of my very favorite things this week!

2. Fat Ladies -- no, not real fat ladies...just cookies that will make ladies fat. I got this recipe from the blog Mocha with Linda:

FAT LADIES

1 roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 6 oz. package chocolate chips
32 caramels, unwrapped
¼ c. half & half
1 c. chopped pecans (or your choice of nut)

Cut dough into ¼ inch thick slices and press into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Melt caramels in half & half and spread over top. Sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate. Indulge!

3. Home school Moms: Home school mothers are a special breed of ladies! I'm not just saying that because I'm one, but after spending the evening with 14 other HS moms last night I know how special they are. As I listened to these ladies share their joys and struggles, it was so evident how much time and effort each one puts into their children's education. I'm proud to be a home school mom!

4. Lower gas prices! I was so happy to fill up my gas tank for $20.65 instead of $40!!! Yaah! I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

5. Time with my best friend - I've had two times this week when I was able to spend time with my best friend, Tammy. On Wednesday we spent time menu planning together, and this afternoon she rode along with me to take Ben to basketball practice. We had a couple of hours to talk and ride around. It was so nice! We've been best friends for about 26 years. We went to high school together in Ohio and came here to Virginia at the same time. We met "local boys" and got married and only live about 3 miles apart. She is such a blessing to me!

Thanks for reading about my week and some of my favorite things!

My Christmas Present

Check out what Neal got me for Christmas (just a wee bit early)at my cooking blog:

Teresa's Table