Suited to a Tea


Welcome to my tea. Please, have a seat; let me pour you some Lady Grey; one lump or two; cream? ....


Saturday, February 25, 2012

A Family Field Trip- Where the Wind Comes Sweepin in the Plains



A great way to end the day as I sit here in front of my computer: a warm cup of decaf, a full belly and the sound of little munchkins playing yonder in the living room. 

What a full day we had today.  It was the first time in a long time that all of us got to do something together as a family.  Today we learned a little bit more about our home, the city of Oklahoma City.....

Our day started out pretty normal, Michael went to the gym with his friend and I stayed home with the girls doing the regular morning routine and housework.  But Michael surprised me when he came home and he said, "Pack up the girls, we're going out!!" Yippee!! I love adventures.  And since having kids anything constitutes as an adventure...Sometimes it's nice to get a break from the everyday..


He asked me what kind of food I was in the mood for, so we went to a 'ma and pa' Thai House...it's the kind of place where when you first walk in you are kinda like, "is it safe?" on account of the decrepit building, the late 70's decor, and its location in the "old side" of town;  All the while ending up to be the "go to" place for authentic Thai Fried Rice.  {and yes, I do know what authentic Thai fried rice tastes like, I spent some time in Thailand for a deployment when I was overseas, LOL!!}. 

By the time we got there, both of the girls were out cold for their nap, so the hostess seated us in a booth, where I laid Lizzie down and we proceeded to enjoy our quiet lunch. {It was like we were on a date!!}

After that I wanted to try this trendy downtown coffee house called Coffee Slingers. Interestingly, I stumbled upon the business whilst I was 'pinning'.  It was very urban, with very urban people, who dressed very urban and talked very urban. {Is that even possible in a place like Okie land?}  Don't ask what that means.....it was just fun...



From Coffee Slingers website, they say: "Coffee is what we do. Coffee is an endless canvas we just can’t finish. The bean teaches us something new every day. New origins and new crops, we have to take the time to understand each coffee to find the roasting profile that will bring out the nuance’s of the terroir of each origin. There’s a community and a human connection over coffee."

Here is Lizzie being extremely urban while I take her picture in the coffee house.  I ordered

an Americana, and I am not kidding when I say this, but that coffee was probably the best coffee I ever had.  There was absolutely no bitter taste.  It was so smooth.  Michael {yes, he as recently joined the elite coffee drinkers group} ordered just a plain cup of Joe...I wasn't too impressed with it..kind of reminded me of what you get at Co Go's gas station late at night when you are tired and driving 12,000 miles to somewhere....It was also urban when it came to price...and please don't ask how much we paid for two cups...

In the next picture.  Here I am armed with my brew under the sign in the front of the building.  I feel like I should be in the middle of a dusty street at high noon waiting for something dangerous to happen.

Next on our travels, we decide to walk the two or so blocks to a cupcake place called 'Sara Sara Cupcakes'.  My first impression was very shabby sheik.  "Cupcakeing" has become this new phenom, I mean everyone bakes cupcakes, if you are anybody, you bake cupcakes...ever watch cupcake wars?...I indulged when I ordered two delightful desserts,  a 'Mount Rockula'-count chocula cereal flavored cake with coco frosting with heaping pile of marshmallow fluff and for number two, a little less decadent, a strawberry shortcake cupcake- strawberry cake {with real big strawberry chunks in the cake) strawberry cream cheese frosting, topped with two fresh strawberry slices...The guilt I feel when I think about how I ate almost all of both of them {of course sharing some with the Lizard and Michael}




Here are the cupcakes...I couldn't wait, I had to eat them almost right away...


When Lizzie got her piece, she ate the whole entire glob of marshmallow fluff first!! {The cake part is still sitting on the plate in the kitchen..}

After our trip to urbanland, we went to the newly opened outlet mall.  Michael was able to add a little to his wardrobe for work.  We walked around and had a great time...what a great day!! I'd like to think that all that walking helped in the area of indulging in the cupcakes I had....oh well. To end this post, here are some random family shots taken today....


 

                                         












Friday, February 24, 2012

God's Victorious Love

This week has been a very trying and tragic week for several people I know.  It seems that when the Lord wants to take loved ones home he usually does it by twos.  When my mom passed...that same night a very good friend of hers', Ethel, who was much older, died too.  They must have been escorted by the Angels together into Heaven...Two dear friends of mine lost a daughter this week, and another good friend asked me to pray for her as friends of hers lost a little one.  I also have a friend who is enduring some very difficult family issues that are effecting the family in a very profound and deep way.  In times like this it's hard to see the good...it's hard to understand the why.  It makes me think of a quote by Corrie Ten Boom given a few weeks back in our church bulletin, I've hung onto and see that it has really blessed me and thought I would share:

   "Ofter I have heard people say, 'How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!'  Yes, God is good when He sends good weather.  But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp.  I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there.  Everything around us was darkness in my heart.  I remember telling  Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. 'No, Corrie," said Betsie, 'He has not forgotten us.  Remember His Word: 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Corrie concludes,  "There is an ocean of God's love available-there is plenty for everyone.  May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love-whatever the circumstances."

"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." Psalm 51:12

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ramblings of a Mother Truly Blessed

Cup of Joy for the Day


The crock pot is on with some chicken breasts and rice; the girls are napping, Lizzie is sleeping in our winged back chair we have in the study while I sit here doing some work for Preacher.  I was at a good break point so I thought I would brew some tea and write a short line or two. 

Today's cup of joy is brought to you by TAZO, a Chi, full leaf black tea.  I love this tea!!  Not only for the obvious reason: it's black tea (black tea has caffeine) but also because of its very spicy flavor; ...http://www.tazo.com/default.asp?hasFlash=1 

This is a neat web site with the teas' ingredients and a little about the history of it...Steeping the tea for at least five minutes is a must and I like to add some cream to smooth the flavor out a little bit.  The cup I'm using is from my mothers' collection, Queens China Kenilworth, Staffordshire, England, Est. 1875.

Bella is now an expert at the baby "army crawl".  I am beginning to think she may just skip crawling and go straight to walking.  She's pulling herself up on the sofa and in the crib...time to lower it I guess.  Lizzie and Bella are really starting to be the greatest of playmates...although Bella gets upset very quickly when Lizzie decides that it's Bella's turn to "share".  I have the cutest video of Bella playing on this little Lion we got from Aunt Kayla and Uncle Dave last year for Lizzie for Christmas.  It's too cute.  I said when I first had Bella that my favorite time is when they are new, now I'm saying it's when they start to interact and play with you and giggle.  I just love babies I guess.



Thursday, February 16, 2012

A Small Sort of Accomplishment

So I finally got inspired to start doing some new bows for the girls...I had this grand goal of getting about five or six done...LOL! I ended up only getting one done.  Bella is teething so all she's been doing is crying all day...so I at least thought this was fun...not too shabby for a first timer...they are so easy and so much fun.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Beau Soir

It's so nice to see that my Dad is getting into the computer realm,  I feel like I can just say hello to him whenever, or likewise he does the same for me.  Today in my inbox he shared with me a song that is the theme to a show called "Nightsounds", originally composed by Claude Debussy...I listened to it.  And needless to say it definitely takes you to beyond what is earthly.  What's even more nice, my Dad references the time when he listened to this in 1974 when he asked Jesus to save him.  Thought I would share.  Enjoy.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The First Challenge-A Burden for America



                    
Lately, in my own devotional life and because of our most recent *Missions Conference 2012
I have really seen the Lord do a work in my prayer life concerning my prayer list.  I use to think about how daunting a task it was to pray for all those people in our Country that hold the the future of our Nation in their hands...but you know God smote my heart and with shame I came to realize that prayer does change things and if I truly want to see a change for the better then I need to do my part...we pray for our Missionaries daily to give them wisdom and the hearts of their people to influence, but do we as Christian Americans also realize that we too hold the power of change in the power of prayer?  What about America?  It is a vast mission field in need of great revival, for without America who will send those Missionaries to darken fields never to see the Light of Christ? Don't forget about America...I think sometimes because we aren't on foreign soil we sometimes forget to treat the people we see on a daily basis (our neighbor, the people we do business with, the Leaders we see on TV)  as people who also need to be reached.  We fail to see that they too can be changed by the prayers of God's people. I think especially for the Leaders of our great Nation; we pray for our church Pastor, but do we pray for those who are in secular Leadership?  God holds the hearts of the "Kings" of this age to change the course on which we find America headed.  I'm writing this partly as a challenge to people but also as a sort of accountability for myself.  I want to challenge myself to pray for our Leaders.  If you actually look up all the different branches of this government you will see that the names of those people seem endless, but God doesn't give us things we can't handle...and if we start small we can really change things.  I really want to see the power of God in my life.  With that being said God allows for us to prove Him, this is where this challenge comes from, to prove God at His word.



My First (1st) Challenge This Week: (I've linked the title to the White House staff page so you can read about them)

Pray for our current Administration (I don't mean just for the President but each name on the White House Staff...a name to us doesn't mean the same to the Lord, he knows them personally, but it is our job to lift their names up to the Him in prayer.)

1-Pres. Obama, First Lady Michelle
2-Vice Pres. Biden, Dr. Jill Biden
The Cabinet:
3-CoS Bill Daley
4-DCoS Nancy Ann DeParle
5-DCoS Alyssa Mastromaco
6-Counselor to Pres. Peter Rouse
7-Senior Advisor Valerie Jarret
8-Senior Advisor David Plouffe

Some of the things I pray for are first, salvation to those who need it; second, wisdom to lead; third, an understanding of our great Constitution and how it applies to us as a people and fourth, if they have ideas opposed to the great foundation of this county which is our Constitution, then they would be removed from office by the people when elections come.. Let's Do Our Part!


 I want to share with you something that brought me to tears and was partly the reason I started this Challenge.  It's found on the back of my Church's prayer bulletin:

"There is great need in this day for Christian business men {and women} to inform their mundane affairs with the spirit of prayer.  There is a great army of successful merchants of almost every kind who are members of Christ's Church and it is high time these men {and women}attended to this matter.  This is but another version of the phrase, "putting God into business," the realization and restraint of His presence and of His fear in all the secularities of life.  We need the atmosphere of the prayer-closet to pervade our public salesrooms and counting houses {and governments}. The sanctity of prayer is needed to impregnate business.  We need the Spirit of Sunday to be carried over to Monday and continued until Saturday.  But this cannot be done by the prayerless men {and women}....Men must pray, and put strength and heart into their praying.  This is the part of the primary business of life, and to it God has called men, first of all"  --E. M. Bounds

Today I stayed home from church because Bella is not feeling well, pray for her healing.  I listened today online to my Pastor's message...it's no coincidence that what he preached is what is on my heart.  My oh my, how the Lord is good.  The message will be posted here if you'd like to watch it.  It will appear as the Sunday AM  February
http://www.windsorhills.org/video.php#

*"The Field is the World"
Here's a little taste of one of the many services we had... the Cretzman's stayed with us in our home and what a blessing it was!! http://www.windsorhills.org/video.php?id=323&&year=&month=&dow=&AMPM=&speaker=)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

There, Mommy's the Princess...





Today Lizzie was looking at the pictures I have as a screen saver on my computer.  I have pictures of my wedding day, I'm all dressed up, she points to the computer and says, "Look, there, Mommy's the Princess..."  There are few things in this world that are better than to know that in the eyes of my daughter I am a princess...I pray that I will always have that kind of influence in her life...

In the eyes of a child...such wonder, such innocence, such love; all untainted by the world. Simplicity with such trust.  Oh to be more childlike.  I love reading to my Lizzie stories about Jesus' love for her.  I love to tell her how He wants all to come to Him with faith such as hers, as a little child.

My prayer for Lizzie is that she will, in time, when all is right, come to Jesus for salvation...so that her life would be a reflection of God's most perfect will.  He created her for His good pleasure. Isn't there such peace knowing that the Giver and Sustainer of all life has given us a design to live out each of our days by.  Thank you Lord for that knowledge.  Thank you Lord for that hope.