Ten on Tuesday

1. Mission accomplished. After what? A thousand miles of driving? Matt has a new [to him] car. [We drove to Nashville on Tuesday to pick it up-] As always, Craig did an exceptional job finding a great deal and Matt’s ride was upgraded by about ten years. Having his car totaled Right. In. His. Driveway. -was a blessing in disguise.
2. I cooked our traditional thanksgiving meal on Thursday – green bean and veg-all casseroles, scalloped potatoes, rolls, [Aunt Betty’s] sausage dressing [so – so good,] and we had the turkey from Honey Baked that was bought for Mama’s house, but didn’t quite make it there.
3. This week I also made a tres leches cake [that looked pitiful, but was eaten anyway] and a dump cake too – at least that one had fruit in it. Ha. [Oh, and I only used half the butter called for-]
4. We enjoyed a little ‘game time’ with our boys too – just being together and visiting – precious moments, for sure.
5. The evening before, we were able to pull off another [somewhat] surprise birthday dinner for Craig. At the food court in the mall with family friends we've hung out with for the last 20 years, I think there’s 19 or so when we’re all together– we love that Japanese Stir-Fry. Yummilicious. [I think the boys enjoyed getting it all together too.]
6. I watched the first and last ten minutes of The Game. I’m just such a football watcher – ha. [Pretty good ending for our household, though.] Hoping we still have it recorded so we can send it to a friend in Japan - [edited: nada.]
7. But mostly, I did a little Christmas crafting on Friday – first was a little fall plaque that I picked up on sale for a dollar, covered the middle with old book pages, distressed with a little mustard colored paint, and put a vinyl [window] cling on with spray adhesive [‘Believe” to us means – we believe in Jesus.] I used a couple of the other vinyl cling words [Peace and Joy – all on the same sheet for only a $1] with the same technique – but put the book paper in frames [I had already] and the clings on the glass. And one of my favorites – using a flocked wall art cling [$3] in the shape of a Christmas tree on the glass of framed textured wall-paper [left from when we wall-papered our kitchen ceiling – yes, we did. It looks like those old tin tiles.] So fun. I’ll share another photo of them ‘in place’ in just a few days.
8. We enjoyed seeing Craig’s parents on Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. Please say a little prayer for his sister who was unable to attend due to illness.
9. And on Sunday we ‘took a day off’ when we heard the ‘Hot Donuts Now’ sign calling our name, ran a couple of errands, did a little garden clean up [planted the Thanksgiving mums too,] then tackled the leaves in our yard – this year the plan is to crunch them up with the lawn mower [I’m not sure we’re winning, but with the amount of leaves we have, we hardly ever do.] Then I sat out by the fire-pit, reading, and enjoying the last [lingering] days of fall while Craig went fishing with a buddy.
10. Oh, and I walked THREE times this week. After eating like a pig all week long, I thought it was time. Will YOU join me? [And YOU know who you are – lol.]

Thanks so much for all of your comments throughout the month!
It's so fun to share together and
I love hearing your thoughts on some of things I put out there.
I appreciate each of you taking the time to stop by and visit!

I've subscribed to two monthly kits now [and am still busy cleaning out from the stuff I've had for years!] and try as I might to use it all,I [still] have a bunch of stuff to give away!- and I'm really tired of seeing the OMG abbreviation everywhere [I try hard to make my mind read 'oh my goodness!] So am hoping that we might also come to think of it as a

'Once a Month [old stuff] Giveaway!

I plan to randomly draw a name from the comments on this post and send that person a little bag of [old stuff] goodies that hopefully they can use [new to them and all, you know...]
- I've moved to the flat rate box so I can pack it FULL each month!

- To enter -just browse through the blog and leave a comment about
your favorite post from NOVEMBER.
Comments will close on December 5th at midnight [central.]
Note - beginning in January the OM[old stuff]G winner will be chosen randomly from comments on all posts throughout the month and announced on the OMGiveaway at the end of the month.
The Winner for October is:
MK from Alabama
- send your mailing address to me: Judy@faithbasedpages.com
and I'll get a little box of goodies out to you soon!

I am thankful…

- for good jobs with flexible leave that helps us meet our needs [and wants,]

- for the best husband any woman could ever hope to have,

- for kitties that give us a rousing ‘hello!’ whenever we see them,

I am thankful..

- for good boys that have grown into awesome young men,

- that I grew up in a family where giving to others was normal and accepted,

- for flowers in bloom in late November,

I am thankful…

- for friends that share the good and the bad as we go through life together,

- for a comfortable house where kids feel welcome and do who knows WHAT after I go to bed,

- for bright yellow ‘rain’ trees that brighten my day,

I am thankful…

- for good health, awesome doctors, and all of the extraordinary advances in medical treatments in my lifetime, [and eye glasses too,]

- for sweet tea that has no calories,

- and little girls that can pretend to feed their birdies.

I am thankful.

¹O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
²Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
³For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
⁴In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
⁵The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
⁶Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
⁷For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand…

-- Psalm 95

Note - this is from a favorite blogger [A Holy Experience - link to the right, there]
It touched my heart and
I hope it blesses you as well -
Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Prepare for Family & the Holidays: The Fish Principle

When I get to her door, it’s after 6:30 and dawn’s breaking rays down rows of the cornfields and I’m already late.

Mama’s got a note on her front door that reads in a black scrawl, “Welcome! Come on round. We’re out on the back deck!”

Every other Saturday we meet when dawn breaks the day open. We bring Bibles.

We are four, one Linda, who is my mama and her name means beautiful and she really is, and one Annette, one Anne, one Ann, three with one name meaning grace and the Trinity really is and I am the deep dirty Ann who has to bathe her stains long in the Grace.

Mama’s got plates of sliced oranges laid out,strawberries, raisin bread toasted. Her tea pot in its cozy. Their Bibles are all laid open. The air is cool this early, the sky quiet clear. A cardinal heralds the sun from the tip of the spruce tree at the fence. I nod embarrassed, always the last, and mama pours my tea and the steam wraps itself up and around the cool, warming fresh morning.

“John 21,” Annette winks her welcome, points to her page and I find the passage. Ah, yes, this passage — Jesus at dawn and the disciples at sea with their nets and He’s already got the fire kindled and He beckons, “Come and have breakfast.” I smile. We’re here. And it’s a feast! Mama clasps her hands, laughs.

We read the passage four times. Once lingering. Once listening. Once lifting voice to pray the words. Last time: to live it. Lectio Divina.

Annette says she wants the passionate abandon for Jesus that jumps out of the boat like Peter, plunges straight into water as soon as he sees Him, and did he do it because he thought he might walk on water again?

Mama keeps returning to the three times Jesus asks “Do you truly love me?” and she says that all week she’s been working through feelings of rejection and it’s been hard and it hurts and yes, betrayal, and what does it really mean to feed Christ’s sheep today and she has to figure that if that’s the way we show we really do love HIm.

Anne, the other one with the fanciful “e” and curling hair, she’s thinking about Peter with a battered faith who says I’m outta here, I’m going fishing, and a Jesus who won’t let Him go, who wants him to build His church even when he’s betrayed Him three times and that’s a kind of love she needs right now.

Then Mama turns to me, “And for you, Ann? How is He speaking to you through this passage?” The sun’s warmer now on our faces, higher over the corn behind Mama’s house. A robin’s singing with the cardinal. I unbutton my sweater.

“Well, there’s the fact He asks us to trust him when it feels like we’ve been in a long night and caught nothing and will we hear His voice, trust him, do what He says when He asks the unconventional of us: “Throw your net on the right side of the boat”…. And there’s this: … the wild love waiting for us at the end of dark, empty nights of the soul — the kind of love that has breakfast waiting for us on the beach, the fish and bread all ready for us… but really… and this is what I keep coming back to,” I glance around anxious at their faces and I run on excited, “I keep coming back to this:

Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

I look up. They look blank. I try again. “It was full of large fish — 153!” Mama nods slowly… waiting for the epiphany to strike. Annette’s smiling politely. Anne’s fingering the corner of her page, re-reading the text.

I just blurt it out: “Someone had counted the fish!”

Peter, the failure, the reject, the broken, he had counted fish.

Now they all smile, nod politely. My cheeks are hot. I distract with reaching for my cup of tea, swig back a long gulp, and sputter out something about it getting that time and maybe it’s time to close in prayer?

We go around the circle and the sun’s sure now, strong, and we each pray passionate for the woman to the right of us, for her bruises and for her dark night and for her longings and that she might be fed, her nets full to overflowing in the morning and that we would each really love Jesus. We squeeze hands with the final Amen.

And for a moment, we all sit still and silent in the sun. I close my eyes, listen to nature waking. The light feels healing. The robin keeps singing. A back door closes down the street. I can hear a car start.

“Well, you’d all better get back to families!” Mama’s gathering plates off the deck table. We carry in teacups from the back deck, wander in through her house for our shoes.

And there it is on Mama’s kitchen table. Stacks and scattered and in open books. Us three Ann’s pause on our way through. Mama sets the teapot on the counter. “Yes, forgive the piles. All week, I’ve been sorting out the years. Filing them into albums.” I scan my history — Mama’s. I hurt inside.

A child abused. A wife replaced. A mother broken.

Annette leans over, points to a black and white image of a little girl holding a doll, her mother’s hand.

“Who is this?”

“That’s me!” Mama smiles and Annette’s eyes grow big, picks it up for a closer look at time.

There are photos of Mama a toddler, her sitting on her father’s lap, a color-tinted photograph of her mother, Mama’s first Christmas with my father, his gold-band hand resting on her shoulder. There are photos of me sleeping on Dad’s chest, my first steps, my Dad holding me brand new in the heat of an August dusk. Mama looks so young.

Her whole life is laid out across the table on kodak paper.

Anne points to one a white-blonde girl with sky blue eyes playing in a cardboard box. “And this?”

“Aimee.”

Mama says her name quiet and holy, name of my younger sister who was killed before Mama’s eyes. I want to find the door, run away home. I want to pick up the photo of Aimee and me and Mama sitting on the orange flowered couch with my brother, my Dad and I want to go back and make it right, make it all hold. My parent’s marriage. My sister’s life. Us.

Mama picks up the picture for me, of us all. Holds it so I can see. Dad’s smiling. I remember when Mama had long hair like that, dark and thick and wavy, under a kerchief. When they were married and we were all together and I remember Aimee’s giggle and her alive.

“Yes… “ she traces faces… says the words more to another time than to us right here. “Now you can see why I’ve been working through rejection.” I swallow hard. When we can’t say it and we just want to run away, Jesus asks our question for us, again and again, “Do you truly love me?”

Anne nods understanding towards Mama and Mama looks across the table, asks in this wounded whisper, “What do you do with all this?” It’s her life.

We are silent.

And then it comes, and I murmur:

“You count fish?”

Mama turns to me and I reach for one of John and Aimee and I playing in the sandbox and I say it slow.

“You pull in your life and you see that though you felt ripped open —- the net actually didn’t tear. That there’s much in your net. And you actually count them. You make sure you count the fish. So you don’t have to ask because you know. You know it is the Lord.” I feel the lump in my throat ebbing.

“You count every single grace that He gave through the long dark night, and you see that there are more than 153. Far more than 153. It’s a feast!” I look up. Mama’s looking at me.

“You count fish?” She nods and she clasps her hands and laughs lovely and soft and long and she is beautiful. The epiphany strikes: “You count fish!”

Us four stand around a table picking up photos and pain from the past and we’ve lingered over Scripture so that we live it and we are disciples counting the blessings hauled in by a life.

We give to God when we give thanks.

I hold one picture long.

And I count it twice.

::

A repost from the archives

Ann, THANK YOU for your

willingness to let the Lord speak through you

over and over again!

Ten on Tuesday

1. LOVED watching The Pioneer Woman THROW DOWN Bobby Flay’s Thanksgiving Meal last Wednesday. So fun! [I think it’s being re-played through-out the month if you missed it – on the Food Network / Channel] But it was tough on me not being able to go up to Magianno’s to celebrate Manny’s birthday with the whole Modern Family. [I had a coupon and everything!] – I’m kidding, I’m KIDDING. I’d much rather watch the show with my little DVR so I can rewind and laugh over and over again. It just brings a little joy to my life.
2. Fall Color Update and a couple of doctor appointments this week – one routine and the other to get a tetanus shot due to stepping on some metal. [It’s been over 20 years since I’ve had one – yikes.] My arm was sore for days. The colors are gorgeous outside my office window [and yes it could use a little cleaning – but hey, I’m 11 floors up so I don’t see it happening anytime soon.]
3. Oldest moved more stuff to his own place this week. It still feels weird, but right, at the same time. And it’s nice to have another clean area in the house.
4. Just in time for youngest to have an overnight guest [since he needed a ride home from school after turning in the rental car.]
5. We had to boot ‘em out the next day bright and early since we were on a mission to pick up another car [for him] from far – far away. But, alas, that didn’t happen – and here he is thinking I drove FIVE HOURS to get a car and all I got was this stinkin’ little ice-cream. Ha.
6. So many people with burdens they’re sharing with me this week. Lots of unknowns in this world we live in…and while God doesn’t always choose to make it ‘right’ – He does want to help us carry our burdens if we let Him. My heart is heavy. But I was given a little gift this weekend, and I choose to celebrate the small things.
7. Enjoyed a nice little ‘surprise’ birthday dinner with fishing buddies [and wives] for hubby’s 50^th. [I had a coupon for that one too even though someone else picked up the tab – that was sweet – thanks!] Happy [early] Birthday Sweetie!
8. And we enjoyed our traditional post-Botanical-Gardens-Lights-walk-through-meal with 3 other families at Pizza Hut – Have we really been doing this for TEN YEARS now?! Wow.
9. We also had an early Thanksgiving celebration with my side of the family on Sunday – I love Thanksgiving so much – just a time to simply “be” with family and friends. And we sure missed those who were unable to be with us – but understand those fiber one bars are delish. [Private joke – let your mind wander a bit….] But really, we wish they could’ve had someone cover their Sunday duties so they could be with us.
10. And finally, after numerous reprimands to others from the “holiday police” - reindeer were spotted on Horseshoe Trail earlier in the week [local street known for their over-the-top Christmas decorations;] – So: I declare! Let the holidays begin! [Fasten your seat belts and I’ll take you along on the crazy BUT FUN things we have planned for the next few weeks!]

"Don't bother
to give God instructions;
just report for duty."

Ten on Tuesday

1. I love the smell of bed clothes [that’s blankets, sheets, and quilts for my non-southern friends] that have been hung out in the sunshine! Every time I cuddle up it smells like the beach to me. – All warm and sunny and fresh. Yum.
2. I had a difficult conversation with people I love this week but it needed to be done. I’ve always believed there’s healing in bringing things out in the open so that others can share [and support] what you’re going through. And while there’s hurt, there’s also hope that we can manage this together. [It’s not my story to tell, but please pray for these people in my life as they begin to travel a road they never expected to be on.]
3. And already, we can see how God is not only with them, but has prepared the way to show He’s there. I love how He works in our lives.
4. My super-shopper husband is on the hunt for the best replacement vehicle for Youngest. [Seriously –he is THE BEST at finding a good deal – just ask his friends for whom he’s a ‘personal shopper.’]
5. Don’t believe me? Well, he recently bought a queen blow-up mattress and microwave [both new in the box] FOR FIFTY CENTS each. He knows how [when and where] to shop people. Me? Not so much.
6. Craig fished with his dad this weekend and I played with crafty things. [I had three {scrapbook} kits that had not even been opened!] It was nice to take some time for things we enjoy. [Photo from a previous excursion.]
7. I thought having the holiday on Thursday gave me some time to re-set my body clock to standard time. Waking up at 4:30 a.m. those first few days made for a very long day.
8. And then for some reason [age?!?!?] I woke up at 3:00 for the next few mornings – rested and ready to go. For about three hours – then it was back to bed for me. Craziness, I tell ya.
9. Let me just say how much I enjoy our home when it’s clean and clutter free. We’ve spent the last week or so working on some of our ‘stuff’ that’s accumulated over the past couple of months. Nice.
10. And lastly – The Fall Color Report: It’s lingering [yay!] While some trees in our area are completely bare, I’ve noticed the ones in the park below my office are just reaching their peak – and this beauty, seen on my drive to work each day, has been gorgeous for a while now. Lovely. [Straight out of the camera – set on ‘foliage’ shot with a little white edge from picnik.]

November Challenge

Theme – Gratitude or Thanksgiving [of course]

Sketch – from http://mysketchworld.blogspot.com/ While I love large photos and circles, please remember, you can always put multiple photos or journaling in those large photo blocks. Be creative!

Papers – your choice, - but, let’s shake it up a bit – NO traditional FALL COLORS

Embellishments – ribbon and eyelets [yes! Dig some out and use them!]

Technique – Use a stamp or two somewhere on the page

Scripture / Inspirational Thought – Let us give thanks to the Lord. Psalm 92:1

Projects are due by the last day of the month. Here's my take on the sketch [I love sketches and have so much 'making them mine,' I hope you do too.] Notice, I used one eyelet in the first layout and brads at the top because I had those in a color that matched. No eyelets or brads on the other two - and now stamping on any of them - it's just not something I like the look of - I stamped on one of these layouts and actually put something over it [lol]. The last layout has rub-ons that mimic stamps.I'll add family photos after the holidays. The first layout will go in my heritage album [All About Us], and the other two will be in the 2010 album.

I can't wait to see what you do with this sketch! Please post your layout in our FBP Flickr Group and / or post a comment here to let me know where to see your completed layout. A winner will be randomly chosen from those who complete the challenge. If we have at least five participate the winner will receive a great prize. Scissors Up! Scrap on –

A GREAT BIG thank you to all our service men and women -

And welcome to the “Land of the Free Because of the Brave” blog hop!

I’m thrilled to be a part of this day celebrating our service men and women.

Updated: The winner of the Big Bite is Kathy Balman said...

"I love heritage albums very cute layout"

[November 11, 2010 5:06 PM]

Kathy, please send your mailing address to me:
Judy@faithbasedpages.com and i'll get your gift out to you!

Found this on Face Book and loved it -

“A veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, their life. That is beyond honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact.” Thank you to all who have served or continue to serve to protect the freedoms we so often take for granted! I ♥ you!

I did this layout last year after I captured this sweet photo of my brother’s daughter and thought about how much our father would have loved her [he passed away the year before she was born.] He, and so many others, really did fight and serve so that our little ones can continue to live in the land of the free because of the brave! This design was based on a layout by Deanna @ Finally Me – such great scrapbook [and life] inspiration to me!

Be sure and leave comments for each of us as you hop along, bc after this blog hop there will be a grand prize winner drawn to win THIS. [Only for those who comment on every blog.] So excited that Marlo is donating this wonderful prize for our hop! Winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Karelj’s blog on the 12^th. You’ll need to respond by the 15^th to claim your prize.

Here is the entire blog –hop list:

1. KarelJ at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com

2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com

3. Deb at Tidbit’s Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com

4. Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com

5. Jennifer at Young’s Scrapping http://youngsscrapping.blogspot.com

6. Diane at Crafting This Moment http://craftingthismoment.blogspot.com

YOU ARE HERE : 7. Judy at Be Present Be Real http://bepresentbereal.blogspot.com

8. Marianne at Life From Marianne’s Table http://number1aunt.blogspot.com

9. Deb at If It’s Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com

10. Christel at One Scrappin’ Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com

11. Belinda at Queen Bee’s Musings http://queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com

12. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner http://scrappycol.blogspot.com

13. Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com

14. Rachel at Suburban Crafter http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/

15. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com

16. Becky at Sew in Stitches http://sewinstitches.blogspot.com

17. Rebecca at Creations With Becca www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com

18. Bobbi Jo at Sweet Sassy Diva http://sweetsassydiva.blogspot.com

19. Angie at Gypsy Paperie http://gypsypaperie.blogspot.com

20. Linda at The Tulip Collector http://thetulipcollector.blogspot.com

Additionally, I’ll be giving away a ‘gently’ used cropodile BIG BITE – it’s in great shape - it's orange and I replaced it with a pink one I found on sale.

The winners will be chosen randomly and posted in this post on the 12^th.

Happy Veteran’s Day, everyone!

Now hop on over to Marianne's blog

[ http://number1aunt.blogspot.com ]

to continue the hop!

I wanted to share a little Thanksgiving craft today.

We had a Thanksgiving Tree in our house for many, many years. Each year I'd cut out a base for the tree and tape it to the pantry door in our kitchen the first week in November. Then [approximately - lol] each day everyone would take a moment and write something they're thankful for on a paper leaf and tape it to the tree. By the time Thanksgiving arrived our tree would be full again.

When we moved to this house I gave up the Thanksgiving Tree tradition for a couple of reasons: 1] I didn't have a convenient place to tape a tree up and 2] the boys were older and going about their lives at a busy - busy pace.

But this year I decided to bring it back with a fresh new twist.

I used the frame originally used for my Halloween art [remember, I moved it all to a smaller frame] and re-painted the frame a deep red, painted the mat purple, and painted the background papers teal and green. [If any of you remember the Real Simple cover from September - they paired the purple and teal together and I loved that combination!] Then I cut the tree out of patterned scrapbook paper. All of this is under the glass. The 'Give Thanks' blocks came from Hobby Lobby and are hot glued in place. A marker, leaves and tape are in the basket on the little shelf underneath.

It's hanging in the foyer [where other seasonal 'art' hangs through out the year.] This year as family and friends come and go in our home they're invited to take a leaf and write down something they are thankful for - then tape it to the outside of the glass. I plan to re-use this over and over [and will only need to re-place the paper leaves.
- Anyone know of a cricuit cartridge that has different leaves?]

Happy Thanksgiving! - Let's celebrate all month!