New Living Room Set Up

Well this is what I have to show for myself since I have been away so long, and yes praise the Lord, I found my camera!

Jon and I bought the white material for the curtains at Ikea. The white material are blankets we got for 7 dollars apiece. The black material we got at Hobby Lobby.

The Book case we also got at Ikea. I love the glass doors and the light up above.

My friend Julie got new curtains and she had the rings with the clip - ons and I just loved the look they gave. I found these clip - ons at Ikea.

We still want to make black pillows to go on the couch.

I have several posts to post so I should be getting back into the swing of things. I am so blessed to have my camera back. YEAHHHH!!!

Thought you lost me?

Oh my goodness, it has taken me forever to get on the computer these last 3 weeks. I have been without a camera because I have misplaced it somewhere. Thanks to Elizabeth I was able to borrow some pics off of her.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and New Year. It was a cozy one for us. The 10 days Benjamin was here felt like half a week. We had so much fun playing games, cooking and eating! Christmas Eve was delightful. We had Jodi and BJ over as well as our next door neighbor Pamela. Jon made delicious Chicken Farfalle copied from the Cheese Cake Factory. It was superb.

Christmas morning Benjamin and Jon woke up at 6 and wanted to open presents. So we had fun enjoying Christmas while it was still dark. The baby woke up for about 45 minutes but wanted to go back to bed. He gets his morning sleepies from mommy.

These last few days Jon and I have been rearranging the living room. We bought a new book case and we are also attempting to make new curtains for the windows. More pics to come on that project. I have also been trying to organize the basement and the closets. That is going rather slowly I'm afraid.

I have been loving the Christmas clearance all over town. I have bought a lot of candles that are 75 percent off as well as CHOCOLATE!!! Elizabeth and I are enjoying our very well stocked chocolate larder right now.

Jon has a new schedual this year. He works four 10 hour days and gets three days off. So we see him little through out the week but get a whole extra day with him on Wednesday. We just started watching Bleak House by BBC which is very good so far. That will keep us company these cold winter evenings while Jon is still at work.

My parents are planing on visiting us when Elizabeth has the baby. I am getting very excited about this. My dad has never been out here so I hope he can make it :)

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

God Bless

What's going on in Washington

Don't Be Polite or Non-Ideological: Fight This Un-American Legislation!

While we are all having a nice Christmas Holiday, Washington is trying to ram this health care bill down our throat!

Here is part of Rushe's transcript today.

RUSH: Here's Senator Jim DeMint, Republican, South Carolina, last night on the Senate floor.

DEMINT: There's one provision that I found particularly troubling, and it's under Section C titled, "Limitation on changes to this subsection." And I quote: "It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection." This is not legislation, it's not law. This is a rule change. It's a pretty big deal. We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a Senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law.

RUSH: And this is not how Senate rules are made. Now, the language is tough, but this is how dictators operate. This is how people who know that nobody wants what they're offering operate. People who have power and who do not and who are very well aware that they're running against the wishes and against the grain of the people they supposedly govern make it impossible for those people to do anything about it, in an illegal way. This is not how you change the rules of the Senate. DeMint continued.

DEMINT: I'm not even sure that it's constitutional, but if it is, it most certainly is a Senate rule. I don't see why the majority part wouldn't put this in every bill. If you like your law, you most certainly would want it to have force for future Senates. I mean we want to bind future Congresses. This goes to the fundamental purpose of Senate rules, to prevent a tyrannical majority from trampling the rights of the minority or of future Congresses.

RUSH: Okay, that's Jim DeMint on the floor of the Senate last night. Now, why are they making this provision unrepealable? What we're talking about here is the Independent Medicare Advisory Council making it impossible or difficult for future Congresses to legislate in that area, to change this. Bill Kristol points out: "Because the heart of the bill is the attempt to get control of our health care permanently in the hands of federal bureaucrats, who would allegedly know better than doctors and patients what’s good for them, and who would cut access to care and the quality of care so there’s more money left over for various big government liberal social programs." This is just outrageous what is happening.

To read the rest here is the link,,, Rush

Christmas Snow

It is snowing outside which is perfect for a Saturday morning and afternoon. Benjamin arrived Thursday morning. We have had such a wonderful couple of days with him so far. Jon is happy to have his brother around and Elizabeth is happy to have her "Benny". I made Borsch soup this week and that was yummy. I think I might make it again before Christmas because it was such a success with the boys.

Elizabeth and I are going to make Baklava some time this week. We were at my friend Julie's house the other day and she served it and it was superb. She gave us the recipe.

Our neighbor Pamela came over today to drop off a big plate of Christmas cookies, she won a blue ribbon for her cookies at the fair this year so I am excited to jump into those yummy cookies. She also brought some special cookies for the puppy. She is going to go the Christmas Eve service with us and join us for Christmas Eve dinner.

Jon and I went Christmas shopping today while Elizabeth and Benjamin watched the baby. It was so cozy as the snow fell and people bustled in and out of the stores. We went to Sam's club and shopped for Christmas eats. They also had a bunch of samples which we love to get while we are there. I wanted to buy up all the fun baby books as well as all there cool documentary series. All the yummy Christmas chocolates caught my eye as well.

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful season. Just 5 days to go before we celebrate our our Lord's birth.

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

He's Getting Big!

This puppy is getting so big just look at those paws. I love his floppy ears and how they hang over his head.

His first love is his warm fire, his second love is his bed, his third love is eating and last, chasing the cats :)

He is now four months old and getting more and more spunky. He loves to dance around the house when he's hungry or whenever he's feeling good. The baby loves watching him and giggles when he licks his fingers :) We call him Zane's puppy.

We are loving this pup and he is fitting in the family most comfortably :)

Nigella Laswon's Christmas Cake

The delightful Nigella Lawson has a yummy Christmas cake that is perfect for a cozy winter evening.

We had tea with my Christmas cake last night. The cake wasn't at all hard or dry. The fruits I used were raisins, cranberry's and prunes. I zested a bunch of orange rind like Nigella suggested and that was delicious . I had to guess on some of the measurements because Nigella didn't say them in her video. I looked up boiled cake on Allrecipes web site and made that my outline. Nigella used a coffee liquor which I didn't have so I used some cooking rum and some strong coffee instead. I just eyeballed the amount of cooking rum, coffee and honey and coco powder as well as the fruit. It was a very yummy cake and I think you can tweak it as much as you want.

I loved the color of the cake with garland and oranges around it.

You can watch Nigella in action if you wish! She is so much fun and I love her british accent. She uses the best adjectives!

Baby's First Eats

This baby is so interested in food. He cries at us while we are eating and he follows the cups and spoons and forks that go from plate to mouth and cries or frowns because he feels left out. So we decided to give him some cereal and see what he thought. He didn't seem to like it at first but that didn't matter he still wanted to eat.

We put a pillow under his cute little toosh as you can see.

He's reaching for everything now. I have to watch him while he is in his car because he is grabbing for everything on the coffee table

Black and White Christmas

Jon and I attended a Black and White Christmas party last week. It was a most delightful event. Everyone dressed up very formal in black and white and there was delicious food and dancing. Daisy and Josh go to our church and they have thrown these Black and White parties for four years now. All of her dishes were black and white paisleys and her house had white lights all over it.

Liz is a very dear friend of mine that I have gotten to know these last several months. She is the one who has organized our little ladies prayer group every other Tuesday.

I just LOVE chocolate fountains. If I could I would watch the fountain drip all night

Those little black and white popsicle sticks are cheesecake and they were delicious, I had 3 of them and still wanted more.

I didn't get a cookie but I imagined they were delicious :) Elizabeth stayed home with the little munchkin. It is nice having a babysitter who lives so close lol!!

Morning Bell

Obamacare is Seriously Unconstitutional

On October 23rd, a reporter asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?” Speaker Pelosi shook her head and before moving on to another question replied: “Are you serious? Are you serious??” Pressed for a more substantive response later, Pelosi’s press spokesman admonished the reporter: “You can put this on the record. That is not a serious question. That is not a serious question.”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) disagrees. In 1994, the CBO saidof an individual mandate to buy health insurance:

A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.

As much as Speaker Pelosi may wish otherwise, the CBO is dead on: the Supreme Court has never validated a federal power as intrusive as forcing all Americans to purchase a service due to their very existence. Sure, the Supreme Court has said that Congress may regulate a farmer’s production of wheat even if he never plans to distribute it off of his farm, and the Supreme Court has said Congress may ban the possession of Marijuana even if it is for personal use, but never before has the Supreme Court said the power to regulate commerce enabled Congress to force an individual to do something just because he existed.

In fact, the Supreme Court has always been clear that the Commerce clause must have some limits. In United States v. Lopez (1995), the Court struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act, which attempted to reach the activity of possessing a gun within a thousand feet of a school. In United States v. Morrison, it invalidated part of the Violence Against Women Act, which regulated gender-motivated violence. In both cases, the Court found the regulated activity in each case to be noneconomic; it was outside the reach of Congress’s Commerce power, regardless of its effect on interstate commerce. The case for the constitutionality of the individual mandate is far weaker than either of these two cases. Congress was at least trying to regulate an individual’s activity in the cases above. But the mandate does not purport to regulate or prohibit activity of any kind, whether economic or noneconomic. To the contrary, it purports to “regulate” inactivity.

If the individual mandate is Constitutional, then Congress could do anything. They could: require us to buy a new Chevy Impala each year to support the government-supported auto industry; require us to buy war bonds to pay for the Iraq and Afghan wars; require us to grow wheat (10 bushels each), or pay someone else to grow your share; require us to buy whatever they want.

Many on the left immediately point to state mandates that drivers purchase car insurance as proof of a mandate that all Americans buy health insurance is not new. But car insurance mandates are distinguishable in at least four ways: 1) they are state requirements and states have broader constitutional authority than the federal government; 2) they apply to drivers only, not all Americans (e.g. passengers are not required to carry insurance); 3) drivers use public roads; 4) states only require drivers to insure against injury to other drivers, not to insure themselves against personal injury.

Yesterday The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies released a Legal Memorandum written in conjunction with Georgetown University Law Center Professor Randy Barnett and Nathaniel Stewart explaining: Why the Personal Mandate to Buy Health Insurance Is Unprecedented and Unconstitutional. Introducing the paper, Sen. Orrin Hatch noted:

James Madison said that if men were angels, no government would be necessary and if angels governed men, no limits on government would be necessary. Because neither men nor the governments they create are angelic, government and limits on government are both necessary for ordered liberty. Politics may tell us what we want to do, but the Constitution tells us what we may do and we must keep those separate. The ends do not justify the means for one simple reason – liberty. Liberty requires limits on government power, it always has and it always will.

Someone needs to explain this concept to Speaker Pelosi. Seriously.

Christmas Season and Baby

This little fellow is so cute in his winter hats and caps. I just love seeing him smile at me while he is driving his little car around the house. He sure owns that car. He can maneuver it this way and that. When he is out of his car and I lay him in his Pack- and -Play or if he is on the bed he is helpless with out his wheels. He much rather be cruising the house.

He loves touching the Christmas tree and feeling the needles. He has tried eating the ribbon, bulbs and the lights which I have to pull him away at that point.

This Christmas has been so lovely and cozy. We have been baking Christmas cookies which we have our tea with. Our shopping has been fun especially grocery shopping. Stocking the little larder for Christmas has us busy. We have been shopping and stocking and baking and eating :) I hope everyone is have a wonderful Christmas time. Merry Christmas!!

Lights Shining Bright

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? ... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

I hung some lights in the kitchen and it sure makes cooking cozy :)

I can't wait for the snow. I love watching the snow coming down. It hasn't snowed yet but I will especially love seeing the snow fall while I am in the kitchen cooking something yummy for this Christmas season.

We decorated our Christmas tree the night before Thanksgiving. It is our first real Christmas tree. I just love the smell of Christmas trees. I have been trying keep it watered so it doesn't die on me. I have been adding a half a cup of sugar to keep it healthy, I'm not sure if that works or not but it hasn't died yet :P

The puppy just loves the wood burning stove. He sleeps in front of it all day. He is such a lazy dog! :)

As you can see he's getting big :) We are enjoying him so much. His friend Patriot has been staying with us, he is a Weimaraner. And they just love to play together.