why we smile straight through the tears...

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever!

*Martin Luther

 

 

I hate to say she lied, but well, she did

So it is entirely possible that I only have about one minute to lollygag here on the worldwideweb before I'm summoned to refill Owo's sippy cup and/or help him lose his drawers so he can make another potty run...or in the off chance he actually passes out and falls asleep and gives me two minutes to myself I imagine our very feverish Audrey will awaken and pitifully declare her dire need for, well, me.  (Go figure.)
 
 
Be that as it may, I just had to hop on to say hey! and how are y'all doing? and I hope things are going okay in your respective neighborhoods.  We've had kind of a lot of hard around here over the last couple of weeks, and right now I have the littles for a few days while Katie & Jeremy are out of town.  To say the babies had different plans for this weekend would be an undestatement, but they're as sweet and funny and delightful as ever (excepting Audrey's feverish state, of course!)
 
 
 
Anyhoo, I-miss-you blah, blah, blahs aside, I mainly wanted to share something that's been weighing heavy, and it only feels right to use my personal platform here at AB! to share my deep resentment for the way Spring lied to me. 

There's just no other way to look at it.  She lied to my face.  (Kinda literally, what with all the sneezing and coughing and stuffy-headedness endured...)  Was it just last week I was waxing all thankful for things like headaches and runny noses because it was accompanying the glorious return of all things warm and delightful?
 
Whatever.
 
 
A driving rain for a sweet forever with the temp maxing out at 37 degrees is all I"m saying.
 
 
Well that and NO SNOW.


I don't want to be all bitter and unforgiving, but all I know is she has some serious damage control to do if she wants me to trust her again... 
 
 
 
Y'all stay warm out there!

 

these things

Flonase,
and Claritin,
and Excedrin

...and icy cold beverages(!)


whimsical gifts on my doorstep


a four-p.m. start time


the new Passion release


fajitas with my girl


averted crises


celebrating her life, lived oh-so beautifully


sibling hugs


homemade veggie-beef soup from the freezer


time for a quick nap


this long-awaited, warm, sunny day




Buh-bye winter drear.  I know you try, but you're just not for me ;)

(A Thousand Gifts 1229-1241)

I made it and didn't even fly off the mountain

Well.  The drive home wasn't exactly what I expected.

There was scary wind that I was certain would shove me unceremoniously into the path of the dumb trucks weaving all over the road.  I presume they were weaving because of the aforementioned wind but who really knows for sure.


Then there was the snowstorm I encountered atop the mountain.


Today's confused weather, that obviously didn't get the It's-mid-March-and-the-time-has-already-changed memo, rendered me unwilling to let go of 10 and 2...even to enjoy my long-awaited icy-cold beverage...for most of the drive.


It's a  miracle I made it home in one piece is all I'm saying.

But I did! and I'm very thankful to have done so.  God took very good care of me.


Shockingly, there was also drama of the aggravating kind only about 72 hours earlier while on my way to my mom's, but again God heard my desperate prayers and protected me from my amusing-only-to-others dilemma.


At least three of you are probably happy to know that I'm now wearing my beloved, albeit mildly aged, robe, I've finished off my beverage, and since it's officially after 9:10 in the p.m. my next move is to crawl in my bed to await my tomorrow do-over.


I'm feeling a little excited to see what Thursday brings. 
 
Perhaps things will go COMPLETELY CRAZY and we'll have some sunshine with accompanying warmish weather.


Hope...it springs eternally in my heart.

lunch and a fuzzy picture

Y'all.  I know. 

I've been really stingy with my bajillion words in recent days.  I had planned to get all caught up today but instead opted to visit with my good pal Beth via her (yesterday's) live stream.  And then lo and behold Shannan gave me the heads-up that Frances Chan was also on the worldwideweb via the Verge Conference. 

What's a girl on a quest for some reviving to do? 


Ditch the talking and commence with some listening, that's what.

(I know it's fuzzy but seriously take in ALL THAT CUTE)

Be that as it may, it has occurred to me I've never once shared one of my family's greatest recipes of all time.  I'm not sure if it originated with Mamaw Honaker or if J created it herself, but either way it's always been a sure-fire, easy-to-throw-together success for me and mine.


Here's what you do:


Take a package of  hamburger & brown it up all pretty. 
(In case you're interested, I've become a big fan of browning the daylights out of my ground beef.  Make sure it's all caramelized & colorful.)

(You'll be glad you did.)


Moving on.


After you've drained it, throw it back in the pan and add ketchup, mustard, & brown sugar, and let it simmer until it caramelizes & looks too yummy to wait any longer.


Toast a hamburger bun and load it up with the meat mixture. 

(Add some mayo to the bun if you're weird like me.)


Eat and repeat.


Best Sloppy Joes in the history of ever.  No lie.


Happy, Happy Friday!

I love ya :)

Best Sloppy Joes in the History of Ever No Lie
1 Pound Hamburger
1 Cup Ketchup
4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Mustard