Guini was watching the family videos from my YouTube channel on our TV the other night (we love our Apple TV!!!).
She watched this one-minute snapshot of Tredessa and Ryan’s wedding with lots of oohs and aahs in fun recollection, inserting her own commentary throughout:
“Ooooh – where am I?
Oh! There’s Amelie!
Here comes the bride!
They kissed.” {insert giggles here}
As the video came to an end she concluded,
“And then – happily ever after.”
And she was off to the next video. :)
Is she cute as a button, or what?
These were the words I got for her. I used a Maxwell Parrish piece to create this “card.”
Amy Jo is practically young enough to be my daughter (early 30s), but she is also a very treasured, longtime (8 years) friend.
I thank God for her because when I disappear, she comes looking for me to make sure I am ok.
Omygosh! {slight scream, heart palpitations}
We brought our slightly-less-than-life-sized Jeremy Camp cut-out, the official HF-skinned guitar and the “fake” cut-out guitars Pearl and Bryan made for the Heaven Fest Smile Booth this year home from the office since Heaven Fest is moving to a new office in the city soon, and they will likely be used to adorn the walls there, just for fun.
I am wondering how many times I can walk into my house and think there is someone standing behind my couch – scaring the daylights out of me!?!! YIKES! He gets me every time.
Tara and Stormie introduced the “real” Jeremy Camp (and his famous “guns”) to the one-dimensional Jeremy Camp backstage at Heaven Fest this summer. They hit it off famously.
1. I like recess.
2. I have a nice teacher.
3. My new shoes.
You’ll need some big pots and a day to do it. Quanitity cooking is a must.
500 or so of my world-famous Swedish Meatballs in that to-die-for sauce with sweet oinions and peppers from the garden. Plus, those delicate noodles on the side, which shall be served bathed in butter and garnished with garlic chives. Within 20 minutes, at least 17 people would come to tell me, “They’re gone. They are all gone. No more meatballs. Why didn’t you make more???”
50 pounds of juicy, succulent, melt-in-your-mouth, seasoned-just-so pulled pork (sort of swimming in its’ own juices, but definitely de-fatted!), with BBQ sauce on the side. Sure, you may enjoy it on a roll, but you can also just eat it by itself. Mmmm.
3.75 gallons of succulent, sweet, bacon-riddled, ham-hocked baked beans.
Omygosh – it was a dessert-lovers paradise. Cara Jo made me bring the caramel fountain (the Cara-(Jo)-Mel Fountain. And then everyone baked and sugared their heads off.
40 pounds of potatoes = potato salad, almost too heavy to lift once all the goodness is added.
A lovely macaroni salad, started with 4 pounds of uncooked rotini, gently boiled to al dente perfection, mixed with a delish dressing and peppers in every color of the rainbow, garden-fresh tomatoes, black olives, slow-smoked ham, aged cheddar and I don’t know what all, but it is beauteeeeeful!
I enjoy quantity cooking. And my favorite friends do, too.
Thank-you for your QUANTITY cooking love and abilities, too! YOU KEPT ME SANE!!!
Photos: At the Heaven Fest Leadership Wrap-Party on Saturday.
I love the little grandbebes. The whole cake-making deal came from their sweet requests and imaginations.
Last year, Gavin had a donut volcano and this year, for her 7th birthday, Guini told me she wanted two things: [1] donuts and [2] three great big tiers.
I really really really want that, she told me.
I figured there was a way to give her the tiers and the donuts.
I just took my everyday dishes out of the cupboard and stacked a bowl with a mini-casserole with a plate and then a coffee cup, another plate and another coffee cup and finally one last full-sized diner plate.
Since we were having breakfast with the fam and the donuts would be eaten quickly, I wasn’t really worried about the whole thing toppling, but just in case, I put some hot-glue dots on the rims of the coffee cups to “glue” it all together. Because {little-known fact} when you put ceramic with hot glue into the freezer for few minutes, the hot glue will pop right off, as if it was never there.
So voila! An easy tiered donut holder that only took about 3 minutes to assemble. It would probably work for cupcakes, too.
It took another 2 minutes to pile the donuts onto the plates and we were off to the races!
Guini loved it and that makes me happy. We filled it with big, puffy yeast donuts and decorated cake donuts, too. There were Crullers and Entenmann’s powdered sugar mini’s and the little chocolate-covered donuts, too. We topped it with a Mexican pastry for color and to hold the candles.
Guinivere’s mommy and daddy fixed a lovely breakfast buffet for us all – to offset the dozens and dozens of donuts on hand.
It was a lovely way to start a Saturday morning, the whole familia there, except for Ryan, who had Guard this weekend. All six of my adorable grandbebes celebrating 7 wonderful years of Guini-muggins. We adore her!
Heaven Fest was beautiful. This song is our anthem!
Let our praise be Your welcome
Let our songs be a sign We are here for You,
we are here for You
Let Your breath come from heavenFill our hearts with Your life
We are here for You, we are here for You
To You our hearts are openNothing here is hidden
You are our one desire
You alone are holy Only You are worthy God,
let Your fire fall down
Let our shout be Your anthemYour renown fill the skies
We are here for You, we are here for You
Let Your Word move in powerLet what’s dead come to life
We are here for You, we are here for You
We welcome You with praise
We welcome You with praise
Almighty God of love
Be welcomed in this place
Let every heart adoreLet every soul awake
Almighty God of love Be welcomed in this place
We welcome You with praiseWe welcome You with praise
Almighty God of love
Be welcomed in this place
“I’m at the top of the world looking down on creation and the only explanation I can see…”
From Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, the Rhoades bunch has gathered in gorgeous Estes Park, Colorado. Dad (Raymond) Rhoades is celebrating turning 90.
It isn’t actually the “top” of the world, at 7522 feet above sea level, but it is high and the view (you should have seen the sunset from here last night) is kind of tremendously breathtaking and coupled with the cool mountain air? Yep. Good times.
I needed to come up with an anti-litter campaign. I thought about something nice and deeply spiritual like, “The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it: so don’t litter, you Pharisees!”
I gave Stormie my ideas and she made these. They are on a matte finish 100-pound poster-paper. So cute. I fear they will be ripped from the port-a-pottie doors as memorabilia. :)
I figured: Hey, we paid an arm and leg for these artists to come – may as well use their names! Hope I don’t suffer legal repercussions. www.heavenfest.com
Oh, Guinivere. You were my very first grand-girl ever! Can you even imagine how much happy-happy-happy that made me? We already had the wonderful Gavin and the cutie-pie Hunter, but when we got you::wow-o-wow! It was a day of joy!
Grandpa and I were up in the mountains at some meetings for our church. We were waiting for you to be born, but you were just staying put! Then, very late at night, just when we had gone to sleep, we got the phone call: Stephanie and Tristan are having their baby girl! We jumped out of bed as fast as we could and we zoooooooomed down the mountain to get to the hospital.
Not too much later, we got to see our brand-new, blond-fuzzy-headed Guini. And how perfectly gorgeous you were! And that day was one of the lightest, brightest most beautiful days I had ever seen and I know it was because you were born. And Guini? I am looking out the window and it is beautiful today, too – just for your 7th birthday.
Here is a biblical blessing just for you kind of from Psalms 96. Live your life for Jesus, Guini-kins. He loves you and you were born to bring Him praise! May you always be found making Him smile!!
Sing to the LORD, Guini! Sing a brand new song today. Tell everyone to sing with you! You can even shout about how good God is everywhere you go! Find the lost and hurting and tell them the good news, too! Because God is just so great and He deserves to have you and me worship Him! He does!!!
So let’s tell everyone how amazing He is and just invite people far and wide to join us in hanging out in His beautiful presence, in that glorious place of rest and sanctuary He has for us.
Sometimes, Guin-Guin, just even get down on your knees to worship Him. You know what? Even the trees and animals show their worship to God. So let’s just live life doing that and o, how blessed we will be when He comes again.
Rejoice! Be glad. Praise Jesus!!!
I LOVE you, my Guini!