Storm Damage Photos

The above pic is pole off our tampoline that is the to right of where the trampoline was stationed down with the rebar! The straight line winds were right to left, but we had pieces all directions.

The swing set did not just tip over, it was turned a completely different direction, and in a different location, as well as the slide twisted.

Below, the next 3 photos are of one of the motels. It roof was toally gone, as was their front wall.

Below is more damage from the motel and this restraunt too.

Now this next picture, is of the hotel, on the other side of the restraunt, and this damage is in the opposite direction.

And the other scariest part to see today, was this mobile home totally turned upside down! I can't even imagine!!! Totally unreal!

Just wanted to share some of the photos from today with yall. It was scary for sure! There was lots more damage, and tons of tree limbs everywhere. I have to say though, it is nice to see everyone out helping everyone with clean up! Another blessing to small town living!

Hugs and Blessings,

Our Weather - YUCK

The weather was nasty last n ight!!!!! :( We lost power, internet was out for a bit, but worse was a tornado came! We are ok. My house is ok, it didn't get it, but the kids stuff in the back yard and lawn furniture and stuff are not ok. The trampoline is gone, and the swingset is a bit damaged! And I don't want to hear it was straight line winds anymore, it wasn't! I heard it outside! And nothing in our front yard was touched & and our grill and the small kids swing that were away from the other area, but in the back yard, are in the same place! As well as small push and ride toys! The freaky part is that the trampoline is in different directions! And a pole from it was stabbed into the ground a different direction that the other stuff went. We had our trampoline secured with rebarr, that went into the ground about 12 inches... So it actually tore it up! It's in many pieces and not sure if we will ever find it all, as a lot was carried away! The swing set, didn't just lay over, it was over and spun around! Most importantly we are all ok. Just shook up! Thank God for his protection of us!

As for our town, areas were greatly damaged by straight line winds! They were confirmed to be at 102 mph! The hotel that we lived in (for a month) when we first moved to town and was looking for us a home, one area, lots the front wall and the roof! They did have some injuries! Lost of places had all kinds of damage! But what shook me up the most, was when we ran to town today, there was a mobile home park hit, and this one mobile home, didn't just go on it's side! It's upside down! Totally picked up and then threw down, but upside down! The bottom and wheels were up top and the rest crushed! This is just really really heart breaking! Terrible sadness!

But I have to say again, I am so so thankful that, Jesus kept us safe and protected us. As well as the town, it really could have been a lot worse!

I know the storms stretched far across the nation and lots have been having bad weather, I pray everyone is safe and ok!

Hugs and Blessings,

At day at Incredible Pizza

Oh my, I have to share with you all something! We visited an Incredible Pizza, one in Texas. We have planned on visiting the original in Springfield Missouri, but while away, we spent a fun day there! Everyone had so much fun! If you haven't heard about them, check them out! They have something for everyone. It's all about the family! And even check out one of the prizes. I mean how many places can you go and find a prize that has something about God? We will visit them again, and even other locations, when we travel about.

Here they had 4 different dinning areas! We ate our lunch in the Dinner! It was fun and bright! (and even less crowded). Everyone found something they wanted and enjoyed to eat. Even those cookie pizzas! YUMMY!

After we all finished eating, it was time to go play and have some fun! But the picking what to do first, was really hard. There was so much! They have go karts, bumper cars, miniture golf, bowling, games, kids rides, and even some similators!

It's time for a little skee ball!!!!! Lil E loves to play!

And oh my! Look at the kid size air hockey table! They had fun! Aunt Deborah and Em came to visit us and spend the day with us. So the girls had a blast playing together!

I have to say, I love that they had a toddler area, with games sized for small kids, as well as the rides. It really made it nice for the kids to be able to do things just like the big people.

Lil K was busy watching the go kart races at the lil speedway! And the cars are painted like NASCAR racers!

One of the girls most favorite things, was this light up jumping and dancing deal. You had to land on your color and it was always moving! They just had a really awesome time on it!

We stayed all afternoon and took a snack break too. But the girls had the best time! In the car, as it went in a oval on tracks, just like at the races! So she was driving the race car like her friend JT! Oh my, what a lil hoot! Lil E is all about racing!

Hope yall enjoyed some of the pictures from our day! Lots more to come of other days! I trully would recommend yall visiting an Incredible Pizza some time!

Hope your week is going well!

Hugs and Blessings,

My Life According to George Strait

Ok, just something fun to do. If you want to do it, just copy and paste and have some fun too!


Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me (presuming I'm someone you like). You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Re-post as "my life according to (band name)"


Pick your Artist:George Strait
Are you a male or female:That's My Kind of Woman
Describe yourself:"I`ll Be There"
How do you feel:Am I Blue
Describe where you currently live:West Texas Town or Amarillo by Morning
If you could go anywhere, where would you go?That`s Where I Wanna Take Our Love (And Settle Down)
Your favorite form of transportation?The Road Less Traveled
Your best friend? Do the right thing
You and your best friend:How Bout Them Cowgirls (oh wait, she isn't a cowgirl anymore!)
What's the weather like:A Better Rain
Favorite time of day:Overnight Success
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:Stranger Things Have Happened
What is life to you:You`re The Cloud I`m On (When I`m High)
Your relationship:Wonderland Of Love
Your fear:Heaven Must Be Wondering Where You Are
What is the best advice you have to give:Easy Come, Easy Go or Give it away!!
Thought for the Day:Good News, Bad News
How I would like to die? Holding My Own
My soul's present condition:I saw God today
My motto:Baby your Baby!

Christmas in July

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas in July! We are home. We arrived home early morning today! And it's been back to the normal busy part of life here! I have a lot to share with you all and lots of great pictures too. I'll get to that early in the coming week!


First I want to say Merry Christmas in July to everyone! I love Christmas, it is my favorite time of the year! I love to bake, cook, decorate, and most of all celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Being as Christmas is my favorite, you know I must do the early celebrating too in July! I delight in this time of the year ever year! As today is my Daddy's Birthday and Christmas in July.


HAPPY 65th Birthday, Daddy!!! You are the best and we love you so very much!!!!!! You are wonderful and make us proud of you!!!


So you may be asking, and what does this crazy gal do to celebrate Christmas in July... You don't have to wonder, I'm going to share! Well I watch QVC Christmas in July, and then to the even better part! I cook a special meal, that I'd fix around Christmas time and a dessert. We watch Christmas movies and do Christmas crafts!


For our crafts, we usually start our homemade Christmas cards this day! And Lil E and I do something fun, even if it is playing in the Christmas stamps! :) Work on Christmas Scrapbooking pages or even making some cinnamon and applesauce ornies! So yes, we get with it! and have some fun!


So what is the dinner? This year, I did a crockpot of green beans, ham, and new potatoes! Everyone loves this meal at our home! Then we have rolls with it, so what did I do? I placed them on the baking sheet, in a fun and festive shape! I made them into a Christmas tree!!!

We picked two Christmas cookbooks off the shelf, and Lil E and Mommy looked at them, and decided what we wanted to make. So we went with a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Gifts of Good Taste. And we made Cakemix Oatmeal Cookies. They are really yummy! The next time I make them, I am going to cut down on the sugar for sure! They are really sweet! But everyone really did like them!

Cake mix Oatmeal Cookies

1 yellow cake mix

2 cups of quick cooking oatmeal

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cake mix, oatmeal, and sugar. In a smaller bowl, mix together the eggs and oil and then pour into the dry mix. Stir all together. Add in pecans and vanilla. Mix all together well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch ball and place about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. (I use the flat stoneware.) Flatten with the bottom of a glass. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

After dinner, we turn the lights out, and curl up in the living room to watch a Christmas movie! Ahhh, one of my favorite things to do! I can watch Christmas movies all the time! :) This time Lil E picked Deck the Halls. If you haven't seen it, it really is a good movie! I think she likes it because Buddy Hall is her daddy's idol. LOL ok, maybe not really, but we tend to think so, since James goes all out with his outside decorating! But it brings smiles to lots of faces!

And yes, we do remind the girls, that this is part of the fun things about Christmas, but Christmas is Jesus' Birthday, and we are blessed to be able to celebrate in the GREATEST Birthday ever to man kind! And yes, Mom's, I'm with you, our kids birthdays are the next biggest birthdays in the world. :) So even though we are celebrating in July, we still take the time to remind our girls just what Christmas is all about!

So we had a good first day back at home!!! Hope yall are all doing well and had a great day too!!!!!!

Hugs and Blessings,

We will be away....

We will be MIA for about 10 days or say, while we are away vacationing and such! Just going to visit friends and family!

Hopeing everyone is doing great and that yall all stay safe and wonderful too!

Hugs and Blessings,

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

As always, please click on the banner above and it will take you over to Sandra's for more great Slow Cooking Thursday Recipes.

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

3/4 c baking mix (you can use bisquick, I use Pioneer Baking Mix)

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 can (15 oz) evaporated milk

1 (16 oz) back of frozen peaches, thawed and sliced

Spray crock pot with non stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together baking mix, sugars, and cinnamon. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Add in milk. Mix well. Pour peaches into crock pot and then pour baking mix mixture on top. Cook on low for 3 1/2 hours on or 2 hours on High. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Hugs and Blessings,

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband, best friend, father that I could imagine! Baby, I love you!!! I hope you know just how much you mean to me! You are my everything and the girls everything too! We all love you and hope your special day is wonderful, like you!!!

So to honor him, I decided to list my top 10 things I love about you!

10- The fact you always are there to help everyone else! No matter who they are or what they are needing!

9 - That you beat the odds, and did something more with your life than most believed you would! You are very hard working and it shows in all you do!

8 - You are a wonderful protector for your family! YOu keep us safe always!!!!

7 - You will do whatever you have to do, to provide for your family! No matter what curve ball is threw your way, you do whatever you must, to make sure every need is provided for! And lots of wants too! If that means working 7 days a week, or if that means going out in a storm, sitting in a hospital. It doesn't matter, you do it!

6 - You are the most loyal person I know! If they are your friends, then you will always stay true to them!

5 - For making my family your family! You love them as much as I do, and that means so very much!!!! Just as they love you too!!!

4 - The way you complete me! You make me be the best I can be, just by being you!!!! It is simply amazing! You are the BESTEST Husband and Friend in the World! You make me laugh when I need to smile, you let me cry when I need to let it out, and you wipe the tears away for me! YOu are always right there by my side!!!!

3 - The way you love us unconditionally! Totally and fully, you love us unconditional! And that is the BEST feeling in the world!!!!

2 - What a wonderful and Godly Man you are! YOu let the light of Christ shine off of you! It radiates you so much!

1 - The Daddy you are! I can't imagine a better daddy!!! You love our girls like no one else! It is truly beautiful!!!! You teach them and play with him, and care for them, and protect them, and you lead by example! You are one awesome Daddy!!!!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

Sharing some Faith

It's been way overdue for another Faithful Friday post! God is so good and is always good!!! I have been waiting all week for this post! Things have been less than GRAND for us for a few months (since hubby had been on reduced hours and then laid off). But we knew all along God was with us and had a plan! We kept our eyes on him and didn't let it bring us down!!! Hubby just kept doing everything he needed to do for his family! Ranching and side jobs carried us through! All the while being able to help others in their times of need too. This very week, prayers have been answered!!! Hubby is going back to work now! A different location, but close enough we don't have to relocate. We are so happy and thankful! Thank you, Jesus!!!!! What a blessing!!!

I want to share another awesome praise! My sister's medicine is helping control her seizures. Thank you, Jesus! They were so scared of her having a big one, after her stroke and all. With this and her other illnesses, they doctors, said she wouldn't be ok if she had a big seizure. But there she wasn't a canidate for many of the medicines. But God lead them to the very one on the first try! It is amazing! We have gone from 14 and 15 seizures a day, to just a few! Thank you, Jesus!!!!

And I wanted to share with you all. Last week, I didn't get to post and share the great news! God answered a huge prayer, and no biological father was found for Lil K, and all biological and allegged and possible biological parental rights are terminated. So we have fully moved to adoption stage now! It will be final in a couple of months! I can't wait!!!!! Thank you, Jesus, for our gifts of adoption! They are the best!!! My girls are the greatest gifts we have received!

Thank you all for staying with us! Each and everyone of you is a great blessing in my life and I'm thankful for the part you play. I'm sorry we have been absent from blogging so much, but I'll be doing better.

Hugs and Blessings,

Crock Pot Spaghetti

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Crock Pot Spaghetti


2 lbs lean ground meat, seasoned, browned, and drained
2 (26 oz) Jars of Spaghetti Sauce (your favorite brand and flavor, we use Prego Italian Sauage or meat, and then a herbal and garlic flavor normal)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 - 3 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
1 tsp pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups of broken up spaghetti (break into quartered pieces)
1 pkg of grated parmessan cheese



Cook your meat with Itallian seasoing and a clove of garlic. Brown and drain. Add to crock pot. Add sauce, onion, garlic, and salt and pepper to crock pot. Stir all together. Add in spaghetti pieces and stir again. Cook on low for about 6 hours. About 15 minutes before time to serve, stir in the cheese.



Hope yall enjoy!



Hugs and Blessings,

A Look Back at our Weekend

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Hubby had some time off and so we were able to spend lots of time together! Friday, we kicked the day off by spending the day together, doing things as a family! And we had a blast singing in the car! Even though Momma can't carry a tune! We all had fun!

Saturday, morning we were up early and ready to celebrate! Here's a glimpse of our Downtown Area, but it is simply the flags that line the busineses, that I really love! They line the downtown area, as well as down the highway too! They are out infront of all our town's businesses. Just another reason we love Small Town USA! It is really, as if we stepped back in time several decades ago!

Then we headed down to the park for some fun! There was a cute lil Dog Show. And this precious lil dog named, Harley, could bark to Jesus Loves Me! If that isn't the cutest thing, I really don't know what is! It was just darling!!! Of course we were off to have other fun too! They had lots of the bounce houses and slides and obstacle courses, for the kids to have fun with! Here's a pic of Lil E before she was in the belly of this Lizard!

All four of us, over watching the talent show!

Saturday evening it was just a nice evening at home watching the race from Daytona. It was pouring down rain, just a nice relaxing evening! That is after our trip to Wal Mart, and all 4 of us were soaked!!! I haven't seen it rain that hard in a while! But was so glad to have the rain!

We didn't have our Town's Fireworks until Sunday evening! So we had a great time on Sunday. We did burgers and such and hung out with our friends! And then gathered at the stadium, next to the park, and had lots of fun! I am loving the flat bed on Daddy's truck! It made it reallay nice for everyone to sit up on and watch the fireworks!

Hope everyone had a great time this past weekend, and that everyone was enjoying the celebration of America's Birthday!!!! What a beautiful Birthday it was!!!!

Hope yalls week is going well!!!! I have been baby sitting! And that is done me in! By the time they are picked up and I get dinner and baths, I'm ready for bed! Been in bed way way way early this week!

Hugs and Blessings,

Happy 4th!

We have been super busy! But I wanted to stop and wish you all a very Happy Happy 4th of July! What a great day! Remember we are celebrating, America's Independence!!! What a blessing!

We are off and running again, we are heading to town, for the festivities for our community! Sometimes it really is awesome to live in small town USA! Flags out in front of all the businesses!!! It is just wonderful!

Stay safe! Have a great day!

Hugs and Blessings,