Warning! Deranged Pirate Ahead

Don't let the picture above draw you in and cause you to let your guard down. Anyone who looks like a pirate should be considered dangerous.



Their moods can change with the wind. And do you see that parrot? He's worse than his master. He'll bite your finger off in a second.




Now you've really got them cross. Aaarrghhh!

But wait! They've scared you. Now they'll have to switch their tactics and try to subdue you with their charm. They'll try the innocent smile trick.



Oh, they look lovable. They pretend to be lovable.

They'll even try the "isn't my parrot cute" trick to lure you in. They're full of all types of tricky pirate tricks. But once you're close enough...

...you'd better watch out. They'll use the ol' hook to capture you and then you're done for.

Let's all sing...

What do you do with a scurvy pirate,
What do you do with a scurvy pirate,
What do you do with a scurvy pirate?
Make him walk the plank! (Thank you Backyardigans.)

Hope you have a great Halloween. Aaarrghhh!

A Week Away

Mr. Reserved is gone. He's been gone since last Thursday and he won't be home until next Wednesday. Sigh..........it seems like a long week.

He has gone to the land of hunting some 8 hours west of San Antonio. He has gone to the land of no cell towers. He has gone to the land where if you want to contact him, you have to call the ranger's station and they'll go find him. His excuse for this outing is that he needs to go take care of his brother which is really a lame excuse since his brother is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. The reality is that he needs to go be with the boys and.....well....be a boy.

It really is good that he takes this week every year to go be a boy. He needs this renewal, this back to nature adventure. He needs to be with other men to discuss.....men things. He needs to see the stars and feel the dirt and walk the hills. Being so close to God's creation renews him like nothing else can. Although he's physically tired when he returns, his mind and soul are refreshed and he's a better boss, husband and father.

Miss G and I are getting along pretty well. We've had a slumber party every night. We've read lots of books and played lots of games. This year has been an extra challenge for us. It seems that Miss G has gotten the chicken pox and we are now quarantined to the house. Although Miss G had her chicken pox vaccinations, she has had a break-through case. It's a very light case, but she is still contagious. Her spots are starting to blister today and they seem a bit more itchy.

This week opens my eyes and renews me too. It renews my appreciation and love for Mr. Reserved. I miss his physical presence. I miss seeing his face. I miss hearing him breath and his occasional speech. My partner is gone and I feel incomplete.

Miss G and I will survive. Good friends are helping us out and bringing us things from the store. My mother-in-law has kindly offered to come if we need her. We really don't need anything. We want Mr. Reserved. We are trusting in God to bring him safely home and are trying to wait patiently for Wednesday. As Miss G says...."Only 3 more days. That's not a very long time."

THE Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

My mother-in-law, God love her, makes the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet. She's a good cook in general, but these babies are guaranteed to keep you coming back for more.



And to the delight of every chocolate chip cookie lover in the world, here is the recipe...

Mary Dean's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour, unsifted
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. chocolate chips or M&M's

Cream 1st six ingredients together. Sift dry ingredients and combine with creamed mixture. Mix in chocolate chips or M&M's. Place on cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

**Additional thoughts ~ When I make these I put parchment paper over my cookie sheets. It keeps the cookies from sticking. Also, when I use my large cookie scoop, I up the temperature to 385 and bake them for 11 1/2 minutes. Mexican vanilla makes these cookies extra special. Actually, Mexican vanilla makes anything extra special. If you can find it, buy it!

Enjoy! These are delicious!

McCain is My Man...

...at least for this election. And yes...I know the above photo is NOT him. She's quite a bit cuter, in my humble opinion. She does relate to this post however, so I'm leaving her photo there.

This is my one and only election post and I'll try to make it as short as possible.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I'll repeat...McCain is my man for this election. I'm not 100% behind all of McCain's ideas, but he's the only one with a chance against Obama.

My decision against Obama was final once I learned his stance on abortion. In Michael Gerson's article at the Washington Post, Michael writes,

Obama's record on abortion is extreme. He opposed the ban on partial-birth abortion -- a practice a fellow Democrat, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once called "too close to infanticide." Obama strongly criticized the Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth ban. In the Illinois state Senate, he opposed a bill similar to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which prevents the killing of infants mistakenly left alive by abortion. And now Obama has oddly claimed that he would not want his daughters to be "punished with a baby" because of a crisis pregnancy -- hardly a welcoming attitude toward new life.

Many, but not all of you, may know that Miss G is adopted. Her birth mother is my hero. I thank God every day that she did not think of Miss G as punishment and decide to abort her. Babies are not punishments. They are gifts from God. When I think of all the gloriousness that is Miss G, I can't imagine that she might not have existed if her birth mother had chosen abortion. Miss G's exuberance, energy, vitality and joy could have been snuffed out in a few seconds. Every hour and every minute the world looses out on these children....these precious gifts from God. They are God's creations and we are killing them.

For additional information and a video that will stay with you the rest of your life go here.

Please vote. Lives depend upon it.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Our children's group from church went to a fantastic pumpkin patch today. There was so much for the children to do that we didn't know where to start.

Here's some of the motley crew.

There was a giant slide that the kids and some of the parents went down.




There was a play fort area with kid-size buildings and fun games.

They had a petting zoo area where the kids could feed the animals.

The kids and adults played for hours and had the best time.

We rode a hay ride and a barrel train.













There was also a pumpkin launcher where some of the kids played when it was not being monopolized by the Dads. I think the men had more fun with it than the kids.




The kids had their faces painted and decorated a pumpkin.




Although a few kids couldn't make it at the last minute, we had a great turn out and fun was had by all.

A special thanks to our sponsor who made it all possible.

Fish Tails

Don't you sometimes wonder what animals are thinking?

These three were eye-ballin' this cute, little innocent gull. Of course, we know that it's innocent because it's cute and little.

They were actually jockeying for position to catch the fish remains after the guides had filleted the fish.

It looks like the little one can hold his own.




And now he's had his say.

All this posturing was because my dad and my husband had limited out on almost every fish you can catch in the gulf and there were tons of fish tails to fight over.

I also caught three big redfish of my own...22", 24" and 26". They put up quite the fight and were really fun to catch. They are now in my freezer and heading for my frying pan.






The sunsets were amazing over the water.




It was a wonderful holiday.

Sea Joy

Sea Joy

When I go down by the sandy shore
I can think of nothing I want more
Than to live by the booming blue sea
As the seagulls flutter round about me

I can run about - when the tide is out
With the wind and the sand and the sea all about
And the seagulls are swirling and diving for fish
Oh - to live by the sea is my only wish.


Jacqueline Bouvier

We went to the sea this past weekend.



It was glorious.



The sun and the wind and the bright blue sky warmed us from inside-out. Miss G couldn't resist and jumped in clothes and all.



We loved hearing the peaceful sounds of the water breaking on the beach, the call of the seagulls and the wind pushing past the palm trees .



Those feelings, smells and sounds were so foreign to us.




What a joy it was to awaken those remembrances once again.

Faith vs. Belief

be·lieve - [bi-leev]
–verb (used without object)
1. to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.

–verb (used with object)
2. to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.
3. to have confidence in the assertions of (a person).
4. to have a conviction that (a person or thing) is, has been, or will be engaged in a given action or involved in a given situation: The fugitive is believed to be headed for the Mexican border.
5. to suppose or assume; understand (usually fol. by a noun clause):

faith –noun
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8. Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.

We have been studying/debating faith vs. belief in our adult Bible classes. Some believe that they are the same thing. Our minister believes they are the same especially as used in the old testament. In Greek, both believe and faith can be translated as:

Pisteuo- (pist-yoo'-o) - Verb

1. to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in
- of the thing believed
- to credit, have confidence

- in a moral or religious reference
- used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
- to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith - mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith

2. to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity
- to be entrusted with a thing

Many in our class disagree and believe that faith and belief as used in modern-day language are different. They extend faith's definition to beyond its' classification as a noun and moved it into verb status. They believe that faith implies a relationship with God which requires action on our part. Many people believe in God but still do not have a relationship with Him.

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

It's the "I never knew you" part that is troubling to me. Sometimes I catch myself going through the Christian motions. I go to church. I go to church events. I participate in communion but am I really 'knowing' God? Am I spending time in His word? Am I spending time with Him in prayer? Am I listening for Him? Am I obeying Him? Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes no.

I think we all have spiritual peaks and valleys. Our spirituality is in a constant state of flux. I think we are either moving toward God or away from Him. Hopefully, we are moving closer to Him the majority of the time. It's part of our walk to struggle and have hardship. It makes us rely on Him. Whether we think that faith and belief are the same thing or not, it pretty much boils down to this...

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6