Today......

I remember.

The BIG Day!!

I have a sixteen year old daughter.  Oh my goodness.   Early morning before school she wanted to open her gifts.  Then she had to pose for a picture with her most favorite kitty.

 Go team!!

 After school, she went to the drivers license branch to get that little card she has been working so hard towards.  She was smiling and relaxed because she had already taken her written and driving tests and had passed.  All she had to do was smile for the camera.

 Say cheese honey!!

 Thumbs up daughter-oh-mine.  You did it!!  And we are soooo proud of you honey!!

 For supper, she took one of her dear friends out to eat with us.  She picked macaroni and cheese to eat.

 After they went to the football game, they came home for birthday cake.  She likes ice-cream cakes from Culver's.  If you have not tried one...you should.  They are really good.  And of course, she had the birthday song sang to her really loud and off key.  It was 10:20 at night and we were having birthday cake!  That is the latest I believe we have ever had cake in this house.  But it was fun!  Maybe we should start a new tradition.

Today she drove off for the first time alone.  She just wanted to go some place alone.  I can't say I blame her.  She earned this privilege.  She went off down the street alone in the car and I was scared to death!  But, I have to remember that she is God's daughter first.  I just have her on loan.  He has her tucked under His wing of protection.  I am just going to be praying a whole lot more than I have ever been now.  Oh my....a new stage of mothering.  Gulp.  Here we gooooo.......vrooooommmmmmmm.

Early Sweet 16

 My sister and nephew were up to no good these past couple of weeks.  They planned an early surprise sweet 16 party for my dear daughter and her old friends from back home in Illinois.

 Here are the party girls.  Aren't they all beautiful!

 Little sister and big sister.

 The nephew who was part of the party plans.

We had hot dogs and smores over a fire pit.  The weather was sooo hot!  It was 98 degrees.  And then the cold front came in.  The wind blew up and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and then the rain came.  But, that was just fine.  We all decided that a little rain was not going to spoil our fun.   And, it didn't.

His Royal Highness

I moved my most favorite chair into my sewing room so I could sit in it more often.  It had been upstairs in my room and I hardly ever sat in it.  Seems someone else in my house thinks it is pretty comfy as well.
Humph.

Yummy Strawberry Bars

Strawberry Bars

1 box strawberry cake mix

1/3 cup softened butter

4 eggs

1 8oz package cream cheese softened

1 16 oz box of powdered sugar

3/4 cup diced strawberries

Add together cake mix, 1 of the eggs and 1/3 cup of softened butter.  Mix until well blended.  Place mixture into 9 x13 greased cake pan.  Pat down in bottom of pan to form crust and set aside.

Cream together package of softened cream cheese and remaining 3 eggs.  After this is well combined, slowly add your box of powdered sugar until mixed together well.  Gently fold in diced strawberries.  

Pour this mixture over your crust in the 9 x 13 pan.  Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of cake is set.

When cooled, I cut it into squares.  You can also make it prettier by dusting with additional powdered sugar or little slices of strawberries on the top.  

Side note.....you really really should make these.   :)

Sewing Again

 It has been awhile since I have played in my sewing room and I have missed it.  I have to remember that I am the type of person who has to have fun doing what my heart loves once in awhile.  When I put "me time" on the back burner for to long   ....well....  it bothers me.  So today, I broke out some fabric and began to make something.

 While attaching the binding, my middle finger was getting so sore.  I remembered the sewing kit my mother gave me that had been my grandma's when she was alive.  I quickly pulled it out of the cabinet and slipped it onto my finger.  This September, my grandma has been gone from us for a whole year.  It does not seem possible.  While sewing on the binding, memories of my sweet and precious Grandma began to wash over me.  I remember her hands and imagined her with this very same thimble on her finger working away at one of her many projects.  Goodness I miss her.

I had a couple little strips left of fabric from my project so I put together a little ruffled kitchen towel for the oven door.  It is amazing what some fabric and thread can do to lift ones spirit.

A New School

 My daughter is getting to attend a brand new high school this year.  We had the open house last night at the new school.  There was a huge turn out.  We had colorful balloons in school colors, of course, that we released.  The principal asked each of us to write on a piece of paper a hope or prayer (yes he used the word prayer....isn't that AWESOME!!!) that we had for the children of the new school.  He asked us to attach those little slips of paper onto the strings of the balloons.

 And then he asked us to release them into the sky.  I imagined all those prayers being lifted to Heaven for all of our children who will be attending this school year and in the years to come.

 It is certainly a state of the art new building.

 Their mascot is the Mustang.  Inside the school was this bronze statue.  It is REALLY big.  Talk about some school spirit here!  :)

 The new gym floors were sooo shiny.  You could almost see yourself in them!  And the smell of wood when you walked into the gym was delightful.

 Hope my daughter never spends any time in this room.  :)

 The school is three stories high.  This is the entry way of the school looking down.  Quite impressive.

 I loved this idea.  If a student gets into trouble, they are to push the red button for help.

And, where are the chalk boards these days?  Now they have projection screens that are all connected to computers.  Technology.  Remember when we had chalk boards and those really long erasers the teacher used?  I loved it when I was asked, as a student, to go outside and beat those erasers on the ground to get the chalk dust out of them.  An excuse to leave class and go outside.  :)

I don't think my daughter understands what a privilage it is to be able to attend such a wonderful new school.  My prayer on the balloon, that was lifted to Heaven, was that respect would find its way back into our schools for the teachers and staff and one another.  That God would be asked back into our schools.  It is true that all the new technology and shiny floors and bells and whistles that the new school brings are awesome and amazing.  But, I wonder..... wouldn't it be so much more amazing and awesome if Our God were asked to attend this year as well?