Chicken Enchiladas

I've been asked by Maw's best friend to share this recipe....which I originally got from Mari.

8-6" flour tortillas
1/2 c. onion
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. margarine
3 Tbs. flour
1-8oz. sour cream
2 c. chicken broth
chopped green pepper
1 c. shredded monterey Jack Cheese
2 c. chicken, chopped
chopped tomatoes
chopped green onions

Sauce:
in sauce pan, cook onions & peppers in margarine until tender. Stir flour into sour cream, add to onion mixture. Stir in broth. Cook & stir til thickened & bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 c cheese.

Filling:
Stir 1/2 c. of sauce into chicken. Place 1/4 c. filling atop each tortilla, roll up. Place seam side down in lightly greased baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Bake covered for 35 mins. or til heated through. Sprinkle on remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 5 mins. more til cheese is melted. Sprinkle with tomatoes & green onions. Let stand 10 mins. before serving. Serve with a side dish of rice!

Summer Scrapfest

Just thought I'd share some of my latest projects done for Summer Scrapfest. A card done for the sketch challenge
Baby Sanji.....done for a quote challenge....'an animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.' --Martin Buber

Pics from Sarah & Florence's BD party at Sarah's house.

Another sketch challenge....Alli holding Sanji.

Quote of the Day!

'The latest you should ever be is fifteen minutes early!' --Hope Lee

Bruce & Lauren's Shower

We had a great time Sunday afternoon as we celebrated Bruce & Lauren's upcoming wedding. Yummy cake made by Aunt Linda.

Anna, Alli & Ashley enjoying their refreshments.

Sarah sporting her new pink poodle purse! Ha!

Bruce's new 'Hoopty Van'......what a deal he got!

Mike with his new camera......every time I turned around he was taking a picture!

Bruce & The Piney Mountain Boys! They were awesome!! Aunt Linda & Maw

Mike strikes AGAIN with the camera! ;-P

Looks like Cal was all tuckered out. He had had enough partying for one day!!

And last, but not least......this gorgeous rainbow out in our back yard Monday evening. This picture just doesn't do it justice.

Sweet as Sugar & Cute as Candy

Our Weekly Design Team Dare at ASF this week comes from Wanda................

Here's my dare to you. Make a project that is sweet as sugar & cute as candy. I bought this candy simply because the colors are awesome. I don't even eat it. And check out how Kim's ribbons match my candy! Make a project using this picture as your inspiration:
Come check out this, plus all our other cool challenges at the ASF Blog: http://ascrappinfriendsy.com/dtdares/

Another Survey

I stole this from Kaye....

What is in the back of your car? My old 'Clue' game that the kids got from Maw's house, the tarp that covers our pool & a Frito Lay blanket.

What color is your toothbrush? Pink

What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Sipping my coffee & checking emails

What Were you doing 45 minutes ago? FINALLY getting my turn on the 'puter.....Clay has been on here ALL evening trying to wrap up the financial stuff for Chris & Liberty.

What is your favorite candy bar? Hershey's (just the plain kind, no nuts) Yep....that sounds good to me!

Have you ever been to a strip club? Goodness NO!

What was the last thing you said aloud? "What is he watching in there?" Asking Ashley what Jon's watching in the living room......'How it's Made' was on, but he's reading.

What is the best ice cream flavor? Mint Chocolate Chip

What was the last thing you had to drink? Grape Gatorade

What are you wearing right now? Navy floral print PJ pants from Old Navy & a blue T from ON too.

What was the last thing you ate? A bowl of Butter Pecan ice cream (Bryers)

Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Does that pair of flip-flops count that I bought today?

What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Movie theater popcorn with butter

Ever go camping? WAY back when, when I was really little. I did NOT enjoy it at all. Maybe Kaye will take me with her when I come to NY......I'm sure I'd enjoy it more then!

Do you take vitamins daily? Yes....multi vitamin, calcium & Black Kohosh

Do you go to church every Sunday? yes, unless someone is sick

Do you have a tan? Yeah, I've got a pretty good tan!

Do you like Chinese food over Pizza? No way. I love pizza! I could eat it every day. I like Chinese food about once a month.

Do you drink your soda with a straw? Nope, I prefer it REALLY cold straight from the can.

Are you someone's best friend? I THINK I'm Ella's best friend?!?

What are you doing tomorrow? Doing some laundry, scrapping & otherwise enjoying a lazy Saturday.

Where is your dad? In Heaven.

What color is your watch? Gold Pooh Bear watch with a brown leather band.

Do you use Chapstick? Does Carmex count?

Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? I HAVE to go in if I'm in the van.....the motor for the driver's side window is broken.

What is your favorite number? 7

Do you have a dog? Yep 4....Cowboy, Spud, Frank & Ellie

Last person you talked to on the phone? Clay....he kept calling me today telling me just ONE more thing I needed to get when I was at Walmart.

Any plans today? TECHNICALLY it's 12:24 am....so, its' already Saturday.....I'm getting ready to hit the sack as soon as Chris gets home from work!

How many states have you lived in? Just two.....VA & NC

Do you dye your hair? No way!

Biggest annoyance in your life right now? Getting all this lastminute college stuff done for Chris.

Last song listened to? 'It is You' --Newsboys

Can you say the alphabet backwards? I guess I could, but why would I want to?? I really have better things to do with my time.

Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? Old Navy flip-flops

Are you jealous of anyone? Naaahh!

Is anyone jealous of you? I doubt it.

Do you love anyone? Of course! I love lots of people.

Do any of your friends have children? Most of my friends have children.

What do you usually do during the day? Clean, do dishes, laundry, scrap, read, check out my scrappin' sites.......

Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Nope

Do you use the word 'hello' daily? No.

What color is your car? Silvery/gray Nissan Quest

Do you like cats? Of course......Cats Rule!

Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yep!

How did you get your worst scar? The worst scar I've got I guess is from having my tubes tied. TMI, I know, I know. ;-P You asked!!

Yesterday

Just a few pic from yesterday's party at Sarah's house. The kids had a blast playing in her 'Willy Water Bug' that was hers when she was a little girl! The 'big' kids even managed to get just a 'TAD' wet too playing with the water guns. HA! Dillon & Evan were SOAKED before it was all over with! They had to sit & dry in the sun.Anna, Alli & Cori

Daniel & Jesse

Catherine & Ashley staying AWAY from the water & enjoying some peace & quiet on the back deck.

What's in YOUR purse??

Y'all come check out the blog at ASF....each week one of us Design Team members posts a cool challenge to get everyone scrapping. This week it was my turn. I dared everyone to do a layout about their purse & what's in it. You can check it out here...http://ascrappinfriendsy.com/dtdares/Here's a picture of my purse....or as Clay says, 'That's a BAG, not a purse'. MEN! Who cares what it's called as long as it's cute. I love my little Giraffe bag that I got from Target! Just perfect to toss everything in & go.

And here's what was IN my purse this morning. Let's see.....wallet*notebook*makeup pouch*Keys on clippie ring*mini photo album*GermX*hand lotion*Carmex*pink pen* hair brush*Date book*several candy sticks from Cracker Barrel*a little Barbie top that Alli poked in there yesterday at Sarah's house* tags from Chris' work pants that I was just keeping along with the receipt til I was sure they fit ok (& then I decided to keep the afore-mentioned for a LO)*my cell phone

And here's one of my favorite items from my purse...my little cell phone case that I crocheted. I totally love how it turned out.

Anyway, now that I showed you guys what's in my purse......y'all dump out your purses & make a list & post back here & tell me what's in YOUR purse.....and if you're a scrapper, please join us at ASF & share your LO with us there!!

Thoughts for the Day....

The girls & I are heading out shortly for a BD celebration at Sarah's......celebrating Sarah's BD & florence's big '4-0'!! While we're partying, Clay & Chris will be doing college stuff. They've got to get his transcripts from CVCC & take them over to LU & meet with a financial advisor there. Was just praying this morning that the Lord would go before them today & we can get all the little details settled for this fall........and this is what I read in my Daily Light.......


*Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness,...make your way straight before my face. * Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him & He shall bring it to pass. * In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. * Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.*

Love it when He speaks to us like that! Hope everyone has a great day!!

Happy Monday!

Ashley brought this down to show me last night & we decided it should be shared on the blog. This photo of Ashley & Kristi was taken at McDonald's about 7 years ago......Ashley was 7. Do you remember this, Kristi? It still sits on her dresser in a purple pastic frame decorated with Pink puffy glitter paint that says 'My Friend'.....a gift to Ashley from Kristi. ;-)Ahhh....FAMILY.....what sweet memories!

'Camp Rock'

Ashley took this pic last night while she & Alli were watching 'Camp Rock'. Michael was all stuffy yesterday & then around midnight last night he started coughing. I got up several times during the night to give him meds & get him water, etc. Then Alli woke up this morning saying her throat was really sore. Needless to say, they both kind of took it easy today...laying around watching cartoons, etc. I think we may be staying in tomorrow too.
This is what Ashley & I did this morning. Well, she did MOST of the work......she, Alli & Clay picked these the other night & then she pitted most all of them & I wahsed & bagged them. We put up 10 qts. today & I already had 8 qts in the freezer from the first picking. So, I've got 18 qts of cherries put up! Yay me!!

Fabulous Friday

Our last Friday of getting up at 6am....WooHoo! Chris is done with training now & will have a break until Thursday when he starts 2nd shift. The girls came with me today to do a little shopping. We met Maw & had a nice lunch at Cracker Barrel. Hadn't been there in forever & Ashley had really been wanting to go. We shared the fried chicken salad & it really hit the spot. After lunch we hit Michael's, AC Moore, Old Navy & Target. At ON I got Alli a really cute little skort for $2.99 & Ashley got a cute pair of leather sandals for $9....marked down from $20. Love finding deals like that! At Michael's I picked up some eyelets...needed them for a challenge & Ashley got some little notecards from the dollar bins...2/$1. And at Target of course we had to hunt down that special edition 'Camp Rock' cd that they had on sale this week! After all our FUN shopping we hit Sam's & then Walmart for gorceries. Finally got home about 6pm. Clay & the boys were in the pool playing water basketball & played out there til a little after 8pm. We unloaded groceries & put everything away. Fixed frozen pizzas for supper & then headed to the living room watch the premier of Disney's 'Camp Rock'. It really was a cute movie & of course the Jonas Bros. made it SO worth watching. ;-) The little ones are settled down now & Clay & Jon are upstairs reading Harry potter. Chris is RELAXING watching 'A Clear & Present Danger' without worrying about staying up too late. ;-) I'm headed up to read my new Scrapbooks, Etc. that I picked up today.

101 Year Old Pastry

Gonna make you read through my happenings of the day before you get to the recipe. (insert evil devil smiley here) Nothing exciting going on or anything.....actually quite the opposite. I have been SO TIRED & dragging today! Don't know what my problem is. I've gone to bed at 10:30pm the past two nights...but anyway. Chris is STILL training this whole week now & won't start 2nd til NEXT Thurs. So that means TWO more EARLY mornings for us around here, but we WILL get through it. Like my friend Missi told me.....it's not in MY strength, but God's. Phil. 4:13 says, 'I can do all things through christ who STRENGTHENS me!' Just praying for strength for the next two days.....especially for Chris. I KNOW he's tired out & sore & learning a new job.....it's all tough, but he'll be stronger for it in the end.

Like I said....no energy today....just totally lazy feeling. I did fold about 4 baskets of clothes this morning & got them all put away. Washed the sheets off three beds & did another washer load of laundry. Supper was simple........Manwiches,corn, slaw & french fries. In the in between times I sat out under the dogwood tree & read while Michael & Alli played in the pool for about an hour & a half this afternoon. Clay & the kids worked out in the garden alot this afternoon & evening. Jon has mastered the art of tilling & he loves it. That Jon is a real go-getter! Michael & Alli toted water & helped fertilize too.

So, now what you've been waiting for.........
Mema's Pastry Recipe

2 1/2 c. plain flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1 egg
1 Tbs. vinegar
cold water

Blend shortening into flour & salt. Beat egg in one cup measure. Add vinegar to egg & fill remainder of cup with cold water. (I add an ice cube to keep egg mix cold) Add 4-5 Tbs. liquid to 1/2 pastry mix. Handle dough as little as possible. Mix liquid in with fork. Roll pastry out on floured surface.

Fun Survey

Fun Survey
I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments. What do you buy?
1. Produce: apples
2. Bakery: Blueberry Bagels
3. Meat: Steak
4. Frozen: Ice Cream
5. Dry goods: Pepper Jack Doritos

Let's say we are heading out for a warm weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?
1. Capris
2. T-shirt
3. Underwear

If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 4 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. Quit bickering/aggivating your brother/sister!!
2. Wash your hands!
3. It's time to eat!
4. Take out the trash!

So, what 4 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?
1. Shower
2. Brush my teeth
3. computer time
4. sleep

You're driving down the road, and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?
1. Slow drivers
2. People who don't use their turn signals
3. Children fighting in the back of the van!!!!

Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Reading
2. crocheting
3. Surfing the web
4. Scrapbooking
5. Watching a movie

We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it will have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. Monkeys
2. Lions
3. Elephants

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
1. American Idol
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
1. Mint Chocolate Chip
2. coffee
3. Buttered Almond

Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?
1. black wallet
2. cell phone in little crocehted case
3. camera
4. Driver's license
5. Keys on blue clippie ring

You are at a job fair, and asked in what areas you are interested in pursuing a career. Lets pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?
1. Photographer
2. crafter(scrapbooking/card-making/crocheting/knitting)
3. ?
4. ?

Barbie Wedding

Danielle & her kids came for the day yesterday. One of those things that we had been talking about & planning on doing ever since school was done & things just kept getting in the way. Well, we finally just MADE it happen yesterday. Always so glad when we do & wonder WHY in the world we wait for months on end in between visits. :-PThe big event of the day was the Barbie wedding which had been in the works for ages! Ray & Sharpay FINALLY tied the knot yesterday at a lovely ceremony upstairs in my bedroom! Then they rode off on horse back to honeymoon in France! Oh the joys of little girls. ;-)
Jon is Jesse's buddy....he absolutely LOVES hangin' with him & doing Boy Stuff together. Here they were rubbing stones on a brick trying to make their own arrow heads! Totally absorbed in the moment. Later on they played Hide & seek together.....Jesse kept telling Jon to hide his eyes & count to 80!

'My Chains are Gone'

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood
His mercy reigns
Unending love,
Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood
His mercy reigns
Unending love,
Amazing grace

--Chris Tomlin

Belated Father's Day

'...and the glory of children are their fathers.' --Proverbs 17:6Hope everyone had a nice day yesterday celebrating all the dads in their lives! We had a nice quiet day here....a little pool time in the afternoon & then baked ziti for supper along with a salad & French bread. I baked Clay a fresh cherry pie for dessert....from all those cherries we had picked. It turned out REALLY yummy!

So Glad....

That today was Saturday & nobody HAD to get up at a certain time or go anywhere. I slept in....if you can call 7:20am sleeping in....it IS for me! Jon & Chris slept til nearly noon & none of us went anywhere today. I did the minimal amount of chores...straightened up upstairs & did two loads of laundry. Then I scrapped after lunch. I got these two LOs done & have another 2-pager on my table that's ALMOST finished. Will do that here in a bit before I head to bed & will scan/upload tomorrow.
I'm TRYING so hard to finish up last year's ball pictures. That's what Summer Scrapfest is all about anyway. Getting your pictures done & into albums. I'm just about finished with Jon's pics & then I'll do Michael's. May have to break things up a bit though & work on something else & then come back to ball pics. I'm getting really tired of baseball & using the same ole colors & embellies. BUT....I'm plugging along & getting quite a few done, so I'm pleased.

Bowzer

The kids were riding their bikes over at the creek last night when Clay went to get the last tank full of water for the pool & they found this guy.
Look at those spikes on the back end of his shell & on his tail. I said he looks just like Bowzer!

Pool Update

Our first tank full of water arrives!
Mason, Clay, Michael & Jon

How many more trips to the creek will it take???