The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...August 31, 2011. It's hard to believe this is the last day of August!

Outside my window...it is a beautiful day! Blue skies and about 80°.

I am thinking...about how fast summer has went by! Our new school year starts Tuesday. I will not miss the heat, but I will miss summer vacation!

I am hearing...Katie and Lee talking.

I am hoping and praying...that we will have no more hurricanes hit us this year.

I am thankful...that we were kept safe during hurricane Irene, and that we have our electricity and phone again. It's easy to take the basics for granted!

I am reading...mostly just the Bible right now.

From the kitchen...creamy chicken and rice for supper. I think I'll cook some sugar snap peas to go with it.

I am looking forward to...church tomorrow. We had to cancel Sunday's service because of the storm. It always feels weird to miss a church service.

Around the house...mostly catching up on laundry! The next few days are supposed to be nice and dry, so I think I can get some clothes washed and hung.

A Scripture thought...I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. ~Psalm 18:1-2

A couple of pictures to share...Irene's aftermath in our neighborhood.

This is a house further down our street.

A tree fell and scraped the front of it.

I hope they don't have too much damage.

A tree down at our church, blocking one of the entrances.

The church is only about a mile from our house.

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope the rest of your week is great. :)

Take care,

~Melanie

Goodbye, Irene!!

Hi, everyone! Irene is finally gone and we are all OK, thank the Lord!

We lost our power Saturday afternoon about 3:30, our phone that night, and both came back on about 11:15 this morning. We have a generator, so we were able to save what was in the refrigerator. There was a lot of wind and rain, but thankfully, we didn't have any damage to our home. The worst of the storm came through Saturday night. Needless to say, I was doing lots of praying!

We're taking Katie to the eye doctor this afternoon, so we're looking forward to getting out for a little while.

I hope to catch up on e-mails and blogs soon. Thank you all so much for your prayers. We're sorry to hear about all those who lost their lives, and will be keeping those families in our prayers.

Hope you have a great week.

Take care,

~Melanie

Irene

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well. I would like to ask that you please keep all of us on the east coast in your prayers the next couple of days. Where I am, we're under a tropical storm warning. The wind and rain have started coming in. We've bought supplies and made preparations as best we can, so now we wait and pray for safety. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Vacation, Catching Up, and a Recipe

Hi, everyone. I hope you're all doing well.

We were visiting with our families last week. We had a wonderful relaxing time, just what I needed before the busy school year starts again.

We're back home now playing catch-up. You know how it is...catching up on the mail, laundry, bills, e-mail, and whatever else needs attention. I hope to be catching up with your blogs soon too! I've missed seeing what you've been doing.



Here's a recipe for you. I'm sure many of you already know about this wonderful dessert, but for those of you who may not, this is a delicious, very easily made dessert, one of my favorites! Mom always makes it for us in the summertime when we visit. :)

Chocolate Eclair Cake



Ingredients:
box of graham crackers
2 packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups cold milk
1 8oz. tub whipped topping
1 container of chocolate frosting

Directions:
Mix together pudding and milk, then add the whipped topping. Line a 9x13 rectangle pan with graham crackers. Cover with half of the pudding mixture. Layer again with graham crackers, then the other half of pudding mixture. Layer with graham crackers, then frost. Refrigerate several hours before serving to allow the graham crackers to soften. Keep refrigerated.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...August 2, 2011.

Outside my window...the sun is shining and it's about 85°. We had some severe thunderstorms last night, and it's supposed to rain again tomorrow, so I'm getting some laundry hung out today!

I am thinking...that it's hard to believe August is already here! We only have one month of summer vacation left. Thankfully, most of the preparation for the upcoming school year has been done. :)

I am hearing...the washing machine and the air conditioner. The a/c has really worked these last couple of weeks since it's been so hot and humid outside. By now you've probably figured out that summer is my least favorite season! I don't hate summer, I just like the other three seasons so much better. :)

I am remembering...our VBS last week. It was for six nights and we had so many children come out. We had to buy more supplies because we ran out. We averaged about 70 kids each night. We even have a new family that came to church Sunday because of VBS and said they would like to start coming to our church. That alone makes all the hard work worth it! :)

I am hoping...Katie is having a fun time this week. She's spending a few days with Mom and Dad, then she'll spend a few days with Lee's family at the end of the week. My house is quiet...too quiet.

I am thankful...that we have the freedom to gather together and worship God and pray and read our Bibles without fear of being arrested. I pray it will always be that way in America, and that I will not take this freedom for granted!

From the kitchen...I don't have anything planned right now. Lee and I have a meeting with a new student this afternoon, then we're planning to go to the Chinese restaurant for their lunch special. That is usually enough to keep us going for the rest of the day.

I just finished reading...the three-book Home To Blessing series by Lauraine Snelling. She has some previous series with this same family and I have read them for years. They are wonderful.

A picture to share...

My sweet Katie holding a chinchilla during VBS. They are so soft and shed like crazy! She and I held them and carried them around the church so the children could pet them. It was so fun. :)

Please visit Peggy to read more daybooks.

Hope you're having a great week.

Take care,

~Melanie