Mom, Dada, Nic Poop Blue Apples.

I know what your thinking. WHAT is she talking about? The dog and the boys have finally driven her over the edge.

Nope, I'm perfectly sane.

Well almost.

You see, it's not me talking, it's the baby.

If you were to take all the words he says on a daily basis and put them in a sentence, that is what you would get. Oh, but he also says "Hi" and Bye-Bye" so I guess it would really be more like this:

"Hi! Mom, Dada, Nic poop blue apples. Bye-bye!"

You know, like when you exchange pleasantries with someone you bump into while at the grocery store. Instead of saying, "Hi, how are you? How's the family? Take care!" Caleb will tell you that his family poops blue apples.

Well, he doesn't usually say them all together, but throughout the course of the day, you will hear each of those words at least a couple of times, especially when you change his diaper. He squeals, "Poop!" and then laughs. He is his father's son.

And that, my friends is what I am thankful for this Thursday. Although, I just realized that today is Friday and I missed my Thankful Thursday post. All this talk about poop has clouded my brain. Regardless, I am thankful for my baby's budding vocabulary.

Forgiveness

The dictionary defines the word forgive as "To excuse for a fault or an offense; pardon."

Wow....to pardon. Have you ever thought about that? We know that the President can pardon people. We know that Governor's can. Of course, we all know that God can (at least I hope we all know, if you don't read on). But, have you ever stopped to think about your ability to pardon?

I've learned that it's easy to say that you forgive someone, but to mean it, TRULY mean it in your heart, is HARD! You know what else I've learned? Most of the time, It takes time.

God is certainly willing to forgive us, all we have to do is ask, to say we are sorry and mean it. When we do that, we are forgiven. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. It doesn't say, "...and in time, God will forgive you." He forgives you right then and there.

But, I can't seem to do that. Why? Because I am human, I am not perfect. I think most everyone struggles with this. Think about it, who is the last person that said, "I'm sorry" to you? Did you forgive them and move on? Or, did you mull and stew over the offense? Did you still feel some resentment or a bit of anger the next time you saw them? Then guess what? You didn't forgive them.

You know what it takes to truly forgive? God. I've learned that true forgiveness sometimes requires time and most importantly, always requires God. To forgive someone and forget the offense, to not be resentful, to not feel hurt or anger afterwards is something we, as humans, can not do without God.

Something else to remember: Just as you may be the offended and in need of forgiving someone. You too, are someone who has hurt someone else. It is not possible to live your life without hurting someone at some point in time. If you are aware of a hurt you have caused someone, intentional or not, it is important that you ask that person to forgive you. Be sincere in your apology, don't just send a text or email, actually speak to the person and own up. It is so much easier to forgive someone when they say they are sorry. But, even when they don't, it's still up to us, as Christians, to pray and forgive so that we can be released of that pain and move on.

This Thankful Thursday, I am so very thankful for forgiveness, especially the forgiveness I have received.

What Halloween Means to Me

I understand that Halloween is a lot of different things for a lot of different people. For me and my family, there are no ghosts, goblins or anything scary. For us, it is a time to reflect on the previous year and/or a day of fun pretend. A day that you can be whatever you want to be when you grow up.

Each year Halloween commemorates something from the previous year. For example, when my son was 3, he loved Ratatouille, so I made a Ratatouille costume using a chef's costume, mouse ears and my eyeliner for his nose and whiskers. Whenever I see his Halloween pictures I remember him watching the movie over and over and then reenacting it during playtime.

When he was 4, he wanted to be an astronaut. He had his biggest birthday party ever and the theme was outer space/NASA. When I see the Halloween pictures of him dressed in his flight suit, I remember how excited he got whenever we talked or read books about outer space and his joy at his 4th birthday party.

This year, he went on his first helicopter ride and he also loved the

movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." At first he said he wanted to be Flint Lockwood, the scientist from the movie. But, I know that he changes his mind a lot. He's 5, that's what 5 year old's do. So, my strategy is to start asking what he wants to be about a month before Halloween. I ask once a week what he wants to be and if he says the same thing three times, that's what we go with. Week 1, he wanted Flint Lockwood. Weeks 2, 3 and 4 it was a helicopter, so a helicopter he was. I have to say, this is the first year we have made a costume completely from scratch. Using only materials found around the house, we made it at no cost. Not only was the costume original, it was economical! It also created memories. All of our family working together on this costume was so fun. Of course, hubby did most of the work. He's a carpenter, so that sort of thing is second nature to him. But we all did it together and making that memory helped make this Halloween so very special.

We also have a baby in our family this year. The baby is too young to really give us any feedback, so he went as a pilot for Nic's helicopter. I love costumes that aren't typical. I thought about making him a fluffy lion or mouse or something like that. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing cuter than a little baby in a fluffy costume, I love it! But, for us, we like to do things a little different and have unique costumes. There were no other baby pilots or helicopters walking or flying the streets on Halloween night, so mission accomplished!

The one thing I have learned is that I really do prefer the costumes that are home made or at least semi-homemade. Not something you just buy. Make a memory with your child, be creative with them and next year, Halloween will be even more special.....and you'll save money to boot!

My Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe

Love chicken corn chowder? I have an easy recipe to make a large stockpot full of the stuff! This will feed at least 10-12 people. I only have 4 in my family, but like to cook large quantities to feed us over several days and to make sure I have enough to share with others.

Oh, and these are estimates, I don't really measure when I cook:

INGREDIENTS

1.75 to 2 lbs. of cubed boneless chicken breasts (to make the recipe REALLY easy, use the Tyson's frozen, diced chicken breasts, saves lots of time!)

1 large diced onion

5 cans of extra sweet niblets corn

2 cans of creamed corn

2 1/2 cans of evaporated milk (12 oz. size)

12 large potatoes peeled and cubed (to make this recipe REALLY easy, just buy about 5 cans of the diced/cubed potatoes)

5-6 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 cup of butter

Seasonings: salt, pepper, Season All, garlic, basil (add as much as you like, depending on what seasonings you prefer)

DIRECTIONS

In a large stockpot, melt the butter and add the chicken and onion. Cook until the chicken is ready.

Add potatoes and water. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add evaporated milk, then add creamed corn and finally corn. Add as much of the water from the corn as you need. I used 3 cans of corn with water, but drained the last two cans and added only the corn. You will have to judge based on how full your pot is and how much liquid you like in your soup. Bring to a boil.

Remove pot from the burner and in a separate container stir cornstarch with a small amount of COLD water. Add the cornstarch mixture and return the soup to the burner to boil. Add seasoning.

Then just let it simmer until you are ready to eat! YUMMY!

Fall off the Bone, Easy, Yummy Barbecue Rib Recipe

I made some ribs tonight that were so good, it would be selfish of me not to share! If you've read my blog before, you know that I don't really measure, but here is a guesstimate of the recipe:

2 to 2.5 lbs. of country style ribs
1-2 TBSP. pepper
2-3 TBSP. of dijon mustard
1 1/2 bottles of Jack Daniels Honey Smokehouse Barbecue sauce (or your favorite sauce, I recommend a sweet sauce for this recipe)
About 8 oz. of cherry preserves
1-2 TBSP. of garlic salt

First, rub the pepper on the ribs (Careful with the spices, since these are being cooked in a crockpot and seasonings are usually stronger when cooked in a crockpot).

Place the ribs in the bottom of the crockpot.

In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients (barbecue sauce, dijon mustard, cherry preserves and garlic salt).

Pour mixture over the ribs and cook on high for about 4 hours for 6-8 hours on low.

Super easy, super yummy!

Enjoy

Radford and Pulaski - an Oustiders Inside Perspective.

I’m a transplant. Well, at least I thought I was. What I have learned is that I’m actually an “outsider.” No, I don’t run with a pack of leather jacket wearing “greasers” and no, my husband doesn’t call me “Pony Boy,” but I am still an outsider. Why? Because I haven’t lived in the New River Valley long enough. What is considered long enough? My guesstimate is that you need to have been born here, or lived in this beautiful area for at least 25 years, minimum.

Almost five years ago I moved to the Town of Pulaski from Northern Virginia. I was looking for a quieter life style. I wanted a great place to raise a family, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I found that in Pulaski. I loved it there. The people were friendly, the cost of living was low and the pace was much slower than what I was use to. I was welcomed to a quaint little town that had a ton of potential and a group of people willing to work hard to help the town meet its potential. I loved the “can do” attitude. I loved the faith these people had in their town. I jumped right in.

Then, one day, about 6 months after moving to Pulaski, I went to a store in Radford. When I was asked where I was from, I proudly said, “Pulaski!” The woman proceeded to look me up and down, take a step backwards and say, “Oh.” This was my first taste of the negative stereotype. I didn’t understand. How could anyone not like Pulaski? Then, the woman asked, “But are you FROM there?” My reply, “No, I’m a transplant from Northern Virginia.” I could literally see her internal sigh of relief. “I didn’t think you were from there, I figured you were an outsider.” I was baffled. This woman gathered all she needed to know about me by where I was “from.” Her attitude went from disgust to cheerful in .0025 seconds flat after learning I was actually born in Northern Virginia and not Pulaski. In this case, being an outsider was a good thing.

I started to notice the same response everywhere I went outside of Pulaski. I started to find myself defending the “underdog.” I was on a one woman mission to turn around the stereotype, one person at a time. I started telling people, whether they asked or not, where I was from and why it was such a great place. I was a walking brochure for the town.

After a couple of years, I actually started to notice a change. Not because of me, there were lots of positive things going on in Pulaski and lots of positive people working towards the same goal. I like to think that in some small way, I helped. But, what I did notice along the way is that even though the people were friendly. Even though they welcomed me, I was still treated a little different. When speaking at a meeting and someone else, who had lived here their entire life began to speak, the lifelong resident would find more support. This wasn’t just with me. I noticed it with other outsiders, too. Regardless of who had the better idea, the better point, unless you’ve lived here long enough, it was hard for some to take you seriously. Now, not everyone was like this, but I did run into it time and again. As have many other outsiders, according to conversations I’ve had with them.

After living in Pulaski for a few years, I married and moved to Radford, where my husband already lived. I have now been in Radford for a year and a half, so I am still the same outsider, different town. I have a feeling that just about every small town has this phenomenon. In most cases, outsiders are welcomed, but with a bit of hesitation. Everyone in Radford has been very nice and hospitable. I have made many new friends and absolutely love living here. Radford has wonderful schools, friendly, hard working people and many beautiful parks. But, I can still tell that I’m an outsider.

The one thing I have found disheartening is that in some circles there seems to be an “us versus them” mentality between these two fabulous towns. In my experience, I have found that Radford and Pulaski have much more in common than they realize. As a Cougar turned Bobcat, I think both towns could really benefit each other if they work together. They have a lot of the same ideals, community pride and amazing, interesting people.

There is a bridge that extends over the New River between Radford and Pulaski County. This bridge is often looked at as the dividing point. I think it should be looked at as just that, a bridge, something that connects the two communities. It is just one of the many things they have in common and one of the many ways they should be connected.

The Internet - My Thankful Thursday Post

The internet. It can be aggravating. It can be disruptive. It can be distracting. But, what would we do without it? I use the internet to keep my long distance friends and relatives up to date on our family. I use the internet as a source of income, as it is a requirement for my company. I also use the internet to reach those I have never met.

While reviewing the stats on my blog, I noticed that thousands of people have read it. People from China, Russia, Germany, Israel, just to name a few. Because of the internet, people from all over the world have read my thoughts and hopefully, gained some encouragement, motivation and possibly, a few laughs. I hope at least one person has read my words and could relate. I hope it has helped someone feel like they weren't alone. I hope that one day, my children and grandchildren will read my words and feel comfort and love.

Most important, out of all this, I hope it helps others to turn to God. He is the reason I am so thankful. He is the reason I am so blessed.