FYI; They Can't Sign for it

Driving home this morning after taking the girls to school and I drive past the city cemetery.  Not typically anything I pay much attention to, but on this chilly morning i glanced over and oddly enough parked on the road is a Fed-Ex truck. I must admit to doing a double take and I wish I had thought to grab a picture on my phone. It of course begs to be asked....who exactly is he delivering too? So of course i had to come up with theories.

1. Someone seriously has the wrong address or is incredibly morbid about here they send packages too.

2. Fed-Ex employees take breaks in very random places. I don't usually think of a graveyard as a place to hang out, but i am not going to judge anyone else.

3. Some incredibly misguided soul send gifts to some one that is no longer with us.

4. Zombies are real and love Amazon.

Anyone else want to venture to guess

Decorate your Birthday Shoes

Regan asked if she could have a few friends over for her birthday so I asked her to talk to three of her friends at school and to get their shoe sizes.

White canvas Tennis shoes run about $5 at any cheap dollar store type place. I also have a ton of sharpies due to my scrapbooking obsession. Armed with shoes, sharpies, jewels and ideas; then give an hour of your time to decorate.

I divided each shoe into 5 quadrants and chose a theme. This time I decided to make fun shoes to wear to church events and when I work with the youth. I f you look closely you can read across the toes...Saved By Grace. I then removed the laces and just colored sections to match the colors I was using in the shoe. I did some tiger stripes, some polka dots, and scriptures across the heels.

Some of Regan's guests used school spirit scheme, favorite college team, and just a mash up of crazy patterns. we chatted and watched movies while snacking and decorating shoes. The girls thought it was fun and couldn't wait to wear them to school the following week. Another successful and frugal birthday party under our belts and everyone left with a great gift that was cute and useful.

War Zones as Vacation Spots

We have some very dear friends from church that are going on a mission trip. I have to admit I am a bit jealous which is not a Christian trait to have.

I have done several mission trips in my younger days and they are such a powerful events. Life changing even. Not only for those being served, but to bring God closer to you in your life by giving to others. It is something I feel called towards and don't mind a bit all the hard work and intensive labor involved. My Issue is that I can not figure our how to do a mission trip that is meaningful and impacting that I can involve Regan in.

Regan is the child that needs to see for herself how blessed she is in life. As far as disabled children in the world....she kind of won the lottery in all that we have done for her. Of course she doesn't usually see it. If she could see for herself the abandoned children in Mexico City, those who have been banned from reading the word of God, those who cry out in hunger, and those who suffer. My privileged child can't see past her own walker and her own immediate needs.

I am hoping with my friends Mark and Arthur heading to Afghanistan to share some soil and gardening techniques as well as the word of the Lord, that they will come home with stories that will help Regan to open her eyes to the greater world around her. So this evening I chatted with her about the upcoming mission trip and her first question was where were they going? When i replied Afghanistan she answered;
"That should be a nice vacation for the both of them,"
I couldn't help but laugh...I hope one day she can see for herself what an incredible thing that mission work really is.

Recipe: Pork with Apple and Bacon Compote

Apples and Bacon tend to be items I often have in the fridge so if you are looking for an easy and very tasty way to dress up pork, then this is the perfect sauce/compote. I have used this with pork tenderloin for company, pork chops, and even just the thinly sliced pre-packaged pork from the grocery store. it goes great with a side of rice and a salad.

For this recipe for all intents and purposes I will just say I am doing pork chops for a family of four

Ingredients;

Four thin cut pork chops
salt and pepper to season
2 medium apples peeled and diced ( I have used all varieties with success)
4 strips of bacon diced
1/2 white onion diced ( or one whole small one)
1 tbs butter
1/4 cup brown sugar


Season and brown the pork chops on the stove if you are grilling them that's perfect. this isn't a pork recipe but really just the topping is the star.

Cook bacon  until just  starting to be crispy but is still mostly chewy and drain the grease. Reserve the bacon to add back in. In a frying pan melt the butter and add the onions and apples cook til soft. Add the brown sugar and stir until it caramelizes and becomes a nice sauce. Add the bacon back in and serve over your pork chops.

My family adores this with pork. it is a perfect salty and sweet combination that pairs really well with pork. We served it at our family Easter one year with pork tenderloin and everyone really loved it.