In a Remarkable Turn of Events...

...I am the sick one, and Greg is WELL! Glory to God! He started working a new job on the 7th, teaching at Brownwood's charter school, just 1/2 mile away. I was expecting him to be worn out and haggard-looking when he got home from his 11-hour days there, and he comes in almost BOUNCING! EVERY day so far! I am so thankful I could cry. There was a time there where he looked like death-warmed-over, and that's not an exaggeration.

He has said before, If you could only know how I feel (asthma) for 5 minutes.... Well, now I know how he feels, but since the end of November. I even have my own inhaler now. I haven't been able to shake this bronchitis, and just had my third trip to the doctor.

I'm pretty sure it DOESN'T work like this, but if I could trade Greg being sick for me being sick--I would GLADLY do it! I'm purposing not to complain about this. I am just so thrilled to see him feeling so good--it really is a wonder! Glory to my great God! Those kids have ENERGIZED him (or he gets home all fired up, one of the two!).

Joy, joy! So I'm "enjoying" being home, resting, trying to get well. My iron died today, so I have to run get another tonight (seeing as Wal-Mart is right in front of us). I enjoy ironing, and this is a good time to get caught up.

Also, I'm reading lots! And you know I love to read.

More later; maybe even some pics.

And CONGRATS to the dear Helwigs as they welcome little Caleb Walker to the family.

God is good.

Welcome Home to Me!

South Dakota was wonderful! Little Luke is a joy, the girls are so big and so precious, and Mike and Misty are the Hospitality Reigning Monarchs! The weather was exquisite (translate: COLD) and the scenery was lovely (translate: SNOW).

But, seeing as I can't stop coughing, I think a trip to Angelo tomorrow to the base is in order. I am miserable, cough-wise, but the good news is that's the only thing going on. (Hard to tell if you have a fever if you also have hot flashes!) They are great on base, so hopefully I'll get some help. Got some stuff to take care (somewhat) of the symptoms, but I need the real stuff to knock this out. I've been like this for more than 2 weeks.

Sorry we'll miss the nursing home visit tomorrow. Precious folks there, and we haven't seen our pastor in 2 weeks. Get to see his sweet wife, too, who had to go to Germany during the same time.

Our dear Sarah made some awesome jambalaya for our return home yesterday--delicious! It was SO good to see my Early family again. And Miggy liked her Mushabelly (should've gotten Greg one), which is a furry ball that looks like a ladybug and makes a chattering-type sound when you squeeze its belly. It's named Leena.

Spell-Check is saying "should've" isn't a word?! Who knew?

Off to bed so I can call early and get an appointment tomorrow. Love to all! The love must be going somewhere else, as I'm not getting any comments except for my "old faithfuls," who know I am so thankful for them.

South Dakota Risses

Aren't they precious? Little Luke is in there somewhere. He sleeps a lot, so I haven't been able to have a good photo shoot with him. It's beautiful here, everyone(with the exception of yours truly) is in Minnesota, as I started to get sick (fixing to be in full bloom, probably tonight). They are going for Misty and the children to meet Greg's parents. They've not seen one of their great-grands on Greg's side, and that equals 10. I hope they're having a great time together. Must be, as they won't call me back. I have a car, snow, medicine, and reading material and prayer requests. Should keep me busy. And the computer--yay!

More later, as El Bloggo won't let me post pics each time I try. And I'm only in the mood to try twice.

Miss us! We'll be back next week. I miss my Early Dodsons and the apartment, but it's GOOD to be here! As Miggy says, HOME! HOME!

Later!

I'm gonna miss almost all of you as we head to South Dakota tomorrow. Please pray for our pastor's wife--her mom is dying in Germany, and she's flying there tomorrow to say good-bye to her. How sad. Pray for the words she needs as she ministers to her mom and her sister, and others in the family. For salvation!

And please pray for our trip--haven't checked the weather yet, but we ARE going to spend the night with the baby grands and their parents on the way! Yes!

We're not gonna miss the South Dakota Risses, as we're gonna go see them! A new grandson. If I'm true to form, I will burst out crying when I see him, and Misty and I will have us a good cry together. God is good!

Love to all. Miss us!

Jesus Doeth All Things Well

Oh, the fulness of His love. Heaven on Earth.

Where do I go from there? My precious Lord has blessed me SO SO much lately. I feel privileged! To belong to Him, to be able to say, I am my Beloved's, and He is mine, is the highest privilege on earth. Thank you, God, for being merciful to me and not leaving me where I was--guilty, dirty, so wretched. You took everything away from me that I held dear, and gave me Yourself. What a glorious Exchange. I have no words, but many tears of thanks.

It is said that those who are forgiven much, love much. What I have been forgiven! I won't even tell you, but it is MUCH. He continues to forebear, to be longsuffering, to mold me and make me more like Christ. "That I may know HIM, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" is my life verse (Philippians 3:10).

Our dear pastor is preaching on The Road to Calvary, and I am learning more and more of His sufferings, and entering, in a small measure, into that fellowship. I read these verses that make me weep:

As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high preiest after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 5, 6-10.)

Glory to God in the highest! May my life bring glory to Him alone.

Happy Birthday to Me!

And it was a lovely one for the woman who just turned 40-12! Thanks to all who came, and who tried to come, Kevin. Here are the baby grands in attendance:And I got a tripod! Yahooey! AND I can't figure out why I'm underlining everything.

(Great. Returning got rid of that!) (Weird.)

Had a great Thanksgiving, too, with our pastor, his wife, and two of our visitors to church. The turkey, which was transported, cooked, to Coleman, came out wonderfully moist (thank you, Kroger generic turkey!), and the banana coconut cream pie requested came out not-too-shabby. We were all very thankful for God's blessings to us. The night before, we met at Jess's house for a Thanksgiving meeting, and it was glorious. Sweet testimonies and many tears shed. God has been so good to us!

*Verizon*

Have I gotten to know our phone company these past few days! I actually cried in frustration while trying to straighten our my phone bill, and I almost invited Jerry and Rizul for Thanksgiving dinner, as I spent so much time with them on the phone that we bonded! To their credit, a technician was sent out the same day (!), and he squared away the router so I could get a signal. My ear it permanently soggy now, I fear. The good news is my wireless network is secure. I don't want people driving by and stealing my bike because I was dumb enough to leave it out in the yard! And did I mention that I visibly aged while on the phone? GAK.

So, enough of that! Our pastor will be preaching on Peter's betrayal tomorrow, so I'm in much prayer about that. Poor Peter, promising early in the day to follow Christ to the death, and THE SAME DAY denying him three times. How we need the grace of our good God to keep us!

Love y'uns. Have a great weekend. Did anyone notice it's BIRTHMONTH? Ahem.

Election Day

Tomorrow is Election Day, and both Greg and I are working. Greg will be the "Spanish-speaker" in Zephyr, and I in Blanket, working with my sweet friends there. I love working elections, as I get to see many people that I usually don't see. Now that we've moved, it will be great to see everyone.

So what does one do with 13 hours sitting down, and maybe 40 people voting during that time? READ, write, Sudoku (thank you, Ali, for getting me started on that), cryptograms, crochet, copy recipes, visit, try not to fall asleep. It's fun. Lots of time to pray, too. I thoroughly enjoy my election day.

And tomorrow is Cold Front Day again. Yes! I sure am loving this season, though I've had the air conditioner on every day this month so far. If I could have 3 whole months of fall, let alone winter, I'd be thrilled.

Egg rolls tonight. Sure came out good! A good time was had by all.

So I'm off to get ready for tomorrow--fill up my bag with things to do.

Good night, dear bloggity friends and family. Love to all!

Exquisite

ex·qui·site
adj.
1. Characterized by intricate and beautiful design or execution
2. Of such beauty or delicacy as to arouse intense delight
3. Excellent; flawless.



Thus I would describe the following paragraph. It's long, but well worth the read. The context: Suffering in this world--God is holy, God is love. How does all this go together? On John 3:16:



"And in what circumstances was this love displayed? When the world was in a state of rebellion against him,--when the human character had been totally changed from its pristine innocence, and had become the very reverse of his own,--when, instead of being the object of men's supreme reverence and affecti0n, he was the object of their enmity and dread,--when the holy attributes of his nature, and the moral principles of his government, and the righteous precepts of his law were all alike distasteful to their depraved minds,--when his sole prerogative, as the Governor and Judge of the world, had been carelessly forgotten, or daringly denied,--when the sublime temple of nature, at whose altar they should have worshipped the one living and true God, was filled with the shrines of idolatry, where his supremacy was virtually denied, or divided amongst a multitude of false gods,--and when the more sacred temple of the human heart, where God desired to dwell, and to be ministered unto by a train of holy affections, had become a chamber of imagery, filled with a host of wicked passions--a temple, indeed, of spiritual idolatry, where the best of all homage, that of man's affections, was rendered, if not to idols of gold and silver, yet to the wealth, and honours, and pleasures of the world,--when, in one word, God's character was hated by man, and man's character odious to God,--yet, even then, 'GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD.' Not surely because he could regard the character of men with complacency--far less because their conduct had deserved his favour, for their character was regarded by him with utter abhorrence, and their conduct had exposed them to his righteous judgment. But while he hated and condemned their sin, no malice mingled with that hatred, no revenge dictated that condemnation; on the contrary, he pitied their case, even while he abhorred their guilt, and, in the exercise of a free, generous, and sovereign love, he resolved 'to seek and to save that which was lost.' "



--Comfort in Affliction, by James Buchanan, 1837



Total bliss.



What language shall I borrow

To thank Thee, dearest Friend;

For this, Thy dying sorrow

Thy pity without end?

O, make me Thine forever,

And should I fainting be,

Lord, let me never, never

Outlive my love to Thee.



--O Sacred Head Now Wounded



Selah.

Yahooey!

The cold front's coming in tonight--O joy, o delight! My favorite part of the year. I would do well in England: I love gloomy, dreary weather. The Tigger-ness in me is starting to emerge. Bliss.

Happy Birthday to so many people this month, including CC tomorry and Mary yesterday!

And we continue to be blessed at our dear little church. Our pastor is a joy. He has helped me, and I venture to say ALL our church, SO much! And I have found my only satisfactory explanation for the term "We preached on...". And you know I love that.

Happy Week to all my bloggity friends and family. "To comment is to love," and you can go light on the Sonic ice now--time for HOT cocoa and Scrabble!

Yes, I may consider myself a hero...

...because I saved three lives today. I gave blood! Finally! I have been prevented the last few times because of my blood pressure, but now, with medication, I was able to give. AND I have the tee shirt (finally!) to prove it! It even says Super Hero on it. Jody always gets tee shirts and I don't, until today. Yes!

My fellow Aspiring Amateur Geek, Jake, took some great pics with my NEW camera (don't I trust him?!): Not bad. He definitely has potential. I do the uploading of sermons for our church, and Jake tapes and converts them to whatever and puts them on my flash drive. We aspire.

Thus ends an exciting day in the life of the Risse!

"The Boys"

We finally got a visit from "the boys" and the oldest granddaughter, and it was great to see them! After Firstborn conquered in pool and arm-wrestling (because, as we all know, where there are two or more Risses, there IS a competition!), we ate and visited. They sure like those cabbage rolls. Those healthy boys. Miss K, in 3rd grade, is almost as tall as I am! Sweet, sweet girl.

Wasn't THAT Fun?

(Thanks, Rebekah!)

Welcome back, friends. All moved in and the baby grands and co. are headed over here tomorrow. YES! (Pardon my joy!)

I still have so much unpacking to do. Greg refs tonight and tomorrow, so I have some time alone to tackle it all. Sigh. It will be SO nice when it's all done.

We continue to be SO blessed at church--check out the link and take some time to listen to a good sermon. I recommend all the ones in English, unless you're proficient in German, also. I'm uploading the sermons on Sunday evening and loving it--and hopefully next week I can get back to learning how to work on the web site. Technical difficulties (named Pee Wee, btw). Soon!

All's well at the Risses'. I started walking up and down the floors of the apartment building every morning--good opportunity to pray for all these dear people. Pray for me as I seek to minister to them and share my precious Lord. God put us in a GOOD place. I am thankful!

Finished The Anatomy of Secret Sins, now I'm off to Charity and Its Fruits, by Jonathan Edwards. Very good read! (I think our pastor is trying to plug the big holes in my armor!)

Good night to all. To comment is to love, and remember, if you're in the neighborhood, nothing says "I'm thinking of you" like Sonic ice. (Does anybody read this?)

Blogworthy

"God's servants differ from all servants in the world. Every other servant loses himself by service.... But the only way to find a man's self is to be God's servant. Every other servant loses his liberty by his service; but liberty is then gotten when we become servants to God. As soon as we enter His service, we obtain our freedom. Every other servant in strictness of rule, is below a son, a child; but every servant of God is a son of God, and shall have not gifts as a mere servant may have, but the inheritance which the son who serves his father shall have." --Obadiah Sedgwick, The Anatomy of Secret Sins

Moved in!

Whee! We are moved in! I have one bedroom left to unpack. I got a whopper of a cold as soon as we moved in, so, 12 days later, I'm not finished unpacking, which is unheard-of for me! I'm taking my time as I start feeling better. Let's hear it for Puffs Plus with Lotion! The only way to go.

We are in a RETIREMENT VILLAGE. What's a bigger shock: That I'm married to someone old enough to live here (he IS the baby, as the starting age is 55, and he just turned that in April), or that I live here (at the tender age of 40-11)?! We are big-time the babies here. It's fun! We have a community room, complete with nice tv (we don't have cable here, so we can go up there for free!), a billiards room (and boy, am I out of practice!), and a fitness room (and these cute ladies want ME to head up an exercise class for them! I can't even GO there right now, literally and figuratively!). I went to the meet-and-greet last week--that was fun getting to know the ladies--and to chickenfoot (dominos), which was also fun. I played Skip-Bo with my new neighbor (who makes great potato soup!), and she beat me. She won chickenfoot, too. The silent ones are the violent ones, so I've heard.

And God continues to bless our church meetings. Wow. Anticipation. God is good!

And I found a lump. My appointment is this Tuesday. I'll let you know. God is much helping me.

AND we find out tomorry if Baby D is male or female! Yahooey! There is a pre-game meeting at Dairy Queen, at which we get to guess the sex of the baby and get treated to Happy Hour $1 Blizzards! Does it get any better than that!? Greg and CC are invited--interesting huge group in this little sonogram office. Whee!
Sarah and I have the best gyn/ob (respectively). He likes powdered donuts, too. Gotta pick him up some before my visit.

Pics when I can get myself together enough to consider finding the CD to reinstall Kodak Easyshare. Long story.

My pastor gave me The Anatomy of Secret Sins to read. Gulp.

More later, dear ones! I love y'uns, whoever you are!

Happy 32nd Anniversary!

Wow. Today begins our 33rd year (ONE-THIRD of a CENTURY!) together! I cannot think of two more opposite people for God to put together. Ask anyone!

Thirty-two years ago in San Antonio it was HOT, and HUMID (business as usual, eh?). I was terrified. I had never seen marriage done correctly, let alone Christianly, and I was scared. I didn't want to get married until the divorce (that is a forbidden word in our marriage). All my friends, except Mike and Joyce, were single. I did not want to make a mistake. Going up the aisle on said Mike's arm, I told the Lord, If I'm mistaken about your will, show me NOW, and I will turn around, change, and walk out of here. I was that serious.

What kind of man did God send me? Let me tell you what I asked for, at the tender age of 18, when the Lord saved me:
1. Saved--understood.
2. Preferably never married, no kids.
3. Taller than me (at 5').
4. Not in debt.
5. Soulwinner (obviously these are not prioritized).
6. Blue eyes (picky, picky, eh?)
7. Handsome, so our kids would have a chance.
What did I get?
1. Saved: Six years later. But I didn't know until after the fact. Wow.
2. Got it.
3. Exactly a foot taller!
4. Got it. He paid off my $450 school bill before we got married, too! Before
he proposed, even!
5. Got it. He cares about the underdog and the neglected more than anyone I
know. What a sensitive heart. In a manly-man.
6. Semi. His eyes are green, but look blue if he wears certain colors.
7. Got it and then some. Swoon! He was incredibly handsome when I met
him, and he's aged beautifully. Better-looking than ever! "Classic good
looks," is how a student described him. We have VERY nice-looking kids,
so I've been told, and so I KNOW!
Yes, I know some of these requests are pretty carnal, but God was good to me in spite of myself. (And thus come all our blessings, right?)

Miss Coke-drinking, chip-eating-for-supper junk-food-junkie meets Mr. All-Tri-State health-food-nut jock! CRASH! We sure had FUN adjusting to that, said VERY facetiously. My poor baby got asthma shortly after we got married. I recommended a Coke and a Snickers to bomb his system. (Works for me; I'm hardly ever sick.) Mr. Work-out-almost-every-day-since-before-I-met-him (and still!) meets Miss Almost-flunked-PE-because-I-don't-play-softball-in-the-heat-and-won't-do-gang-showers!-so-I'm-not-dressing-out. Double CRASH. We've both come a long way--he more than I, because I still eat junk food and don't do heat or working out--in fact, poor man (he tried to fight!), I've pretty much corrupted him. Sigh. So worth it, though. More peaceful household. A word that our married children have taken to their homes is "treats." Greg's word. (Misty, our precious daughter-in-love, always thought "treats" were for dogs. Hmmm.) I've done my job well.

More? Mr. I-never-read-a-book-I-wasn't-forced-to meets Miss I'll-read-toothpaste-tubes-if-there's-nothing-else-around! The baby (Greg), spoiled, 2 older sisters meets THE BOSS, Miss I-Don't-Need-Anyone (with which God has made GREAT adjustments in my life since salvation!), 2 younger brothers who were beaten up regularly (or the older younger beat me). Did I mention The Pacifist (in relationships) (as in, "I hate to fight") meets The Provoker, The Sarcastic, Mean, I Am Right. Poor man! Trust me: God has kept us together!

Before our wedding day, I thought about how my relationship with the Lord would change (and it does when you get married). When I met Greg, the Lord had saved me from a life of wickedness and ungodliness, and taken away EVERYTHING I held dear, so it was only me and the Lord. And He was enough. He was my portion. He was my everything. He was my love, my life, my all. I had a glorious, sweet relationship with the Lord for almost a year and a half when I met Greg. And I was going to marry and be led by a SINNER? (Like, And what was I?) Scary thought. Before, the Lord had led ME. And that was fixin' to change. It was a hard change, but a necessary and a GOOD change! My precious Lord is still my all-in-all, my first love. But it's different than being single. And it's good.

So. Moving day. Happy Anniversary Day! I get a brand-new apartment for a gift (and I already got a beautiful card yesterday!). (Did I mention Mr. Never-Celebrated-Anything-Or-Given-A-Gift-Voluntarily meets Miss She-Gets-3-Birthday-Cards--at-least--From-Her-Mom-Where-We-Pretty-Much-Celebrate-Birth-MONTH?!) (Talk about adjustments.)

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity," in more ways than one! Thank you, Lord, for my precious husband! He still loves me! And I'm CRAZY about him. It only gets better, except when it gets rough for a while, and then is better than ever!

Ketchup

Time to Ketchup, folks! Not necessarily in importance-order:

1. New baby grand! Yahooey! We thank the Lord for little Luke Earnest Risse, born on my little brother's 50th birthday (the 23rd)! Happy Birthday to both!

2. We're moving in 2 days! GAK! I have made my peace with this move, and I am EXCITED about our NEW (literally--we're the first ones to live in it!) apartment! It's a HUGE change for us. Minus 500 square feet, 5 acres, a donkey, and sheep. Cozy, I predict. But with a community room, a billiards room, and a fitness room, that should be just what we need. (Did I mention it's behind Wal-Mart? Can it get any better?) God is good!

3. Thank you for praying for me about the wedding. I lived! Except for a major meltdown at the end, when the you-know-whos took their time leaving, and I was shooting pics in 90+ weather with 90+ humidity, and the fact that I couldn't find my husband or my cameras when it was time to leave, I had a BALL and was so in my element! I only took 400 pics (whee!); 100+ with film and almost 300 candid digital (I love candids!). (That's for rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, and the rest.) I wanted to be considerate and not shoot during the vows so as not to detract from the solemn occasion, but everyone else shooting made up for me and then some! (I tried.) So, I missed a few shots afterwards when we posed for the ceremony shots. The good news is I didn't walk out of my sandals when I walked backwards to catch everyone coming down from the front! Seems like during the ceremony everything happened on fast-forward. And I learned you can't take two pics at one time when they're happening in front of and behind you, as in the parents lighting the unity candle as others are coming in. At least I did get the couple lighting it! I do think, all in all, that the bride's parents will still love me when they get the pics. I was pleased with the group shots (and they were a BIG group!); I'd never used a tripod under pressure. It did its job--no blurry shots, but I hated using it. My dream is a camera with image stabilization--no more tripod! AND all the light I had (my bitty little flash on my camera) was ENOUGH! What a mercy! I was so concerned about that, as the light isn't the best there. God was good to me!

4. Baby Grand #13 is next! We find out the gender on the 10th--and I'm invited to the sonogram! How kind is that, Principessa!

5. Our pastor's sister-in-law and brother-in-law, their 2 girls, and our pastor's daughter are here from Germany! The daughter, beautiful girl, speaks perfect English with no accent! I am so enjoying her. And the others speak NO English, so it has been really fun getting to know them! They are all dear. I'm luring the girls with mini M&Ms. I think they like me. (Works for my baby grands, anyway.)

6. Got to go to Olahomika with two dear brothers to pick up a vehicle (yes, it was worth the trip for the car!). We had a blast. And we played spelling games for longer than we should have, I'm sure. My little brain was fried.

7. We got to talk to our Dan, the red-headed snippet! He was in a car wreck--a hit-and-run by a drunk 19 year-old. He was pedaling his pedicab (kinda like a rickshaw pulled by a bicycle) (yes, he has awesome calf muscles, biking around Austin!) when he got hit. God was so merciful to him! He has a lot of therapy to go through still; no biking, and difficulty walking; we were so relieved to get to FINALLY talk to him. How we continue to pray for our babies' salvation!

8. I'm about 2/3 done packing. I HATE the piddly stuff that's left at the end! I want to get a gigantic vacuum and just REMOVE it without messing with it! GRRR! But I am thankful for Princi's help, and for CC offering to watch my Miggy while Mommy helped me. The apartments have some GREAT incentives for moving in: free month's rent, rent reduced by $35 for the life of the lease (yippee!), AND free moving! They pay for the truck, and, get this!, you pack your boxes and they come get them, load them, and unload them! Sweet, sweet!

9. Our first grandson, Beans, started school today! Bittersweet. How I love that child! His mommy was very brave today, I think.

Sufficiente! (With an accent on the last "e.") I love you, whoever you are, reading my blog! Leave a comment and share the love. Nothing says love like commenting and Sonic ice.

The Thud Heard Around the World, or It Only Gets Better!

The guys with the butterfly nets are patiently waiting for me while I finish this post. I took the DELICIOUS pound cake out--it was done--voila! And I set it on the stove (the stove was off--such forethought!). The middle started to sink (my heretofore-unknown-heights cake!), so I had, what I thought was, a brilliant idea. This IS a TUBE pan, after all, in which one makes ANGEL FOOD cake, right? And what do you do to angel food cakes that come out of the oven so they don't sink? CORRECT! With great forethought, again!, I thought: The syrup bottle is not good for this, for it is made out of plastic, and plastic and HOT POUND CAKE do not mix! (Told you it was great forethought!) So I got a hundred-year-old glass bottle of hazelnut syrup (sugar-free, from the old Atkins days) and used that. Give me credit, now, because I did think, as I was turning it over onto the GLASS bottle (I DID think--What if the cap melts?), hey, this IS a POUND cake, not an ANGEL FOOD cake, and, which is heavier? I wonder.... A few moments later, I heard the Thud Heard Around the World. And I did all I could do--I started laughing. When by myself, I only laugh at Paul Harvey's "For What It's Worth" department, but today I made an exception for myself!
The lesson learned: POUND equals more than ANGEL FOOD! On a side note, if you dust the greased pan with SUGAR instead of flour, it makes a DELICIOUS crust, which is what I'm sure that gal on BooMama's comments ate! And my pic keeps crawling to the end of the blog!

I hate when Greg's right.

Oh, Boo, What Should I Do?

"Boo" is a reference to BooMama, my favorite blogger, next to family. Go to http://boomama.net/ for great entertainment and great recipes.

For example, this one! It's delicious, which you may be asking me how I know, since the cake isn't finished yet. BooMama did NOT tell me to put a cookie sheet underneath the tube pan--that was a stroke of genius on my part, as I thought IT would rise up to heights-heretofore-unknown and spill out the top! Psych! Wrong end! Anyway, had I known, I would have greased and floured the cookie sheet, too! (It didn't stick at all--must be all that butter and Crisco!) I tried the part that was on the cookie sheet (which is already done). I hesitated to actually LIFT the tube pan to get the scrapings (read: future burned cookie sheet), as I figured I'd start another flood. BUT, dear BooMama, my pound cake has ALREADY risen to heretofore-unknown-heights, which means about an inch above where I started (minus the outflux)! Ain't I proud of me! The only reason it didn't catch fire, dear BooMama, is because I used a fork to stir in the baking powder! (See said sister's blog for more details!)

Lessons to be learned:
1. Go ahead and grease and flour the cookie sheet, just in case.
2. Don't use a tube pan from the thrift store (see comments on Boo's kids' cute sayings).
3. Don't use a tube pan that has been played with by diverse baby grands, and been through lots of moves.
4. Don't use a tube pan, use a bundt pan (though I think it would run over the TOP) (how blissful would THAT be!).
5. See if Dunlap's, with 50-75% off, has any tube pans.
6. Go ahead and laugh. The first cake I made as a teen that called for "baking soda" got Coke for the soda, because, what other kind of "soda" is there???
7. Move to a bigger city to get needed help. Greg was right.

Saturday!

Saturday! Timothy and Kyla are getting married in Elmendorf, TX! Guess who is their photographer?

OK--Timothy is Timothy Shepard, the pastor's son, and Kyla is (not for long!) Kyla White, pastor's daughter in Elemendorf (that part's probably permanent, I'm thinking!). And I am their photographer!

Send any and all advice and encouragement--am I nervous or WHAT? I AM stoked! Please pray for me; I want to do a good job for the glory of God and for their encouragement.

Off to San Antonio soon! Love to all. (Look, a sentence with no exclamation point!)