Joy and Sorrow

First of all, long time, no post!! I apologize for the long pause in posting but once you read a little further down, you’ll see that I had one, rather two, very good reasons for it!

For those of you who have been reading the very infrequent posts I’ve had this year, a few months ago I asked you all to pray for a very special but secret request in our house. Well, the request was for Mr. P and I as we went through the process of becoming a foster/adoption home. We completed the process through the spring, and we now have two little girls, ages 5 and 8 with us! It’s a long story of how we ended up deciding to do this and how we ended up with these two particular girls in our home, so that’s a post for another day.  But for now, we have been blessed with two beautiful little girls and we are enjoying every minute of it!

Obviously, our home life has completely changed for the better! Our quiet evenings have now been replaced by bathtime, storytime, and bedtime but it is wonderful.  Although Mr. P and I would eat dinner at the table, there is nothing like sitting at the table as a family and talking about the day.  Shopping is also much more fun when you are buying for little girls. I have to exercise a lot of self-control when I am shopping for them because I just want to buy them everything! Poor Mr. P-his world is now full of hairbows, Barbies, and pink but he is taking it in stride. I considered myself blessed and lucky to have him before, but seeing how good he is with the girls just fills my heart even more.

We know that we may have a long, difficult road ahead of us. It looks like this may be a long-term situation, but you never know so it may end up being short term. We just continue to pray and leave it in God’s hands. Our family and friends have a wonderful support group, and we have so many people that are praying for us. It was very sudden and unexpected when the girls came into our home, and so many of our friends offered clothes, toys, books, games, etc. in the first few days that we had them. We are truly blessed!

Unfortunately, in the midst of this joy we have also experienced great sorrow in the last few days. On Thursday night, our church burned down. We had just been out at church at a revival and as we were all leaving, we saw a storm coming our way. We were able to make it home just before the storm hit, and it was a terrible one-lightning, wind, hail, etc. Shortly after the storm, we got a phone call that the church was on fire. Mr. P went out there while I stayed home with the girls, and he didn’t get back home until after 1:00 a.m. The  state fire marshal is investigating it, but it looks like lightning struck the bell tower at the top of the church. Several people who live near the church have told us that they heard a simultaneous lightning and thunderclap with loud boom during the storm and it was shortly after that when someone saw flames coming from the roof.

The sanctuary was completely destroyed and the basement had about three feet of water in it. Once the firefighters got the fire out, Mr. P and some other men from the church were able to get into the basement and salvage a few items-the communion set, some pictures and trophies, and some of our VBS materials. (VBS is next week.) We spent all day yesterday working at the church and trying to get some things from the sanctuary. Amazingly, a large wooden cross at the front of the church did not burn at all and the silver cross at the top of the Christian flag pole was not damaged either. I believe it was God’s way of reminding us to have hope! We pulled out part of the altar and pulpit and some of the pews. I think they are also going to be able to save a few of the stained glass windows. 

My heart just aches for Mr. P and his family. His family was one of the ones to start the original church and his grandfather helped build the church building. Many of our friends grew up in the church with Mr. P, and they have attended since they were babies.  They have lost a huge part of their lives.

Here are a few pictures:

Although we are devastated by the loss, we are blessed with strong community support. Even though this is a very small community, there are several churches in the area and they have already come forward with tremendous support. We will rebuild and be even stronger!

Blessings,

TPP

5 Things I'm Into Right Now

Hello blogging world, I’ve missed you! I’m going to jump right back into the groove and start with a “5 Things I’m Into Right Now” post to catch you up on things.

Bracelets

I’ve been into this for quite a while now, but since I’m still into them I thought I’d put it on my list. I love playing around with the different combinations of bracelets each day. Most of mine right now are silver with a few gold pieces thrown in. I need to get some cute colorful ones for the summer. I saw some really cute and inexpensive ones at the new (huge!) F21 at Opry Mills.

Here’s a couple of recent “Bracelets of the Day”.

 (My arm looks huge in both of these pictures!)

 Like I said, I need to invest in some color!

Raspberry Iced Tea

I gave up soft drinks for Lent, and I went the entire time without one soft drink. Now I drink maybe 1 Diet Coke a day. I discovered raspberry iced tea when I was out at restaurants and looking for an alternative to Coke, but I make my own at home now.  1 glass of unsweetened tea, 1 packets of Splenda, and a dash of this:

DaVinci’s Sugar Free Raspberry Flavoring

Yum and 0 Calories!

Weight Watchers

So after trying to lose weight on my own, trying WW by myself and failing miserably at both, I have officially joined Weight Watchers. One of my good friends joined a couple of weeks before me, so we go to meetings together and support each other. So far I’ve lost 10 pounds-woo hoo! And the WW app for the iPhone? An absolute lifesaver-I don’t think I could do it without that little gadget.

Pinterest

Ok, I’ll admit it…Pinterest is one of the reasons why I neglect my blog sometimes. So much stuff on there! I’ve found so many good recipes, home decorating tips, organizing ideas, school stuff, clothes, the list goes on and on.

Summer Style

I’m so happy that it’s the season for summer shifts, madras, Bermuda shorts, sandals, and more!

OOTD-5/21/2012

 

Oops-this was not supposed to post-I was just playing around on Polyvore last night! Oh well, it really is what I wore yesterday! 

 

White cardigan, white tank, black shorts, ON floral scarf, red Jacks, jewelry, and sunglasses.

Happy Easter!

 Image Courtesy of vintageholidaycrafts.com

"Now let the heavens be joyful,
Let earth her song begin:
Let the round world keep triumph,
And all that is therein;
Invisible and visible,
Their notes let all things blend,
For Christ the Lord is risen
Our joy that hath no end."
-- John of Damascus

I hope that everyone enjoyed a beautiful Easter. The weather was absolutely gorgeous here, which makes celebrating the day even more joyful. Mr. P and I attended a sunrise service with his parents, then headed to Nashville to meet my family for Easter Brunch. We really enjoyed the time with our families, and we are now home watching the end of the Masters and preparing for the week ahead. My lovely spring break has come to an end, so now I am back to planning my outfits and meals for the week, and looking over my schedule for the week ahead.  

We are going on our first camping trip of the year next weekend, so I'll be busy in the evenings packing and getting everything ready to leave on Friday afternoon. Camping trips during the school year stress me out a little, but Mr. P is great about stepping up and taking care of some things that I usually do. It's going to be a busy week, so I'll be ready for some rest and relaxation next weekend! 

In the spirit of my old Sunday Suppers series, here's a report back on the three recipes that I tried out yesterday for small group. 

• The Ultimate Brownies were very rich but delicious- a little gooey in the middle...okay a lot gooey in the middle. You almost had to eat the middle part with a spoon, but everybody loved them. I didn't have hot fudge sauce so I had used chocolate sauce instead and I think that's why they were so gooey. I'll either make sure to use hot fudge sauce or cut down a little on the chocolate sauce next time. Either way, they were a hit with everyone.
• The  Party Hot Ham Sandwiches were also very good. I had made a similar version several years ago, but these were much better. They are definitely going into my file for great party/tailgating/appetizer recipes.
• The Rotel Cups were good also. A little on the spicy side, but very good nonetheless.

Well that's all the news to report from the Putter household. Enjoy the rest of your Easter and have a great week!

 

Spring Break to End a Blogging Break

ETA: Hallelujah! I've been fighting Blogger all day to get this post up! First it would only publish half the post, so I put it in two different posts. Then only the first post would show up on the first page of my blog. I finally figured out my problem (Trying to shortcut when adding photos-I won't be doing that again!) and all is right in my world again.My apologies if you attempted to read my half-post earlier today.

Well, hello! It has been 3 months since I blogged-far, far too long to go without a post. Life just got really crazy there for a while-nothing bad, just lots of time consuming stuff. Lots of things have been happening, so I’ll just jump right into a recap of my life in 2012 so far this year. Excuse the long post to follow…

Daddy

Daddy has been doing well since the heart scare in January but we have a good news/bad news situation. Bad news-further testing showed that he contracted a virus sometime last year that has permanently damaged his heart and his heart was only operating at 25%. The doctors put him on a strict low sodium diet and medication for 3 months to see if this will help his heart function better. Mama has done an awesome job of researching low fat/low sodium versions of his favorite dishes, and they have both had a great attitude about the whole situation. Unfortunately, tests last week showed that his heart is still functioning at only 25%. I had a feeling that the test was going to show this because despite his lifestyle change and weight loss, Daddy still gets very tired very easily. Good news-he will get a pacemaker/defibrillator in the next couple of weeks. He has had a few friends tell him that this will make such a difference in his energy and how he feels, so we are hoping that this is going to help him.

School

School is school…crazy-busy but rewarding at the same time. This has to be the most stressful year for school people-new standards, new test, and all sorts of other new stuff coming down from the state. It can get absolutely overwhelming at times, but we are just doing the best we can and trying not to get too stressed out about everything. On a brighter note, when we get back to school on Monday, there will be 5 weeks of school left…yes, 5 weeks.  Since we’ve had 10-15 snow days a year lately, the calendar was set this year to allow for plenty of make up days at the end…and we only ended up with one snow day this year. Murphy’s law, I guess. But that means that we will be out of school on May 11^th-woo hoo!

Spiritual Life

I just attended the Women of Joy conference last weekend. It was a great weekend of prayer and worship with a great group of women. I’ll have to do a whole post on the weekend, but let me just say that if you have an opportunity to attend WOJ, you must absolutely go! 

We are also continuing with our weekend small group bible study. This is such a great group of couples, and I am humbled to be a part of it. I have learned so much in the two years that we have been in the group. Right now, we are studying Revelations with a new, young pastor as our leader. I’ve always avoided Revelations (too depressing and scary!) but this study is absolutely fascinating. Brother C brings in the ties to the Old Testament, the Greek translations, and the Jewish culture to help us understand it. It has totally changed my understanding of Revelations.

We also eat really well on bible study nights too! : ) We always have a theme-Italian, Mexican, breakfast, country/Southern, etc.  Tonight it’s appetizers and I am trying out some recipes I found on Pinterest:

Hot Party Ham Sandwiches from Plain Chicken

Rotel Cups from Kendall Boggs

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars

Spring Break Activities

For my SB week, I’ve kept myself quite busy. On Monday, I ventured to Nashville with a friend. I had a hair appointment with my awesome Stacey to get a cut and color that afternoon. We had to run an errand downtown, then we headed to the newly opened Opry Mills! I’m so excited that “my mall” is back from the terrible flood of 2010. I’ll have to give Opry Mills its own post sometime soon because there’s too much to talk about in one paragraph!  After our shopping trip to OM, we met up with my mom and SIL at the hair salon. Oh my, it was like an episode of Steel Magnolias while we were all getting our hair done! Girl talk, a little gossip and lots of laughter-such a good time!

Worked for a little while on Tuesday, then on Wednesday Mr. P and I took off for an overnight stay. We ended up here

Kentucky Lake

Our goal was to not get on any interstates on our trip. We just love driving country roads and going through the small towns and communities. We would have made it except that we forgot about the bridge over Kentucky Lake. A couple of months ago, a barge hit the bridge and it has been closed for repairs ever since. After we got to the non-functioning bridge, we consulted the map and had a choice between a 2 hour detour on country roads, or a 30-45 minute detour on I-24. Since it was late afternoon, we decided to get on the interstate. We took a different route through Tennessee on our way home so we didn't have to get back on an interstate.

In addition to trying to avoid interstates, we also wanted to avoid chain restaurants for our meals. We hit a few fast food restaurants to take a restroom break and get a drink, but our meals were all at small, family owned restaurants. As a result, we had some wonderful meals!

Shopping Find

I’ve done a little bit of shopping this spring, just needed to update a few items in the old wardrobe. One of my favorite purchases has been this:

White Denim Jacket from Old Navy

I have a blue denim jacket that I wear quite a bit in fall/spring, but I’ve never had a white one. This cutie caught my eye when I was shopping with the girls on our WOJ weekend. How have I gone this long without it? It looks great with everything-jeans, khakis, dresses, etc. Just last night, I did a late run to the store to avoid the crowds today. It was a little cool out, so I grabbed the white jean jacket and paired it with a cute scarf. It gave such a boost to the jeans/tee shirt combo that I was wearing.

One More Thing…

Now this is where I will get a little vague and I apologize in advance for this. There are some possible big changes coming to the Putter household and we have been very busy this spring with it. I wish I could say more about this and hopefully I will be able to tell you soon, but for now if you could keep us in your prayers I would really appreciate it.

Thank you for sticking with me through this long, long post. I have truly missed the blogging world. I had been behind on both reading and posting, and I have enjoyed catching up on both this week. As I read your blogs, it keeps me more in check and inspires me to keep pushing along with everything that life throws at me. So I am pledging to be better about taking some time for myself to read and post in this wonderful blogging world.

Wishing everyone a beautiful and blessed Easter weekend!

TPP

Welcoming Twenty-Twelve with a Sunday Supper

 

(Found this cute cupcake on the Croation Crafter blog)

Happy New Year! Twenty-twelve just has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

I cooked a big New Year's Day dinner for us and included the traditions that I grew up with in my family. I tried a new pork roast recipe that I found on Pinterest, Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? It turned out really well. It came from a great recipe website called Six Sisters Stuff. Along with the pork roast, we had cabbage, black eyed peas, and greens. Gotta keep up with those traditions!

As far as resolutions go, Mr. P and I both have some goals that we have set this year. I want to keep them personal for the most part, but I will share two of them with you. 

Part of our goals include spending more time during the week praying, both as a couple and individually; basically being more focused on God and less focused on everything else. I think that one way to help both of us keep our goals in sight is to focus on a few bible verses or quotes. So I've chosen two in particualar to focus on this year. One is very familiar, it is at the top of my blog and one of my favorite bible verses:

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." 

Joshua 24:15

I found a beautiful wall hanging with this verse on it while we were out Christmas shopping, and since it is such a meaningful verse to both of us, we went ahead and purchased it. It helped very much that it was on sale and the colors in it matched our great room perfectly! Anyway, it is hung in a prominent place in the great room and is a wonderful visual reminder for us.

The other is a quote that I have seen several times, but I recently ran across it again and it has stuck with me:

"Christ is the center of our home, a guest at every meal, a silent listener to every conversation."

Like so many others (and so many years before), another resolution for both of us is to eat healthier and exercise more. I'm reading this book to help me kick off this resolution:

 

I haven't gotten very far in the book, but from the table of contents and what I've read so far, she helps you to look at your food choices and taking care of your body from more of a biblical perspective. There are also some recipes and other tips  for balancing good eating habits, exercising, and making time for Bible reading and prayer each day. 

Between my verses and my new book, I think I'm ready to head into 2012!

I hope that each of you had a wonderful beginning to the year, and I wish you many blessings to come!

NYE Outfits

So, I was playing on Polyvore the other night-Polyvore and Pinterest have taken up a LOT of my time during my Christmas break!-and I thought, "What would I wear if Mr. P and I had fancy-schmancy plans for NYE?" I "shopped" around on the site and came up with this lovely ensemble:

In reality, we have plans for dinner with two other couples at our favorite Japanese steakhouse, followed by dessert and ringing in the new year at one of their houses. I am exhausted after the emotional ups and downs of the last few days, so we may even head home before midnight. I really just want to ring in the new year snuggled with Mr. P on my couch at home. Yikes, that makes me feel so old! Oh well, us old folks want what we want! Anyhow, this is the outfit that I'll be wearing for my low-key NYE:

Sweater dress, white tee, leggings, boots, and jewelry. I might add a scarf too. Fun and comfy!

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

A Review of 2011

January

Snow! More snow days than I cared to think about but I did enjoy some time off thanks to the weather.

February

More snow...and dreaming of spring. And a new blog makeover.

March

Women of Joy Conference-truly a life changing experience for me. I went with one good friend and some acquaintances from my bible study group. We came home a group of close friends who have seen each other through some rough times and some great times this year. One frantic email or text to these girls, and I know that I will have lots of prayers going up in minutes. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to attend this great event, and we are making plans to go again in 2012.

April

(This is not our travel trailer-the only picture I have of it was on my old phone.Oops!)

First camping trip in our new travel trailer. The first of many fun trips over the spring and summer! 

May

Trip to Denver to my cousin's wedding. We stayed in Evergreen, and explored the town of Golden while we were there. Beautiful wedding, fabulous reception, a wonderful weekend!

June

A shopping trip with the girls, a conference in Lexington, more camping and golf…and I worked a little bit too!

July

We began the month on a very scary note  for my family, but we were reminded once again of the power of prayer and the goodness of family and friends.

Once the family was on the road to recovery, we spent several days here:

By the end of the month, we celebrated at our annual family reunion/church picnic and gave thanks for the recovery of my uncle and cousins.

August

School days, school days

September

At the end of the month, we went on our last camping trip of the year was a big one-5 families, 13 kids and 10 adults. We had a blast at the annual Fall Festival which included hay rides, a costume contest (our group was the Smurfs-and they won!), and lots of bonfires and smores!

October

Attended a conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, actually it was the best education conference that I have ever attended. If you are an educator and you have a chance to attend a PLC Conference by Solution Tree and Rick and Becky DuFOur, don't hesitate to go. It had a huge impact on me and how I approach my job.

We stayed here, and I got to see these cute little guys parade through the lobby each day.  

November

Another great family celebration with some long lost relatives. We never would have found them if it wasn’t for the awful wreck in July. For the full story, read here.

December

Lots of Christmas celebrations with family and friends including our annual trip to Lexington to see our neice in The Nutcracker and a trip to Nashville with friends to see the Opryland Hotel.

Another year is coming to a close, and I’m looking forward to 2012!