July 4th

is this image awesome or what??

July 4th....

Fireworks......
BBQ's...
Family...
Friends....
Fun.....

Or how about.......

Loneliness....
Quiet.....
Anxiety......
Exaustion.....
Dirty.....

I think a lot about our military...having boys rally interested does that to a mom. Having family involved, friends, and even watching my friend die after a long illness, and seeing his entire unit stand at attention during his funeral were wake up calls for me.

I LOVE our men and women who serve. They deserve so much more gratitude. They keep our constitution meaning something.

And they remind me that with great sacrifice comes great reward......
With great responsibility comes great trial.......
and with great faith comes great hope.........

There is a song Watch The Lamb , sung by Ray Boltz.....
.get it......
Listen to it.....
remember it......
its about the greatest sacrifice, the greatest hope and the greatest reward....

Dont let the 4th slip away without a prayer of thanksgiving for all we have.
Because when its all said and done....we arent the ones who earned it.

God Bless us ALL. America and Otherwise.....

Happy Independence Day.

VGNO

OOOH! Virtual Girls Night Out~
My favorite time of the week!

Take a few and read ANN's post- and enjoy our weekly blog hopping session of all fun all night(weekend) long!

(so insert logo here everytime you see this its a pic i took that wouldnt load....)
So today I worked my butt off! Had a yard sale this weekend- got one more morning to go....saving for the patio cover we are putting on...more about that in a future post...

(yard sale pic here)

Taught the kids why it is so important NOT to play with matches....for those of you who read me regularly- I promise Im not a PYRO! I just get bored and fire is entertaining.....

( old love seat engulfed in flames here)

I also learned why I really need to get a radio for outside that will pick up am......I left the truck key on while listening to the REDS play and the battery dies in the 7th inning.....then the reds got killed......( is that my fault? maybe!)

(stupid truck here)

Then after I tried to upload my images on here, I realized why they take forever- cause they are soo big cause someone messed wtih my camera...LOVELY!

( pic of Mackenzie messing here)

And last but not least, my "big kids" came home from their Christian Youth COnvention and were very tired...but glad to be home..we missed them much and I feel like my family is whole again, so now its time to blog hop and visit everyone.....I LOVE HIS PART!!!!

(pc of tired kiddos here)

So go enjoy yourself and dont forget to comment! Everyone wants to know you are reading their post- even if its just a hello!

And everyone order a KUSH SUpport....lol.... I ordered bra's from a friend today who gets a significant discount for a lingerie company- they are for my daughter and only THE SAME CUP SIZE AS ME.!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

(seriously I wanted a pic of the two of us camparing but no one would take it for me)

Im there...in that place where Im thinking about a boob job instead of a patio......




For drinks tonight I had my old standby- a very full glass of strawberry/kiwi wine...sweet and cold..yummmmm

Then I toasted marshmallows....for dinner....yummmy... :)

Then I came in and saw my NEW MJ SHIRT and started laughing that i spent $10 bucks on a shirt for a dead guy........YIKES...Ive lost my mind!!

I will have a special July 4th post tomorrow.....a reflection... so look for it..... wont you please?


HAPPY VGNO!

WFMW

So, for todays WFMW post.....I was going to say my favorite 4th of July recipe is CHIPOTLE, but I figured that is cheating. But at least Im honest....


I guess the one thing we continue to return to year after year are foil meals over the fire....they are fast, filling and we like to cook over the fire, so they are right up our alley!

Foil meals are meat and veggies cooked in a homemade foil packet lined with cabbage and a slice of onion -( to keep it from sticking) We also put italian salad dressing in ours to give them a unique flavor....but you can use creamy soup if you want...

We layer a frozen hamburger or chicken breast, on top of a leaf of cabbage, big slice of onion, then cover it in canned potatoes, carrots green beans, corn, whatever veggies you like....wrap in two layers heavy duty foil and throw in the coals of a hot fire....these can be done on the grill too, and taste just as good!

You can smell the meat cooking and thats when you check for doneness....using a meat thermometor is a good idea for the chicken, because any marinade you put in these can change the color/look of the meat....so be sure its done!

These are soo good, and mostly we open them and "trade" veggies before we eat so everyone has what they like......to put your name on yours, before cooking, use a squeeze bottle of mustard- it cooks on and leaves your initials behind....:)


For dessert....we cook "turtle pie" again over the fire....these are soo good! But they require a piece of equipment you can anywhere camping gear is sold.... It called a "pie iron" and they aremade in a variety of shapes and sizes- we use the single asquare for ours....
All you do is spray the iron with non stick cooking spray, then line it with crescent roll dough- fill with chocolate chips, pecans and caramel squares....add anothe crescent roll on top and seal....make sure tis clipped and both sides are sprayed well with the cooking spray!You cook over the fire like cooking smores- the irons get HOT HOT HOT! So, a welding clove is a useful thing to have around......

To empty, just open and dump onto a cookie sheet- LET COOL FOR A MINUTE, as the inside is HOT SUGAR and can really burn a little or big- hand or mouth....

these are scrumtious, and Im cant wait to got o the store and get my stuff to make them!

You can make these in the oven, on a cookie sheet, just make sure to pinch the corners and edges shut on the crescent rolls.......they poof up nicely!




Also for some grilling safety tips, i saw a story everyone needs to read ! You can go HERE !
These are important safety tips every family should read.....very important!

Happy 4th Everyone! May your celebrations be safe and happy!