Thursday's Excitement...

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we recently added a dog to the madness at our house. I'm not sure why...dogs don't like us. We lovingly feed, water, and house them, and then like ungrateful teenagers, they break the chain and venture off looking for freedom!

When we arrived home from school yesterday, Teagan was gone. I wasn't surprised...we're getting pretty used to this! Anyway, I knew Greg wasn't going to be home real soon (his work truck broke down before he arrived at his first stop that morning, he had to stop at the viewing for his boss's father on the way home), so I was going to send the boys out on their bikes for a what has become a tradition for us...a dog hunt.

About that time, our friend Jason pulled in with a dump truck containing 12 ton of gravel we had ordered for our driveway. We waited for him to empty it, then the kids headed off to ask neighbors if they had seen Teagan. I sent a text to our friend Charles (a cop), just asking if he had seen her.

A few minutes later, Charles was knocking on the door with a very sheepish look on his face. He said that the dog warden had been called, and a cop came out to get our dog. They took her down to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (just down from our house, remember?), where they were holding her. He said that we could come and get her without being fined (she didn't have tags yet), but that a cop had told the dog warden that she was part pit bull, and that we would have to follow all of the rules that apply to pits (a muzzle, kids can't walk her, higher insurance rate, etc.). I told him that she was a full-blooded Chesapeake Bay Retriever without papers, and he said that even if I did have papers all it takes is two cops to say that a dog is part something dangerous, and it applies (not sure how that works, but anyway...). I told him that Greg would be home soon, and we would deal with it then.

Greg came home around 4:30, and I told him what was up...remember, he had 12 ton of gravel to shovel into place, and also had to drive the bus for Good News Club in less than an hour...not to mention hauling tables for my garage sale, etc. :)

He decided to tear into the gravel first, since today was supposed to bring rain. As he was shoveling, Charles drove up and tried to explain the whole issue to him. I'm sure Greg's blood pressure had already reached toxic levels, and he told Charles he would be down in just a little bit to get the dog. He needed to drive the bus and finish the driveway.

Before he could do either, the dog warden pulled up, unloaded our dog from the cage in the back, explained that the dog had been ruled not part pit bull (duh), and charged us $35 for driving the dog 300 yards.

"I will bless the Lord at all times."

Burley's Blockwatch :)

Lately we have been seeing way too much of this at our house...

It goes without saying that we live in a small community...a village. There isn't a stop light, but there is a 4-way stop at each "end" of main street. It's a small town. We live close to the west end of town, and the best thing about our location is the fact that there are only three houses on our street...if you travel north on our street, you quickly dead end into farmland and then the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Basically, if someone is on our street in the evening, they are either lost or up to no good.

Last Friday night, we bought a new dvd at the Christian book store, and decided to watch it after the kids went to bed. I think we started it around 12:15 a.m. At about 1:30, just as I was deeply involved in the plot of the movie, we heard a car outside our house. After a couple of minutes, Greg noticed that the driver had backed into the drive of the village garage, which is just across the street from us. He turned off the vehicle's lights, and then they sat for a little bit. Pretty soon both of the passenger doors opened, and two people went around and opened the trunk. Greg told me to come and watch where they went (there are some woods directly behind where they were parked), and he got dressed and got his gun. As I watched, more people started piling out of the driver's side, and they carried bags and boxes from the trunk, across the street, through our front yard, right along our bedroom window, on into our backyard. I told Greg that there were several of them and they were in the backyard, so he went out on the porch, loudly racked a shell into his gun, and hollered at them. They didn't answer and he couldn't see them, so he came back to the bedroom, gave me another gun, and told me to call the police. He figured it was drug related, since we have a relatively quiet neighborhood without a lot of kids that hang out. You would have had to seen me to understand how freaked out I was at that moment! I went in and checked on the kids, and called 911. I couldn't tell how many people were in the car because it was a little foggy, but I told the operator it appeared to be 6 0r 7. She kept me on the line until the police arrived. Fortunately, the cop from our church, who was working second shift, had stayed over to talk with the 3rd shift cop, so he recognized our address, and they both came. One of them went over to the car to run the tags, and the other took off through the backyard to find the intruders. Within just a couple of minutes Greg came in laughing and said, "Well, those kids just had their fun ruined!" To my relief, the "culprits" were four young adults (one was minor) from one of the local Bible Believer's churches. They were toiletpapering some friends from another Bible Believer's church, whose property borders our backyard. If I could have seen long hair and skirts on a couple of them, I would have felt a little less threatened, but with the mist and the fog, they all looked like men! Anyway, to conclude the story, they had already dumped about half the toilet paper on the trees, so the cop told them they would need to come back the next day and clean it up. Greg told them that if they had just answered when he hollered, he would not have called the police. They said they didn't hear him. What made it a little more interesting was that one of the guys was unknowingly driving on a suspended license because of some misfiled insurance paperwork from a previous speeding ticket he had received. Because of that, he has to appear in court, and could not drive home that night.

Moral of the story: teach your kids that it is not safe to cross private property in the middle of the night...especially right by someone's bedroom window! Some trigger-happy maniac (or scared homeowner) may just blow them to bits! :) By the way, Burley's Blockwatch is recruiting new volunteers, if you're interested!~

Mixed Vegetable Bake

Here is the "long-awaited" recipe! It is an old one from Pampered Chef, but one of my favorites...the only thing I ask is that none of you bring it to the WOW Mother/Daughter Banquet in Lima, cause I'm making it! :)

3 bags (16oz.) California Blend (I buy at Aldi because they now only use broccoli crowns)
1 can (10 oz. or so) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayo
1 clove garlic (I just use the powder and do it to taste-I know that makes some of you cringe!)
1/4 tsp. pepper (or to taste)
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can French fried onions (cheddar flavored are really good on this)

Spread the 3 bags of veggies in a 9x13 dish. Mix the soup, mayo, garlic, pepper and cheese. Spread them over and throughout the veggies. Cover with foil. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes. Top with onions and bake for another 5 min. or so, until onions look brown and crispy.

***The first few times I made this, I was really frustrated. The veggies were not at all tender, and the rest of my meal was ready to put on the table. Now I usually thaw the veggies, then bake for at least an hour. Don't let it get mushy, otherwise it will taste like a bowl of goo. :)
If it retains some firmness, the dish will keep its shape, and the leftovers will be even more delicious. Enjoy!

Not A Care In The World!

(Feb. 2008)
Hope this makes you smile! It's Friday!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Mother's Day 2009 was a wonderful day! Greg and I are blessed with Godly mothers, and grandmothers. Although his grandmothers are now in Heaven, he cherishes the memories of the times he had with them, and their influence on his life. Mother's Day lunch was held at my house. I read a funny card that said, "It's Mother's Day - relax and enjoy 24 hours of peace and quiet...surrounded by 364 days of chaos!" I'm still waiting for the 24 hours of peace and quiet!
We had a wonderful lunch. Greg grilled his "famous" marinated chicken breast (during the last few minutes you put a slice of tomato on each piece of chicken and cover in with a thin slice of provolone cheese - yum!), I made a mixed vegetable bake (recipe to follow), ranch flavored pasta salad, seasoned red potatoes, corn, cottage cheese, and dinner rolls, and my mom brought grape salad and banana split brownies. It was wonderful to have both of my grandmothers together again!
The kids love getting me presents, and since my birthday and Mother's Day always fall within the same week, they really get to enjoy it -- it does provide some high pressure for Greg, though! This year must have been gift card mania (which I love!), so I'm now armed and thoroughly prepared to shop!
I hope the rest of you had a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

What 91/2 years has brought!
Supposed to be giving momma a kiss, but I think Ryan is ready to take a bite out of my cheek!

Precious girls...
Thank you, God, for allowing me to be a mother! It is an amazing gift!