Toilet Paper..it's not just for the bathroom

I am not adverse to writing about toilet paper.  In fact, that's how I started out my blogging is by writing about toilet paper.  That instance was to my pet peeve within my household.  This time, I'm writing about a whole other use for toilet paper.

In the last 2 weekends, we have been TP'd ( I'm thinking this must be the verb form of toilet paper) twice.  Yes, twice.  The first time my neighbor came out in the middle of the night and cleaned it up fearing my daughters were going to be in huge trouble if we saw it.  I told her they would not be in trouble so this weekend when it happened again, she just texted me instead.

This week it happened again.  I would say "weekend" but the kids have fall break for 2 days so the weekend came early  (I just realized we were TP'd 2 times in  5 days). There were a few things that made this time more unique than the first time. 

1) my daughter knew it was going to happen.

2) said daughter came and woke us up at 2ish am to let us know that this was occurring.  I got up and came out front and flicked the lights a few times to scare them away.  Seemed to work because I saw the little boogers teenagers running away.

3) my daughter is (and thinks like) a teenager.  After I flicked the lights, I went back to bed.  Shelby went back to bed but lay there thinking "what would I do if I were them".  She immediately got back up and looked outside cause she knew they were coming back.  Sure enough, she was right!

4) There was nothing that Shelby could have done to stop the attack.  The alarm was set in the house and she didn't want to awaken us again. So she stood and flickered the lights some more.  When that didn't work anymore, she stood in front of the windows and waved at them.  They claim they didn't see her.

Shelby and I were awakened by Daddy.  He was on his way to work and said Shelby had to clean that mess up.  The teenagers did an amazing job. ( We later found out they used 69 rolls of toilet paper.) Unfortunately for them, they did not check the weather forecast.  The biggest enemy of being TP'd is rain.   It was raining.  To make matters worse, my neighbor had a showing on her house scheduled. 

I was not wanting to fight the whole rain vs toilet paper issue so I called the parents of one of the boys and requested they have their sons come back and clean up the mess.  Soon the boys were back and after a mere 4 hours later, they had the toilet paper mostly gone. 

During this 4 hour looooong process, we had some laughs.  They decided that 1) they were not going to get caught next time and 2) they were not going to TP us again.  I really liked to hear that last one.

I did take pity on them and took them out some cookies and let them come inside to warm up for a bit. 

I never really experienced being TP'd when I lived in PA.  I'm hoping that after the boys had to clean up after themselves today, I won't be experiencing it for a long time again.

The "Enforcer"

The "Mastermind"

The  "Supplier"

Shelby supervising

 

I'm not extreme, but I love couponing!

I'm not an "Extreme" coupon-er, but I do love a greeeeeat deal.  I have a friend who keeps me posted on really good deals (thank you Christy!).  This is the most recent one.  Thought I'd share.  Here's the breakdown...

$4.99 (price of ea. bottle of detergent)
x 12
-------
$59.88 total full price

I ordered coupons from ebay.
$4.00 off a purchase of $20 or more = $12.00 total
$2.00 off ea bottle of Wisk = $24.00 total  (I have 2 left)
--------
$36.00 total off in coupons
--------
$23.88 total after coupons

CVS was then offering a $10 gift card for every $30 spent.  I got 2 gift cards ( I had to get 3 $1.00 deodorants to get the purchase to the minimum)  = $20.00
deduct that from total after coupons and you get

$ 3.88
+ 4.13 (cost to purchase coupons)
---------
$8.01 Grand total to purchase 12 bottles of Wisk

That comes to roughly .67 per bottle!!!!!!!!!

Jesus take the wheel

To say that I can sometimes be a distracted driver might be an understatement.  I am distracted by the radio, my phone, and my thoughts to list a few.  There are times in my life that I have been reminded that I'm not in control and that I have Jesus looking out for me.

Last week I was going to pick up my daughter from swim practice.  It was dark outside.  As I was driving, I noticed a car in the oncoming lane.  The car was traveling as fast as I was only this car was not staying in its own lane.  It kept coming into my lane until I had to intentionally and greatly swerve to avoid an accident.  I was scared out of my wits.  The other driver never even put on their brakes. My thoughts instantly went to my family and all the "what ifs".   

I was so thankful that I was not distracted.  In fact, I was actually quite focused on my driving that night.  I don't think this was my doing at all.  If it were my doing, I'd be peeking into people's houses to see how they decorate.  Or I'd be looking at my phone. Or..or..or..  I believe that God kept me focused so that  I could avoid that accident. 

Psalm 32:8   I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you

God's not done with me yet!!!!!!

1986



What a year this was!  Here are some facts from that year...

*Ronald Reagan was President

*The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded

*Chicago Bears were the Super Bowl Champions

*"We are the world" was the top song

*Oprah hit national television

*a gallon of gas was 93 cents!!!!!!

*dozen eggs 87 cents

*gallon milk $2.22

*1st class postage stamp 22 cents

This is what the hair style was..for both women and men

I was recently reminded of another event that happened in 1986.  Mark & Sheila Beeson answered the calling to bring a church to the Michiana area.  They, along with a handful of other people, started Granger Community Church www.gccwired.com.  From the bottom of our hearts, we THANK YOU for your obedience and for your faithful leadership.  Mark & Sheila have always had an undivided heart for Jesus.  They have helped change THOUSANDS of lives and advanced God's kingdom.  We are excited to see the next 25 years with you!

Mark & Sheila Beeson





Scrumptious Tuesday

I am a huge fan on Meatloaf.  Both the singer and the food.  Today I will give my favorite food meatloaf recipe and perhaps another time give my likes of the "other" Meatloaf.

Rempel Family Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 C crushed buttery round crackers
3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese (I also use shredded colby/jack)
1 (1 oz) package dry onion soup mix
2 eggs beaten
1/4 C ketchup
2 TBSP steak sauce


*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Stir the ground beef, crushed crackers, cheddar cheese, and onion soup mix in a large bowl until well combined.  Whisk the eggs, ketchup, and steak sauce in a separate bowl until smooth.  Mix the eggs into the meat until evenly combined, if the mixture seems too dry, add a little water.  Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
*Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 60 minutes.

You're always going to have people like that in your life

Even with purple, ill fitting teeth, I love this girl!

I have to admit.  I was shocked, hurt, angry, sad the day my first child came home and said someone wasn't being nice to them.  Not just a "not nice" that she could easily fix the problem herself but "not nice" to the point of being bullied.  That was a wake up call for me. 

From the moment we have our babies, we desire for them to have the best and be the best.  We automatically go to thoughts of "WOW, this baby could make a HUGE difference someday!"  We raise them with the values and morals that, we believe, Jesus wants them to have.  We want our kids to obey and honor us, their parents, but want them to obey and honor Jesus even more. Jesus doesn't just want you to be "nice" to everyone, He wants you to "love" everyone.  The "love" part is much harder to do than the "nice" part.

For a little bit now, our 7 year old, Reagan, has been having trouble with another girl from school.  To make it even harder for Reagan, this girl lives and has mutual friends in our neighborhood.   Our Reagan is an emotional little girl.  She has been blessed with the ability to learn well and easily.  I love those qualities of Reagan, but not everyone does.  We have had numerous talks about this situation.  While I'm not shocked anymore about this (going through this with my older kids has somewhat prepared me), I still am sad and sometimes angry. 

I had enough of this last weekend.  At our dinner time, I announced that I am going to call this girl's parents and discuss this situation with them.  My husband quickly said that was not the best way to go (I was once again reminded why God gave Tim to me..he balances me so well).  One of Reagan's sisters said "I am NOT going to toilet paper their house the next time I DO NOT go out after dark" Again, Tim shot this idea down too.  We left the table with heavy hearts.

Later, I walked in on Tim and Reagan talking.  He told her that there is always going to be kids like this girl in Reagan's life.  Reagan needs to learn how to handle these type of people.  He confided that there are people like that in his life and also in my life.  THEY ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE THERE. If we let them, these people will steal our joy just because they see it hurts us and that makes them feel better.   I later talked with her and told her that while we need to be friendly to everyone, we do not need to be friends with everyone.  We always need to be nice to everyone.  Who we have as friends matters because our friends have an immense influence on what we do and say.

Such an amazing little girl!

I'm sitting here and I think how sad I am that my little girl has to go through this.  I can't be there to fight her battles.  Unfortunately, she has battles as young as 7.  I'm so thankful for our family and the closeness we have.  Reagan knows that while she's at school by herself, she's NEVER by herself because we are ALWAYS here for her and will support her with love and prayer.

Rori is adorable!!

Rori is now over 2 years old and just growing so fast.  She is an immense joy in all of our lives.  Here are some pictures to share how she's doing.

Rori with her favorite animals

I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk and she ran and put this on her head and said "ready to go"

her most favorite way to hold Cookie

this is how she prefers to sit in the carts

with "shebe"

with "awwust"

praying before we eat

with "Rea Rea"

Scrumptious Tuesday

This is my favorite way to prepare a pot roast.  I put it in a crock pot early Sunday morning and it's ready when we get home from church! It is sooooo goooooood!

FLAVORFUL POT ROAST

2.5 LBS Beef Chuck Roast (I use other varieties of roasts too)
1 envelope Ranch Salad  Dressing mix
1 envelope Italian Salad Dressing mix
1 envelope Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 C water

In small bowl, combine salad dressings &gravy mixes; stir in the water and whisk to combine.  Put half mixture on bottom of crock pot.  Place roast in crock pot and pour remaining mixture over top roast.  About the last half hour break roast apart so it can absorb the seasonings.  Cook on medium heat for 6 hours or so.

Women helping women

Today we started our M.O.M.'s (Meeting Other Mom's) group at my house.  It was nice to talk with all of the ladies again.  This is the second season sharing life with these ladies.  We had some new ladies and some returning ladies.  After our time together, I did my time with God.

We are going through a study as a church.  It's been a very good study for me.  I thought of a similarity today from our M.O.M.'s group to my bible study.  I am learning that we have a love relationship with Christ.  "Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22 37-38"  Just as we are in a love relationship with Him, we need to be in a love relationship with others.  It's important to have people in our life that you like and, hopefully, love.  I have come to love these ladies.  I love their desires.  I love their children.  I love that we choose to share life together and be intentional with one another.  I pray that we come together as a group of ladies that love what God loves.  That when we do studies or go places, we will be doing it with the heart of Jesus.

I thought of this song as I was memorizing Matthew 22 37-38 this week.

 

I guess beds are for 3 year olds...

Rori has always been an amazing sleeper. Always that is until recently.  I don't know why, but she is having a tough time sleeping in her own bed.  We have found her in many places in our house.  August came downstairs one morning and found her sleeping on the stair.  She has come down and slept on the floor of our bedroom.  She will sleep in her sisters room on their floor.  I think I'll buy a night lite and see if that helps.  Until then, we'll just have to watch our step when we get out of bed...

Sleeping outside her room.  She brings her lamb and book with her

such a precious blessing

Tasty Tuesday

ITALIAN SAUSAGE NOODLE STEW

1 1/2 lbs bulk Italian sausage
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
4 (14.5) cans beef broth
2 (15-16oz) cans red kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
2C water
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 (24oz) pkg Reames frozen egg noodles
2 (16oz) bags frozen veggies
shredded parm cheese

Cook the sausage first.  In crock pot add sausage, tomatoes, beef broth, beans, water, Italian seasoning.  Add noodles and veggies last 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with parm cheese and serve.

IT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE, IT'S CHRIST-INCIDENCE

We are going through a home group study with our church.  It is kicking my butt! I spent last week in God's word just totally open and honest.  I think that's where God does His best work.  When I am totally and completely focused on Him.  It hurts sometimes.  It makes me sad sometimes.  It makes me reflect on me and my relationship with Him.  It makes me happy sometimes.  It makes me thankful ALL THE TIME.  I sometimes can't believe that He still (and always) loves me regardless of what I manage to get myself in to.  Believe me, I can get myself into some STUFF!

I have often said that I don't believe in the word "coincidence".  I believe everything happens for a reason.  I also believe that God is involved in everything.  Whether it be times that we are obeying God or times that we go off on our own, God is there.  It depends on how much we let Him be involved. Dr. Bob Laurent from our church said it best.  There are no coincidences in life, they are all Christ-instances. 


I look forward to today's time with God.  I know He's my Abba and He loves me with the agape love that only He can. He breaks me down so He can build me up in His image.  That is what I want.

This is the study we are doing