the weekend is coming...........

Are you ready to yard sale this weekend?

I am not going to any sales but having one myself. I still have a bunch to get marked before Saturday.

We are having a community sale so it will be hectic in the neighborhood.

Hours are 8am-1pm.

I am glad its only till 1pm. I see no sense in having a sale till 4 or 5 pm. That means it is 7-8pm before you are all cleaned up and things headed to the goodwill.

This year I am doing something different. I am NOT sending items to the goodwill, I am going to post on freecycle that all leftover yard sale items can be picked up after 1:30pm. I believe that is a good thing to do. Someone who comes to get it might use it in another sale , but that is up to them. At least I will feel good about giving it away.

We are having hash brown casserole and sausage patties for supper tonight.

Hash brown casserole

10.25 oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup

8 oz. Colby cheese - grated( I usually add a little more- we like it cheesy!)

1/2 cup melted butter OR margarine

1 sm. onion - minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 lb. bag frozen shredded hash browns

Spray a 13" X 9" X 2" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

-In a bowl, combine soup, cheese, butter, onion, salt, and pepper.

-Gently fold the potatoes into the mixture and pour into prepared pan.

-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until heated through and top is browned.

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As some of you know, my oldest daughter(Samantha or Sam to us)'s fiance is in Iraq. She is with his parents in Missouri.

I think of him often and pray he returns safely. I believe that America will always help others but I wish they didnt have to do it by going to war. My dad sent me this in an email and I thought I would share it with you.

Deck of Cards

It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't been heard. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week.

As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.

Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?" The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord."

The sergeant said, "Looks to me like you're going to play cards."

The soldier said, "No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country,I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards."

The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?" "You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God.

The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments

The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Five is for the five virgins...there were ten but only five of them were glorified.

The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.

The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation.

The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth.

The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him.

The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.

The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.

The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.

The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.

When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year. There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year.

The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.

So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for."

The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?"

Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are putting their lives on the line.
Prayer for the Military: Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.

Protect them. Bless them and their families.

Amen.