OUR BELIEFS ARE NOT EVERYONE'S BELIEFS---BUT OH! THE FAITH OF A CHILD!!!

SweetCheeks was 3-1/2 years old

when she shared her beliefs

with Papa and me.

She is ELEVEN now.

We were driving her to brunch

after church and asked her

what she had learned

about 

The Easter Story.

It was so touching to me

to see what this
little girl
UNDERSTOOD
about Easter.
And it almost makes
me cry listening to
her earnest explanation.

If you have a moment
it is worth the listen.

Just so you know~

I do think she

might have mixed

a little bit of

Gulliver's Travels

into the the

Jesus story!;>)

She almost started
crying when she
thought Jesus might
have felt pain.

Here it is-

Listen up and see what

YOU think!
If you click on the little square
on the bottom right hand side
it will go full screen.
(I'm sure most of you know that)

Amen, SweetCheeks, Amen!

From me to you-
A Blessed Easter
For those that don't have
time to listen....

For my wonderful, engaging blogging friends

that are not of the 

Christian faith-

I love you all just as dearly 

as I love everyone else.

EVERYONE MATTERS

and I hope you have a 

Wonderful Sunday!!!

SPRING IN WISCONSIN-JOIN ME ON THE DINING ROOM PORCH!

I am back from my daughter's house

and just wanted to check in with you!

Look! Look!

Can you believe it is March 27, 2018 already?

It is now

OFFICIALLY SPRING IN WISCONSIN!

Isn't this pretty?

Care to join me on the side porch?

What?

What do you mean I am a liar?

Oh! Yeah!

This IS my porch but it is from 

THE END OF MAY A FEW YEARS AGO!!!!

Here is 

THE REAL PICTURE

of what a 

SPRING DAY in Wisconsin

REALLY looks like!

and this....

yes-I still have the Christmas flag 

on the playhouse-thanks for noticing.

Does this look like Spring to you?

THAT is the sad reality of  living in

WISCONSIN IN SPRING!

However, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE

for me to leave this out by the back door

until today.

Which reminds me?

Did I share a post of what the side porch 

looked like for Christmas?

NO?

Well, no time like the present!

Notice the ice on the table?

That was my PRESENT for Christmas.
and,yes, I know the difference between present and present~

By the way,

That is the same table that you saw up above.

Hurry! Hurry all you early shoppers!

There are only 273 days until Christmas!

You're welcome!

I will have an announcement

for you in a few days.

I am going back to work

full time for a two year period

as a partner with my son, hubby

and one other person.

I will be sharing pictures of our

REHABBED OFFICE

in a bit.

First I need to get the paint

out from under my fingernails...

although I did more

'supervising' than painting.

Age DOES have its privileges!

HA!

Be Gone For A Bit!

I am behind in---

posting

&

visiting blogs.

Bear with me for a bit.

Right now I am watching three 

little grands while 

MOM & DAD 

are on their way to

ARGENTINA!!!

 I brought Lulu & her friend along

to help with the kids.

(Lulu & Co. are on Spring Break).

As luck would have it----

Lulu has been throwing up since

early this morning.

I have a feeling it si going to be

A  LONG FEW DAYS!

I might need a break from 

THE BREAK

when I get home!

Have a great week

& I promise to 

visit next week!

PREPARING (A CAKE) FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

March is half over already!!

How can that be?

AND 

Saturday is 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Even all you

NONE IRISH

pretend to be

 Irish  

just for a day.

Well, except for a few of you

English that wouldn't

lower yourselves to do so.

You know who you are,

but being the

loving people we are,

we forgive ya,

and God Bless ya,

all the way to the

Blarney Stone and back.

I grew up in a small

Irish Community in Pennsylvania.

I believed in leprechauns

until I was at least 12...

well...maybe older...

hmm..matter of fact I'm

pretty sure I might

STILL BELIEVE

in them.

So, today I am going to

give you a little recipe.

You have a 

COUPLE OF DAYS

get your butt to the store

for the ingredients so

you can make it for your family.

And your family will lay down

in your path and let you walk on

them after eating this.

Ready?

Now please don't be asking me

where I got this recipe because

the truth is

I don't remember.

So, if anyone has the source for it

I will be glad to give credit.

I THINK it came out of a

Taste of Home magazine but

I'm not betting my 

IRISH CHINA

on that fact.

Crème de Mint Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

2 teaspoons mint extract

12 drops green food color

2 jars (16 oz each) hot fudge topping

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Thin rectangular crème de menthe chocolate candies, unwrapped and cut into pieces, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.

Make cake batter as directed on box, adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mint extract with the water. Reserve 1 cup batter. Stir 3 drops of the green food color into reserved batter; set aside. Pour remaining batter into pan.

Drop green batter by generous tablespoonfuls randomly in 12 to 14 mounds onto batter in pan. Cut through batters with metal spatula or knife in S-shaped curves in one continuous motion. Turn pan one-fourth turn; repeat cutting for swirled design.

Bake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Carefully spread fudge topping evenly over cake. In medium bowl, stir whipped topping, remaining 1/2 teaspoon mint extract &  remaining 9 drops green food color. Spread whipped topping mixture evenly over fudge. Garnish with candy pieces. Store covered in refrigerator.

Now, I will tell you that being

St. Paddy's Day

 all the calories

 have all been removed

so you can enjoy every bite.

( Removing those calories

is an Irish trick that I promised not to tell)

I'll be serving it to

The Fam here in the Heartland.

Let's hope one of the grandkids doesn't

eat all the Andes Mints beforehand

because if they are gone

YOU KNOW
they will blame it on

THIS ONE.

Have a wonderful day as you prepare yourself

for all the
IRISH DRUNKS

that will be running amuck on

Saturday.

I won't be one of them because I don't drink

GREEN BEER.

I will be the one sitting in the corner

taking pictures for 

BLACKMAIL PURPOSES-----

and that's all I'm gonna be 

saying about that!

Happy Thursday!

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY LITTLE ANNA IRELAND

It is hard to believe that our little

BRIGHT EYES

(Anna Ireland)

is

FOUR YEARS OLD TODAY!

She is such a good girl.

A bright spot in all of our lives.

She is funny and bright

AND

just a  TAD naughty 

most of the time sometimes.

Tattoos By Anna!

She was a pretty baby

from the time she was born--

placid and an "easy care" child.

She was a doll baby on her 

FIRST BIRTHDAY...

At 18 months she was part of a 

AWEDDING PARTY.

and

LITTLE MISS CHRISTMAS 

for Indianapolis when when she was 2.

She loves dressing up---

And being a child of the 2000's 

she already knows more about 

computers than I do!

God bless this sweet child

as she grows up.

We love you to the moon and back,

Anna Ireland!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRHTDAY

to our little girl that 

LOVES DISNEY!

ALMOST SPRING IN WISCONSIN---YEP---TRUE

I know some of you

have green that is bursting

through the soil

right now

and it feels like an early Spring.

Spring comes a bit later

here in Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin you might

awake to

THIS scene on

the little deck off the dining room.

The play house is covered with

nature's frosting, too.

Mrs. Cardinal makes her

morning appearance.

Mr. Cardinal is a lot more

colorful and a bit cocky 
cuz he thinks he's purty!

Fat and Sassy is here, too.

(NO not ME- I mean this guy)

I know some people hate them
but I get a kick of 
SASSY SQUIRRELS!

Now- I'm not saying

that I have a

STARBUCKS

addiction or anything...

although SOME people in

my own family have

accused me of just that very thing-

Imagine THAT

but this is what the

roads looked like

when I headed out for

my

morning fix.

Were the roads slippery?

Did some idiot partially

cross over into my lane?

Was it worth the drive?

Did I white-knuckle it all

the way home?

Did I live to tell the story?

Would I do it again?

The answer to all the questions

above is a resounding

YES!

Anyone get them all right?

Anyone?

anyone....

Hey...did I EVER say

I WASN'T crazy?;>)

I have a houseful of grandgirls
this week while their new home
is getting set up.
I am back to cooking big meals,
lots of laundry,
squabble settling,
and-best of all-
lots of 
LOVE & LAUGHTER!

Wishing YOU 
Love & Laughter
this weekend, too!!!

PREPARING FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY!-GET GOING!!!!

It's said that

EVERYONE IS IRISH

on St. Patrick's Day.

However,

I am Irish every day of the year.

It's in my blood-literally.

So,

I have bits and pieces of 

IRELAND

around  me all year long.

My sweet girls bought me this set

a few years ago.

I love it to the moon and back.

However, as we are preparing to move

I gifted this back to my

IRISH DAUGHTER, Mimi.

There are about 45 pieces in the set.

We spent quite a bit of time 

researching this on the internet

and couldn't really track it at all

to find the pattern.

If you know anything about it 

I would love to know!

I also LOVE this sweet compote dish

that stays in my china cabinet year round.

Also - now gone from my home.

Yeah- I know- 

crummy picture...

Here's a bit of the lid-

It's a pretty piece, isn't it?

The manufacture's mark looks like this.

Those French sure do a nice job on

IRISH CHINA!

I thought I needed a new shamrock plant

image

Someone  who shall remain nameless 

killed my plants while I was gone.

So~ I went to Stein's Garden & Gift.

As I was walking in I noticed a lady walking out.

She was walking out with a 

CART FULL OF SHAMROCK PLANTS.

Whoodedoo- I am excited now!

I can't wait to get a plant...

or two...or three...or....

I rushed to find some for myself.

I couldn't find any!

I asked the clerk where the 

shamrock plants were.

She didn't know.

She called someone who called someone

who called someone---you know how THAT goes.

FINALLY.......

image

Sales clerk who was standing there 

chewing her gum said...

Oh-Ya lookin' for those green cloverleaf plants?

Me:      Ummm....YEAH.........

Gum Chewer: Oh- some woman just came in and 
bought both flats that we had.

What? WHAT?

I don't know if I wanted to kill the 

gum-chewing cashier or the woman that

took every last plant!

The plant gal has gone home....

Guess who is left?!?!

They SAID they have more

coming in tomorrow.

I'll believe it when I see it,

if you know what I mean.

Looks like a big snow storm 

going on here today.

AND- I have 3 grandgirls 

& their mom (my daughter)
staying here until they can move

 into their new home

next week.

Oughta be a fun week....

or a crazy one---take your pick!

Have a great Tuesday--

and shake out your 

SHAMROCK SHIRT

and get your Irish on!

Y'all have a great day now,
you hear?!