Thursday Thoughts

 - If you haven't been watching the news, and the weather report in particular, then you may not know that a tropical storm has formed in the Caribbean and it is headed this way.  My way.  Towards Florida.  Tropical Storm Isaac is currently south of Puerto Rico and is headed west at 13 miles per hour, over warm waters which will nourish it into a hurricane sometime tomorrow.  We are preparing ourselves, though we've gone through category 1 storms in the past, and in South Florida we refer to them as "kite flying" weather.  I'm more concerned about the people in Haiti.  There was that earthquake that left hundreds of thousands of families homeless, who are currently living in tents, and I can't help but wonder what will happen to them if this system goes through like all the computer models show it will?  Please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.  Haiti is the poorest nation in the entire Western hemisphere.  This weak hurricane could leave them completely devastated.

 - My oldest son brought home something that has me smiling.  Eggo has come out with a new seasonal flavor of waffles.

Pumpkin Spice.  Can I get a "Whoop Whoop!"  I love pumpkin spice anything, and these waffles are A-MAZING!  The smell in my kitchen just from putting them in the toaster oven was enough to get me excited, and I loved the taste - pumpkin and cinnamon together are the perfect combination!  These aren't going to last in the stores or in my kitchen, so I'm gonna have to stock up (or figure out a recipe to make them myself!).

 - School started this week.  My baby boy is in seventh grade.  I'm still not sure how that happened.  He seems to have grown overnight.  I look at old pictures of him, just a couple of years ago, and the difference is astounding.  He had such a baby face!  Now he's almost as tall as me, wears a size 9 shoe and is rapidly turning into a teenager.  I don't know if I'm ready for my baby to be a teenager.  Has anyone figured out how to slow down time?!

 - Our Awana pizza blast was last night.  We were jam-packed!  It was wonderful to see familiar faces, and even more exciting to see new ones!  One of the churches in our area dropped their Awana program this year because it was too expensive :'(.  We expect kids from that church to sign up with us.  It makes me sad when churches cut programs like Awana because they think they can't afford it.  In my opinion, you can't afford NOT to have programs like this for the children.  Remember Proverbs 22:6?  "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is grown he will not depart from it."  God commands us to teach the children so that they will follow Him in the future.  When we eliminate programs that help instruct the children in the ways of the Lord, we can't complain later on because these children turn into adults who no longer care about going to church or living godly lives.

 - On the menu for today:  meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad.  I have to make enough food so that we can all three of us (my son R, my daughter A and myself) can have it for lunch, my two oldest can pack some to take to work for dinner, my youngest son E and I can also have it for dinner, and maybe, just maybe, have some left for E's lunch tomorrow.  It's just four of us in the house but I feel like I cook for an army.  All because I'd rather have them eat a home cooked meal and not fast food.

 - I'm also gonna make what Alton Brown calls Pocket Pies.  I buy pastry discs:

and fill them with fruit.  I love fruit pies, especially apple, but my kids are not big fans of them.  My daughter loves blueberries, but I can't have berries because of my allergies.  This way I can make different flavored pies and we all get to eat what we like in small portions.  I hope everyone enjoys them.

Well, I'm off to finish cooking, then start some serious hurricane planning.  I have furniture in the backyard that will need attending to, some items that need to go to the dump and can't wait till after the storm, and of course what meals to prepare if the electricity goes out and my electric stove doesn't work.  Dear Lord, please keep this storm far from Haiti and far from us!  Have a blessed day.