Thought for the last day of September...

Yesterday, I was having a difficult day. Something happened that was beyond my control...and I was very angry and frustrated. I didn't take it to the Lord...I was just wanted to take it out on the person who caused the situation!

In the midst of my venting...the Lord allowed my neighbors to be a blessing. Did I deserve it? Probably not. The Lord looked down on me...shed grace on my life...and said to me...
"I want to show you that I love you no matter what you may deserve."

What an amazing thought! I am so thankful for a Saviour who loves us no matter what we may deserve!

Oh...I almost forgot...the blessing! :) My neighbors brought over 3 pumpkins from their garden...for my fall decorating! :) They bought 2 trick-or-treating buckets for the girls! They also brought over homemade beef stew and stuffed green peppers with red sauce for our dinner! I have been craving stuffed peppers and let me tell you...they were delicious! What a sweet couple they are!

One more blessing...when we woke up this morning...we had a dusting of snow on the Sierras!
It is one of my favorite days of the year here in Nevada...when we see the first snowfall! Thank you Lord!
Just one more blessing to share...my husband and I were coming home from our date on Monday evening. We were driving down some back roads and suddenly there was 12 deer on the side of the road! In Nevada, the deer are more in the mountains so I rarely see them. Yet...here were 12 all at one time! So neat!

May the Lord give you a special blessing today!

Fall Decorating Idea: Jack O' Planter

Jack-o'-Planter

A pumpkin resting in a birdbath becomes a colorful autumn container. Drill a drainage hole in a hollowed pumpkin, add soil, and fill it with kale, pansies, vinca, and other cold-tolerant plants for a cool combo that can shake off the chill.

Fall Decorating Idea: Gourd Vase

Squash Blossoms

Create a vase with a gourd that stands upright. Slice off the stem and use a long, slender knife to widen the opening if necessary. Add a handful of bright mums.

Autumn Joy's 4th Birthday

Mommy and the birthday girl!

Addie and Sierra...I call them my twins...LOL!

Her new princess doll!

Playing at Chuck E. Cheese!

Yesterday was my middle daughter...Autumn's 4th birthday. I took all three girls out for a birthday day. We started this with Addie's birthday and we liked it so much that I am going to make it a tradition for each birthday.

We started out having lunch at Sonic...mmm! This is a drive-in hamburger joint. Autumn got a free kid's meal from their birthday club.

We then went to Wal-Mart and she got to pick out two presents. She picked out the Disney Princess...Ariel doll and a Prince to go with it. She has been wanting this for awhile. Ariel is her favorite princess.

Then we stopped at Baskin Robbin's and she got a free ice cream cone from their birthday club.

Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese and the girls played games and rode on the little rides. She got 20 free tokens from their birthday club.

At home, we had birthday cake (Barbie) and ice cream. We also are going on a family activity of her choice...bowling!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Reno Air Races

This week, we are having the Reno Air Races in our city.
They are held in the Reno-Stead airport very close to where we live.
Today, the girls and I sat on the front lawn and watched the Blue Angels perform in the sky! AWESOME! I took the best pictures I could get from our front lawn.

The coolest thing was when five Blue Angel jets flew right over our house! We were amazed! I hope to watch them tomorrow and Saturday as well.

Nothing can beat a free air show from your front yard on a beautiful, sunny September afternoon!

Camping Pictures from Labor Day...

Here are a few pictures of our camping trip...

Getting our campsite set up...

Autumn and Sierra...cheese!

Addie lost her first tooth on the trip!

Classic picture! Papa Tastet and Addie...

Trout on the grill over the fire...

The morning sun coming through the trees...

Another classic picture! One day into the trip...we lost Autumn and Sierra's duffel bag with all their clothes, pj's, brush, toothbrushes, shoes, diaper wipes...etc! This is how they ended up looking! LOL! They were drinking hot cocoa and Addie was reading her Bible.

Sierra was supposed to be taking a nap...we caught her peeking through the tent...crying to get out!

LOL!

A beautiful view from the campground! We were at the base of the Sierra-Nevada mountain range.

Max and I in the front seat of the truck...

Addie striking a pose...in Cabela's...on our way home.

Pumpkins....

This week, I saw pumpkins in the stores! Yea! Pumpkins are such a fun way to decorate for autumn...Halloween...and Thanksgiving.
What are some ways that you enjoy decorating with pumpkins?

Recipe: Cheesy Sausage Potatoes

Here is a simple 5 ingredient recipe to use as a side dish or for a brunch. To make even easier...use southern style cubed frozen potatoes! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, crumble sausage into a large skillet; add onion. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain if necessary.
Drain potatoes; arrange in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Drizzle with butter. Add sausage mixture and stir gently. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Video: Addie - Quoting John 3:14-19 Part 1

This is Addie - our 6 yr. old - in 1st grade this year. This is her first set of Bible verses she learned this year in home schooling.

Video: Addie - Quoting John 3:14-19 Part 2

Video: Autumn - Quoting John 1:3

Our little 3 yr. old...soon to be 4 yrs. on Sept. 24!
Good job Autumn Joy!

Video: Autumn - Quoting Genesis 1:1

Autumn...quoting one of her Bible verses she has learned in K-4 - home schooling -
this year.

Are You A Christian...Except In A Crisis?

Ever have one of those days...you feel like just throwing up your hands...and walking away from it all? Whew! That maybe a good shopping trip will clear all the problems away? LOL! If we are truthful, we all have those days. Today seemed to be my day.

My morning started as the lady I babysat for was 1/2 hour late getting home. One of her patients died 10 minutes before her shift ended. (Maybe I wasn't the only one having "one of those days". :)

In checking my bank account, I found out the motel where our church's revival speakers had stayed...had charged my debit card for the motel rooms instead of the church's credit card! Yikes! Overdrawn and overdraft fees galore! This meant phone calls back and forth from the motel to the bank trying to get it straightened out.

I returned my books to the library. They somehow missed checking back in one movie and five of my books! They had been returned to the shelves without crediting my account!

I spent 45 minutes on hold with another account that has been somehow not credited accordingly. Forty-five minutes waiting to have them tell me that someone will call me back by next Wednesday!

These things came at me all at once and bombarded my spirit!

I thought...Lord, I did everything I was supposed to do in these situations. It was the other person involved that made the mistakes. Why do I have to deal with all of this when I didn't cause it?

Frustration builds in us thinking these thoughts, don't they?

Just remember...you may be doing everything right. However, people are human. Things happen so just roll with the punches!
Just because we are a Christian doesn't mean our car won't ever break down! (That comment is for my sister, Rachel. :)
Christians have to live life just like everyone else.

Remember in these times...deal with the other person kindly. Getting irate...yelling or raising your voice...telling them how wrong they are...
won't help or prove anything.
Except that you are not acting like a Christian.
So my challenge today to you is LAUGH at your problems and situations! It won't make the problems and issues go away...but it will make the journey joyful!
You will be amazed...that the next problem that may come along...will seem a little easier to handle.

Labor Day - Family Camping Trip

Looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend...

Saturday, Sunday and Monday...we are going camping at Davis Creek Campground in Washoe Valley, NV. It is in the foothills of the Carson Range - a part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The elevation is 5,200 ft. An interesting fact I googled...this is where they filmed the TV - Movie "Bonanza-Under Attack" in 1995. If you are familiar with the TV show - Bonanza - it was filmed near Lake Tahoe in Nevada as well. (Do we have any Bonanza show fans out there? :)
Our oldest daughter, Addie, left this morning with Papa Tastet and are setting up camp at our site. My husband, our other two daughters and our dog, Max and I will be leaving tomorrow to join them.


We are looking forward to fun camping...eating by the fire...making s'mores and hot chocolate...cooking dinner in our Dutch oven...fishing...and enjoying the great outdoors that the Lord has blessed us with!
I hope you have a blessed Labor Day holiday!

First day of school...

Monday, August 24 was our first day of home-schooling. Addie is in 1st grade and Autumn is in K-4. We had a wonderful first week of school ending with a field trip to the Nevada State Fair.
We are looking forward to a challenging and fun-filled school year in the Tastet household!

Field Trip: Nevada State Fair

This past week, our family went to the Nevada State Fair.
We walked around and looked at all the fair animals...which Sierra especially loved! We took a pony ride...which Sierra loved! We watched the Splash Dog event which is pretty fun. We had some yummy fair food! Mmm...I love garlic french fries and sweet tea! I got a large sweet tea and you could get refills for $1! I got 3 refills! LOL! The girls had their favorite treat...cotton candy!
It was a wonderful family outing!