Baby Samuel- Updated on 1/19

Baby Samuel and his family could really use our prayers.

It is such a shame to see such a little one going through so much. I don't personally know this family but I have been praying for them for about the last week. (It hits close to home having lost Jamison only 4 weeks ago tomorrow.) This family has amazing faith. Please say a prayer for them.


Update-
I am sorry I didn't update this sooner. I just wanted to pass along that Baby Samuel went home to his Heavenly Father on December 24. They took him off all the machines and he passed away. Please remember this family in your prayers as they are now trying to heal after the loss.












"To God Be The Glory Great Things He Has Done!"


JMFK 11/27/2010 Gone but never forgotten

Here is my first try at Homemade Gifts in a Jar. One is for PB Chocolate Chip Loaves and the other is Merry Banana Candy Muffins.



This is what happens when an unknowing 13 year old sits next to her mum and hands her mum a marker...




The Monkey and I have been enjoying BBC tv. The funny thing is that we actually enjoy the BBC America channel more than American TV. The Catherine Tate Show is then newest one we are watching.. It is pretty funny. We first came to "know" Catherine Tate as "Donna" in Dr. Who Season 4. Dr. Who is our favorite show. Coming in second is Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. We are anxiously awaiting the premier of The Doctor Who version of A Christmas Carol. It comes on Christmas night.


I am thinking of trying to make a Vegetarian or Vegan Cream of Broccoli soup. I am hoping this comes out good as I love Cream of Broccoli and could eat it all year long.

I hope everyone has a wonderful blessing filled day.



"To God Be The Glory Great Things He Has Done!"


JMFK 11/27/2010 Gone but never forgotten

Wow.. I can't believe that 1 week from today is CHRISTmas eve.. That is insane how fast this year flew. So many changes. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your year? Me I would rate it a 7.

Great things that happened this year-
-Got married
-Bought a condo
-Moved
-Little Man turned 1
-Reconnected through facebook with some very old and dear friends.
-Got my little Pup.
-The Boy and his gf moved down here.
-Expecting a new grandbaby


The bad thing this year-
-Moved to Florida (I am a cold weather - ice and snow- type of girl)
-moved away from my fantastic in-laws
-The Boy was sick in the hospital
-The Boy and his gf moved back to MA
-New grandbaby passed away.


I wonder what God has planned for my family in 2011...
I do know that one change is that The Monkey will be attending public school. Now more homeschool. This is a bittersweet change for us. Ok actually it's bittersweet for me... I am already having separation anxiety. Monkey has decided that she wanted to go back to public school (she never wanted to leave in the 7th grade). Frankie wants her in public school for high school. So ok. She starts public school mid 8th grade in January and dare I say high school in August.... Geesh.. High school.. Man, I can not believe my baby is going into high school. It is funny how the fact my baby is turning 14 and some of my friends are just having their first or second babies makes me feel so old (when my friends are the same age!) But I love my friends and wish them all the years of happiness I have had with my kiddos. They are so much fun!


Well, I should get off the computer right now. The Pup needs attending to, the bed needs making and coffee needs drinking.




"To God Be The Glory Great Things He Has Done!"


JMFK 11/27/2010 Gone but never forgotten

CHRISTmas is fast approaching. I still have yet to get into my kitchen and start my baking. I was Wal*Mart twice yesterday and still forgot to get eggs. I bought sugar and mint extract and flour but forgot the eggs! Grrr.. Now I need to hit the store again tonight and hopefully remember eggs (I know write a list.. But this doesn't help me at all!)
I was surprised yesterday when my husband said "You go shopping and I will fold the laundry." WOW! If anyone who reads this knew "Frankie" you would know that he is not domesticated. He can't run the washer or the dryer. As for cooking.. Lets just say when I went up to MA for The Boy, when he was in the hospital, The Monkey cooked. "Frankie" doesn't know how to even turn the stove on.. But that is ok. I am of the old school thought that it isn't his place but mine to be in the kitchen. But back to the laundry... LOL So when The Monkey and I came home "Frankie" says "I can't believe how much laundry I had to fold." I laughed and explained to him that he had it easy. He only had to fold 1 load of clothes and hang half a load (5 pairs of scrubs)and 3 sheets. The Monkey's clothes don't get folded they all are hung up (usually she does her own laundry) so he put them on her bed. I then told him that I do laundry only every two weeks (and have about 5 loads unless there are sheets and blankets and then it is more.) Scrubs are done every Saturday or Sunday. He almost fainted.. LOL.. But don't get me wrong. I am not complaining and not making fun of him. I am very thankful that he did that for me.
So, CHRISTmas shopping is almost done. Some of the gifts are wrapped. Well, gifts we are shipping out are wrapped. The Little Man's box is packed. All set to go. My mother in law and father in laws box is almost ready. A couple of gift cards need to be added then it is all set as well. Finished Frankies shopping. I think. There is one more thing I would like to get but I am not too sure if I will get it.. His presents will be fun to wrap. We need to find alternate ways to wrap them so they don't look even close to what they are... Last year he guessed just about every present by picking them up and shaking the boxes... Wait until this year. All I need to say is I have two bags of shipping peanuts that are going to be coming in handy!
I am thinking that for friends and family that live in our area will be getting baked goods. Maybe gifts in a jar. IDK yet. But then that takes me back to the need for eggs! LOL

So, now that CHRISTmas is 12 days away that makes New Years Eve 18 days. Have any of you made New Years Resolutions? How many make these every year and always find that come the end of the year that "Dang. I never did get that done."? I do this every year.. LOL. So my plans (yes, now I say plans- doesn't help any though) for 2011. Finish my Hotel and Restaurant Management Course. Save money for our trip to Key West for our Anniversary in June. Work out on a regular basis. Lose 50-75 pounds. Eat out less. Use my crock pot a lot more. Try at least 2 new vegetarian recipes a month. Plan out and execute my changes for my kitchen (nothing drastic yet. Just some paint color and new hardware.)


I hope everyone has a blessing filled day!





<3JMFK 11/27/2010 <3 A moment on Earth. Always in our hearts!

Lola

December 7, 2010

December 7, 1941 "a date which will live in infamy..."
I have to say that I never paid much attention to this as a child. It wasn't until I lived in Ewa Beach, Hawaii for alomost 4 years that this brought meaning to me. It meant even more to me when at the age of 16 I went to the Arizona Memorial. It was very sobering.


I am finding it hard to get into the CHRISTmas spirit while still mourning the loss of Jamison. But I am trying. My tree has been up for a week. Lights and garland are on it. That is it. My CHRISTmas cards are still sitting on the table. Not yet ready to go out. I find it hard to sit down and work on them.

CHRISTmas shopping is mostly done. I just need to get in the room and wrap. I have to get a couple of boxes ready to go out- The Boy and his gf. Little Man and his momma. I still need to shop for Frankie. He wants hoodies... Hmm... Hoodies in Florida? LOL. It has been a little cool lately.. LOL I know my friends up North in MA would love our weather but they will have to admit that 40's is cool.

I got my CHRISTmas present a little early. It is a HTC Evo 4G phone. I have to say I LOVE this phone... Actually, Frankie and The Monkey love it too so I think there may be two more finding homes in this family. I have to say my FAVORITE applications are Kindle for Android and a Sudoku game. Yesterday I downloaded a few free Kindle books from Amazon. Little Woman, A Christmas Carol, The Scarlet Letter, The Bible, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. I have an eclectic taste in books.. LOL.. The only one I have never read is Uncle Tom's Cabin but I have wanted to read it for years.

The Monkey and I have been enjoying the BBC channel. Our favorites shows are Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Dr. Who.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.



<3 JMFK 11/27/2010 <3 Gone but never forgotten Sha Sha loves you.

Gone but never forgotten

Jamison Maxwell Fernando King Obituary: View Jamison King's Obituary by Lowell Sun


Our sweet grandson has gone home to our Heavenly Father. He was born Saturday at 801a and passed at 1052a.

Quick story- his momma woke up feeling pain Friday morning. They went to the doctor who said she was in labor and they rushed her to the hospital to stop it as she was only 22 weeks along. They put her on iv's and thought the contractions had slowed down. Saturday morning her water broke and he was born. Being so little his lungs were not fully developed. There was nothing that could have been done for our sweet little one.

It's a......

Momma at 18 weeks


Profile

Little piggies




We found out on November 5th that grandbaby number two is a BOY! He is due April 6th.

We are so excited.. The name is LONG but very nice. It is part a nickname I had given to my son and part the name of her grandfather whom has passed on.


Two of my favorite people.


The Boy and Little Man Nov. 6. 2010

My boys.










"To God Be The Glory Great Things He Has Done!"

New "baby", 1st birthday, Halloween and new eats

Pictures of my new "baby." Her name is Gemma. Right now she is in KY with her fur mommy. But she will be home in FL sometime in November.




Birthday BoyLittle Man and his momma.

Birthday King
Cake and Ice Cream time

Hey this stuff is pretty good

Long day


Halloween 2010 in FL.

I was talking to my little friend in MA. last night. She said she was freezing while she was trick or treating... I WISH! It was 89 degrees and humid here. But the children seemed to enjoy themselves. Mads, B, and The Monkey.


New Eats
We have decided that since we enjoy being vegetarian so much that we are going to try a vegan diet. We are going to be trying to follow the book
Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs
Even though we don't have Diabetes. We have really wanted to cut a lot of the excess fat out of our diet and this book is working great for my father (who has Type 2 diabetes). Today is Day one of this style. It is pretty neat. The book talks about getting rid of things such as oils, butter, all eggs, milk etc... It will take a little to get used to it but I am sure that it will be great!

Tonight's supper will be soy churrizo with vegetables, onions and garlic over brown rice.

On a side note- the other night I tried on a pair of pants that were two sizes smaller than the ones I have been wearing and... THEY FIT!




53 Sleeps 15 hours, 17 minutes until CHRISTmas!!






"make sure you keep it between the navigational beacons."

Almost 1

I can't believe that on Saturday it will have been 1 year since this sweet baby was welcomed into our family. Our grandson Little Man turns 1. I really wish we were closer so we could share in his special birthday with him. But Sha Sha, Papaw and Auntie sent up a box with presents and full of love for him.

Sweet Little Man with Daddy, Auntie (holding him) and his Momma (Taken June 19, 2010)

Sweet Little Man with Auntie, Sha Sha (holding Little Man), and his parents.

Sweet Little Man being held by Daddy, with Papaw and his momma.

Little Man and his trip to the farm (October 2010)

Little Man and his grandpa.

Picking his pumpkin out.

Now if this isn't trouble I don't know what is. Sweet Little Man and his Uncle.

Have a wonderful first birthday my angel. We love you! Wish we could be with you but hopefully Momma and you will get down here for CHRISTmas.






"make sure you keep it between the navigational beacons."

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Riggs and Mr. and Mrs. Beers

This weekend was the wedding for three people that have meant a lot to me. Two were married this past Saturday. My brother in law, Dan and his new wife, Lisa were married in a beautiful location.
Sunken Gardens was neat place to get married in. Beautiful tall trees all around. The macaws and parrots nearby. The hired a steel drum player (once I remember her info I will post it!) who was great.
The photographer was Jessica Charles. She took some great pictures. I can't wait to get copies of the ones she took of The Monkey, our nephew and a close family friend. Boy did these children "ham it up" for the photographer. LOL
We had a small cocktail reception at La Veranda Bed and Breakfast. All of us stayed there for two nights. What a great place. They served breakfast in the mornings and the food was to die for! Saturday morning was a spinach fritatta with some fruit. YUMMY. Sunday morning was blueberry cream cheese French toast with fruit (BTW both meals came with a meat- one day bacon and one day sausage but being vegetarians we chose no meat!) The rooms were wonderful. So comfy. We stayed in the South Beach room. It has a sitting room and a bedroom. Perfect for us. The children stayed in the room with my inlaws. They had a two bedroom suite with a living room. The children loved using the "secret stairs" to get from the room to downstairs and all three were like "little Ninja's" just appearing all of a sudden. It was cute. I LOVED the two wrap around porches. We all spent a lot of time on the one downstairs. Just talking and telling stories and having a great time. The owner is Nancy and she lives on site.
After the cocktail reception we walked a couple of blocks to 400 Beach Seafood and Tap House. The food was wonderfully awesome! Appetizers were Artichoke Manchego Fondue Blue Corn (very yummy),Wings and Pork sliders; Salad was The Green Goddess with Green Goddess Dressing; The entrees offered were Ale BBQ Mahi Mahi with vegetable and jasmine rice, Chicken with potatoes and vegetables, Grilled sirloin with mashed potatoes and vegetables. They made Frankie, myself and The Monkey huge bowls of pasta with vegetables... (We said we would go back there just for that and the biscuits! LOL).
After a wonderful supper some of the party went back to the B&B and some of us went to The Vinoy(where I have been told that the Red Sox stay while they are in town!) for a drink and sat on their large porch.
Then it was a bit of a walk to Courigan's Irish Pub where we had a few beers. (Frankie and I had one and called it a night. We enjoyed our quite walk home- it was about a 15 minute walk- I am so thankful that I had made the decision to take off my regular shoes and put on sneakers!)
My brother in law and his wife had the perfect weather for this wedding. It wasn't too hot or too cold and thankfully, even though we are in midst of hurricane season here in FL we did not have to worry...

The other person that is dear to me that was married this weekend is a friend from high school. His name is also Dan. His new wife, Shannon, and him were married Sunday October 10. (10-10-10)

I wish both sets of newlyweds the best.













"make sure you keep it between the navigational beacons."

I love Fall.

Yesterday we were driving to pick up our new family members.
Toby eating a whole wheat cracker on the way home

Toby at home



Tiger claiming his spot under The Monkey's desk. He wouldn't let her pick up the paper.

It was a nice ride but a little sad. I commented to Frankie how weird it was to know that it is October and that there were no colors on the leaves. It makes me miss New England so much. I loved the four seasons (even winter and snow).

Last week Little Man got his first hair cut. I can't believe how big he is getting.



Little Man at the farm with his other grandparents









Lima Bean's momma and The Boy have been here for almost a month. Lima Bean's momma has been so sick with this pregnancy. Doctors appointment tomorrow for her. The Boy has gotten a new job. He seems to like it.

Today Frankie starts his new job. He is working in a hospital. He really enjoys working in the medical field but was burned our while working for as an EMT a few years ago. He went into the hospitality industry but so did NOT enjoy that.



"make sure you keep it between the navigational beacons."

We decided the end of August that we were going to become vegetarians. The Monkey and I watched a video (PLEASE BE AWARE THIS IS GRAPHIC!!!!) .
She has not touched meat since August 27. It took 3 days to sink into my brain. So since August 30th I have not had meat. We are what is considered Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians. We have kept dairy and eggs in our diet (but only a little amount). Frankie went a week before giving up meat.
I have noticed some changes in the way I feel. I was always bloated and gassy after eating supper. I have not had these issues since giving up meat.
I have made many different things to eat since we have started this journey. It is interesting in our house. The Boy and Lima Bean's Momma have moved in with us. They are meat eaters. Tonight the children went to KFC. The Monkey ordered a Chicken Bowl without Chicken. Needless to say she received many strange looks.
Tonight I made Slow Cooker Pesto Spinach Lasagna. Without the Pesto. Frankie and I were unsure how it would cook. He was actually a little nervous. I have to say I put it in the crock pot on low for 6 hours and it was perfect. We both loved it. The Monkey wasn't really hungry but she had a little piece and enjoyed it.
Next time I think I will add some more veggies. I will have to make a small cheese lasagna for Lima Bean's Momma.



"make sure you keep it between the navigational beacons."

Quick update- Lima Bean has a new due date of April 6.
Here is her/his newest picture. This was taken on Friday August 13.




Here is my new tree... Every person in FL needs some type of citrus tree. So this is my lime tree. His name is Lenny...




Last year I bought a bamboo tree. I wanted something comforting. Zen like. So I bought Bob. This was him September of 2009.


This is Bob today. I was a little worried about him since I moved and had to leave him in another state. He was a little dehydrated and in need of love but I have him back on the good side.



I am reading another book for Book Sneeze.


BookSneeze is great. When someone signs up they can request one of the available books to read. When the person is finished reading they write a review on their blog and on a public site (ie. Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc...) and then can request another book.

School starts Monday for the Monkey. We are looking forward to it. This year we are trying a virtual school. Monkey loves being on the computer so we thought this would be pretty neat.








"make sure you keep it between the navigational beacons."