Tastebook Cookbook & Other Stuff...

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" Isaiah 40:8

Hello bloggers... I snapped a few pictures last week and wanted to post them and never did so I thought I'd throw them in this post! I took the picture of the rose early one morning. I couldn't get over it's beauty... and if you could only smell it! As much as I enjoy gardening and tending to plants I'm always reminded (even just the next day after this picture was taken) of truth in what Isaiah 40:8 tells us. Gorgeous one minute, gone the next. The same really is true with company too... here one minute, enjoying their presence all while the house seems to be inundated with bustling women tending to the needs of little children and then they leave. And it goes from bustling to barren in a matter of seconds. I'm certain there has to be a "scientific name" for that empty feeling when everyone departs after a gathering. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about; it usually comes after the holidays or a vacation. You think, how could the fun end so abruptly? Well, I'm thankful that my sadness was just momentary and that I can find comfort in knowing that the flowers will fall and family will leave, but the Word will stand forever! What an amazing promise!

Later that morning (after I snapped the picture of the rose), Justin found a female box turtle in our yard! You would have thought that it was Christmas morning. I loved seeing the girl's (well, really Morgan's) excitement over the little creature. We only entertained her for an hour on the patio and then Morgan helped me set her "free" on the other side of the fence. Mom's dog, "Bird Brown", would have certainly had her for breakfast had he known she was a living creature. Anyway, here are a few pictures of that...

I couldn't resist... she was so cute and patiently waiting for her to come out

Still waiting...

Can you hear her? "Well, I think it's a good idea to set her free!"

Ok, now for the Tastebook update! Today is the deadline, but I tend to be like one of those teachers who would still accept papers days late. So if you have a good one and have the inclination to procrastinate (like myself), I'll have grace on you (because if anyone needs it... it's me!) and you can still send 'em in. I've probably processed and entered 2/3rds of the recipes and I've been a little slack in the last week or so. A bunch of emails got caught up in my spam filter and I didn't think to look there until last week and I found 'em, a bunch of 'em. So, with that said, send 'em on because I'm still entering them in the book. I'm still missing a lot of pictures and some people have not included where they are from... which makes it more fun! Once the book is done, I'll put it out there for a week and let y'all help me "edit" and make any necessary changes and then once everything is looking good... we can order away! It's been a real treat to read all the recipes, hear all the stories and best of all to see God's providence through something that seems as meaningless as a "blog"! It has been truly a blessing and such fun! Y'all are wonderful and I'm thankful for your willingness to sit down, type an email and tell me your story... I've been tremendously blessed! And I've tried to reply to all the emails, if I haven't, either I haven't "processed" it yet or it got lost in cyberspace!