a smoother smoothie

I have been on the search for the "perfect" smoothie recipe for years.  I have always thought there was a "smoothie rule" that ice MUST be an ingredient in each and every smoothie. My smoothies always resulted in at least one big chunk of ice and they weren't quite so "smooth".  Well....ice is now a thing of the past when it comes to my smoothies.  Here is a recipe I found in a magazine....a much smoother smoothie! 

• 1 banana (sliced)
• 1/4 c. fresh strawberries (sliced)
• 1/4 c. fresh blueberries
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. cranberry juice
• 1/2 c. yogurt OR pineapple sherbert (I've tried both...didn't notice a big difference in taste)

I dump all this in my blender. Push the "blend" button for about 5-10 seconds, and it's ready to pour.

18, 19, 20.....and counting

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

Please excuse the rather unflattering background. A sweet friend at work has taken pics of me every week.  We just snap them when we can....ignoring the evacuation plans, ugly walls, and other "schoolish" stuff in the background!

heaven

I just finished a book/Bible study with a lovely group of ladies. The last chapter we read had a description of heaven that I absolutely loved...so different than the cliche streets of gold and crystal sea you always hear about (not that those things will not be waiting for me in heaven...I just know there will be so much more).  I hope you enjoy.

The air of heaven will blow away the fog that so often clouds our vision in this life.  In eternity we'll see the silliness of self-righteousness and quarreling over the nonessentials. We'll see just how precious the truths of the gospel really are....We'll see that the Cross really conquered death and hell and washed away our sins.  We'll see the everlasting reward of believing in Jesus and the eternal hell of rejecting him.  We'll look back on our lives and see that God never did forsake us....We will know in a deeper way than we can now imagine that God truly worked all things together for our good.  And we'll see that Jesus really did go to prepare a place for us, just as he said....We will meet men and women from every nation of the old earth who gave their lives in the cause of the gospel--martyrs who died rather than abandon the unchanging truths of the faith.  We'll meet people who lost homes and family and whose bodies were whipped and tortured and burned because they refused to renounce the name of Jesus.  And we will honor them, and all will see that what they lost and suffered was nothing in comparison to what they gained.......