Do you know what month it is?

If you answered March, you'd be wrong. Because this was a trick question, of course!

It is National Peanut Month.

Not this kind of Peanuts...

This kind...

Seriously!

You can verify my facts on the Peanut Butter Lovers website. (Who knew, right?) Still doubting? It's even been announced on the National Peanut Board's website. It's a great site with lots of info, recipes, fun facts, tips on growing peanuts, a children's page and even lesson plans for those of you who need them.

Did you know that Americans eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts and 700 million pounds of peanut butter each year? (That little tidbit of info ought to come in handy during your next game of Trivial Pursuit!)

There's no shortage of peanut and peanut butter lovers in our household. So, in honor of this special month, I'm baking one our favorite peanut butter treats this afternoon. And, I'm going to share my recipe!

Peanut Bars

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon real vanilla flavoring

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup regular oats

2 cups chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugars, butter, peanut butter, egg and vanilla flavoring. Stir in flour and oats. Spread in greased 13x9x2 baking pan. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.

Immediately upon removing from oven, sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked bars. Let stand 5 minutes and then use a spatula to smooth melted chips over the bars. Let bars cool completely before slicing.

In a hurry? Stir the chocolate chips into the dough before spreading in baking pan and bake as directed.

We interrupt your regular programming for this announcement...

It is SNOWING in central Texas!

Pictures to come...

Blessed, blessed and blessed!

I am rejoicing with my family in the blessing of a good report on my grandfather. Today, he was (finally!) able to undergo surgery for lung cancer. Although the pathology did confirm lung cancer, it was confined to one, very tiny spot. So, the doctors were able to handle the surgery with just a few small incisions and only removed a little portion of that one lobe rather than the entire lobe. Grandad tolerated the surgery so well that he will not need to be in ICU but will be taken directly to a regular room. The doctors are considering him "cured" and he will not require any additional treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy! Thank you to all of you who covered Grandad and his medical staff in your prayers. God is good, and He is faithful!!!

Kat and her cheer squad competed at a national cheer competition this past weekend and placed third overall in their division. This third place win also gave them a bid to the international competitions in April. Kat's team is smaller in number than a lot of the teams but they haven't allowed that to intimidate them. In fact, they use it to their advantage by showing off just how "clean" their performance and skills can be! They will be traveling to Dallas in April to compete at the international competition. Way to go, Kat - I am so very proud of you!

Guess what? I've been blessed, too. The "other" Dawn recently hosted a giveaway in honor of her 100th post and I won! The prize for this giveaway was an super-cute pendant created by artist Cathy Walters. You can see Cathy's gorgeous work in her etsy shop. Thank you, Dawn, for hosting this giveaway - I love your heart and your blog and I'm looking forward to reading hundreds more posts!

Finally, if you notice on my left sidebar, I have a Scripture verse that updates daily. Did you notice today's verse?

He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing. (Job 8:21)

How appropriate!

Confessions: How to end your week with a bang.

We have a cat. Max was a rescue and came with a few phobias (tv remotes) and several odd issues (eating fuzz). But, mostly he's a sweet, loving kitty.

However, one of Max's annoying habits is that he never yacks up fur balls during daylight hours. Never. Never ever. No, I'm always awakened at some awful hour to the sound of a cat strangling. Or, awakened by Larry shaking me while yelling, "Get up! Max is about to puke!"

Nice, huh?

Apparently, I am the only one in this house who can clean up cat puke. I've got skillz, I tell ya!

So, this past Friday at 3:15 in the morning, I was awakened to that sound. I threw back the blankets and my feet hit the floor in one smooth motion. I willed my eyes to adjust to the pitch black. Using my cat-finding-sonar, I ascertained that Max was hunkered down near the door to our bedroom.

Now, one thing you have to know about Max is that he gives me about 4.2 seconds between the first warning "cough" and the point where he actually explodes. There's no time to turn on a light or to put on my slippers. If I'm lucky, there's just enough time to grab him and move him to a surface other than my bedroom carpet.

So, I scooped up Max and made aim for the hardwood floor in the hallway just outside our bedroom. I didn't even take the time to stand. I tucked Max into a football hold in the crook of my right arm and ran for the doorway like a linebacker.

Did I mention that we always sleep with our bedroom door open? Always. Except that night, when we had pushed the door mostly closed to block the light from Burrito's late night television viewing in the family room just down the hall.

In two running steps, I pile drived my head into the bedroom door, nearly slamming it through the frame. At the same instant, Max's 4.2 seconds of warning came to an end.

Surprisingly, Larry woke up right about then and sat up long enough to ask (none too pleasantly, I might add), "What is going on???"

Poor Max! He wouldn't let me pick him up for the remainder of that day. As much as my head hurt, I kept wondering about how badly he'd have been hurt if I'd have stood up and carried him out in front of me like I often do in those situations.

So, how do you end your week with a bang???

Sorry, ladies... he's all mine!

Even after all these years... Bud will surprise me with a random, romantic act.

I finally booted the PC this afternoon to find this "sticky note" on the desktop.

I love you, too, Larry!

Sabbath Blessings

Confessions: God is not finished with me yet!

It's nearly the end of January. The year is still young.

Yet...

In many aspects of my life, I feel I've experienced a full year's worth of living already. And, I have a feeling that God is not finished with me yet. (Not that I expect to reach the "finished" stage here on this earth.) I'm still pondering how to put this experience, this learning, this awareness into words.

I heard a quote last week that really struck a chord with me:

"God's love is not a pampering love - it is a perfecting love." (James MacDonald)

Hmmm...

Am I guilty of associating a comfortable life (pampering?) with being loved by God?

Do I recognize God's perfecting in my life? Even when it means discomfort?

(Ouch.) If I'm honest, I know the answers to those questions.

I'll be pondering this awhile longer.

So, what about you? What are you pondering these days???

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. (I John 4:16-18, NLT)