Sugar Pie Farmhouse » Warm Pie Happy Home

Yoo Hoo, gals….I am so excited….I have received my first award! Cindy from So Inspired who is so very creative, presented me with the “You Make Me Smile” award! Woohoooooo! I was so surprised….how fun to think I made someone smile! Thank you Cindy! So now I am supposed to list 6 random habits/facts about myself, so here goes:

1. I want to grow up to be like Aunt Bee when I get older….sweet and lovable ( She was on the Andy Griffith show, for you youngin’s out there…you know Opie’s great aunt….Clara’s best friend…oh never-mind).

2. My favorite movies are Fried Green Tomatoes, Driving Miss Daisy, Prancer, and The Trip to Bountiful.

3. I start listening to Christmas music in August.

4. I keep a spiral notebook with me at all times in case I get a sudden surge of inspiration or if I hear a great quote or idea. I have one in my purse and one by my bed.

5. My favorite trip ever was on a Riverboat cruising the Mississippi—we stopped at several ports and toured the deep south—Antebellum mansions—ate amazing food—met such friendly people with the cutest southern drawls (I want one of those!)…..I am such a southern belle wanna-be. I want to go back and have another southern adventure!

6. My husband and I ran a live music theater a few years back and hosted “The Great American Wild Wild West Show.” We were not the performers, I ran the country gift shop and Gary managed the Theater and show.

Okay, I know that I’m only supposed to list 6 things, but hey, I’m on a roll here, and who’s gonna stop me?

7. My all time favorite meal is my mom’s mostaccioli (penne pasta) and meatballs, I could eat it everyday. Seriously. I am 100% Italian, both sets of my Grandparents were born in Italy. So as far as Italian food goes…bring it on!

8. I need to have lipstick on at all times…except when I go to bed. I love lipstick.

( I love all make-up for that matter!)

9. I have way too many cookbooks. I love reading them as if they were novels. I probably should say that I have too many books, period. I love books. I believe, you can’t do better, if you don’t know better. Reading good, wholesome, books helps me to know better. I want to be a better servant of God, a better wife, mother, friend etc. Good books teach, encourage and inspire.

10. I want to go eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant in Savannah, Georgia….ya’ll.

Now I get to pass on the award to these wonderful gals….Dana at Cottage at Doe Hill she is so very creative….and Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage wow, does she have a darling home and her goodies she cooks up are yummy! Carol at Raised In Cotton …she has so many fabulous ideas and her shop is filled with stuff I need!…it’s in Kansas City, so it is on my list of places to go when spring rolls around! I absolutely love reading Brin’s blog at My Messy Thrilling Life she is a fascinating writer, is living a fascinating life and is cute to boot! I believe she is going to be a famous author one day. I also enjoy Counting Your Blessings such an inspirational blog filled with fun eye-candy. And who wouldn’t love Not Quite June Cleaver? it is such a fun read and filled to the brim with mouth-watering recipes along with step by step photo instructions! There are so many great blogs out there, such creative women, it was hard to choose just 6.

Now that all of the glitter, twinkling lights and pine branches are neatly tucked away for another year…here is a glimpse of my home ready for spring….

I love what Charles Keeler wrote in 1906:

“Homemaking is one of the sacred tasks of life, for the home is the family Temple, consecrated to the service of parents and offspring. As the strength of the State is founded upon family life, so is the strength of society based upon the home. The building up of the home should be an event of profound importance.”

Along the same line, I heard a pastor once say “If you unravel the family unit, you unravel the nation.”

That is why I am so passionate about preserving the home and family. Creating a place where love, goodness, creativity, ambition, purpose, understanding, laughter and acceptance can thrive.

As keepers of our household, we need to protect our homes from everything that would try to steal it’s joy. We need to sweep away the dirt and clutter (an on-going process unfortunately!) and guard what comes through the door (or airwaves)…unwholesome media, T.V., Internet, certain video games, bad attitudes, hurtful words, ungratefulness, bickering, complaining…all of that which causes chaos and discouragement.

Instead, lets bless our homes and family, on purpose! It starts with a thought, then a decision to be nurturing. Start with the little things….little things have a huge impact. Think of 1 nurturing thing you can to do today, that would tell your loved ones that you treasure them.
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“Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin.”

~Zechariah 4:10

I would love to know what one thing you did today that blessed your home and family! Please comment! Your ideas will help us all do better!

I had a sweet gal comment on my last post, and she wanted to know if I would consider an “ask and answer session”. Sure! I”ll do my best to answer any questions on any subject, on my next post!

Thanks for stopping by for pie!

Hugs!

Ruthann

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Well…the old phrase is true…
There’s no place like home….

Although, Getting home was like Mr. Toad’s wild ride!

Seriously….although our trip home seemed like a combination of The Amazing Race and Survivor, it was actually a day of miracles. We had a flight booked from Las Vegas to Springfield, Missouri. So, we had to drive from San Diego to Vegas……problem was, due to a severe snow storm, part of the highway was shut down. We then drove to Ontario Airport, once we secured a flight on-line, to Vegas. After checking in my suitcase (everyone else had carry-on’s, they obviously do not need the amount of hair product or makeup that I do) we realized our arrival to Vegas would not allow us enough time to catch the next flight to Springfield….a slight scheduling oversight by someone I should not mention….okay…it was my husband Gary…I divulge this because he turns out to be the hero in the end…..

Anyhoo, after a quick prayer……Miracle #1….Gary finds a flight to Tulsa, Oklahoma, leaving in 40 minutes, where we would rent a car and then drive to Missouri, only 3 1/2 hours away.

Not a bad idea…but what about my suitcase with all my stuff, not to mention a box of See’s Candy…we are talking yummy chocolate here! My poor lonely suitcase……( with my 4 essential hairbrushes, hair blower, must-have flat iron, much needed make-up, clothes, ugg boots etc…)…..is going to be circling the baggage claim conveyor belt in Las Vegas without me there to get it! Well, I was not thrilled with this idea, but we had to get home, suitcase or not. In my last post I talked about being thankful, and thinking positive thoughts…although it was darn-tootin‘ hard, (I didn’t say it would be easy!) when I felt like pouting, I kept telling myself… There, there dear-self, everything is going to be alright…when we get home we’ll make pie… no, actually I told myself to put my big-girl-pants on…..there are worse things in the world than losing your suitcase.

We got to Tulsa only to find out that all of the Car Rental companies were completely booked… virtually all cars reserved….except the last company that we talked to. Thrifty Car Rental. They had one car left. A van, big enough to fit all six of us. Miracle #2….. Thank you Lord!

We finally got on the road. As darkness fell, shards of lightening flashed across the sky every 10 seconds. It was so spectacular and beautiful! At first it was just in the distance, but as we got closer to Missouri it got bigger and louder. Rain pelted our car, and the wind swirled and shoved the car from side to side. We turned the radio on, only to find out that there were Tornado warnings in the direction we were driving!

I’m from California, I don’t do tornadoes…..(well, wake up sister and say hello to your neighbor Dorothy and her little dog Toto!)

We were just 2 hours from home when we decided to pull into a gas station for cover, pray for protection and decide what to do. Gary felt it was too dangerous to drive home, so we found a motel and stayed the night. Miracle # 3 …..The next morning we found out there were 35 tornadoes in Missouri that night. What?!! 35 tornadoes?? (That’s crazy-talk! )There were 17 tornadoes along the highway toward home. Thankfully, we were safe and sound.

So again, we said “thank you Lord!”. It turns out that our original flight from Vegas to Springfield was diverted to Tulsa, of all places, because of a tornado touchdown at the airport. Miracle # 4 was that we were not on that airplane if it had landed in Springfield during a tornado. If we had somehow managed to take that flight, we would have landed in Tulsa at 8:oo that night, without a car to rent. We got the last car at 5pm. That was Miracle #5.

So the moral to my very long story is….even when things don’t turn out the way you had planned, maybe there is a good reason…so don’t get miffed at your husband (I’m speaking to myself girlfriends!). God may be orchestrating a change in your plans for your own good. He may allow an obstacle to detour you, because He knows the future and we don’t. Times like that provide an opportunity for us to trust God for His provision and protection. So when Gary clicked on the wrong flight, little did we know that miracles were in the works and that he would be the hero that would save his family from certain harm. That’s my man.

As for my suitcase….Southwest Airlines delivered it to my door yesterday….Miracle #6. So even though I had a few bad-hair-days, that was a small price to pay for arriving home-sweet-home, safely.