And the Winners Are........... (drumroll please)

I don't know how to do a snap shot of the Random Integers Generator, so you will have to trust me on this. The winners are....

#2 -- Jenna

#18 -- FibreJunky

And #9 -- Erin :D

Erin wanted the pillowcases, and FibreJunky wanted either the pillowcases or the drink, and Jenna didn't care. So... Erin gets the pillowcases, FibreJunky gets my special coffee/cocoa mix, and Jenna will get a special Christmas Apron. (Ya'll watch for an e-mail in the next few minutes, okay?)

Happy Holidays everyone, and thanks for playing along. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

Post #300 -- WOOHOO!

This is the official 300th post of Hugs, Melinda. As a gift to my loyal readers (and all 5 of you know who you are), I am posting my recipe for Chicken Soup Casserole.

This is a combination of two recipes that I was making roughly 10 years ago when my brother in law called and said he was coming for dinner.

Timmy's Chicken Soup Casserole.

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed.
1 stick of butter
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 8oz carton of sour cream
1 can of Campbell's cream of chicken soup with herbs
1 package of refrigerated crescent rolls (even better... use the new crescent creations by Pillsbury)
1 more stick of butter
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers

Preheat the oven to whatever temperature your crescent rolls call for. It's usually 375.

Place the cut up chicken into the bottom of a casserole dish. I use my Pampered Chef stoneware baker -- 9x13 I think.

Melt the first stick of butter in a saucepan. Blend the cream cheese, sour cream and chicken soup into the melted butter, until it's as smooth as you can possibly get it. Pour that sauce over the chicken. Unroll the crescent rolls and place them on top of the sauce mixture.

Melt the second stick of butter in the saucepan (I usually use the same one, so that I get all the leftover sauce bits.) Once the butter is melted, crush the sleeve of Ritz crackers and mix with the butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the crescent rolls.

Place in preheated oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown.

Now, I usually add some crushed garlic when I'm making the sauce. It's a taste preference, so whatever you think is enough. Also, if you want, you can add a layer of frozen vegetables (peas work well) on top of the sauce and under the crescents, but I can't get my kids to eat them, so I normally don't do that. You can use low fat versions of the cream cheese and sour cream, you can use cream of mushroom soup, you can add basil or thyme or paprika, you don't have to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts just because I do. This seems to be a very versatile recipe, and I highly encourage you to play with it and make it your own.

Hugs,
Melinda

PS. I have submitted this recipe to allrecipes.com, but so far, it's still listed as "In review." The link is here.

Giveaway Details!

***Today is the last day. It's almost the last 2 hours. Don't forget to sign up!***

This giveaway is for my 3 year blog-o-versary and my (soon to come) 300th post, I am going to give away 3 items.

Item #1: A stylish Christmas apron in one of the styles of this pattern. It will be perfect for the holidays.

Item #2: A stylish set of pillowcases. You tell me your two favorite colors, and I'll pick the fabrics. (See previous post for example picture.)

Item #3: A jar of my (almost) famous coffee mix. To die for. Really. Cappuccino, hot chocolate, french vanilla, etc...... Yumminess you can drink. :D

So now for the yucky rules......
Leave your name. Leave some way of contacting you (If I can't contact you, I can't send you your prize). Only enter once (I reserve the right to delete duplicate comments). Leave a comment telling me what was the best Christmas present you ever received. And if you have a preference, let me know which item you are most interested in. (Marie.... you can't have #3. I'm making you one for your Christmas present.... SHHH!!!)

I'll run this giveaway for one week. Which means on Nov 25 at roughly 8:00 pm central time, I will use the random number generator to see who gets what.

I think I've covered everything. In the meantime, enjoy my new favorite YouTube video. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

Beginning Sewer

So this past weekend was the monthly Quiltathon over at Judy's blog. I didn't actually get a chance to "quilt" because besides taking care of a sick husband, I was also being a teacher this weekend. Sweet Pea made her very first pillow case.

She picked out the main fabric and I showed her which ones went with it. We did the cutting together, but she stitched it and ironed it all by herself.

Can you tell she's proud?

Mommy did learn a very important lesson, the hard way. Never ever leave a 9 year old alone with a hot iron. Even if you think they are old enough, they really aren't. Supervise, supervise, supervise. The good news is that Sweet Pea only had a small burn, and it's already healed.

Hugs,
Melinda

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday! Today is the three year mark of my blog. I didn't know what I was getting into when I started this. I believe this is also post #297. In honor of my three year blog-o-versary and my 300th post, I would like to have a giveaway of some sort.

You'll have to stay tuned, because I don't know what it will be yet. I have to clear it with the CFO because of budget restrictions and all. ;)

Hugs,
Melinda

[edited to take off the really annoying sparkly guy]

The power of Satan (or lack thereof)

I absolutely HAVE to share what I've learned. I'm leading a Bible study for a small group of women. We are using Beth Moore's "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things." I just finished my homework for the week, and what I read, what I understand, just floors me.

The first week of study is about Satan and why he chooses to attack believers. She makes a statement in the member workbook "The archdemon knows his time of trying to undermine [Christ's kingdom] is coming to a close, so he furiously unleashes his power to the full extent of God's permissive will."

What? Permissive will? God lets him do this??? Which got me to remembering the story of Job. (All scriptures taken from New International Version, linked to BibleGateway.com.)

Job 1:12

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:6

6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

And after remembering about Job, I remembered this passage from 1 Corinthians 10:13 that my mother and I once had a good long discussion about. (But I can't remember the discussion anymore; only that it was good.)

13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

It seems as if this is connecting for some reason. God allows Satan to tempt us. But He also helps us get through those temptations.

The really important thing to understand about my thinking is that I had fallen into the trap of making Satan equal to God, sort of the whole black vs white, good vs evil type of thinking. But that's not true. Satan is a created being. How can a created being be equal to the creator?

Okay, so that in itself is enough to topple my thinking for one day. So imagine my surprise when Beth throws in this other verse.

1 John 5:18

18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (NIV)

18We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. (KJV)

Or how about the Amplified Bible, just to clarify.

18We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].

Are you getting this? Do you see it? God loves us SO much. He will allow Satan to tempt us, because he wants us to have free will, but he also loves us so much that he will not allow Satan to hold us down!

Picture this.... The school yard bully walks up to you, and starts poking you. Then he slaps you. Then he flat out hits you and knocks you down. Guess what? He can not keep you on the ground. God will help you get up. God will brush you off, and God will keep you in the palm of his hand, because He is good.

That's all I have to say for now. It was on my heart to share, and I hope that of the 5 people who read my blog, that it will help one person.

Hugs,
Melinda

Little Bit's first haircut.

So, if you know my youngest, you know she has really long, really curly hair. What you may not know is that it's also baby fine, and tangles easily. Most of the time, we have her hair in a ponytail, simply cause it's easier to deal with.

For several weeks, she has been asking me (she's asked me, not me telling her) for a haircut. Last night, at age 3 and a half, she got her very first haircut.

Here she is after her bath, sitting in the chair very anxiously. Oh, wait. That was me that was anxious.

We decided to get a *before* shot. Her hair pulled down to her lower back.
This is Mommy trying very hard to cut some bangs for Little Bit, instead of having it in her eyes.
See? See the pretty bangs?
And here is an *after* shot of last night. I didn't really cut that much off, believe it or not.
This is the morning after. (Ignore the whiny face. She's being a camera ham.) But see? This is important to note: It's STILL curly!
Super cute in back (sorry for the blurriness. She doesn't stay still long enough.)
Like I said, camera ham! :D She's so proud of her haircut. She giggles when you say, "That's so cute," or "It's so bouncy!" It's fun watching her, even though it's a bit hard to let go of my baby.

But there you have it. That's the story of Little Bit's very first haircut.

Hugs,
Melinda