How Many of "You" are There?

I was recently sent this link and it was a fun thing to do - see how many "Stephanie Love's" and "Stephanie Writebol's" there were in the U. S. According to the information I got, there are 599,937 "Stephanie's" in the U. S. and only one "Stephanie Writebol." Now, as for the number of "Stephanie Love's" (my maiden name), there are 210 of us in the U. S. Check it out and see how many of you there are in the U. S. The link is "How Many of Me". It would be fun to have you post your information here - so we can all see "how many of you" there are in the U. S. Happy Saturday!

New Blog on the Block

Do you love food? Do you like to share new recipes? Then check out the new blog, "For the Love of Food," found on the link list to the right. I hear great things are cooking there!

Making Jam with Mom

Each trip back to Missouri is a good time with friends and family. During my last two trips back (July and December), with the help of my mom, I have become quite the "Betty Crocker" and learned to do some canning. When I went back in July, she taught me how to do homemade apple butter and also peach jam. Both turned out really good and I was excited to know how to make these two delicious treats. The apple butter was grandma's recipe so it meant a lot to learn to make it. This past December, we took on a new challenge, making the Cranberry Banana jam that my aunt typically makes, but wasn't able to do this year. While this may not sound like the best jam, it is absolutely wonderful - on top of hot biscuits it is a GREAT treat. We were so excited that it turned out well! We had a fun time making it and spending time together. I love learning those things from mom and knowing that I can do it. I am looking forward to making more and think I have made the decision to have the jam be my first entry in the Sonoma County Fair this summer. I have not decided if it will be the apple butter, peach jam or cranberry banana - but one of those will be the entry that gets me my free ticket :)

Great memories, great times and great jam! Thanks mom!

Finally Caught Up!

With a day off work (for MLK Day), a couple of weeks of being back from Missouri, and back in our normal routine (if that is possible - who knows what normal is???) I finally felt like I was caught up with things and could sit down to write a blog - not that I have incredible things to say, but wanted to update my few readers on how we were doing.

Our visit back to Missouri was really a great time! We were able to celebrate the holidays with our families and spend some time with friends. We were able to spend Christmas day with my parents and extended family as well as Jeremy's grandparents and brother and sister-in-law. We were blessed to find out we were going to be Aunt Steph and Uncle Jeremy again - with Brian and Esther expecting in June. That was a fun Christmas surprise! I have to admit that probably one of my greatest joys over the holidays was spending time with my nephew Ramsey, who is now 6 months old and he is adorable - of course I am a little partial, but it was such fun playing with him and seeing him smile! He is a great little guy!!!!! It was fun being Aunt Steph!

Another highlight of being in Missouri was going to look at Christmas lights with my family and eating at our traditional place, "Porky's!" For all you pork lovers - it is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can tell from the picture, JCrew and others will be proud to see we are getting Ramsey hooked on the "pork" products at a young age :) This is a time I always look forward to - traditions and making memories with the family - what a joy!!!!!!!!

We are glad to be back and getting into a normal routine - it is hard to believe that it is already (as we are calling it with the Jr. High kids) 007!!!! I am eager to see all God has planned for this year. We are excited and blessed to have Jeremy's brother and sister-in-law here with us and are so thankful for the time God is giving us with them. We are looking forward to visits from family and friends! Mission trips, field trips, camps, the birth of our new nephew/niece, celebrating our 2nd anniversary and much more await us in 007 - - - - God is so good and no matter what comes, we must remember that He is always with us and we must seek him first. As we were talking with the Jr. High kids - we are truly on a mission for Christ and may 007 be one exciting mission for Him!!!!!!

I'll Be Home for Christmas - Just Please Have Snow

It is hard to believe Christmas is almost here - less than a week away! This year has flown by and God has blessed us greatly! This has been a year of growing in the Lord, celebrating our first year of marriage, enjoying the blessings of friendships God has given us and MUCH more! Tomorrow Jeremy and I will head to Missouri to be with family over the Christmas holiday. We are anxious to spend time with his grandparents and brother and sister-in-law. We are also looking forward to seeing my family - I can hardly wait to hold that sweet nephew of mine! We are so blessed to be able to spend this time with family and friends. I am hoping for a little bit of snow while we are there - at least a little dusting to wake up to would be nice. There will fun times of looking at Christmas lights, eating good food, watching movies, going to eat at Porky's - a GREAT BBQ Pork restaurant and much more! The fun times of holiday traditions! We would appreciate your prayers for safe travel.

While away, we will try to keep up on blogs, etc. We look forward to hearing how the holidays are going for everyone! Have a very Merry Christmas - you are in our prayers! May the love of Christ be yours this Christmas!

Jeff Davis Pie - My Favorite Pie!

In my last post, I talked about my "Jeff Davis Pie" and how it turned out like Grandma's pie - - - - well, the truth is that Jeff Davis Pie is my favorite pie! Each trip back to Missouri, I request my grandma to make one (and of course she does). It is similar to a custard pie, but definitely better! I am going to have to make another one and introduce my California friends to "Jeff Davis Pie." I have no clue where the name came from - I simply know I love it! One year at a family gathering, my cousin (who was much younger at the time) could not remember "Jeff Davis" and referred to it as "Jack Davis" - so now the family joke is, "Are you going to make a Jack Davis Pie?" My cousin Aaron and I have a hard time sharing this pie. Sooooooooooo next time there is a get together, I am going to have to volunteer to make pie - just so everyone can at least try it. I think Christine did get a piece of it Thanksgiving night - - - and I think she enjoyed it.

Pictured above are the pies that we made on Thanksgiving: Pumpkin, Jeff Davis and Chocolate.

Can't wait to share the joy of this pie with my readers :)

Oh Christmas Tree

Well, I am finally taking time to post - yea! Maybe it is the fact that I know tomorrow is only a "half-day" of school and then BREAK - I think I am already feeling like I have "free-time."

My parents were recently here for Thanksgiving - what a GREAT blessing over the holiday! I am so thankful for the opportunity God gave us to spend together! We had a great time and enjoyed many fun activities. I can now say that I know how to make a full Thanksgiving dinner. I did the turkey and with mom's help - everything else that goes with dinner. I was especially proud of my Jeff Davis pie - turned out like Grandmas - yea! It was so much fun to learn from mom how to do all the Thanksgiving dinner things! We had a great meal and enjoyed company with friends later!

It was also fun to go with the fellowship group and cut down a tree - it was great fun going out, finding the right one, cutting it down and then coming home to decorate! I am so thankful to have had mom here to help make the house look great! She did a fabulous job! The tree looks great! We will look forward to cutting down a tree next year too! Fun times!

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and we have been on the go non-stop this December. We are looking forward to some time with Jeremy's family and my family in the coming weeks. God is so good!

Missing the Fun

Well, I have not posted in a while, but wanted everyone to know that I have been reading your blogs and wanting to comment, but for all who have switched to Beta, we (those who can't switch yet) can't comment on your blogs for some reason - very sad to me. I read them daily and have comments, but for some reason I can't comment - I can on those who are not Beta - so I am not sure this Beta switch is a good thing. Any thoughts on how to help this problem would be appreciated - - - - - I feel sad :(

Know that I am faithfully reading and very sad that I won't be able to participate in JCrew's song game tomorrow - like I said, if you have any wisdom on this, I would appreciate it!

Final Race for the Season

Well, tomorrow is the final race for the 2006 Nascar Season. It has been a fun time with the fantasy teams and I am holding out for Jeremy's team to have a not so great day tomorrow. He has a lead of about 300 (ish) points on me and the only hope I have is for him to have a bad day and for me to have a great day. Last week my team did quite well - however so did Jeremy's team - I had over a 700 point day (which is awesome) and still only beat him by 2 points. I have a strong 2nd place right now - we will see how it turns out. Watch soon for the upcoming victory celebrations from my segment one win and for the winner of the segment two. Should be fun!!!!!! We enjoyed also sharing our race experience with friends in CA. Maybe we can get some of them into the fantasy thing too - - we will see! As I have said before and will say again - this has been something very fun for my husband and I to do with my dad, even though we are 2,000 miles away! Until the final results are in on Monday - - - "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let's go racin' boys!" Should be a fun race!!!!! At least I don't have to wait long until the next season starts - February isn't that far away!

What can I say - I am a proud aunt!

Just a few more recent pics of my nephew! Isn't he adorable!!!!! I am so excited to see him in December! Thanks for letting me show him off!!!!! (Kludge isn't it impressive how many !!!!!! I used in such a short post!!!!!!!!!!!)

Quiz Time

Recently we had a Jr. High event that we called, "The Corniest Event Ever." It was a super fun time of walking through the corn maze, dressing corny, watching a corny movie, eating corn dogs, candy corn, popcorn and more! Aside from the fact that my group was quite lost in the maze in the dark, it was a GREAT time! For the "corny" movie, we watched "The Muppet Movie" - a very corny movie that I had not seen in years. As I watched it, I realized that because I had once had the album of the Muppet Moive, I knew all the words to every song, which leads me to todays quiz. I grew up with the Muppets - the quiz, "Which Muppet are you?" I can't wait to see which Muppet each of you are! Should be fun - please post your results.

Family Matters

As a proud new aunt, I wanted to post some new pics of my nephew who was born in June. I am eagerly awaiting getting to see him in December for Christmas - he is growing and changing so much since I last saw him in July. I am also looking forward to seeing the rest of my family as well! I can't wait to see them, spend time with them, give them hugs and just be together. I know God has us in Santa Rosa, we are so thankful for that opportunity and where God desires us to be is best :) One thing I have realized is the more I am apart from my family, the more I realize how important they are to me and how much they have impacted and influenced my life. No matter where I am, they are a part of who I am and have a HUGE place in my heart! I have learned to truly treasure my time with them. So to all my family - just want to say, "I love you with all my heart and thank you for all you mean to me!" (And that includes the new family God has blessed us with in Santa Rosa too!)


Four Generations of "Love" - all important men in our family! My brother Andy, his son Ramsey, Great-Grandpa Love (otherwise known as Papa), and my Dad



Two very special men in my family - Ramsey (my new nephew) and his Great-Grandpa (my grandpa)

Am I crazy or do I just love my Jr. High girls?

Some people might think I am crazy, but recently I had the Jr. High girls over for an all-night sleepover. I have to say that no, I am not crazy - I just love the Jr. High girls that God has allowed me the opportunity to work with at SRBC! It was a fun night that started with 22 girls showing up at my house ready to head to Sonoma Taco Shop. After a good dinner, we headed out to the Snoopy Ice Arena for some skating fun. Following that we headed back to my house and got settled for a night of movies, food and fun. The girls were great and it was quite a site to have 22 sleeping bags crammed in my living room. It made me even more thankful for the house God has provided for us to live in right now - the apartment would have NEVER worked. The girls watched some good "chick flicks," ate lots of snacks and I "think" might have fallen asleep somewhere in the neighborhood of 3:30 a.m. We were up at about 7:00 a.m. and the girls continued with a movie, donuts, and some juice. All in all, it was a super night and I spent the remainder of the day trying to catch up on some much needed rest! Many said as they were leaving that we needed to do this again VERY soon - Sarah and I smiled and agreed to ourselves that once a year might be nice :):) Seriously though - crazy as we are - we will do it again!!!!!

The pictures posted give you a glimpse into my living room with 22 girls in it - notice you never see Sarah and I - we had to sleep in the entry way and hallway - I still am not sure how our college sponsor got the couch???????

What Flavor of Frappuccino are You?

Well, I must admit that Starbucks has to be one of my favorite treats! On a cool morning, nothing beats a good latte and on a hot day, a Frappuccino hits the spot! As one of my fellow bloggers mentioned - great gifts for teachers is a nice Starbucks card! This person really knows the gifts that this teacher likes. Anyway - I found this and thought it would be fun to find out what flavor all my friends were - so take the quiz and post your results. I also thought it would be fun to know what everyone's favorite drink is at Starbucks - - - - so fill me in :) You never know when I might show up with a Starbucks treat for ya - - -

What Flavor of Frappuccino are You? Take the Quiz.

He has made me glad!

I was having trouble sleeping tonight - one of those nights where millions of things roll around in your head. You think about things that you need to do, things that have gone wrong, frustrations, choices, and the list could go on and on. While laying there I suddenly felt completely sad and overwhelmed. After tossing and turning, I decided that there was really only one thing to do - get up and spend some time with the only person who could turn my sadness and being overwhelmed into joy - my precious Savior. So I am writing this after spending some much needed time with Him. I came to the living room and began reading in Acts. I was so encouraged in Acts 2 to be reminded that God is faithful to do what He says He will do. As I continued to read, I was challenged and encouraged by Acts 2:25-28

"I saw the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me ot the grave, no will you let your Holy One see decay, you have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence."

The more I spent time with my Savior tonight, the more I was filled with joy - He is so faithful, He loves me unconditionally, He desires to use me to serve Him, He is my strength and song, He will not abandon me, He is always before me - - - - it is Him - Jesus Christ - He has made me glad! I am so thankful that He reminded me that I just need to turn to Him - more time with Him - that is what I need. So when you just feel like you don't know where you fit, confused about decisions, frustrated or even in times of rejoicing, remember He is always before you and He will fill you with joy in His presence. That was my lesson for tonight! Hope it encourages you too!

Now - off to sleep - - - - God is good!

A Caution Filled Day

Well, what I wanted the least in my Nascar Fantasy game has happened. I have a team that has successfully moved me into last place. Yesterday the race was in Kansas and my team really just completely fell apart. All seemed well in the beginning. They had each qualified well - I had all five of my drivers qualify in the top 11. For a majority of the beginning of the race my team was in the top 18 and 3 of them in the top 10. It was quite exciting. Then things took a gradual change - you would have thought my team was trying to either go in reverse or just leave the track entirely. Let's see -

Johnson gave up the race lead to pit for an extra splash of fuel with four laps to go. But he was penalized for speeding on pit road and finished 14th.

Jeff Gordon, saw his championship momentum evaporate a few laps earlier. Gordon was running eighth when his car developed an apparent fuel-pressure problem with 29 laps to go, causing him to slow to a crawl on the backstretch.

Hamlin also spun out with 115 laps to go, and had to make another unscheduled stop with 55 laps left.

Kasey Kane - well he spun out and ran out of fuel. Then there is J. J. Yeley - he was running in the top 10 and then just hit the wall and his day was done.

So was mine - this left me with a miserable 395 points, putting me in last place. It was a day full of caution flags at the race track and most of them came from my team.

Hats off to my dad though - he moved from last place to 2nd place having a HUGE day of over 700 points. Great job Dad - you deserve to "talk some smack" - so feel free :):) Your team was awesome! Oh well - that is the joy of competition and just means I have to do some things with my team. I can't end Segment 2 in last place. I am off to make some great "shakes" in my team - new members next week for sure!

Happy Fall Y'al!

Well, my favorite season is finally here! September 22 marks the Autumnal Equinox. I love autumn! I love those days that are sunny, but there is a certain "brisk" feeling in the air. I love the food and decor! The colors are amazing! Nothing like your favorite coffee beverage on a cool brisk morning!

Fall brings about so many great memories in my mind. My grandpa used to rake all the leaves in the yard into a big pile and then we would spend the afternoon jumping in them! It was so much fun and a memory I will treasure! I also associate fall with "sweatshirt" weather and watching football. Nothing like a cup of hot cocoa and a good football game. So many Friday nights I spent trying to stay warm with my friends in Missouri while cheering on our team in football! I also have great memories of going to the pumpkin patch and choosing pumpkins! I am looking forward to doing that with all our friends in CA! One of my favorite food memories was when a friend of mine and I had a "Hearty Fall Harvest" dinner. Chicken Paprikash, Roasted Vegetables, homemmade bread, butternut squash soup (which I will admit I was hesitant about - but loved) and homemade desserts such as pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin bars, etc. It was so much fun - cooking, decorating and lots of eating good food with great friends. I would love to do that again!

Because I love fall, I wanted to just take this post opportunity to say, "Happy Fall!" I can't wait to see all the beauty of the season in God's creation! The vineyards will be beautiful! There will be lots of fun times with friends! I am going to get out fall decor very soon!!!!! I am so excited! Let the fall fun begin!

I was hoping for something more profound!

All week I was thinking, "Saturday afternoon/evening I should have time to come up with a good post for my blog." I was thinking through the week what things I might blog about and here I sit, on Saturday evening, still wondering what to blog about. I have seen it happen to so many - this crazy thing in blogland where you "hit a wall," wondering what to blog about, what might be of interest to people and end up with nothing. I was seriously hoping to be able to avoid this in blogging. But here it is - wanting to blog and nothing to blog about. Each day I check the Pearls Before Swine daily cartoon online and today's seemed to fit. Looking for something profound and nothing. I am hoping this is short lived and that I will find some new inspiration for posts. Until then, enjoy the cartoon, it did make me laugh and keep checking back, I am sure something will come. Who knows, if I beat my dad and husband in the race tomorrow, I will have something to post!

SJ's Team proves to be a Winner!

The unofficial results are in and SJ has won the Segment 1 NASCAR fantasy league!!!!!!!!!!!! Official points will be posted tomorrow, but after the race at Richmond tonight, unofficial standings say that I won by approximately 300 points. My team had a rough night tonight, but have done well for me during this segment. Denny Hamlin was definitely my pic for this segment. This has been such a fun season and I have so enjoyed competing with my dad and husband! It is a fun thing we can do even miles apart! Watch for a victory video soon to come!

I am anxious to start Segment 2 - the competition starts over. Everyone starts fresh and we will see who wins the next segment. Segment 2 will begin next week and as they say at the race track, "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity . . . Let's go racin' boys!"

A Trip Down Memory Lane!

I received an e-mail that was "If you were a little girl in the 70's." It was a fun trip down memory lane - remembering all the things that were so true of my life as a little girl born in the 70's - yes you can figure out I am old :):). This was a fun e-mail and I wanted to share. I know that this may not apply to everyone, but it was fun for me! I think I even still have that treasured sleeping bag - and moon boots were definitely in! Thanks Jen for sharing this with me!

If YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S ...
You had that Fisher Price Doctor 's Kit with a stethoscope that actually
worked.
You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on
it.
You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal
wheels .
You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.
YEAH! ~ You owned a "Slip-n-Slide",on which you injured yourself on a
sprinkler head more than once.
You owned "Klick-Klacks" and smacked yourself in the face more than once.
You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill".
People sometimes thought you were a boy.
Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny
shredded outfits.
You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze..
The swing set tipped over at least once.
You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.
You had a pair of Doctor Scholl' s sandals (the ones with hard sole & the
buckle).
You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House
on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least
one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!
You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink!
Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it
"pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket.
When you walked, the "wings" flapped up and down, looked like you were
gonna "take off"
You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry
Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.
With the thermos inside!
You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was
your boyfriend.
YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!
It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz"
would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun
Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy..?"
You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame
soundtrack record album.
You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick, God's
eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.
You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape
player up to the speaker.
You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.
You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume
books (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.)
You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.
You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes,shoelaces with heart or
rainbow designs.
You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer.
You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft - which was the first"real"
perfume you ever owned.
You glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip gloss till it almost
dripped off. (!!!)