Women of Joy - Sevierville, Tennessee

On Friday April 20th at 5 o'clock in the morning, I left with a group of women from my church, Calvary Baptist, (along with 3 men) to go to the Women of Joy conference in Sevierville, Tennessee.  I had never been to a large women's conference before so I didn't know what to expect.


Okay . . . I had a wonderful time!  Everyone should do this!  I was really dreading the long ride on the bus, but it went by very quickly.  I think I may have talked too much on the bus . . . there were a couple of remarks and giggles to that effect . . . but talking helped to pass the time.  :)

Here are some highlights from our conference:

Some of our group waiting for the conference to start on Friday night:


Chuck, Gina, and LauraLee Cotton

Chuck was one of our bus drivers.  He is also our church's music minister.



Angie and her mom, Abby, and Laycee



Me with Beverly, Emily, and Julie

All the others in our group sat farther back at the conference than us.  We all wanted to be closer to the speakers and the huge video screens!  I took pictures of them as well, but I'm not sure if they want me to share their picture on my blog . . .   
Charles Billingsley led the worship in song every day . . .

He struck a pose on Saturday morning for us to get a good picture of him :)

I really enjoyed all the speakers.  Lysa Terkeurst has the Proverbs 31 ministries that you hear on KLOVE everyday.  I follow her blog and really enjoy her perspective on life and family.  She was so funny too.

On Saturday morning, we heard from Sheri Rose Shepherd.  I had never heard of her before, but I bought 4 of her books!  What can I say . . . . she had a special going on . . . buy 3 books and get another free!  Actually, I have started reading one of her books and have found it to be very informative and uplifting. 

Another of her books I bought is a devotional that I've started reading too.

Before lunch, we heard from Anita Renfroe, a Christian comedian. 

I have seen some of her videos before so I was familiar with her, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed her least of all the speakers we saw at the conference.  I never got any kind of spiritual message from her comedy and a lot of her comedy was raunchy. 

She was funny . . . extremely funny . . . but a secular kind of funny.  I enjoyed her videos so much so I was a little disappointed with her performance at this conference. . . . funny as she was . . . I was expecting something more.

We went to eat at the Old Mill Restaurant and then spent the afternoon shopping in Pigeon Forge.  While shopping, I was attacked by a bear . . .

We rode the trolley back to our hotel . . .


me and my roomie, Mrs. Coleene



My friend, Laycee and her sister, Abby

The main musical attraction for the conference was Chris Tomlin.   He is Dave's favorite Christian artist.  I kept giving him a hard time that I was getting to see Chris Tomlin in person and not him.   I'm sweet like that.

One of the younger girls in the group ran to the front when the doors were open and she got us all seats on the second row!

Chris Tomlin was fantastic!  It was the most wonderful worship and praise experience I have ever had . . . I'm now all about going to see Christian artists in concert!

And besides the wonderful Chris Tomlin, we also got to hear Christy Nockels.

I didn't recognize her name when we planned this trip, but I certainly recognized her songs!  She sings one of my favorite songs on KLOVE . . .  Waiting Here For You.

I love the Chorus . . .

Waiting here for You

With our hands lifted high in praise

And it's You we adore

Singing Alleluia

She was so intense while singing . . . it felt like she was singing straight to God and had no idea that there were 9000 women singing along with her!

I guess you can tell I loved all the music. :)  I'm now one of those people who tells everyone they need to go to these women conferences!  Ha! 

On Sunday morning we got to see and worship with Angela Thomas. 

I wasn't familiar with her at all, but my friend Julie is a big fan of hers.  Julie was so insistent that I read one of her books, 52 Things Kids Need from a Mom, that I bought it on Friday night before ever hearing her speak!  I've already finished that book and I totally see why Julie is so taken with her.

We stood in line after hearing her speak to get her to sign our books . . . only I had left my book on the bus.   I had purchased a Devotional book for the boys, so I decided to get her to sign it.

It was so funny when I handed her that book . . . she was like . . . "What's this . . . what book is this? "  Ha!  Luckily she's easy going and signed my book for the boys . .  "Be the sunshine!"  Love her!

Our group had such a great time, we've already pre-registered for next year's conference!  I encourage you to attend one of these Christian Women's Conferences if you ever have the opportunity to do so!  It will make a difference in your life and help you in your growth as a Christ follower!  Or at least I feel like it did for me and for . . .

                         the Ferrell boys and me!

(Afterall . . . when Momma's happy . . . everyone's happy!)

How To Make a Picture Frame Pillow . . .

My sister, Michelle's granddaughter's birthday party was April 20th.  I was out of town that weekend for a Women of Joy conference so I couldn't make the party, but I wanted to do something special for her birthday.

Since I don't have any little girls in my home, I went a little overboard in the Pink Department with her present.  :)

I wanted to share how I made the picture frame pillow that I gave her.  It was very easy once I figured out what to use to hold the picture. :)  It makes a very cute and unique gift for those special children or teens in your life.

I have this pillow that I got for a Christmas present from my secret sister a couple of years ago.

I loved having a place to put a picture of the boys on the pillow . . . I thought I could make one myself . . . I just had to figure out where to get the plastic used to hold the picture . . .

And then one day I saw some page protectors . . .

and Voila!  I knew what to do!  Page protectors are the same consistency of plastic that was used on my Christmas pillow!  Yea!

So I used one of Zach's pillows that was the dimensions of the pillow I wanted to make for Taylor . . .

and measured it from seam to seam to make a pattern and added 1 1/4 inches (doubled 5/8) on the two sides for the seam allowances . . .  My pattern measured out to be 17.5 inches by 13.5 inches, including the 5/8 inch seam allowance on all 4 sides.  

Taylor's bed has a black and white striped dust ruffle and I just happened to have some black and white material and pillow stuffing -- so that worked out great! 

I cut out two pieces of the black and white material using the pillow pattern I made.

I cut out a plastic piece from the page protector that measured 4 3/4 inches by 6 3/4 inches . . . just the right size for a 4x6 picture.  I pinned the plastic cut-out to the center of the pillow front piece . . . but just a little lower from the top of the pillow than center . . . That may not make sense . . .  Here's a picture:

I'm a little "nutty" about keeping things symetrical, but I tried to not get too crazy when making this pillow.  If you notice the plastic picture holder is off center in this picture, don't worry cause I fixed it before the finished product by trimming the right side a little. :-D

I sewed around the plastic picture holder on 3 sides with a straight stitch and then went back around the 3 sides using a zig zag stitch. 

I then got one of my super sweet friends (thank you Christy Carol) who has a magic machine at her house to magically put Taylor's name on the pillow . . .  in hot pink!   (Also part of Taylor's color scheme in her room)

I then stitched the two pieces (front piece and back piece) to each other with right sides facing each other and leaving an area open -- so I can stuff the pillow!

I trimmed the corners and ironed the seams flat and turned the pillow right side out and then stuffed it with the fiberfill stuffing I already had . . .

But the pillow still needed something . . . something girly . . . something frilly . . . something pink!  How about a pink tulle boa!  Look what I found at the local Dollar General:

I thought the pink tulle would add just that extra frilly, girly, pink accent the pillow needed, but I was worried about trying to sew it on the pillow with the sewing machine . . . too bunchy . . . so I carefully hand-sewed the pink tulle boa around the pillow.

It took a while to hand-sew this special trim around the pillow, but I think it was definitely worth it!  I added a picture of Taylor and her brothers and . . .

I was very pleased with how the pillow turned out and equally pleased with how easy it was to make.  I've got plans to make some of these pillows for my boys . . . camouflaged of course.

When I was shopping at the Dollar General I bought a few other items for Taylor and used my cricut to personalize them.   An insulated drinking glass . . .

A black and white diary with her initials . . .

A black and white clipboard with matching tablet . . .

And her intitials on the bottom . . .

I bought a hot pink plastic tub and put her name on it too.  I mean once you get the cricut out, you might as well use it on everything!  Ha!

The plastic tub was plain -- too plain -- even with her name!  So I add another pink/purple tulle boa to the edges of it using the trusty hot glue gun and . . . Voila!

I placed everything in the pink plastic tub and threw in a fancy pen with dangly things on it and the final result was just exactly what I wanted . . . for sweet Taylor . . .

Happy Birthday Taylor Grace . . .

from the Ferrell boys and me!

Sunday Chicken & Dressing Casserole

Last night I made Chicken and Dressing for dinner.  It's a recipe I got from my momma . . . one I had never tried, but she said it was soooooo good.

And as always . . . Momma was right!  It tasted just like the cornbread dressing we have at Thanksgiving with some chicken mixed in! 

Not a great picture - sorry!

 
Here's the recipe:

Sunday Chicken & Dressing Casserole

• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup oleo  (I used 4tbsp of margarine)
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can chicken with rice soup
• 4 cups cornbread crumbs
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook onions and celery in margarine until translucent.  Heat chicken broth and soups (undiluted) in pan until mixed thoroughly.  Pour broth/soup mixture over cornbread crumbs.  Add cooked onions and celery.  Mix well.  Season with salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning.

Pour and spread 1/2 of dressing mixture in a greased 3 qt. casserole dish.  Add chicken over dressing mixture.  Top with rest of dressing mixture spreading to cover.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until edges brown and casserole is firm -- not still wiggly in the center.  :)  It took mine about 10 minutes longer before I felt like it was done to the consistency I like.  The longer you cook it, the drier it will be.  To each is own!

The last instruction on the recipe was . . . "and serve it with love."   :)


By the way, my 9 x 13 pyrex dish is a 3 qt size dish.  And "oleo" is margarine for anyone that's not familiar with that term.  Ha!  And I was concerned about the chicken with rice soup -- sounded kind of weird to put in it, but I couldn't even tell it was in there after the casserole was cooked.  It must add some flavor or texture . . . I don't know.  I followed the recipe just like I posted it, and I wouldn't change a thing!

I made this with leftover cornbread from Sunday lunch so although it was a Monday night dish . . . the Sunday cornbread kept it authentic for the "Sunday" part of the chicken & dressing recipe!  Ha!  I kid-you-not when I say this was really good . . . and not hard to make either if you use leftover cornbread from another meal!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

"Served with love" to you from

                          the Ferrell boys and me 

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