Reserve Your Free Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Reserve your free spicy chicken sandwich at the Chick.

Youth Costume Party

The church Youth Group had an April Fool's Day costume party and invited the young adults to join in the fun. Since I know y'all wish you could have been there, here are some photos to allow you to vicariously share the fun.

"Easter 2010" or "Don't worry - we're still alive"

Don't I have the loveliest family?

These edible place cards (made by my wonderful mother) are the greatest invention since beef.

We used glitter this year to decorate eggs, instead of the traditional dye. The results were beautiful, the mess was not. I'm still finding glitter on chairs and under my eyelids.

Snow, Snow, Snow!

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. -Psalm 19:1

Guest Post: Emily O'Neal

Hi there! This is Emily, the oldest Cavie girl writing for the Cavies today. I've started a new project with my sisters that we would like you all to know about. The post below is something I originally wrote for my blog:


There's a project that has been going on in the blogging & scrapbooking world(s) for several years now - it's called "Project 365". The idea is to take one picture every day for one year (if you're a blogger, you post them on a blog, if you're a scrapbooker you put them in a scrapbook and sometimes on a blog too). I thought it sounded like a fun challenge to undertake - it would give me an excuse to learn how to use my camera better, be more creative with the photos I take, and hopefully it will be a fun way to look back at 2010.

My sisters so sweetly agreed to do the project with me (ok, maybe I told them they would be doing it with me) and we have started a new blog to put the pictures on. My hope is that by making the project public we will have an incentive to keep going when it gets hard and we feel like giving up. Posts may be sporadic, but we will be taking photos every day and sharing them on the blog (hopefully) close to every day.

So without further ado, here's the blog: project365sisters.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoy seeing 2010 through our eyes!

Merry Christmas (again)

Back row: Steve, Cris

Front row: Abigail, Stephanie ;) (just kidding)

This picture was taken at the dedication dinner for the new Chick-fil-A restaurant that opened near us. Abby is one of the team members and has been hard at work saying, "My pleasure," and "may I refresh your beverage." She is enjoying her job, and we love the family discount we get. Chick-fil-A is one of our favorite restaurants, and definitely our favorite fast food place. It isn't only the food we love; we love their whole approach to business and work. If you are on the east side of Columbus, near Mt. Carmel East Hospital on Broad Street, be sure and stop in at Chick-fil-A (except on Sundays--they're closed) and you may see a perky blond-haired employee ready and willing to give you a friendly greeting and Chick-fil-A's renowned second-mile service.

Merry Christmas from the Cavies!

We are thankful for reliable transportation

Thanking the Lord for..........

sustaining us spiritually and physically.

I am thankful for the memories that I have of my mom and dad, especially during Thanksgivings past. Dad would always smoke the turkey and Mom would make her special cornbread dressing baked in an iron skillet. I am almost weepy thinking about those memories. Steve smokes our turkey now and I fix Mamma's dressing. Thank you Lord for giving us good food to enjoy.

~Cris

Thankful Again

There was a time when Scott was known to us (Abby and Stephanie) as "that pokey old Mr. O'Neal"...the one trying to weasle his way into our family. When we learned that he was interested in our beloved sister we resented him. When we learned that Emily was interested in Him we were outraged - at his gall, his impudence, his brazen boldness - the idea of trying to steal our sister away from us!

It took a while to change our minds, but he did! He played games with us, teased us, and even wrote a song for Stephanie. We like to joke that it was harder for him to convince us than to convince Em. As for him 'stealing her away', if it weren't for Scott, Emily would probably be in Thailand or Africa right now - instead of living five minutes away from us! So today we're grateful for...


                      ...a wonderful brother-in-law who loves the Lord...

...who loves our sister...

...who loves us...

...and who'll do anything to make us laugh!

Thankfulness

Emily has encouraged us to post in November about what we are thankful for. Since I just posted about my new eyes and how thankful I am for new sight, we thought we would continue. Ok, everyone, post with us!

We are thankful for parents who introduced us to the gospel.

Abby, Grandma Cavanaugh, Stephanie. No, Abby and Stephanie aren't sitting on books. :)

Individual leaves on the trees
Crud around my sink faucet
Much hair on my bathroom floor (thank you RAI cancer therapy)
Cobwebs on the dining room light fixture
The beautiful grain variation in the wood floor
Street signs
Different shades of black
A navy blue shirt I thought was black
The clock in the middle of the night!
The dirt in my shower
Beautiful contrast of tree branches against colored leaves
The clock on the stove from the living room
Aqua and green moss on beautiful tree bark
Massive dirt on the side of our island, no one told me about!
Walls that need to be painted
Wrinkles
The Menu on the wall at Wendy's
Intensity of color
What's under the dark bathroom sink
Cool signs that hang over the aisles at the grocery store

I never knew what I was missing until I had cataract surgery last week. I can't describe how wonderful it is. My vision in my right eye has gone from 20/500 to 20/20. Everything is so clear and bright! It feels like I've come out of a cave into a whole new world. The girls are running from me due to all of the extra cleaning I am finding for us to do. My heart is filled with Thanksgiving to my Lord for my new sight.
~Cris

Apple Pickin'

Check it Out!

You won't believe what Scott & Em have on their blog! Check it out: scottandemilyoneal.blogspot.com

Happy 19 Abby!

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; Mal.4:6

For Rachel K.

Look Rachel, free Wifi!

Remember the Princess Bride (1987)

Just trying to figure out if I'm mostly dead or all dead. Cris

Miracle Max: [Lifts and drops the arm of the dead Westley] I've seen worse.
Miracle Max: He probably owes you money huh? I'll ask him. Inigo Montoya: He's dead. He can't talk. Miracle Max: Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. Inigo Montoya: What's that? Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.

Cast Iron Help 101 and Beyond

If you have some old horrible looking cast iron hiding in your cabinets, chances are you can bring it back to a thing of beauty, just like my cast iron bread pans pictured in the post below. With a little time and a bit of trouble, depending on which way you want to go with reconditioning, you can get some amazing results with garage sale finds. Greg, at the Black Iron Dude, answers all our questions. Many thanks, Greg! I have linked the numbers below to some specific posts of his.

1. How do I clean it, keep it nice, and why I don't have to use soap.

2. How do I re-season my cast iron? He lists several different ways to do it, and also mentions the worst way to do it.

3. What can I use my pan for besides cornbread? He has recipes are all over his site: from biscuits to beans to veggies on the grill. And yes, I use mine on top of my flat glass top electric stove, even though I wish it was a gas beast. :)

4. Old verses New cast iron. This is so interesting!

5. Why some prefer cast iron to teflon. He says if a fried egg won't roll around in it without sticking the seasoning needs to be better, especially if it is an old skillet.

6. This is the trash bag method I used to recondition my bread pans.

7. Here is another way to season after cleaning.

8. Zap it off with a car battery? The electrolysis method, if you have a lot of iron to recondition.

Let me know if any of this is helpful or you have some questions. I will try to help.