December 23

 

 Yesterday was a busy day.  So I had to post yesterday's pic today.  I had some last-minute Christmas errand, which took most of the day.  Then we all went to the Christmas service of another area church plant.  I was a bit disappointed that we only sang one Christmas song! But it was good to go to another church because it reaffirmed that, even though the other church is doing much to advance the Kingdom, we have a unique vision that God also wants to use.

After the service, we took a couple of detours on our way home to look at Christmas lights.  Some crazy part of me really likes the biggest, brightest, gaudiest displays.  The one above did not disappoint!  I would never decorate our yard like that, but I really enjoy seeing the amazing displays other people put up. 

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Random February Thoughts

If it's going to be cold and wet, I wish the wet were snow (or even sleet!) instead of rain!

Too many cloudy days make me prone to sadness and lethargy.

Sometimes I'd like to take a break from school, but then I know we'd have to go longer in May, so we trudge though.

I hope the rain lets up before our many lessons this afternoon.

Lunch will be way easier when we replace our freezer.

Young Victoria was a really good movie. But it makes being a princess seem much less fun!

I hope when our new modern church service is up and running, Paul will have more time with us!

Isn't It Pretty!

I've often wished I could go beyond the template suggestions in Blogger without having to pay a lot of money. But since I'm not all that computer-savvy and have really no idea how to do it myself, I contented myself with the Blogger options. Until now.

Sarah has a beautiful new blog design. And when she mentioned it was free, I headed right over to The Cutest Blog on the Block and got my own free blog background. It was so easy! Thanks, Sarah. And, thanks, Ashley.

I was even able to customize my font colors!

Seven Things You Might Not Know About Me

TC over at Fish in My Hair tagged me for "7 Things About Me," so here goes:

1. For a recent Special Occasion, I made an this Italian Cream Cake with this frosting. From scratch. (But minus the coconut - I'm allergic). It was fabulous, and I may have to invent another Special Occasion so I can make it again.

2. I recently made Hope a dress-up dress that was supposed to resemble the American Girl Elizabeth. I think it turned out pretty good. And Hope really liked it!

3. "Cinderella" by Stephen Curtis Chapman makes me cry! Every time I hear it!

4. I bought my girls the Little People Mayflower to help them learn about the first Thanksgiving. It's very cute, and they are having a fabulous time playing with it!

5. I credit much of my Christian walk and even more of my worship practice to the years I spent attending an incredible weekly worship time/Bible study that Louie Giglio did during my young adult years. Sometimes I still refer to my notes.

6. I don't like coffee. Not even the cool, expensive stuff they sell at MegaBucks. (But I do miss the drinkable chocolate they used to sell! I'm sure I'll be drinking it again in Heaven.)

7. I am an avid and voracious reader! This is evidenced by the SIX bookshelves FULL of books in my home. (And I think we're about ready for another shelf!)

Since this has been around a while, I tag Paul and anyone else who wants to join in.

K-12 School Memories Meme

Sallie created this meme and posted it on her blog. I thought this was appropriate for today since today is our last day of sit-down school. (We do have a handful of field trips on the horizon.) It's fun to think what my children will answer to these questions years from now. (I know who their favorite teacher will be!)

Apple Jacks or Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries
Apple Jacks (Although Frosted Flakes was my favorite)

Band or Choir
School band (clarinet and Flag Corps) and church youth choir

Class Ring
I got a silver James Avery ring rather than a class ring. We didn't get class rings until midway through our junior year, and I thought it was too much money to spend on something I would only wear a year and a half. (I knew I wouldn't wear my high school ring in college.)

Ducks or Battleships
Wind-up penguins and turtles!

Earning Money
A little babysitting. I also worked at Chick-Fil-A my senior year.

Favorite Teacher
Mrs. P. my second grade teacher who played accordion. Mr. D., my band director. Mrs. K., my high school Biology II and Anatomy/Physiology teacher. Mrs. S., my high school English teacher for three years.

Go Back and Do Over
I would have enjoyed the moments, learned more for the sake of learning rather than for the test, trusted God more, worried less.

Home Economics
I never took Home Economics. I was too busy with all the academic classes. It probably would have been rather helpful. (Although I already knew some things from 4-H.)

Indoor Recess
I always liked indoor recess. Since I'm not an athlete, the indoor games were more my speed!

Jacks or Jump Rope
While I did both at home (Chinese jump rope was my favorite!), I don't remember doing either at school.

Kickball or Dodgeball
Neither. Did I mention I'm not an athlete? But I did prefer kickball to dodgeball. Dodgeball scared me!

Lunchbox
My favorite lunch box was a metal one with a sweet picture of a young girl. It wasn't any character, just a beautiful scene.

Musical
Our school was too small to do musicals. I did perform in every band concert. I did either four or five musicals with youth choir at church, two of which we took on choir tours.

Number of School Districts
I went to a private school for kindergarten and first grade then went to the same public school from second through twelfth grade. (When I started going the entire school was on one campus.)

Orange or Apple
I liked both (still do), but preferred oranges (still do).

Playground Equipment
I liked it all. Swings. Slide. Monkey bars. I think the merry-go-round was my favorite!

Quiz Team or Debate
Our school had neither. But I did participate in a Mock Trial competition. That was a blast!

Recess
Playing on the merry-go-round or monkey bars. Visiting with my friends.

Spring Break
In junior high and high school, I went on a few church youth group retreats. They were great experiences! I didn't take a "real" spring break trip until my honeymoon my senior year of college.

Team Sports
Does Flag Corps count? I did try to play sports in junior high. I wasn't good. I was so glad that four years of marching band counted for my P.E. credits in high school! (Did I mention I'm not an athlete?)

Unfulfilled Dream
I dreamed of marrying a godly man and staying home to raise my children. That's what I'm doing.

Valuable
Learning to read. I really didn't learn much that I use or remember from my school years, but reading has taught me so much! I also learned some cool mental math tricks when I did math competitions in late elementary and junior high.

Walk or Bus
We lived too far to walk. My mom or a friend's mom drove us to and from school most years. I did spend about a year having to ride the bus. Then my mom got a job teaching at my school, so she drove us again, until my senior year, when I had a car and drove myself.

X Country or Basketball
Neither. (Did I mention I'm not athletic?)

Year
My freshman year. I was still a relatively new Christian and had grown so much the summer before. I was still on a spiritual high! Everything was new about school. That year was a lot of fun!

Zzzzzz’s My most boring class was senior economics/government. The textbook was dry and uninteresting and our teacher did not have the passion for her subject matter to overcome it. I now have a much better understanding of both subjects thanks to reading the wonderful works of people like Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell.

The Cat's Meow

Not to be outdone by a dog, our cat, Patches, has been choosing some unusual poses lately. Here she reclines on a bench that belongs to the girls. She jumped up here herself, and when I noticed where she was lying, I had to get a picture.




Now she's sitting on Faith's shelves. I don't know if she got up here herself or if the girls put her up here. But she did stay up there a while. Finally, they messed with her enough that she wanted down. She is a very patient and tolerant cat. She endures much loving from a particular daughter, but she is seldom cross even with the overly-affectionate child.



Here's a very naughty Patches on our dining room table investigating one of the bouquets the girls received after their dance recital. I've caught her on the table a handful of times, often looking for food. I hope she seldom gets up here, but I don't know where she prowls when we're all asleep! (And, yes, that is a bookshelf in our dining room! We have two more, and I'm hoping for another!)



A couple of nights ago I caught Patches working on the computer. I think she might want her own blog! I don't think she's a particularly accurate typist, but she sure is cute! And this desk is what happens when two disorganized people marry. And then start a home business requiring paperwork. And homeschool on top of that.


Now Patches is studying the Bible! Maybe she can help Paul with the difficult passage he's teaching for Sunday School on Sunday! I'm usually Pauls "research assistant," but if we learn to speak cat, maybe Patches can help out on occasion. I think she has applied the "be patient, bearing with one another in love" part quite well.



I'm sure that not only taking these pictures, but posting them says something about me. I just hope it's something good! Now it's time for a cat nap!

It's a Dog's Life!

Recently our animals have been choosing very unusual places to sit! Yesterday we caught Callie lying on our new patio table! She appeared to be enjoying it quite a bit. After I took the picture, we shooed her off the table so she sat in one of the chairs. The chair was between
the table and the deck railing, and at first she couldn't figure our how to get down. A dog treat solved that problem! (And then we cleaned the table!)








Here she is in the chair, looking pitiful! I think she's saying, "Please let me sit here!"







This isn't her first time to choose a table for her bed. Here she is lying on a small table in our yard. I really wish I could have seen her get on the table. I don't know how she got on without turning it over!







And here she is sitting in a lawn chair! Once again, I wish I could have seen her get in it without upsetting it! The funny thing is that she has never been allowed on the furniture when she is in the house. The only time she ever gets on our furniture is when she jumps on one of the girls beds when she is scared (usually of the vacuum) or when she is trying to avoid having to get in her kennel. But somehow she feels very comfortable on the outdoor furniture!








Next post: Our cat doing some Bible study, some floral arranging, and a little bit of work on the computer!

A Side of Ribs

I went to the doctor yesterday because I had been having pain along my lower left ribs for several days. At first I figured I had somehow strained a muscle or ligament, but when the pain didn't go away, I decided I should make sure it wasn't something more serious. He told me I had somehow injured a rib! I don't know how. I don't remember doing anything that would cause that much pain. But, since those ribs are right at elbow height, he said I could have even injured it by sleeping on my arm funny.

Wow, I may have injured myself by sleeping! And I'm good at sleeping! Guess I need to practice more!

Of course, the only thing that will heal my rib is time to let my body heal itself. But Naproxen does help with the pain. He also told me to try to avoid doing anything that hurts. The bad good thing is that most housework hurts. So I get a little sabbatical from housework! Unfortunately this extra load falls to Paul, who is so overworked right now with his job and researching another business prospect. Maybe this would be a good time to teach Faith and Hope some new housekeeping skills. (This would be a bit easier if they didn't mind the sound of the vacuum. It's really not that loud.)

We've set up the Stuff-Mart pool, so maybe I can tie the extra housework to extra swimming time! However, since it looks like rain, I may have to wait until tomorrow to try it.