All this...and Christmas too!

A fresh inch of snow out my window with more falling, a hot cup of coffee, a fire in the fireplace, stockings hung by the chimney with care, children upstairs, tucked in their beds, Giovanni piano Christmas CD playing in the background, lights twinkling on the tree, and my laptop! This is the good life!

A Monday List

• Advent fans, you must, must, must check out my favorite Advent website. Leigh Ann from Teachingmom.com has done an incredible job of compiling websites. It becomes a major part of our curriculum during December!
• OK, you really didn't think I was going to let it slide and *not* mention that the Seahawks won in OT yesterday, did you? True, they didn't really deserve to win the game. The Giant's kicker missed *3* field goals that should have won the game for them. It was a total roller coaster of emotions. Next week, Seahawks get Monday night football billing! So, you can *all* watch them play. :-)
• Monday afternoons are a great time. I have a Monday morning cleaning appointment with my sister-in-law. We don our headsets and cordless phones and tackle our bathrooms together. The kids get to watch a movie and everyone is happy. We have been doing this for several years now and it is a great motivation and a great time to catch up-especially since they moved to California this last summer. So, on Monday afternoons everything is shining, dusted, fragrant and tidy.
• The decorations are up and I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of pictures as I start my December photo challenge. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Christmas?

The first day of advent...

Today begins the official season of advent. I wait, in anticipation, for what God will do in our hearts this season. I wait eagerly for His return. I wait with the hope that those who have not experienced God's forgiving grace will turn to Him. I wait, knowing that every day He tarries is a day that I can be salt and light. I wait and teach my children to do the same. We wait.

Light the purple candle and take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

Doesn't everyone Scotchguard their carpet on Thanksgiving?

Well, let me tell you a Thanksgiving story. This is a true story. No people's names have been changed to protect the guilty parties. On Thanksgiving morning Danny and I found ourselves childless. (The kids had stayed the night at Danny's parents.) So, we woke up late and did what every other couple who has a few hours to themselves does. We Scotchguarded our carpet. It needed to be done at a time when no feet would be walking on it and it seemed like a good time. :-) Actually, I vacuumed, Danny did the actual spraying. However, the story gets better. At 2:00 AM (last night) I woke up to a strange noise. Danny woke up and decided to put on a second coat and he was spraying Scotchguard on our floor....at 2 o'clock in the morning!! I did not participate in the middle-of-the-night-Scotch-fest! But, I haven't stopped chuckling over the fact that Danny did!

Shakespeare overheard....

This cracked me up and I thought I'd share it with you. Annsley answered the phone this morning and I heard her say, "Well, something hard of hearing. They call me Catherine, that did talk of me." Then there was silence and she said, "If I be waspish, best beware my sting." And on they went for several minutes back and forth.

She is taking a Shakespeare class right now at our co-op. A friend of hers in the class called to rehearse their scene from The Taming of the Shrew. It was so fun to overhear these two young girls relishing in such rich languish. I didn't even know they were memorizing it. It brought a huge smile to this home-schoolin'-mom's face!!

Thankfulness...

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
Come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
We are his people, the sheep of his parture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
And his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I am thankful for the big things in life-God's enduring love and faithfulness, my family, and my health. But, there are a lot of little things I'm thankful for too!

• early mornings with coffee
• being able to turn up the heater when I'm chilly
• a good nights sleep (after last week I'm very thankful for this)
• a job that I love
• the Seahawks have the best record in the NFC (maybe excited more than thankful :-))
• our library
• a clean house
• thankful, thoughtful kids (well, except for yesterday :-))
• the fact that it snows here (oh, please, please snow soon)
• books on tape in the car with the kids and the common phrases we get from them
• learning new things
• a husband who gives me evenings to myself especially after long days (like yesterday)
• new beginnings each day
• children who are enthusiastic learners (well, except for....yah, you guessed it...yesterday)
• a new bottle of bubble bath

The list could go on and on, but it is enough for now. I'm thankful for the little things.

The Photo challenge...and part 3 of the women in my life

Someone on the Well Trained mind board said they take a picture-a-day in December of their favorite Christmas things. I love that idea, so guess what you'll be seeing some of. The kids are going to choose and then make a little book.
I decided that I needed to start a little early since my Christmas cactus will be all bloomed out by Christmas. Personally, I think that Christmas cacti (cactuses?) are ugly about 11.5 months out of the year. But, I love mine when it blooms because it reminds me of my Grandma. She had several huge ones in her house. Mine is a start from one of hers. She always got the biggest kick out of the fact that they were called Christmas cactus but bloomed at Thanksgiving. So, when I see mine blooming it makes me happy and reminds me of my Grandma. One of the first posts on my blog was about this special lady. Rather than repeat it, I'll link back and let you read about the third special lady in my family. So, I keep the plant up high for most of the year and bring it down and celebrate when it blooms!

Finally feeling better!!

After over a week on the couch I think I'm ready for the big move back to the bed tonight. My cough is finally under control enough to not keep Danny up all night. Woohoo. I put a picture of my mantle for my banner today. It makes me happy. What doesn't make me happy is the fact that I can't figure out my photo-editing software about how to put words onto the picture. I did it last time by accident and somehow I can't repeat that accident. And, of course, the Seahawks won again today. This too makes me happy. Only 5 more days until we get to put up the Christmas decorations. Yup, it makes me happy. I love Thanksgiving, but we are with family that we spend lots of time with all year. This is one of the things that I am thankful for, but it makes Thanksgiving slightly anti-climactic. What I'm really looking forward to is the day after Thanksgiving. I love getting up at the crack of dawn, getting an eggnog latte, and hitting the hustle and bustle of the crowds. Then, we get out the decorations. Now, *that* makes me happy!

Praying for sleep tonight...

I'm running on about 12 hours of sleep for the last 3 nights....total. Although I'm feeling better (not great, but better) I can not stop coughing in order to get to sleep. I've tried it all...cough medicine, cough medicine with codeine, cough drops, hot tea and lemon, etc. Last night I got desperate about midnight, stumbled downstairs, grabbed the bottle of tequila from the shelf and drank a straight shot. This is not something I ever do (unless it is blended into a margarita). It did soothe and make me feel sleepy but it still took about an hour after that to dose off.
My brain is working at about half of normal speed and efficiency and I feel a strange fog around me. But, enough about my health..blah,blah,blah. Soon and very soon I'll be back to normal routine and I'll try and post something interesting.

I heard the most disturbing thing at the mall...

A small girl, around 4 or 5, was eyeing a little cloth doll. It looked like those Groovy Girls dolls, but I don't know it if was that brand or not. The little girl had picked up the one with dark skin. The mother kept telling the girl, "Honey, that one is "tanner" than we are." She looked at me, with a knowing smile, like I would understand that she wanted the little girl to choose one that was closer to her own skin color. I could tell the mom thought she was clever because she was saying "tanner" rather than different or darker. But, Hello Mom? What message are you giving your daughter. I smiled at the little girl and said, "I like that one too."

There's more...

It turns out that the Edgar Allan Poe action figure was only the beginning. Check out this link here

OK, I want you to vote. Which one do you find most disturbing? I don't want to bias you, but I think the albino bowler gets my vote.

Who wouldn't want to own the "deluxe" Jesus with the "glow-in-the-dark miracle hands?"

These really crack me up. I'm tempted to start a collection. So, if you are still wondering about what to get me for Christmas....

So far, so good

I have not yet been smitten with the bug. We had a great day today. I had no agenda at all. I told the kids we could go wherever they wanted (subject to the usual bugetary constraints, of course.) Annsley wanted to go to the mall and Seth wanted to go the Learning is Fun. So, off we went. We spent a ton of time at Barnes & Noble (our favorite spot at the mall.) Annsley said, "This is so great. We can stay here as long as we want." Then we wandered and window shopped. We bought nothing except a miniature Mrs. Fields cookie and some decaf coffee for me. Next we went to Costco to pick up a couple of gingerbread houses before they disappear as is want to happen at Costco. I became totally sold on the Costco gingerbread houses last Christmas. I have tried making my own. It is a royal pain!! I have tried pre-fab gingerbread houses. They never work quite out. But, the Costco houses were perfect. They come with tons of candy and the pieces all ready to go and frosting mixture. Easy assembly. Only $7.99.

Danny grew up with a gingerbread tradition. He and his mom decorated one half and his sister and dad took the other side. During the holidays when guests and friends came over they would vote on which side was the best. It was a fun memory for them. So, we have tried to carry on this tradition but, we don't do the voting yet. The Costco house was a big bonus in this tradition. It is amazing how beautiful a bunch of gaudy, tacky candy looks on a white frosted gingerbread house.

Then we went to Learning is Fun. Seth picked up a bag of polished rocks with some money he'd been saving. Annsley headed straight for the books and hung out there the whole time. I browsed science experiments and other fun items.

Did you know there are literary action figures? I saw one of William Shakespeare and Ben Franklin. But, the most disturbing of all was the Edgar Allan Poe action figure. He was scary looking with (of course) a raven on his shoulder. Please tell me who would play with an Edgar Allan Poe action figure. Bizarre and frightening.

How do I know that my husband is sick?

First, a little background for those who don't know Danny. He is not sentimental and doesn't cry easily. He is not usually moved by books or movies unlike his wife (me) who loves nothing more than a good cathartic cry at a sad book. I cry at those patriotic songs that tug at your heart strings. I cry at Hallmark commercials. And, Pa always makes me cry on Little House on the Prairie. But, Danny doesn't. He also doesn't read much fiction. He is more of a non-fiction kinda guy. But, he is reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Spanish. He likes to read fiction in Spanish to practice and increase his vocab. Today, I walked into the bedroom (he has not left today) and he sheepishly admitted that when Ron and Harry had made up from their tift he cried. He recognized the fact that he was not at his most stable self today. I thought I was going to split a gut laughing. Nice sensitive wife, eh? He only told me because he knew I would find it amusing. I know those of you who know Danny are laughing along with me to think of him crying at Harry Potter. I just had to share.

I feel like a sitting duck...

Last night two more members of my family succumbed to the bug. I think that my days are numbered. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be an awful bug that leaves that death-like feeling. Why is it that children always throw up in the middle of the night? Why can't it be during the day when I am rested and mentally prepared to clean the carpet? Actually, I am getting a cold and I think I feel worse than the rest of my family. All in all, it could be worse. Everyone was healthy yesterday so I didn't have to get a sub at school. We have tomorrow off for Veteran's Day and so we can all recuperate!

Well, nothing more uplifting than a "My family is sick" blog entry, eh? On a higher note, last night I read The Prayer of Jabez. It was an encouragement to pray big prayers and watch God work miracles. How easy it is for my prayers to become routine and inspired. I want to be a woman who prays and watches God work miracles.

And just like that...it is gone.

I tried to decide whether to title this entry with sympathy for my son who woke up at 2:30 this morning throwing up or if I should take the more selfish angle. It is not that I begrudge the sleep that I had to give up. I don't even mind (much) that we had to clean it off the carpet in the middle of the night. (Yes, I said we. I have a good husband!) But, today was to be the Tuesday that I have the couple hours to myself. And, I can't send a sick child to my mom's! So, I went with the title that was all about me. Seth is welcome to start his own blog and talk about his misery. Lest I sound unsympathetic, I really hate it when my kids are sick. My heart just breaks knowing I can't make the yucky feeling go away. I would take it from him if I could...I really would. (But, since he has already had it, I hope I don't get it too!)

What a difference a year makes...

Today I got out in the yard and "winterized" the flower beds. I never look forward to this job. Once September hits I am usually ready to be done with the yard. But, I got rid of all the dead flowers and made one last bouquet of roses that were still hanging on through the cold. While ripping out spent annuals and hacking the heck out of perennials my mind returned to last year at this time.

Last year I remember crying my way through this job. It was just over a year ago that we left our old church. It was a difficult year. This church thing caused divisions in my family that I never thought were possible. But a year later, today, I gloried in God's grace. God has healed so many of the rifts in my family. We are connecting at our new church. It is an alive place and new people are accepting Jesus as their Savior every week.

The song I clung to (and I mean it when I say I sang it over and over and over) during this time was Blessed be the name of the Lord (Tree 63)

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say...

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

When I sang that today as I was working my eyes filled with tears for the fact that God has brought me through the road marked with suffering and there was pain in the offering. My heart is still choosing to say, "Blessed be your name" even though I am beginning to feel His streams of abundance rather than the desert place.

Make the choice today to choose to say this to God. "You give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name!"

The Women in my life...Part 2

Although the project for school is over, I wanted to finish putting my thoughts here. I chose four women in my life who have influenced me greatly. The second is my mother-in-law. I am blessed (and I know it!) to have an incredible mother-in-law. She is gracious, kind, gentle and a Godly woman. She goes out of her way to make time for family. She is sensitive to the fact that I am not her daughter and never steps on my toes, but yet treats me as her own daughter.

She serves the community. She volunteers at the Union Gospel Mission, Anna Ogden Hall and Christ’s Kitchen. Today she asked if she could take Annsley to Christ's Kitchen to serve with her. What wonderful modeling for Annsley as she learns to serve others.

She plays the piano beautifully and gives the kids (free) piano lessons.

At the beginning of the school year she asks what she can do to help me. That is an amazing question. I must confess that I am not very good at taking help. I don't often know what to ask for in this situation. But, she has our family over for dinner every Wed night and part of her gift to me is that I get to stay home. She understands my need for some alone time and is not offended if I choose not to come. She is willing to help in any way with the homeschooling process. She even read several of the books (The Well Trained Mind and Story of the World) I use so that she can know what we are doing. She cooks and sews with the kids.

She is more serious by nature than my family, but always ready with a smile and a hug.

The in-law relationship can be one of the trickiest ones and I know how lucky I am to have such a great one! Plus, she raised my husband to be a great man and a wonderful husband and father. How can I ever thank her for that?

November is here

The last week of October always feels a bit crazy because of a birthday and Halloween. Last night we went trick-or-treating for the first time. Our old church had a harvest party and we did that instead. This year, we went with friends and had a great time. It was perfect fall weather! Brisk, but not too cold. Just cold enough that the caramel apple cider (with caramel whip cream) warmed our stomachs just right! You already saw Mr Incredible, but here is the jaguar. (She is *not* a cat! She is a jaguar.)















The pumpkins are starting to mold and ready to be thrown out. Have I ever told you that I absolutely LOVE the color of pumpkins?











So, the first day of November I take a deep breath and get those excited butterflies in my stomach as I think about the approach of the holiday season. I can't wait to start advent, and get my kids their ornament, and listen to Christmas music (although I religiously wait until the day after Thanksgiving to get it out.)