Wordless Wednesday

Snowed in!

I haven't missed church for anything other than illness or vacation since I was in college. But, this morning we awoke to about a foot of snow and I got stuck twice just trying to get out of our driveway. So, we opted for worshipping God in his amazingly gorgeous creation. We bundled up and headed for the park. We had to help about five different people who had gotten stuck. I have never seen so many neighbors out shoveling and snow blowing and trying to get out of their driveways. The roads are a mess, but everyone seemed in such good spirits and willing to help each other get the cars moving.

We walked (trudged would be a better word) to the park where we could barely find the swings. We made a snowman and just enjoyed the amazing beauty that God has given us!

I have included a few pictures of the day.

Have my kids been reading too much?

Annsley and Seth told me tonight that they had a plan but they couldn't tell me what it was until after Tuesday. I prodded a little and they finally confessed that they were going to run away to the mall on Tuesday. They didn't tell me *which* mall however so I wouldn't be able to find them right away. They said that they were going to get their money out of the bank so they would have something to live off of. When I asked them how they were going to do that, they replied, "We need you to help us with that." I said, "OK. When you ask me to do it I'll try not to ask too many questions so I don't discover your plan." They were thankful. I told them I thought it would be good for them and help them with their independence skills. I promised not to tell Daddy until after Tuesday.

Um.....do you think my kids have been reading a little to much Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler? I remember loving this book as a kid and planning a few adventures of my own after reading it. However, they decided that our local museum just didn't have what they needed to survive, but the mall certainly does. Seth did let it slip that I would probably find them in the bedroom section of one of the stores. They also assured me it was nothing I had done! Phew!

Love/ Hate Meme

I love to eat: brie cheese
I hate to eat: raisins
I love to go: on vacation
I hate to go: to Walmart
I love it when: I have a lazy Saturday to sleep in and read in bed
I hate it when: I hurt someone's feelings
I love to see: my kids do something well
I hate to see: anyone I love in pain
I love to hear: my kids laughing
I hate to hear: anything out of pitch

For you: Miz Booshay

Tuesday Ten (I mean Seven)

1. Riverdance was great. I can only imagine long, wispy legs gracefully moving across the floor. I am not long-limbed.
2. I learned how to make a ribbon on photoshop. It looks cool, but I'll post it later. (Yah, I know Cathy, you could just curl a real ribbon in much less time!)
3. We have been doing our meals-on-wheels this month, and I can not tell you how much I like having meals delivered to my house on the nights that I work.
4. There is no football this weekend! I will be having withdrawals.
5. It is very cold here today!! I'm so thankful for a house and a heater...and my electric blanket.
6. American Idol has started, but I gotta say, I like it a lot better when they get to Hollywood. Danny and the kids enjoy this tryout part.
7. I really don't have much to say, but I really like you all....my imaginary friends, and I really haven't posted much substantial lately.

Tomorrow I get to go....

to this!

It almost makes up for the fact that the Seahawks will be home tomorrow. The only problem is that I will miss most of the early game (Go Chargers!) and part of the second game (Go Packers!) It sounds like it is going to be just a little chilly in Green Bay.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading All Rivers Run to the Sea by Elie Wiesel. I have always had a fascination with reading about Holocaust survivors, but this may be one of the most amazing books I have read in this genre. Wiesel weaves the tale of his fascinating life, adding his personal reflections on God, faith, love and forgiveness.

"To write is to plumb the unfathomable depths of being. Writing lies within the domain of mystery. The space between any two words is vaster than the distance between heaven and earth. To bridge it you must close your eyes and leap. A Hasidic tradition tells us that in the Torah the white spaces, too, are God-given. Ultimately, to write is an act of faith."

What's in *your* book pile?

Go Hawks!!

We have on our blue and green. We are heading to my parents to watch the big screen.

Can you imagine how the players must all feel right now?

Miz Booshay, all morning your phrase, "May the team with the best bloggers win" has been making me smile. That one really cracked me up. If I didn't have Crissy on my side I would give the Packers the advantage on that one. You are one of the few people I know (besides me, of course) who would have a picture of knitting and football in the same post! I hope your boys have a wonderful time at the game and could you ask them to say a little Seahawk cheer just for me?

I didn't mention yesterday that I am now officially married to a 40 year old! We celebrated last night at our favorite Mexican restaurant with my family and tonight we will celebrate with his family. He insisted that I NOT give him a party. He does not like to be the center of attention. This whole turning 40 gig has been made more difficult due to the fact that he found out last week he needs two crowns on his teeth. He has begun the downward slide. :-)

Like you really care....

I know I'm a bit PSE obsessed, but I really love my folded paper that I made! I just gotta show you. I added the shading, shadows, etc. I followed a tutorial, but I think it is cute. The picture on this page was just another technique I was learning and won't stay on this page. I'm having fun.

Wednesday morning

Happy Wednesday, everyone. We have amazingly beautiful snow outside and it makes me SO happy!! I love the snow. The kids should be awake now so we can start on our "schedule" but Annsley was out late at a basketball game last night and.....I'm enjoying the quiet right now.

This afternoon Annsley starts her next CYT class. She auditioned for a class called Star Spangled Kids that will tour to schools, but did not get in. She was the youngest to audition, and although she sang beautifully, she could not get the dance routine they taught at the audition. It was not an easy jazz routine and Annsley has not had much jazz, so she couldn't learn it fast enough for the audition. She felt bad right after the audition. But, when I told her she didn't get it, she seemed fine with it. She is taking a different fun class (which will mean less work and time). It was a good lesson for her. Confession time. I sort of felt like *I* didn't make it, and I found that *I* was disappointed by the whole thing. Very, very silly!! But, don't worry, I'm over it....for the most part. ;-)

Please be patient

If you are seeing a giant blog banner....sorry about that. I'm trying to make some changes, but I have to go to bed and I won't get back to it for a while. If you are seeing a tiny blog banner could you let me know, please. Thanks! I'm going to fix the colors too.

Can you stand another scrapbooking page?

This is what I'm spending my evening time doing lately. And....I gotta show someone!

My Photoshop Elements lesson

The lesson for the month was making "grunge" borders. Along with this I learned how to take the color out of a picture and then add it back in in certain spots.

This looks so simple. Why did it take me so long to do it? :-)

First Digital Scrapbooking page

I found this website, which has proved to be the easiest site for learning new things. I even subscribed to their newsletter where they send you new techniques to learn each month. The problem is that I am following the tutorials and trying to do some advanced techniques without having a great understanding of the basics.

They have a great beginning tutorial video, but it is Photoshop Elements 5. I am trying to decide if I should wait for the Elements 6 beginning training video (not sure when it is coming out..."soon" is what they say) or get the Elements 5 training to learn the basics. It doesn't make sense to use an outdated program, but.....well.....I'm kinda impatient!

My first Photoshop Creation

I followed a tutorial to make this cute Christmas ornament with Photoshop. I don't really know what I'll do with it yet, but I thought it was kinda cute.

2008 Project Challenge

Kelli came up with the 2008 Project Challenge. Each month choose a project that you would like to tackle. Pretty simple. Does anyone want to join me? My project for January is to get my recipes organized again. The paper seems to have multiplied. I'll let you know how this goes. If you would like to join me (and Kelli) let me know your project in my comments or post it on your blog and send me the link.

Year in Review

as inspired by the amazing Miz. Booshay

January:

OK, I can hardly remember back to January, but I took a very spur of the moment work trip to Rhode Island and stayed in an amazing hotel and had the best Italian food I have ever tasted in my life. Now THAT is a memory I can't forget. The company that paid for us (not our school tax dollars, you will be happy to know) is very generous to their guests!!

February:

I got glasses. I don't wear them all the time, mostly as a fashion accessory, but I find I'm needing them a little more as I approach 40!

March-April: We started our South trip in Dallas at the end of March and into April. This trip was one of the highlights of our year. It was so fun seeing the country and some old friends along the way. (Old in longevity not age, of course!) Here we are in a amazingly gorgeous place in Mississippi along the Natchez Trace. This trip brought our grand total up to 35 states that we have been in. I turned 39 in March and Annsley turned double digits in April.

May-The weekends in May were mostly dedicated to putting in our irrigation system at our property. This was a LOT of work and the kids did a ton of work. At the time I remember thinking that there was NO WAY this was going to be worth it, but I have sure been enjoying the produce in my freezer from all our work! OK, this picture wasn't from May, but you get the idea.

June: We took a short trip over to Seattle and had a great time staying with family and seeing some fun things. I also passed the oral defense for my masters degree. That was exciting!

July:

I finished my masters degree!!! Every July we head to the Oregon coast for a week with my family. This is always a yearly highlight for everyone. This year we extended our vacation a week and toured around Oregon with Danny's parents before we headed to Cannon Beach.

August:

LaNae (Danny's sister) and kids returned to Spokane from California. The kids have been so happy to be back together again!! There was lots of swimming and a visit from our wonderful Chicago friends (time to start a blog, Bets!!)

September:

We started back officially to school.

October: Seth turned 9 this month and had soccer games and practice and Annsley was rehearsing for Little Women, the Musical. October seems a bit of a blur.

November: Annsely was in her first play and loved it! See this post for pictures.

December: There are many Christmas highlights this year. One highlight is always the Christmas play that the cousing literally spend all year planning and practicing. The older the get, the sweeter it is.

12th Man Bracelet

This bracelet makes me smile. You can't see the little football charm, but it is there. Thanks Andie for letting me know about it.

Just in time for the playoffs.

Those Redskins looked tough today!

Go SEAHAWKS!

Santa Came Last Night....

I think he was heading south for a post-Christmas vacation, but he made an appearance last night. Or, maybe he just knows when people are celebrating. Somehow Grandpa managed to miss Santa again this year. He always seems to be gone when Santa makes his appearance!

Bets, does this look terrifyingly familiar?

Santa has been known to surprise (and frighten) people by appearing outside their window without warning.

No crying children here this year.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm so excited....

about this....









I used to be a scrapbooker, but the reality is that I haven't even printed off pictures for about three years now, so I don't think I can call myself a scrapbooker anymore. I've got supplies and paper galore, but I don't seem to make anymore to do it. So, I'm switching teams. I'm going to try my hand at digital scrapbooking. I really love the whole notion of NO MESS. I also like that I can skip that pesky step of printing off the pictures. We'll see what comes of it, but I'm excited to try. Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas

I miss my family. My parents (and brother/sil, and Grandparents) are in Seattle with extended family this year. I really enjoy being with Danny's family but, honestly, I just kinda miss my parents. It heightens my awareness of how blessed I am to have a great relationship with them. We'll celebrate when they get back but tonight I am feeling a twinge of sadness.

Tonight I am praying for the military families who are separated for a lot more than four nights. What an amazing sacrifice!! Tonight I am thankful for the Father who sent his Son away from his side to be with us for a short time and become our Savior.

Merry Christmas, friends!!

Proud knitter

I thought I'd show off what I made for Annsley.

Thanks Ree

I thought we'd try something new this year, so we made Ree's sugar cookies. I like them because they look kind of cool-in a vintagey kinda way! We haven't added the white piping to them yet.

Then, I got a couple of hours ON MY OWN to go to do some shopping. I'm almost done with my shopping. Did I mention that I got to be ON MY OWN? :-)

May all your cookies remain unbroken this season!

Popcorn balls

Here we are for the annual popcorn ball making party. I am typing this live as the event is unfolding. I'm hoping to give a flavor and taste (so to speak) of the event. Grandma Great is slaving over the hot stove trying to make sure that we don't cross over from "hard ball" to "soft crack." There is a fine line between ball and crack, as you well know.

Grandpa Great has his hands buttered and stands ready to mix and form when the moment arrives.

The kids (and mostly Grandpa Larry) are playing Christmas carols on the piano. He misses few notes but he adds great flourish and flair to the songs. You might ask him for a performance over in Seattle. He *might* be willing to perform. (He sings too-ask him about Do You Know What I Know)

The moment is approaching. The tension mounts. Will it be right? Will it be too hard or too soft? Here is comes. We have contact! Erica and GG stir like mad. Grandma Great is certain, as she is with EVERY single batch that *this* will be the batch that does not work. In the years we have been doing this, I have not know a batch to not work, but the tradition continues.

Verdict: THEY STICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas time is here....

Here's what I did tonight.... I *love* these old classics.









Here are the fine young people who celebrated the event.....The Sanchez kids are staying with us for a few days and the Klock kids came to join us for the evening.

Sign Language Class

Annsley and Seth have been taking a sign language class since last year and their teacher is just wonderful. She has really given both the kids a love and passion for sign language. I have been so impressed with all that they know after a relatively short time. All trimester they have been working on a report of a prominent deaf person. Annsley chose Laura Bridgeman and Seth chose Laurant Clerc. They wrote an essay and made a poster. Their final project was to sign their report for the class. It was so cute how excited/nervous they were last night. They practiced, oh boy did they practice!!

Seth literally raced into my classroom after his performance and showed me that he had received 100/100 points on his project. I wish I could have captured his sweet face with a picture. I wanted to kiss his teacher for giving him that grade, but more than that, I wanted to kiss his teacher for giving him the opportunity to get in front of others and show what he has learned. This doesn't come easily for this boy and I was so proud I wanted to burst. Annsley came down a little later to show me her 100 as well. But, she enjoys being in front of others and so it wasn't quite as hard for her. Her presentation was about nine minutes long (Seth's was about 5 minutes). Annsley has a beautiful stage presence when she signs and she really enjoys it.

Their teacher recorded them and I am hoping that I will be able to figure out how to upload a clip of them signing. I wish I could post a video of Annsley signing Silent Night, but I don't have a digital video camera yet.

This is one of the reasons that I love TEC. It gives the kids a chance to work with other teachers who will inspire them to do things that I can not teach. I was also happy that they are diligent about their deadlines and due dates without me pushing them. They did this all on their own. They were the only two students in the class who were ready to go with their reports today.

Also today in their science class their final project is to wire a little cardboard box house. They have been studying electricity and circuits in the class. They have been having so much fun and learning so much.

In their writing class they are putting their finishing touches on their expository essays and getting ready for their writer's celebration next week. This is where they read a selection that they have read in front of the class and parents.

In their music class next week they are putting on a little performance for the parents. They will be playing autoharps and doing some other cool things.

These are some of the reasons that I am so thankful for TEC!!

Wordless Wednesday

Quiet Strength

OK, maybe you don't like football as much as I do, but this book was amazing and it touched me in many ways. I was full of tears throughout the whole book, moved by his God honoring attitudes in difficult circumstances. The Colts were already my 2nd favorite team because of Dungy but now I am officially and whole-heartedly a Dungy fan.

Happy Birthday, Dad

Tomorrow, December 1st is my Dad's birthday. We chose some of the best pictures from the slide show above to give him as a gift. I realize that I talk a lot about my mom, but I don't mention my Dad as much. He is a wonderful father and grandfather. His love is so unconditional and I appreciate him so very much. He is amazingly generous with his money and his time. He has served faithfully in the church for many years. He goes to Russia (Siberia, in the winter, even) to help train Russian pastors to lead their churches. I get my love of books and school supplies from him. We call him "the Laminator" because he loves to laminate things. He has a cooler label-maker than I do.

He is one of the funniest people I know and he often surprises people who don't know him well because he comes across as a little formal until people get to know him. When I was in college in California he would always make several trips down to see me. He would take me to some cool sporting event. We went to baseball games, hockey games, and even a Raiders game once (during the strike season). I guess it is no wonder I ended up a sports fan. I have great memories of my Dad teaching me how to keep score for the 1980 Dodgers team.

I included this picture of him, not because it is the best one of him, but because it shows his joy of being a Grandpa to his two grandsons. Many times when Seth comes over for a visit he will have some crazy Olympics or game tournament set up for the two of them.

In the pool he is known as "the shark" and his "da-da-da-da" (think Jaws) sends the grand kids shrieking to the other end of the pool.

Happy birthday, Dad. I love you very much!!

Can you hear God speak today?

This was our sermon topic two weeks ago. This question has been floating around in the back of my mind since this sermon. The question is not a general yes-or-no question about whether God can speak today, but a personal question. "Can *I* hear God speak to me today?" Our pastor is doing a series from the minor prophets and it has been good. The key verse was Habakkuk 2:20 "But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him." This is contrasted with the lifeless idols that the people were trusting in. (see Habakkuk 2:18-19). Basically God is saying to us, "HUSH!" I think this is timely advice during the Advent season. There are so many voices we can listen to that can take the focus off Christ. We just need to HUSH! One of the pastor's closing points was that "so often we desire for God to hear what is on our hearts; we need to be silent before God to hear what is on his heart for us."

The sermon was followed by a testimony of a couple who clearly heard God speak to them and tell them to adopt a very high-needs little boy who has half a heart. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house when they talked about how following God's voice is not always the easiest choice, but the blessings are so enormous that they would make the same choice again.

And we followed this testimony with five minutes of silent prayer where we were instructed to just listen. Do you know how LONG five minutes seems in a quiet auditorium? But it made me realize how much of an agenda I bring to my prayer time. My list. My requests. My time. But, I rarely just listen.

So, I challenge you sometime this week..."HUSH!!" and be silent before him.

Unit 1 Celebration Night

Here is a slide show of our Unit 1 Celebration. We had a Seder dinner and a museum of the artifacts that the kids had made. The kids each gave an oral report. If you are interested, you can read a little (a very little) bit more at my homeschool blog Magnum Opus Academy. I think these slide shows are pretty cool!

Things that make me happy.

I love the whole Christmas season. Everything! I got my decorations and trees up on Friday and they make me soooooo happy. Here are few other things that made me happy this Thanksgiving weekend.

1. The Williams-Sonoma Winter Forest dish soap. It literally makes me happy while I'm doing my dishes. It smells like a Christmas tree. And, since I am a fake tree kinda gal, I love having that scent around.

2. This also made me happy.....and more than a little nervous. But, the result made me happy.

3. Speaking of football, I watched three games yesterday. And I finished knitting my new hat. Don't all women love to watch football and knit? They were all very close exciting games. That made me happy. (Sorry Pam about Denver....I was actually rooting for them!)

4. Church made me happy this Sunday. They had a baptism/prayer service. Twelve people were baptized and shared these amazing testimonies of what God has done in their lives. It was so encouraging. One small group was all being baptized together. They shared in a sort of chain reaction how God had called them because of the people in this small group praying. Life changing stuff.

5. I made a huge pot of veggie soup yesterday. I used carrots and zucchini from our garden that I had shredded and frozen. It made me happy to be enjoying the fruits (or veggies) of all our labor this summer. Plus, we had some frozen raspberries and canned peaches as well.

6. I am thankful, as always, for my family. I read and hear so often about families who don't enjoy being together and I am reminded, again, what a gift I have. I know I say this a lot on my blog, but I treasure that gift every day!! They make me happy.

Calling all Knitting Experts!!!!!

Please help me figure out how to make my octagons not look like breasts!! I am using dpn and I know I'm following the pattern correctly, but I'm not very experienced with the dpn's. Am I doing the center too tight or too loose?I have tried it both ways and it still seems to concave like that. I really love this pattern, but.....well, I think you see the problem. I was hoping when I blocked the pieces together they would flatten out a bit, but it doesn't seem to be helping. What should I do?

Thanksgiving Thoughts

I am thankful for so many, many things!! Today after a long day of moving my sister-in-law and family back into their old house, I am thankful for a healthy body. Sure, I had to go to physical therapy for my massage-chair-neck-injury, but I can lift things, stand for a long time and work hard. That is something to be thankful for. Last week, Danny tore the muscle in his calf and is in such pain. The physical pain is bad, but when the doctor told him it was a "typical middle age injury" the emotional pain was worse! So, we are acutely aware of the blessings of healthy bodies around here.

I went back to link to the post where I told you about my massage chair injury, but I couldn't find it, so maybe I never told you that I am the only person in the history of the world to ever injure themselves in a massage chair at the Sharper Image....in July!! I finally got tired of waiting for the pain to go away and went to the physical therapist a couple weeks ago. I gotta tell you, I was hoping for a few more sessions. He put ultrasonic on it and massaged it, and then I got to lay in a quiet dark room with a vibrating current on my neck. It was so relaxing!! I was kinda sad to have it be done, but glad to have it feeling better. I had to give up my exercise time (6:00 am) to do it. Let's see, exercise or relax? Which would you choose? I think I feel my neck acting up again!

A Star is Born...

Here is the theater where Annsley is performing. Some of the plays are performed in schools or churches, but it is very fun to be in a "real" theater. This has a balcony and everything, so it feels very theater-ish.

This is a very scary picture of Annsley and her friend Rachel. For some reason they look like they are starring in Night of the Living Dead, but at least you can see Annsley in costume.

Here is the group doing prayer and a "power squeeze" before the show. They see how fast they can squeeze hands around the circle. It gets their energy up a bit. Look how teeny-tiny Annsley looks next to all those big kids. (She is on the right.)

Little Women

Annsley is in her very first musical. We participated in our local CYT (Christian Youth Theater) last year, but I was too busy for her to try out for any shows. The show is Little Women, the Musical. If you have never heard the music I highly recommend getting the CD. It is beautiful music and a wonderful show. I can not believe how much I have enjoyed being a part of the show. Quite honestly, Annsley is no more than a "live prop." She in only on stage for 3 scenes, has no lines, no solos, and sings in the chorus on a couple of songs. But, she has a great attitude about it and is thrilled to be a part of it. (And she looks pretty darn cute up on stage...pictures next week!)

All parents in CYT have to volunteer to be on one of the committees and I chose backstage. The kids do most of the set moving, but they need a parent backstage to make sure things run smoothly. The kids are so much fun and I remember how much I love working in a theater. (I taught drama before I had kids and directed a couple of plays/musicals.)

But, the greatest part for me is watching the older kids with the younger kids. They take an interest in them and actually include them in things. The girl who plays Jo (and has an AMAZING voice) actually takes time to talk with Annsley. Jo is in *every* scene and has so much to think about, and she still takes time to include the cast members who have small parts. There is no primadona attitude. As a mother this impresses me WAY more than her amazing vocal talent.

I love that they pray before every show to give glory to God for the performances. I love that the atmosphere is family friendly. It is a safe place for kids to experience theater and develop their talents.

It has been such a positive experience for Annsley and even though it has totally consumed out last two weeks it has been worth it.