"I Looked Everywhere For That!"

As you'll recall, Justin lost his permit several months ago and I just took him to get another one last week.

He and Harrison were cleaning out from under their bunk bed when Harrison found Justin's lost wallet with the original permit tucked safely inside. "Mom! Mom! I found Justin's permit!" Justin smiled and said, "I can't believe it. I looked everywhere for that!"

Apparently, everywhere doesn't include under the bed.

I Love This One

Fishermen's Night

Brother RJ has SIGMA set up to where the two teams will alternate one week a month to invite a guest preacher from church to preach their night and they will choose a food for supper that night.

The Nu Delta Fishermen had their night tonight. They chose Papa John's pizza for supper and asked Brother David Rollins to preach. It was a really good sermon. One I hope the kids take to heart on being absolute!

I worked pretty much all afternoon on a pot of chili before I remembered we were eating at SIGMA. But that's OK. Bruce had a bowl of chili when he got home from work and we'll have it for lunch tomorrow. So, no time loss there.

Speaking of SIGMA, a couple of my blog readers have asked me what that is. I'll do my best to explain. Sigma is when our youth group is divided into teams. The number of teens and sponsors will determine our teams. Our Youth Pastor is over SIGMA and the Patch the Pirate program. Bruce and I sponsor the Pi Gamma Eagles while Chris and Dana sponsor the Nu Delta Fishermen. During Wednesday night, they have a time of devotions, announcements, prayer, Bible memorization, preaching, and if we have time, Brother RJ will have a game for them. Each individual has the opportunity to earn points during the SIGMA year as well as team points by showing up for Sunday school, all preaching services and activities, turning in outlines and a week of devotions that Brother RJ works up for them, and doing Christian service or ministry during the week. There are many things they can do to earn points. At the end of the SIGMA year Mrs. Liz will put together the awards banquet. It is always a themed banquet. This year our theme for SIGMA was anchoring it down so she'll be doing an underwater theme. As a matter of fact, as soon as the Valentine's Banquet is out of the way, I believe she'll start getting her things together for that. It takes several months to plan and work to make everything nice and this year I think it's going to be a pretty big project. She knows what she's going to do so it will be fun to see it all put together. Brother RJ has all kinds of awards and medals he gives out that night. So that's about it. It's a great program for youth groups.

Our Youth Choir

That Story Will Never Grow Old

Oh No! The old story will never grow old

How Jesus died to save my soul

Oh No! The old story will never grow old

That story will never grow old

This is our youth choir singing That Story Will Never Grow Old. Wasn't that great?

Our youth group is going to Puerto Rico in July on a Missions trip. They'll be helping one of our missionaries there prepare their Bible college for the students coming back for fall semester and they'll be soul winning also. Justin and Hannah will be part of the youth that is going. They are now working on finding ways to earn money and get the paper work out of the way. They have to have a state issued ID. Justin's permit will do, but Hannah needs to have an ID made. So today I went to the DMV with her and her SS number and birth certificate. However, the birth certificate did not have the state seal on it, so we couldn't get her ID today. She was a little bummed out, but she'll be all right. I'll have to work on getting that this week or early next.

Before we went to the DMV, I took a meal to our neighbor, Lenda, and visited with her for almost two hours. I hope she and her husband enjoyed the meal. I did lemon pepper and teriyaki chicken, steamed mixed veggies, cornbread dressing and homemade biscuits. Hannah made them a small chocolate cake and it smelled delish! Mrs. Lenda had surgery a few weeks ago and will be down for several more. She's 62 and has always worked and been busy and is just about to go crazy not being able to get out and do things. She wants to get back to work and go shopping and all that fun stuff and just can't do it right now. We had a nice visit as she told me about her trip to Wyoming this past year and several other trips she's been on recently with her sister. I had a good time talking with her. She's just a really sweet lady.

It's been a very good day with school and getting five loads of laundry washed. Yes, five loads! It's funny how it piles up when you get sick.......or when you just don't do it. *giggle*

Worknight

Our Pastor's wife asked if I would be in charge of our Valentine Banquet this year and I told her yes. What was I thinking?? Ha, just kidding! So last night was our first worknight. We had some nice winter decorations up at Christmas, including our very large snowman, so I thought a wintery Valentine would be pretty. I chose white, silver, and two shades of blue for my colors.

Yesterday afternoon I dropped by the church office and Mrs. Janet printed out some things for me that I had done on the computer. I ran them to the Education Station where they had 21 of these things laminated in about 45 seconds. Boy, was I impressed with that! Yes, I've been homeschooling now for 11 years and have NEVER had ANYTHING laminated. Can you believe that? Anyway, I picked up a few window clings while I was there, rushed home to check on the kids because Hannah was babysitting Celine and Carissa. We had a small situation (not with the kids) but with the pets that needed to be dealt with and then I was off again to Party City to purchase my table ware. After leaving Party City I ran back to the church fellowship building to start on our decorations. Several showed up for that and I was happy to see them there.

Thank you:
Taylor
Diane
Gary
Brenda
Amy
Rebecca
Jamie
and Justin
for showing up to work. I really appreciated your help and input!
Thank you, Brother RJ, for coming down to turn the heat on for us. That was very kind of you.....cause it was COLD outside!
And thank you, Brother Harmon, for being home so I could borrow your saws. Which, by the way, are still at the fellowship building in that side room where the cabinets are, on the floor, under some trees, in front of the puppet stand. I can draw you a map if you want, or I could just give them back to you Wednesday night at church.

Mrs. Janet has been scrambling around ordering different decorative papers, finding men in the church to cut down trees (oh I can't wait to see the trees!!) and shopping around for cardboard, concrete, and 10 feet tall wooden dowels. I know what you're thinking....doesn't sound like things for a Valentine's Banquet....right? There's big plans for this stuff, folks. I don't want to reveal too much or share my pictures yet because I don't want people at church to know what they're coming into. But it's going to be very, very pretty! I'm getting a wee bit nervous and excited all at once.

When I got home, after a quick trip to Wal Mart, Mrs. Amanda had called and said that she and Brother Chris were on their way to pick up the girls. So Celine, Hannah and I quickly worked on one other project for the banquet before they got here. Celine looooooooves to help, you know. Carissa was passed out in her jammies, slippers, and coat waiting on her mommy and daddy to get here. Slumpped over on her side, she looked rather uncomfortable, and yet she never budged. In fact, she woke up and smiled at her daddy.

A Weekend of Birthdays!

I'm feeling a little better. Chicken noodle soup and orange juice are nursing me back to health. Friday night, I think I probably felt my worse, but was ok enough to attend the birthday party of a young lady in the youth group. Elizabeth just turned the sweet 16. She's the "kissy face" in the middle. Crystal is on the left and LeAnna on the right. Hope you had a great birthday, Elizabeth!!


Brother RJ was there with Sam and Ashlyn. Sam came in, hopped up on a stool and started eating. He wasn't wasting any time! Then down the stairs he went for some playtime with the "big kids!" Ashlyn was content snuggled up next to her ole' dad.


While we were there, Harrison got in a fight with a pole and lost, banging his head pretty hard. But Mrs. Missy gave him an ice pack and Tylenol and he was feeling better in no time.


Saturday we attended a birthday party for one of the CUTEST little kids in our church. His name is Cameron and he is SOooooooo funny. He's just fun to sit and watch. He decided he wanted his fourth birthday to be Army themed, so his mom decked the halls with camouflage.

She made him this AWESOME camouflage cake. The stars and tanks were candles. Didn't she do a fabulous job? And it tasted as good as it looks....I promise!

Cameron pretty much held this pose during the entire Birthday song. He was greatly anticipating the "blowing of the candles" ritual.

He inhaled a rather large amount of air and successfully blew out all of his candles with one breath...ok, maybe two...but it was a lot to blow out for a four year old! Way to go, CAM!

While we attended this party, Justin was at another party for another boy in our youth group. Spencer, is the youngest son of our Associate Pastor and his wife. He turned 16 also. Justin said they had a really great time.
We were asked to stay for supper after Cameron's party. Bruce, Brian, and Joel grilled steak, shrimp, and chicken on skewers, while Amy and I threw some baked potatos in the oven. It was all really good! Great job on the grill, boys!

The Girl In The Mirror Part II

I know I said I wasn't going to blog because I couldn't think of anything to blog about, but here's a post anyway. I don't have to think about this one. Just share my notes. If you remember, I posted the first part of a series our Youth Pastor's wife, Mrs. Liz, is doing with the girls in the youth group. Last week, she did Part II and I completely forgot to blog it. I found my notes a few minutes ago and decided to blog it tonight. If you missed Part I, you can find it in my sidebar under The Girl In The Mirror. This series is on the Problematic Girl vs the Praiseworthy Girl and is excellent to share with your daughters. As Pam, from Midnight Musings, said in the comments from Part I, you might like to print it off for your youth Pastor and his wife to do with your teen girls too.

Proverbs 31:10-31

Part II-Problematic Girl

and her Speech

The problematic girl found in Proverbs 29:11 and 30:32

Prov 29:11 "A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards."

Prov 30:32 "If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself or if thou hast thought evil lay thine hand upon thy mouth."

A. Speech comes from the heart.

1. Pride is a main cause for problematic speech

a. flattery

b. disrespectful to authorities ~ You should not disrespect your parents, your teachers, or ANYONE that is in authority over you.

2. God's feelings toward pride

a. abomination

B. Types of problematic speech

1. Perverse-filthy and dirty Prov 10:32 "The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness." Prov 15:4 "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit."

2. Deceitfulness - joking around Prov 26:19 "So is the man that deceiveth his neighbor and saith, Am I not in sport?"

3. Contentions - always arguing and causing fights - Prov 27:15 "A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike."

4. Loud and Stubborn fighting - Proverbs 7:11 "She is loud and stubborn, her feet abideth not in her house." Prov 21:9 "It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house."

5. Hastiness in speaking, in other words, she speaks and THEN thinks. Prov 10:19 "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise." Prov 29:20 "Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him."

C. Recipe for Change

1. Ephesians 4:29-32 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Put off corrupt communication-bitterness, wrath, and anger

2. Put on an edifying tongue and a forgiving tongue - lift each other up!

II The Praiseworthy Girl

and her Speech

James 3:1-18 " My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."

Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight oh Lord my strength and my redeemer."

A. Speech comes from the heart

1. Wisdom and the fear of God is the main factor in a praiseworthy speech.

2. Whatever is inside of you will eventually come out.

B. Types of a praiseworthy speech - James 3:17-18

1. Peaceable - not stirring up strife - Be an easy person to get along with.

2. Gentle - not threatening - Be loving with your communication

3. Be approachable

4. Full of mercy - not giving what is deserved

5. Show the fruits of the Spirit

6. Without Partiality - not taking just one side of the story. - Don't get involved in other's arguments.

7. Without hypocrisy - telling the whole truth - Little white lies are STILL lies!

C. Recipe for Change How do you go from a problematic speech to a praiseworthy speech?

1. The Lord - He is your Redeemer - you owe it to him to speak the way that He would desire.

2. The Lord - He is your strength - He will give you the ability to speak in the way that is pleasing to Him.

Just pray. He will give you the ability to be a praiseworthy girl!

*insert title here*

I forgot to take my camera to SIGMA tonight. It would have been good to have too because Brother RJ had the kids playing Musical Chairs. He sang, of course, and well....where is a CD when you need one? HA~Just kidding. He did fine.

I told you that Bruce just couldn't seem to get rid of this cold he's been carrying around, but he's doing so much better. He did decide to share it with me before he became completely well, so I've been feeling quite run down the last two days. I'm fighting it off with 1000-2000 mg of Vitamin C a day and my echinacea.

I had lunch cooked by noon and by 1:00 I was in bed for what should have been an hour nap, but I ended up not getting up until 4:45. Even then I didn't want to get up but I needed to get ready for church.

Since Christmas, I've been getting in bed around 2:00 AM or a little after and I gotta tell ya, that makes for some really long days. So since I'm feeling sick and tired right now, I suppose turning in early tonight would be a good thing.

My head is a little cloudy too and I can't think of anything interesting to blog about. I mean, I have things in my head, but I just can't seem to get them out. So I think I might take a break from blogging for a couple of days. I know I'll have things to blog about this weekend....that is unless something interesting happens between now and then.

~SEE YA~

Something To Blog About!

Courtney, from Courtney's Contemplations, reminded us that today is the 35th Anniversary of Roe vs Wade. This court battle was an open door to murding millions of babies with the consent of our country's leaders. But did you know that Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") became a Christian and recanted the statements she made in court? It was too late by then to take them back. The damage was done. She lives with this everyday. I had her book, Won By Love, and loaned it to someone very dear to me. I've yet to get it back, although I've asked for it several times. I doubt I'll ever see it again. LOL But you know who you are and I love you dearly! ANYWAY, here's a little bit about her. She is Roman Catholic and although I do not believe in Catholicism, I do feel that she accepted Christ. However, I also believe that if she HAS indeed accepted Christ, her sins are forgiven completely and no amount of candle burning and no amount of hail Maries will complete that, because it has already been completed, covered by the blood, lost in the sea of forgetfulness.

At a signing of her first book in 1994, McCorvey was confronted by pro-life activist Flip Benham. Within a year, McCorvey converted to Christianity. On August 8 1995, she was baptized by Benham in a Dallas backyard swimming pool that was filmed for national television. On August 10 of that year, she announced that she had become an advocate of the pro-life movement (specifically, "Operation Rescue"), fighting to make abortion illegal.

She wrote in her book, Won by Love, "I was sitting in O.R.'s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. "Norma," I said to myself, "They're right." I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that's a baby! It's as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth--that's a baby!

I felt "crushed" under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn't about 'products of conception.' It wasn't about 'missed periods.' It was about children being killed in their mother's wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion--at any point--was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear."

In 2005, she petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 decision, arguing that the case should be heard again in light of evidence that the procedure may harm women, but this petition was denied.

On January 22nd, 2008 McCorvey endorsed Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. McCorvey stated, "I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v. Wade. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it. He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn."

This is not an endorsement for Ron Paul from me, (Happymama), but I just wanted you to see that Norma McCorvey is and has been activiely involved all these years in trying to overturn Roe vs Wade. Wouldn't that be a heavy burden to carry?

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;....."
Jeremiah 1:5a

Nothing!

I have nothing to blog about today. What's up with that? Has nothing happened today worth mentioning?

Let's see....school, lunch, laundry.....NOPE....I got nothin'!!

Have my kids said anything funny? No

Have they done anything interesting? No

Basically we've shared a love for hot chocolate today and we've all taken turns listening to Alexander Scourby, thanks to Brother O'Malley. Scourby is so addictive to listen to. His voice is amazing and he draws you in with his voice inflections as he reads. I love it when he goes to the next chapter. lol

So, not much to tell. But the day isn't over yet. It's 8:41 and I have to go to the store to get Yogi, our guinea pig, some food. So you never know...maybe something interesting will happen while I'm gone. Keep your fingers crossed!

For My Good and For His Glory

I video taped this last night at church. Tammy Carter is singing lead with Mrs. Janet singing tenor and Mrs. Vondie singing alto. This song is called For My Good and For His Glory. I love this song, and last night it was just one song that the Lord used as the Holy Spirit moved in our church. If you'll listen closely, you'll hear our Pastor speaking. Hope it's a blessing to you!

Sunday Dinner and Birthday Parties

Mrs. Janet and Brother Greg had us over for dinner after church yesterday. She had fresh salad greens and veggies, garlic bread, and our choice of spaghetti pie and lasagna. And let's not forget the homemade banana pudding. It was so good. Greg and Janet are the type of people you can be yourself around so Brother Greg went to bed for a nap, while Bruce passed out in the recliner and Janet and I had some "girl" time. Thank you, Greg and Janet, for a wonderful Sunday afternoon!


After service Sunday night, we had a surprise birthday party for Brother Ken, our Sunday School teacher.


Usually, he figures something is up, but we got him good this year. The children and his friend, Brother Joel, were left in the dark. So no "accidental" slips of the tongue happened. His family was supposed to have ice cream with Brother Daniel and Mrs. Meghan's family, but they were just a ploy to hold him back and call when they were on their way to the fellowship building. He didn't figure it out until he saw all the cars in the parking lot.



Bruce and Brother Ken. Don't they both look like they're up to something? lol


We all brought sandwiches, chips and dips, and/or desserts. Amy, from Music and Notes, made a most excellent cake. It was really yummy! I didn't get a pic of it but she might have. And as an added surprise to EVERYONE, Brother Ken's Aunt and Uncle, Missionaries to Australia, happened to be in town and showed up for church Sunday night. So they were able to get in on a family celebration. Isn't God good?



For gifts, people brought white elephant gifts like we did at Christmas. In other words, we brought him gifts of items lying around the house. He thought that was funny.

Hope you had a great birthday, Brother Ken!! We love you!

Chili and Unexpected Invitations

I made chili the other night and used Bruce's Uncle Robert's recipe. It was so good. I fixed my pintos and then added meat, salsa, chili powder to taste, and topped it off with cheese and sour cream. It was really good. A little spicier than what I like, but that's because one of the jars of salsa I used was Hot and I didn't realize it. I've never used salsa in my chili and it gave it the perfect kick!


Justin went to bus ministry this morning with Jeremy but called from Jeremy's grandparent's home and said it had been cancelled because the bad weather was moving in. He had also found out that the youth activity tonight was cancelled because of the weather also and wanted to know if he and Jeremy could go get something to eat. They ate at a place called Bolton's Grill. One of those hometown grills where they overstuff everything in giant sizes. For teenage boys, that's the perfect place to go! They came here for a little while after they ate and wanted to go to Jeremy's brother's game. So they went to that and back to Jeremy's grandparent's home. Of course, everything was cancelled for no reason, considering the weather men were WAY wrong about a snow storm coming this direction. Nothin'! We got NOTHIN'! A little rain and that was it. The kids were really disappointed.

We had decided that since everything was cancelled we would settle in for pizza and a DVD with Hannah and Harrison. But just as we were going to do that, Pam called and wanted to know if we would like to come for Tex-Mex. Well, duh! Who doesn't like tex-mex? Needless to say, we were not the only ones there. I was glad to see that Pam got her new furniture. It was so pretty and nice. A compromise between she and Joel, you might say. Being a man, he wanted several recliners all the way around and being a woman, she wanted regular house furniture that was comfy and traditional for entertaining. LOL The compromise is that out of this comfy traditional furniture, they have five recliners. There's something to be said for compromise!


The kids gathered around the table for their supper. left to right is Nicole, Hannah, and Cheyenne.


Cheyenne

This is Abigale. She was lovin' her chips and cheese sauce! So much that she not only ate it, but decided to wash her hair with it.

Naomi is just too cute not to photograph. Look at her eyes!

While the guys played a video game, us girls gathered for a game of marbles.

I WON!!!the first game. Then we teamed up. Tammy and Amy won the second game and me and Pam won the third game.

I've always loved the little pudgy fingers of a baby. Always searching for something to find and play with. Always touching and feeling new things.

I washed my hands this morning

so clean and pearly white

I lift them up to Jesus

to work for Him 'til night.

Mid-Winter Giveaway!

Mrs. Chyrll, from Chyrll's Corner is hosting a mid-winter giveaway for four fortunate people! Check it out and enter to win. These are her rules:

1. Post about the giveaways on your blog.
2. Leave a comment at Chyrll's Corner picking out your first and second choice of the giveaways.
~
The Giveaway will end at 2:00 p.m. on January 31st.
The winners' names will be drawn and announced on January 31st at 7:00 p.m.

Well? What are you waiting for? Get goin'!

Is It Coming?

I cleaned my mom's house today. Daddy came home from dialysis in a very jovial mood, which is always fun. Mom came home for lunch and she ate my cream cheese crackers and Josh's cookies. I ran to the bank, and then came home to do school. We finished cleaning up around here and then I met my friend, Amy, at Showmars. I had never eaten there before. It's been there for a long time, I just usually always drive by it and go somewhere else. I was tempted to order the gyro, but since I hadn't been there before, I decided to "..have what she's having" which was the Chicken Strip Dinner. It was really good. She also introduced me to french fries dipped in honey mustard. YUM!

After dinner, we went to the mall for a little while. We had a great time and loads of laughs. Thanks for the laughs, Amy. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time.

When Amy and I parted ways, I headed to Wal Mart to get my groceries. That place was PACKED! Why? Because apparently people have run out of bread and milk since Wednesday....the snow is coming, didn't you know?

I've been having my doubts about it snowing, but everyone keeps saying six to nine inches is on its way. So, we'll see. I would really like to see it come so the kids can have a GREAT time in it. I told my friend, Dana, that I loaded up on hot chocolate and stuff to make homemade cookies for when I have to MAKE the kids come in and warm up. Dana was talking about her mom and how when they were little and it would snow, their mother would make them come in to warm up just so they could feel themselves again because they were numb from the cold. lol I remember snow days like that! Maybe we'll have a couple of days like that this weekend.

License to Snow

Jeremy came by last night to show off his license. He was so happy! His mom told him the night before that they were going to take him to get them Feb. 25. He was bummed out at school all day yesterday. After all, he's been waiting since October 31st, which was his birthday. Yeah, he's a Halloween baby. Explains a lot about him, huh? hehehehe Just kidding, Jeremy!!! But the truth was, his step-dad, Chris, had planned all along to pick him up from school to take him. So he was a very happy camper.


And of course the boys posed by Jeremy's car before leaving for SIGMA. I think they were picking up Evan Anthony too. Congratulations, Jeremy. We're proud of ya!


I told you yesterday we were expecting snow. People go crazy here, wiping the store shelves of bread and milk for fear that they'll be snowed in the usual 24-48 hours. Seriously....two days max and that's if it's a really big storm. It's so funny.

My mom is one of those people. She loves to be snowed in. Where they live, you really can't get out if there's ice because they live on such a hill. But she loves lounging around in her jammers, sipping hot chocolate, eating homemade vegetable soup, and watchig TMC or Hallmark channel all day. As a matter of fact, she made it to church "just in time" last night because she had to go to the store and get all of the fixin's for her homemade vegetable soup.....plus the bread and milk. Before she went to bed last night she was praying for three feet of snow. But the Lord had other plans. We woke up to this.....


Yep, this is our big snow. It's already melting and so was mom's joy as she is probably reading this......at work. Sorry, mom. I know how much you were looking forward to being snowed in.

The children were busy in their school work when I came through to tell them they could play outside for a little bit before it was completely melted. The rains are coming this afternoon. Should be nice and sludgy out there later this evening. I don't like sludgy. Anyway, they're out there playing and trying to kill each other with whatever kind of snowball they can make from the little bit that's out there. Daddy says they're calling for possible flurries Saturday. That would be nice. But not for mom. She's off on Saturdays anyway.

When I was driving Justin to work this morning, there were a bunch of calves in a field and they were so cute. I mean, I've seen calves on numerous occasion, but never just calves only. So I just had to get a picture of them. There were a lot more, but I was driving when I took this picture.

Brother Cohen is doing a Veteran's Memorial Wall at our church so Bruce and I were trying to find some pictures to give him for that. We found one of his dad and uncle. They were in the Navy and had a portrait done together in their uniforms. It is a really good picture. We found one of my brother John, one of Bruce's brother Mitch, and one of Bruce too. There were a couple of pictures of Bruce, one in particular, that we thought about turning in. It was one of Bruce on deployment somewhere with his arctic wear on holding his rifle. It's kind of a comical picture, really, with the fuzzy hat and all. But we opted to go with the traditional portrait instead.

Jeremy is on his way over here right now to show Justin his new license and then I need to get ready for church. I'm glad I cooked that turkey yesterday. Supper was a breeze tonight and microwaves are a blessing!

We've had some really sporadic weather lately, but the cooler weather is settling in. I noticed these white stripes on the road today and kept wondering what they were from. Then on the way home from picking Justin up, we ended up behind the vehicle that blows the road with ice and I wondered no longer. Apparently the city of K---- M------- is gearing up for a snow storm that is supposed to hit us tomorrow. We'll see. We're usually disappointed in that area but this is the time of year that we get snow....IF we get snow, that is. So the kids are eager to see what happens. Me too.

Well......gotta go. Jeremy should be here any minute. Have a great night!

Turkeys and Reposted Blog Posts.

After school today, I put a turkey in the oven. The company Bruce works for bought us one for Christmas but I never got around to cooking it, so we're having it for dinner tonight...and tomorrow...and probably Thursday. It's a pretty big turkey. lol While I worked on the turkey, Bruce took Justin to work at the mission. He'll be going back tomorrow to finish up.

I went to get my hair trimmed, ran an errand to the church, and then stopped at Wal Mart. I carried my Ipod in with me and was enjoying my tunes when I saw a friend of mine there. I went to talk to her and she asked, "Did they just page you?" I said, "No, nobody knows I'm here." She said, "Hmm, I thought I heard your name called." We talked a few more minutes and parted ways.


When I got home, Hannah said, "Mom, did they page you at Wal Mart?" I jerked my ahead around and exclaimed, "Why do you ask?" She said, "Because I called up there and had you paged. I waited for nearly fifteen minutes when I finally gave up." Apparently, I had mentioned to her where I was going after my hair appointment. So when the turkey's juice began to overflow out of the pan and sizzle onto the pan under the pan she knew she had to do something. First things first...call mom! When mom doesn't answer, take matters into your own hands. So she saved the day by taking this HUGE turkey out of the oven, transfering it to another pan, rewrapping it in foil and sticking it back in the oven. What would I do without my little girl? HUH?? So anyway, after some investigating, the pan did not overflow. It was one of those tin foil pans and there was a hole in the bottom of it. How it got there, I do not know. And I never did see it to begin with. Anyway, it's great to have a daughter who knew what to do! AND! She fixed a spice cake with cream cheese icing for dessert. Of course since her favorite color is lime green (aren't you proud, Courtney) she decided to color the icing lime green. lol


Mrs. B from Cherish the Home has given permission for me to repost one of her blog posts here at Thimble Thoughts. I thought this was a good message and one that needs to be shared. I love missionary families. They have a special place in my heart and I'm proud to say that we attend a mission-minded church. I hope your church is mission-minded also. That's why the church was established....AMEN?

Anyway, I copied and pasted her post in it's entirety. Hope it's a blessing to ya.

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We were extremely blessed to have a missionary family (they're missionaries to Uganda) visiting with us at church last Sunday. I absolutely love missionaries!--I wish I had a million dollars to give to all of them. But this missionary stated something I found so interesting. He said even though financially supporting missionaries is vital and important he stressed that it's even more important that we pray for them in a real and meaningful way (2 Cor 1:11). And then during Sunday school he taught us how to pray for missionaries and their needs in a very clever way using the days of the week.

He started with (James 5:16b)--"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."--Prayer is our weapon.

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**Sunday--Spiritual life. (2 Peter 3:18) He said if missionaries aren't careful, they can get so caught up in the ministering aspect of missionary work and the difficulties of the day, that the day is suddenly gone and the Bible hasn't been opened and real, meaningful prayer hasn't happened. The culture in other countries is so different, things like bill paying, food preparation etc. is much more difficult and time consuming. And then they still have to minister to the people in their church or the surrounding area.He said it's very important that we pray for missionaries to stay in the word and stay close to the Lord through prayer.

**Monday--Money. (Phil 4:14) Support needs, personal stewardship, wisdom to know who and when to give financial help, when asked. He said that the dollar is not worth as much as it used to be and this has caused many missionaries' support to become less. And then there are people who come and ask him for financial help. He needs wisdom to know when to give financial help and when to say no or perhaps give food or something else in place of money.

**Tuesday--Temptation. (1 Peter 5:8) (Ephesians 6:11) The temptation to be lazy or inactive (Hebrews 13:18). To give up. Or to be impure in mind or body.

**Wednesday--Witnessing. (Acts 4:29) Boldness to preach the gospel. Learn their language. An ability to present a clear presentation of the gospel (Acts 8:4).--There are many expressions used in English that don't make sense when translated to other languages. The missionary must keep this in mind when preaching or witnessing. Spread the gospel quickly.

**Thursday--Team Members. (Col 3:12-13) Pray for the missionaries who are working together to get along with each other. Also to keep a right relationship with the Nationals. A missionary can't have the attitude that they are superior to the Nationals.

**Friday--Family. (1 Timothy 5:8) Their wives and children need them to spend time with them and to not neglect them. Also pray for their safety.

**Saturday--Safety. (Psalm 3:3) Traveling, physical health, protection etc...

And two final Scriptures he shared with us:

-Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; (Romans 15:30)

-Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

I hope you all found this as helpful as I did. (o:

Blessings,
Mrs. B

Sick and Silly

Today we did school and, as usual, cooked lunch. Nothing spectacular. Just chicken tenders with garlic and cheddar mashed potatoes. I had never fixed that kind of mashed potatoes. But everybody seemed to like 'em ok.


Bruce has been sick off and on for several weeks now. He was dressed and ready for work when he decided to call in. Which is something he never does. Hannah made Hershey Kiss Brownies and that seemed to make him feel a little better.



Right now the kids are outside playing with sparklers and firecrackers that their Paw Paw Birt gave them the other day. Harrison wants to light some, but knows he's not allowed. So, it's up to his big brother.


And snap, crackle, pop, there they go!


OK, now for a joke.....What do you call a fish with no eyes?
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A fsh!
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Good Sermons, Good Food, Good Friends

Body piercing is so unattractive, isn't it? I mean....some people just really take it to extremes.

Disclaimer: The picture above is only a joke. There have been no piercings on my son's face. Please do not send concerned emails. Thanks.

We had a great day at church today. I hope you did too.
After morning service, we ate lunch at the Asian Buffet, courtesy of mom and dad. Thanks, mom and dad! It was delish!
John O' joined us for lunch too. It's always good to be with John. He goes back to school in California Tuesday. We'll miss him. But he's rounding the curve to the end of his first year.

Here's a pic of John and Justin. Justin isn't short.....


....John is just tall. This is him with some of his adoptive Grandparents, my mom and dad.


During lunch, my head started hurting. By the time I was to be back at church it had turned into a migraine. Mrs. Janet fixed me up with some BC powders, but I probably could have used more. I know I could use some right now. lol
After service, we were invited to Brian and Amy Cook's home. Amy has a new blog called Music & Notes. Stop by and tell her hello.
There was another couple from our church there too and we all had a really great time. We had chips and dip, ice cream, and sodas. We shared more than a few giggles, looked at picture albums, and I played hide and seek from Bruce in one of their closets. It was a good hiding place too. He looked in the closet a couple of times, I think, before he found me.
They live way out in the boonies and it was late when we got home. I guess I should have waited on hide and seek for another time. HA!
Thanks, Brian and Amy! We had a fun time with y'all tonight!

New Bloggers Have It Made and Packing Tape is Under-rated!

For the last hour and a half I have been redoing some things in my template. Basically, removing links of blogs of people that don't visit here any longer, or maybe I don't go there, and adding ones I should have added ages ago and ones that are brand new to bloggy world.

In the new templates, blogger does everything for you. Browse...upload...viola! It would have taken me no time to make these changes on the new template, but with my template, you have to type in all the codes and you better get it right! Or, like me, you end up going back doing multiple changes because you forgot a "." or a "/" or a "<>" or one little letter that you keep missing as you scan over the code and over it again....and then one more time to finally view your mistake. And then you spend another thirty minutes clicking on the newly added links to make sure you've added them correctly. I'm just really happy right now that it's finished.

Today we went to my mother-in-law's house to take her Christmas tree down and put everything in the attic. She ordered Pizza Hut for lunch. We had a nice visit. I was showing her all the pictures I have on my ipod and that was fun. Then it was time to leave.

Bruce felt like he was running a little fever today so we (the kids and I) left him behind while we went to my parent's home to take down their tree and decorations and carry them to their building. We opted to just carry the tree, as is, to the building. Works for me, folks! But mom and dad like that flaky snow on their tree so when the tree was carried out of the house, ten billion and one little snow flakes rested on the floor to be vacuumed by Hannah. Then mom wanted her nativity put back in its white box. So I went to the building for the white box and came back with the wrong one. She told me exactly where it was so I went back out to get the white box and sure 'nuff...right where she said. It probably would have helped me the first time had she told me the white box was actually a styrofoam box that came in two pieces. Anyway, after trying to figure out how all the nativity pieces went into their styrofoam holes, which by the way is like working a puzzle, they were all securely nestled in their proper places, the styrofoam taped shut numerous times with packing tape, and then carried to the building, not to be seen again until next Christmas.

While I was taping the styrofoam, I was suddenly reminded of my dear Maw Maw, daddy's mom. She lived in Ashtabula, Ohio when we lived in Greenville, SC and would send us packages in the mail several times a year. Maw Maw would be out and buy anything she saw she thought us kids would like. She never seemed geared to a certain taste. As a matter of fact, daddy said she really had no taste. She just grabbed anything and everything that wasn't nailed to the shelves. Then she would pack everything in a nice big box, stuff it down real good, and tape the box with as much packing tape as she possibly could. Every corner, every line of the box, and then some. Most of the time the addresses were written across brown packing tape. She would buy puppets, coloring books, hats, pens, perfumes....OH, THE PERFUME! We were always excited to see a box waiting for us on the kitchen table, especially when it came from Ohio. We knew we were getting ready to open the box of unknown surprises. Oh what excitement! What intensity! We would begin to tug and pull and pull and tug on the packing tape that held our greedy little hands at bay. Frustration would grow as the tape would stretch and mingle together only making it more difficult to break. And of course, we weren't allowed to play with knives. Alas! John would begin to gnaw with his teeth. "GO, JOHN! GO!" YES! A break in the tape! A pause of rest for about three seconds, just long enough to look at one another. And then six arms and thirty fingers began to dig and place claim on the goods that lay inside. All the while, mom and dad laughing at our insanity of trying to open the package from Maw Maw. If she were here today, I would thank her for the memory.

Unanswered Prayers and Thanks, Garth!

Yesterday, I had an appointment with someone that is extremely busy and cleared the afternoon for me. While we were talking, his wife mentioned how a lady had compared him to Garth Brooks. A rather comical story, really, but it got me thinking. Garth Brooks sings a song called Unanswered Prayers where he and his wife run into "an old flame" of his at a high school football game. Someone he thought he'd be spending the rest of his life with, but it never worked out. And now he thanks God for unanswered prayers.

Does it only count as an answered prayer if God gives you what you want? Hmmm, anyway....my whole point here is not Garth Brooks and his superficial song, but for a long time, I've been praying the Lord would do something and he used my friend, "Garth," to answer that prayer yesterday. Thanks, "Garth." I pray many blessings upon you and your family, for y'all are such a blessing to ours. I wasn't sure how God would do it, but He did it and it just so happens that it was what I wanted. But even if things had not gone my way, that would have still been God's answer to my prayer. Right? OK.....

Now on to the excerpt that I promised would be posted yesterday. The first part of the excerpt is from Doris Aldrich from her Out of the Mixing Bowl column of Moody Magazine. The second part is a thought from her son, Joe Aldrich.

January, 1943
A bit of spice, the basic flour, the shortening and the milk, the leavening and the salt, the sugar and the eggs - combine to form that final [birthday cake] which we later serve with pride. The ingredients are not all tasty but all are needed, and the sifting and stirring as well as the heat of the oven are all necessary.
Every so often throughout the year, there comes a day with special zest...a bit of spice. And then perhaps a whole week of the weariness of the daily round - just some flour perhaps - and not very interesting, but nourishing and a part of the whole. And the sweetness of some days - how we wish it could last, and yet you know what happens when too much sugar goes into a recipe...it falls flat.
And what of the times when the heart is so heavy it feels like a weight? Leaven is bitter to the taste, and yet no cake will achieve perfection without it. And the One who knows the recipe-of-the-year for us never uses too much leavening lest the cake be bitter. He balances and combines it all with understanding skill. He does this for those who let Him....
[A year] is more than just 365 days. Somehow there's a recipe and it all works together.

A Thought From Joe:
Mother wrote this poem when she was just a young girl of sixteen. I think it fits well here with her thoughts about the new year that lay ahead.

The New Day

by Doris Coffin

A lovely glorious new day

Which God has given me.

I hold thee in my cupped hands,

Carefully and eagerly.

So new, so clean, so free

from stain,

As yet no spot of sin.

I dare not trust myself with thee

So give thee back to Him.

School, Blessings, Pets, and My Book

We got off to another slow start this morning, but was still able to finish school and get lunch cooked before Bruce had to leave for work.

While I was cooking lunch, the Lord lifted a heavy burden off of my dear husband and he had a very happy afternoon. So I must give the Lord praise for that!! Thank you, Lord \o/. More blessings await in 2008!

Every time I would walk by Hannah's room today, Yogi would start squeaking loudly as if to say he wanted someone to pay him attention. So Hannah brought him out with her for a little bit while she did her school work.


He sat on her school books while eating a big piece of green pepper I cut for him. He LOVES green peppers and apples.


I've been meaning to show you, for weeks now, the book my friend, Kellie, gave me for Christmas. I had my Christmas gifts from friends in a corner of my room to be put away and while I was putting them away one day, I flipped through the book reading a paragraph here and a paragraph there. Next thing I know I'm sitting in the floor and I've read 3/4 of the book. I finished it the next day and I have to tell you it is so good and so sweet.
The title of the book is Secrets of Wisdom from Mother's Heart, by Joe Aldrich. He is one of nine children whose mother, Doris Coffin Aldrich, wrote a column called "Out of the Mixing Bowl" for Moody magazine. The book is a collection of articles that were written by her.

Here is an excerpt from the Foreword....

During my senior year of high school, my mother, Doris Coffin Aldrich, was killed in an automobile accident. Mother was an extremely intelligent, highly educated woman. She studied at the University of Washington and graduated from Biola College. Married at thirty-one to Willard Aldrich (the President of Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary for thirty-five years), she bore nine children. Her clearly stated mission was to raise a godly family.
As mom's life so clearly demonstrated, the high and holy calling of motherhood is one of the most challenging assignments on the face of the earth. It is a sacred trust, a commitment to use every means possible to help each child grow up loving Jesus and embracing His agenda for life.

A godly mother counteracts the influences of contemporary culture by structuring an environment where beauty reigns. Our threadbare sofas, sagging springs, and frayed carpets did not deter us from the beauty of God's handiwork that surrounded us. Although well-used, our home was truly that - a home, not a house. Sweaty, sloppy boys fought with glee in it. Oil leaked from the oil-stove, bathtubs overflowed, food frequently ended up on the floor, tricycles clogged doorways or blocked traffic in the kitchen. More often that not, beds were left unmade. Most mornings there were wet sheets and pajamas to attend to, not to mention all the other clothes that needed to be washed and washed and washed again.
But in the midst of what I'm sure seemed like chaos, there was beauty....

Isn't that good? I'll share one of her articles tomorrow.

Good Day!

We've had a good day today. The kids were up and going at 6:30 this morning getting ready for school. They were so quiet. I listened to them shuffle through the hall, door to door, and they never said a word to each other that I know of. Usually there are giggles and playful antics going on, but not this morning. They seemed to be focussed on getting busy. Either that, or their bodies are still on holiday time, if you know what I mean.

I really love cooking lunch instead of supper and being able to sit together as a family to eat since Bruce is at work during supper hours. Today I fixed fajitas with sauteed peppers and onions, topped with grated cheese and sour cream. Harrison said he wanted those for his birthday lunch with his grandparents.......in APRIL! I think I have time to plan that, don't you?

We finished lunch in time for Bruce to stretch out on the couch for an hour before work. Justin is cleaning the kitchen, Hannah is working on her laundry, and Harrison is working off his lunch, boxing with his Wii. His little arms fly, but he only hits something about every few seconds. Which is kind of funny. He's tuckered out when he's finished.

I wanted to share my notes from Pastor's sermon Sunday night and I hope it's a blessing to you as it was to me. I lost a lot of time last year worrying about things God already knew about and had under control. Too many times last year I allowed the devil to steal my joy. However, I am thankful for 2007 because it was a time of spiritual growth for me. This sermon helped me so much and I'm anticipating a new year of trusting God more in 2008. We always have a slogan for the new year and this year's slogan is More blessings await in 2008. I'm looking for those blessings. How 'bout you?

Worry Is Sin

Psalm 127:2 "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so he giveth his beloved sleep."

Philippians 4:5-7 "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by paryer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Everything is so trivial to God. We literally worry ourselves sick. Here are five things that worry is.

*Worry is a harassing, a trouble, and a teasing to your spiritual condition and physical condition. We lose sleep, we can't eat, we become emotionally distressed. We develop ulcers, headaches, stiff muscles, and other physical conditions related to worrying when all we have to do is place the problem in God's hands.

Luke 21:26 "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken."

*Worry accomplishes nothing. Why do anything if it doesn't do anything?

Matthew 6:25-26 "Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

You don't see a bird having nervous breakdowns, do ya? How many mountains have you moved by worrying? How many souls have you led to Christ by worrying? How many deaths has your worrying stopped?

*Worry is the devil's wrench to turn your head away from Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Worry is the biproduct of selfishness, thinking of ourselves and how we can't handle the situation when it's not up to us to handle it. It's up to God!

*Worry is 90% of what we worry about never happening. One day at a time is how we need to make it. Sometimes a minute at a time. Worrying will rob you of your joy!

*Worry is an insult to the Holy Ghost.

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."

Worry is when the Comforter comes by to take our burden and we say, "NO! I'm keeping it to myself." That is an insult to the Holy Spirit.

We are to please God in all things, 24/7, and we can not please Him by worrying.