We're hoping to celebrate Advent at home this year. I got a calendar with little windows to open every day. And we want to do a wreath. Of course, I know very little about it, so I googled it. If you're interested, here's one website I found: http://www.kencollins.com/question-10.htm. I'm sure there are many more as well. Now, I hope I can find a small wreath and purple candles in Red Lake somewhere!
Since our Christmas candy tradition is not happening this year (Rhonda, are you sure you can't just make a quick trip for it??) and a big cookie-baking day with a bunch of others seems like too much commotion and craziness... I'm thinking about hosting a cookie exchange/ladies Christmas party at my house some evening soon. I'm trying to think what would be a good focus for the evening, what should we "do", etc. Do you have any ideas? Oh, of course we'll eat good (fattening?!?) food!
Our church is hosting a Christmas dinner theater this year. The youth group from the Baptist Church in Vermillion Bay did it there last year and people loved it. So they're doing it again and decided to "take the show on the road". It will be Dec. 2 & 3 and I'm excited about it. You can pray with us that many people will come and that the Gospel message will be received! And, that we can find a babysitter! :-)
Friday, November 24, 2006
Is This Normal?
As I type, my boys are getting their kicks by running outside in the snow with bare feet. Do you think this will help Caleb get over his runny nose and hoarse throat??
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Odd and Ends
Time to end my long silence… Keith is at a prayer time at the church and I should be in bed, but I really have to peck out a few lines to you, my faithful friends! So, what have I been up to?? Several things spring to mind…
-I still feel like I’m catching up from the busy-ness of the last few months. Last Saturday I took Caleb and Logan over to Dad and Dru’s in the morning and hired my niece, Erica, to come help me clean. That was sure a boost! My floors, bathroom and dusting finally got done! I feel like I’m slowly getting “caught up”, whatever that means. On some days, though, I still feel overwhelmed with all the demands on my time – and the seemingly endless list of things a homemaker, wife, Mom, and “school teacher” needs to do. At least one day this week I was feeling really discouraged and overwhelmed. I’m really glad I don’t feel like that every day!
-Okay, here are some true confessions. Because I’m “better at it”, it falls to me to do the budgeting, banking, paying bills, etc. I put that in quotes because of the following confession: In all the craziness around here and for some reasons unknown even to me, I fell WAY behind in my book-keeping. We use “Money Matters” on the computer so I balance the budget and checkbook, etc. on the computer. Anyway, a few weeks ago I spent an hour or two entering receipts, paying bills, etc. It was then I discovered that I had forgotten to pay our Visa bill. It was about 10 days late. A day or two later, I discovered that all the work I had done on the computer n the previous few days had not been saved for some reason. Arrrrgggggg!!!! That discouraged me and I didn’t get back to it for another week or two. By that time, several more bills were late. Also, the next Visa bill had arrived and I saw that we paid $32 in interest for my forgetfulness. Wouldn’t you agree that this is inexcusable!?!?!? So, I’m now almost caught up with the budgeting and I’ve determined to change my ways!
-Did you know Christmas is almost here? Yeah, I know it’s a month and a half away, but you know how fast that goes! I was having a really hard time getting excited about Christmas. I was feeling rather scrooge-like in relation to gifts, decorations, etc. I think it’s partly because I’m already so busy with home-schooling, etc., that it seems like there’s no way I can do all the extra stuff of Christmas. It might also be partly because of the heavy stuff that Keith and I are going through right now. Anyway, we did sit down and start to think about what gifts we might want to give and that helped get me going. When we went to Stormer Lake I took the Lee Valley catalogues along so we could start “shopping”. Now I’m shopping on-line and almost ready to start ordering a bunch of stuff. I really like shopping from my living room! So, most gifts this year are coming from Lee Valley, Amazon (free shipping!), and Christianbook.com! I also want to make Christmas more simple and meaningful. One thing I want to do with the kids this year is an Advent calendar. I need to go pick one up at Treasure House. So, I’d like to hear if you have ideas for keeping Christmas simple and meaningful.
-I got invited to a scrap-booking shindig at the high school. So I went last night from about 5:30 – 11:30. It was a lot of fun. There were a few people I sort of knew or had met before, quite a few strangers, and my friend, Kim. Some of these ladies are hard-core, crazy scrap-bookers/card-makers. Talk about paraphenalia! It was amazing. I’m doing “scrap-booking lite” right now because I just want to get my pictures in books! So I’m not decorating most of the pages – mostly just cropping pictures and writing. So I didn’t feel like I was in the same league as most of the ladies, but it was fun anyway. They get together once a month, so I hope to go again. It was fun to meet some new people outside of my little circle!
-God has been changing/freeing/healing my heart in some neat ways. I’m so grateful to my Lord Jesus for His mercy, grace and unfailing love. One of the latest “praises”: I’ve battled with an anger problem for a long time,and after praying and being prayed for at Stormer Lake, I have a new freedom like never before. And you should see the changes in my kids because of it! I’m able to enjoy them so much more these last few weeks – even when they’re naughty. :-) I’m so grateful! “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.”
-That’s all. I must go to bed!!
-I still feel like I’m catching up from the busy-ness of the last few months. Last Saturday I took Caleb and Logan over to Dad and Dru’s in the morning and hired my niece, Erica, to come help me clean. That was sure a boost! My floors, bathroom and dusting finally got done! I feel like I’m slowly getting “caught up”, whatever that means. On some days, though, I still feel overwhelmed with all the demands on my time – and the seemingly endless list of things a homemaker, wife, Mom, and “school teacher” needs to do. At least one day this week I was feeling really discouraged and overwhelmed. I’m really glad I don’t feel like that every day!
-Okay, here are some true confessions. Because I’m “better at it”, it falls to me to do the budgeting, banking, paying bills, etc. I put that in quotes because of the following confession: In all the craziness around here and for some reasons unknown even to me, I fell WAY behind in my book-keeping. We use “Money Matters” on the computer so I balance the budget and checkbook, etc. on the computer. Anyway, a few weeks ago I spent an hour or two entering receipts, paying bills, etc. It was then I discovered that I had forgotten to pay our Visa bill. It was about 10 days late. A day or two later, I discovered that all the work I had done on the computer n the previous few days had not been saved for some reason. Arrrrgggggg!!!! That discouraged me and I didn’t get back to it for another week or two. By that time, several more bills were late. Also, the next Visa bill had arrived and I saw that we paid $32 in interest for my forgetfulness. Wouldn’t you agree that this is inexcusable!?!?!? So, I’m now almost caught up with the budgeting and I’ve determined to change my ways!
-Did you know Christmas is almost here? Yeah, I know it’s a month and a half away, but you know how fast that goes! I was having a really hard time getting excited about Christmas. I was feeling rather scrooge-like in relation to gifts, decorations, etc. I think it’s partly because I’m already so busy with home-schooling, etc., that it seems like there’s no way I can do all the extra stuff of Christmas. It might also be partly because of the heavy stuff that Keith and I are going through right now. Anyway, we did sit down and start to think about what gifts we might want to give and that helped get me going. When we went to Stormer Lake I took the Lee Valley catalogues along so we could start “shopping”. Now I’m shopping on-line and almost ready to start ordering a bunch of stuff. I really like shopping from my living room! So, most gifts this year are coming from Lee Valley, Amazon (free shipping!), and Christianbook.com! I also want to make Christmas more simple and meaningful. One thing I want to do with the kids this year is an Advent calendar. I need to go pick one up at Treasure House. So, I’d like to hear if you have ideas for keeping Christmas simple and meaningful.
-I got invited to a scrap-booking shindig at the high school. So I went last night from about 5:30 – 11:30. It was a lot of fun. There were a few people I sort of knew or had met before, quite a few strangers, and my friend, Kim. Some of these ladies are hard-core, crazy scrap-bookers/card-makers. Talk about paraphenalia! It was amazing. I’m doing “scrap-booking lite” right now because I just want to get my pictures in books! So I’m not decorating most of the pages – mostly just cropping pictures and writing. So I didn’t feel like I was in the same league as most of the ladies, but it was fun anyway. They get together once a month, so I hope to go again. It was fun to meet some new people outside of my little circle!
-God has been changing/freeing/healing my heart in some neat ways. I’m so grateful to my Lord Jesus for His mercy, grace and unfailing love. One of the latest “praises”: I’ve battled with an anger problem for a long time,and after praying and being prayed for at Stormer Lake, I have a new freedom like never before. And you should see the changes in my kids because of it! I’m able to enjoy them so much more these last few weeks – even when they’re naughty. :-) I’m so grateful! “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.”
-That’s all. I must go to bed!!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
A Question for You
I'm starting to think about Christmas presents... I think we'd like to give Caleb a magazine subscription - preferrably something about nature/animals. And preferrably something that's not too expensive to send to Canada. Any ideas??
Friday, November 10, 2006
Stormer Lake
Well, Stormer Lake was good! The retreat was a refreshing time of worshiping, sharing and praying for each other. I’ve experienced some new freedom in my heart! Maybe I’ll tell you more about it later. :-) Our two days of vacation were really relaxing. What did we do? We:
-played games (Caleb learned to play Phase 10.)
-watched movies (I discovered I’m not as “high-brow” as I thought. Phantom of the Opera was a little too intense/dark for me.)
-read books (maybe I’ll tell you about my latest book soon. It’s really good.)
-played outside (Josiah really doesn’t like sliding) :-)
-shot grouse (a total of five and two of them were with one shot! What a mighty hunter man I’m married to!)
-slept – Oh Bliss!
-ate good food
Sound like fun?? It was much-needed and now I’m trying to get back into a “normal” routine. I’m hoping to find some fine young girl that I can pay to help me clean my house tomorrow. It’s been too dirty for too long! I’ve had it with dirt and clutter!
-played games (Caleb learned to play Phase 10.)
-watched movies (I discovered I’m not as “high-brow” as I thought. Phantom of the Opera was a little too intense/dark for me.)
-read books (maybe I’ll tell you about my latest book soon. It’s really good.)
-played outside (Josiah really doesn’t like sliding) :-)
-shot grouse (a total of five and two of them were with one shot! What a mighty hunter man I’m married to!)
-slept – Oh Bliss!
-ate good food
Sound like fun?? It was much-needed and now I’m trying to get back into a “normal” routine. I’m hoping to find some fine young girl that I can pay to help me clean my house tomorrow. It’s been too dirty for too long! I’ve had it with dirt and clutter!
Friday, November 03, 2006
I'm Still Here!!!
Oh my, where to start? I’ve had all kinds of cool blogs bouncing around in my brain yesterday and today. But, in the end, I only have a few minutes to dash something off. Why, you say? Well, we are on our way to Stormer Lake this weekend for a Retreat and much needed vacation! We’re so excited!! Marvin and Yvonne invited us to the retreat which is a gathering of a network of people from Ontario, Manitoba and North Dakota. I’m looking forward to being refreshed and hearing what Jesus has to say to me/us. Then, we are staying on at Stormer Lake for Monday and Tuesday – just for a rest! The last few months have been full of busy-ness (how do you spell that?)and lots of pressures. So we’re going to just chill out! We have books, games and movies – oh and lots of good food and a sled. What more could a little family want??
Other items of note (to me at least!)
- We just finished a wonderful month-long visit with Matthew, Rhonda and family. We almost got to spend enough time together. Rhonda and I finished it off nicely with a late-night chat and a fun ride home in the truck in a blizzard at midnight. It was so much fun to get re-aquainted with the girls and see them getting to know their cousins. It’s hard to think of not seeing them all for another two years! Sigh! Makes me anxious for heaven…
- Josiah started pulling himself up last week and this week he’s even cruising around furniture a little bit. My baby is growing up! Oh, and I don’t think I ever mentioned that he got his first two teeth (top center) a few weeks ago. It wasn’t too traumatic. Especially not with the help of a little Advil! :-)
- Last weekend was crazy!! And fun! Wanna know how? Sheldon and Darla and kids came on Thursday night for INM board meetings. On Friday we women and kids were hanging out here so I thought I should invite the rest of the family to drop in if they wanted… So, Wendy and her kids came over. Rhonda couldn’t come, but I went and got her three oldest. That made 9 kids 8 and under when they were all here! Dad and Dru also came over for visit. And all of this while Keith was trying to prepare a sermon at his desk in the living room. :-) He did retreat to the basement after awhile. The kids really did quite well. It think it helps when there are a few older ones. And Sara (12) played with them for awhile too. It was happy chaos. That night Matthew, Rhonda and Caitlyn came over later to spend some more time with Sheldons. There was an intense game of Settlers. :-) Keith and I also spent a few hours with Don and Marilyn Showalter praying and talking through some heart stuff Thursday and Friday evening/night. Thank God for people who can help and encourage us! Sheldons left Saturday afternoon,and that evening Matthews and Mark and Kim and kids came over for supper and a games of Cities and Knights. I think we were all still friends when it was over. Oh, and I think I won. (They say the first thing to go is your memory.) As much as I like to win, you’d think I’d remember when I do! On Sunday, Chris and Lisa invited us over for lunch. Then in the evening it was Ladies night at church. Then I crashed. :-)
- The Baptist Church had a Noah’s Ark party again this year on Halloween. We had never gone before, but this seemed like a good time to start. (Because I was so well-rested and had so much extra time.) So, on Monday and Tuesday between housework, music lessons, and swimming lessons, I made costumes for the boys. They were David and Goliath and they were so cute! They had a lot of fun at the party and came home with sufficient treats. Now the hard part is rationing them. I’ll try to post a picture of them in their costumes next week.
- Yesterday Caleb asked me, “What is infinity times infinity?” and “What number comes after infinity?”. Where does he come up with this stuff???
Other items of note (to me at least!)
- We just finished a wonderful month-long visit with Matthew, Rhonda and family. We almost got to spend enough time together. Rhonda and I finished it off nicely with a late-night chat and a fun ride home in the truck in a blizzard at midnight. It was so much fun to get re-aquainted with the girls and see them getting to know their cousins. It’s hard to think of not seeing them all for another two years! Sigh! Makes me anxious for heaven…
- Josiah started pulling himself up last week and this week he’s even cruising around furniture a little bit. My baby is growing up! Oh, and I don’t think I ever mentioned that he got his first two teeth (top center) a few weeks ago. It wasn’t too traumatic. Especially not with the help of a little Advil! :-)
- Last weekend was crazy!! And fun! Wanna know how? Sheldon and Darla and kids came on Thursday night for INM board meetings. On Friday we women and kids were hanging out here so I thought I should invite the rest of the family to drop in if they wanted… So, Wendy and her kids came over. Rhonda couldn’t come, but I went and got her three oldest. That made 9 kids 8 and under when they were all here! Dad and Dru also came over for visit. And all of this while Keith was trying to prepare a sermon at his desk in the living room. :-) He did retreat to the basement after awhile. The kids really did quite well. It think it helps when there are a few older ones. And Sara (12) played with them for awhile too. It was happy chaos. That night Matthew, Rhonda and Caitlyn came over later to spend some more time with Sheldons. There was an intense game of Settlers. :-) Keith and I also spent a few hours with Don and Marilyn Showalter praying and talking through some heart stuff Thursday and Friday evening/night. Thank God for people who can help and encourage us! Sheldons left Saturday afternoon,and that evening Matthews and Mark and Kim and kids came over for supper and a games of Cities and Knights. I think we were all still friends when it was over. Oh, and I think I won. (They say the first thing to go is your memory.) As much as I like to win, you’d think I’d remember when I do! On Sunday, Chris and Lisa invited us over for lunch. Then in the evening it was Ladies night at church. Then I crashed. :-)
- The Baptist Church had a Noah’s Ark party again this year on Halloween. We had never gone before, but this seemed like a good time to start. (Because I was so well-rested and had so much extra time.) So, on Monday and Tuesday between housework, music lessons, and swimming lessons, I made costumes for the boys. They were David and Goliath and they were so cute! They had a lot of fun at the party and came home with sufficient treats. Now the hard part is rationing them. I’ll try to post a picture of them in their costumes next week.
- Yesterday Caleb asked me, “What is infinity times infinity?” and “What number comes after infinity?”. Where does he come up with this stuff???
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