Bowling Friends

Well, we have known each other for many years now, my bowling friends and I. We met because we all homeschool, in fact we are all in the same group that meets for classes, such as art, gym, music.

We began bowling in the late spring, and have been at it nearly every week since. This is a fun time for us, a change from the usual schedule and a chance to get some exercise for us and our kids.

My parents started bowling with us in the summer and they are the best bowlers in the group! Of course, they bowled when I was a kid, but they haven't for many years.

Here are two pictures from today - Becky and my Mom, Phyllis.

Me and Becky.

Now I just need to get pictures of Jana, Belinda, Marla.....

Autumn at My Cottage

Becky at Hospitality Lane asked me to show you some of my autumn decor.

Here is my chandelier. At night it really looks sweet with the red lampshades and the fall berries. I think my decorations on my shelves and over my cupboards look good during the day and at night as I always add a string of white lights. This makes the leaf garlands "glow."

Here is the top of my piano. Fall leaf garland and tea cups!

In the corner of my picket fencing. To the right is a delightful black eyed susan vine that grew like crazy this year. I will definately use this vine again. However, it is looking sad now that we have had a few nights of frost.

This is the view from my archway. The big clump are mums, with flowers like a daisy. They look great in person and look great with the pumpkin tucked in.

In front by my lamppost.
This is out by the road. On the night of my tea, these looked great lit up!

A closer view of my daisy like mums.

It has gotten colder here finally. In fact the last few nights have been frosty. I put the flannel sheets on the bed and slept under the comforter last night. I slept so well!!!

Autumn Leaves

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools. - Henry Beston

Under the Weather

I wonder where that idiom came from anyway? Tuesday night I started to feel a little well, not well. Yesterday morning I felt good, but in the afternoon, I had a bad headache and need to rest. So I spent the evening resting in bed and much of this morning.

I don't feel great but I need to go teach my Jane Austen class today. My students and I are having such a great time, I do not want to miss it. Today we discuss the Netherfield Ball, Mr. Collins proposal to Lizzy, her rejection of said proposal, and the hasty departure from Netherfield, by Mr. Bingley's sisters, once he has gone to town. We are also going to learn abit about the culture of the day, by learning introductions. There was a whole hierarchy as to who could speak to whom, etc, and of course only if they were properly introduced!

Oh and back to my being under the weather, if you think of it, will you pray that this little bug that has been hanging around our family, will depart, never to return???? Thanks!

Running the Race

Hebrews 12:1 says - "Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

This verse came to my mind today in dealing with a certain child of mine. I need to run with endurance, not his race, but the race set before me in dealing with him. Part of my great race is a smaller one that is particular to him.

God has something in this for me - for my good. I believe it.

Tea Last Night

Last night I hosted my annual Tea for my co-op moms, in my home. I served scones with mock Devonshire Cream, Lemon Curd, Strawberry Jam, Robertson's Orange Shred, and Black Raspberry Jam. I also served cookies, and some mini chocolate souffles.

The reaction of the ladies is always great, they feel special. Some of the ladies are uncomfortable with the fine china tea cups and joke "where are the paper cups?" Other ladies bring their own mug. That's fine.

It is a delight for me to do this for them every year. I bring out my glass plates, tea cups, tea pots, creamer and sugar. We use cloth napkins. There are candles and soft lighting which helps set a relaxing mood.

Most ladies do not take time to do special things for themselves, so they really have a good time.

I thought I would share my recipe for scones with you.

Sweet Scones

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 Tblsp baking powder

8 Tblsp cold butter (cut up)

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Put flour and baking powder in a large bowl, mix well. Add butter & cut in with a pastry bleder or rub in with your fingers until it looks like fine granules. Add sugar, toss to mix. Add milk & stir with a fork until soft dough forms. Form the dough into a ball. On a lightly floured board, knead dough about 10-12 times, roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a round cutter. Bake on an ungreased cook sheet 12 minutes until medium brown on top.

Mock Devonshire Cream

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tblsp powdered sugar.

Beat until well blended. Enjoy on top of the scones and then add your lemon curd or jam! You will love it!

Enjoy!

Sunday

I pray that your Sunday will be full of peace, joy and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ! Enjoy the beautiful Autumn weather. This time of year puts me awe of a God who would create such beauty out of a season of decay. Only our God!

Have You Ever Read This?

Evidently there are at least 400 honorable men on this earth.


On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns ------ All three missed it --- This is really an awesome sight to watch if you've never had the chance Very fascinating. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why? 21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why? 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1

3. Why are his gloves wet? His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not? He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb.After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed? Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to? For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for therest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of theirlives or give up the wreath pin. The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror. The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laidto rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM. In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

God Bless and keep them.

I don't usually suggest that many emails be forwarded, but I'd be very proud if this one reached as many as possible. We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.
IN GOD WE TRUST


Awesome!

Guess What Arrived in My Mailbox?

Oh and it is so lovely! Just like the early years of the magazine! I have been slowly looking at it and taking in all the beauty.
Welcome back Victoria Magazine!

Pondering

I have been reading Oswald Chambers' devotional Bible. Reading 21 has challenged me, I keep pondering it so I thought I would share it with you and see what your thoughts are.

Genesis 41:1,14,42

It is the will of God that human beings should get into moral relationship with Him, and His covenants are for this purpose. Why does not God save me? He has saved me, but I have entered into relationship with Him. Why does not God do this and that? He has done it, the point is - Will I step into covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.
Waiting for God is incarnate unbelief, it means that I have no faith in Him;I wait for Him to do something in me that I may trust in that. God will not do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man has to go out of himself in his covenant with God as God goes out of Himself in His covenant with man. It is a question of faith in God- the rarest thing; we have faith only in our feelings. I do not believe God unless He will give me something in my hand whereby I may know I have it, then I say - "Now I believe." There is no faith there. "Look to Me, and be saved."
When I have really transacted business with God on His covenant and have let go entirely, there is no sense of merit, no human ingredient in it at all, but a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and the whole thing is transfigured with peace and joy.

I think I too often want Him to prove Himself to me, in order for me to believe it, rather than simply Believe Him.

Fun Way to Learn

Today we went to the Pepperidge Farm Factory and had a tour. It was very interesting to see how Goldfish, Milano cookies, hamburger buns, bread, etc...is made. These use a lot of machinery and robots and even humans to get those cookies into their packages. We even got to go into quality control and help with taste testing! :)

After the tour they kindly allowed us to shop in the employee store where they sell bread to their employees for what the founder used to sell her loaves of bread for, ready for this? 25 cents, yes that is right, 25 cents! Also rolls of all kinds for 25 cents. I don't know what the cookies and fishy's sold for but it was cheap. We have a freezer in the basement so I stocked up!

We learned that the founder, Margaret Rudkin got her start during the depression, by making bread for her son who had severe allergies and asthma. Her doctor was impressed, tried her bread and loved it, as did her friends. They all convinced her that she should sell it. The rest is history!

After the tour we went bowling with our friends from co-op. It was not my best day but it was still good exercise and a lot of fun, wasn't it Becky?

Amazing Sunday

Yesterday in church, we were blessed to have Lt. Neal Rice, who is a member of our congregation share.
He is home on a two week "vacation". He serves as a platoon leader, and he shared what he has learned through his time in Iraq.

Several things he said stood out to me. One is that we take peace for granted. Most people around the world do not live in peace, nor do they expect to. They want what we have here. Another thing was that the parents there fear that their children will be murdered on the way to school, or that a car bomb will blow the school up, or that someone teaching at the school will teach an ideology that will lead their child to live a hatefilled and short life.
We are so blessed here.

Another thing he shared was that he wonders what all the rushing around (we American's do) was about, why the push to get bigger houses, fancier cars, to be popular or famous etc...He has gained an appreciation for living a simple life. A small house in the country, being faithful to your spouse, loving on your children. These are the important things in life.

You can listen to what he shared at our church's website, www.keystonechurch.org On the right is a schedule that has yesterdays day and his name, click on that and you should be able to hear his remarks from yesterday's church service.

Continue to pray for these ordinary, amazing soldiers who serve our nation. Many of us from his church are wearing yellow and black bracelets that say "Neal-Until you come home", it reminds us to pray for him everyday.

Totally Fabulous

Much Thanks to my sister in law, Miss Paula at Gathering of Friends, for the blog award!

I nominate the following:

Haus Frau @ lulas hardt

Manuela @ The Feathered Nest

Mrs. Wilt @ The Sparrow's Nest

All these ladies have been an inspiration to me and always speak with kindness and graciousness! I think they are Fabulous!

Growing

Lately, I have felt myself being irritable. I know it is hard to believe. My daily schedule is starting to wear on me. Driving kids to work and picking them up, it takes 80 minutes of my day! I have alot going on, and my husband wants me home more which I am trying to accomodate, but this driving thing is making me nuts!

Then some of the kids have had some digestive issues, which requires my attention too. Oh, and did I mention that we have 11 puppies? That makes 12 dogs, 3 horses, and 7 cats. Did you know kittens are hard to get rid of? :)

I normally take it all in stride - but I must admit that lately I don't.

I know that God is working in my life and that there are lessons here for me to learn. New ones and old ones that it is time to go deeper with. Sigh.

My God is so faithful, He never gives me more than I can handle without making a way of escape! He will guide me into what He has for me during this time.

I just need to remind myself daily that He has a purpose in all of this.

I like the result of growth, I just don't always like the process.

Here are the word to my favorite hymn:

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art,

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High Kind of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'n's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Puppies!

Our sweet Samantha, who thinks she is a people, with her puppies. She looks very brown in this picture, but actually looks black in person. She does have boxer in her and she does have some brown hair, but she definately is not this light in person.

Aren't her puppies cute? Want one?

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere!

Our sweet dog Samantha, had puppies yesterday. 11 of them! I will post pictures soon. Yesterday, we arrived home from church and lunch to find that she had given birth to 5 of them on Lindsay's bed!!!! yikes!

So today we are off to find a new mattress set. In fact we are thinking we will get a larger bed for us and give her our, oh so comfy, pillowtop bed.

Ahhhhh, just when I think things are settling down....

Birthday Celebration

Yesterday, was a fun and special day. In the morning, while my Apples of Gold ladies were here, Tim had a beautiful flower arrangement delivered. The card said "To a Proverbs 31 woman. Love, Tim" He said he wanted the ladies to know that I know what I am talking about! Is that special or what!!!! Wow, that, along with a card he left for me when he went to work, made me feel so special,loved, and appreciated!





In the evening we went to dinner at a Historic Tavern, Farmer's Hope Inn. This tavern was established in 1812, and has overnight accomodations. We did not stay overnight however, but we did have a terrific meal with our family and my parents out on the patio. This was a very nice atmosphere, and with our weather being warmer than usual for this time of year, was comfortable too!









We came home to cake and presents. One of my daughters gave me a Land's End tote bag, which I had been wanting to haul all my paperwork etc, to our co-op, one gave me a beautiful candle holder centerpiece from Yankee Candle, one gave me candles for my holder and a stapler and staples for my co-op bag. The youngest two kiddos gave me yummy buttercream candles. My oldest gave me a gift card for Borders bookstore for $50!!! I can't wait to go spend it! My darling gave me some pottery from a local business that I love. A beautiful bowl and a pie plate, though not this pattern.





My parents gave me a card and a check! I don't know what to use that for, but I am sure I will think of something!

I had lovely email cards sent to me yesterday as well from Paula, Chrissy, Lisa, and Dan, Sharon and Nicole!

I did have a Happy Birthday!

It's a Happy Day!

To Me!!!!

My Name in Letters

http://metaatem.net/words/

Remembering October 2, 2006

Today we remember the terrible murder that took place at a nearby Amish school. The bravery of the girls is astonishing. The oldest girl stated "shoot me first."

Much has been made of the community's forgiveness of the man who did this heinous crime. They believe that it is their duty to forgive because they have been forgiven by God. They do struggle with their loss, and understandably. They, like many of us, must work daily to forgive, it is not often once and done. They made a decision to forgive. They have reached out to the widow of the shooter and to his children. This family has been devistated by this crime as well.

Today we remember, and we pray for the families, that they will have peace that passes all understanding.

Pictures from the Fair

This was a wonderful day. Lots of horses, lots of tractors, lots of friends. Beautiful weather, and a gorgeous sunset.