Day 180

Today we have reached a big milestone - Day 180 of our school year! That means we are "Officially" done. Woo Hoo! Can you hear the celebrating? hee hee We have a bit of science to finish and the older girls have reports to finish, before our evaluations next week.

It is always fun to review our school year and be reminded of all that we have done and learned so I thought I would share that with you.

In September we took 3 days and went to Jamestowne, Williamsburg and Yorktowne. It was an awesome trip! We completely fell in love with this area and being history lovers, we were delighted to participate in "living history." What a great way to learn!

Here is Pocahontas at Jamestowne.

We ran into co-op friends at Williamsburg! Look at all those delightful colonial girls!
The girls rode our horse Sandy at our local fair.

This was also a busy year with our pets! Our cat had kittens and our dog had a litter of 11 puppies! Talk about hands on science and life skills!

In December we had a Jane Austen Ball at our cottage. These were my students dancing.

Lindsay did biology labs at our co-op. Here she and her lab partners, disect a worm. They went on to do perch and frogs as well! Thanks Mrs. Bolton!

We went to the State Train Museum in Strasburg on Charter Day.

We participated in our co-op's Learning Fair.

And of course, we are still bowling every week.

These of course are just the highlights of our year. Not pictured here are the days of struggling to learn a new math concept, master spelling words, delight in the reading of great books!

This thing we call homeschool or home educating is a lifestyle. It can be difficult and glorious all in the same day! I wouldn't give up this time with my kids for anything!

Women At Home

White Door Cottage - Dwayne Warwick www.allposters.com

Thank God, O women, for the quietude of your home, and that you are queen in it. Men come at eventide to the home; but all day long you are there, beautifying it, sanctifying it, adorning it, blessing it. Better be there than wear a queen's coronet. Better be there than carry the purse of a princess. It may be a very humble home. There may be no carpet on the floor. There may be no pictures on the wall. There may be no silks in the wardrobe; but by your faith in God, and your cheerful demeanor, you may garniture that place with more splendor than the upholsterer's hand ever kindled.

Rev. T.DeWitt Talmage, D.D.

Taken from "Verses of Virtue" The Poetry and Prose of Christian Womanhood, Compiled and Edited by Elizabeth Beall Phillips

More Painting

Does it seem like that is all I do with my free time? Today I am painting a couple of old dressers, and a desk, white of course! They will fit in to any room in our house and look great with the colors of our walls.

I am primering several things because they had been painted black, and as they were not done very well, I want to have good coverage before painting them white! I may let a bit of the black show through in spots, though.

Have a delightful Saturday, my friends! It is warm and humid here today!

Helping Our Children Find Who They Are

I am a firm believer that God sends us our children, not as empty vessels for us to fill up, but as complete people with all the gifts and abilities that He wants them to have, so they can do what He has for them to do! (whew, that was a long sentence!)

Today, Anna at Pleasant View Schoolhouse, has written the best post on this very thing. And she says it in a much clearer way! You can read her post here.

Banners and Lilacs

I am having fun changing out my banner and in honor of the lilacs blooming outside my kitchen door - I have used a lilac banner. My lilac bush has tried me over the last 5 years. I planted it and hoped for blooms that year, as I missed the lilacs from our previous home. No blooms, not the next year or the next or the next. I threatened last year if it didn't bloom I was going to take it out and replace it. It produced 2 blooms. Two. Tim said it was "toying" with me. Hmmmm. This year it is full of blooms, and as we sat on our deck last evening, the scent kept wafting over to us....ahhh. I love lilacs!



This banner is from Banners of Blessing and it was free. She has all kinds of delightful banners.

I Love My New Shoes!

Aren't they cute? They are Sketchers, and they are soooo comfortable! I like them because they look great with skirts or capris and yet have the support of a sports shoe. I bought mine at Fashion Bug - they are having a great sale right now.

A Great Quote

Sunlight by Frank Weston Benson - allposters.com

I read a wonderful quote by C.S.Lewis at "The Sparrow's Nest" this week.

"A woman's heart should be so close to God that a man should have to chase Him to find her."

A Delightful Decorating Blog

The great thing about blogging, as well as a "scary" thing, is that you never know who is going to stop by your blog.

Yesterday, Melissa from "The Inspired Room" dropped by. I paid her a return visit and am I ever glad I did. She is a designer and a member of the Interior Refiners Network. Her blog is beautiful and full of wonderful ideas for what to do with the spaces in your home. I especially like the ideas for outdoor rooms! This is an area our cottage needs help with!

If you have a minute, please pay a visit to Melissa's blog. You will be delighted that you did!

Expelled

Saturday night Tim and I went to see Ben Stein's movie "Expelled." It was very good. I love the way he laid out his topic which is scientists getting "expelled" or even black listed for even mentioning Intellegent Design. He starts out talking with a few of this top notch scientists, and then speaks with well-known evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins. It is not a movie to go to if you want a big laugh, or a car chase etc...but if you want to see what is happening in the world of science, which is supposed to be about asking questions and looking at evidence, then you will be throughly educated by this movie.

You can find the website which I believe includes a blog here.

ps - Thanks Becky!

Family Driven Faith

I am currently reading this book. It is excellent. I know that it probably has stepped on some toes, but it is so wonderful to read a book by someone who is articulating what our heart for our family is! The author is the gentleman whose video I posted last week.

When we were looking for a church, we were told our children under 12 could not be in the service with us - I was welcome to take my 10 year old, 5 year old, and 2 year old to a room where I could watch the service on a closed circuit t.v. feed. Even at our current church we have been asked to take Kyle out of the service when he was making very little noise at all. I could get on a rant about teens and adults who chat during church, not being asked to be quiet or take it outside....

There is a church in our area that has a church service just for high schoolers, during the regular service! Why can't high schoolers, who can drive cars, hold jobs, have "responsible" s*x, sit in the regular worship service? I truly don't mean to step on toes here....and I am not looking to debate anyone, I am just questioning out loud.....

Anyway, back to the book - I have not finished it yet, but I really am enjoying the read, and am being given lots to think about. I am passing it on to Tim next!

The Sun Is Shining

Poster courtesy of allposters.com

Today is a beautiful day already! The sun is shining, birds are singing, the Vet is coming....We like our Vet very much, and he is coming today to give our horse Sandy her shots, do a coggins test and float her teeth.

Sandy is like many people, she doesn't much like dental work being done! So she has to be sedated. Our Vet has pneumatic tools for floating her teeth, so hopefully it will be quick and easy.

Today is also primary voting day - the Democrates are all worked up - for those of us who are voting Republican it is kind of a bummer day. We already have our candidate picked, although he is not who I was planning on voting for. I am going to vote because I believe it is important to exercise my right to do so, and there are some local candidates to vote for was well. I just am not so excited about it.

On a sunnier note, Kyle is back to his cheerful self! Whatever virus he had really wiped him out for about 4 days. Yesterday, he was back to his fun, annoying to his sisters, two year old self! Really, he only annoys them to get their attention, and it usually works!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Saturday

Today, we will be tidying the cottage, working in the garden, mostly weeding, boring but necessary.

We will possibly be painting some interior windows, long in need of freshening.

Yesterday, Lindsay and I stopped at a yard sale on our way home from getting groceries. We both found treasures - she a pair of riding boots that fit Rachel and cost $1.00, and a hay net, also for $1.00 that is used in the horse trailer. I found upolstery fabric! Unbelieveable! In colors and patterns that suit my home for $5.00 a roll! Now, they are not full rolls, but their is plenty on each roll to do several projects. One is a stripe fabric that I want to use to recover a small chair that rocks, that we picked up for free along the road last year. This is a great little chair, except it is currently covered in horrible fabric. ( I am not opposed to picking up free items.) The other fabric reminds me of a colonial pattern and I believe I am going to make living room curtains out of it! I am excited!

Have a lovely weekend!

Lies Young Women Believe

Last night the girls and I sat in our van in the driveway to listen to the program. It was kind of fun, to be home and yet "away." This was a workable solution for me, as Kyle is still sick.

Last nights topic was Celebrating Your Inner Beauty. We had a great discussion after listening to the broadcast. I am so thankful to the Lord for the young women He has given us. As I look at them I see a maturity beyond their years, servants hearts, kindness, a love for the Lord. As we share together, I hear a faith in God that is their OWN and not just hung on mine or Tim's.

One of the author's of the book last night said they challenged young women to spend as much time in God's word as they do on their hair, make-up, mirror time. I thought this was great!

I pray that my daughters will accept my challenge to them to be influencers of others and not the influenced.

A Busy Day, A Normal Day

Yesterday, we had vision appointments for us all, minus Tim. His comes next week for an evening appointment, I told him I would take him on a date to the eye doctor. Shh, don't tell but I bet I can work dinner into the date also!



Anyway, back to my story. With seven of us we take alot of time. Our doctor doesn't mind because he knows that with us all being together, we are not in a hurry to finish one appointment and leave, we are going to be there awhile. So he bounces us back and forth to do an exam, dialate the eyes, check someone else, etc...Everyone has very healthy eyes, Nate and Emily's vision has improved so much they didn't need glasses anymore, my prescription improved as well! We found out Sarah will need glasses to help her "focusing muscles", sort of used like retainers on teeth. It helps weak focusing muscles not work so hard so that she can read easier...She was so excited! She was saying "yea glasses!" She loved picking out her glasses, trying them on, saying "those are too round", "those are too big." We had so much fun watching her! By the way, this focusing muscle issue doesn't affect their ability to see, and Lindsay and Emily both dealt with this issue. My kids have great vision, a trait they received from their father, and now they don't even need glasses.



While there Kyle had began to complain about his tummy not feeling good. He got sick to his stomach a few times. He fell asleep on the way home, and I put him down in my room. I cut Nate's hair, and then meet Becky for lunch at Cracker Barrel.

We had a great lunch, laughed, cried alittle, shared our hearts! Afterward we took pictures on the porch for Miss Paula's Porch Sitter 2008. Home to make dinner, and then accompany Tim to pick up a lady our church has been helping. We were taking her to transfer the title of a car. We try to never give an appearance of wrong doing, so he never drives anywhere with ladies (including our daughters friends) alone, and the same is true for me.

We returned home, and then Tim went to get hay for our horses. I took care of Kyle, snuggling with him until time to go meet Becky....

I titled this a busy day, a normal day because I used to think that things would not be this busy. Now I realize that when you are raising a family of many and are involved helping others etc...you are going to be busy - it's normal. So we try to find balance - if something needed to go yesterday it would have been lunch. I am trying to find margin in my life. It is hard when everything is so interesting and there is so much good to be involved in. I am learning however to prioritize and to ask God if this is something He wants for me to do, even if it is a good thing, that may not be His priority for my life. I am learning to leave it in His hands.

A Fun Evening

Last night, Becky (Hospitality Lane) and I took our teenage daughters to our local shopping center parking lot. (This is the same shopping center she took her kids on a pizza and ice cream run the other night!)

My girls and I grabbed a quick treat at the BK drive thru and then waited for Becky and Chelsea. When they arrived with their little doggy Chloe, they climbed in our van. What we did next might be shocking. No, we did not go on a TPing raid.... We sat in the van and listened to Family Life Today's program with Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh about their book "Lies Young Women Believe."

This was a great opportunity to be away from the distractions of our busy homes, and to spend time with our precious young women. The program was very good and the interview continues today and tomorrow. If you have young women in your life this is powerful stuff. How I wish their had been someone addressing these issues when I was a young woman.

They had a young woman named Erin on who gave testimony to the fact that she had nightmares every night, that were feed by her belief that she would be alone all her life. She had these for years, until she and Dannah discussed the fact that the underlying issue was really Erin's belief in several "lies." One of those lies was that "Every man in her life would leave her." (interestingly it started when her parents divorced) She believed the lie that Satan was whispering to her. As they prayed together Erin asked God to give her verses to replace the lies. The one God gave her for this was "I will Never leave you, nor forsake you."

Today's message will be on "Celebrating Inner Beauty - Why do young women often consider themselves less attractive than they really are?" You can read transcripts from every Family Life Today program by going to their website www.familylife.com.

Becky and I were able to share with our young women about lies that we believed as young women that really affected us in our adulthood, and the girls talked a little bit. It was fun and encouraging to have that time together. Young women like ours, being raised to honor and serve God, need lots of encouragement and opportunities to be with others who are being raised in a similar manner!

I've Been Tagged

My niece Alicia from Renewed In Him has tagged me!

The Rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names, as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Here goes:

1. I went all through grade school, junior high and high school with a friend who was also named Deanna. Guess what? She also married a Tim!

2. I used to collect books about Princess Diana and the Royal Family.

3. I used to work for a giftware company in Los Angeles.

4. I am a third generation Californian (those are rare) who now lives in PA.

5. I am the only daughter in my family.

6. I love chocolate covered almonds!

7. I am a avid reader!

Now I tag my cousin, Nicole at Life in Jesus, my niece Melissa at Elijah's Adventures, Lady Jane, Manuela at The Feathered Nest, my sister in law Miss Paula at Gathering of Friends, Sarah at Ellie Skees. Now I have to go let everyone know they are tagged!

Voddie Baucham

This gentleman is Voddie Baucham. He is the keynote speaker at our statewide homeschool convention, Mother's Day weekend. I look forward to hearing him speak and I have a feeling we will be bringing home some of his books!

"The Knack"

Stacy McDonald has an excellent post on labeling children as "learning disabled", etc, when it really is just how God made them. They all have their own intellegences. She also posted this funny cartoon, and I decided to post it for all of us who have children with "The
Knack." Stacy's blog can be found at www.yoursacredcalling.blogspot.com

wii

Ok, I am sure most of you know what a wii game system is, and many of you have played them. Last month, my parents bought one. They had been considering it after hearing from their grandson Evan and Miss Paula about the fun their family has had having sports tournaments right in their living room! Then we were invited to Becky's home (Hospitality Lane) to play wii with their family. Well, we had such a blast that the grandparents decided to go for it!

We are all having so much fun! Anytime we go to their house we get to play wii on Grandpa's big screen tv and on Sundays they come here to spend the afternoon, Grandpa usually has the wii in tow!

I can't tell you the fun it is to play and also to observe our multi-generational family all playing wii. Just last night Rachel and Grandma played doubles in tennis, various people took turns playing baseball, Grandma, Emily, Rachel and I bowled! I scored a 134 and then a 179! I couldn't believe it! I had a turkey (3 strikes in a row) then 5 spares! Wow! I even called Becky because I know she would be so proud of me! hee hee!

I have heard of the fun that folks are having in retirement centers with wii, and I just think it is fantastic! If you get the chance to play wii, you should give it a try. I was never a fan of "video" games, I never got into "Donkey Kong" or "Mario" even when my family would play for hours. But the wii, is too much fun, and the opportunity to play with 3 generations is so cool!

Guess Who Is Not Just Ridin' A Horse?

Yup, our darling girl is now the proud holder of a learner's permit for driving!

I let her drive on the way home from Penndot and she did really well. After 6 months and 50 hours of driving time she can go for her license!

Just think, I can send her to the dairy for milk, and to the library and....hey wait a minute! If I am not careful I will never get out of the house!

There is one happy girl at our cottage today!

Give Away Over At The Sparrow's Nest!

Hurry over to Mrs. Wilt's blog to sign up for a $50 give away to Christa-Taylor.com. Christa's clothing is modern and modest as she says "modish!"

I can't get the linky thing to work for me - so just click on the link below!

http://thesparrowsnest.typepad.com/the_sparrows_nest/2008/04/make-a-wish-and.html

Some Thoughts on Proverbs 31

Becky at Hospitality Lane has a terrific post on marriage today.

It made me think of the verse in Proverbs 31 that says "the heart of her husband safely trusts her." This is early in the section on a Virtuous Wife.

While I was reading verses 10-31 today, I realized something that I can't say as if I have seen in this way before. All the "work" of the Proverbs 31 woman is for her husband and for her family.

Many people over the years have used this Proverb to shore up their arguement for women working outside the home, or for having a homebased business, etc. However I think there is something here for us that I think we are missing.

This woman is not looking for attention or recognition from anyone outside her family. In fact her efforts get her husband noticed "in the gates" at place of honor in the city.

Let's look at some verses:

Verse 11 - The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.

He knows that she is on his side and is not going to spend money they don't have on frivolous things - she is going to be careful with what they have, in fact due to her character and skills their home will abound.

Verse 12 - She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

He is not worried about her telling her friends about all his "failings", nor is he worried that she is going to behave immodestly around others. She does not mock him or deride him.

Verses 13-19 show all her hard work on behalf of their family and home life. She is not idle.

Verse 20 shows that her priorities are right and she is looking out for others,especially those in need.

Verses 21-22 show that she has made sure that the family and the house help are clothed properly and well.

Then in the middle of this telling of her activities, verse 23 tells us "Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land." Ladies, our behavior affects our husbands reputation. Do we have a reputation for godliness, or for being a gossip? This will affect what others think about our husbands. I have known couples that the husband was not able to function in leadership positions because of their wives immaturity!

Verse 24 has us back to the wife and her sewing business!

Verse 25-27 show us her maturity and focus of her life.

Verse 28-29 show us her family's honoring of her and her efforts on their behalf. "Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all."

Don't we all want to hear that kind of praise from our husbands?!

Verses 30-31 give us this admonition; "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates."

She gets her reward because of her service to her family, her behavior towards the needy and her honoring behavior toward her husband. How many women pass this up, in order to get the "quick" praise of being a stylish woman or having a great haircut? I have known women who were always dressed just right and had perfect hair, and yet they were not wise women where their husbands were concerned. I recently heard that one of these marriages has ended in divorce. I am not surprised as I had witnessed words from the wife toward her husband, that made me embarrassed for him.

Ladies, we need to make sure that our priorities are the priorities God has for us. These may be very different from the ones we currently have. In all things we must seek God.

As a wife and mother I am the Thermostat for my home. I set the temperature! Is my home warm and a place of rest and delight? Or is it a cold and difficult place to be?

It is up to us ladies, we can change our lives, marriages, homelife with our careful attention to God's priorities for our lives.

Banner

I put my banner from last year up today. I felt like I wanted change. Miss Paula (from Gathering of Friends) and Alicia (from Renewed in Him) are helping me with a different banner.

I love friends and family with talent!

I look forward to what they arrange!

Changes and Disappointments

It seems just like yesterday when we brought a beautiful dark haired girl home from the hospital, but in reality 16 years have gone by!

There are big changes happening now that she is nearly finished with 10th grade. A local college, Lancaster Bible College, allows high school junior and seniors to take 1 free course each semester. Yesterday we went to sign Lindsay up for "Fundementals of Art" but they were full. She was so disappointed. We are going to watch the website and see if anyone drops the class and try to snatch it up!

Then to add insult to injury, when we went to get her learner's permit, so she can drive, we could not find her birth certificate anywhere. Crazy thing is we have our copy of the form we filled out to get it sent to us when she was born! We have had it. Where has it gone? We have sent for a copy but it may take a week. More disappointment! She was ready, she was excited.....SIGH!

She is however, very sweet and easy going about such things, so there was no "attitude" about it.

It is fun to walk through these new aspects of her life with her. Pray for her dad! :)

On Being An Influencer

Reading my niece's blog (Renewed In Him) this morning, made me think. Her post was about her husband (my nephew) having his first Open House as a teacher. He is a wonderful teacher, he has a real heart for kids, especially at that difficult junior high age. Her post reminded me of all the great teachers I had, and then that lead to all the not great teachers I had.

This was a great reminder to me about how much influence teachers have on their students, for good and bad.

As a home educator, I have even greater influence on my children because I am also their mother. However, I believe that we all "teach" in someway, whether we educate our kids at home or not. We teach by our lives, and not just our children but anyone we have contact with.

If I want my children to be kind, patient, loving, generous, and helpful then I need to model that for them. They pick up not on our words only but on our attitudes. I can say "I love the Lord" all the day long, but if my actions don't show that, then my children will not believe my words.

If I want my children to love to learn new things, I must model that by loving to learn. If I want my children to love to read, I must read. If I want my children to be in the Word daily, than I must be in the Word daily. Do I want my children to serve others? I must serve others cheerfully.

As a co-op leader and teacher, I also have the opportunity to influence others. What am I influencing them toward? Kindness, to seek God, to care about others? Or "it's all about me" ? Do I want the other mom's to be encouragers? I must encourage them, and give them the vision for what they are doing.

What a challenge we have placed before us! God is so good to be our guide and strength as we go through our days. May we have always before us the reminder from Philippians that Christ "made Himself of no reputation, and took on the form of a servant and humbled Himself...."

My task is to model humility and to point to Christ in everything. God help me.

Turkish Delight

Thanks to my nephew Evan for the video of Turkish Delight from the musical version of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." The costumes in this one were different than the one we saw. For ours think "Lion King" on Broadway with the animal heads etc... only not so well done.

We Have A New Niece!

Tim's sister Ginna and her husband Tom welcomed a second daughter into their family on April 1st! They named her Anna Jean.



Here is a picture of Sarah and Rachel with their sweet cousin Sara Anne!

Grammy is headed off to visit her 15th grandchild, 12 of whom are girls! I am hoping for some great digital photos soon!

Let the Decorating Begin!

Yesterday afternoon, the girls, Kyle, my Mom and I headed out to shop for the girls bedroom redo.



Now, I already posted about our inspiration from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Some may wonder why I did not head straight to Pottery Barn Kids and make my purchases. The reason is simple - cost. There is just no way around it. I love the look of much of their items, but we choose to live on one income and Pottery Barn does not fit in our budget!



That being said, I love the creativity of taking inspiration and running with it! So, we headed off to Linens'N Things to see what they might have. We found lovely bold colors from Wamsutta and purchased these great blankets for their beds, in red, pink, aqua and lime green.

Then we looked at the curtains and found these to match.

It is hard to tell from this picture, but the curtains match the blankets perfectly, and pull, the already aqua colored walls, into a perfectly designed room.

I did not wish to pay $20 for 2 pillow cases, so we went off to Target, Wal-Mart, and K-mart to see if they might have bright color bedding (which they did) and have pillowcases separate from the sheets (which they did not). sigh.....

I think I may go to JoAnne Fabric and get some brightly colored broad cloth and make my own! I mean, pillowcases have to be one of the simplest things to make right?

For the bathroom, we bought two colors. Mango Tango for the main portion of the bathroom and Lemon Grass for the shower room.

I can't believe that I am doing their room in such bold color! I blame it on my husband. A few years ago when I asked what colors he would like to see here in the house (after all it is his home too!) and he said "bold color." So there you have it!

You know what? This is a happy home, and the colors reflect it - cheerful, bright, fun. Hopefully just like us!

At The Foot Of The Cross

Miss Paula (her blog "Gathering of Friends" is on my sidebar) posted a video of Tammy Trent singing this beautiful song. It reminder her of my post yesterday "Beauty for Ashes." The words to this song are incredible! Thank you Miss Paula for sharing this with me!

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me Your love
Through the judgment You received
And You've won my heart
And You've won my heart
Now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me
And You've won my heart
And You've won my heart
Now I can

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

And You've won my heart
And You've won my heart
Now I can


Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

I lay every burden down
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross
At the foot of the cross

Written by Don Moen

Beauty For Ashes

Isaiah 61:1-3

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me

To Preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim

liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort those who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give the Beauty for Ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that HE may be glorified."

This phrase has been in my mind this morning. Beauty for Ashes. This is what our God gives us, to replace the yuck in our lives.

There are so many hurting people, relationships suffering, all due to wrong choices. Choices that don't honor God, and bring pain to all.

But our God tells us that He will give us Beauty for Ashes. What a beautiful word picture our God paints - to explain His lovingkindness.

I don't know about you, but I am clinging to the promises of our Great God.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

We had a fine time today. It was pretty well done for a small theater, but it was a bit odd. It was a musical. Not a stirring, emotional musical, just a musical. My favorites were Mr.and Mrs. Beaver. They were played by a married couple who gave them Cockney accents. They were charming and funny.

For lunch we had kid type foods, reminded me of a school cafeteria, mini burgers, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mac and cheese, pizza, salad. It was pretty good. The kids all liked it.

We had great seats right in the front section by the orchestra pit. We always have a good time when we do things with our co-op. This was no exception. The families in our group are just so much fun.

Tonight, I am going to dinner with the co-op leadership. This is always a hoot!

All in all a fun day for me!

Off to the Dinner Theater!

We are going to the dinn-ah thea-tah to day! hee hee. Doesn't that sound snobby?

This theater hosts dinner theater for kids, during the day, so it is actually lunch theater! We will be have early lunch and then watching a stage prodution of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." We are very excited.

I will try to post later today to tell you all about it!