Friday's Fillings...

Today, after dropping my mama off at dialysis,
I returned home to do some laundry, wash some dishes,
vacuum, and do some general cleaning.

I also took the younger children to our neighbor's
to tend to their doggie.
We have been petsitting for the week.
She is such a sweet and loveable dog.
(We would love to have one just like her,
but it's not the right season in our life just yet)
The children and the dog, Sable,
had so much fun playing together...






While playing outside,
I discovered that Will has learned the art
of climbing fences...




Ally spent a little time outside, too...



Later in the day, I left a little early
to pick mama up from dialysis
so I could pick up some photos
that I had finally ordered prints of.
My digital camera has been a wonderful blessing,
but I find that I neglect to order prints.
I have photos from 2005 that I still need to get prints of!!
I have decided to try to order a few sets of prints
on each payday (every two weeks)
and that should catch me up.
Does anyone else have photos from long ago
that they still haven't gotten prints to?

As I was looking over the prints,
it was bittersweet to see how the children have grown,
even in just a year or two.
Seeing my children grow is delightful in many ways
but it sure does tug at my heartstrings, too.


Also, today we had friends come over
for our Sourdough Pizza Friday Night.

AND...
I got a phone call from my beloved!!
It had been a while since I had heard from him.
It was wonderful to hear his voice!

I sure hope y'all enjoyed your Friday, too!

Increasing as Jesus...

{{Originally posted Sunday, August 20, 2006... transferred from old blog}}


This morning in our home Sunday school lesson,
we read about Jesus in the temple (Luke 2).
The end of the chapter really hit home.
Particularly these two verses...

"And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me?
wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"
~ Luke 2:49

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,
and in favour with God and man."
~ Luke 2:52

Not much is written about Jesus' youth,
but here there is much said.

Here, at twelve years old,
Jesus is about His Father's business...
busy doing God's work.

We also see that He increased (grew)
in wisdom and stature
and in favour with God and man.

Spurgeon said,
"How sweetly does our Lord here
teach us in our earliest youth
to serve our heavenly Father!"
and "We ought exceedingly
to admire our Lord
in the lowliness of
these preparatory years."

Our children's youth is time to prepare
for God's work as adults
but it is also a time to be doing God's work now.
Are we doing all we can to help them, to encourage them?
Are we teaching them, training them,
and admonishing them in spiritual things
as faithfully as we ought?
Are we leading them through example?
Are we setting Jesus before them as the perfect example?

May our prayer and challenge be that we are...
and that we will.
What a great calling and responsibiliy
the Lord has bestowed on us.

"As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth." ~ Psalm 127:4

ABC's of Being a Helpmeet...

This was posted on a message board that I visit
and thought it was good to share it here, too.
It was originally found at Heart4Home

A B C's of Being a Help Meet


Admit when you are wrong

Be positive

Cuddle

Do it his way

Encourage him

Fix his breakfast

Give back rubs

Hug often

"I love you" should be said many times daily

Joke around in a playful manner

Know his needs

Listen to him

Manage your home well

Never hold grudges

Open your eyes in the morning and smile

Pray for him

Quit nagging him

Reminisce about good times

Show respect and honor

Trust, and earn his trust

Understand his need for reverence

Vulnerability is a feminine trait; cultivate it

Wink at him!

X is for private times

Yearn to please him

Zealously guard him with your love

graphic found at Victorian Trading Company (text added by me)

Works-for-Me-Wednesday... Fruit Snack...

This is my first time participating in
a Works-for-Me-Wednesday.
It will be more like a "Will-Work-for-Me-Wednesday"
because I haven't done this just yet
but look forward to doing trying it.

I don't normally look through magazines
that are in the doctors' offices,
but when we visited the doctor on Monday,
I happened to see the latest copy
of "Good Housekeeping" on the counter
and was making references to spring cleaning
that I thought I would take a glance at.
Well, I came across this idea
that I thought was interesting..

Turning fruit into a treat...



My children enjoy fruit for the most part
but I thought this was a nice idea
instead of putting cookies, candy,
and other miscellaneous 'junk food'
in our counter containers like this,
fill them with prewashed fruits.
Ready, accessible, healthy snacks!

Tuesday Tidbits and My Tackle for the Day...

Today I spent time catching up on a little laundry,
working a bit in the kitchen,
and decided to do a little spring cleaning in my living room.

I'm ashamed to say how long it had been before this...



had seen this...




But it tempted me to do this...



It's scary what you can find in the crevices of your couch.
I also pulled out the furniture
to wipe the floors and baseboards down.

Later in the day, my mom, the lil' girls, and I
decided to take a trip to Walmart for a few things.
How is it that almost three hours can pass by
while you're in there and you not really notice?
We were glad to get home and put our feet up
and eat some yummy supper... wet burritos. Mmmm.
Hope y'all enjoyed your day.

Monday's Musings...

Our day was quite long today,
but the Lord was guiding each step of the way.
I'm too tired to share all of the details
but I was blessed how the Lord answered
our "little requests" today.
Do you ever ask the Lord for something 'half-heartedly'
and He answers right away?
We had a 'detour' this morning to pick up medical records
before making our three hour journey to our appointment.
I admit that I was a little 'anxious' about being late
but the Lord blessed and reassured after I spoke
one of those 'half-hearted' prayers.
After stopping at the Naval Hospital
to pick up Ally's records,
we headed to the other neurologist's office
to pick up her MRIs and x-ray.
After being providentially 'stuck' at a traffic light,
I said my half-hearted prayer
asking the Lord to help us get there on time.
I called the office at that red light (about a block away)
to let them know what I needed,
that I'd be right there, and I was in a bit of a hurry.
When I pulled in the parking lot a couple of minutes later,
the receptionist met me in the parking lot
to give me the films.
I thanked her, got in my van, thanked the Lord
and 'hit the road' as quickly as I could...
still in a hurry.

Once I got to the main road, I picked up some speed.
I must confess here that I do not
always obey the speed limit completely.
I have been known to go a 'little' over the speed limit.
At this particular moment, I was doing just that.
My exit to the next road was coming very quickly,
so I got behind a vehicle in that lane.
From my perspective, this was a slow vehicle.
When I looked at my speedometer...
it was a law-abiding vehicle... obeying the limit.
I admit that I anxiously resolved to just stay
behind the vehicle until my exit...
And right after this 'resolution',
I passed a parked police car that was monitoring traffic!

I, convicted of my self-dependence
and lack of trust in God helping us to get there,
prayed for the Lord's forgiveness,
thanked Him for saving me from getting pulled over
(because I would have been speeding
if it weren't for that "slow" car
and would have been very late),
thanked Him for another reminder
that He would, indeed, get us to this appointment
and that I didn't need to
'take things into my own hands'
in order to get there.

So I decided to trust the Lord
and 'test' myself.
I trusted that the Lord would
continuing guiding us to this appointment,
just as He already had been doing
and was determined that I would not
continue to rely on myself
(and my lead foot)
to get us there.
So I resolved to obey the speed limit,
completely,
the entire way there
and knew the Lord would work out the rest.
And He did.
We arrived safely at the hospital (3 hours away)
about 5 minutes before our appointment.
It was an interesting lesson for me
and a real blessing how the Lord spoke to me
about different issues in my character.


The appointment itself went okay.
First the intern came in to evaluate Ally
and later the doctor came in.
It seems she baffles all so far.
He ordered some more blood work,
mostly checking some of the same
stuff as before
and also for celiac disease.
But as far as her weakness/tingling, etc...
he is sending her to physical therapy for now,
waiting for the blood results,
and will speak with us in two weeks.

We sure covet your continued prayers.
Yes, it has been a bit frustrating
not knowing what is going on.
But we know that the Lord knows.
Putting a medical diagnosis name
to Ally's symptoms would not heal them...
only the Great Physician can...
whether the symptoms have a name or not.
We will continue in fervent prayer
and will continue to
trust in the Lord with all our hearts,
and lean not unto our own understanding.
(Proverbs 3:5)


An additional blessing on our journey...
both lil' girls fell asleep in the van
for 2+ hours on the way home
and NEITHER of them had an 'accident'.
Woohoo!! Now THAT's a big deal, too!
No washing car seats for me. *Ü*

The driving part of the trip went quite well.
The younger ones read books, colored, and played.
We all sang songs together
and looked at and admired God's creation
as we passed it by.
On the way home,
we enjoyed listening to classical music
and learning about different composers...
also, Ally was able to share a few corny jokes!
For instance...
"What do you call cheese that isn't yours??"
............. nacho cheese!............. (not yo cheese)
I have NO idea why I found that so funny,
but I did!

It was a very enjoyable trip.
The Lord sure is Good!

Bloggie Traveling...

I've done a bit of traveling in the bloggie world
and have, hopefully, made this permanent move.
In addition to making a blog move,
I have completely redecorated my blog.

One reason I've not redesigned my blog before
is because I've had a very difficult time finding graphics
that contain any sheep in them.
The Lord laid the verse Proverbs 27:23
on my heart a long time ago and I have long treasured
my role as the Mama Shepherd.

Last year, when we made a military move,
a friend found a picture that reminded her of me
and she gave it to me as a gift.
I fell in love with it!
It potrayed the Mama Shepherd
tending to her precious sheep.
I took that picture, altered it,
and turned it into my new header.
It is a wonderful visual reminder to me
of God's calling in my life...

Tending to our precious sheep...

"Be thou diligent to know th state of thy flocks,
and to look well to thy herds." ~ Proverbs 27:23

Potty Training Praise and Triumph...

I just had to share a wonderful (bittersweet) praise!
Carolynne (my baby) decided she wanted
to potty train herself last Tuesday.
It has been a week and a half and, yes
(sigh of joy, relief, and a little sadness),
she is now officially potty trained.
I am so proud of her!...
though, I must admit

that I am a little sad to 'let her go'...
Just last August, Beth left diapers!

Oh, they sure grow fast.

An Afternoon at the Beach...

Our weather today was gorgeous
so we decided to take a little trip to the beach.
We brought some folding chairs
so Ally (and Gramma) were able to be comfortable.

My intention was for the children
to play in the sand and, perhaps,
search for shells and shark teeth.
However, the children were more excited
to just play in the water.
With permission, off they ran...


They had LOTS of fun running and splashing...


Ally sat in one of the chairs and watched...


Carolynne wasn't sure, at first,
if she wanted to go near the water...


But when she saw how much fun
Will and Beth were having,
she asked me to carry her into the water...


And soon, she was ready to try it herself...


Ally and Gramma spent most of their time
sitting and reading...


But they also managed
to get in the water, too (just a little)...




We had a wonderful time!
The fresh air was wonderful to breathe
(and made most of us tired by the end of the day).

I love soaking in God's creation. It truly is marvelous!

Monday's Musings...

My body tells me that I am getting older...
Especially when I spend a day (or few)
of constant cleaning.
With Ally being unable to do much these days,
I have rediscovered taking on the household
on my own (mostly).
I have also rediscovered that
recruiting my younger ones is quite fun
.
Will has been such a great helper!
He has been helping me with unloading the dishwasher,
picking up, taking out the garbage,
and numerous other things.
The lil' girls, too, have been quite helpful.
Last Tuesday, we worked at cleaning up and out
the lil girls' bedroom
and they have done a wonderful job keeping it up.
So diligent!
I love to see their eagerness to help and please.

As I was cleaning in my room today
(since my mama and I will be 'bunking' together),
the lil' girls put on our dust mittens
and dusted all that they could.
What a blessing it was.
Ally was really down-for-the-count today.
In addition, to what's been going on,
she has taken on a virus or something.
So she spent the day resting and occasionally reading.
She is almost finished with
the entire "Anne of Green Gables" series,
which she started some time ago.

After lunch,
we spent some time watching the action in our backyard.
Last week, I put out a birdfeeder
and we have been much occupied since.
I knew I had put it too close to the ground
but I was hopeful that it would be okay.
Well... I did know better...
and that's why I shouldn't have been surprised
when we looked out the window and saw this...


Oh, the children couldn't help but laugh! (Neither could I)
I didn't want to laugh, though,
when I saw what else he was doing
besides collecting seed...


That's the picket fence that is supposed to be
on the birdhouse feeder.
Will, in his best efforts, ran outside with 'Old Betsy'
(a toy rifle named after Davy Crockett's rifle)
to shoo it away so the birds could eat,
but the squirrel is quite persistent.
The birds, however, do still manage to get seed
when the squirrel is away.

The lil' girls were thrilled to watch the tufted titmouse
that sat at the window...


We also saw two other birds that we tried to identify.
I could only get a picture of one of them...
And we were unable to find them in our field guide.
I haven't looked online, yet,
but if anyone knows what type of bird this is,
we would love to know...


I'm off to enjoy some much awaited rest.
We are looking forward to Gramma coming
tomorrow night!!

Homemaking Meme...

Just thought I'd take some time out from my busyness
to post my answers for a homemaking meme
that I've seen around blogsphere.
Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

Aprons- Y/N? Not yet. After visiting Colonial Williamsburg, I realized how much I loved wearing an apron. Making one will be an upcoming sewing project.

Baking- Favorite thing to bake? Sourdough bread. I love the smell that fills the house!

Clothesline- Y/N? Not yet. Living on base, we can't have a 'normal' closeline, but I intend to put up a retractable one (which is currently waiting in my garage)

Donuts- Ever made them? Does making them at the bakery count? I worked, as an older teen, in a bakery but we mostly 'decorated' them. No homemade ones, yet. Though I would love to as soon as I get a donut pan.

Everyday- One homemaking thing you do everyday? Make the bed

Freezer- Do you have a separate deep freezer? Yes! My beloved allowed us to purchase one about 8 years ago. I am very thankful for it.

Garbage Disposal- Y/N? Yes.

Handbook- Y/N? Not anything I would call organized, but I love to make lists.

Ironing- Love it or hate it? I don't mind it, but pulling out the ironing board to do isn't the most fun thing to do.

Junk Drawer- Where is it? I confess... almost every drawer is my junk drawer

Kitchen- Design and decorating? nothing spectacular and no particular theme. Just a few things on the wall since I can't paint base housing walls.

Love- What is your favorite part of homemaking? Sitting back and admiring the 'finished product' after all the work

Mop- Y/N? Yes. Currently using Mr. Clean Magic Eraser mop, but have found that nothing works like doing it by hand. We have icky linoleum in base housing, which always looks dirty (even after mopping) so I've tried to lay rugs wherever possible.

Nylons- Wash them by hand or in the washer? Washer.

Oven- Do you use the window or open it to check? Both.

Pizza- What do you put on yours? Depends on the night. Bell peppers or buffalo chicken or cayenne pepper, hot sauce, and pepper jack cheese

Quiet- What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Those are almost non-existent here so when they happen, I stop everything and listen to the silence... really!

Recipe card box- Y/N? Yes. A white wooden box that I got somewhere when we were on recruiting duty

Style of house- currently a two story duplex... courtesy of Uncle Sam ;o)

Tablecloths and napkins- Y/N? Not currently (I could use a new tablecloth) and paper napkins, yes, but am now challenged to bring out the cloth ones.

Under the kitchen sink- cleaners, sponges, rags, garbage bags, flower vases, and ice cube trays

Vacuum- How many times a week? Depends on how much cereal falls on the floor. LOL. Almost everyday.

Wash- How many loads do you do a week? Probably around 10+

X’s- Do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off? Oh, yes! I love making lists. I will even make lists of the lists I need to make.

Yard- Who does what? Usually my beloved mows, but I'll be filling-in for him and doing the leaf blowing. Of course, the children can help pick the leaves up. Leaf piles and children go well together.

ZZZ’s- What is your last homemaking task for the day? Making sure there aren't any toys left out on the floor for somone to step on in the middle of the night.

If you read all of this,
please feel free to tag yourself and let me know.
I'm off to do more cleaning, organizing,
laundry, and scrubbing...

Tidbits from Our Trip: Part 4B... Jamestown Settlement...

Our final part of visiting Jamestown Settlement
was visiting the reconstructed settlement
of Jamestown itself.
After visiting the Powhatan Village and the ships,
the children were excited to see what was next...


Right outside the settlement was a garden...


Once inside the settlement,
the children couldn't wait to explore...






We were all excited to enter and explore the church...





This photo of Will just blessed my heart...
and brought to mind what he said not too long ago about
what he might want to be when he grows up.

Here were the children and I sitting in the church pew...


After exploring the church,
we headed back outside to explore...




On a bench, outside, was some armour
that the younger ones were very eager to try on...






Before leaving,
Will was able to speak to one of the men
about his musket...

This was a real highlight for Will. :-)

This vacation was such a wonderful time
and I've enjoyed sharing with y'all!
We can't wait to go, again... this time with Daddy.

Tidbits from Our Trip: Part 4A... Jamestown Settlement...

While the children enjoyed Colonial Williamsburg
and Historic Jamestown,
it was at Jamestown Settlement
that they could really be children!
The settlement was a reconstruction
of what Jamestown likely looked like
and everything there was hands-on.
The children were able to touch things,
try things, play, run, etc...
There were no "No, honey, don't touch that"
or "Don't run" or "We need to use our 'inside voices'".
They had so much fun...
So much, in fact, that it will take two posts
to cover the whole settlement!

They were first greeted by an indian
at the Powhatan Indian Village...

The children enjoyed listening to him
tell about the village and they were really excited
when they learned that they could go exploring...
ON THEIR OWN!
Touching, playing, picking things up was encouraged.

So off they ran into the indian homes...




Ally made herself comfortable
by trying out the fur-lined beds...


The children enjoyed feeling the different furs
that were laying out...




Outside of one of the indian homes,
was an animal skin hanging out
and on the ground was a bucket of oyster shells.
The children learned that with the oyster shells,
indians would scrape fur from the skins they had hung.
And the children were able to try it, too...




Nearby was a game
that indian children would have played.
There were rope hoops hanging
and ears of indian corn had feathers attached.
The children would throw the corn through the hoops
to see how many hoops they could get
the ear of corn through...


After the indian village, we headed to see the ships,
the Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Godspeed
(the ones Will saw in the museum)...



We only went aboard the Susan Constant
but they loved exploring the whole ship!
Here were the younger ones in the sleeping quarters...


Tomorrow will be my last post about our trip.
It will be the photos of us in the reconstructed Jamestown.