It was another busy day to close up our week. ;o) This morning I successfully made it through, with the Lord's help, a visit to the dentist (which is a big deal for me). I was very thankful it went so well!
This afternoon, the children and I went to our friend's house to feed their animals one last time before they arrive home. Then later in the afternoon, we stopped by the commisary to check out the case lot sale. There were a few errands in between, too. I thought I'd share a few photos from today and a few from earlier this week that I didn't get a chance to share. ;o)
Earlier this week, while playing dress up, my young knight came across this 'flower mushroom' (as he called it). I delighted in his enthusiasm...
Will was, also, delighted this week to get a 'geography lesson' from his Daddy via the telephone... They had a nice breakfast chat as Daddy explained to him where he was this week. ;o)
Ally was thrilled this week when she received her new Advanced Chemistry course in the mail... particularly when she got her lab kit... She is very excited about this year's upcoming experiments... I cannot say that mama is quite as excited. lol I have told her that her 'lab' will, likely, be outside under the gazebo this year... just in case. ;o)
Earlier this week, when we fed our friends' animals, the children were excited to chase the guineas (they're like wild turkeys)... Carolynne is to the far left, then Will and then Beth. The guineas are to the far right in a cluster. ;o)
Today the children were excited to feed our friends' animals, again. Here they were feeding the guinea pigs...
While Ally played on their piano...
Then we headed outside to feed the chickens. Even our friends' dog, was excited to be home and outside...
As Ally was going to get the chicken feed, she was startled by this hanging out by the door... Beautiful creature (in a bit of a creepy way). ;o) We admired its features and its zigzag web.
This little beauty was nearby, too...
Off to feed the chickens...
... which were happy to be fed...
Ally was tickled to sneak in petting Caesar... He didn't like it much, though. lol
The others watched to see what would happen... They liked the idea of petting the rooster, but weren't interested in trying it. ;o)
After we left, we stopped at the commisary to check out the case lot sale. We were surprised to see what they had parked in the parking lot... Notice it to the far right?? Something is parked there that is larger than the people.
Here's the upclose view...
You can click on it to see it larger. Notice the engine on the bottom?? They actually drove it through the parking lot! How's that for a grocery cart?! Ally says we need one of those when we shop. lol We were very amused. ;o)
It has seemed like a long and physically exhausting week but, oh, how worth it to be in God's house so often, hearing God's powerful Word being preached, seeing the Holy Spirit convict, challenge, and encourage, with an additional blessing of beautiful, Christ-honoring music and sweet fellowship with like-minded brethren! It has been a wonderful week during this revival and my heart has personally been revived! What a way to bring our revival services to a close by sharing the precious and powerful message of God's abundant, yet undeserving, grace!
The main text from the sermon: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." ~ Isaiah 53:6
Such a powerful Scripture that we should meditate on often.
He broke this verse down into four segments: 1. The waywardness of man 2. The willfulness of man 3. The wickedness of man 4. The Wonderful Savior of man
A simplistic, yet powerful message. And the special music set the tone for the message, which was an additional blessing. I just love how the Lord orchestrates! Let me explain... This week, Ally was not feeling well and was unable to play our special music that we had planned for Tuesday evening, so we planned to do it Wednesday instead, Lord willing. Because she had not been feeling well, she was too weak to play the song we originally planned because it was a little too intense to play while she was feeling weak so I chose another song the Lord had laid on my heart. I wasn't sure if it had a whole lot to do with the particular topic of revival (at the time) but the Lord used it in my own heart last night and it just so "happen" to be the same 'theme' as the evangelist's sermon. My heart was so stirred. What a blessing it is to have your heart stirred! (The song we did was a different arrangement of "Amazing Grace" with "Grace Greater Than Our Sins")
After the service, we stuck around for wonderful food and sweet fellowship. Did I mention that we love fellowships?! It's such a blessing to fellowship with our spiritual family!
We had lots of yummy food! Mmmmm!
Ally was particularly excited! Our visiting evangelist was an additional blessing to us, as he fixed/replaced the string on Ally's violin, tuned it for her, and gave her some tips (as well as one of his violin arrangement books for free!). What a blessing that was! She was so thrilled to play it, again...
The younger ones were tickled to watch him as he emptied his musical glasses... I think there were a few splashes here and there... ;o) And they were thrilled to help by carrying bowls of water to the bathroom sink to empty.
Will was delighted to help the men-folk as they cleaned up the evangelist's other instruments...
We, eventually, made it home around 11:30. ;o) But it was worth it! And when we arrived home, we had a package containing our 'official' first school book of the year (we received a few more today, too!) and a box from Gramma with gifts for Beth's upcoming birthday. Woo hoo! Gotta love mail. ;o)
What a delightful and blessing of a week we've had! I hope y'all have enjoyed yours, too.
In closing, I thought I'd share a little video of our evangelist encouraging Ally that her violin is, indeed, capable of playing beautiful music (and can, also, be used as a fiddle). lol I particularly liked Ally's reaction But that's just the mama in me. ;o)
I wanted to give a happy "Thank you" to MarineMama and Mommy to 7 for passing to me a "You Make Me Smile" award. I was blessed by your thoughtfulness and your kind words. They made me smile. ;o)
"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." ~ Proverbs 16:24
(Our Haven at Home is a 'no tag zone', therefore, we will not be tagging others. We did, however, want to give our thanks. Again, Thank you very much!)
Today I worked on an apron for our church's nursery. I had hoped to make two but the pattern took longer than I had, originally, expected. ;o) And I was thrilled I had bought the 'optional' bias tape or it would've taken longer to make my own. But I was glad to get it finished so that we could use it in the nursery this evening. ;o)
The children enjoyed playing our "Some Body" game... I could over-hear them talking about the function of kidneys. How cute!
After supper, we headed to church. Ally, the girls, and I were in the nursery and Will sat in the revival service with our assitant pastor and his wife. Ally stayed in the service during the special music to capture it on our camcorder. After the service, Will played a game with a Marine that has been visiting regularly...
The lil' girls giggled and played...
And Ally enjoyed trying to play a classical piece on the organ...
When we arrived home, I tucked the children into bed and enjoyed downloading the videos from the service and watching them (I'll share one in my next post).
During our revival this week, our evangelist is not only preaching the precious and powerful Word of God, he is, also, sharing with us his multi-musical abilities. What a blessing it has been! One of the gifts he has been blessed with is playing musical glasses. I thought I would share the video of his playing "How Great Thou Art".
With the background music playing on my blog, you may have difficulty hearing the delicate sounds from the glasses. ;o) If so, you can click HERE to listen.
Lord willing, this is what I will be singing this week during our revival services. I wanted to share the words...
God can move the tallest mountain; He can calm the wildest sea. Yes, consuming fires He can quench, but that's not how He speaks to me.
In a still, small voice He speaks to me, through His Holy Scriptures changes me. When I need His tender leading, His Word will guide my way. In a still, small voice He speaks to me, through His Holy Scriptures changes me, Oh, the Lord is great and mighty, yet He speaks with a still, small voice.
Many time my strength has ended; pain and sorrow fill my heart. Yet His Word is there reminding that He's been faithful from the start!
In a still, small voice He speaks to me, through His Holy Scriptures changes me. When I need His tender leading, His Word will guide my way. In a still, small voice He speaks to me, through His Holy Scriptures changes me, Oh, the Lord is great and mighty, yet He speaks with a still, small voice.
When I doubt the Lord's direction, and I doubt that my prayers are heard, then God reveals His care for me by the answers in His Word.
In a still, small voice He speaks to me, through His Holy Scriptures changes me. When I need His tender leading, His Word will guide my way. In a still, small voice He speaks to me, through His Holy Scriptures changes me, Oh, the Lord is great and mighty, yet He speaks with a still, small voice.
Yes, He speaks in a still, small voice.
(written by Jim Barron You can hear a sample HERE)
"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." ~ 1 Kings 19:11-12 (emphasis added by me)
With our upcoming revival, the children and I are providing a meal for the evangelist one of the evenings and we wanted to be able to give him some sort of dessert to go with his supper. So I decided to make an apple pie... this way we could give him a big slice to go with his meal. ;o)
Ally and I sampled it this evening to make sure it was worthy of giving away. ;o) Ally, who claims to not like apple pie, has determined that she, indeed, likes it very much! lol
The only thing better, to me, would have been a scoop of ice cream to go with it! Mmmm! But it did pass the 'worthy to give away' test...
Caramel Apple Pie
2/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 unbleached flour 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice 3/4 tsp cinnamon 8 cups sliced apples (about 7-8 medium apples) 2/3 cup caramel pieces
Mix sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon in bowl. Stir in apples. Stir in caramel pieces. Put into pie crust. Cover with top crust and top with apple cut-outs. Brush with melted butter. Cover with foil and bake at 425 for about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 10 minutes.
Enjoy! It's even better with someone you love (oh, and with a scoop of ice cream). ;o)
I commonly title my posts for Friday, "Friday's Fillings" and this Friday truly "fit the bill" 'cause it was 'filled'. ;o)
We had one of our bi-monthly park days with our homeschool group before we headed to our field trip. As we headed to the swings, we enjoyed and appreciated the beauty of autumn... ;o)
The children enjoyed swinging as we waited the arrival of fellow homeschoolers...
(not swinging, but enjoying the time)... (She really was enjoying the time, she was just making a 'more serious face' pose... lol)
The lil' girls asked me to push their swing...
...and they returned the 'favor' for Mommy...
After our fellow homeschoolers arrived, we headed to our field trip. The children were excited to begin... Just as a disclaimer... this single-file line was not as easy to acheive as it may appear, lest anyone think that homeschoolers are experienced line makers. lol ;o) But once we gathered everyone in a decent line, we headed indoors to begin our field trip...
We were visiting a local pizza place, touring where they make the pizzas and how...
The owner explaining what they do
They got to tour their walk-in freezer, watch the owner's son make a pizza, and watch as the pizza went into the oven... Only 4 minutes to cook in this oven! wow! But at $30,000 an oven, I'll stick with cooking our pizzas for 20 minutes. ;o)
After the tour, the children washed up to prepare for our hands on activity. I couldn't help but share, however, the sink they had provided in the restroom. At first glance, you don't notice much...
Until you go to turn the water on... 'cause we wouldn't have much success trying to turn it on the 'normal' way. ;o)
The water was turned on by our feet... Ally and I were amused. ;o)
After washing up, we headed to our activity. The children had lots of fun topping their pizzas...
And shortly after, they enjoyed eating them...
Ally decided to go with buffalo wings... ;o)
After eating and fellowshipping, it was time to go. The children and I headed to our friend's home to care for their chickens and guinea pigs while they are away on vacation. As we were leaving the pizza place, we saw the street was lined with American flags and yellow ribbon. Many have returned home from Iraq this month and it's always bittersweet to see all of the flags and welcome home signs.
We miss and love you, Daddy. ;o)
When we arrived at our friend's home, Carolynne had fallen asleep... All of that food and fellowship must have worn her out. ;o)
The other children and I fed the guinea pigs and then tended to the chickens...
I refilled their water...
Ally gave them more food and gathered the eggs that Molly had laid...
Then we headed back home. When we arrived, we headed out back to mow the grass, weedwack, and blow leaves. phew!
It was a fun filled day! ;o) Today I'm tackling Mount Washmore and preparing for Sunday. This week we are having revival at our church and we are really looking forward to it!
If my internet holds out (it's been giving me trouble), I hope to respond to some comments soon. ;o)
I hope y'all have a great weekend and a blessed Lord's Day!
