Irish Meal Day

I freely admit that this is a duplicate post to my post over at the homeschool blog. But this also seemed very family oriented so I thought I'd share it here as well. :) Cheers!

Boy, the lad and I had fun today. Yesterday we did days 2 & 3 of Expedition Ireland put out by Amanda Bennett Unit Studies. We learned prata is potato, that Ireland has beautiful scenery and interesting stories. We had fun colouring their flag and learning about Burren and Crystal.

Instead of doing more studying of Ireland we decided to have a cooking Irish food day.

We started the day off with pancakes of course.

Here is an easy way to make thin pancakes:

---

4 oz/ 125g/ 1 cup plain flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 pt/ 250ml/ 1 cup milk
1 tbsp melted butter

---

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds. The batter should then be allowed to stand for 30 minutes in a cool place. Heat a small pan over a medium heat. Grease with a little butter and wipe out with kitchen paper. Fry about 2 tbsp of batter at a time, swirling to cover the base of the pan. Keep them thin and there will be no need to turn. Serve rolled up with sugar.

We did two things with them. MOST we put cinnamon sugar on and rolled them up.
A few we added some gooseberry jam and rolled.
We learned we like the cinnamon sugar best and NOT to be shy with it either. :)

here the lad is learning to apply the cinnamon sugar.
Here I teach him how to roll it. He was a bit hestitant to do it himself as they were quite warm yet.
And the finished product...the cinnamon sugar ones in front, the jam ones behind.
We had thought about dusting them with icing sugar but "Mommy, I think plain is better."

Then off to go grocery shopping for the rest of the days meals....The lad looked hard for the buttermilk, and thought it funny that evaporated milk has a cow picture on the front of the can.

For lunch, due to hunger issues, we decided that the Irish part of our lunch would be GREEN salad. :) The rest we just ate as we wanted to. (sandwiches).

This afternoon we made

Irish Soda Bread

mix together:

4 cups bread flour

1 tbsp double action baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Add 2 c. buttermilk

Mix well

Knead 1 minute

Cut in half and form into two balls

Place on greased cookie sheet

cut an 'x' in the top of each ½ inch deep

cook 350 oven for 45-55 minutes.

We learned that if you subsitute whole wheat flour for white, adding more fluid a good idea.
That it is fun to alternate kneading bread.
That is it HARD for a five year to cut an "x" in the top of a ball of bread with a big knife.

the boy working hard at kneading
I neglected to take a picture of the finished product. Turned out a bit dry, but the inside was yummy. We'll do this again sometime.

I was HIGHLY intimidated by the thought of making candy and was VERY nervous that I would mess it up. BUT it worked!!!! I was delighted.
Grandmom's Irish Potatoes Candy

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1/2 cup evaporated milk

• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, butter, evaporated milk, cream of tartar and salt. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cook to the soft ball stage at 234 degrees F (115 degrees C). A few drops will form a soft ball when dropped into cold water. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add vanilla and beat until creamy and stiff. Roll into balls and shape like little potatoes. Roll each ball in cinnamon to coat, then press in pieces of chopped nuts to look like eyes. You can also dust with cocoa to simulate dirt.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 62 | Total Fat: 0.9g | Cholesterol: 3mg

They are pretty good. Hubby says they are kinda like fudge, but different. We were supposed to put nuts on them to look like potato eyes, but the lad nixed that idea and I didn't mind since I'm not a huge nuts in candy person anyways. :)

Oh... we also made cookies!

Irish Ginger Snaps

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup shortening

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Cream sugar, egg, salt and shortening together. Add flour, baking soda and spices. Mix well. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and roll the balls in sugar.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 87 | Total Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 6mg

NOTE: in our oven... 15 minutes.

And yes, I neglected to take a pic of the finished product and I doubt they'll last long enough for a picture to be taken.

We spontaneously decided to invite gramma up to share our Irish meal. Apparently all the ladies at the bank wanted to come and share it as well. Gramma turned them down. :) Our Irish meal was ham, potatoes, and bread.
The brown furry guy in the forefront is "super Jeff". He's an all powerful rabbit who helps make all types of things. This time he helped make cookies! He was a VERY curious rabbit and got flour on his nose in the process. :) He isn't the lad's favourite stuffy, but he is a good comrade in arms. :)

For more irish meal ideas.. go here. :)

5 fingered prayer

5 fingered prayer, good for everyday!

This is beautiful - and surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.


1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'


2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.


3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, prime minister, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.


4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.


5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all, which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Bifocals....okay....

Went to the eye doctor yesterday as I've been having some problems with my eyes. There are times when I simply cannot see, everything goes blurry on me.

Discovered that my eyes have deteriorated a lot over the past year... more so than my original family doctor anticipated.

So I'm going to be needing new glasses and a new prescription. Looking into getting digital progressive bifocals made. Just in the process now of getting quotes and what not.

Praise God, He is our helper!

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Exodus 17.8-18.27 Psalm 41.

Exod 17.8-18.27
Every time I read this story I am amazed.

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

Like seriously....who would think of this? To raise your hands with staff in hand to God and win a battle? That's not a normal idea, and yet that is what worked. And the Lord promised to blot out Amalek.

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." ¹⁵And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, ¹⁶saying, "A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

After this event, Jethro (Moses father-in-law) came for a visit and he praised God for how God had protected Moses and the people, rescuing them from Egypt and bringing them through the desert and everything. Then Moses went about his daily business and Jethro was stunned. Why do you sit around all day with these people coming to you? Learning the reason he came up with a simple solution for Moses. Choose some good people to help you with this task.

²³If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."

The task was too much for Moses, he needed outside eyes to help him find resolution to it.

Isn't it neat how God orchestrated it all?

Ps 41
This is a song of David, to the choirmaster.
My reading of this Psalm nets me two basic thoughts: living a life of integrity and compassion is a very good thing, and second that praising God and asking him to forgive your sins is also a very good thing. :)

Living a life of integrity and compassion

¹ Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;
12But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence forever.

Praising God and asking for forgiveness

⁴As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you!"
......
¹⁰But you, O LORD, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!
11By this I know that you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

Praise the Lord, be humble before him, acknowledge your wrong doings, and live a life protected by the Lord God.

Christian Carnival

Not in any particular order, very simple submission method this week as it's been a crazy busy week for me.

A Small Church Pastor's Family from Ridge’s Blog.

Hats off to the small church pastors and their families! They are making a difference where no one else will go.

Philip Carlson presents Studying the New Testament Koine Greek Biblical Language posted at Science and Theology in Apposition.

This is the first in a series of posts discussing Greek and Greek resources available online.

Jennifer in OR presents One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp: A Review posted at Diary of 1.

One Thousand Gifts is the beginning, a game of sorts, to list one thousand things in life for which to be grateful.

Russ White presents Humility verses Humanity posted at Thinking in Christ.

We need to have the humility to accept our humanity, although it wounds our pride, and stops us from dreaming of the truly grand things.

Barry Wallace presents I Hate Conflict posted at who am i?.

I'm not young, but it seems as if I still haven't learned to deal well with conflict.

FMF presents Not Enjoying Your Wealth posted at Free Money Finance.

What the Bible has to say about enjoying your wealth.

Joe Plemon presents How Moe Broke Out of His Rut posted at Personal Finance By The Book.

Although Moe had lots of riches, or because Moe had lots of riches, he was in a rut. Read how he breaks out.

Steps to spiritual formation: Taking every thought captive by Disciple's Journal.

Is it possible that we can be so 'spiritual' in the way we evaluate our own spiritual condition that we set aside the commands of God? I think so, based on a recent discussion of 'transformation'

Be Happy given to us by Fish and Cans.

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Exodus 3-4, Psalm 33.

LeJon presents Behold, I Make All Things Anew! posted at ..::A.Bloody.River::...

Behold, I Make All Things Anew!

Inspired by SONICFLOOd & a rare song titled "Precious Jesus" by The Choir & Leigh Nash...

loswl presents More than Conquers in Jesus | INSPIKS posted at INSPIKS.

I had some experiences that led me to believe that I had demon activity in our house. I would be troubled in my sleep almost every night and sometimes when I was taking a nap in the afternoon.

Timothy Payne presents Psalm 99- An Awesome (Awe Inspiring) God posted at realityinred.

A devotional post taken from Psalm 99. Our God should inspire awe... He is an awesome God, but He is also a righteous, powerful, almighty God. Too often modern Christianity perverts His love into a Worldly love, makes that His overruling attribute (the perverted love), and excludes His Holiness and terrible awesome power. The Fear of the Lord becomes the chummy respect, and... the terror of sin's retribution becomes the "Oops, I did it again" mentality...

Dana shows up with More than words can say posted at Roscommon Acres.

Sitting, nursing, listening to my daughter recite her verses for AWANAs I turn the page. There at the top, a question:

“What is something going on in your life you can pray about?”

Be Happy!

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Exodus 3-4, Psalm 33.

Exodus 3-4
As I doing my devotions this morning my son came downstairs all bright-eyed and asking questions. He wakes up talking...just like I do. :) Anyways, he wanted to know what I was doing so we talked about this passage together.

We talked about God told Moses that he was going to use Moses to get his people out of Egypt. Moses gave God all kinds of excuses but God met everyone of those objections. And then God told Moses..the job will be hard. You will say "Pharoah, God says let my people go". and you know what Moses ... Pharoah will say "NO". So Moses took this assignment knowing that even though the job would be hard, that God would help him all the way.

When I asked Justin how he thinks that made Moses feel.. he said "happy".

And I have to say, I agree with him. If I know that something will be hard, but that I'll be helped through it all, it would make me happy as well.

Be happy all you who believe in the Lord...he will HELP you. :)

Ps 33
these verses sum up this Psalm for me.

⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

So when the psalmist says

22Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.

he has good reason to say it.

God made the world. He simply spoke and things came into being, not by chance, not by accident,it was deliberate design. Scarred by sin.. indeed, but that doesn't change who the original creator, designer, master is. For the people that God calls his own, he will help them and protect them as any true and real father would his children. This is a psalm of praise to our creator, the one who cares for his own. Let us all praise the Lord.

Water to Wine

Jim's sermon this morning was on Jn 2:1-11 where Jesus turned the water into wine.
Justin and I did the video, the lad is learning how to control the sound. Soon enough I think he'll be running it himself! :) Anyways, I appreciated how Jim pointed out that all the stories about things that Jesus did in John are told so that we can see the eventual glory of Christ.

So how Jesus shows himself in this story as the future bridegroom who will provide everything a bridegroom is supposed to provide when the future glory comes. It was also interesting to see how the context fits into all this and explains why it was important. Middle Eastern hospitality is very important, and to not be able to be a effectual host is NOT a good thing. For Jesus to help out the bridegroom in this Miracle story was an important thing. But more importantly, it shows us more about who Christ is, so that we can more fully believe in him.

What else?
This afternoon we went tobogganing at the Pinery. We even went down the "BIG HILL" three times. I would NOT let Justin go down using his Zipfy as he's too young to control it going down such a big hill, but we had fun going down on my toboggan. But we mostly had fun on the smaller hill.

The London Home Show

The London home and lifestyle show was on today at the Western Fair. We had a good time. This was a GOOD show to attend. Lots of booths to wonder, lots of black pens and candies for a lad to collect, people to talk with, and interesting things to see.

Our original plans for the day had been to go the Central Library first for an event they had on from 10-2, but that just didn't happen. We had a lad get up late, and he was quite tired acting, so we gave him time to eat breakfast and wake up a bit first. I'm glad we took that time though it did make our day a bit later than planned. Oh, the other reason for the delay was my desparate search for a library book that I wanted to return if we made it there. Took a good bit to find it but... I did! (so that was a pleasing thing).

It was a good day, I had four does kindle (have their babies). All good sized litters for their breeds/sizes. I did foster one kit over from a doe (Slip) who had seven to a doe (Gayle) who had three. This will help Gayle's kits stay warm better and will make it easier on my older girl Slip.

Got the newsletter for church done today and distributed as well AND I'm not my normal one week late. Folks may be surprised tomorrow in Church. :)

Anyways, that's all I got, I'm tired and will be going to bed on time tonight. :)

For Sale

Kids Stuff: Book of Reading and Language Arts for the Primary Grades (Kids' Stuff)

I have two of these, don't need both.

Make me a reasonable offer.

Shipping would be extra, who knows we might be able to arrange to meet. :)

A trick played and A call to be vindicated

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Gn 43-44 and Ps 26.

Genesis 43-44
Joseph plays a trick on his brothers. Not a bad trick, but a scary one. Threatening to take away their youngest brother...and Joseph sees how the brothers leap to the defense of him and their father. That must have made his heart smile after how they had treated him. And even though I've read the story,... I want to just keep reading to see how the trick plays out. :)

Psalm 26
I read these first few lines of Psalm 26 and my immediate thought was .. I've never prayed to God like this.

¹ Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
² Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
³For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.

I just don't know that I could. It's like David is giving God a list of his virtues and saying, see God, I do want you want me to, So bless me! Are we supposed to do things like this? I just don't know. It just somehow .... I don't know...

He is a man who loves God, and knows how much that God loves him. Perhaps that gives him to surety to say, God... Help me, bless me. You know how I live my life how I do this, and that. You know that I tell everyone I can about you, so help me, bless me. Hmmm... something to think on more I think....

Nice day with Hubby

Did you ever have just a nice day with your hubby bumming around?

Well I did.

We didn't do anything special, just bummed around this afternoon. Ran errands and what not. Talked, laughed, frowned and moved on, mostly just talked and spent time just being together.

Had one hard time with a rabbit situation, but Jim is a solid guy who let me talk out my angst at the situation.

Then had fun watching our son do his gymnastics in the evening.

God can use us regardless and God be Praised!

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Genesis 39-40 and Psalm 24.

Genesis 39-40
So here we have Joseph in Egypt. He's had the dishonour of being sold by his brothers. It would seem that trouble was just a brewing for Joseph. Yet we read this:

² The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

So here he is, a slave, subject to the whims of another, and God is using him. It would seem that circumstances in our life doesn't dictate whether God can use us or not. But troubled plagued Joseph in the shape of his master's wife. She wanted to "lie with him" but Joseph's response was such

How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

He wasn't concerned about disobeying his master so much as he was concerned about sinning against God. Yet he got into trouble none-the-less. She lied, he was sent to jail, where he languished... well...not really languished because

²¹But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²²And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

So where-ever Joseph went, God made it abundantly clear that he was there. He would help Joseph and so people would find themselves appreciating him. He even helped two people (through the Lord God he helped them) to interpret their dreams. Both interpretations proved true, one died, one was restored, but one failed to remember his promise to Joseph, and so Joseph remains in jail.

Psalm 24.

This is such a nice Psalm. Such a song of praise to the Lord our God! Let's just read it. :)

A Psalm of David.

¹ The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
²for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

³ Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵He will receive blessing from the LORD
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Selah

⁷ Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
⁸Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
⁹Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
Selah

News from our family

Yesterday we packed up Justin and our lunches and went to the Western Fairgrounds. We went to the Health and Fitness show. Last year this show was interesting, this year...BORING. Full of garbagy health stuff...Jim calls them "snake oil salesmen". Hardly any fitness centres, and only two of the centres there, possibly three seemed fully legit and grounded. I won't attend a flaky type women's gym if you paid me...well..okay perhaps if you paid me and it didn't cost me anything and I wasn't to be influenced by "garbage"... then maybe.

I also sold a bunny and an old cage I had kicking around here.

We lunched at the Western Fair farmers market and had a good look around. They sell some interesting things there. Stopped at Costco as the lad had to use the facilities (after drinking three juice boxes I think I would have needed to as well!). Did a bit of shopping and abit of nibbling there as well. Then over to the wrong mall to see about dropping my kitchen shears off to be sharpened...but as I said..WRONG mall so we'll do that Monday.

Found out Saturday that a dear saint of the Lord passed away after a LONG battle with Leukemia. God used his leukemia for good in the life of this man, yet his loss to us is a sad thing (yet good because he has no more pain). His funeral will be on Tuesday. He is not from our church but has preached there often. Henk DenHollander's obituary can be found here. Prayer for the family would be appreciated.

Today's Sermon: Come and See

Right now Pastor Jim is preaching through the book of John. It's been quite interesting.

John 1:35-51

Well. I was going to link you to biblegateway but the computer seems to have trouble loading some pages this morning, others it has no issue with. Go figure.

So hold on, I need to find a bible with a big enough font to read in low light. I'll put the link up later.

Anyways, this passage has two sections in it and I imagine that Jim will probably preach on the first section about Jesus choosing the first disciples of Jesus, though he might do both as they are well connected. :) Verses 35-42 are on "the first disciples of Jesus" when John the Baptist (I think) was there with two of his disciples. Verses 43-50 was the following day when Jesus got a couple more disciples.

John called Jesus "the Lamb of God". This led to a conversation between his disciples and Jesus that lasted all day. Andrew was one of those disciples and his first action was to bring his brother Simon (Peter) to meet Jesus. Andrew told Simon "We have found the Messiah!" I find it fascinating that Jesus renamed Simon - Peter as soon as he met him. It's like who does that? Only God of course. I don't find instances in the bible of people renaming people, and when God renames people, it has significance.

The next day when Jesus went to Galilee he met Philip. "Come follow Me" Jesus says and first thing Philip does is introduce Nathanael to Jesus. And that led to an interesting discussion as well, where Jesus tells Nathanael that he saw him under the fig tree...and that information is enough to convince Nathanael that Jesus is God's son and the King of Israel.

So Jesus now has his first four disciples: Andrew, Simon (that is Peter), Philip and Nathanael.

I shall endeavor this afternoon to put up my notes from the sermon. No guarantees though, I try to stay off "the beast" on Sundays.

Esau's family and Psalm 22

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Gn 36.1-37.1 Ps 22

Gn 36.1-37.1
Genealogies.... this one of Esau. Esau was Jacob's (Israel's) brother. His family became the Edomites. I don't know if all the sons and daughters are listed, my guess is the "important" ones are. Esau moved to Seir because

He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. ( Esau is Edom.)

Ps 22
I read this Psalm and I think to myself...this should be the attitude of a person suffering from depression or who is just going through a difficult time. David was ICK, down the the depths of nothingness...and yet he realized even in the midst of his despair that

³Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"

⁹Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹Be not far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.

He knows who God is despite his very own and real frailty. And that is the attitude that will bring us up and out. Remembering who God is and that we can trust him to help us in our weakness, remembering that HE is our very own help in trouble...even if it is difficult.

From God comes my help

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is: Gn 34-35 Ps 21.

Gn 34-35
You know... I never quite know what to think with passages like the one in Genesis 34. Hamor did wrong in raping Dinah, Jacob's sons did wrong in lying to Hamor about what they would do, Hamor's father and all the men were killed (persuaded as they were by the promise of gold and livestock) which well...isn't right either, and Jacob was concerned about the trouble they would get into now that all those men were killed. What do I do with a passage that has some much WRONG in it? Where do I find Christ in this passage?

in Genesis 35 we learn God's response.
He called Jacob out to come and worship him. Jacob did that, building an altar to God, and he called the place El-bethel. There God changed Jacob's name to Israel and there God reminded Israel of his plans for him.

"I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. ¹² The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you."

He eased the concern of retribution from the mind of Israel.

It did not mean that sadness didn't come to Israel because soon thereafter Rebecca went into labour, and in giving birth to Benjamin she died.

Ps 21
A Psalm of David to the choirmaster. David is King and he praising God for all that he has done for him. But primarily he is praising God for God's strength and the salvation that comes through him.

¹O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

But oh how he is delighted with all God has done for him. God has given him rich blessings, a crown of gold, life, long days, he is blessed, he is joyful to sit in God's presence and he is able to just trust God.

Wow...think about that for a minute here.

⁶For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
⁷For the king trusts in the LORD,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

It is GOD from whom our salvation comes. It is God who makes us glad to be with him. It is God who enables us to trust him by virtue of his steadfast love. Think about that for a minute. It's not all my doing...it's all GOD'S doing, God's enabling, God's strength, God's faithfulness, God's steadfastness. It's that a comfort? It is to me...it's like oh...it's not all up to me...all that is up to me is my living in response to what God gives me and he gives me all that I need, he really does. Neat. :)

With David I can say:

¹³Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.

God is indeed our help

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is :Gn 32-33 Ps 20.

Gn 32-33
You know, sometimes I read this OT stories of God meeting with man and stuff happens and I wish sometimes that I could meet with God like that and have stuff happen...and then I think...oh foolish one... wanting to meet with God face to face like that ... yeah, stuff would happen but you would also be changed forever and nothing would be the same. Do you really want that? Moses face shone like the sun, Jacob limped, and life was different for them. They had this surety of faith in God, they KNEW that God was God, and still life changed for them when they met God. Who am I to want to meet with God face to face? I'd rather, when it comes right down to it, just talk with him in my head, or pray to out-loud. But wow...some of those OT stories are rather neat aren't?

in this passage Jacob is coming home, He's been away for years and has gotten married and has children and huge flocks/herds of animals, and now he's going to meet his brother. His brother who should be very angry with him. Jacob is scared. IN that fear he trusts God. He prays to God and figures out a plan. That same night that he prayed to God, he wrestled with him..in a literal sense. he literally wrestled with God and came away with a limp, a name change, and a blessing.

And when Jacob finally meet Esau it was a meeting of joy and all was as it should be. Family with family without lots of fighting between them. God answered Jacob's cry to him.

Ps 20
I find this Psalm intriguing I think would be the right word. Throughout the whole Psalm it seems like a declaration of how much God will help his people, yet the last line makes me query if that is the sole intent of the Psalm. The last lines read

⁹O LORD, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.

I have to wonder, why are is the Psalmist beseeching the Lord to save the king? It's a Psalm written by David as well. Would this be before he was made King or is he praying like many Pastors will pray... for himself to lead the people well? I suspect that it's more the later but I"m not sure as I don't know when it was written .... though I think all the Psalms that David wrote he wrote after he was king, but that's just a thought.

As King he is the leader of God's people, and as he goes, so go the people. So for him to pray that God help him is a fitting prayer. As God helps him (the king), so the people of God are helped. I have to admit, I really like this line

⁷Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Reminds me of who I should really trust in, and it seems like such a bold statement. You believe in thus and such, but WE believe in God! He helps us stand even you can no longer. A good psalm for me to read today. :)

Trying things in a new way

Trying to Do things a new way.

Being more organized with homeschooling the lad. Working on it, not there yet, but feeling overall better about things.

Adding some exercise everyday. Usually mom and son, but sometimes Dad joins in. Will do 1/2 daily if not longer, regardless of the weather. Will sometimes mean exercising in the basement, or sometimes running the stairs at church, but mostly will be outside...playing in the snow, skiing, snowshoeing, walking around the block or whatever we happen to find.

Eating better and hopefully more regularly. :) right now that seems to be 1000, 130, 5/530 and then snack. I know...odd timing, but so far that's what is suiting us. Eating less and hopefully healthier overall. Added lots of fruit to my diet which is better than munching on this that and whatever. :)

Going to bed ON TIME. No more late nights. Means I can get up in the morning and have time for devotions AND to set up Justin's computer games for him.

Trying to realize I don't have to do it all. Doing what I can and just stopping is not a bad thing. (yeah, right)... still working on this one. :)

Snow shoeing and skiing

This afternoon we headed out to the field behind the church. I wanted... no....I NEEDED to get out of the house.. so I decided to test out my new snowshoes.

I like 'em. :)

Jim broke trail for Justin, and I kept Justin company by snowshoeing beside him. MUCH easier to help a boy get up again if you aren't on skis yourself. :)

Justin skied way better this week than last week. I was quite impressed. he actually skied really well without using the poles. I carried those. It gave him less to have to think about I think.

The pics are from last week skiing. I didn't want to bring my camera in case I tripped over two much bigger feet. :)

God Protects his People

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is :Gn 18.16-19.38 Ps 12.

Genesis 18: 16-19:38
I have always found this passage interesting. It always strikes me as Abraham bargaining with the Lord. What if 50, what if 45, what if.... and then finally what if 10? and then the Lord stops him there. For 10 people he will not destroy the city of Sodom.

And to think...that 10 were not found. And Lot does as Abraham does...being told to go one place he says no oh, I can't go there...let me go here to Zoar instead...and once again, that bargaining is okay.

It still seems odd to me to be bargaining with God. It's God. You don't say to God, do this instead. Or I don't want to go where you are sending me...send me here instead as it suits who I am better. God says this thing will happen, or this place I am sending you to, and if you are an obedient child of God you simply accept and obey. Hmmm...

I can understand Abraham. He sees this big city of Sodom and knows Lot and his family lives there and doesn't want to see it destroyed...but at the same time he would have known what a wicked city it was and would know that God wouldn't take such a step lightly.

I don't really get it...to me this is always a difficult passage to really understand.

And Lot...didn't really want to leave, but the angels forced him to do so.

¹⁶But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

And then his wife looked back and paid the ultimate price for doing so. Such a sad thing. But shows God's mercy right? Even though he didn't really want to leave and knew that leaving would be a good thing it was still difficult for him to leave his home where he had built his life. We as people cling to things sometimes that aren't so very good for us...and God in his mercy will often draw us away from it.

Psalm 12
wow...this psalm fits in well with today's reading doesn't it?

¹Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
²Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
⁴those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?"

⁵"Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise," says the LORD;
"I will place him in the safety for which he longs."
⁶ The words of the LORD are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

⁷You, O LORD, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
⁸On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

God protects his people doesn't he? Saving them from the wicked that prowl around.

God acts, God promises

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is : Gn 17 Ps 10

Genesis 17

I found it interesting when I was reading the first 14 verses of this chapter. God made a covenant with Abram (now Abraham) where he said... I will do this

"Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations."

and YOU will do this.

This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

He didn't negotiate. He just put the agreement into place and that was that. Not like the legal bickering that goes on nowadays. It was just, I will do this, you will do that. And it was done. That really appeals to part of me. Sometimes things are made SO complicated, everything has to be bickered out, people can't rely on the good intentions of others anymore and so on. It's like...come on folks. Can't we just trust each other?

I suppose not though. Even though God laid out very clearly the behaviours expected... circumcision for all and any that aren't are to be cast out. The people of God still rebelled against him. I suppose that's the way human nature has been affected by sin. We don't like being told what to do. We like being able to do our own thing. And hence the need to spell everything out very clearly and having penalties as part of contracts (covenants) between each other.

and then God promised Abraham a son. A son which would be born to his wife Sarah. And God listened to Abraham's request that Ishmael also be blessed. He did reiterate though, that the blessing of nations would come through Isaac. That Isaac's people would be the people of God.

I can understand Abraham being a bit "HUH? But we're old!!!! We can't have children any more and suddenly now we will?" Ah, that must have been hard for Abraham to believe and trust God in. I can just imagine how incredulous he felt when Sarah got pregnant. OH they must have danced for joy and rejoiced in God keeping his promise to them.

Psalm 10

I read this psalm and I know that it's a cry for God to act out against the wicked. To not let the wicked remain proud in their evilness. BUT when I read it, all I can think of is a young person that I know who doesn't believe that God exists and fights against the knowledge of such a thing. And oh it bugs me. How I wish I knew how to reach this person for God. All I can do is cry out to God like the psalmist did. God... turn him, change him, let him see that you are alive and well and acting in this world of ours (yours). 'Cause quite frankly I don't know what else to say or how to act to show that God is alive and real.

Pinery and Skiing

Took the lad skiing today at the Pinery.

It was our first time out together, and the lad's first time out on skis.

He found it fun, but hard. He fell on purpose a few times, and then fell a few times without it being on purpose. He got a bit discouraged, but still had fun. He called it quits shortly after his boots came off at one point because his skis got all twisted.

I would like to take him to the field behind the church a few times. Get him a bit more confident about being on skis. Be good exercise for us as well.

John the Baptizer

Jim had a good sermon this morning on John the Baptizer.

Really pointed out how John consistently pointed people to Christ and away from himself.

Encouraged me to think.

Our favourite muffins

Made these tonight. Made a triple recipe, most of them mini muffins, four large.

Banana muffins

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (just so you know... that's about 1 banana on average)
1/2 white sugar (or substitute splenda)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c Miracle whip.. can be any variety

1 cup flour
1 tsp soda
pinch of salt

mix first four ingredients together.
mix last three ingredients together.

Then mix it all together until is it just moistened.

cook in 375 oven for 12-15 minutes. Toothpick will come out dry.

NOTE: this is a moist muffin. Store them in the fridge unless you like mouldy muffins

It is a very forgiving recipe. So add... chocolate chips, M&M's, or what have you.
Substitute whole wheat for white (just add a bit less if you want them as moist, or the same if you want them drier).

Done and done

So I've been stressing over cleaning over reasons I won't get into here.

This morning I bit the bullet and got the job done with the lad's fine help.

Together we wiped down tables, cleaned sinks, bathrooms and vacuumed the floor. We wiped down the front doors despite the chill in the air.

All in all...took us about an hour and a bit, then another 15 minutes to get the newsletter copied and distributed and then home to play with hotwheels. Now to have lunch and decide what to do next. It's only 2 p.m. LOTS left in the day.

Perhaps we'll finally make our bird feeders. :)

Busy Day

First off....trip to the London Art Museum. To read more on that go here. :)

Then off to Costco for groceries, Wal-mart for supplies, and a few more places.

Boy...I had planned for this to be a longer post... ooops..

Oh right, in the evening I gave a chair away that we no longer needed. It was gifted to us, so we choose to pass it along again.

I discovered two does making nests. One I expect kits from, the other I'm really not convinced of (she had a miscarriage a week ago so not expecting kits, but odder things have happened). And one doe being decidedly grumpy but NOT building a nest... but she gets really grumpy the day before she kindles...so I'm hoping. :)

What else... did some more work in the book room. Also started making Justin a picture file box. Pics and interesting words that I'm pulling from old magazines and what not.

Going to bed tonight Justin commented "I'm glad I'm homeschooled mommy. I like it". Made my heart smile it did. :) hopefully he'll continue thinking like that. :)

Snow again

So yesterday it decided to snow. We got I'm thinking.. a good 10 inches all told.

It was 630 when daddy noticed how hard the snow was coming down, which prompted a "I want to go out and play!". I said, okay... I"ll shovel some snow. Jim took over my plunging the sink...he took it apart as opposed to plunging it...even found the little screw that goes with our scissors. YEAH!!!

After clearing the driveway we went for a walk. We tossed a few snowballs, it was good. A nice way too for a boy to run off excess energy before bed. :)

and then this morning after I came in from doing the bunnies I found a boy getting all dressed.
"I want to come outside with you mommy"!

Out shoveling snow this morning. The lad I thought was off playing in the backyard.

Out he comes with his wagon and shovel.
"I"m helping too mommy"!
"great" I said as I continued to shovel snow.
"NO!!! don't take that snow mommy! I'm making letters"!
He made a B, J, H, O, A. He was quite pleased with himself. I"m pleased as well. Nice to see a boy writing his letters and then singing the alphabet song, mostly correctly. :)

It was a good time outside in the snow. Not too cold, pleasant conversation, and a job well done. :)

The Divisions of People

I'm following This plan takes you through the bible in two years. Todays' reading is : Gn 10.1-11.9 Ps 5

Genesis 10:1-11:9

Two things in this passage, the genealogy of Noah and the story of the tower of Babel.

I find it interesting to read genealogies only if they add interesting details. And in this one that mention that Nimrod was the first of the mighty men of God. The details are also added of how each son seemed to found a different people. Like three of the grandsons founded the coastal peoples. AND others into Assyria, Canaan and so forth.

and from one man came all these different people groups.

Which to me makes it sad to realize that from one family will come such huge divisions. Because the Assyrians will cause the Israelites grief as will many of the other people groups. It just seemed rather poignant to me this morning.

And then we get the Tower of Babel where once again it is pointed out to me how one family can become so divided. This time it was God who divided them because this ONE section of the family had become so united in purpose that they would be able to do ANYTHING they wanted, and God didn't want that.

⁶And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech."

I also noted the "let us" go down. A signal again that God is not one, but more than one in one being. Makes me wonder how people can say that God is just one when they read passages like this. How do they explain it? Do they think that God means he and the angels? But that wouldn't make sense because then the passage would say God and the angels instead of saying ⁸"So the LORD dispersed them". Just ponderings...

Next reading is Psalm 5

¹Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
²Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
³O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
⁵The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
⁶You destroy those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
⁸ Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.

⁹For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰ Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
¹²For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.

and the lad is up talking so no time to talk further about this passage. Just see how he pleads of God to hear him and then knows that he can take refuge in God. :)

Bible Reading Plan

This plan takes you through the bible in two years, and repeats the Psalms and Proverbs four times if I recall correctly. Jim suggested it as something we read together over the next two years. I thought it a good idea. One reason we like it is that it gives catch up days. :) These are the readings for yesterday and today.

Jan 1 Gn 1.1-2.3 Ps 1
Jan 2 Gn 2.4-4.26 Ps 2

What my plan to do is, read each passage and give a brief thought on it. We'll see how that holds up over time, but that's the plan at least. :)

Genesis 1:1-2:3
In the beginning, God - not in the beginning there was some type of weird explosion, or some force that magically drew things together. In the beginning GOD did something. One of the lad's bible story books is very clear about this. God spoke...things happened. And he did it all in an orderly fashion, and when he was done. He rested. Seems like the logical way to do things doesn't it? A good way to pattern ourselves. Do your work in an orderly fashion, then rest. :)

Psalm 1

for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Those words jumped out at me this morning. God knows the ways of the righteous, the ways of the wicked "eah.. who cares...they just perish". At least that's the impression I get.


Genesis 2:4-4:26
Do you ever have it that you read the bible and think you know it all, and then you read it again and you go HOLD ON... I've never read that before? This popped out at me this morning from Ch. 2

"⁵When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— ⁷then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."

No rain on the ground, I had heard someone say once that the flood was so weird for folks because rain came down from the sky for the very first time. That before the flood the world was watered by mist coming up from the ground. And hear the bible says that the world was watered through mist before Adam and Eve were created. NOW... I CANNOT extrapolate from this that this was the state of affairs until the Flood occurred, but I just find it interesting reading. :)

I also find this interesting:

¹⁸Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²²And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man."

God had made a choice to make Adam a helper fit for him, and then Adam named all the animals.

So often children's bible stories read that Adam named the animals and then complained that all the animals had partners, but there was nothing for him and then God responded to his complaint and made him a partner. This passage doesn't read like that. God made the choice, it wasn't a complaint based decision, which wouldn't make sense in the first place because sin wasn't yet in the world so Adam wouldn't have been a complainer yet would he? It seems more fitting that GOD made the decision..it more fitting seeing that God made the universe don't you think?

Psalm 2
What comes out to me in this Psalm is very basic... plot against the Lord and you will incur his wrath. Serve the Lord, and you can take refuge in him. Very simple, very basic.

Feeling Terribly Inadequate

So lately I've been feeling terribly inadequate at most of my life. And yes, I know this is all feeling based and may not reflect accurately how things are. But feelings sometimes are indicative of a need for something to change.

1. Lousy as a housekeeper. Like I'm just never doing enough. I"ll admit I'm not the world's best housekeeper but lately I've been just thinking I'm scum compared to everyone else.

2. Lousy as a homeschooling mother. Not organized enough, not enough room, not teaching enough, not well... doing much of anything right. having my "moments" but just inadequate.

3. Lousy as a rabbit raiser. Having bunnies die due to seasonal changes and feed, and ah....just very dumpy.

4. Lousy as a wife. Ignoring my hubby at night as I try to figure out what I want to do with this that or the other thing. Just content to let him do his thing.

5. Lousy as a income maker. Quit my job, and yes I know that's a good thing, but at the same time means I'm not making money to pay off bills and do this that or the other thing.

My goodness.... I look at this list and I'm realizing that I do feel rather lousy about much of my life. I think perhaps I need to get some perspective.

Did you know that one of my favourite passages in the bible is

1 Peter 2:9-10 (New International Version, ©2010)

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is who I really am. I do need to remember this. By the way hun, should I ever die, THIS is what I want the preacher to talk on. This passage and what it means to me and what it should mean to other folks. Because THIS passage God always calls me back to. :)

God has called me to so much more than what I feel I am. He's declared me to be something bigger.

Think perhaps I need to figure out how to live more like that eh?

Yes, I can make some changes in my life that encourage me to think differently and not be so doldrum (did I spell that correctly?) about my life. Hmm... Now to figure out how to do this.

Slow day, good day

Today was a good day overall.

Started off SLOW. I got up late, which meant I did the bunnies late, which meant that everything was held up.

First thing I heard out of Justin's mouth this morning "daddy! Can I play angry birds? DADDY!" he played it while I was out with the bunnies, he played it while I folded laundry, and then I played it. Before we knew it, it was 1100 a.m.

Time to do some schooling, so we did. :)

After all that we went shopping. I had a cheque to deposit so I took care of that and then bought some groceries. Watched a movie with the lad "the spy that lived next door" it's a jackie chan movie and it's fairly decent.

Put the lad to bed. Read three books and told one story before bedtime.

The books were
Dewey: there's a cat in the library




Dewey's Christmas at the library


and a houseful of Christmas



Then I had six rabbits to butcher, three for one order, one for me, and two for a different order. All were growers that stalled on me. Got to 3.4 pounds and said NOPE, not growing any more. I said no sense throwing feed at you if you aren't going to grow. Turned out for the best as I needed the cage space and the smallest of the bunch turned into "I"M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" Nasty little thing. Had everyone terrorized. Nice with me, just not nice with his brothers.

Got some work done on the computer and now it is time for me to go to bed.

Cheers! :)

Santa - teaching of him or not

I was reading a blog post this morning about a lady who deliberately taught her children to believe in Santa, partially because she never had the chance to as a child. She watched as her older child struggled with deciding if Santa was real or not, and then made him promise not to tell the truth to his younger siblings. And it bothered her that he knew the truth!

Why would it bother a person that their child KNOWS the truth???

I was never taught about Santa as a child. My mom said "why would I want to lie to you?"

The remains my stance. Why would I want to deliberately lie to my child about the existence of something? Why would I want to set him up to wonder what else I might have lied to him about?

I remember my co-workers being shocked that I didn't teach our son about Santa. "But it's just some harmless fun"! They would say, my response to them then was the same as it is today "it's not harmless fun to lie to your child".

I've talked with our lad about Santa, explaining how some people think that it is fun to believe that Santa brings presents. I've explained how it's funner to really give presents ourselves, trying to guess what someone else might like, and being able to surprise them with a gift that they will truly like and enjoy and possibly even need. Funner than pretending that some fat person who doesn't even really know us gave us a present. Isn't it fun to know that someone who really loves you wants to give you something? Just like God REALLY loved us and he loved us in such a way that he let his son die for us?

People talk about letting their child enjoy the magic of Christmas, and therefore teach them about Santa. I don't get this, don't know that I ever will 'get it'.

Would it not be better, as Christians, that we talk more of the wonder of the season?

GOD sent himself down to earth, as his son, in the form of a baby. A baby with all it's frailties and weaknesses. A baby that would grow up knowing the he would die for us, to bring us back to God.

To me that wonder surpasses any "magic" that a pretend person can bring. I want my boy to see the wonder of Christmas more than the magic of Santa.

hmmm.. today...blustery snow

Had to see Justin's ENT specialist.
had about 20 minutes of decent driving...then had 30 minutes or so of scary driving. We got on the news! :) Our van drove past the channel A news team just as they were filming. :)

ENT said... excellent hearing. One ear is good, the other ear has the tube out of it now just a matter of seeing if it heals up okay. Follow up appointment in six months. If doesn't heal by the time he is 10ish he'll have surgery to repair it.

Then home....went over London. Trip home was easier but not great.

we mucked around in the afternoon just resting from all that driving stress... justin played in the backyard while I took care of the rabbits and packed up two for a trip to get a Christmas tree in London. Trip there went great. No issues at all. Sold BOTH bunnies. :) Had supper at Boston Pizza, got our tree and then headed home. left at 830, arrived home 1000 p.m. Normally takes us 40 minutes. That last 10 k were a driving nightmare. Justin got well scared. I was tense. Jim was quiet and very focused. We got home okay.

It was interesting. Justin was still very tense when we got in the house. His whole body language was tight. He put on some music and within a minute you could just see him go "whoo". And the stress was ALL gone.
"How are you doing buddy"? I asked?
"Oh.. I'm not scared mommy. I'm home and the house doesn't drive". :)

I hugged him and said okay...Time for bed. :) That lad makes me smile you know.

Bethleham Walk

Tonight we went to the Exeter CRC to take part in something called "Bethleham Walk".

I have to say...it was well done.
Justin was intrigued.
Jim enjoyed it.

The teens apparently did the decorating without Adult supervision.
They did a good job.

Justin wanted to go through it a second time, and we did the first couple of rooms again and then I said you know what buddy...we really have to go home as we've a busy day tomorrow.

So off we went, got him into bed. I made some rice krispie squares and puffed wheat squares and eventually made it to bed.

Tomorrow...OPEN HOUSE, 2-4, 7-9, hopefully people will show up. If not... we'll have a quiet afternoon with tons of goodies to use up. :)

Well...Christmas Cards are mostly sent

Yesterday I was feeling restless at bed time so I figured I'd might as well get the Christmas cards done. and yes....I do a Christmas letter. :)

Other than USA and Foreign, most are sent. I've three or four I'm awaiting confirmation on addresses before I send them.

For most of those who live within a two hour drive I also included an invitation to our mostly Annual Open House. It's held on December 11 this year from 2-4, 7-9. hopefully folks will show up.

Today Justin and I are going to finish up the trains unit study/lap book that we started yesterday. We are going to play in the snow, do some shopping, go to the library and volunteer with the local bureau for donating Christmas gifts to the needy. Makes one wonder.... do people REALLY need gifts? Gifts are fun, but I don't classify them as a need they are more of a want (as in I want to bring a smile to the face of a child who otherwise might not smile). But being a helpful servant of the Lord...this is a needful thing.. so Justin and I will go and help.

IF we have time today we'll make some Christmas rice krispy squares, and possibly some puffed wheat or cheerio squares as well. I am hopeful that tomorrow we can make it out to London. But might have to wait until Thursday when we're going out there anyways. :) We'll be taking Justin to see a school production of the nutcracker. Hopefully it will be done well. Costs us less than $20 as a family so makes it worthwhile to me.

Think that's all I got today. Cheers!