Monday morning started out very slow.  I felt discouraged about a few things, and I had a hard time getting motivated to do anything.  Before leaving for a dr. appointment in the afternoon, I called Becky.  Was today Abraham’s birthday?  I didn’t have it written down, but I was pretty sure this was that day.  Yep, I was right.  How about a party?  Becky thought that would be nice.  So within seconds, I hung up, called my husband and son at work, and let them know that there was a party at our house tonight – 6:00 p.m.

I packed the kids into the truck, and off we went. The dr. visit first, then to Target to get some gifts, then to get a cake.  I got home 15 minutes before the party was to begin.  Panic.  The house needed some work, the table needed to be set, and presents to be wrapped.   I had moments of doubt that I’d be able to pull this all together quick enough.  The kids all helped, and when Jennifer (my 23 year old niece) walked through the door after getting home from work, she jumped in and helped, too.  By the time everyone got there, we were ready.

It was a wonderful time.  We talked in the parlor, then moved to the table to eat dinner, sang happy birthday, and  Abraham (two) opened presents.  The mood was happy and there was total family unity and love among all present.  It was a wonderful evening. 

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 We have a lot of music around our home these days.  No, it's not the radio, the I-Pod, or our MP3 player.    It's live music - compliments of my children.

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Rachel loves to teach.  She loves to teach Sunday School; riding lessons in the round pen; gym class; and piano or guitar lessons to whoever wants to learn.    She has been spending a lot of time lately, teaching the piano to Ruthie - she is learning to play, Jesus Loves Me. 

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One of my  favorite is when the two of them are singing together the song, "Here I Am To Worship."  I wish you could hear them, it is positively beautiful.

"Light of the World, You steeped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see.

Beauty that made this - heart adore - You, hope of a life spent with You.

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that You're my God -

You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. 

King of all days,  oh so highly exalted, glorious in heaven above,

 Humbly You came to the earth You created, all for love's sake became poor.

Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that You're my God.

You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. "

The two of them sing this a lot, and it is so beautiful. 

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At other times, once a day, we all sing hymns together - the kids, Grandma, and myself. 

We spend about 10 to 15  minutes as a part of our school day.

When Rachel isn't playing the guitar or rounding up participents for singing along with her

piano, she's playing the synthesizer, like right now - and my favorite song at that,
"Here I Am To Worship."

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Who needs cd's when there's live music this awesome all day long?

It’s Saturday afternoon and the house is quiet.  Rachel is outside riding horses with friends that have come over for the afternoon.  Joshua, Ruthie, and Jacob have decided to go out and play.  Dh is still recovering from his illness.

We took the morning easy, as is generally our custom on Saturday mornings.  I made blueberry pancakes, free-range turkey sausage patties, spelt toast,  eggs over-easy, scrambled eggs with cheese, scrambled without cheese, and scrambled with diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and a bit of jalapeño peppers.  

This past week went pretty good with a few improvisions from my Monday Meandering List.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday went right on schedule, right according to the “plan.”  But on Thursday two things happened that made the week completely different.  First, my husband stayed home from work sick.  And secondly, Rachel and I got involved in a project that took up any time that was spent away from dh.

It’s the middle of February and we still haven’t gotten our thank-you cards out to Uncle Jon and Aunt Alexandria.  I like for each of the children to write letters expressing their appreciation, and sometimes this takes a few revisions to the original letter (handwriting, spelling, etc…)  We also like to send pictures of the kids opening their presents.  In the past, we have put these pictures into an album, but this year, we got a grand idea.  Why not scrapbook the pictures?  Never mind we’ve never scrap-booked before, let’s just do it.  There’s no time to begin then now.  So we began, not realizing this would eventually consume two entire days.  We did accomplish our goal; however a lot of other things did not get done.  The project ended being way bigger than we’d imagined.

The house did get clean, but don’t drop by and give it the white-glove inspection.  While Rachel and I poured over pictures, arranging, and taping, the three other children did the Friday Jobs.  Joshua didn’t think he got a fair shake on this – he’d rather sit with us and scrapbook then clean.  But someone had to do it!

Shhh…..don’t tell…. but my Christmas tree is still up.  And it hasn’t even made it to the “To Do” list.  Maybe this coming week.   I enjoyed Christmas so much, that I have been letting the season linger way longer than what is culturally acceptable.    When I spend time in my own room, I’m still listening to Christmas music, and I’m generally not one to do that, even in the month of December before Christmas!  The CD I’m listening to is by Michael W. Smith, and the album is called, It’s A Wonderful Christmas.  It has a nostalgic type of sound, or at least that’s my own opinion of it.  As I listen to it, I have pictures in my mind of what a beautiful Christmas we just had.  I remember the children’s happiness and the sweetness of our home.  And every time I listen to this music, I recall a smile one of my children gave to me while involved doing something else.  It was just a day or two after Christmas, and my son Joshua was playing at the computer.  He looked up for a moment and our eyes met – it was just a spontaneous glance, but the smile that accompanied the twinkle in his eyes, such a satisfied, sweet,  and happy smile, I thought at that very moment that I will always treasure this beautiful  smile in my heart.  So when I’m listening to my Christmas music in the privacy of my bedroom, I’m recalling the sweetness of that smile and  the happiness of our home.   I’ve even got candles burning that have the scent of a Christmas tree. 

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I can remember years that were not such.  It was such a rush, so many things to do in such a short time.  I've had many Christmas's that I couldn't wait until it was all over.  But this year was so different.  It was as if an angel of happiness hung her halo over our home for the season.  Every time I go to turn the Christmas tree lights off, I hesitate.  I don't want to do that, even to go to bed.  It's as if I keep the current going, generating that soft light it gives off, then maybe I can just enjoy this last Christmas just a little bit longer.

But Rachel tells me that it’s time to take our tree down.  I guess I will do that, but she may never know that I’m still listening to Christmas music and thinking Christmas thoughts.    

A special present from Grandma to the little girl that loves to sing (and sing and sing and sing).

A special present from Rachel to her little brother, Jacob.

A special present from big sister, Becky, to little Ruthie.

When I see my family walking in unity, peace, and love, it brings me so much joy.  To see the love for one another expressed, is such a blessing.  It reminds me of how much more  our Father in heaven must love to see His children, all believers, but especially those of us within the context of our local churches, walking in unity and love.  And how it must grieve His heart to see when we bicker with one another and hold unforgiveness within our heart.

I have often said about our weekends that they are like snowflakes – they are all different and

unique in their own way.  This weekend was no exception.

Saturday night was to be the big event – The Mayor’s Ball.  A good friend of ours had been

elected to the position of Mayor and we would celebrate with him and his wife at the

 inauguration ball.   There was a table of 10 reserved for us and it would be filled with

 mostly our own family members; my oldest daughter and her husband, my oldest son and

 his wife, Rachel and Jennifer, my husband and I. My husband had been actively involved

in helping his friend get elected and this was to be an exciting

 event to celebrate victory.   

Rachel is our tomboy – she lives in jeans and cowboy boots – and if she dresses up – her

outfit was probably bought at her favorite store – Tony’s Saddle Shop.  We took her

 shopping Thursday evening and trekked through the mall (a rare occasion for us) trying

 to help her find something that would be appropriate for a formal function such as

 this one.  By the end of the evening, we were all worn out.  Rachel looked literally sick

 from having to look at so many ‘prissy’ dresses.  Although she was very polite and

 gracious of her dad’s generosity to buy her a new dress, it was clearly evident that

 this was not her idea of a good time.

Friday, Jennifer calls from college and my husband had a brainstorm of an idea as

 he got on the phone with her – he had a plan that she and Rachel would go shopping

 together and they would both come to the ball.  All of the sudden, shopping for a

 dress became a lot more fun.

They had a blast – they both got new dresses, costume jewelry, and matching purse

 and shoes.  They looked as if they were Cinderella’s. 

..

I can’t say that I generally like “Balls”; I’ve been to several in my life time. 

A few when my husband used to be a policeman (a lifetime ago) and it was required

to attend the Policeman’s Ball.  And then we’ve been to a few Mayor Balls before, too,

 and they  are basically dry and stuffy.  A lot of politicians get up and talk, (a lot),

the food isn’t very good, and it’s basically very boring. 

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  But this ball turned out to be a lot of fun.  For one thing, almost the entire table

 we were seated at for the evening was filled with my own family.  What better

company is that?  For seconds, I was very proud of my family.   And I might sound like

a biased mommy here, but when I was looking at all my girls I couldn't help but think

that they all looked like they walked out of a fashion run-way.  My oldest daughter,

my daughter-in-law, Rachel, and Jennifer looked like they could be hired models.  But

 like I said, I know I'm a partial/biased mommy but they really were gorgeous all dressed

up and polished.

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 It’s Saturday morning and a bit cool inside the house.  The wood in the fireplace has not been kindled yet and I am barefoot.  Burrrr…..

It was a most lovely week.  We were invited to come to dinner at a family’s home that lives nearby.  Their home is the model of hospitality and I was looking forward to this evening.  When we left our home to travel to theirs, the country roads were dark and it was hard to see the houses.   We had a few moments of fretting that we’d passed their house already.  They have a lovely country home and are in the midst of building a barn.  We had a wonderful visit with good food and loving fellowship.

I am getting back into my routines.  I try to cook enough food at a time that there is an extra meal that I can throw in the freezer.  On Tuesday night, although I knew I was going to our friend's house for dinner, I made the next night's dinner, sloppy joes, and made enough to freeze for another meal.   On Wednesday, I was glad that I had done this when I had just come in from Rachel’s guitar lessons and needing to get  Ruthie to a Christmas play she was to practice in.

Later that evening, I made chicken stew, for Thursday night.  We would be having my daughter and her husband (and three babies) coming for dinner tomorrow night, and looking ahead, I thought it would be best to have supper already done.  I cooked it in a large roaster, and again, made enough for an army.  We had it for lunch, and then again for dinner.  After everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, there was enough to freeze for another meal on the weekend.

When Thursday night came, with the meal prepared ahead of time, we lit some candles, made sure the Christmas lights were on, and set the table.  Then I laid down and rested until they arrived.  It was a nice evening being able to enjoy the babies and holding precious Grace in my arms.

Friday night we had company again.  The family that we had dinner with on Tuesday night, came to ours for pizza.  We had cheese and crackers, spinach dip, and a taco/bean dip with crackers for an appetizer and  apple and pecan pie for dessert. We talked and then watched a movie together.    Two of their daughters, both teenagers that are Rachel’s age, stayed over night.

We had been given tickets to attend a Hannah Montana show about a month ago.  The concert date was December 8^th.  Before this, I had never even heard of Hannah Montana.  When my husband told me over the phone about the tickets, I asked, “Who is she?”  My husband said that he had asked the same thing.  Apparently she is quite famous, we discovered.   The tickets were actually given to Ruthie in specific, and for one of us to attend with her. Ruthie knew who she was and was very excited about attending.  As the time came closer to attend the concert, and after a lot of discussion about this, we decided to decline the tickets and return them to the giver.  So today, we sought to make up to her what she had been looking forward to.  She was very gracious (no tears, pouts, sad face).  We made it a Ruthie Day and took her out to dinner and to a children’s movie/matinee.   She soaked up the attention like a little sponge.  Sometimes it seems that I cannot enjoy my children enough.  Time is so fleeting. They are growing up so fast.

The holiday spirit started Wednesday night, with the advent of Jonanthon and Jennifer arriving.  They are cousins that attend Hyles Anderson College, a local Christian school in the area.  Our kids love being around them, so it was a party defined just by their arrival.   Everyone stayed up late playing games, watching movies, and eating snack food.

Thursday morning we all slept in.  Just took it easy, exactly what I wanted to do after the previous stressful weeks.  Yes, our dining room/kitchen did get done, and yes, the table did arrive - Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.    But it was all so iffy it would happen or not, that I asked my mom if she would mind hosting yet one more Thanksgiving with my huge family.  My mom is very gracious.  We set the Thanksgiving dinner to be at Friday, 1:00 p.m., because that was when my brother would be getting his two kids for the holiday.

(My kitchen/dining room while it was still in the stress stages.  At this point you can see the blue paint on the wall.)

Around 4:00 p.m., Thursday, we headed over to my husbands parents house.  We had not seen Grandpa since his surgery (he was not up to having guests before this time).  We brought a turkey and all the trimmings.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with them.  Tears came to my eyes when I first seen Grandpa - it was a blessed event just to have him with us yet one more Thanksgiving.  I felt so much thankfulness to Him and silently prayed the whole time I was talking to Grandpa, that God would give us more years together, and thanked Him profusely for giving me such a wonderful, God-fearing father-in-law. 

Around 9:00 p.m., we ended our visit and headed to my mom's house - on the north side of Chicago.  I hadn't been there in a while and it felt so nice to be there.  It is the home I grew up in.  We sleep in my childhood bedroom and there are so many memories there.  Friday morning, I awoke to the aroma of turkey baking in the oven and all of the other delicious side dishes my mom had prepared.  There is no cooking like mom's, and especially my  mom.  She loves to cook, and all of her love somehow seeps into the food and makes it taste just extra good.  

****

The kitchen was full - my family of eight, Jonathon and Jennifer, my brother and his two girls, and Kevin, (14 years old).  It was a room full of good food, laughter, and love.  I can't remember a better Thanksgiving.

****

We went home in the evening and the party resumed.  My nieces and nephew, and all my kids - everyone went in different directions doing what ever it was they wanted.  We have a lot of places to play here whether it be in the barn or the house.  

****

 The big deal on Saturday was family pictures.  We do this every year and then send it as the Christmas card to dh business associates and to our friends and family.  It's always a big deal - making sure the boys have had haircuts, the girls have had their hair trimmed and freshly washed, clean clothes and something kind of nice to wear, and we try to somewhat coordinate it all to the best of our abiltiy.  Then getting everyone at the same place at the same time is also always short of a small miracle.  Our photographer came to our home and shot pictures in front of the bookcase with the ladder.  It is cutting it a little bit tight time wise - getting the pictures back in time for the cards, but we wanted to wait until Becky had her baby.   After the pictures, we ordered pizza and had our first family meal sitting around our HUGE dining room table.  We even had two little ones, Gigi (7) and Paul (4) show up from an adjoining piece of property.  It was a bit of surprise but their presence was enjoyed by all. 

****

The holiday's are now officially over as Jonathon and Jennifer left to go back to school this morning.  We did have school on Monday, but their very presence makes the kids feel as if the holiday has not ended.  It was a wonderful time with memories that I think will linger for many people for a long time. 

Carpenters are here today - finishing!  Hooray!

Electricians are scheduled to be back in just a few hours. Hopefully, they will be finished today, too!  Hooray!

My brother is coming and will finish the stain work on the window trims.  Hooray!

My mom is  coming today and will help with homeschool - this will free me up tremendously.  Hooray!

To be done today:

The bookcases that I have in storage (in a pole barn) that are to be used as our kitchen cabinetry - they are filled with "stuff" from when we first took out our kitchen.  I need to have the kids go to the barn, empty everything out, then wipe it down with pledge.  It is then ready to be brought over to the house, today.  Hooray!

After the staining is done and the trim work - we can take up the paper floor covering that is all over the newly installed wood floor.  Hooray!

My own priorities today are:

Work on my bedroom - during the remodeling chaos, there are things that got put in my room for storage.  The kids cleaned out their drawers and put their clothes that no longer fit in black bags. Then they  put it in my room to figure out what to do with it.  Today is the day to do that so I don't go into the Thanksgiving holidays with a cluttered bedroom.

While I'm in my bedroom, I need to go through my clothes.  A) I don't know where I put my sweaters and every day I'm having a challange of figuring out what there is to where with the change of season and B) We are having family pictures taken this coming Saturday.  I don't have a clue of what I should wear.  I need to work on this, ASAP!

After I have figured out what I'm wearing, coordinate the kids clothing.  This is a priority today!

Take Jacob to get his hair cut today, before schools are out, so that I don't have to wait in a long line.  Need to get this out of the way for the pictures, also.

I have a guest coming late tonight to stay in our home for the Thanksgiving holidays (until Sunday night).  I need to give the house a check-over.

Believe this or not, but the girls giant doll house needs to be cleaned, too.  It is a part of my den (my exercise room) and it bugs me when it is messy.  Right now, it is really messy because when we had the remodeling chaos and everything was moved into the den, people put misc. stuff inside the doll house to get it out of the way.

**

Get the laundry caught up.  My mom will be here today and she is a big help in this area. 

I have two things to hang back on the walls.  One is a straw doll dressed in peach that goes in the guest bath.  The other is a rack to hang mops and brooms.  Mike will help me with this. 

In my spare time, I am still trying to figure out a dining light for over the table in the kitchen/dining room.  I have been shopping on the internet and have found one I like - but it's a little too big.  Having a hard time finding a second choice because I like this one so much.

If I go out today and get Jacob's hair cut, pick up a standing light fixture from Walmart.

 We've had beautiful weather this week so far.  It's been unseasonably warm, like spring, with rain included.  Several days we have not needed to wear a jacket or even a sweater.  The leaves are still a brilliant yellow, orange and red.  Our lawn is blanketed with the most beautiful covering of leaves.

This is my four children with my first grand-child, Seth (the youngest in the picture).  My youngest, Jacob (the silly one in the blue t-shirt),  is three years older than Seth. He is Uncle Jacob.

I woke up early this morning - it felt so good to spend time with Him in prayer and not to feel hurried.  If I get up extra early, I know I have plenty of time to pray and not feel rushed.  I can bring everything to Him and lay all of my anxieties, requests, and concerns at His feet.  I love to thank Him for everything and I always spend the first part of my prayer in this.

The house is getting better.  I spent time puttering at it yesterday.  One thing has led to another around here.  First, I was painting my family room, and then, we had the carpet pulled up and had a new floor installed.  Everything in this room got pushed into the den and into the living room and left like this for quite some time, until the floor could be finished.  Now, I am trying to put everything back into its place.   The furniture was one thing, but the little stuff - that takes a lot of mental processing. 

I do believe that all of our dental appointments are now completed, as of yesterday.  Praise!   I had four children making multiple trips to the dentist every week and the last visit was yesterday.  Now, I need to make sure the kids brush their teeth three times during the day, floss, and not eat any candy and try to limit soda drinks (or eliminate).  Also, I've begun to pray every morning for my children's teeth. I've never done that before. 

My dream day today would consist of;

Having a wonderful school day.  Spending lots of time reading Psalms with the children, continuing our reading of Heroes of the Faith, and reviewing our Bible memory verses and learning a new one. I desire to spend time with Joshua, reading our book, Jonny Tremain.  

In between school time, I would like to putter around in the den, figuring out where all the misc. stuff should go.  If this day could go as I desire, by the end of the day, everything, or at least almost everything, would be back in its place.

After school, if my dream day comes true, I will go over to Becky's house with my mom, and visit baby Grace. 

It is early Saturday morning.  I have had my quiet time in prayer with Him and read passages from the Scripture in the book of Proverbs.  I spent time with Him this morning thanking Him for this past week – the good, the bad, the chaotic, and the confusion.  “In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you.”

It was a busy/crazy week.  Furniture displaced everywhere, strangers (carpenters) in our home all week, dust and dirt everywhere. We did not attempt to try to have school this week.  That would have been a recipe for mother-insanity-nervous-breakdown.  My time was used up directing traffic, trying to keep the laundry and dishes going, and running multiple errands.  This was the chaotic part of the week.

The good part of the week is that I have waited a very long time for all of this to happen.  The kitchen sat barren for over a year.  The general condition of our home had continually downward spiraled.  Now, I have the painting of four rooms completed.  I am having lights that were broken or missing - their cover fixture replaced.  I am going through my entire home looking at the little details – like the knobs missing from the cabinetry, or the bottom of the guest bath cabinetry that is mildewing. 

The awful part of the week is a mistake I made.  I wrote several checks – the carpenter and to my brother, from a checking account that is closed.  I don’t even know how it happened, except that the checkbooks are the same color and from the same bank.  Why didn’t I throw out a checkbook from a closed account?  I felt awful having to call my brother and tell him the mistake I made and then perceiving his own panic. 

The confusing part of the week is a decision that I still am struggling with.  The trim for the kitchen – what stain color?  Last weekend, I was rushed to make this decision and chose a stain color – then when 25% of it was completed, I didn’t like it.  My son told me that it could be resanded and started over (were using his tools and woodshop to do the work).  All week I have labored over this decision of what stain to choose – golden brown, dark brown, or mahagony.  I still am deliberating over this, and it has to be completely done by Monday morning, according to the carpenter’s schedule of time he’s allotted for this job. 

The wonderful part of the week is the night I went and spent time with my new granddaughter.   My daughter’s home, Becky, is so peaceful.  Holding little Grace in my arms, looking into her eyes, was beyond description.  I wept when I seen her for the first time.  I wept again this night that I held her, almost two weeks old.  Her name is Grace, and she is a gift of God's grace.   To me, she is a living embodiment of grace.  I keep singing the hymn inside of my heart, "Grace, grace, God's grace...."  When I hold her, I am transported back in time to when I held my first born, Becky.  Twenty-six years ago seems as if  a lifetime away, and in a moment, holding this baby, I am carried back to that capsule of time.   "Grace, grace, God's grace...." is the song that I sing and feel a reverence of God's love and goodness everytime I think of little Grace Abigail.  

My pc sits in the family room facing a ceiling to floor window.  It is night time and there are times, such as this, that we don't close our blinds - there are no houses or neighbors that surround us.  My window faces a forest of black walnut trees on a steep slope. At the bottom of the slope is a trail for our horses, and beyond that, lies the creek. 

*

The family room is dark as dad and the kids watch the movie, "Catch Me If you Can".  It's quite an entertaining movie, actually. I'm very good at tuning out movies while I type on my pc, but this movie has me captivated. A young boy, from age 17 to 19, pretended to be a doctor, a lawyer, and an airplane pilot.  It's a true story -  he was caught when he was age 19.  There are a ton of stars in this movie - Tom Hanks, Leonard Cap...(can't spell it!) and a whole bunch of other movie stars I recognize. 

*

As I type, with the blinds wide open, I can see a full moon through the trees. It's so pretty. I thought I was the only one noticing it and then Jacob came running over to me with enthusiasm pointing the full moon out to me. 

It was a nice weekend.  On Friday night, our family night, the highlight was when Ruthie danced for daddy and mommy.  She came dressed in her black ballet outfit with black tights, and her hair pulled back in a tight bun.  We went into the den and sat on the couch as she played her Sunday School cd and danced for us.  Her face beamed like the sunshine as she soaked in her dad and mom's undivided attention. 

*

On Saturday, my husband and I took a drive to a marina with my son and his wife.  It was a beautiful drive in the country observing all the changing colors on the trees.  It was a day filled with sunshine and the air was just a little bit crispy.   Little Jacob went with us and he was such a delight to have along. 

*

It's Sunday night and tomorrow will be a busy morning. My kitchen is making rapid progress! Becky is expecting her baby any day, now.  Such an exciting event!

Sam is a minature shelty.  Shelty's are technically Shetland Sheep Dogs. 

 I often have to put Sam on a leash when he is outside. No, he won't run away.  But, if there is a lawn mower or tractor moving, he will chase the wheels of the vehicle.  Very dangerous!  It seems to be written in the DNA of these dogs to chase tires.  I lost my beloved Benji, a sheltie, this way.

 Benji was bigger than this dog, maybe twice the size. 

Shelty's are very loving and loyal dogs. 

Sam was a surprise gift from my husband.  When I got him he was really little.  Even full grown, he does not weigh more than 10 pounds.  Our cats are bigger and weigh more than Sam. Sam is rather hyper.  Benji was really relaxed and laid back.  Sam barks a lot!  He's cute, but that can be really annoying.  I'm also having a really hard time potty training him.  He's a year old, and he still has accidents.  I can't trust him to just roam the house.

It is early Sunday morning.  I am sitting on my couch of our cottage, looking out through the windows at the same time I am writing.  It rained hard last night with bolts of lightning. This morning, it is still drizzly and cloudy.  I can see fishermen very close to our home, casting out their lines.  In the distance, I see a white sail boat.

I had a wonderful time in prayer this morning.  It was lightly raining this morning when I had gotten up. I got my coffee pot and walked out onto the dock, and climbed into our boat.  It felt like such a perfect place to spend time with my Lord and Savior.  I love to find places to pray that I can be sure that no one will hear me and that I feel particularly alone with God.

I have been thinking about my favorite parts of this past week.  On Tuesday morning, I had made it a priority to spend time with my horses.  I desired to go riding, but the temperature was in the nineties and it was humid.  It would not have been a good day to saddle a horse and go riding.  But I still desired to spend time with them.  I fed them some grain, dewormed them, and groomed them.  It was a particularly quiet morning.  The only thing I could hear was the sound of flies and the swishing of the horse’s tails.

My second favorite part of this past week was just yesterday, on Saturday.  I am reading through this book,  Bridge Called Hope (read below blog).  Each chapter was so compelling it was hard to put the book down. When I came to chapter eight, as I was reading it, I was horrified at the abuse that the author of this book witnessed.  I kept thinking as I was reading, I just want to share this chapter with Rachel.  

Rachel was sitting outside by the lake.  I joined her and asked if I could read to her.  I could tell what she was thinking.  “Mom, are you kidding?  With all of these people around here?” I think the image of me reading to her seemed just so elementary, although we do this regularly on the farm in our school time.  But Rachel is a gracious daughter and nodded the o.k. to go ahead and read.  Although I sensed her hesitancy, my desire to share this chapter with her was strong.  Chapter eight did not finish the story, so I went on to chapter nine, which completed it.

 It was a most enjoyable time for me, sharing a chapter in a pleasureable book with my daughter.  It reminded me of last summer, when my older daughter, Becky would come and sit on my front porch, and I would read to her from a delightful book that I love, written by a lady that had a very large family.  We both loved this book and would sit outside in the sun drinking key lime soda pop and soak in the sun.

My third favorite part of the week was a drive with my husband to a cute restaurant to have breakfast together.  It was nice just being alone with him, talking about events that had transpired this past week.  It had been a rather stressful week for him, and I enjoyed being able to be alone with him and to talk about it.  The food was excellent as well as the company.

My fourth favorite part of the week was last night.  My husband had a business meeting, believe it or not, on the lake.  The sun was setting when we embarked on our boat.   While my husband and the two business persons talked, I climbed up on the top and front of the boat deck with my children and our two dogs.  As we cruised along the coast line, I was able to enjoy the houses along the shore.  The curiosity in me always enjoys seeing just a glimpse of what the inside of other homes look like.  On this lake, it doesn’t seem as if anyone closes their blinds to their front windows, and I almost think that a majority doesn’t even have any.

The sun was setting, our boat was idling, and my children surrounded me.  We talked and joked around. There were lots of laughs.  The soft breeze, the smell of the lake water, the setting sun, and my children around me, I couldn’t help but praise God for this very moment.

It is beginning to rain outside again.  It is transforming into a downpour as I write.  It was a great week, although nothing spectacular happened.  Just special moments with my horses, my children, and my husband. 

I write often about my daughter, Becky (25).  She is my first born and is now married with 2 children, Seth (2) and Abraham (1), and another one due in late October of this year.  I thought I'd show you pictures so you would have a face with the name. 

 Starting from the beginning!

 I sent my first two children to a small Christian school until Becky was ten and Matt was eight (the rest were homeschooled from the very beginning.)

Mother and Daughter picture.

After graduating, Becky worked her first year out of school for our company business, and then went to Pensecola Christian College in Florida for a year and a half. 

The boy that was courting her, Adam, proposed, and she wanted to come home and plan her wedding. And the rest is history!

This is now:

This is Matt, my 24 year old son.  I thought I'd post a picture of him with Jack, since I shared the story  in the blog below.  I started homeschooling him when he was eight years old.

O.k., I apologize before ever writing this. But I just have to write about it anyways...

It was a great Friday today. I finished everything on my "to do" list.  I exercised 45 minutes (pilates),

I had Mike move the round pen for me, I ran to the nursery and picked out landscape bark and arranged for it to be delivered.  Then, I ran to TSC to get a round pen gate.

Now, my "to do" list being accomplished is not what I am so proud of.  What I am so proud of is that when I came home from my two errands (and it took way longer then I had anticipated), I walked into a very clean home. My daughter, Rachel, had just finished the parlor, the wood floors were gleaming, the room looked "company ready".  In the family room, I could see Joshua (12) just finishing up the vacumming and the room also looked "company ready".  They had done the dishes, and everything I had mentioned that must be done today as I was going out the door, was done!

Now, if that's not something to rant and rave about, I'm not sure what is!  I took everyone out to Walmart and the entire time I was shopping with the kids, I kept thinking, "Wow! What great kids I have!" 

They were terrific in Walmart (4 kids in a supermarket is not the world's most easiest thing although I know other bloggers take much more).  We hadn't been to Walmart in a very, very , very long time and I stocked up on all the things we were out of, with hopes that it might be a while before I would need to go back.  I needed all the help I could get getting the bags and bags of groceries to the car. When we got home, they all pitched in, and unpacked the car. Rachel took it upon her own initiative to organize the freezer before putting more things in there (just like the other night when I told her to clean the counter-top in the kitchen, I walked into the room and she was on the floor mopping it on her hands and knees. A 10 minute assigned job, she turned into an hour's worth of physical labor leaving the kitchen spotless!).

All the groceries got unpacked/organized/put away while I did some dishes and balanced the checkbook.

Now, I'm all ready for a beautiful Friday night and weekend!

My husband and I are going out of town for a business trip (just one night and a day), so my oldest daughter (age 25 with two kids) asked if our 4 little ones could come to her house and spend some time with her. I thought that was such a nice gesture. I took my kids over to her house around 5 and spent about two hours there holding my grandbaby and visiting with my oldest, Becky.

As I rocked little Abraham I was admiring my daughter, how proud I am of her. She had an apron on when we all arrived, and was making chocolate chip cookies. My daughter is like a Suzy Home Maker, and she didn't get that from me!!!

In the background, you could hear Christian childen songs playing on a cd player.  Her home is very simple, like many newly marrieds. But it has a lot of warmth.  It is such a blessing to see the first fruit of your family to have married a wonderful Christian man and forming their own Christ centered family.

When I returned to my home, leaving my kids there, my house was dark, and so quiet.  I could have cried. I still could.  My home is almost always typically rather noisy, as the children have so much energy.  I am glad that this is just one night, and that every other night, my home is filled with the sounds of children. Problems and all, I love it. I love teaching them. I love pouring my life into them.  I love seeing them mature in the Lord.  I feel so much purpose in this.  This is my calling in life, as some might feel called to the mission field, this is my mission field.  I rise in the morning and pray before any of them get up (not all the days, but a lot of them) and bring each one of my children before my Heavenly Father.  Personally, I can't think of anything more fulfilling than this.

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Nothing exceptional happened today but it was a very pleasant day.  We got a bit of a late start because dh left a bit later to work. 

The kids cleaned their rooms, fed the animals, and vacuumed the upstairs hall.  For myself, my project today was the upstairs bath.  I try to get the second floor rooms cleaned at the beginning of the week, so at the end of the week were concentrating on the first floor.

I love it when the house is clean and straightened. There always seems to be a room someplace in the house that needs work.  It hardly ever all comes together at the same time unless  there's company coming. But that just goes with the territory of homeschooling and juggling multiple responsibilities.

We did pretty much in school what we did yesterday (see below blog) and then I had everyone get outside and enjoy the snow. It's the first snow for the entire winter. We went out and bought some sleds last night and boots for ds.  We have a significant little hill that the kids can slide down on their sleds on our property.  They had a lot of fun. While they were out sledding, I went upstairs to finish mopping the upstairs bath.

I would have exercised next, but, dh came home because of a staph infection that caused him so much pain that he needed to come home early from work.  The kids came in from sledding and we made his favorite cookies (oatmeal with cherries and almonds), and got him some hot tea.  I was going to make tacos for supper, but we still had chili and corn bread left over from last night. I served that instead. I was tired of being in the kitchen after making the cookies, so just having a no-fuss supper was just right for the evening.  Chili and cornbread just seems like the perfect dinner when it's cold and snowing outside.

Tonight, I finished a book I've been reading. I bought it off of Amazon.com after reading a reference about it from Barbara Sheldon's book, Form-u-la for Highschool (great book).  The name of the book is, The Teenage Liberation Handbook" subtitled, How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education",  author, Grace Llewellyn.  I am a speed reader, and also have some sort of addiction to reading. I love to read. I always have stacks and stacks of new books just waiting for me to read that I've either ordered off of the internet or bought at a bookstore or health food store.  I've been reading a lot of health books (and a ton in the mail that I've recently ordered). I've read a lot of books in the past few months on family, child raising, and homeschool.  The book I just mentioned is about unschooling.  I find that subject very intriguing.  The author is not a Christian and her perspective then, obviously, is not a God-based view point.  It was interesting, but I wouldn't throw it out there as a recommendation. I finished it tonight, and now I'm ready for the books I expect to be in the mail tomorrow on health issues.

It's been an easy evening. Reading, blogging, and soon, our family time of reading a novel together with dh. The fireplace is roaring, it's cold and snowy outside, the children are in their p.j.'s.  There's home-made cookies to snack on, and the Fox News is the background sound. Ruthie is playing with her dolls, my older daughter is drawing, three family members are on computers. 

Still to do this week:

The Crumbling Kitchen Room ( it has become a catch-all)  I need to go through this room tomorrow and do what I can to remove some of the clutter.

My room

Question: Does anyone have a recommendation for math - 2nd grade level?

It was a wonderful 2 weeks. My dh was (technically) off of work for the last two weeks. We own our own development company, and 2 weeks vacation time at Christmas is company policy.  All the secretaries are home with their children, our older sons are home with theirs, and the company door's are locked.

I say my dh was 'technically' off because the first week of the vacation, there were important things that still had to be completed. We made two trips to Indianapolis. The first one was on Monday and my son and DIL traveled with us. We went out to dinner in the evening (Sullivan's Steak House). In the morning, my dh had an important meeting to attend to.  I often accompany him, and wish I had to this one, but it was the week before Christmas, and there is a lot better shopping places in Indy.  I went shopping for two hours until dh called and said he was ready to be picked up.

Then we went downtown to Indy for another meeting, to one that I did attend. An arcitecture and interior desig