Nov. 22, 2009 - Two days Post-op

Sunday, November 22, 2009 - ~25 Days of Gratitude~

Today I am grateful for....

~^~ His unfailing LOVE...always Faithful in His Grace and He never forgets me!

~^~Sweet memories of family Thanksgivings throughout my childhood and adulthood.  

~^~A husband that is our home's spiritual leader.

~^~My sister's in Christ that faithfully attend church every Sunday without their husband's.

~^~God's healing touch, please continue Lord to do your great work.

~^~Accomplishments that I could never do in my own strength, only His!

~^~Worship, with our precious church family and at home.

I am blessed beyond measure!

Nov. 22, 2009 - a fun time with our sweet friends

We recently were finally able to get together with our precious friends, The Hall Family, -- well, a portion of the family.  We had a great time catching up and are reminded how very sweet our friendship is.  God is so good to bless us with so many wonderful friends.

Mark enjoying  some time in the pool:

The group gathered to pose for a quick picture before we had to leave. 

We've been close friends with this family since Mark was born.  It's so great to reconnect.  The children can't wait to do it again.

Nov. 21, 2009 - Christmas Tag

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - ~25 Days of Gratitude~

Today I am grateful for....

~Free Gifts~

*God's grace, mercy and love

*the freedom of living within the United States of America

*good morning hugs and kisses from my precious daughters

*a friend that listens without trying to fix the problem, thank you Lord for my husband!

*spiritual gifts and talents that the Lord has given me to use in the places He has selected

*the promise of a future home, with no more pain, tears or worries.

Blessed beyond measure!

Nov. 21, 2009 - Surgery

Nov. 20, 2009 - Midnight Chat

It is almost midnight on a Friday night.  The kids are all away.  Bonnie went to on a weekend Bible study event with the youth group.  The boys are at a friend's house for an overnighter. By the way, that was not a coincidence.  Yep...I planned that one.  I have a wonderful friend and we have decided to give each other a night off once a month.  One Friday I take her two boys and then another Friday she takes mine.  As soon as I signed up Bonnie for this weekend retreat and quickly got on the phone with Amy and scheduled my night off.

So here I am, with no children.  My husband had to coach our high school football team who is winning their way to the state championship again.  What to do ...What to do... So what do I do?  Go grocery shopping.  Yep, nothing like getting your shopping done without children asking for this or that, distracting  you, and causing you to loose concentration on figuring out all your coupon deals.  But wait...God has a sense of humor.  No sooner do I walk into Aldis but a family with three children ages 4,6, and 8 walk in and chaos reigned in the store.  The four and six year old were running up and down the aisles, talking at the top of  their lungs, and begging for everything in site.  Oh well, at least they weren't mine.

I finally made it home at 9pm.  Sat around and caught up with Survivor on-line, cracked some pecans to take to the Farmer's Market tomorrow morning, and enjoyed a few treats that I picked up while I was out.

My hopes were to scrub and clean the house in preparations for Thanksgiving but that will have to wait til tomorrow.  Bonnie won't be home until Sunday so even though the boys will be home tomorrow afternoon the dynamics will be different with one less child around.  Amazing how that happens.

Nov. 20, 2009 - Please Accept My Apologies

I apologize for my previous post.  I wrote it half-serious and half tongue-in-cheek.   I am over my self-pity party now.  

Physically I am feeling a little better, and the sun is out today, so things are looking up.  I wonder if I should go get one of those lamps for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder?  My attitude really takes a dive when the sun is gone for 5 full days in a row. 

Ryan is feeling better as well.  No one else is complaining of an ailment at this moment, so perhaps we will be able to have a nice weekend. 

We are planning to go up to see Jeff's mom tomorrow.  If the weather cooperates, we may get to take a walk along the beach.  

Sunday after church we hope to put up our Christmas tree.  We've never put it up this early, but I knew it would make my husband really happy if we put it up early this year.  He's so into everything about Christmas. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing. 

Blessings,

Jenn

Nov. 20, 2009 - Calls needed to stop intrusive health care bill

I recv'd this today from HSLDA e-lert service:

November 20, 2009

Senate Will Vote on Health Care Bill Creating
Home Visitation Programs--Urgent Calls Needed!

The U.S. Senate will vote at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 21, on whether
to proceed regarding H.R. 3590.  If 60 senators vote for cloture,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will then substitute his 2,074-page
bill, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act," in
place of H.R. 3590.  This bill will become a shell for the Senate's
version of health care reform, which it will debate and may ultimately
approve.

Majority Leader Reid's bill, the "Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act," is the fifth of six health care bills created by
leaders in Congress that has included federal funding for new home
visitation programs.

While HSLDA does not normally urge its members to act on legislation
relating to health reform, we see the "Patient Protection and
Affordable Health Care Act" as a serious threat to parental rights.
This $848 billion bill calls for home visitation programs which would
empower government officials to teach parents how to raise their own
children.  Although these programs will not be mandatory, parents may
feel pressured to participate, allowing the federal government
unprecedented access into private homes and involvement in early
education. To read more on how "The Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act" threatens your right as a parent to raise your
children as you see fit, please see our preliminary analysis on the
bill at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7260 .

ACTION REQUESTED

Please call your senators today and urge them to vote against cloture
on "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" in H.R. 3590.  You
do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can use some
or all of the following message:

"I am opposed to 'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,'
substituted in H.R. 3590 because Section 2951 creates home
visitation/early education programs through grants to the states.  
Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child-rearing
decisions for their children. Please vote no on cloture."

You can reach your two U.S. senators by calling the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Or find contact information for your
senators by using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at
http://www.hslda.org/toolbox .

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith, Esq.
President, HSLDA

Nov. 19, 2009 - Not a Bad Dad because we don't do soccer.

Why I'm not a Bad Dad because my kids don't play soccer, basketball, etc...

This weekend we're road-tripping it for 2 1/2 hours to Lake Michigan (who doesn't dream of the beach in November?)

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a superlative place any time of the year. As a family we will exercise our bodies by hiking the beach, forest, and trails. It is a setting to behold any day of the year. We will exercise our minds by observing the change of seasons and how God created nature to winterize itself.

We will also exercise family time as the five of us, and add a grandmother into the mix and we have extended family time.

We will also enjoy the commericialism of Bass Pro Shops and maybe even an antique mall and restaurant. These trips are huge for our family. We'd go camping if the weather were about 20 to 30 degrees warmer, and the campground was open. But day trips are adventures that motivate us to get up early on Saturday!

Problem is, soccer families are stuck at home. For example, my co-worker across the hall told me earlier this year that her family can't go on the camping and exploring trips we do because of soccer, band, and whatever else. My advice to quit those things didn't seem administratively feasable.

So, once again we choose as a family to march to our own drum instead of what middle class suburbia would have us do. And we're much better off for it.

And by the way, we do get our competitive sports in via martial arts. Big tournament tonight! One of the kids might advance to the next round.