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 Isn't this pretty? My sweet husband got this for me recently. It's a small table waterfall. I love the way the pots are displayed. The only problem with this waterfall is that the buzzing of the battery is louder than the trickling of the water. Still, just watching the water flow makes me calm and happy.
I'm still looking around for the right materials for my indoor waterfall. If you have any good ideas, send them to me. :) |
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Water. I love its music. I guess that's why I love it when it rains. Softly, its gentle pattering soothes my frayed brain, and leaves me relaxed and calm. Loudly, its thundering sheets melt my worldly cares, and I imagine myself being cleansed spiritually too. For years, I've wanted an indoor waterfall so I can treat my ears and being to the sweet sounds of flowing water. Recently I noticed a perfect place for an indoor waterfall. It's next to the stairs and besides the hall tree. I've also identified a few more spots around the house for other indoor waterfalls. So a new summer project is borne! I'm going to build me an indoor waterfall. The exorbitant prices they charge for such waterfalls is one reason. But another reason is I think I have it in me to create one. My dear late dad used to plan and create beautiful water gardens for hotels, shopping complexes and elegant homes. During one season of his life, he also created beautiful miniature indoor waterfalls for a living. If my dear dad could do it, surely I can too. :) If only he could see me now, he would be chuckling, for I was never quite interested in what he was doing when I was growing up. Anyway, here are some websites I'm currently looking into in my search for the perfect indoor fountain. If you made one yourself, and have some tips, I would appreciate your advice! http://www.guide4home.com/out-ftn/make-indoor-water.htm http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/kobayashik/H2OFount.html http://www.fountainsnslate.com/ http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/tabletop-fountains/index.html http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/freeform-fountains/index.html |
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Not long after I posted the last blog hubby went to the porch and brought in a vase filled with a dozen beautiful red roses and two lilies. It was drizzling and well, getting roses on a drizzling evening was very special. That really warmed the cockles of my heart. I really didn't expect him to get me roses this year, and that he presented me the roses a few minutes after I had blogged about "The Dark Side of Roses" was even more unexpected. And funny. I guess DH is a die-hard romantic at heart. :) My plans for tomorrow include giving DH a homemade card, chocolates which we will share (yum, yum...methinks I'll get some from him too), and making heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. The kids will get something simple from us too. Just for the fun of it. DD has a violin recital at 3.00pm and after that we and another family will have having pizza to celebrate their performance. I guess that will be our Valentine's Day dinner too. My real dinner date with DH will be on Sunday evening when we celebrate my birthday. That I can't wait. :) VD is more a "Hallmark" thing and we don't really "observe" it. It seems so "manufactured" to totally devote a day for lovey dovey activities and sentiments. We've been commanded to love and serve one another and that's an everyday thing whether it is convenient or not. Love is a choice... But on that day we want to make sure that at least someone outside the family knows that we care, and that God loves him or her. This year we've chosen to spend some time with a shut-in widow who was recently hospitalized for a broken knee. She misses her adored husband of 33 years (he passed away 5 years ago and talks about him all the time). And she is childless. Somehow not allowing a day like that pass for her seems important. And if anything, the thought of us making her heart glad tomorrow by our presence and some homemade meals is making me more excited that any gift from anyone...it really is more blessed to give than to receive... However you celebrate or don't celebrate Valentine's Day, have a great day tomorrow. :) And if you want to give me flowers I'll accept them with gratitude. Flowers and chocolates make my heart sing, lol. :) |
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We spent a lovely day at my in-laws yesterday. It warmed my heart to see my husband and his five siblings there surrounding my in-laws with their presence and love. I guess I'm fortunate in that reunions of such nature are peaceful for us as there is an absence of any kind of tension or emotional baggage from the past. I'm thankful. Last night before bed I baked my turkey. It was a fresh and sturdy 16-pound free-range bird I purchased from my part-time farmer brother-in-law. I used my mother-in-law's method of slowly baking it at 250 degrees (F) in the oven for 7 hours. I stuffed it with fresh herbs from the garden (rosemary, thyme, sage) and 20 cloves of garlic and rubbed it with salt, pepper and coconut oil. After tenting it with foil, I slipped it into the oven for its gentle overnighter. But because I wanted more sleep, I timed it for 8 hours and set the temperature at 240 degrees (F). Well, the timer went off at 6.00 am and the meat thermometer read 180 degrees (F). Perfect. And the turkey was perfect. Totally moist and tender. This will be the method of choice for me from this time forth. I'm so happy I now have 5 bags of turkey meat and 5 quarts of turkey stock in the freezer. I guess I'll have to be creative in serving turkey dishes for the next several weeks. So Thanksgiving has passed but I hope we remain thankful for the rest of the year and in the coming new year. I bet you haven't heard of this lady who balded so badly she only had three strands of hair. Yet she was thankful. Day 1 She decided she would braid her hair... Day 2 One more strand dropped. She decided she would part her hair... Day 3 One more dropped. So she had only one strand left. She decided she would wear a ponytail... What a great attitude, huh? |
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Today we had company and once more I served something "apple". The first time this precious family visited I made sour cream apple squares. The second time I made apple bread pudding in a crock-pot and today we had apple bake which was so yummy and so easy to prepare. I can't find the magazine (think it was Club House or something) from where I got the recipe but since it's still fresh in my mind, I'll jot it down now. Yummy Apple Bake 8 golden delicious apples 1/3 brown sugar 1 TBLS cinnamon 2 cups flour (I used whole wheat) 1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup sucanat) 1 and 1/3 sticks butter (I didn't have enough butter so I used 1 stick butter and 1/3 cup coconut oil). Grease a 9 by 13 pan Lay the sliced apples slices (that have been tossed with the sugar and cinnamon) on the pan. Mix the flour, sugar and butter/coconut oil. Mine resembled bread crumbs. Transfer this mixture over the apple slices and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F. Everyone had that and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and was it a hit. Okay, I need to mention Josh lost his first tooth last night. He was nonchalant about it. He told us he thought it was coming out and before I could say "Jack Robinson" pulled it right out. His sister took him to the sink to rinse his mouth and they presented me his not-much-bigger-than-a-rice-grain tooth while DH took pictures. I bawled a bit. My baby has lost his first tooth. At least it's not his front tooth. I don't think I can bear a "spacey" grin from him now. It'll make him look too grown-up. Ah, all of you with younger children just hug them all the more. They grow up too fast. A lost tooth today, graduation tomorrow... But no matter how old my children are, I'll continue baking them their favorite apple goodies...and each time I do I'll remember the fall of 2008 when Josh lost his first tooth. |
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My baby (okay, he is five) has THREE loose teeth! Two bottom ones and one at the top. I don't think I can stand it...my babies are growing up too fast (yes, my constant refrain, but it's true!) . How I treasure each passing day staying home with them. I know not all mothers have the option of staying home or homeschooling their children even if they want to. My heart goes out to them. So yes, I'm very thankful. Like DD is weak from her bout of bronchitis and asthma (she is not out of the woods yet; please pray for her if you can remember) so school has been scaled back a lot the past couple of weeks. We are having fun though, watching our new Liberty's Kids DVDs (yeah, nearly 40 episodes, cool beans!) and reading up about the Revolutionary War (the library came to our aid as usual) although it's not part of her history this year (she did it last year when we did Mighty Works of God). Inspired, she is making a coloring book on the War for her brother. Then DD is also concurrently working on her ongoing WW2 Lapbook something else that is not in our Mystery of History curriculum. Home schooling is great! Each day I just ensure we do three things: Bible and Scripture Memory, Math and lots of reading. When we do these "core subjects', I feel we're pretty done with 'official school' and not stress over how much more we should or could have done. Usually we do much, much more than my "Core Three" though. If she was in public school I can only imagine how many school days she would have to miss each time her asthma acts up. With her at home, every day is an adventure in learning and loving for everyone. Developing a servant's heart is what we want in our children and ourselves and when you are home with the children, you either learn to serve one another or you learn to despise one another. We opt for the former. And oh, I'm now on Facebook. I had resisted it but had a few invitations and I know if I want to reconnect with several folks (especially my former students in Singapore- Auspicium Melioris Aevi!) I had to be part of it so I succumbed. Let me know if you are also there. :) Back to dinner preparation... |
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Posted in Family Scrapbook
 In a corn tub, that is. A homeschool mom, a homeschool mom and a homeschool mom. I've asked DH to please build me a corn crib one day. It's really relaxing....and if you are in the neigborhood, you are welcome to de-stress in it, lol. Here are a few more pictures of our field trip last night. They are mostly pictures of us riding a tricycle. I forgot how entertaining it was.
Our annual visit to the Tate Farm was by the grace of God. A few of the moms and many of the children were unwell days prior to the visit. But on the day itself, all of us were able to make it. Thank you Shari, for organizing it. Shari, by the way, is our beloved home school director. :) |
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Visit diffferent grocery places and pick on their samples till you are full. Then go to Lowes. They have bigger movie screens than Walmart. (You got to have read this entry to catch the joke of this idea.) No worries, we won't be doing that tonight. Or any other night for that matter. This is a joke, a joke.... Still our date tonight will be a cheap one. It's actually free, lol. We were given a $25 Cracker Barrel gift card for Father's Day and we will redeem that tonight. Then maybe DH will surprise me with something more romantic. I can't wait... On another vein, we took part in the Choose Life Walk for Life event this morning. The sky was overcast and then it sprinkled but that didn't deter the many participants who were present. It was lovely catching up with friends who were there too. My only regret was not being more active in asking for pledges. Almost everyone whom we had asked to sponsor the vent was agreeable and generous. One day when the children are older and homeschooling is done I certainly will want to volunteer my time to this great organization.
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We had our TKD promotional test just now and we each earned our yellow belt. Yeah! That was such a good lesson for my daughter as she could experience in a tangible way the reward of perseverance. She asked to drop out not long after our lessons began because it was “too hard”. Being a perfectionist she tends to be an “all or nothing” kind of person at times. Besides, her bend is more literary that athletic. But with this promotion, she is encouraged. I can always refer to that belt now whenever she falters and wishes to give up...."Look, see what persistence and focus can reap?" I'm not sure how long we will do TKD as a family, but regular exercise aside, it has been nothing but a blessing to us all. One of the school rules (which we had to learn for the test) was “To keep friendship with one another and to build a strong and happy community” is certainly a good one. We are getting to know more folks (several home school ones too) and we usually have some kind of "fellowship" with one another after class. It's great too to bow to one another in a respectful way before and after class. Having come from a bowing culture, I love how natural everyone, from the 4 year old to the elderly gentleman, bows to one another. Like after class, we bow to the master and other black-belters. Then we walk down the line, shake hands, bow and thank our partners and one another for another great practice. That somehow builds a warm sense of camaraderie amongst us. It was just special too when the class encouraged us when the four of us and another little girl took the test in their presence. We had ice-cream cone and chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a to celebrate our little notch up the TKD ladder. We so rarely eat fast food (hey, I'm a raw milk and free range chicken kind of gal!) that was such a treat for the children. The total cost was less than $10.00. Pretty inexpensive, I commented. Well, DH and I are going on a date tomorrow and I joked about having a cheap date by eating at Chick-fil-a. DH added that we could then go to Walmart to watch the big-screen movies there, and yeah, I continued, we could top it by going to Dollar Tree and DH could get me a plastic rose. NOT! But we had a great belly-laugh thinking about that as we drove home. But hey, that's an idea, no? Anyway, too bad “Fireproof” opens only next week in our local theater. That is one movie both of us would like to watch together. That should make for one sizzling date. Maybe we can find time to go out again next week. That will be so nice.
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A dear friend sent this to me via email and I thought I could share it here. If you want to play, copy and paste below on your blog and then erase my answers. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names and things. Nothing made up. Try to use different answers if you and I have the same initial. You can't use your name for the boy/girl question. If you play, leave a comment and let me know! :) So here goes! 2) 4 LETTER WORD: MOVE 3) VEHICLE: Mercedes Benz 4) TV SHOW: M*A*S*H 5) CITY: 6) BOY NAME: Michael 7) GIRL NAME: Michelle 8) OCCUPATION: Map-maker 9)SOMETHING YOU WEAR: mittens 10) FOOD: Mashed Potatoes 11) SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: mascara 12) REASON FOR BEING LATE: motioning children to clean up mess 13) SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: My goodness! 14) ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS: modest
Now you do it. It's fun and not as easy as it looks. :) I sure had a hard time with TV programs as it's been so long since I watched that thing, lol. |
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Want to ensure freshness in your marriage? Date your mate. Well, we have discovered something better than dating. A couple of months ago our family signed up to do family TKD (that is Tae-kwon-do). So 2-3 times a week in the evening and occasionally on Saturday morning (if we miss the evening classes) we (plus children) don our smart uniforms and head towards the TKD school with anticipation. And so far, it has been nothing but great for all of us. For DH and myself, it's like suddenly a new dimension has entered our relationship. DH was involved in martial arts during his teen and adult years. My dad did Judo and taught me some elements of self-defense when I was my daughter's age. And I've always had friends who were involved in some kind of martial arts so both of us entered TKD with our eyes opened. And oh, it has been wonderful. We don't always partner each other (sometimes Master Kim wants us to partner someone our size) when we do our stretches and crunches, but when we do, it's a bit of a tease. How we love it when we are dripping wet with perspiration after our 50 minutes of workout. Our daily stress just melts away and while we may have unusual aches here and there for a day or two, our step is always lighter after class as we laughingly troop to our van. Then back home, DH gives Josh a shower while DD takes her own shower and I prepare a snack for everyone. After my shower (moms always shower last, don't they?) and all of us squeaky clean, we enjoy our snack together. That never fails to warm my heart. Not only do my DH and I have fun, we all get to do PE together. Sometimes before DH goes to work or before we go to bed, we practice some TKD forms and I marvel at my DH's grace. For someone who has adamantly refused to learn ballroom dancing with me, we have finally found something we can do do together. The couple that “kicks together, grows closer together”. Try it for yourself. :) Or find something fun to do with your spouse at least twice a week.
P.S. I realize some readers have qualms about allowing their children to take up any form of martial arts even when the school is run by Christians or even when it has no negative spiritual overtones. They are troubled by its origins for example. I have plenty to say about that and hope to write an essay addressing this issue one day. |
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Last night just before my 5 year old Josh drifted to sleep I asked him (again, lol) if he had enjoyed co-op that day. We had our first co-op yesterday and I was the teacher of his class, the "Leaping Lions". In a hushed tone, he softly mumbled that he had a great time and that he liked me teaching him because: "My teacher understands me. My teacher comes home with me. My teacher looks like my mama. My teacher is my mama. My teacher lives with me. My teacher loves me. My teacher is mama...." then he promptly went to sleep. My daughter, who was in the next bed, thought he was the best brother for his sweet words and she added that she wished I was her teacher at co-op. She then declared I was the best teacher ever. My heart just overflowed. I know I'm so awfully flawed, and I know I mess up a lot as a mother but they love me so much they only see the good in me. Naturally, I had one of the best sleeps last night. Thank you Lord for such sweet and loving children! |
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It's Palm Sunday today – the first day of the Holy week. It reminds us of the ride Jesus took on a donkey into Jerusalem, when people waved palm branches. The same people would later cry, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Our church had service as usual but we as a family made paper palm leaves and are decorating the mantel with them. Too bad we can't get real palm leaves around here.
We also spent some time this afternoon cutting out the flowers for the craft we will be doing for our Easter Devotionals starting this evening. Michiko transformed an empty box into a beautiful flower box for the flowers. We did the same devotional last year. If you are still not sure what to do, check this out. It's a sweet little devotional by home school graduate Katherine Loop. You still have time to buy it as as it's an e- book. And when you get a copy from my site between now and Easter, you will also get a free socialization download for MP3, courtesy of Katherine Loop. :)
Hope you have a wonderful Holy Week. |
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Daffodils and crocuses are dotting our backyard. Spring has made her stamp. BUT it is snowing today! Oh happiness for the children who have yet to see more than a sprinkling of snow this winter. The deck now has a thick dusting of powdery snow while the rocks near the woods wear almost an inch.The children are having so much fun letting the snow tickle their noses and open mouths. They are making mini-snow dogs as I write.... Little Josh is insistent that we keep a large part of the deck a virgin plot of snow. No shoes will adulterate that pristine whiteness. I know my friends in the north will shake their shakes at our awe but snow is such a rare entity here, so excuse our excited joy! I'm so happy thinking how so many children in my part of the world will wake up feeling so thrilled at the snow-capped roofs they see everywhere they turn! It's funny. We were supposed to have a moms' breakfast at a friend's house this morning. But the overpasses and 565 are closed till probably noon. So that special event is canceled as some moms cannot go anywhere. We take snow very seriously here, lol. Okay, going to make hot chocolate for the children now. Hey we might even light a fire this morning! |
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I had not cooked fish since my son was born, his sister being allergic to seafood. We recently had them tested and they were fine with salmon. I was so happy. But Josh disdains the smell of salmon. This morning I shaped a dozen salmon patties and pan fried them in butter. For breakfast, I made a salmon patty sandwich for my young man. He bit into it and grinned. He had just eaten the last bit, and declared that it was very good. He was “well-pleased”. I was thrilled. Ah, the simple joys of being a mama. I personally like my salmon patties with a dash of lemon juice and home-grown sprouts. Yummy! |
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My birthday (seriously, I have to think how old I'm going to be!) is coming up soon and my little Josh wants me to give me something "precious".Over dinner he asked if I knew of something that I didn't know so he could give that to me. Duh? Actually he wants to give me one of his toys but according to him I know exactly what he has so unless he knows something of which I don't know exist he can't give that to me, can he? Then before I read him his goodnight story, he was quite tearful. "I can't write you a story for your birthday (I think his sister is writing one for me, bless her heart). Okay, he can't read or spell yet but that hasn't stopped him from writing me a "story". "Why not?" "I don't know how to write about plots." "You don't know what?" "Plots. Che-che (his sister) says a story isn't a story if there is no plot." Oh, precious. Okay, other treasured questions: 1. Can water burn? 2. How cold is the bottom of the Tennessee River? (I learned that it's around 55 degrees, courtesy of DH) Hmm....there are more but oh well, I can't remember. Mental decline with age.... |
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My inspiring online neighbor has tagged me with this assignment. Renae wants me to write five wishes for things I want, but don’t need, and five wishes of a spiritual nature. Now, this should be fun. Actually I think I have everything* I need except for air tickets for the whole family to visit my mom and sister in Singapore (I've not been there in nearly 7 years: I just wait for them to visit me). Now can you imagine not being able to just drive over to visit your mom? Boo hoo hoo. :( *of physical and temporal nature, that is Okay, wishes that I don't need... bet you can see a common thread. It's either school or something related to physical activity (not that I'm that big on physical activity...but dreams are free). 1. A huge laminating machine so I can laminate all my time line figures and big charts. 2. A pair of custom-made skating shoes so I can learn to skate without my bunions & spurs pinching and screaming at me. 3. A motor-home so we can do school on wheels (and visit Mandi, Renae and all my BPA friends along the way). 4. An indoor swimming pool (with sky lights above) that's filled with sea water. 5. A dance studio so I can exercise and dance to my heart's content. Wishes of spiritual nature. 1. A truly loving heart with not a spot within. 2. "She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue."Proverbs 31:26 3. A prayer warrior others can depend on. Matthew 18:19,20 4. Holiness. 2 Peter 3:14 5. Sweet contentment. Hebrews 13:5 I'll be Little Joan this evening and not tag anyone. :) |
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"Hmmm...Shepherd's Pie will be nice for dinner," I thought loudly as I looked at my heaping bowl of mashed potatoes after lunch. I was also thinking of the picture of the pie in yesterday's Life section of the newspaper. That reminded me how long it had been since I made that - 3 years maybe- and that is also one of my husband's favorite dishes. "Yuks, I don't want Shepherd's Pie!" my Josh declared. He and his sister were at the kitchen table playing a math game I recently made for them. "You'll like it," his sister responded, as she rolled her dice. "Anything with mashed potatoes is yummy." "But I don't want to eat shepherds!" he added. And both his sister and I burst out laughing. It didn't occur to me he actually thought I might bake some shepherds in my pie! Afterall we have chicken pie and rabbit pie and I was just joking about possum pie earlier...(we have been reading Thornton Burgess's Old Unc' Billy Possum). Anyway, this one is a keeper. And maybe I should I really make Shepherd's Pie more often. |
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The past four days were great as dh was home the whole time! I wish he could work at home or retire or something! Sometimes I cannot believe how blessed I am to have married this incredible man. He is steady, wise, easy-going, funny and kind. And very understanding of my quirks. We saw a picture once of a rock and a kite. The kite was laughing in the air and would have flown to who knows where but for the rock which held the end of the string. We chuckled over that cartoon. Dh is my rock who keeps me steady, and I'm his kite who shakes up his world now and then. I guess we complement each other. :) For the past 3-4 days now, we built a lovely fire at 5.30pm each evening. We would sip hot cocoa, nibble on ginger snaps and enjoy the roar of the flames. Last night we roasted marshmallows for the first time (!) and the children thought that was the coolest thing. Sitting around the fire-place and listening to dh strum his banjo and watching the children play with the doll-house is one of my favorite things these days. Today I thank God for my family. There are so many things we can fuss about. So many situations to worry over. But we have God. And when we have faith and family, we can smile and say, "Life is good." And add to that the wonderful friends God has brought into our lives, we can say, "Life is wonderful." So to all my friends reading this, "Thank you for being my friend. God bless you and yours today!" |
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Well, the days have melted into one another...It is hard to believe that half of January has already zipped by us. I was hoping that things would be more organized by now, but it seems that I'm still spending too much time in the kitchen. Maybe if I wasn't too fussy about sweeping and wiping the kitchen floor after every meal, I might save some time. My husband and mother say I clean the floor more often than most folks clean in a week. I had a friend who said she didn't mind eating from my kitchen floor (we don't wear shoes around the house so that helps, I guess). Maybe I'm compulsive-obsessive in that area. Hmmm.... Oh, last Friday, a deer went in front of my husband's truck. Thankfully the damage was minimal, the deer was just dazed and most of all, my dear husband was all right, if not a bit surprised. We picked him up after he drove the truck to the body shop and then after we got home, he took the van to work. So school was disrupted that day. Actually it doesn't take much for school to be disrupted. We are pretty spontaneous. Like this morning, upon waking up, my daughter asked, “Can today be a train day?” And I thought, “Why not?” Maybe I could catch up with my Bible reading (I was so happy I caught up over the weekend; in fact I was ahead, but once more I'm two days behind ) and organize my guest room (repository of Thanksgiving and Christmas stuff especially since the attic entrance is in that room). “Train Day” means she gets to follow her heart and read or write or create anything related to trains (her passion). “Train Day” means we forget about school for the day. We did our memory verses and a little study, and happily I let her loose. Too bad I was in the kitchen much of the time and never got to tick off things from my to-do list (blogging was not one of them – blogging is just relaxing to me...). DD had her violin lesson at 2.30pm and on our way home, it started to snow really prettily. Just little flurries. I know while friends in the north do get tired of snow, we don't get enough of it, if all. I knew the chances of it sticking were nil but the children had high hopes of the snow accumulating. They ran into the back yard and squealed with joy as they stuck out their tongues to catch the tiny snow flakes. Poor things. I hope we get at least a few inches of snow in the several weeks! They so want to make at least a snow-baby! I made them hot cocoa when they came back in and dd told me she wanted to write a little poem about snow. So here it is. I thought it was very sweet. :) She does have a way with nature poems I must say. “How Gently It Falls Down” - A Poem about Snow by Michiko Gibson It falls gently to the earth. Okay, we're done with dinner and dh is doing the dishes for me while I sit in front of the computer. He is kindness personified. Oh, he's done. I hear him practicing the banjo now. I'm going to make a big mug of hot tea now and catch up on my reading.
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I have to blog this. My little Joshie (please remain "my little Joshie "for along, long time!) loves the color pink on me. Each time I wear pink, his eyes light up and he says I look pretty. Now isn't that precious? Kids don't lie, right? Lol. Two nights ago, I had on my pink nightgown. We were snuggling at bedtime and just before he drifted to slumber land, Joshie touched my cheek and said, "You are my star. You are beautiful." He added, "Always wear pink." This little four year old sure knows how to speak so sweetly, lol. So to please my little man yesterday, I had on a pink blouse. He was tickled. Then I wore my pink PJs last night and okay, I confess, I'm still in my PJs now. After this entry, I'm going to take a shower and see if there are more pink stuff to wear today. I need to ask my husband for a "happiness" allowance. With this allowance, I'll buy more pink clothes. Then my greatest fan will be very happy and of course that will make me happy too, lol Hey, research has shown that pink sooths and calms. When they painted jail walls pink, inmates became less violent. So wear pink today for a calmer and more peaceful home. :) Or better still, be the star in your children's eyes. |
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Last night we had a count-down. We used the computer clock. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1- and precisely at 8.28pm, we broke into a birthday song for my daughter. I ended up weeping. She turned ten, you see. Two whole hands of fingers I have to hold up when I'm asked how old she is. Where have all the years flown to? It seemed like yesterday when she entered our lives and changed us forever. My precious little baby is ten years old. We celebrated her birthday with friends on December 1st so we could concentrate on Christmas. Her two cousins (9 and 11) and eight friends (ages 3 to 12) from three dear families came together to commemorate her special day on that day. It was a simple party. All the older children who attended the party had either read or been read to, the Viking Quest Series so the birthday theme was based on that series of books. My daughter wanted essentially a non-structured party so I didn't plan any activities. Actually we did make two die-casts with cardboard and clay so the children could make some Viking coins, but on the day of the party, I realized the casts didn't work so well so we ditched the idea. I baked a lemon pound cake (daughter's favorite) and an eggless Grandma's Chocolate Chip birthday cake (so Josh, who has egg allergies, could eat it) which I decorated with a Viking ship. The children also had crackers with cheese sails, strawberry sweets, my daughter's current favorite ice-cream : chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream, and lemonade. A pot of white chili also simmered on the stove for anyone who wanted something warm. First, everyone decided to explore the woods so we took an invigorating hike in the woods behind our house. Then after the cake and ice-cream, the children dressed up and enacted excerpts from the books in the back yard while the moms chatted. The highlight of the party was making flat bread (I had the dough ready). After it was baked, they ate the warm flat bread (with slices of cheese I had cut from a huge chunk) in the chill of the night. Armed with flash lights, they watched the stars, ate and laughed the whole hour away. So that was my daughter's 10th birthday party. She was happy, happy, happy that evening. All she wanted was to have ALL her favorite friends come together to act out excerpts from the Viking Quest and she had her wish. As for gifts, her friends were generous. She collected two huge bags of items on behalf of the Voice of the Martyrs. They should be heading towards the orphans in Sudan soon. Yesterday was her actual birthday. Daddy was home (he's on leave till next year, hurray!). He had been working on the Princess Anne doll house for almost a week. Unfortunately, with 800 more shingles to stick on the roof, he was not quite finished with the doll house. The birthday girl was nonetheless thrilled with it. She had also chosen the two colors of the paint for the house with her daddy a few days earlier without knowing what the paint was for. When she saw her favorite colors on the house, she squealed with delight. I can't wait for the house to be ready. I'll be sure to post a picture of it here! And as for my gift to her...ah, she was just absolutely thrilled. She spent a long time looking at it, and reading the little things I wrote next to each photo I had chosen for the frame. For those of you who have been waiting to see what it looks like, here it is. It is not very clear as the frame is big but you get the overall picture.
 After she opened all the presents, we went ice-skating! Yes, DD, Josh and me were in the rink for about an hour or so. DD did it without the “walker” this time. I'm so proud of her! We were pretty famished after that so we headed towards her favorite sandwich cafe. She had a bread bowl (sourdough) of potato soup and a bottle of chocolate milk. She also wanted a huge ABC sandwich (which she couldn't even manage a bite as the soup was plenty). She loves the pastries from the cafe so we took away four of her favorite kind. (We still have two pastries in the fridge). Then later in the afternoon, three friends (all sisters) came over with Christmas gifts and also a birthday gift. That made the afternoon so special for her too especially when they all had chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream together again. That evening, she thanked me profusely for a wonderful birthday. And of all the wonderful gifts she had received from family and friends, she loved the photo collage best. We will hang it in her room soon and it is something she will want to gaze into often as she is reminded of her mama's enduring love. I'm so happy she loves that gift! We're now planning to do a similar one for her brother for when he turns five in April. :) Happy birthday, my darling daughter. You are just too precious and I pray God will continue to guide you as you seek to grow in Him. May the Lord protect you always and may you grow up into a woman after His own heart. Mama loves you so very much!
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Posted in Family Scrapbook
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I finally completed the little project I had embarked for my sweet daughter's 10th birthday! It's a collage of photographs taken over the past ten years. I've put them together scrapbook style, with the heading : "Ten Years of Mama and Me". I bought a 28 by 22 inch picture frame to make my dh a special 50th birthday gift earlier in the year but decided to save that for my daughter instead. I will post a photo of it after her birthday (which falls a day after Christmas). Meanwhile, dh is trying to complete assembling her "Princess Anne" doll house. I hope he can complete it by her birthday. He may have to work on Christmas Day to achieve that. It will be a lovely legacy to pass to other generations and he doesn't want to do a sloppy job of it. But it is Christmas Eve tomorrow! I hope all my dear friends reading this are all set for Christmas! DH and dd still have to go to Toys R Us tomorrow to get little Josh his special gift - a side loader something. On my part, I've bought, made and wrapped everything for everyone on my list. All I need to do now are: 1) Bake cookies 2) Bake a lemon pound cake 3) Make two Tirimasu Bowls 4) Make egg nog (I just bought a dozen of fresh farm eggs so they should be safe raw) for dh and daughter. I don't really care for it and my Josh still has egg allergies. Our Christmas eve tradition is very simple. We order pizzas. This is a real treat as the only time we eat pizzas is in church (once a year), at a pizza place (two times a year, at the most, and only when we have house guests) and when we visit friends who order pizzas for us. I might make pizzas 2-3 times a year but other than that, the kids don't get to eat pizzas much. This tradition of ordering pizzas began before we had children and well, this will be our twelveth year doing it. Our Christmas lunch will be untraditional this year. We always visit my dh's folks for lunch. And for the first time since I married into this precious family, we're not going to have turkey or ham. Instead we're going to have a BBQ lunch. DH has an uncle who lives in another county but who does the best BBQ meat and my FIL will be driving to his farm to get a nice platter of homemade BBQ meat tomorrow, or maybe on Christmas morning. My MIL, sisters-in-law and I will prepare buns, side dishes and desserts. Nice and simple. :) Meanwhile, have a wonderful and merry Christmas! May the Lord bless you and all your loved ones with precious memories and joy in celebrating the birth of our Savior. |
Posted in Family Scrapbook
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Okay. I cannot deceive myself. I am not young anymore. My poor bones and muscles are aching after yesterday's falls. But it was so fun...I cannot wait for our next visit to the skating rink. Man, I sound like my children. |
Posted in Family Scrapbook
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We went ice-skating today. Can you believe it? It was my children and my first visit to an ice skating rink. I learned to roller-blade some 15 years ago, and had not touched the roller-blades since. I wasn't good at roller skating and the thought of learning how to skate on ice at my age was a bit scary. But we rented two “walkers” for our children and while watching them attempt to ice-skate, I thought I could try. So I rented a pair of skates and when one of the children took a break, I used the spare “walker” to help me move along. That I could roller-blade helped, but I was somehow nervous of the ice under my feet and didn't dare to let go of the walker till towards the end.
 Here I am. The boy next to me is Thomas. He is my dear friend's son.He skated well, but he was holding the walker so Josh could skate without it.Here you can also see Josh on his own two feet.
Oh, it was so fun despite falling twice. The first was on my tail-bone (ouch!) and the second was on my left hip and thigh (I haven't checked but I bet there is a big bruise now). Actually, my tail bone is hurting a bit now. I injured it nearly five years ago when I was going down the slide while playing with the kids and I landed real hard on the tail bone. As a little girl, I dreamed of either being a ballerina or a ice-skater. I never became a ballerina in the real sense, but I did fulfill my dream of dancing on stage this year. :). My goal now is to be able to skate more naturally, if not gracefully, by the end of 2008. That should be a fun goal! :) Lord willing my tail-bone and bunions don't give me trouble!
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Oops, someone took a tumble! Posted in Family Scrapbook
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We finally picked our Christmas tree yesterday. It looks beautiful in our living room as it shimmers with 300 tiny lights and shows off gorgeous ornaments – many homemade, some special gifts from dear friends, and the rest we bought over the years. Every year, I give each of my children a special ornament. I haven't gotten them one yet this year. I might make them one this year. DD can spend hours under the tree, playing with the ornaments. She is a strange one. She gives the ornaments names. She remembers the names she baptized them with last year and when I ask her how she plays with the ornaments she says she makes up stories about them. She does that with our shell display too. Each shell has a name and each shell is part of a saga she continues to spin over the years. How wonderful to have such an imagination. Oh, on Friday, we went caroling. There were 12 children and 8 adults in all and did we have fun! Last year, most of us had frozen toes, but on Friday, the weather was perfect - cool, with a gentle breeze that had just the right hint of winter chill. We went to a different street from last year and sang to maybe 8 families. We were warmly received and we returned to our home slightly tired (we had to walk up a hilly slope to reach my front door) but pretty uplifted. The rest of the evening was spent drinking wassail, cocoa, lemonade, water, tea and eating snacks. The children also put up a Christmas play for the adults at the end of the evening and that was wonderful to watch. This evening we lighted our second Advent candle...how we enjoy our nightly devotions with daddy. May the Lord grant you peace and joy this Advent season. My heart is filled with joy this evening as I recall the Lord's faithfulness throughout the year. He is faithful in every way – big and small- and our lives can be continually filled with His peace . There is no more need to strive or feel insecure because the Lord is come! Immanuel! God is with is! |
Posted in Family Scrapbook
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We don't do Santa in our family, but my husband grew up with him. This afternoon his mom gave him something she had kept for more than 4 decades. It was my dear husband's 'letter' to Santa (via the local paper) when he was our Josh's age. When I read it, I felt tearful. My dearest husband asked for the very things our son now loves, and would probably have asked if we did Santa. And then that my dear mother-in-law saved this little piece of newspaper for more than 40 years also touched me no end. If she did scrapbooking, that letter would have tucked in some scrapbook. How times have changed. I will not only laminate that piece of paper and make a scrapbook page of it (one of these days!), I can also blog about it! So here it is. A precious piece from the past.
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Posted in Family Scrapbook
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Imagine that! We had not gone biking as a family for more than 1.5 years!!! Shame on us! Back then, dd still needed her training wheels and Josh was not cycling with us. We had a cool carrier (attached to dh's bike) for him. Today, we drove to a nearby greenway, disembarked our bikes and then ALL of us cycled to our heart's content. It was fun. We need to do this more often before the weather gets too cold. Too cold. Did I just write that? That sounds unusual after the extended summer heat! It really is feeling like fall again. :) Happy sigh. Anyway, going biking was a spontaneous decision. And it was refreshing. Who cares about the laundry and other chores. They will always be there. Pretty weather may not. And making memories is always precious. Have a great weekend all. |
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Lest I forget...Josh learned how to wink his right eye last Saturday (10-13-07) and Thursday night (10-18), he finally decided he could change into his pajamas all by himself. He had been putting on his own socks but for some reason had always wanted me to change him. While I cherish all and any extra skin contact with him, it's good for him to own another skill. We've been having a grand time learning more about Jamestown for history. The house is littered with Pocahontas books and we're also making a paper model of Jamestown. Chief Red Eagle, to the children's delight, just made a tepee out of three stout sticks and throw rugs (although the Powhatan Indians did not live in tepees). Armed with bow and arrows, feathered headbands, and other appropriate accoutrements, the children sure are having fun this Saturday morning. And I, Autumn Cloud , just baked cornbread. Guess today will be a "Native American Day". I borrowed two books from the library and have been reading about the real Pocahontas. Hmmm... Chief Powhatan had more than 100 wives and more than a thousand children. Their beliefs included a lot of darkness so it was really significant that Pocahontas eventually came to know the Lord. Her role in the establishment of the first settlement in the New World cannot be discounted. God's hand was in the whole picture. I love history. It never fails to show me how I can trust God. History is indeed His Story. Praise God. Hope you are all having a blessed weekend. |