Geographically, we have succesfully moved to Michigan!  Hurray!!  We are settling in nicely and are enjoying getting to know our new church family and the area.

Blogging-wise, I have also moved.  Ugh, I really didn't want to, but hsb was just too slow for my day.  It took me WAY too long to get to the correct page to post, or see my comments or view other's blog.  I enjoyed the community, but needed something a bit more practical.  I'm a traitor, I know.  Forgive me...

If you still want to visit from time to time, here is my new blog site:

http://michiganmomma.blogspot.com/

In a recent "Blog Listing" on the Beautiful Womanhood board I belong to, EVERYONE had a blogger/blogspot  blog - so that's what I choose this tiem around.  We'll see how things go.

Okay, I'm off to visit a few friends here at HSB.  God Bless you and yours!!
~MJ~

aka: Michigan Momma

Ok, so The Pastor is determined that we are getting a new computer.  I know we really do need a new one.  We have had this computer since before we got married.  That's almost 8 years now.  That's REALLY old for a computer.  Think dog years.  The only reason it's lasted this long is because it was fairly top of the line when we purchased it.

Ok, so, we need a new computer.  Once that is taken care of, I will see how the situation is here at HSB.  There are honestly times I can simply not even access my site - or any other HSB site.  So very frustrating.  I really don't want to change - it's hard to find a blogging site I'm comfortable participating on - but this is crazy.

We hope to get our new computer before we leave - we know some great computer geeks out here (term used in love - they know they're geeks!) who can help us make sure everything from this computer is saved and we can strip it down to be used just for games and educational stuff for our kiddos (no internet). 

Now I'm off to take some pics of the scarves I've been working on for Christmas gifts.  Once I have given them to the appropriate persons, I will post some pics - I've lots of fun.  I just don't want *some* people who read my blog (and are receiving a scarf) to see their gift prematurely.  I finished a hat/scarf set last night, so I'm off to find another fun pattern.  I'm also baking and doing some minor packing today as well.  School is so *not* on the agenda until AFTER this baby arrives and I recover.  I'm guessing we'll hit some stuff this spring/summer and then kick it into gear this fall when Lil' Man turns six.  In MI, six is the legal age you have to be schooling by.  So there ya go.  Now I've got to decide whether to start him in our current curriculum (for K) or buy the new stuff (for the elementary ages).  He's ahead in some areas, and probably a bit behind in others.  Hmmmm.....we'll see come this spring/summer when we do some review/catch-up work.  Not worrying about that now, not worrying.....

*grins*

~MommaJoy~

If things don't improve around here, I'm going to HAVE to go to another blog site.

I realize that HSB is going through some kind of "improvement" (I use the word loosely) and I don't have any idea what that all involves, but gees.....it's as though I have dial-up.  S L O O O O W dial-up at that.

I have to go to about 4 VERY slow-loading pages in order view my friends blogs, if it works at all.  I don't have that kind of time.  I used to simply go to my friends page, then quickly click each one, checking each blog in a few seconds.  This is crazy!!

I'll give it through the move.  That's into late Jan. by the time I'll get back on here regularly.  If they don't have things fixed by then, I'll have to move on.  Not that I don't like it here, I do, but I simply don't have time for dial-up speed on the internet, I've got too much else to do.   There *has* to be something that can make this faster/better/more effecient/etc.  Seriously.

Frustrated at all the time I've spent here today...

~MommaJoy~

Yeah!!  We are actually progressing through this process.  While we do not yet have a renter for our current home in Colorado (which I am *not* stressing about, nope, I am NOT), we have decided to go ahead with the move to Michigan regardless.  Basically, this new job is anxiously awaiting The Pastor's arrival not to mention our Baby #4 will be arriving in mid-Feb. - he doesn't care what else is going on, he's coming OUT!! 

So we are packing up this house into the truck on January 6th (yup, that's three weeks away and NO, I haven't started packing yet).  The moving company will be driving the MONSTER huge truck cross country while we make the drive in our mini-van with our family.  I'm not exactly sure how these things work, but at some point the next week, the truck will arrive at our new house in MI (I hope they give us a day or two notice so we can get some church members there to help us unload).  In the process of the cross country trek, we will spend a night or two with my folks in NW Indiana.  The three kiddos will stay with them a few days while The Pastor and I continue on to MI and get the stuff settled into the new house.

Ahh, the house.  Yes, we *did* find a house to rent and it is big enough to fit our family and our stuff.  While I seriously don't consider our family "packrats" by any means (dh and I actually enjoy purging our stuff here and there and HATE clutter), we do now have four kids and all the "stuff" that entails - lots of beds, dressers, bins of clothing (0-3 month Girls clothes, 3-6, 6-9, etc. - in Boys as well) and of course the toys (inside and out which I will be purging again before the move and before Christmas time and grandparent gifts).  So anyways, one of the pastor's there and his wife found us a great house, in a nice neighborhood.  The owner was actually trying to sell the place, so it's not just a rental/investment property which isn't very nice.  It's actually VERY nice (I'm a bit amazed) and within our budget (again, amazed).  I'm guessing he went down a bit with our "Pastor family" status - I'm not sure, just a guess.

So it's over 1900 sq. feet, just a bit smaller than our current 2150.  It is all one level, which I have enjoyed in past housing we have had for it's easier-to-keep-clean managability (did that make sense?).  It also has a fireplace (not sure if it's wood burning or gas) which I wanted for those MI winters but didn't think we'd actually get.  The yard is HUGE (at least to us here in CO, where the yards are tiny, tiny, tiny) and there are actually TREES in the yard (again, doesn't really happen out here in CO).  There are already nice looking appliances, a 2 car garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, family AND living room and formal dining room.  It will be available for us to purchase later on (in a few years) if we really like the area/house but The Pastor already said we would have to be able to add-on to the exsisting house as he would really like 4 or 5 bedrooms so we could have a guest/sewing room plus another bedroom for children.   That's all so far in the future, I can't even think of that.  Right now I'm just thrilled we have a nice place waiting for us in MI!!

The Pastor is also excited as it is less than 5 min from the church.  Seeing as how we drive 30 min to our church currently, this is a BIG factor for him.  He could bike it in the nicer weather - or even get a motorcycle later on.  We are thinking of selling his little '77 Volvo to someone here before we move - we won't really need it.  It won't get us much money, but every little bit helps - plus one less small bill per month (insurance) is good too.

The only drawbacks (there's never a PERFECT house, huh?) are:  no basement and no fenced in yard.  The basement thing, well, I'm basically PETRIFIED of storms.  I've gotten better (maybe, it's hard to tell since we literally have NO storms here in this part of CO) with thunderstorms, but any wind and I get terrified a tornado will hit us.  So not having a basement is pretty scary to me.  Very few houses in that area seem to have basements.  We are wondering if it has to do with being right on Lake Huron.  Perhaps there's high water table levels or something that makes basement a not so good investment?

As to the no fenced in yard thing - on one hand, we like it.  We really don't like the feeling of being "corraled" in our yard, seperated from our neighbors by this huge privacy fence.  But then again, I have really enjoyed the freedom a fenced in yard has afforded me with our small children.  I was able to let them play outside in the back yard withour fear of one of them wondering off or someone snatching them away.  In the future, when we own a house, I think a compromise for me would be a split rail fence or something like that.  Practical, yet nice looking and wouldn't seperate us from our neighbors.

So there ya go, more than you could ever want to know.  Oh, and there's some wallpaper in the master that we want to take down (we are NOT fans of wallpaper - yuck) - again, like you needed to know.  I will be excited to share some pics with you once we are a bit settled in.  Ya right, during ALL that time I have from the time we move in until this baby comes - right around a month or so.  Yup, during that time I'll snap some pics of my perfectly arranged home.  uh huh....

Whoo-hoo!  Now it's really time for me to get serious and start packing.  My mil and bil are coming in about a week and a half, stay for week, then one more week after that and we move.  Ha, little did my dh's relatives know they would be coming to help us pack...

In Him~  MommaJoy 

Just having some fun with my computer the other night - we're not actually sending this pic out or anything.  I think I was just dealing with the stress of the move by wasting some time on the computer the other night.  Updates to come on our move...

Anyways, Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!  God Bless you and yours!!
~In Him~

MommaJoy

posted a whole blog last night about my life, about what was going on, about what I needed to change, about what needed attention in my life, etc.etc.etc.

no blog.

I'm not sure what happened?

Oh well, I'll have to fill you in later.  I need to go get started doing all the stuff I blogged (or didn't blog) about.

Have a great Saturday!!

~In Him~
MommaJoy

Ok, here's my honey wheat bread - recipe makes 2 loaves - very easy!

Regular ol' granola - I added in golden raisins this time 'cause that's what I had.

The Best Banana Bread Ever - it only makes one loaf & it's a bit complicated, but very yummy.  It usually makes enough for about 5-6 muffins too, but those got eaten for lunch and didn't make it to the photo shoot...

simple cheesy bread for the kiddos

delicious deep dish pizza - made with a garlic bread dough - I par baked the bottom crust a bit this time and it worked like a charm!

The personal pan size - for The Pastor's lunch one day this week.

Not your best heart-healthy recipe, I'm sure - It's meat-lover's all the way, baby!!

There ya go - if you are interested in a recipe, just let me know.  I used my KitchenAid mixer for everything here, except the granola of course, which was on the stove.

I also just finished two blankies for this new little one growing in secret - One more Toddler-ish size/feel blankie, and a very warm, kinda-fuzzy yarn blankie for those cold Michigan winters.  I still think he needs just a simple ol' baby yarn blankie....I'll have to make a trip to Wal-Mart for some basic baby yarn and crochet something simple....soon.

*I'll post pics of the blankies soon - oh, and if you know of any LONG arm glove patterns, I would love to know about it.  I am looking for something to make my children - basically a glove pattern that I can elongate the wrist to cover the lower arm as well.  This is the part of my children that gets the coldest when they play in the snow.....their little forearms get exposed, or snow gets down in there.  I need a pattern that I can adjust (or is already written that way) to go up to the elbow or so.  Let me know..

~a very productive day~ (well, except for the fact that the girl's were still in jammies when The Pastor came home....oh well, a gal can't do *everything*)

MommaJoy

Hello,

Ahhhh...it's so nice to have my mixer back.  Yes, it has been driving me crazy and yes, there's really no reason for us to have had it in the shop twice already - but it *is* working now and I'm sooooo thankful!

So today I was able to bake up a couple loaves of honey wheat bread, some garlic dough (which I will be using to make some cheesy bread and deep dish pizza for tonight's dinner) plus some awesome banana bread with a few muffins on the side.  AND, if I'm not totally worn out by tonight, I just may whip up a batch of PB cookies with those cute little chocolate kisses in the middle.  I also just found this site:

Tammy's Recipes

I've only had a chance to check out her Bread Recipes (in right hand column) but I bet there's other great recipes in the rest of the sections as well.  I think I'm going to try some of her muffins.  I *still* have yet to find the PERFECT muffin recipe...I'll keep searching - and my family will keep testing.

What I *didn't* get done was any cleaning around here.  It's not bad actually, but I need to stay on top of things before they GET bad.  I'm about to tackle a huge pile of laundry, and I'll continue with that tonight as well.  I also just cleaned out my Dyson (sp?) vacuum inside parts and it's filter.  I need to cut away all my hair wrapped around the bottom turny-thingy (descriptive, huh?).  Then, I will vacuum the whole house - I am a sick woman - I'm really looking forward to that.  I expect to have to empty the canister numerous times during the process - man, it's terribly dusty out here in Colorado.

No news on the house as of yet - I sent the property manager people 16 pics of the house to put up on rentclicks.com .  They should have that up in the next day or two (or I'll be bugging them again - as my mother says, the squeaky wheel gets the oil).  If we don't have something happening by Christmas, I may start getting a bit anxious - but I am praying that won't happen, and I'm also praying for HIS peace no matter what happens!

Ok, time to get back to the baking stuff - bread in the oven - perhaps pics and recipes to come....

~In Him~
MommaJoy

It just seems that by the time I get around to my blog, I'm exhausted and it's really time for bed.  I have to get up at 6am tomorrow (that's pretty early for me this pregnancy, actually) and it's just about 11pm.  I NEED my sleep!

A very quick update on life:

We had the ladies Christmas tea this afternoon - I was running the music part of it.  We sang some carols, there was a trio, a solo, and a duet, oh, and a bit of clarinet, but just a bit.  It was very nice overall and I hope it was a blessing to the ladies there.

I got my mixer back from the shop.  We were given a God-gift in the form of a VERY small bill from them.  Now I just need to test it out with some bread tomorrow...**future reference, I will be purchasing a Bosche (sp?) next time.  I have a nice professional LARGE KitchenAid mixer (around $300) and this is the second time it's been in the shop in under 2 years.  Ugh...and I don't make bread all THAT often, nor do I use too much flour or anything.  Very frustrating!

On that note, I had a friend tell me that today's appliances and their so-called "testing" is usually NOT going to be accurate for my family - so just be prepared.  She said most of them test their products for the "average" family:  2 kids, both parents work, kids in school, etc.  Nothing like a large, homeschooling family that uses their appliance every day, all day.  And she's right!  Just a fact of life.

Ok, well, not much for me in terms of expectations over the next few weeks - just keep my house clean & picked up at all times (to the best of my pregnant ability).  The Pastor has one week left of seminary for this quarter and he'll be *SO* glad when that is done with.  He and I are going to be singing a few songs this December at different events at church, so that's about all I have to work on.  My MIL and BIL are coming for Christmas.  It'll be the first time my MIL has seen this house - and I'm really glad she is making the time to visit us over the holidays!  I can get a bit nervous around her, not as sure of myself as I'd like to be - but I'm honestly glad she is coming.  We will be moving MUCH closer to her (under 2 hours) and I pray this will greatly improve our relationship.

Time for bed....advent starts to tomorrow - I'll post some on our homemade ornaments (from last year which we are reusing) and I'll give the homemade advent wreath a try if I get the time tomorrow.   God bless, have a wonderful Lord's Day!!
~MommaJoy~

I can't believe I am under 90 days now.  I know that is still a long ways off, and in fact, I've got QUITE a lot to get done before this baby decides to make an appearance (think moving cross country, for one!). 

But it's just amazing me nonetheless.  I remember when I couldn't imagine it being under 100 days - and now I somehow totally missed the 90's. 

Another thing, I have this kind of "mother's intuition" that this baby will NOT be waiting for the scheduled c-section date.  I know that is silly - all of my baby's have been planned c-sections, none have even come early, I've never been in labor - EVER!  This is silly.  Yet still...I just have this feeling.  It's not based on any scientific fact, whatsoever.  Just a feeling - this baby is SO active, I've got SO much going on in these last few months, this is my fourth baby, etc.etc.etc.   See, no facts.  Just this "feeling".

Anyways, it'll come to nothing, I'm sure - but if by some chance this baby comes a bit early, I'll be able to link to this blog and say "see, I KNEW it!!".

Ha~

MommaJoy

~Christmas Pics 2006~

Going to cut down the tree (day after Thanksgiving):

In the Tree Farm Shop:

Putting up the decorations (starting to look a bit tired, eh?):

**I wish I would have gotten pics of Lil' Man up on the roof helping The Pastor put up the lights.  Actually, I just tried not to think about it...

The finished product - our living room!:

One of the best things is Lil' Man will occasionally walk into the living room, call my name, and then proceed to tell me how *beautiful* our Christmas tree looks or how much he *loves* our Christmas lights.  It's acutally becoming quite the tradition for him too!  He got to help his daddy on the roof this year with the Christmas lights and next year, he was told he could help hold the saw as daddy was cutting down the tree.  And trust me, he'll remember!

I also have a few decorations in the kitchen and downstairs, but we mainly decorate in this living room and outside lights.  One thing I dream about is a large "great" room where the kitchen, dining and living space are all together - we will decorate the whole area then!

Ok, time for bed - just sharing photos and our memories.  We had a really great time this year (except for the three tries we made at getting the tree straight in it's base - but at least we were smart and did that part while the babies were all napping) and now I can't wait to start our Advent traditions too.  More pics to come....

~Thanking HIM for the season~

MommaJoy

I remember thinking after dinner tonight, "no, I don't want to bake tonight.  I'm tired and I just want to veg in front of the t.v."

Ugh.

Good thing I didn't listen to myself.

First I cleaned my kitchen from dinner (yes, I have to have a clean kitchen to bake in - just one of my quirks).  Then I got everything out for a few of my dessert recipes I need to get done.  The Pastor came into the kitchen and asked how he could help - YEAH!  I really love to bake with other people. 

When The Pastor asked what kind of pie I was making for our Pie Service tomorrow at church, I told him Frozen Peanut Butter Pie.  He said "ick".  Oh no, great.  I got all cranky.   Then The Pastor felt bad 'cause he said "ick".  Then I got all crabby.  Finally, The Pastor just kinda left (under the pretense of helping one of the babies, I think).  While he was gone, I confessed to myself that I had chosen that pie 'cause *I* like it.  That's it.  So I hunted around, trying to find something I had on hand to use with another grahm cracker crust - then I found two packages of pistachio pudding.  Ah-ha!  The Pastor had just told me a few weeks ago that he loves anything pistachio (which btw, I don't).  Perfect.

So outside in our fridge, we now have two pies:  one Frozen Peanut Butter Pie and one Pistachio Pudding Pie.  YIPPEE!

Our babies were also "helping".  Here's some pics of their efforts:

Also, I am in the process of baking my famous (well, famous around our house and with some at church) Oatmeal Pecan Cookies.  Very yummy!  And this recipe is huge, I think I'll have more than 4 dozen. Awesome, especially considering the family I am bringing them to is a family of 12!!

So tomorrow, The Pastor and I will be picking up some accompaniment CD's of some Christmas music.  We have been asked to sing a few times in Dec. (a women's event and in service).  We are happy to do it, but just have to squeeze in the time with everything else going on too!

Then, while The Pastor is working and the babies are napping, I need to bake some Autumn Pumpkin Apple Bread and some Best Banana Bread Ever.  Then all I'll have to do on Thanksgiving is make some yeast rolls and a veggie tray - oh, and some deviled eggs.  Not bad, breaking it up over three days.

~Time for bed~

MommaJoy

Here's a link to a webpage for our rental home in Colorado.  It's a great home for a family to live in!  Just sharing, just in case....*grins*

Let me know if I need to change anything, if you have comments or questions.

Colorado Rental Home

In Him
~MommaJoy~

My poor son....he is a mac-n-cheese purist.  And not just ANY mac-n-cheese, nope, it's Kraft or nothin'.  Yuck.

I have been working on him though.  I keep serving him variations of my homemade version and hoping for him to just take a bite, just one or two. 

Whew...he's stubborn.  He's learning that if he doesn't eat what is put in front of him, that's fine, we don't MAKE our children eat anything - but if you don't eat what is put in front of you, you'll go hungry.  We will NOT make you a separate meal just to cater to your wants.  If Lil' Man doesn't eat mac-n-cheese for lunch, well....dinner is at 6pm.

So today I tried this version.  I used garden rotini (you know, the tri-color stuff), shredded cheese, parmesan cheese, American cheese slices, flour (to thicken it up a bit) and S&P.  Amongst these layers, I added in just a few frozen peas and some left-over crisp bacon pieces.  Then I poured milk over everything and baked it covered for 30 min, then uncovered for 30 min.  Delicious!!

Other variations:  add in whatever left-over meat you have in the fridge, throw in some green veggies (mine are usually frozen), maybe some diced or stewed tomatoes - oh just anything that will go with mac-n-cheese.  I usually use little elbow macaroni (again, to try and get my son to appreciate the dish) but I was out so I used rotini.  Any fun shape is fine (I personally wouldn't use speghetti).

So there ya go.  Did Lil' Man eat it today - nope, not a bite.  And he whined a bit (got some time in our spare room to calm down and STOP WHINING - ugh) and told me he was hungry NUMEROUS times during the day.  I was strong though and he waited for dinner.  Dinner was Homemade Sloppy Joes (yummy!) on my honey wheat buns (a new trick I learned with my bread dough) and sticky cinnamon popcorn (The Pastor's fav) so rest assured, he did not starve.

Ya know, I *could* just feed my kiddos Kraft Mac-n-Cheese on a regular basis (and there have been times I've done just that, believe me) - but it's actually much more fulfilling and satisfying to know that I went to the trouble of being creative, making my own from-scratch foods, and feeding my family healthy and hearty meals.  Sometimes they are quite basic - but when it's all from scratch, when you KNOW it's good for them, even the simple, basic stuff is GREAT!!

~Tired~

MommaJoy

Ok, I am now 26 weeks pregnant.

Everything looks great.  All my test come back fine and dandy.  I do not have high bp, my urine is fine (aren't you glad to know that?), etc.etc.etc.etc.

It looks as though I will have another c/s, although if I end up in MI with a different insurance and different docs, who knows what the Lord has in store?!

God is good and I can hardly wait to meet this little guy!!
~MommaJoy~

p.s.  did I mention I *look* as though I am 40+ weeks pregnant?  Is it the fourth baby or what?  I don't know but geeeeesh.......

Ok, so The Pastor has accepted the job in MI!  We are excited to be headed down this new path with the Lord - yippee!!

Now comes the not-so-exciting part.

We pretty much can't sell our home.  We have only had this house two years and the market right now is TERRIBLE!  We simply don't have the equity in the house to make selling it a smart decision.  Thus we are turning to renting.

We have spoken with MANY property managers (we will be 20 hours away - not a great thing if you want to manage the property yourself) and will be meeting with one in particular Monday morning.  They will do reseach, appraise our home, advertise and find our first renters for FREE - which sounds *very* good to this fairly-poor family right now!  I'm truly amazed at what people are willing to pay for a rental - as much as what we pay for our mortgage or sometimes more!  Wow!

Luckily, we also know some trustworthy handy-men in our current church who are willing to help us out if something were to go wrong in this house over the next few years.  In a few years, we will re-check the market, our equity amounts and see about selling it then.  My prayer is that it will sell QUICKLY at that point - we simply don't have the money to carry around two housing bills!

As it stands, we will be renting in MI for a while.  I doubt we will get a chance to get back to MI before we have to actually MOVE there - so I'm wondering how we will find appropriate housing.  My guess is that we will have to rely on church members/staff in MI to help us locate a decent home to rent.  While I guess I *can* be picky, that's because only *I* can tell what will work for family fairly easily.  I might be able to find a really good deal (read: cheap) on a house that may not look all that great - but I know what we can handle and what we can't.  I also worry about more than just price - I'd like a little land, or at least a big ol' yard.  I'd like to NOT live right in town.....

Well, I'm just going to have to put this one in God's hands.  I could go on and on about what I WANT.  The thing is, we need cheap for a few years.  I just don't want to be miserable either - but I guess I can choose to be content in just about any situation if I put my mind to it. 

So here we go.  We need to find a renter, find a rental (in MI) and be content with what the Lord has blessed us with already!!  The Pastor looks as though he will have a great position with lots of support from the other staff - cool!!  We will have the opportunity to get our finances in order over the next few years, which is *such* an answer to desperate prayer.  We will be much closer to family!!  We will get SNOW!!  It really *is* exciting!!

Contentment.  Joy.  Things I need to *choose* and not just expect to happen because my situation looks/feels good or because I get everything I want.  It's really not about that.

Now will someone please remind me of that when I'm complaining down the road???  Please....

~Resting in HIM~
MommaJoy

Even with all the changes happening in our home around Christmas this year, The Pastor and I have decided that our normal celebrations and traditions WILL happen (to the best of our ability).  Traditions are one of the ways we help teach our children about the importance of family and of course, of Christ as our Savior.  It also gives children security to have traditions and routines in their lives (daily, weekly, yearly, whatever).

Here are some of our traditions during this time of year (we also have some plans for other traditions once our children are a bit older):

*Christmas music:  we have lots of music playing in our home on a regular basis.  In fact, Christmas music plays much more often than simply in the month of Dec. 

*A Christmas tree:  on the day after Thanksgiving, we go to a local Christmas Tree Farm and cut our own tree down.  We love the whole experience, riding the hay-ride to the tree field, hot drinks and cookies, a little craft store, the music, the cold weather, the handmade wreaths, getting to know the owners and their family - oh just the whole day!!

*Decorating:  depending on time, we will decorate the tree that night, then the rest of the house, including the outside, that Sat. after Thanksgiving.  My children *love* to see all the familiar decorations come out, as we discuss the meanings behind many beloved decorations.

*Christmas-time Family Devotions:  each evening during Advent, we get together before bedtime and do devotions.  This includes a Bible reading (sometimes just a verse or two), putting up a handmade ornament (like a Jesse tree ornament, except we just use our big ol' tree), a candy countdown (like they NEED candy before bed, right?!), singing of Hymns/Carols and prayer.  It is a wonderful way to end each day!

*The Hymns/Carols:  It is a wonderful time in our musical family to hear the children actually learning the old carols, the new carols, some hymns - and singing them all together as a family.  I can just imagine what it looks like through our front living room window!!   Yet I don't want people to just look IN and wonder what it's all about - I want us to really get OUT there and share the Lord with others as well.  To that end, I have a dream of getting my family all dressed in period clothing and singing old English carols to our neighbors!  It is a dream I can't wait to put into reality - now if I can just birth the correct number of sopranos, altos, tenors, basses, maybe a baritone so we can have the perfect ensemble.....*wink*

*Homemade Ornaments:  Each year, during the daytime, I take the time to make a handmade ornament with my children.  I usually use a Jesse Tree "curriculum" of sorts that I find on-line and use that as my guide.  Each ornament has meaning, will have verses written on the back that The Pastor will read that night and the children will take turns placing each ornament on our tree.  The truly enjoy seeing their own creations on the tree and I enjoy the knowledge that my children are learning about Christ!!

*Cooking/Baking:  of course!  We don't necessarily have certain dishes was always make, although I'm sure that will come.  Right now, we are just trying out different dishes each year, finding what we like/dislike, etc.  We have a turkey at Thanksgiving, a Ham at Easter, an "appetizer FEAST" on Christmas Eve and well....usually a Ham on Christmas Day I believe - although it can be other things too.  I enjoy making and decorating cookies with the children, pies, sweet breads, candy, etc...

*Christmas cards/letter:  I enjoy making up a quick Christmas letter (trying not to get long winded) and taking the time to make it look festive and bright - then sending it out to loved ones and long-lost friends too.  This doesn't always happen, due to time or money constraints, yet we do enjoy it.

Dreams I have for the future:

*Getting OUT there more:  I need to make the effort to plan community involvement with my children as much as possible.  I have been blaming my young children, my lack of time, for not really 'getting out there' - but I realise now this is only an excuse.  We have little money, but we have talents and creativity!  I need to work on making sure my children (and myself) understant the importance of helping others, of showing the love of Christ to others (during all the year, but especially at this time)

*Christmas Productions:  I'm not sure this will happen, as I can't "force" it.  As children, my sister and I used to put on a Christmas Eve "production".  It would vary each year, perhaps one year it was the telling and acting out of "The Night Before Christmas".  One year it was celebrating Christmas through the eyes of other nations.  As we got older, we began using our musical abilities as well.  We also got the whole family involved (one time having our father, uncle and grandfather dressed up spontaniously as the 3 wise men).  This is something I dream about.  I really do hope my children will hear about this family tradition in MY family and desire to do something like it themselves.  We shall see......

Ok, I guess that is enough sharing for the day.  Please direct me to your blog if you too want to share about your own family's traditions and fun during this wonderful time of year.   Hmmm.....we honestly don't "skip" Thanksgiving - we do concentrate on being thankful to God for His blessings, all the time but especially emphasized on that day.  I wonder what else I could do to help my children better experience and understand and give thanks to our God????  Any ideas??

In Him

~MommaJoy~

Well, not yet.

But The Pastor *did* get the job - which means we will get there eventually!

There are some personal issues involved that I can't discuss - but overall, we truly believe this is where God is calling us.  The support from the senior pastor is wonderful - quite a change from our current situation (he's a good guy, but doesn't quite "get" my dh's vision for children and families). 

So now:  we have to get our home sell-ready, get it on the market (I think by next Friday), get all kinds of moving quotes, and pray, pray, pray for our home to sell in this terrible market.  Seriously, terrible.

I won't bore you with all the details, but this doesn't exactly look like an easy out here.  I'm just praying we SELL the place - I don't really care about making money at this point.  We've not quite been here two years yet, so it's not as though we've really put much towards the principle.  I just want it to sell - like yesterday.

The church wants The Pastor there...like yesterday.  But they are requesting as close to Jan. 1st as possible.  The senior pastor is already checking out potential rentals for us - isn't that cool?!?!  I wonder if we'll just go on his recommendation - since I can't imagine us finding the money and time to get back there before the first of the year.  Weird.  I would actually be okay with that.  Very weird - must be a God thing.....huh?

Ok, time to go get some more of the house in order - do you have any idea how much normal living stuff realtors want you to "hide" or change or alter for this process??  I've got a lot of work to do, and I gotta get the carpets cleaned, and I gotta clean all the window treatments, and I gotta clean the cabinets in the kitchen and I gotta, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta........

I pray the Lord will allow me to "school" my children in this moving process - it's definitely not going to be in a curriculum, more like un-schooling or life-schooling (which isn't a bad thing!).

Trusting In HIM for the details~
MommaJoy

p.s.  If you'll take a look at the ticker up there - you may notice that my due date is towards the end of Feb.  If we move after the new year, that gives me less than 2 months to get my new home in order, find a family friendly OB and have a baby in a strange new town......at least we'll still be the "new pastor and his family" so people will be more than willing to really be there and help us out.  Praise Jesus - I am trusting HIS timing is much better than my own would be! ~MJ

Hi all,

We are trying to get back to "normal" around here - whatever that is?!

My mom just flew back to the midwest on Sat. after a two week stay to help me out.  The Pastor was at a two week intensive at seminary in MN - so I was very glad for the help and the company!

The Pastor came back Fri night, was exhausted, then left by 6:15am on Sat. to attend a seminar in Denver.  He had a good time, but I still don't think he has caught up on his sleep yet.

As for me, I am excited to get back to a normal schedule - it was wonderful to be "lazy" with my mom around.  I slept in often, drank coffee and crocheted with my mom most mornings (and evenings, ok, and afternoons) and basically just tried to enjoy our time together.  We are still experiencing some finacially difficulties (aren't most people?) so there were some stressful times as well.

On that note, we are planning on selling our home regardless of whether The Pastor gets this job offer in MI or not.  We simply feel we are in over our heads and the only way out at this point is to INCREASE our income (which The Pastor is trying to do) or DECREASE our bills.  The easiest way to do that is to lower our living expenses - many of our other bills are in "contracts" for one or more years - so we will simply have to wait those out.

So, if you think of it, pray that we will make smart decisions about this transition period.  We are willing to live WAY below our means for a while, in order to right this financial struggle we are in.  We would rather live in a small rental for a few years - and THEN be able to purchase some land, perhaps build a home - in a place where we really want to live.  What a dream to work on with the Lord!!

Ok, time to get to work around here.....

~In Him~
MJ