Welcome to Blessing Hill!
"I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing."
Ezekial 34:26
~Quotes~
When we see not our way through some trial or difficulty, we have only to look to God, and to wait in patience, and in due time His light will come and guide us. ~Ullathorne
Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are inconquerable. ~Theodore Gail
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk. ~Doug Larson
God made you as you are in order to use you as He planned. ~S. C. McAuley
~Spiritual Blessings~
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of the birds is come... ~Songs 2:12
By day the Lord directs His love, at night His son is with me-a prayer to the God of my life. ~Psalm 42:8
...Along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. ~Isaiah 42:16
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecc. 9:10
~Write E-book on Traveling the Lower 48 States and Homeschooling in an RV
~Get Website up on Canine Epilepsy
~Make more wreaths using vintage items and figure a way to market them
~Organize photos
~Finish Scrapbook of our RV trip to 48 states
~Make at least 50 Christmas angels to sell next Christmas
~Lose 21 Pounds
Mar. 17, 2008 - Monday Meanderings
For more great Monday Meandering Posts, visit Tiany!
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Bible Study/Devotions: Anne Graham Lotz Bible Study "Vision of His Glory"
To Do:
Laundry/ironing
Work on BF's birthday present
Fix up daughters room - net to hold stuffed animals
Catch up on blogs
Work at storage unit one day
Clean:
Laundry room
Kitchen cabinets
Kitchen
Training them Up:
Small remembrance celebration on Monday - daughters anniversary of accepting Jesus into her heart
Make sure morning routine is being adhered to
Menu:
Monday: Split pea soup, chicken curry sandwiches, salad
Mar. 14, 2008 - Show N Tell Friday - Sewing Wreath
For more great Show N Tell Friday's, visit Canadagirl!
Here is my sewing themed wreath that I made of vintage items purchased at an estate sale. I made this to sell on ebay, but my husband wanted me to keep it, he said it looks so much like me!
Here is the overall wreath.
This is a vintage needle pack with the needles still inside.
I found a bunch of old quilt pieces that someone had made for a quilt, also I believe that's an old hug hook, and a pair of old scissors.
There's a cute little jar filled with old buttons, a wooden needle holder (still has needles in it), an old thimble advertising granulated sugar and old spool of thread.
Very old spool of thread and of course lots of buttons!
I find it interesting how changes, no matter how positive, always leave a funny feeling inside me for awhile. I guess it's just that unfamiliarity feeling with the new routines.
With my husband's new job , we are having to make new adjustments and routines. We now get up much earlier (still getting used to that one), and even though it's sometimes hard to roll out of the bed, we get up and ready to start our day much earlier, and school gets started on time and usually finished much earlier. I have more washing and ironing to do now, and a specific time to have dinner ready. I will have to do more errands on my own now (my husband loved to do errands and grocery shopping - didn't miss doing that). We didn't have a real good routine before, at least not everyday routine (that has its benefits, but sometimes things don't get done). Things are actually starting to fall into place and feel more normal in our daily routines now that its been about two weeks. It's kind of nice knowing what most of my days are going to be like.
We also took our little dog to get him fixed this week. Now with my last dog, this was a non-event (in fact you would have thought he went to the best dog party around), but our new sweet little dog, is let's face it, a little on the wimpy side. When our Golden Retriever was fixed they were calling me early on the day of surgery to come get him because he was so awake and active, this one we picked up the day after surgery and he moaned and groaned all day giving us a pathetic "what have you done to me" look. Now on day 3 after surgery, he's finally starting to act more like his normal self.
Also started a new Bible Study this week at church - Anne Graham Lotz "Vision of Glory". This is an inductive Bible Study on the book of Revelation. It's very different from any other bible study I've done, and it's taking some getting used to.
Mar. 12, 2008 - Wordless Wednesday - Sleeps Like a Rock
For great Wordless Wednesday posts, or to participate yourself, check out Tiany's blog!
Yes, my daughter slept all night with a carbinger/clock on her ear! What possessed her you may ask? She wanted to make sure she woke up to its alarm - she sleeps like a rock and often never hears her alarm, so why not attach it to my ear, I'm sure I'll hear it then!
Welcome to Blessing Hill, my little corner of the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom! Join us for a great party, and don't forget to sign up for the many wonderful prizes.
I have been homeschooling my daughter from the beginning, going on 8 years now. Besides my beautiful daughter, I have a wonderful husband and together we reside in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Please stay awhile and check out my blog that includes a little bit of everything. Check out the slide show below to get a little taste of what we are all about.
For more great Show N Tell Friday posts, or to participate yourself, please visit Canadagirl!
I feel Spring in the air! I'm ready for the flowers and warmer weather. Here are some of my "wishin it were spring" pictures. I took these pictures while visiting Historic Williamsburg, Virginia.
I know it's not officially spring yet, but I'm ready, very ready. So I went ahead and changed my blog to a "spring look". Hope you like it. Have a great day!
Bible Study/Devotions: Continue with Genesis study
To Clean:
My bedroom closet
Living room
To Do:
Pay Bills
Appt. to get dog fixed
Work on Spring Blog look
Call friends to catch up
Walk at least 3x this week
Call Dr.'s & get old records sent to me
Train Them Up:
Keep school on track
Make sure morning routine is being followed
Menu:
Monday:Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: Split Pea Soup, soup & salad
Wednesday:Chicken with White sauce over noodles
Thursday: Talipia, zucchini, rice
Friday: Chicken Salad
PRAISE: My husband was able to find a job and is starting today! I know some of you were praying for him, and I want to thank you so much for keeping him in your prayers. He had been looking for a job for two years, and it was as if God had closed ALL doors for income - we certainly tried many areas and options. I will have to write a post later on the spiritual journey God took us on these past two years. I am thanking and praising God for this wonderful opportunity He gave us - it is also at the company my husband wanted to work for, so extra praise & thanks.
For the last couple of weeks, we've been cleaning out the fridge, freezer and cabinets to use up all the food we seem to collect. We've had some very interesting meals, but it's been kind of fun to see what we could make with what we had. I'm still working on it, but we'll be starting up some more regular meals again. It's really nice to start seeing some clean shelf space again.
For other great Shown N Tell Friday posts or to participate yourself, please visit Mary at Canadagirl!
A couple of years ago on our "big adventure RV trip", we visited Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia. This was one of my all time favorite places that we visited.
Thanks to inspiration from Deborah at DebsPlace, I've actually started a travel blog about our travels, so to see more of the Cumberland National Seashore and more, please visit Cottage on Wheels!
You can only visit the island by taking a ferry over. Here are some dolphins that were having fun following our boat.
One of the most famous sites on the island are the ruins of Dungeness, a Scottish castle built by Thomas Carnegie in 1884. In 1859, it burned to the ground in a fire of unkown origin.
One of my favorite things to see on the island were the feral horses. About 150 horses still roam the island, thought to have been brought here in the 1500's by Spanish Missionaries.
Here's my darling daughter (with her bear) walking on the boardwalks through the salt marsh.
The beautiful beach! You walk the beaches here in almost complete solitude. Only 300 people are allowed on the island each day, but most of the time we were wondering where everyone was. On the beach we were able to find a lot of beautiful shells and had fun watching the shore birds and the sea life.
Most of the island is a beautiful maritime forest with huge live oaks trees draped with spanish moss. The island is also teeming with wildlife.
After walking all day on the island (there are no cars!) we were ready to sit a spell while we waited for the ferry!
I have been blessed with a Blogging with Excellence Award by "School in 'R Home". I am truly honored with this award.
By accepting this Excellend Blog Award, you have to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. Thanks to all you out there who have such great blogs and being such great friends. You deserve this! Feel free to award people who have already been awarded.
Feb. 15, 2008 - Show N Tell Friday - Stew Leonard's Grocery
For more great Show N Tell Friday posts, please visit Canadagirl!
A couple of years ago, we visit the most awesome grocery store ever - Stew Leonard's in Danbury, Connecticut. As you wind your way through the grocery aisles, you are met with constant entertainment and visual delights; such as singing cows, dancing and singing hens, talking animals, etc. This is also a great grocery store filled with all kinds of fresh foods. I have never had so much fun grocery shopping in my whole life!
Above is a band made up of milk cartons and butter with the little chicks bouncing up and down to the music.
I've finally finished one of my books that has been sitting around for a long time, so I thought I would give a little review on "Personality Plus for Parents" by Florence Littauer.
Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it.
This was a really fun book to read! "Personality Plus" is a book that explores the different personalities that make up our families. There's a question/answer test that you can fill out for you and for your family members to determine what basic personalities everyone has. Once we start to understand what makes everyone "tick", we can start to appreciate everyone's unique strengths and weaknesses that make up our family. I like how she helps the parent understand how their own personality affects how we parent the unique personality of our child; how we can bring out the best in our child; and how we can avoid giving into our own weaknesses or our child's.
My daughter and I have complete opposite personailites: she's sanquine/choleric and I'm melancholy/phlegmatic. This can create quite an interesting combination. My daughter loves to have "fun", is spontaneous, loves to talk, is a bit on the dramatic side, loves attention, tends to forget the details, etc. While I, on the other hand, crave peace and quiet, love to be alone, like to have planned fun, like to hang out in the background, like to organize things, etc. Opposite we are, yet our strengths can help the other deal better with the others weakness if we are sensitive and loving in the process. For example: my daughter's fun loving spontaneous nature can help me let loose and have some of that spontaneous fun once in awhile, while my organizing can help keep her on track and not forget that there are things that need to get done in life.
The book opens up your eyes to see why people may react the way they do, and is sometimes very comforting to see that there are others out there like us. Weaknesses are a part of all of us, not an excuse to sin, but something we must learn to deal with in our own personalities as well as our childrens. This book helps us better see what these weaknesses may be and understand what methods will work best for each different personality to help motivate us and our children and discipline them. Understanding our children better, and ourselves, we can better nurture, discipline and motivate them, as well as better respecting their unique individuality.
Florence Littauer is a christian author of many other books and a internationally known speaker.
Check out Canadagirl's site for more great Show N Tell's.
A couple of posts ago, I included a clip from one of my favorites shows - The Andy Griffith Show. A true classic show that still makes me laugh. We visited Mt. Airy, NC where Andy Griffith grew up and was the inspiration for the town of Mayberry in the show. We had a great time, and it still retains a lot of it's small town charm.
First we stopped by the Snappy Lunch for a bite to eat. This little diner is famous for their Pork Chop Sandwich, and was mentioned in one episode of "The Andy Griffith Show". Andy Griffith used to eat there when he was growing up. This is a great small town diner - with prices that take you way back. Check out some of the menu items and prices below. My husband had the famous Pork Chop Sandwich and declared it very good, and I had a cheeseburger for $1.80 (can you believe that price!), my daughter had a grilled cheese sandwich. We had a great time feeling like we were part of Mayberry for a day.
This is just part of the Snappy Lunch menu of today and the prices (can you believe them).
SANDWICHES
Famous Pork Chop - 3.65
Sandwich Dressings: Chili, Cole Slaw, Mustard, Onion & Tomato.
BLT - $2.35
Boiled Ham - 1.55
Bologna - 1.50
Bologna & Cheese - 1.65
Cheeseburger (breaded or all-meat) - 1.80
Grilled Cheese - 1.30
Ground Steak - 1.80
Ham & Cheese - 1.70
Hot Dog - 1.30
Sausage - 1.40
Hamburger (breaded or all-meat) - 1.65
Feb. 6, 2008 - Wordless Wednesday - Yosemite Nat'l Park
For more great Wordless Wednesday posts visit Tiany's site!
I thought I would share one of my favorite places to visit in the world - Yosemite National Park. To me it really does declare the handiwork of our Lord!
I tend to be a little on the serious side, and I need to lighten up a little more. Too often I don't see the funny side of life. Being able to have a sense of humor in life can have so many benefits (see below). Life is already so serious, filled with sorrows, trials and pain that we can really get burdened down and lose perspective. So I thought I would remind myself how funny life can be and how fun it is to laugh. Below is one of my favorite moments from the Andy Griffith show - to watch, first turn off the music (located on right sidebar toward bottom) by clicking on the far far left button of the music widget that has paralled lines (ll) - sometimes you have to click a couple of times. Enjoy! And have a good laugh!
There are so many benefits of laughter:
a good belly laugh can give you the same benefits as aerobic exercise
boasts the immune system
reduces stress
lowers blood pressure
beneficial effects on our whole being
reduces pain
reduces allergic responses
lifts your mood
its basically free medicine
According to researchers, regular laughter in your life could help reduce your risk of developing heart disease. They recommend 15 minutes of laughter a day as well as regular exercise to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
The Bible also has a lot to say about laughter and joy:
Proverbs 17:22 "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."
Ecc. 3:4 "...a time to weep and a time to laugh.."
Psalm 68:3 "But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful."
I need to remember that God is in control - worrying, freting, complaining, looking at the negative side of things is of no benefit to me or others around me. Phil. 4:8 reminds me "Whatsoever things are true, ...honest, ...just, ...pure, ...lovely, ...of good report, ...of any virtue or praise, think on these things."
A beautiful sunshiny day! Saw our first wild daffodils today! Love them! You know spring's on the way when you start to see them blooming.
~March 8~
Started out pretty warm, progessively got colder till we had snow flurries!
~March 7~
Rain again today! We so need it, so no complaints.
~March 6~
Starting to see little buds on the trees.
~March 5~
Rained almost the whole day! We really needed the rain. Despite all the water, the birds were having a grand ole time flying around and chirping away. What joy the sound of birds are, heralding in the soon-to-be springtime.
~Calendar & Such~
~Military Honors~
Those Who Gave Their Life
January 11, 2008
*Christensen,Jr., Curtis A. - Lance Corp., Marine
January 12, 2008
*Lloyd, Keith F. - Prvt. 1st Class, Army
January 16, 2008
*Sigsbee, John P. - Specialist, Army
*Sharrett II, David H. - Prvt. 1st Class, Army
*Kimme, Danny L. - Pvt. 1st Class, Army
January 19, 2008
*Schoolcraft III, Jon M. - Specialist, Army
*Burress, Richard B. - Specialist, Army
*Gluff, James H. - Lance Crpl., Marine
*Whiting, Justin R. - Staff Srgt., Army
January 22, 2008
*Sturdivant, Michael R. - Srgt., Army
January 12, 2008
*Birkman, Tracy Renee - Sergant, Army
*Crookston, Duncan Charles - Pvt. 1st Class, Army
January 26, 2008
*Wilson, Robert J. - Staff Srgt., Army
January 27, 2008
*Rogers, Alan G. - Major, Army
*Miller, Mikeal W. - Sergant, Army
January 28, 2008
*Young, Joshua A. R. - Private, Army
*Meyer, Brandon A. - Pvt. 1st Class, Army
*Marshall, Evan A. - Specialist, Army
*Jeffries, Gary W. - St. Srgt., Army
*Craig, James E. - Sergant, Army
January 31, 2008
*Norman, Michael A. - Captain, Army
*Schultz, David E. - 1st Lt., Army
*Straughter, Matthew F. - Specialist, Army Ntl. Guard
February 2, 2008
*Barrett, Chad A. - St. Srgt., Army
February 4, 2008
*Koch, Michael E. - Chief Petty Officer, Navy Seal
*Hardy, Nathan H. - Chief Petty Officer, Navy Seal
*West, Christopher J. - Specialist, Army
February 5, 2008
*Alicearivera, Rafael - Sergeant, Army
*Baez, Miquel A. - Specialist, Army
*Osmolski, John C. - Sergeant - Army
*Van Orman, Timothy R. - Sergeant - Army
February 6, 2008
*Skelton, Bradley J. - Sergeant, Army Ntl. Guard
February 7, 2008
*Souffront, Luis A. - Petty Officer 1st Class, Navy
February 8, 2008
*Willett, Gary D. - Sergeant, Army
*Whisenhunt, Jerald A. - St. Sergeant, Army
*Martin, Timothy P. - Sergeant, Army
*Manibog, Michael T. - Specialist, Army
*Sweet, Jack T. - Pvt. 1st Class, Army
February 10, 2008
*Spates, Corey E. - Sergeant, Army
February 14, 2008
*Washington, Javares J. - Staff Sergeant, Army
February 17, 2008
*Groepper, Chad D. - Specialist, Army
*Runyan, Luke S. - Specialist, Army
February 20, 2008
*Matlock, Jr., Michael B. - Specialist, Army
*Bitton, Albert - Corporal, Army
*Alvarez, Conrad - Sergeant, Army
*Mackey, Bryant W. - Staff Srgt., Army
*Raudenbush, Nathan R. - Captain, Army
February 21, 2008
*Weaver, Drew W. - Lance Crpl., Marine
February 22, 2008
*Morgan, Keisha M. - Specialist, Army
February 24, 2008
*Phillips, Michael E. - Pvt. 1st Class, Army
*Perez, Orlando A. - Specialist, Army
February 25, 2008
*Mowl, Kevin S. - Specialist, Army
February 29, 2008
*Barwood, Duane - Sergeant, British Royal Air Force
March 4, 2008
*Frost, Christopher S. - Staff Sergeant, Air Force
, we are having to make new adjustments and routines. We now get up much earlier (still getting used to that one), and even though it's sometimes hard to roll out of the bed, we get up and ready to start our day much earlier, and school gets started on time and usually finished much earlier. I have more washing and ironing to do now, and a specific time to have dinner ready. I will have to do more errands on my own now (my husband loved to do errands and grocery shopping - didn't miss doing that). We didn't have a real good routine before, at least not everyday routine (that has its benefits, but sometimes things don't get done). Things are actually starting to fall into place and feel more normal in our daily routines now that its been about two weeks. It's kind of nice knowing what most of my days are going to be like.
I know some of you were praying for him, and I want to thank you so much for keeping him in your prayers. He had been looking for a job for two years, and it was as if God had closed ALL doors for income - we certainly tried many areas and options. I will have to write a post later on the spiritual journey God took us on these past two years. I am thanking and praising God for this wonderful opportunity He gave us - it is also at the company my husband wanted to work for, so extra praise & thanks. 
