(Homemade milkshakes are great, too, my Southern Hemisphere friends)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Fun Christmastime Activity # One
(Homemade milkshakes are great, too, my Southern Hemisphere friends)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Pictures--Thanksgiving and before
 |
| So Mikayla was giving Rebecca a ride in the wheelbarrow (and Polly may have been in there, too) and of course she tumbled out just as I snapped the picture. Kind of like when she got hit in the head with the swing in Conway. |
 |
| Is Mike painting? Or putting up Christmas lights to get a little head start?! |
 |
| She obviously wasn't hurt too badly! |
 |
| Practicing her spelling words in sand |
 |
| Also doing spelling |
 |
| Reading |
 |
| In 3 days, Rebecca went from this... |
 |
| To this! |
 |
| We read this book, then took a leaf walk and made our own leaf pictures between wax paper. I LOVE how they turned out! This is Rebecca's turkey. |
 |
| Mikayla's squirrel |
 |
| Jessica's girl (*by the way...the girls have their own blog now, for those who want to see their writings & projects. If you want me to send you the link, email me!) |
 |
| Thanksgiving! Gran and Rebecca are crumbling cornbread for the dressing. |
 |
| We all "chose up partners and took naps" after our feast. |
 |
| Then we watched the Walton's Thanksgiving episode and played Apples to Apples before settling down for the ut/A & M football game. Gig 'em, Aggies!! |
Blessed
Happy Thanksgiving, blog friends! I have so much to be thankful for I don't even know where to begin. Have a wonderful day!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Haunting Incident
Last week when I went shopping for all my Thanksgiving groceries, I saw something very disturbing. I heard a woman yelling, and couldn't tell at first if it was someone being silly or serious, but when I heard what sounded like smacks and the words "Get up off that floor! Don't you ever run away from me like that!" I looked around and found, about 3 aisles over, a woman jerking up what looked like a 2-3 year old girl. She was yelling at her in the meanest voice, using words they're not even allowed to say on TV. A store worker was standing a few feet behind the woman, snickering.
And I didn't do anything.
I walked past them, and got what was on my list.
I justified it, thinking that I wouldn't want someone interfering with me disciplining my child who had run from me in a store. And that I've been furious with my kids before. But. I have never screamed profanities at them. And what she was doing wasn't discipline.
Then I turned around and there they were again. The mom saw someone she knew and smiled and talked, then yanked on the little girl's arm again because her hand was too far up in her sleeve, and she told her to get it the **** out of there.
And I felt like I was going to throw up.
But I still didn't say anything, I just walked on past again, looking the other way. I prayed for her. But I wonder if God was saying, "Yeah, I know she needs help. That's why I put you there."
And I didn't do anything.
I walked past them, and got what was on my list.
I justified it, thinking that I wouldn't want someone interfering with me disciplining my child who had run from me in a store. And that I've been furious with my kids before. But. I have never screamed profanities at them. And what she was doing wasn't discipline.
Then I turned around and there they were again. The mom saw someone she knew and smiled and talked, then yanked on the little girl's arm again because her hand was too far up in her sleeve, and she told her to get it the **** out of there.
And I felt like I was going to throw up.
But I still didn't say anything, I just walked on past again, looking the other way. I prayed for her. But I wonder if God was saying, "Yeah, I know she needs help. That's why I put you there."
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thankful Thursday on Friday :)
- I'm thankful for a husband who fixes me french toast for breakfast AND does all the dishes afterward!!
- I'm thankful that our young friend who lives in Thailand has exercise-induced asthma and NOT a heart condition!
- I'm thankful that our fluffy white kitty who disappeared after we brought her home from getting "fixed" showed up that night as affectionate as ever.
- I'm thankful for God's forgiveness, even though I am a self-centered jerk.
- I'm thankful that the Sandusky Academy has begun Thanksgiving Break!!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
10 on the Tenth
In joining Meredith's 10 on the Tenth this month, I'm listing 10 Thanksgiving memories:
1. We lived away from family for most of my growing-up years, but I know we spent at least one Thanksgiving in Fort Smith with my Mom's family. Maw and Papa had a small house, but it did have a formal dining room which the adults ate in, while we kids crowded around the little square table in the kitchen. We LOVED this arrangement, mostly because Maw put a candle on the table and my cousin Buddy impressed me and set an example for my big brothers by swiping his finger through the flame and holding his hand over it.
That is also the year I made my first pecan pie, made famous by this picture.
The pie was either tough or the pecans had some shells left on--in the home movie, chewing it looks painful.(Disclaimer: whether this is an actual memory or a home-movie induced memory, I do not know. Or care!)
2. The next Thanksgiving I remember was when we lived in Virginia. The families we lived near and went to church and school with became our aunts and uncles and cousins, and whover couldn't go "home" for holidays would get together. We had some great times!
3. When I was in the 8th grade, we moved from San Diego "back" to Arkansas, and our first Thanksgiving there is one of my very favorite memories. I had to go to school for half a day the Wednesday before (today's kids are so spoiled!) and can you imagine how excited I was, after 3 years of sunny California, when we saw SNOW begin to fall? We ran to the windows to watch, and our teachers didn't even care. My mom's family was coming over, and we didn't tell them it was snowing because we didn't want them to cancel. They made it fine, but it snowed so much that our power went out! Which at that time controlled our heat, oven, and even our water, since we had a well. A house full of people who couldn't flush! My Aunt Melody and Mom wrapped our turkey in foil and stuck it in our wood-burning stove to bake--but the electricity came on in time to finish it in the oven. By the time the snow stopped we had at least 6 inches. I'll never forget that year!
4. After Mike and I got married, we started taking turns spending Thanksgiving/Christmas with each of our families. My Texas Thanksgiving memories include walking and riding the tractor around his parents' land outside of Smithville, playing with my new nephews and nieces, and watching with morbid fascination as they put hard-boiled eggs in the dressing.
5. We also had to watch a certain football game with Mike's longhorn-fan-brother, Jeff. The rivalry was, of course, all in fun and love. Mostly. Sometimes. Once we drove to Austin to watch it with Jeff and his in-laws, and had to drive back through a horrible ice storm--I've never seen so many upside-down and stranded cars.
6. Our first Thanksgiving spent in Idaho was bittersweet. Of course we both wanted all our traditional family dishes, which was a lot of food for the 2 of us. So we always ended up inviting a few students over to share it with us. Our first 4 years there we were Mission Service Corps volunteers, which means we raised our own support. For 2 years we lived in the upstairs half of a duplex, with a crazy woman downstairs. When our church left us a turkey and bag of food on our doorstep, we decided to give the turkey to her, since we already had one. You can imagine how shocked we were when the landlord called and told us she had accused us of stealing her food bag!
7. I called my Mom that year to get her "recipe" for dressing, only to discover there was no recipe. She told me how to make it the best she could without me being beside her watching. But when it came to the sage, I asked her how much to put in and she said (at least I heard), "Oh, a couple of tablespoons." When I was putting it all together I held up the little jar of sage I had bought and thought, 'That looks like a couple of tablespoons," and put in the whole, entire jar. Oh, yes, I did. Our dressing that year was dark, forest green!! It was hilarious.
8. Those years in Idaho are when we started the tradition of decorating our artificial tree the day after Thanksgiving. IF we weren't skiing at Silver Mountain, that is!! (I do miss skiing.)
9. The next memory that stands out to me is the next Thanksgiving we spent in Arkansas with my family...2 1/2 weeks after my father died. We had flown down for the funeral, not knowing how long we would stay. We thought it would help everyone if we just stayed until after Thanksgiving, and Mike's boss (we had a paying position by then) said that was fine. It's strange, but even the photographs I took of that time are dark. It was also our first Thanksgiving without my brother's first wife, who had been in our family for 20 years. Needless to say, we were all in a lot of pain. But we held on to each other and to our Lord, and even found things to be thankful for. My 2 babies, ages 3 and 1, were an especially bright spot to me. I love this picture of Mikayla when Mark pulled her tights down over her face and she ran around making everyone laugh.
10. When we moved back to Arkansas, we got to start alternating holidays with family again, and it's been so nice. This year my Mom is coming to our house, and we're looking forward to making new memories.
1. We lived away from family for most of my growing-up years, but I know we spent at least one Thanksgiving in Fort Smith with my Mom's family. Maw and Papa had a small house, but it did have a formal dining room which the adults ate in, while we kids crowded around the little square table in the kitchen. We LOVED this arrangement, mostly because Maw put a candle on the table and my cousin Buddy impressed me and set an example for my big brothers by swiping his finger through the flame and holding his hand over it.
That is also the year I made my first pecan pie, made famous by this picture.
2. The next Thanksgiving I remember was when we lived in Virginia. The families we lived near and went to church and school with became our aunts and uncles and cousins, and whover couldn't go "home" for holidays would get together. We had some great times!
 |
| This picture is actually Easter, but Thanksgiving would have been the same people. Can you find me? |
4. After Mike and I got married, we started taking turns spending Thanksgiving/Christmas with each of our families. My Texas Thanksgiving memories include walking and riding the tractor around his parents' land outside of Smithville, playing with my new nephews and nieces, and watching with morbid fascination as they put hard-boiled eggs in the dressing.
5. We also had to watch a certain football game with Mike's longhorn-fan-brother, Jeff. The rivalry was, of course, all in fun and love. Mostly. Sometimes. Once we drove to Austin to watch it with Jeff and his in-laws, and had to drive back through a horrible ice storm--I've never seen so many upside-down and stranded cars.
6. Our first Thanksgiving spent in Idaho was bittersweet. Of course we both wanted all our traditional family dishes, which was a lot of food for the 2 of us. So we always ended up inviting a few students over to share it with us. Our first 4 years there we were Mission Service Corps volunteers, which means we raised our own support. For 2 years we lived in the upstairs half of a duplex, with a crazy woman downstairs. When our church left us a turkey and bag of food on our doorstep, we decided to give the turkey to her, since we already had one. You can imagine how shocked we were when the landlord called and told us she had accused us of stealing her food bag!
7. I called my Mom that year to get her "recipe" for dressing, only to discover there was no recipe. She told me how to make it the best she could without me being beside her watching. But when it came to the sage, I asked her how much to put in and she said (at least I heard), "Oh, a couple of tablespoons." When I was putting it all together I held up the little jar of sage I had bought and thought, 'That looks like a couple of tablespoons," and put in the whole, entire jar. Oh, yes, I did. Our dressing that year was dark, forest green!! It was hilarious.
8. Those years in Idaho are when we started the tradition of decorating our artificial tree the day after Thanksgiving. IF we weren't skiing at Silver Mountain, that is!! (I do miss skiing.)
9. The next memory that stands out to me is the next Thanksgiving we spent in Arkansas with my family...2 1/2 weeks after my father died. We had flown down for the funeral, not knowing how long we would stay. We thought it would help everyone if we just stayed until after Thanksgiving, and Mike's boss (we had a paying position by then) said that was fine. It's strange, but even the photographs I took of that time are dark. It was also our first Thanksgiving without my brother's first wife, who had been in our family for 20 years. Needless to say, we were all in a lot of pain. But we held on to each other and to our Lord, and even found things to be thankful for. My 2 babies, ages 3 and 1, were an especially bright spot to me. I love this picture of Mikayla when Mark pulled her tights down over her face and she ran around making everyone laugh.
10. When we moved back to Arkansas, we got to start alternating holidays with family again, and it's been so nice. This year my Mom is coming to our house, and we're looking forward to making new memories.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Best sleep-talking yet!
Last night after Mikayla had been in bed for about an hour, I heard her start calling me...
Mikayla: Mommy!...Mommy!...Mommy!...etc.
Me, rushing in from the laundry room to try to keep her from waking Rebecca in the bottom bunk: What's the matter??
Mikayla: Will you...um...I can't remember...will you...will you...get me a new pencil?
Me, stifling laughter: What?!?!
Mikayla: I can't remember...what...will you...tie my pencil?
Me: Sure, honey. I will. Now lay down and go back to sleep.
Mikayla, laying down: 'K. G'night.
Mikayla: Mommy!...Mommy!...Mommy!...etc.
Me, rushing in from the laundry room to try to keep her from waking Rebecca in the bottom bunk: What's the matter??
Mikayla: Will you...um...I can't remember...will you...will you...get me a new pencil?
Me, stifling laughter: What?!?!
Mikayla: I can't remember...what...will you...tie my pencil?
Me: Sure, honey. I will. Now lay down and go back to sleep.
Mikayla, laying down: 'K. G'night.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The stand ~ Hillsong United
We sing this song fairly often at the BCM, and to be honest, I didn't just love it at first. It seemed a little slow and awkward to me, and I didn't know it. But a couple of weeks ago, after singing it often enough to be familiar with it and be able to focus on what it says instead of trying to figure out the tune, a line really struck me. When we sang, "So what can I say? What can I do? But offer this heart, O God, completely to You," I pictured myself offering my heart to God...my pitiful, sinful, foolish, wicked, deceitful heart, is all I have to give the holy, perfect, beautiful, loving King of Creation. And He wants it! He treasures it! Then He cleanses it, purifies it, heals it, restores it, fills it with His Spirit...which makes it beautiful like Him. Wow. He is amazing.
Friday, November 5, 2010
My Daddy
...always let me sit on his lap, no matter how big I got. And I always felt safe and secure and loved there.
...went back to college when he was my age to get his bachelor's degree. He never officially finished, but he also never stopped learning. He was incredibly smart.
...was a great Bible teacher. I guess I quoted him too much, because friends and fellow church members frequently assumed he was a pastor.
...loved sports. Especially Razorback sports. (I was going to say Razorback football, but then thought maybe I should say Razorback basketball--it's a toss-up.)
...was hilarious. When he started telling a story (and my whole family loves to tell stories) you had to watch to see if he held up his right hand (true) or his left hand (not-so-true).
...loved people, and let them know it. He told us with his eyes, his hugs, and his words. He could even make awkward teenaged girls feel pretty.
...talked through gritted teeth when he was angry.
...shook with silent laughter or guffawed out loud when he was amused.
...held Jessica and Mikayla up to his face when they were born and said, "Your Grandad loves you!" I like to think he said the same thing from heaven when Rebecca was born.
...looked incredibly handsome in his Navy uniform.
...had a huge, productive, orderly garden full of delicious potatoes, green beans, purple hull peas, etc.
...called his mother Honey.
...loved music. He was drum major for the Pine Bluff Zebra marching band in high school. He played clarinet in a jazz band called "Stardust" in New Orleans and other places, which is how he was able to go on a group date with Elvis Presley and Jim Ed Brown. Later he was the song leader, as we called it then, at Dale City Baptist Church. I loved hearing him sing bass in church or as we sang 4-part harmony on car trips.
...would say, "Hogwash, Falderal, and Balderdash" when he didn't believe what you were saying.
...used to sing my brothers and I to sleep with the tune of "Amazing Grace" but saying our names over and over agin.
...loved my mother with the most romantic, enduring love I've ever seen.
....walked with God.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Thankful Thursday
I just read Carpool Queen's "Thankful Thursday," and she inspired me to list my own thanks (mostly copied from my comment so I can get to bed! ha!)
I am thankful for the amazing freedoms and luxuries we enjoy in this great nation, and for the family God placed me in at birth and the one He has given me as a wife and mother.
I am thankful that God made/allowed me to home school my kids, even though I was really ready to quit this week. (And maybe even send them to boarding school...)
I’m thankful my husband ministers to college students, who keep me young (except when they call me mom), and give me plenty of opportunities to show them love.
I'm thankful for former college students posting pictures of their babies--new ones, growing ones, and ones to come!
And I 'm thankful for friends who share their feelings and struggles honestly with me, especially when we're having the same kind of day, and that those friendships endure through time and across the world.
I am thankful for the amazing freedoms and luxuries we enjoy in this great nation, and for the family God placed me in at birth and the one He has given me as a wife and mother.
I am thankful that God made/allowed me to home school my kids, even though I was really ready to quit this week. (And maybe even send them to boarding school...)
I’m thankful my husband ministers to college students, who keep me young (except when they call me mom), and give me plenty of opportunities to show them love.
I'm thankful for former college students posting pictures of their babies--new ones, growing ones, and ones to come!
And I 'm thankful for friends who share their feelings and struggles honestly with me, especially when we're having the same kind of day, and that those friendships endure through time and across the world.
New pictures!
I forgot to take my camera to our church's fall festival last week, but here are some pictures taken by a friend. Hopefully some of pirate Jessica will turn up soon!
 |
| karaoke! |
Monday, November 1, 2010
You can help!
Some fellow campus ministers and sweet, sweet friends are adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia! They are trusting God (and His people) to provide the way and the finances for this to happen. You can read about their journey here, and you can even get them $2 closer to their goal by leaving a comment here. Thank you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)