Saturday, November 29, 2008

I can tell you why it's called Black Friday.

The reason it's called Black Friday is really not because of shopping- that's just a rumor/myth. It's really called Black Friday because of how much ink gets on mail carrier's hands from all of the MAIL we have to deliver on that day. My hands still hurt, but think about it..... what a great thing. Think about how you feel about getting your mail during this time of the year. The magazines are beautiful, the catalogs are fun to look through and imagine and the Christmas cards are so special. If you manage to get a package.....WOW! I really love the Christmas season.

Delivering the mail at this time of year is busy and hectic, but what a feeling knowing that you are bringing a little happiness into people's lives.

Although yesterday I was more like the Grinch or Scrooge. Bad day for me personally for no particular reason, just everything jumbled up together. You know the interesting thing about it was that I found myself singing one praise song over and over, well at least one part of it anyway..

"Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord still I will say, Blessed is the Name of the Lord".

With all the crazy stuff going on in the world, how do people who do not know God deal with it? Where is the hope? Where is the peace, even when your world is crashing down around you? It sounds so "scary" to me thinking about dealing with any of this stuff in my life without God. Where is their anchor?

Of course, the main problem that Will and I are dealing with right now is finances, which I'm sure that everyone is dealing with. It's just compounded on our side that I am up for a I guess you would call it promotion in the next couple of months that will result in worst case scenario a $22,000 raise for me. That in itself would fix the problem, but God's timing is not ours and I have to wait until at least March unless something happens that is unforseen in the next couple of months. I do not know what God has planned, but it is a very frustrating thing to know what is going to happen (at least the general idea of what will happen) but to also know that God's perfect timing is what is going to happen. I have never been a good "waiter" for anything. In fact the worst thing I ever did was pray for patience... So here we are waiting and let me tell you it is not a comfortable place. It is not warm and cozy and reflective. It is not even anticipation any more (although it probably should be, but right now it's not). It is like waiting in that hunched over posititon at the starting line, only we've been hunched over for almost a year now. My back hurts, my legs are sore and when the starting pistol goes off.....I will probably fall flat on my face. BUT the course is set and it will begin....in God's time.

Now let me tell you this, even though I am tired and worn right now... I know that when he finally says "GO", it's going to be great. It's going to be what's best for us. His word promises that and that is the promise that I have clung to for the 19 years that Will and I have been together. Even though sometimes it didn't seem like anything was changing or getting better...if I look back at it, there were so many changes we were just too close to see. Now these growing pains will end and who knows what will be the end result, but I know that we will have grown in God, in each other and as a family. It's going to be fine.....

I've been counting my blessings trying to get out of this mood...Wonderful hubby, GREAT kids, good dog, nice cat, grumpy cat, huge messy house, car/truck that run, jobs, great church, fun youth group, family and friends. What else could a person ask for?

Although there are a few things I could imagine, but then you hit that old "wants vs. needs" thing. I'm not even going there, because so far God doesn't seem to be too "in tune" with my whole idea of April through Jan 2 in Wisconsin, Jan 2 through March in Florida and then March in Tennessee. I'm thinking it would be great since spring is my favorite season I could enjoy spring in Florida, then Tennessee and then come home for spring again. Seems like the perfect plan to me, but it's not coming together, so I guess there's something else in the mix for us. sigh.

Have a great day!
dea

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving...

...To all of our friends, both in the United States and out! Thanksgiving is for everyone after all.

Learning to be Thankful for how much or how little you have is one of the key steps to Joy. It's a step I have been missing a lot lately. I have it in my head that "yes I have a lot to be thankful for but I have so many things to worry about too..."

Nothing like a "but" to mess things up. Instead of worrying, I pray more. Don't get me wrong, I still have issues with this; but I have a direction to go in. So, today especially, Thanksgiving is Special.

In this Global Climate it's something we all really need to focus on. In the news just this morning the headlines only hold horrific, terrible and painful news about terrorists attacks, personal murders, rape and even worse. If this economic downturn is the worst you have facing you; you have a lot to be thankful for. If any of the above is currently affecting your life -I can't imagine and I won't pretend to know what you are going through- but I know that God Is Still In Control. I know That Jesus Is Alive and Lives in me. If He lives in you then you always have something to be thankful for. If you are like me, it may take a while to get to that place of thankfulness and peace. When you do, Jesus is waiting for you. That alone is something to be thankful for.

Today I am most thankful for my ability to pray. To be able to give my worries/fears to someone else to take care of. To know that there is someone I can trust who has never failed me; even though I have failed Him so many times.
Because God has allowed us to have a REAL Relationship with Him, He comforts me in my distress. Life isn't always the way I want it. I, just like you, sometimes have a hard road to walk. It's just a lot nicer to walk it when you're holding the hand of God.

Today, take your eyes off of the road your on and instead, look where you are going: God.

Okay, lastly some updates for the blog. My wife and I have started using this as our "homepage". Feel free to do the same! In that effort I have been adding links that we use a lot. If you check out the "Interesting things to 'click on' " section you will find some new links. First, at the bottom are a couple of Bible websites that include different versions/dictionaries/commentaries that you can cross-reference online.

Next you will find a new link entitled Living Stones International. It's actually called the Living Stones Fellowship International website. I just didn't have the space, so I dropped "fellowship" from the link.

This site is different from the Living Stones Fellowship link. That is the parent church for this entirely new effort.
If you are looking to learn, we will be adding devotionals as well as study courses. Some of which may even be available for college credit, check the site for more info. If instead you are looking to teach, there is a section for adding your own courses. In fact, if you are a wannabe or even a successful writer, they offer publishing services as well. Whether it's textbook stuff or Christian Fiction, they're interested in helping you. In fact, here is their whole purpose:

To build-up God's spiritual house by evangelizing, engrafting, equipping, and enabling small-town Christians, ministers, and churches to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.To touch 100,000 people before Jesus comes.

So, check it out and let me know what you think. The site is brand new and as a work in progress, a lot of things aren't quite working right yet. Keep checking back. If you have concerns or suggestions about the site, please let me know and I will pass it on. Thanks!

Well, once again, my post is too long! Praise God and pass the gravy!
May the Lord Bless You and Keep You and Give You Peace! And Joy!
Amen!
Will

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Still cleaning....

There's a light at the end of the tunnel.......a teeny tiny one, but hey it's a light and I'll take anything I can get. I cleaned on top of the frig today....how does that stuff happen to get up there? I bet I found 15 sharpy markers. Cool...you never know when you'll need one of those.

Will is finally feeling better and I have been washing everything he might have even touched, trying to get rid of whatever bug it was. Boy was he sick and I do not need anyone else to get it.

Please note that I put a great recipe on dea's corner. It's a family favorite.(link is to the right)

Hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.
dea

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Space the final frontier..

(I started this entry on Saturday then got busy)

I went outside on a potty run with the dog and happened to notice how beautiful the sky is tonight. Those of you living in warm weather climates might have a hard time identifying with this, but on cold clear nights, the sky is "special". Will says it's because of the haze caused by heat or some such thing (truthfully it didn't sound romantic, so I kind of didn't listen to the whole explanation). I think it's just because of the air temperature and quality.



When you go out and look at the night sky on cold nights, it's so clear and HUGE! You really "can" see forever. The stars seem endless and really close, but yet there are so many. You can really feel the whole "magnitude" of God's work and the grandeur of it. How glorious. If I didn't get so cold, I could stand out there for a long time.

I took a nap after my mail route today and my feet never did get warm. It was windy and that saps all the heat right out of my body. I told Will that one of the first things that I am working towards is a hot tub. I can just sit in it and get warm. Heaven. For some reason, I am not adjusting to the cold this year. I think it's that there was no gradual getting colder. One day it's 75 and the next it's 30. I'm sure I'll be used to it by March.

I have to keep positive about it, I know the weather will be better by the middle of April, so I have 5 months left of cold. Most of the time I "remember" why living here the rest of the year is worth the cold....most of the time. I don't think right now is included in "most". I could very easily be a snow bird.

Well, 3 days left of work before Thanksgiving. We are going to my sister's house which means I will hardly cook at all. That will really feel strange.
I'm still sorting and cleaning, although I am starting to feel effective in it, so something must be going right.

NOTE: As far as the stupid stuff the other day....nothing at work, but at home I burned the bacon and left the water running into the sink until it overflowed big time.....My tire also died, so today I go and get a new one.

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!!! (I need another weekend to recover from my weekend).
dea

Friday, November 21, 2008

Both fires going.....and Mom's burning up

It's cold up here this morning. I have both fireplaces going to give it a cozier feel, but you still know it's cold outside.

This morning is turning out to be one of those mornings where everything seems to happen to me and it's ALL wrong. I woke up only to step on a dog toy and twist my knee that I'd hurt last night falling over Will's shoe in the dark. I walked in to wake up Jessa and tripped over my son's idea of putting the dirty clothes in the hamper. Then I walked past a table to go back to my bedroom and accidentally knocked off Will's cup that he had left in the wrong place, oh great, now I have cold water all over me. Before I changed to dry clothes I decided to take the dog out to potty.....stupid.....now I'm wearing ice cubes where the water had been.

All of this happened before 5:30 am. I have a terrible feeling about today. Yahoo.....I'm overjoyed, it feels like it's going to be one of those "stupid things happen to me" days. I might as well start laughing now, cause it's not getting any better "so far". Some days it's not easy being me.

I just had a melt down because everywhere I looked, nothing had been done yesterday that I asked the kids to do. Some of it was partially done, in order to make Mom think that we did it, but most of it was not even attempted. After my fourth or fifth request from the kids this morning of "Mom can you do this for me?" I snapped. It was not pretty. When the Momma ain't happy aint nobody happy and believe me right now when I say ain't nobody happy in this house at this moment.

Daddy stepped in and they are not allowed any video games or computers for a WHOLE DAY!! You should have seen the pitiful looks that royal decree brought around....you would have thought we had cut off their air supply or food. No computers or video games......the horror!!!! It's unthinkable torture! It's a crime, I tell you, a crime. What will they do?

Jake is still bucking the decree. Jessalyn for once figured out that she should just be quiet and lay low. I'm usually pretty forgiving and easy going about these things, but every once in a while the pressure builds and I end up blowing. This time I'm sure part of it was brought around by my hubby being sick. He didn't do it on purpose and I certainly understand, but when he's miserable, I'm miserable. He is really, really pitiful and has to sleep in the recliner so he can breath, which means that I sleep alone and I don't sleep well when he's not there. For some reason, I need to hear him breathing to be able to sleep. Notice I say "breathing", snoring is another story.

Well, time to get everyone off to school where they can tell all of their friends about their crazy mother and the terrible trials they must go through to live in this household. Who would ever believe that parents would make their children clean their room, put away clothes, clean the bathroom and take out the trash.....and then take away electronics for a day all over stupid chores.....what a life.

Have a great one.
dea

Thursday, November 20, 2008

oops

New post on Dea's corner. (Only because I hit the wrong button and don't know how to fix it quickly)..
On my way to work. Have a great day!
dea

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Cuz I'm suppose ta Post....

...So I will try to make this brief. That is one of the reasons I don't post much anymore. My overwhelming need to OVER explain things. I've gotten complaints about my posts being too long; understandably.
There is a real irony here, because one of the other reasons I haven't posted is because I don't have anything to say...

... okay, have the people who know me awakened from their fainting spells?

No really, nothing to say that fits within the format of this blog and is positive in nature.

Still, if I understand the coded message I got from secret agent wife, I'm supposed to post more often. The coded message came in the form of her telling me: "..Oh and I blogged, seeing as how you don't anymore..."

Did I decifer the code correctly?

Here's the news:
Yesterday I returned the chainsaw I ordered from Se@rs. I hadn't used it. I took it out of the box and I wasn't too surprised to find out I had made a mistake. I had done my research to the best of my ability but as usual as of late, it wasn't good enough. I had paid a third more for what should have been a quality machine, but the more I looked at it the more I realized it must have been a bad day at the factory. The assembly wasn't good. The brake wouldn't release (which ironically is why I got rid of my last chainsaw. THAT one only lasted a season). and the manual was too busy telling me not to use it to floss to tell me how to operate it. So I took it back.
Naturally they charged me a 15percent restocking fee...Oh, and the small se@rs store I was at then handed me a gift card because they didn't have the cash on hand...Nice. I could have se@rs send me a check, in a few days...Real Nice.

I've been sick for the last week. This is the week I was supposed to get ready for winter; cutting wood, getting property picked up etc. Oh well.

Lastly, I have removed "The Bible in Context" link. Click the underlined part if you want to go there but I haven't posted anything there for over a year now. I don't forsee me posting anything there in the near future either.

Perhaps in the future I will reformat it and start over. If I do reformat, all the previous posts will be lost. If there were any you wanted to reference to I would suggest you copy them now with my permission.

The site lost it's direction so it's time to close it.

Okay, let's see: this is still too long for what I had to say and still more negative than I wanted to share but on a positive note.....

Mission accomplished!

In case you are worried: God loves me and I love Him. I'm just getting some much needed exercise of my "Grace muscle". Evidently, it needs a lot of "pumping up"!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You and Give You Peace!
Will

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

No Secret agent "007"....

Just secret agent "MOM" here. The situation with imaginary people infiltrating our house, caused considerable concern with the governing body of the house. I sent in secret agent "MOM" (yes, I know that's me, but I am incogneto so shhhhh be vewy, vewy quiet we are hunting unknown entities). I started a thorough search of the house.
In my daughter's room-no one, but did find many of the clothes that I washed last week squashed into her sock basket and then covered up with socks. Sound suspicious to me, but she denies any knowledge of the incident. Looked under the bed AHA!!!!! nothing, nada, empty (yep surprised even me)....
Went to the next possible stronghold of the enemy.......Jake's room.
I found the fortress!!! Jackpot! I found right where they have been living....in Jake's closet. Over 30 hangers and 3 loads of dirty clothes later, I had found the bottom of his closet. He had just stacked all the other stuff on top of the stuff that was in there. The surprising thing is that he denies all knowledge of any wrong doing and you know what?

I believe him. My son the 16 year old can beat any video game out there. He can remember every word a teacher says in a lecture and repeat it back to them word for word (or pretty close). He can build huge lego creations in minutes that the directions say should take 4 hours or more, BUT the kid cannot remember where he put things, cannot remember to finish his chores and cannot remember to keep his shoes tied. It is like living with the absent minded professor. It's amazing and frustrating both to live with this kid. I'm very proud of him, but wonder in the future if he will forget his wife and kids when they run to the restroom at a gas station.

That mystery solved we start on the clean up of the situation. I call it mucking out Jake's room. We periodically have to do this with every room in the house. Things get put in weird places and have to be sent back to their original positions, but this room of Jake's is going to take some time because he wants to keep EVERYTHING. He is very sentimental (gets it from me, Will isn't sentimental at all) and it's hard for him to let go of anything which would explain why there was a pair of size 8 pants from 5th grade in his closet. My work is cut out for me on this next mission.

Signing out.
Secret agent "MOM"

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Proof that imaginary people exist at our house

I now have proof that extra people live at our house. On Friday, I did every little bit of laundry I could find while I had a chance. I asked both kids to bring me their dirty clothes out of their rooms. I checked their floors afterwards, empty....good.
Saturday I get home from work about 1:00 pm and decide to to a quick load of laundry only to find 9 pairs of pants, 12 shirts, 8 pairs of socks, and 3 pairs of underwear in the laundry.....hmmmm.

I now know that there are extra people because according to my last count we only have 4 people living here and I DO NOT DRESS MY DOG IN SILLY OUTFITS! This would mean there is truth to the claims of my children that "I don't know", "not me", "don't ask me" and "it wasn't me" obviously live here too. I must not be able to see them because I am old (kind of like Peter Pan".

Now I just have to figure out which one of them likes to put their dirty shirts back in the laundry basket with a hanger still in them? Any ideas? Probably the one that didn't change their underwear.

Have a great day.
dea

Saturday, November 15, 2008

It takes a computer to show you how dumb you are.

I joined facebook a couple of months ago to see if I could find any old friends from high school. Yippeee! I did.

Actually I found a couple that I used to hang around with alot in band. It is pretty cool to see what they look like now. Of course the down side is that they all look great and it makes me look at myself a little closer. I always thought I didn't look my age, but for cryin' out loud they all look great! What happened? I know that I don't have wrinkles, but I'm pretty sure that the fat keeps them from happening. I'm very active and excercise much more than 10,000 steps per day, don't eat alot, but have this sugar problem. My body does not deal with it well.

Before surgery 18 years ago, I did 175 situps a night. I can see that I am going to have to start doing something again. I'm telling you these people look wonderful! What a hoot.

Now onto why I feel dumb. There are so many things happening on that website, I don't know what button to push next. Shoot, I just figured out email for the most part and now they want me to do what? It's confusing.

Onto other news.....CD is almost ready to be sent for copies to be made. Waiting for the cover from my brother the graphic artist. Hoping to have it ready by the end of November.

Still cleaning and sorting, of course with it rainy and cold here, there's not much I can do outside without catching pneumonia, so that leaves inside. I think that I might go ahead and decorate for Christmas and get it over with. I keep finding more Christmas stuff, might as well put it to good use.

Have a great day!
dea

Thursday, November 13, 2008

UPDATE! NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!!

After much prayer on everyone's part God came through once again.....the diamond is found.

Monday after I had discovered it missing I had searched the whole post office, swept most of the floor looking through the dirt pile, looked over the bathroom and gone through all of my mail tubs (I took each one and turned it over and banged it on the counter to make sure it was empty).
Then I went home and spent Tuesday on my hands and knees going over our floors with a broom I had taken the handle off of and swept each surface carefully looking. I then took all of the piles of dirt and put them in a plastic dish pan and swirled the contents like a gold miner would, seperating the dirt from the hard stuff. No diamond.

Through it all I tried to remain calm and tried my best to find things to be thankful for in the situation. After all God says to be thankful in all things and to praise him in every situation. So I tried to do that. It was not easy, but I did find it easier to be less stressed as I was reminding myself that it was just a rock, just a thing. I have a WONDERFUL hubby, 2 loving children, animals that follow me wherever I go, a great family, loving church, food on the table, a house that needs work, but is still ours (and the banks). Things can be replaced. I got a little perspective.

Went to work on Wednesday and was telling people my new perspective. I was actually talking to someone about it when I picked up one of my mail tubs. This was one of the same tubs that I had banged upside down on the counter on Monday and now I pick it up, set it down on the counter top and my diamond flies up in the air about 6 inches and then falls back into the bottom of the tub (plastic dishpan).

Now you tell me what I'm supposed to think about this one.......hold the tub upside down, bang it on the counter and no diamond. Pick up a tub while telling someone that God has it in control and the diamond jumps into the air and catches the light.
Pretty awesome.
I'm still thanking him.

Now let me tell you this...if he can help me in this situation with a little diamond, don't you think we should allow him to handle the bigger stuff too?

Maybe by a problem being too big for us to handle we end up limiting God by thinking it's too big for Him, just because we can't imagine an answer. After this episode, I'm going through all of my problems and rethinking my position. I'm trying to make sure that I have my mind right. Maybe you should too. Nothings too big or too little for God.

Have a great day and remember to give God your diamonds.
dea

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Stupid things...

This time it's really my fault though....

Do you know what happens when you are half asleep when you make coffee?

Answer: You put the water and coffee in and turn it on

Hitch: Only to find out that you had made coffee the night before and the pot was still almost full (because you had forgotten to empty it).

Result: mess

Silver lining: The floor is now mopped

dea

Monday, November 10, 2008

I heard a neat thing....

I was listening to Mark Lowry this morning and he said that his favorite verse was "and it came to pass". I had to think about that for a minute. It's true.

No matter what is going on in your life, it will pass. If things are bad right now, it will pass. If things are crazy, it will pass. Of course if things are great it will pass (figures). It's a great verse (yes I know it's not the whole verse). But thank you God that it will pass.

So no matter what a mess our country is in right now, it will pass. No matter who's in office, it will pass. No matter what trials life keeps throwing at me (like losing the diamond out of my wedding ring) it will pass.

Life is short and we only get one time around on this merry go round, but let the little stuff fall on the wayside, consider the bad stuff temporary and look forward to the good, because all of it shall pass.

I'll tell you now, I'll be really, really glad when some of this junk passes.

Onward, I go........
dea

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Record a little and laugh alot

We spent 4 1/2 hours in the recording studio this afternoon. It was a blast. A little strange recording with a group, but funny. I've recorded 2 demo tapes before, so I've had the experience of recording by myself. When you are alone you just have your own goof ups to deal with, but with the group there were four other people goofing up too. Not to mention that we managed to forget the words on songs that we have known for years. We'd be going fine and then one of us would screw up. Some times you just had to laugh.

We are going to do some really neat mixing with this CD so we'll see how that turns out. We hope that it will sound like we imagine it. We go and check out the mixing on Thursday. Will with his background in radio and sound is our producer and is working right along with the studio. It's probably better that he does it because if I had my way, we would just turn me down and let everyone else sing. I like being the background support voice.

We had almost 80' weather until Wednesday and then it turned cold. Now it has been snowing for 2 days. Yuck.

I spent Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at a tourism conference in Wisconsin Dells. We had a great time, got lots of planning done and learned bunches. I am looking foward to the Governor's Conference on Tourism in March. Lots of exciting stuff happening in tourism in Wisconsin.

The kids went to a lock in at a neighboring church last night. Jacob took Skylar and Jessa had her cousin too. None of them slept at all. This morning, I had kids crashing all over. All except Jake. He was so wound up he could not sleep. Now he's pretty tired, but stil fighting it. I think he'll give up soon and go to bed.

Hope you all have a great day.
dea

Thursday, November 06, 2008

What a dog goes through to make you happy

Or maybe I should call it "a day in the life of Sam". Our wonderful black lab loves, I mean loves to bring you a toy. When he comes to see you, he has to bring you something. It's that retriever thing you know.

Well two nights ago he was playing with his "new favorite toy" a laundry basket. Of course after a 100 lb dog plays with it, it's not much of basket. He likes to throw it for himself and then run and fetch it. This has caused the bottom to completely break out of it, so when he carries it around it looks like a basket ball hoop. Of course any time we laugh at him, he has to take it one step farther, so.....

Monday night Will comes home from work and Sam takes him the basket "hoop style" in his mouth. Will says "Hi Sam" and that starts the happy dance. The next thing you know here comes Sam to see me with the basket laying accross his head so that it looks like he is a lion with a main. This silly white clothes basket with a dogs face inside. I laugh and so he has to take it to the next level for Will. He walks away from me towards Will and I see him stop and push it against the floor until it's a big collar type thing. He then parades in to see Will with his new "pretty". What a ham. He ended up taking his new idea around to everyone in the family so they would laugh and that just made him happier. He wore it for a long time before he would let me take it off.

It must have been a lot of work, because as soon as I took it off him, he went to bed. He just turned around like he was done for the day and headed to Jessa's room. I went in to see what he was doing and he walked into the room and just flopped on the floor. I guess making us all laugh had been his goal for the day. Goal accomplished, so time for bed. what a life!

I leave today for a tourism conference in Wisconsin Dells. It's at this resort called Chula Vista. I have not been there since they did this HUGE remodeling project. When I say huge, I mean huge. Millions of dollars went into it, and I am looking forward to seeing the difference.

Watched a musical last night with the kids. It was a tape I had of a musical put on by a church in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Very, very old tape. I think I taped it by accident in 1990 while trying to tape something else. We have watched it almost every Christmas since. It tells the whole story from birth to ressurection. It's pretty cool. Even though the kids kind of groaned during a little of it, they all sat and watched it and didn't talk much at all. It must have been ok.

We start practising for our Christmas program Sunday. We decided to go back and pull out about 6 songs out of musicals that we have done in the past and create a mini musical. The kids are going to be part of it too by doing a play type thing along with it. We'll see if we can pull it all together.

This Sunday is our "potluck" Sunday and we are doing Thanksgiving dinner. Between the conference and recording our CD on Saturday, I need to somehow find the time to make my bread dough cornicopia. I make on out of braided bread dough, bake it with a hard egg glaze and then use it to create a center piece filled with fall gourds, flowers and other tid bits. It's pretty impressive yet extremely simple to do.

The weather is colder now, so I'm going to start using my bread maker again. Something about coming home to the smell of fresh baked bread is very warming. I feel lots of homemade soup and bread nights coming on. Our whole family loves it. A big bowl of thick and creamy potato, cheese and ham soup and homemade bread. Yum, yum.....oh crud now I'm hungry.

Christmas is less than two months away and by the looks of it they will be a very short two months. We am booked solid up until the
14th of December and then we start preparing for Christmas Eve at our house. I think I will cut it back to about 15 kinds of food this year. I'm working on my menu now. Should be fun.

Well, time to finish getting kids ready for school.

Have a great day!

dea

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

wordless Wednesday

So much has happened to change my life in the last 24 hours, I am truly speechless.

The one bright moment was Jacob's concert last night. They truly did an awesome job. The men's choir was great! Keep up the good work.

Other than that I am overwhelmed and just pressing on.

God Bless America. We need it.

Have a great day!
dea

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Election day test

My Dad said something the other day that's been running through my mind. You know there's nothing new under the sun to God. He knows exactly who will win this election. He knows what will happen under the new administration. He knows what supreme court justices will be nominated. He knows it all.

The truth of this election is that it is a test for us. The test is how will we vote and on what reason will we base our vote? Will we base it on party? Will we vote on color? Will we vote on beliefs? Will we vote on morals?

Be very careful how you vote. Consider your reasons.

As for me.......I'm voting the Bible. It's the one infallible thing in this world. The WORD OF GOD. Vote what the Bible says and that's the only way to make sure that your vote counts in ways that it should. Vote morals surely, vote character surely, vote for patriotism surely, vote for beliefs but please vote for what the Bible says is important (you can bet your bottom dollar that it isn't color, charisma, style or empty promises). In my opinion it's babies and where we will stand when the trumpet sounds.

Pray about it. VOTE. Then pray some more.

God Bless America.

dea

Monday, November 03, 2008

Usually I love daylight savings time, but...

I always love that day when the clocks fall back and I can get another hours sleep before I need to get ready for church. Yesterday morning started out with me laying in the bed (I went back to sleep after Will left for work). I was just laying there saying thank you to God for "blankets". Have you ever thought about blankets? They are wonderful. I just love laying there being all warm and cozy. Blankets are wonderful until that moment comes when you just cannot lie still any longer. As I get older that moment comes earlier and earlier. This morning it came at 3:30 am. Oh joy.

This morning I made the mistake of thinking about something that I needed to get done today and then my mind went to finances, which are tight right now. Oh great....now there's no going back to sleep. I look over and would love to wake up my hubby and talk to him, so it's time to get out of the bed. I know he's exhausted from working all weekend, so on Mondays I let him sleep in.


Although, no matter what I do unless I really try to wake him up, he won't. I have no idea how he can sleep so hard. Any little noise wakes me up. Any time anything happens, I feel like Gladys Cravitz on Bewitched..."Abner wake up and go out and check on the neighbors".

We had a benefit yesterday for a little girl that lives here in the community who has terrible health problems. It sure makes you appreciate your kids (or at least it should). Then when we came home I spent the rest of the afternoon with Jessa. Jake was at a friend's house and actually came home early. I still wonder what he did. He is forever getting home late. We were surprised.

I read an article the other day that really put things in perspective. The lady was griping because her family was so busy and she had to really work to have them all sit down at a meal together. She had tried to do it one night a week for all of their lives, which due to scheduling was really hard. Then she realized that her girls were growing up and she sat down and figured it out that if she had dinner with them one night a week until they graduated, she only had 104 family night dinners with them left. She went into it with a different attitude and then after it was over said "Only 103 left". Sure puts a different spin on things.

I have resolved to simplify my life. I started deep cleaning last year and each time I can, I still do. I am trying to get things working smoothly and remove clutter from our lives. Not easy when we are all busy and have so much "stuff". I have our stuff, dead people's stuff from my ancestors, Cranfest paperwork, etc and that's just the family stuff. That does not include Will's stuff, Jake's HUGE amount of stuff (he's a collector) and Jessa's stuff. It's hard, but we are working on it. I know that we will never be one of those families that live in a house that has no clutter on shelves, tables, or counter tops, but I'm trying to find a place for everything and sometimes it even works.

Have a great day.
dea