Friday, April 30, 2010

Decorating

I've been touching up here and there around the house. I was at Hobby Lobby recently and they have a (new?) selection of drawer pulls and knowing that Libby and Jacob both need them for their dressers, I bought some to try for Libby's first. I thought they turned out great... and they were really cheap, too! (Excuse the mess in her room- I should have cleaned it upbefore I took the pictures!)



The lime green matches her walls. You can see it better in this picture.

I'm also working on another project for her room.... pictures will follow as soon as I'm finished, which will hopefully be soon! :-)


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Sarah when she was 3: Sarah today at 14:


How can it be that one minute she was a strong-willed little 3 year-old monster driving her mother insane, writing all over the kitchen with a black sharpie (counter tops, floor, table, wallpaper.....), filling up the garbage can with water and convincing Libby to strip and jump off the couch into the water like it was a pool, running off in stores, calling God a "doody" because she prayed it wouldn't rain and yet it did.... the list goes on. And now she is a beautiful, smart, talented, mature (yet still strong-willed) 14 year old young christian lady with a great sense of humor? I'm struggling with my baby growing up.... but I have very proud of her!

Libbinardo Newvinci

Libby started drawing classes (against her will), but has discovered she actually enjoys it and is quite good. She has asked to sign up for another month and told me that I'm going to be buying more art supplies in the future because she wants to do painting, as well. Below I present last night's masterpiece, "Bell Pepper".


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

You've heard of Wordless Wednesday....

This is wordless Tuesday.....













Monday, April 26, 2010

Faithful

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you, when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.


Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43: 1-3, 18-20

A couple years ago, these verses jumped off the page of my bible at me right at a time when I desperately needed to hear them, but when I was so emotionally distraught I could barely make sense of them. This past week I have been reminded of them in a newsletter I receive, on the back of a card I was sending to a friend and again this morning on a website I was visiting. I hear you, God... I need to revisit these verses. At the time I first really noticed them, I said out loud to God, "No. I do not perceive it! I can see no way that you can make a way through this wilderness!" But I knew there was something big in these words, something meant for me, and I copied them into my journal while God etched them on my heart. What I found over the next few months was that it was okay not to FEEL God or to be able to SEE where He is leading you, as long as you choose every day to believe that God is there, loving you, walking with you and you choose to take the next step with Him. The verses don't promise you won't experience pain (that promise is nowhere to be found in scripture)... but just that God will be with you through it... and that it won't destroy you.

I have found these words of Isaiah's to be true! God is faithful. And I have seen Him produce that river of water right in the middle of my desert. I wish I didn't have to find out the hard way... but I'd go through it all again if it meant I would know God the way I do today.
I was saving this picture for another post I have brewing in my mind.... but I feel like sharing it now. This is a verse I copied down at some point and it floated around my car for so long, I finally stuck it to my visor.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Cute

One night when I was putting Jacob to bed, I was straightening up his room a bit and noticed he had cleared off one of his bookshelves and I was about to get really mad (as I have spent alot of time organizing them)... until I noticed what he had been playing on it. I thought it was cute. Thought I'd share. (Elsie, I think some of those are rocks you have given him).


Thursday, April 22, 2010

Take Your Child to Work

I was conned into letting the girls stay home yesterday for "Take Your Child to Work Day". Since my "work" is currently at home (btw, being a Homemaker will apparently get you onto a jury REALLY quick) that meant lots of housework and baking. Not wanting them to think this was just a day to stay home and watch TV and sleep (which is what I normally do)... I had a full DOCKET for them. (Okay, the Blog Writer will STIPULATE that for the next few days, she will likely be using a few new court terms that have become a part of her vocabulary since her days in the court system. Don't try to object..... I can't hear you so you are automatically OVERRULED). Anyway.... It turned out to be a great day and I think, in addition to getting alot done, they learned a few things.


We started with laundry, which included lots of folding, sorting and washing sheets and re-making the beds.Then I taught the girls to make bread. I have found a wonderful bread recipe that I will share later and they really seemed to enjoy the kneading process the most. As Libby is showing, they also spent alot of time texting their friends.Then we did some cleaning. Libby actually enjoys dusting.After straightening up downstairs, we focused alot of attention upstairs... particularly on Sarah's room. The Blog Writer would like to submit into evidence the following exhibits, which we will number 1 through 4, which we contend will show that Sarah does not keep her room in a reasonable state of orderliness:
I don't know how or why she lets her room get like that. But here is what it looked like when we were done (two big trash bags later):

The girls then went through a "Just for Kids" cookbook and planned a meal, including making a shopping list.Then we made a trip to the grocery store. While in the produce department, I told Libby to go and pick up a cucumber and pointed in the general direction of where the cucumbers can normally be found. She got over there and, looking at peppers, said, "You know, I don't really know what a cucumber looks like". A lady nearby laughed and helped her locate the cucumbers. At that moment, I realized that it was right and good that the girls had stayed home with me. I had no idea my child couldn't recognize a cucumber in the grocery store. After the cucumber, I sent her to get an onion, which she found without help. But a moment later, Sarah and I saw an onion go rolling by at the end of the aisle where we stood, followed by Libby running after it. We could not stop laughing. Later, she dropped a box of spaghetti and it spilled out on the floor. What was awesome was that when we got to the aisle where they keep the sugar, two men were re-organizing the shelves and one was putting the sugar on the floor and giving it a shove to slide it across the floor to the other man. The girls were amused and we joked that we had found the perfect job for Libby.


Here is what they made for dinner. It's basically a hot dog bun that has been hollowed out and filled with sloppy joe mixture. Then cucumbers, carrots, olives and a pretzel are added to make it look like a car! How fun!
Overall.... it was a successful day! And I enjoyed getting to spend the extra time with them. Of course, I am equally as happy to finally have today to myself. Ladies and Gentleman of my Readership... you are now adjourned to the comment section to deliberate on your verdict on this Blog Post. Please use fair and reasonable judgement.
Adjourned.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

All Rise

I had jury duty this week! This was my first time to be called and it was a really interesting experience. I felt I would probably not stick around long, but instead... I was assigned to two juries and almost three. :-) They had over 700 cases to dispose of this week. Lots of those end in plea agreements before they get to a jury. There were about 125 people there (after they initially dismissed about 50 people for random things) and I was in the Jury Lounge for about an hour and was then called in the first randomly chosen group of 30 to go for jury selection. I was in the 12 that were selected for that case. It was a civil case in which one man hit another over the head with a board. Our deliberations took way longer than they should have... but it was a FUN group of fellow jurors. I even had lunch with a few of them. I haven't laughed so much in quite a while. I miss them already! After that case was completed (found in favor of the defendant (UPDATE: I meant to say "plaintiff"... I hope I know the difference! ha), but only awarded him half of his medical bills since we felt both men were provoking each other) ... on Tuesday afternoon, we were sent back to the jury pool. An hour later, I was called in the next randomly selected group of 30 to another civil case. By Wednesday morning, I was selected to be on that jury, as well. BORING testimony for 2 hours and then the judge dismissed the case due to lack of evidence. (As I was sitting there thinking, "Um... where's the evidence?!") So... back to the jury pool because by then, the clerk had thought there were no more cases and had sent alot of people home. But one of the judges surprised her. So I was NEEDED for the final jury pool of 30... a criminal case. So we waited. But unfortunately, it was settled Wednesday afternoon and we were never called. So I got to go home. But I was really wishing for a criminal case.

That's my story! And I got $33.75 for all that! Which is $33.75 more than I would have made those three days. :-) And I learned alot about the justice system. Yay!



Saturday, April 17, 2010

Just Sharing

Krogers has a basket of "clearance" flowers almost all the time now. I found these beauties when I got groceries for $2.00! :-)


I took this picture at a weird angle- but here is Sarah's leg on Day 3 of the injury. It's looking better today. She was able to play in her soccer game this morning.


Found this adorable little decoration item at Hallmark. The verse reference that you probably can't make out is Psalm 100:5. (For the LORD is good and his love endures forever.)


I shopped this week at a consignment sale and got several great deals on clothes for the kids, especially for Jacob. Unfortunately, I didn't look at this pair of boxers very closely until Jacob had them on. I doubt I would have bought them had I noticed this, but, if you know Jacob, you will know that t

hey kind-of "fit". He enjoyed going around and showing everyone! Didn't hesitate a minute to pose for a picture!





Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A Day Later

This is how Sarah's leg looks today.... poor thing!













And here is Jacob doing his homework (I just can't get this kid to stop studying! Ha ha)....

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Dangerous

This post is not for the squeamish. :-)

I'm not sure whether the girl that did this to Sarah was wearing soccer cleats with plastic or rubber on the bottom as she is supposed to be, or whether she had metal, which is not allowed in AYSO (as you will soon see why).... I don't think equipment gets monitored much at practices. But... Sarah's thigh got in the way of a cleat in the midst of an intense kick tonight at soccer practice and this was the result:

These "scrapes" are about 10 inches long (I didn't measure them- I'm guessing) and you can't see it very well in the picture, but they are swollen and puffy. You can see the bruising.
It's not like Sarah to make a big deal of an injury (in public, I am talking), so I was surprised to see her limp off the field. I about passed out when I got close enough to see what had happened. She was saying it hurt to walk tonight. I know it's probably going to hurt really bad in the morning, especially in the shower. Poor thing.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

God's Love


The last few days I have been more dedicated to seeking God and look what I found on the floor of my kitchen while I was cleaning up today!

The leaf will have the most meaning if you read my post from a couple years ago.... My Leaf Story.
God is really good and loves me and loves me and loves me... faithfully like no one else can!




Monday, April 5, 2010

I've seen Faithful Love face to face....

This is the picture Libby submitted at Lads to Leaders... there weren't enough entries in her age division or else I'm pretty sure she would have won! The theme was "Faith is the Victory".


The point of my post is to share a song. We sing this song in church sometimes and I wasn't familiar with it. I love it.


FAITHFUL LOVE

Faithful love flowing down from the thorn-covered crown,makes me whole, saves my soul, washes whiter than snow.

Faithful love calms each fear, reaches down, dries each tear; holds my hand when I can’t stand on my own.


(Chorus)
Faithful love from above came to earth to show the Father’s love.
And I’ll never be the same, for I’ve seen faithful love face to face. And Jesus is His name.


Faithful love is a friend just when hope seems to end, welcome face, sweet embrace, tender touch filled with grace.

Faithful love, endless power, living flame, Spirit’s fire; Burning bright in the night, guiding my way.