Happy New Year!

We will be here to ring in the New Year. A place that could not be more perfect for reflecting, breathing, and slowing down to remember all the blessings of 2010. A place to discuss, dream and plan for the year we are about to embark on. God is good...all the time!

verry merry

What is done, is all that is going to get done. We are officially finished with work, for this year, and have begun our first vacation. Spending the day wrapping a couple of gifts, finishing up the baking and beginning Christmas Dinner preparations. This afternoon we head to Grandparents for Christmas Eve Italian Dinner. Please pass the eggnog!

Christmas Day Dinner
Pork Tenderloin
Spinach Salad
Green Beans
Seasoned Potatoes
Jello Salad
Bread

Desserts: Christmas Bark, Peanut Butter Fudge,
Biscotti, and anything else that shows up.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:10-14

Merry Christmas!

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY... December 21, 2010

Outside my window... it is a chilly morning. Much I was up and outside my window the sky was crystal clear, with a beautiful "red" moon and two falling stars...it was spectacular.

I am thinking... about a young friend leaving for Haiti today. She is trained, prepared and knows how to love on babies; but she is leaving her family five days before Christmas, and I just want all of them be alright. Prayers for travel, health, and a mighty presence for God.

I am thankful for... two young ladies that are the best of friends and love each other SO much. I am blessed to be their mama.

From the learning rooms... movie nights, game night, Jesse Tree, baking, reading, farming ~ OK, none of this is happening in the learning room, but plenty of learning is taking place.

From the kitchen... we are half way through two weeks of menus we created as a family and it is wonderful. Something I need to do all the time, not just during busy times. Everyone checks the menu and gets it done.

I am wearing... jammies.

I am creating... a tablecloth and a few Christmas gifts.

I am remembering... this family in prayer.

I am going... Christmas shopping later today.

I am currently reading... a book I can't even remember the title of...not much reading happening.

I am hoping... that in the midst of heartache, several families we know can celebrate the gift of Christmas. It has been a tough year of loss for some that we love.

I am hearing... silence, it is very unusual.

On my mind... the list of things that must be done at the beginning of the year.

Noticing that... this little farm is so much happier with a pig in the pen.

Around the house... we are still finishing Christmas decorations.

One of my favorite things... Christmas music.

From my picture journal...Miss Piggy came home in the dark. She needed a little pen work so she couldn't escape and the truck needed to be cleaned out. All had to be done with the help of headlights.




Thank you Peggy for hosting the Simple Woman's Daybook.
Thanks for stopping by, feel free to link over and read more Daybooks.

gratitude

#56 a friend to share an unplanned dinner out and a little Christmas shopping with

#57 parents celebrating 45 years of marriage...thanks for never giving up

#58 a little dreary, cold, damp and sometimes misty, weather ~ it feels a little more like winter during Christmas

#59 experience ~ that teaches me it is OK to be this unprepared for Christmas this late in the month

#60 only three and a half days of work left before a much needed extended break

#61 my church family

#62 the courage to begin a tablecloth by cutting the fabric I have had for more than a year, not nearly as difficult as I was making it

#63 grandparents that live close enough for movie nights and Christmas shopping...have fun girls

#64 a new perspective

#65 chickens that decided it is a good thing to lay eggs again

#66 in the middle of mountains of work, they still ask me to play (and I get to be the nana)
#67 warm flannel sheets to crawl into

#68 a sleep doctor that gave my husband a new life

#69 family movie night

#70 JESUS...the only gift that really matters

Merry Christmas!

Thank you Ann for hosting such thankfulness!

sunday snapshot

The pigs need water...farm work builds character,
makes this boy think twice about career choice.
Note to self, if I choose to be a farmer rental cost
of the trencher is worth it. Only one more pen to
run water to once this one is finished.
Thank you son, for your labor.

right now...at this moment

It has been a long time since I have been in this space and while much has happened it will show up in another post, maybe. My camera has also been as still as this little space, but I managed to pick it up and capture about fifteen minutes of life. These images represent the little things I am noticing, not wanting to forget, Living in the present...

A simple Christmas is happening all around...
no rushing, no panic, no chaos ~ it will all get done, it always does...

Girls needing some outside time, knitting included...

Remnants of last nights fire...a foreshadowing
of nights throughout the cool season...

Crisp laundry drying quickly in blustery days...

Cozy new flannel sheets ~ bed warmers used
nightly in this house that does not turn on heat...

New pigs in the pigpen...

Chicks growing quickly are moving to a bigger broader this weekend...

Little girls just waking up,,,

Cozy mornings and evenings standing in front of this spot...

Our Jesse Tree.

I pray you have a blessed week and in case I don't make it back here...

Merry Christmas!

a new season

Thankful this morning for the ordinary...

#41 a new season, crisp air allows windows to be open through the night and early in the day

#42 a weekend of rest

#43 a little bit of knitting

#44 a walk and a bike ride with my husband


#45 bacon cooking with open windows...what makes that so wonderful?

#46 one little girl that "loves ironing",(her words)

#47 school on the porch

#47 autumn breezes

#48 watching one son score a touchdown, glad I didn't blink at the wrong time

#49 children that must dawn a hat and gloves on the very first cool morning and go outside, usually to ride a bike ~ this happens like clock work every year

#50 anything baked apple (it's definitely Fall)

#51 a morning walk (or bike ride) that happens here...
#52 too much work, because it seems better than too little work

#53 a new haircut for Locks of Love...

before

after

#54 a dog that survived tick paralysis

#55 new (to us) furniture

Rest in Him...

A quiet Sunday...complete with a family meal, a nap, some football, some fishing, a little reading and maybe a movie. Thankful He instructed us to set aside a day to refresh before the hectic week continues.

This moment captured while home by myself, something that rarely happens, and I chose to rest.

Stop by Stefanie's to see and share your own Sunday snapshots.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today...
Wednesday, September 28, 2010.

Outside my window...
The sun must be up...but is is very gray. We should get much needed rain, but they said that yesterday too. I am ready for a break in the humidity, but so very thankful for the rain.

I am thinking...
cooler nights filled with outside fires, pots of soup and hot chocolate can't get here soon enough. About finishing my 100 photos project. I am on number 12, so this will require some focus.

I am thankful for...
Dave Ramsey and his insightful financial teaching.

From the kitchen...
homemade granola we are out of cereal. I buy cereal only on sale and when it's gone, it's gone. We try to have family supper on Wednesday because we are all home.

From the learning room...
things are going really well. We have definitely found our rhythm and everyone is making good progress.

I am wearing...
walking clothes.

I am creating...
a baby gift of knitted bib, knitted had and cute little onesie. It is finished to the point of blocking, wrapping and packing. I am ready to cast on my caplet for what I hope is the very last time.

I am going...
to go correct math as soon as this post is finished.

I am reading...
One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury, but I just don't have the time to read, to myself that is.

I am praying for...
so many people right now. A sweet family facing life threatening illness, marital problems in another family, life altering medical adjustments for an elder, healing in my own family, friends and family saying good bye to a women who died suddenly at only 39, and a dad to young children diagnosed with bone cancer that made it only 8 more days, just to name a few. So many people around us are hurting that my heart feels heavy and over burdened.

I am pondering these words...
(in light of all the pain those around me are facing)
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I am hoping...
to find some incredible deal on a flight to NYC.

I am hearing...
the pitter-patter of feet above my head. The alarm clock has been ringing far too long.

Around the house...
it is obvious we are a self employed homeschool family. I am tickled pink to have my closet light back. Not only do I have it back, it is no longer flouresent, which means my clothes appear the color they actually are. Thank you Mr. D.C for fixing that for me.

One of my favorite things...
hearing "These are a few of my Favorite Things", on the piano by my favorite twelve year old.

A few plans for the rest of the week: 4-H meeting, missed knitting, large project completed for our business, road trip for Friday night football game, some creative time.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... walking in the rain ~ dedication!

Thank you Peggy for the Simple Woman's Daybook {follow links to read more}.

a little participation

Jerralea tagged me to answer the following questions. I am supposed to answer these questions and then ask my own eight "new" questions and tag eight new people. I am really bad at this game. I have always been bad at the real tag too, never liked it. Ten days have passed (now you know why I was/am bad...I'm slow) and I am just now getting to the questions and I know there are no new questions coming and no tags. Thank you Jerralea for asking me to play along. Here are the answers to your thoughtful questions and I am sorry for not being a team player.

1. What was the first meal you ever prepared?

The first meal, I remember preparing, the month we were married, was a roast in the crock pot. The crock pot was a wedding gift. I was gone for the day to register for school an hour from home. I called home from a pay phone (remember those?), to ask my husband how it was coming along. He informed me when he returned from work it was still pink. What? This was after a day of tears trying to register in a new school, as a senior, having to retake the ACT because they would not take an SAT score, you get the picture. Long story short, we did not eat the roast, exchanged the crock pot and just for the record my husband does not eat roast. Maybe this was the best thing that could have happened. I would have been crushed that he did not like my supper.

2. What is your favorite worship song?

(easy peasy) In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

3. If you could do any occupation, what would it be?

I would like to be an independent contractor for government agencies as a Sign Language interpreter. I think it would be so rewarding to help people that can not communicate due to deafness. I would be able to work when I felt like it and I would think this would be a decent paying job, but honestly I have not researched that far.

4. What is your favorite flower? I don't really have a favorite. But I did grow these from seed.

5. Would you rather wear one pair of shoes all the time and switch purses, or only carry one purse and have different pairs of shoes?

I don't like to change purses and I don't have a lot of shoes. I would choose "one purse and different shoes" though.

6. Name one fashion fad you hope never comes back.

Bell bottoms...but they will.

7. Would you rather handwrite in cursive or print?

I would rather print for neatness, but write in cursive for speed. (I am not doing very well at answering these questions as Jerralea asked them.)

8. Would you rather see a bestselling movie, or read the book?
Read the book hands down! The book is ALWAYS better.