Wednesday, September 26, 2012
good news!
I've posted about Taylor before and just mentioned her on my prayer list this week... Here's what her mom posted on facebook today:
it wasn't free
...but it was 20% off with free shipping. And DONE is good. We will have to pay for Abby's China book too, but that's okay ~ She kept hers to 20 pages! : )
Here's Daniel's book...
Here's Daniel's book...
Click here to view this photo book larger
You'll love award-winning Shutterfly photo books. Start your own today.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
daybook 9/25/2012
FOR TODAY
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Outside my window...
it is still mostly green as I look toward the pasture, altho’ we had a hard frost Saturday night {can’t see the garden sitting here, and I’m ignoring the mostly brown ‘lawn’ out of habit}. The soybeans are soon ready to be combined ~ as a new cover crop looks lovely and green in between them.
I am thinking...
Must finish and order photo books with coupons that expire tomorrow.
I am thankful …
for those photo book coupons!
for sunny-although-chilly weather to enjoy our church service in the park Sunday evening {at least until I ate my bowl of iiiiice ccrrrream }
for my fix-it hubby who got the iron working again {Now I just need to teach our sons how to iron their own clothes with it}
I am praying for...
… Taylor, who needs an improved appetite now that she’s home again away from the IV food source
…Stefanie {and family} as she labors … and waits… for arrival of Lil’ Miss
… same Stef’s dad, who will have surgery for a brain tumor on Oct. 2
… job prospects for Conny’s hubby Dan
…Tim, in the field : )
…Kate, in week four of college ~ doing well!
From the learning rooms...
Also week four for us at home in full-time school work.
I’m anticipating getting our routine/extra-curricular distractions under control so I can enjoy a good read-aloud book with the kids ~ Haven’t decided yet if it will be The Five Little Peppers & How They Grew or something history-related. I thought I’d ask the Popper her choice. {and hopefully we’ll get at it before the snow flies…}
From the kitchen...
Leftovers are my favorite menu item! ; ) There’s still a pan of chili in the fridge from Sunday.
Other options: chicken fingers, spaghetti, VandeKamps from the freezer, pepper steak…
{I just took a breakfast tea cake out the oven – smells like yum}
I am creating...
mostly photo books this month
I am going...
out the door with Miss Artist for a harp lesson – now!
And tomorrow she has the next appt with orthodontist for bands.
{{home again}}
I am reading...
Evidence Not Seen ~ still. I’ve been really slooow on this one! But I made it into chapter 8 today, and there are only 10 ch total.
I started Scottish Chiefs the other day while looking for books to read aloud. I haven’t decided if I really want to pursue the rest of it now.
I am hoping...
oh, lots of things.
Right now I’m thinking about the two+ five?! years of pictures/pages I need to finish in Daniel’s photo book {I expanded it into a rather large span of years to be able to include his recent senior pics… oh dear}
…and hoping I can do this quickly and well.
I am hearing...
the dryer rumbling. {Reminds me I should start another load to wash…}
Kids are studiously quiet – ha ha
Around the house...
The ironing board is still in our bedroom, waiting for me to finish with it.
To dream the impossible dream…
There is a pile of flannel in the sewing room that needs to be ironed and stitched into blankets for some dear babies already born or soon to be!
One of my favorite things...
the gorgeous colors of fall… with sunshine, a cool breeze, and leaves to crunch under my feet.
Pondering these words...
hmm, I wish I could quote him word for word. Scott Mickelson calls in daily to his dad’s talk show on WHO Radio. {It’s Scott’s means of doing a live commercial for The Gold Connection} Today Scott listed several things that should make us concerned, ie the national debt and potential war in the middle-east. But, he said, what are Americans ranting about today?
The NFL referees.
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Orthodontist with Abby tomorrow morning, Kids 4 Truth tomorrow night.
I moved piano lessons to Monday, so we are heavy on the GOing early in the week this year. Thursday-Saturday I try to stay at home!
Here is a picture for thought...
Happy 20th Anniversary of our Engagement!
Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,
that thou fulfil it.
Colossians 4:17
~ Find more Daybooks at Peggy's ~
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
under {re}construction
The woman who has no time to write posts should not try to redecorate her blog, eh?
Well, I got the new header photo to load -- Can't figure out how to make it small enough to see my entire family {still - I guess the previous photo was outta sight too.}
Anyhoo... TIME IS UP. For tonight. So, I apologize for the mess. But I must leave it for another day. G'night!
Well, I got the new header photo to load -- Can't figure out how to make it small enough to see my entire family {still - I guess the previous photo was outta sight too.}
Anyhoo... TIME IS UP. For tonight. So, I apologize for the mess. But I must leave it for another day. G'night!
more from shutterfly
10 Free Cards : )
Here's a sneak peak ~
Thanks again, shutterfly! You & Sarah make us look pretty good! ;-)
Here's a sneak peak ~
Thanks again, shutterfly! You & Sarah make us look pretty good! ;-)
btw... Only 97 Days Until Christmas ... or so the kids say.
Alleluia! Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
not sure why
...I can't load this pic into my header.
But another day I will try, try again. {Perhaps the file is just too big to load quickly?}
But another day I will try, try again. {Perhaps the file is just too big to load quickly?}
Photo by Captured by Sarah Photography
8/29/2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
thank you, shutterfly
Just in time for Abby's senior year... when I make the crazy attempt to record her 18 years of life into hold-them-in-your-hand book(s). :o
Well, here's my first book for her - covering a whopping 3 of those 18 years. But hey, it's a start! She'll at least have one book on her display table...
With 20 FREE pages. And free shipping. :D Thank you, Shutterfly!
Praise the Lord for His Blessings!
Well, here's my first book for her - covering a whopping 3 of those 18 years. But hey, it's a start! She'll at least have one book on her display table...
With 20 FREE pages. And free shipping. :D Thank you, Shutterfly!
Praise the Lord for His Blessings!
Click here to view this photo book larger
Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.
hAppY biRtHdAy to Kate!
Wow, 19 years.
19 years ago early in the wee hours of Grandparent's Day, I just said, "Wow." Amazing what God can do!
1995
2009
2010 ~ VBS in Omaha
2011
I'm not sure what she and her college roomies or nearby cousins will do to celebrate the day...
19 years ago early in the wee hours of Grandparent's Day, I just said, "Wow." Amazing what God can do!
1995 20092010 ~ VBS in Omaha
Happy 17th Birthday in Prague!
2011
2012
I'm not sure what she and her college roomies or nearby cousins will do to celebrate the day...
Happy Birthday, Kate! We love you!
{Now get your homework done!}
Friday, September 7, 2012
World Travel Update #3 {Abby}
China Trip No. 3: Part I of Email #3.
----------
EMAIL #3:
----------
(Note: Email #3 was written over several days.)
I've been doing my emailing during nap time. :) Nap time begins around 12:30 (or 1:00 for the older kids) and lasts till 3:00. Right now Chuckles (2 yo (for those of you who don't know :)) is dealing out the Uno cards for the two of us to play a second game. (He isn't napping right now because he had a three hour nap this morning.)
It's hilarious...
…Uno (Chuckles's style) is played by dealing out the entire deck of cards. When it is your turn, you just play the one on the top of your stack. To play, you place your card in one of the four piles of cards in front of you depending on what color of card you have.
So there's a red pile, a green pile, a yellow pile, and a blue pile. I love to hear him whisper (we were whispering so we didn’t wake anyone up), in his often-hard-to understand language,
"'Or (your) 'urn ou (to) deal!" Or, now that Mrs. A brought Baby down, he plays a card, waits to see that I play, and then runs to play a wee bit with Baby. :) Now he comes running back. And in a moment he'll disappear to climb in Baby's playpen and play with her for half a minute.
On our third game, we had just started when he says,
"A'mos done." Another thing that cracks me up is how he almost always says z instead y. So "yes" is always "Zes!" (accompanied by a emphatic nod of the head). :) :)
Yesterday after nap time we went to the school that Mr. A teaches at. We played ball, and then Mr. A, Dad, and the boss went on a tour. They didn't see even half the school. :) The boss is really big into the history and meaning of things. Around the grounds you’ll see huge sculptures, either of wood or stone, that have some meaning. There was a series of rooms that were created for when parents come to visit or when the school has some distinguished visitor. They must've spent close to an hour in those rooms. I think they saw the greenhouse, the gardens/organic farm (they have really yummy grapes that I learned to eat the Chinese way!), and that series of rooms specially decorated. They had a good conversation with him about spiritual things.
One Chinese custom I've struggled with is not saying "thank-you." The reasoning behind this custom is that the deeper the friendship, the less need to say thank-you. So if you say "thank you" you are basically telling the person that your friendship isn't very deep. The Chinese people are shocked when Mr. A or Mrs. A say thank-you to their kids.
Friday night it rained, so Saturday morning we took the kids out to play in the puddles. The streets don't have good drainage systems so the streets fill with water. The kids had a fun time. :) Unfortunately, Mr. A decided there must've been sewage in those puddles too. :-/
Before we took them out though, the police came. Coming in on the airplane, you are to write down where you’ll be staying at. If you’re going out into the country, you are to register your presence with the police of the town when you get there. We were going to go to the police station Saturday morning at 9:00, but Mr. A got a phone call saying that the police were going to come to the house instead! I don't remember what I was doing, but all of a sudden Mr. A calls out, "Hurry, Abby!! Grab your camera!! They're comin' down the street! Get a picture!" (Or something like that. :)) So I ran to the window, but I couldn't see a single person. I'm looking all over the place when I finally look straight down in front of the stairway door. There's a big group of people walking towards the staircase entrance. A couple of people are hauling cameras out of their car. I started thinking "What!!!! Reporters!!!??? Please NO!!"
They all trouped up the stairs and into the house. There was half a dozen police besides the TV reporter, a lady with a still camera, and a boy maybe Cattleman’s age or younger. The reporters took pictures of everything - even our passports! Everyone was very friendly and enjoyed looking at the pictures we brought.
When the police were ready to give our passports back, I had to stand up with a policewoman. She handed my passport back to me with a formal gesture. I felt extremely silly.:) Then the camera guy who was filming everything said I had taken it too fast. So we repeated the gesture.. slower. They not only gave Dad his passport back like they had done with me, but they said “You’re going to say this and this and this.” (Or something like that. :))
Well… as you can imagine, that was not too appealing to Dad. But he didn’t want to mess up the good relationship Mr. A had with the police department, so he thought of something else to say that was still complimentary but also truthful. :) He said something about how convenient to was for us to have the police come to the house. They had Mr. A sit beside him on the couch and translate. Sherrie's mom said that we were on the city news.
Sunday morning Mr. A preached a sermon on the last four verses of Ephesians. Then we had a song service. We sang "The B-I-B-L-E," the growing song ("...read your Bible, pray every day.."), and "Dig, Dig, Dig." Right before bedtime we had a time of thanksgiving where we all praised God for things we were thankful for.
Sunday afternoon the boss's sister-in-law and wife came over with their oldest boys. Some other girls, Megan, Susan, and Hannah came over as well. I think Sherrie came too. Sherrie is very sweet. :)
Sunday night we went to a restaurant called Hot Pot. Everyone has a pot of water at their place that sits right on the table cloth. There must be some sort of heater under the table. I'm not sure how it works. You have a control attached to whatever heats it so you can turn it off or change the temperature.
Then in the middle of the circular table is a big circle of glass that is like those spinning things (they look like mini lazy susans) you put in cupboards to hold spices or whatever. (I'm sorry, but I forgot what they're called.) The sauces and raw veggies and meats are put on the piece of glass. If you want something, you spin the piece of glass until what you want comes around to you. You put whatever you want to eat into your pot to cook. When you think it is done you fish it out with your chopsticks, add sauce if you want, and enjoy! :) There's a lot of tofu in China. I liked the tofu noodles we had at Hot Pot, but I haven't cared too much for every other form of tofu I've tried. :) You'll find about every form of peanuts here as well. Sesame seed sauces are very common too.
----------
EMAIL #3:
----------
(Note: Email #3 was written over several days.)
I've been doing my emailing during nap time. :) Nap time begins around 12:30 (or 1:00 for the older kids) and lasts till 3:00. Right now Chuckles (2 yo (for those of you who don't know :)) is dealing out the Uno cards for the two of us to play a second game. (He isn't napping right now because he had a three hour nap this morning.)
It's hilarious...
…commercial break during which
I play a second game with Chuckles. :) ...
…Uno (Chuckles's style) is played by dealing out the entire deck of cards. When it is your turn, you just play the one on the top of your stack. To play, you place your card in one of the four piles of cards in front of you depending on what color of card you have.
So there's a red pile, a green pile, a yellow pile, and a blue pile. I love to hear him whisper (we were whispering so we didn’t wake anyone up), in his often-hard-to understand language,
"'Or (your) 'urn ou (to) deal!" Or, now that Mrs. A brought Baby down, he plays a card, waits to see that I play, and then runs to play a wee bit with Baby. :) Now he comes running back. And in a moment he'll disappear to climb in Baby's playpen and play with her for half a minute.
On our third game, we had just started when he says,
"A'mos done." Another thing that cracks me up is how he almost always says z instead y. So "yes" is always "Zes!" (accompanied by a emphatic nod of the head). :) :)
CHUCKLES PLAYING UNO. :)
BABY LOVES IT WHEN THE KIDS CLIMB IN AND PLAY WITH HER. :)
Yesterday after nap time we went to the school that Mr. A teaches at. We played ball, and then Mr. A, Dad, and the boss went on a tour. They didn't see even half the school. :) The boss is really big into the history and meaning of things. Around the grounds you’ll see huge sculptures, either of wood or stone, that have some meaning. There was a series of rooms that were created for when parents come to visit or when the school has some distinguished visitor. They must've spent close to an hour in those rooms. I think they saw the greenhouse, the gardens/organic farm (they have really yummy grapes that I learned to eat the Chinese way!), and that series of rooms specially decorated. They had a good conversation with him about spiritual things.
THE BOSS & HIS WIFE AND DAD & ME (AND BABY :))
THE BOSS SERVING TEA.
One Chinese custom I've struggled with is not saying "thank-you." The reasoning behind this custom is that the deeper the friendship, the less need to say thank-you. So if you say "thank you" you are basically telling the person that your friendship isn't very deep. The Chinese people are shocked when Mr. A or Mrs. A say thank-you to their kids.
Friday night it rained, so Saturday morning we took the kids out to play in the puddles. The streets don't have good drainage systems so the streets fill with water. The kids had a fun time. :) Unfortunately, Mr. A decided there must've been sewage in those puddles too. :-/
Before we took them out though, the police came. Coming in on the airplane, you are to write down where you’ll be staying at. If you’re going out into the country, you are to register your presence with the police of the town when you get there. We were going to go to the police station Saturday morning at 9:00, but Mr. A got a phone call saying that the police were going to come to the house instead! I don't remember what I was doing, but all of a sudden Mr. A calls out, "Hurry, Abby!! Grab your camera!! They're comin' down the street! Get a picture!" (Or something like that. :)) So I ran to the window, but I couldn't see a single person. I'm looking all over the place when I finally look straight down in front of the stairway door. There's a big group of people walking towards the staircase entrance. A couple of people are hauling cameras out of their car. I started thinking "What!!!! Reporters!!!??? Please NO!!"
They all trouped up the stairs and into the house. There was half a dozen police besides the TV reporter, a lady with a still camera, and a boy maybe Cattleman’s age or younger. The reporters took pictures of everything - even our passports! Everyone was very friendly and enjoyed looking at the pictures we brought.
When the police were ready to give our passports back, I had to stand up with a policewoman. She handed my passport back to me with a formal gesture. I felt extremely silly.:) Then the camera guy who was filming everything said I had taken it too fast. So we repeated the gesture.. slower. They not only gave Dad his passport back like they had done with me, but they said “You’re going to say this and this and this.” (Or something like that. :))
Well… as you can imagine, that was not too appealing to Dad. But he didn’t want to mess up the good relationship Mr. A had with the police department, so he thought of something else to say that was still complimentary but also truthful. :) He said something about how convenient to was for us to have the police come to the house. They had Mr. A sit beside him on the couch and translate. Sherrie's mom said that we were on the city news.
Sunday morning Mr. A preached a sermon on the last four verses of Ephesians. Then we had a song service. We sang "The B-I-B-L-E," the growing song ("...read your Bible, pray every day.."), and "Dig, Dig, Dig." Right before bedtime we had a time of thanksgiving where we all praised God for things we were thankful for.
Sunday afternoon the boss's sister-in-law and wife came over with their oldest boys. Some other girls, Megan, Susan, and Hannah came over as well. I think Sherrie came too. Sherrie is very sweet. :)
Sunday night we went to a restaurant called Hot Pot. Everyone has a pot of water at their place that sits right on the table cloth. There must be some sort of heater under the table. I'm not sure how it works. You have a control attached to whatever heats it so you can turn it off or change the temperature.
Then in the middle of the circular table is a big circle of glass that is like those spinning things (they look like mini lazy susans) you put in cupboards to hold spices or whatever. (I'm sorry, but I forgot what they're called.) The sauces and raw veggies and meats are put on the piece of glass. If you want something, you spin the piece of glass until what you want comes around to you. You put whatever you want to eat into your pot to cook. When you think it is done you fish it out with your chopsticks, add sauce if you want, and enjoy! :) There's a lot of tofu in China. I liked the tofu noodles we had at Hot Pot, but I haven't cared too much for every other form of tofu I've tried. :) You'll find about every form of peanuts here as well. Sesame seed sauces are very common too.
THE WAITRESSES ENJOYED PLAYING WITH BABY. :)
THE TALLER GLASSES WERE THE TEA CUPS!
THIS WAS MUCH FULLER BY THE TIME THEY STOPPED PUTTING THINGS ON.
On the way home from Hot Pot we stopped at the bakery and got a cake.
THIS LADY WAS INCREDIBLY FAST!!
SHE HAD OUR CAKE DECORATED AND READY TO GO IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES!
THE KIDS REALLY ENJOYED WATCHING HER. :)
(Sorry that the picture is blurry!)
CAKE AND OTHER GOODIES! YUM-YUM!!
THE CHINESE WRITING SAYS "WELCOME"
Thursday, September 6, 2012
catching up
...only to remember other things that have been on my To Do List for several weeks, more or less.
But this week has been pretty productive as far as checking things OFF of the Dreaded or Blessed List, however you/I choose to look at it. It seems that I am working at catching up the last SIX months of my life :o In some areas this is not even an exaggeration! For example, today I finished catching up 3 semesters worth of grades {averaging for quarter/semester} and report cards. And two transcripts for our high school seniors. Can you imagine just how buggy my brain is feeling? So I wasn't much help to Kate yesterday when she called for help with a school assignment :-\
Well, instead of boring you with a bullet list of today's errands...
{Of which an important one did not get done! thus I will be going back to town tomorrow, but with only two stops... Lord willing.}
But this week has been pretty productive as far as checking things OFF of the Dreaded or Blessed List, however you/I choose to look at it. It seems that I am working at catching up the last SIX months of my life :o In some areas this is not even an exaggeration! For example, today I finished catching up 3 semesters worth of grades {averaging for quarter/semester} and report cards. And two transcripts for our high school seniors. Can you imagine just how buggy my brain is feeling? So I wasn't much help to Kate yesterday when she called for help with a school assignment :-\
Well, instead of boring you with a bullet list of today's errands...
{Of which an important one did not get done! thus I will be going back to town tomorrow, but with only two stops... Lord willing.}
... I will entertain you with pictures from the past three weeks!
My apologies if the formatting is wacky.
Watching pre-season Packer football!
{belated} Happy Birthday to Lora!
And Happy Birthday[s] to Mr. & Mrs. Henry!
One of Kate's new skirts : )
A super-cute pencil cup {can} created for Kate by her sisters!
Kate wanted sibling pics in their Australia tee-shirts for G&G and the Smyths ~
The Cattleman has taken up drawing...
And Tim has spent a little of his time adding trim : )
{with more to come after harvest I trust}
Miss Artist says this is how she learns Greek ;-)
Th-th-th-that's all for now, folks!
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