wordless week/month

Wednesday, December 1  (babysitting Ava)
  
















Thursday, December 2
  
                         
               

Friday, December 3  (Chef MusicBox)


Sunday, December 5  (Does this look familiar?)
             
                              
         

       

      

Tuesday, December 7

(prior to their ride to the sale barn)

           

Snipperoosky, Schnoodles, and Freddie

Hopper and Rusty

  


Wednesday, December 8 (Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis ~ for the Messiah!)
   

Thursday, December 9

(Yay! for more firewood from Robb’s Tree Service)

  

Have you ever had a “Take 5” candy bar?? 

  

Pretzel, peanut butter, peanuts, homemade caramel, and chocolate = Yum.

And cream to use up means I must make cherry cream muffins for Christmas/New Year’s breakfast buffets…

When I was i-net surfing looking at candies last month, I saw someone’s homemade turtles… pecan cluster with more of the homemade caramel ~ needs chocolate on top.

(Yes, Mom, there was some caramel left over for actual caramels!)

              
The girls took a LOT of pictures ….
  

Friday, December 10 ~ the last day of autumn in Iowa for 2010 (50 F!)
         
Tim and the Computer Geek working on siding….

(while I was gone with four of the kids all.day.long)

….We finally put ornaments on the tree, and Tim invented some stocking hangers

            

Today ~ Saturday, December 11 ~

the Return of the Iowa Blizzard ~ I don’t mean a Dairy Queen treat

            

…and no photos of what we’ve accomplished in the kitchen today!

(Lots of chocolate and baking)

Or what I am leaving unfinished. 

I guess the soaked oats for my granola will just soak a little longer.

Good night!


(Monday's edit:  I tried to improve the formatting here, and I think it's worse :-\  
Oh well.  Perfectionism isn't all it's cracked up to be.  
But it IS time to finish the forgotten granola!)

shutterfly take 2

Seasonal Chic Noir Christmas Card

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Seasonal Chic Noir Christmas Card

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thankfulness between the lines

I reviewed my blog posts for the month of November yesterday.

And I took notes.  I filled a half-sheet of paper front and back.


I like the daily-ness of Thirty Days of Thanks.  I also like a huge long list in one post.  So here’s mine  :-)

God is Good just because He IS Good!  But He also chooses to bless me with so many seemingly little things, and so I thank Him for…

1. Conny, my cyber-friend who I wish lived next door, who instigated this wonderful meme called Thirty Days of Thanks
   
2. The beautiful bond between my hubby and our girls.  I pray the Lord will continue to guard their hearts.
   
3. The opportunity to participate in the election process for our civil government ~ and that God is Supreme and Sovereign over all!
   
4. Sherry at Large Family Mothering ~ her meaty posts bless and challenge me.
   
5. Our warm house ~ on the chilly days of fall before we Tim fired up the woodstove as well as after.  The house was still 60F on our return from Wisconsin last week when the outside temps had ranged from 20-35F ~ and Tim left the heat OFF for those two days (so it wouldn’t be 100F when we came home)
   
6. Oh, the wood pile.  The beautiful HUGE pile of wood.  And so far, the woods are still open for Tim to find more.
   
7. Food.  Yes, I spend a lot of time cooking/baking in our nice kitchen.  Because I like to eat  :-)  And so does my family.  I’m thankful for the many recipes and good ingredients available to us.
   
8. God is G>R>E>A>T>  Yet He sees and cares for little ol’ me.
   
9. Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ her ministry at Revive Our Hearts and especially her book, Choosing Gratitude.
   
10. Meal fellowships at church with people I love to fellowship with  ~♥~
    
11. God’s gift of faith and salvation through Jesus Christ ~ Each November I celebrate my spiritual birthday on the same day as my grandma’s physical birthday ~ I am thankful for her prayers for me many years ago!
    
12. My husband’s love for me ~ especially when he intervenes in something like our internet use (and declaring when a fast is needed)
    
13. The continued good reports from the Rettigs in Prague as they follow up after the CFC campaign…. the blessings multiply!
    
14. The opportunity for Tim and Kate to GO to Prague and be involved in the campaign ~ what a blessing for all of us!
    
15. God’s creation which gives us just a glimpse of how GLORIOUS He is!
    
16. My nephew Max and other veterans ~ and those many soldiers still serving in harm’s way.
    
17. The provision of this new house ~ along with it’s many not-so-pleasant lessons.  Such a learning curve adventure.
    
18. Sunshine, time, and the Genie lift for Tim to use while siding the house.
    
19. Rainy days at home for Tim to install closet shelves, doors, etc.  :-)
    
20. Smoothies in our VitaMix.
    
21. Deer hunting in our very own hayfield.  Even though he got away.
    
22. John & Tara ~ what a blessing to be able to visit with them again and hear about their ministry in Sioux City ~ Love you two (three)!
    
23. Help from the Cattleman with mopping our floors ~ the subfloor looks SO good when it’s clean!
    
24. Mrs. Munsen, who is working with Miss MusicBox (and Miss Artist a bit) in such an encouraging way ~ Looking forward to tonight’s violin recital!
    
25. Selling bread and other goodies at my SIL’s antique mall
    
26. Shutterfly’s free photo cards for bloggers ~ Thanks for posting, Amber!
    
27. Jodi (Granola Mom 4 God), giveaway queen in my world at least  :-)  and fun blogger friend who also introduced me to Live Writer.
    
28. (which is great until you don’t hit “save draft” and the surge protector shuts the computer down spontaneously… so I have to retype the other half of this list.  However, getting the computer shut off for me at 10:30 pm was a real blessing in sending me to bed ~ what some might call a mixed blessing?… But God is all good.)
    
29. My mom & dad’s 57th wedding anniversary ~ What a blessing to grow up with their example of faithful love  ♥
    
30. Our chiropractor ~ Thanks for referring us, Dee!
    
31. Our chiropractor’s wonderful receptionist Vickie who treats us like family at every visit  =)
    
32. A haircut at a local salon ~ with reserved birthday cash from my kiddos
    
33. Help from my girls with peeling apples (especially!) as we work together in the kitchen
    
34. Post-harvest field work = better paycheck
    
35. The abundant harvest of squash from the Cattleman’s garden
    
36. Sylvia at CHK Network ~ Her “G” List challenge was a recent blessing
    
37. God’s watch care and provision through the August 2010 floods
    
38. Psalm 30 as Pastor Hartog preached on 11/21 ~ I should be thankful for suffering!  Count it all joy.
    
39. Good news about Amber’s little Matthew
    
40. God’s abundant Goodness, Grace, and Mercy
    
41. Big kids finished their assignments in time to enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday together
    
42. Safety as we attempted to travel on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  And the wonderful time we had at home instead.
    
43. Clear roads on Thursday when we were able to travel to Wisconsin in time for dinner and good times with family at Mom F’s
    
44. Shopping bargains at Kohl’s on Black Friday with Tim ~ at the reasonable hour of 10am  ;-)
    
45. Wow.  18 years of married life for Tim and me  ♥  And he still loves me!
    
46. God knows.  And He has always loved me!
    
47. Going out to dinner with Tim ~ without cooking supper for the kids first

…and the list can and should go on and on!

To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Psalm 30:12

on my wish list

 

I have enjoyed calendars from Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Revive Our Hearts) for several years now.  They are always beautiful and encouraging.  Here’s what she has available for 2011 ~

 

For $6, it just might have to go in my shopping cart!

And then I might want/need the book by J. Oswald Sanders as well.

choosing gratitude #13

 

 

 

 Gratitude is the unending anthem of heaven.  Every time we express our thankfulness here on earth,

we join our voices with the grand chorus of gratitude that wells up before the throne of God,

and we prepare ourselves for what we’ll be doing for all eternity.

 

 

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying,

Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 7:11-12

 

 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

These quotes are from the corresponding calendar ~  December 2010.