Halloween????

This was originally posted by me here on 10/23/07 and our view hasn't changed. I'm not ordering anything from Oriental Trading this year but we have some wonderful tracks and this year we have decided to pass candy out. We'll also be having some coffee and hot chocolate for parents. Boo just loves passing out all the goodies to the kids and he is going to be putting everything together this year himself.

We are ones who don't celebrate it. For us we see it as a time to celebrate all things ungodly and encourage greed. We have many good friends who do celebrate it, and I think for Christians each have to make their own decisions on it. But I encourage them to really think about it before they do it.

For us it was something we felt was better not to celebrate. But we also know that since we have all these children (many with their parents) who willingly come to our door wanting us to give them something, we are happy to oblige. We use this time as an outreach and and opportunity to share the Love of Jesus with others. Normally we just pass out things other than candy that have a message about Jesus on them. A lot of these we get from Oriental Trading for really reasonable prices. We also get tracts from our local Christian bookstore. In addition to this we usually carve a pumpkin with a cross in it and have that lit up.

I really hope to glorify God as everyone comes to our door this year.
This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Menu Plan Monday

Since I'm back to blogging, I'm back to posting my menus. Our menu will be getting much easier since Hubby last day of work is Thursday. We'll be able to have lunches as a family for a while...at least until he is able to find work again. Next week I'll start adding lunches when I make my menus. Here is our menu for this week:

Monday - Crockpot Chicken, potatoes & salad
Tuesday - Chicken soup and sandwiches
Wednesday - Spaghetti & salad
Thursday - Fish, noodles, salad
Friday - Chili at Church
Saturday - Tuna melts, celery & carrot sticks
Sunday - Pork Roast, noodles, green beans

Check out all the great menus ideas over at Laura's Organizing Junkie blog.

Merry Christmas!

We were out shopping on Saturday and while I was in the store...I found myself humming along with the Christmas music that was playing. Yep...humming along to Christmas music. The store had all their Christmas stuff out, trees were all lit up, and the Christmas music playing.

I love Christmas. I really do. I love celebrating Jesus birth. I think of cozy warm home, twinkling lights, hot chocolate, red bows, snow, Christmas carols that sing of Jesus....But honestly...this over-commercialization of Christmas is sure to burn me out...and it's not even November yet.

Sunday Scriptures

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

Frugal Friday Recipe: Pumpkin Seeds

We don't carve up pumpkins faces for Halloween but we do enjoy making all sorts of pumpkin recipes in the fall. One of the great things for me about pumpkins is all the pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are one of the most nutritious and flavorful seeds around, and a fun, frugal snack. Roasted pumpkin seeds are not just great to snack on by themselves, but I also like to toss them into salads and even stir fries too.

Wash seeds and remove remaining pumpkin stuff from them. My grandmother always soaked the seeds over night in salted water. I don't. lol Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread seeds on a cookie sheet sprayed lightly with oil, sprinkle with a little salt if desired, and place in the oven for about 30-45 minutes or until dried and lightly browned. Stir several times while they bake. Don't over bake the seeds.

Another recipe is to coat the seeds in melted butter or oil before baking.

You can season the seeds with any kind of your favorite seasonings. I really just like the lightly salted ones...but hubby likes them spicy hot...so I'll coat some in his favorite hot sauce before I bake them. Seeds will keep for a couple weeks or so in an air tight container...but ours never last that long.

You can find more great Frugal Friday posts over at Life as Mom.

To update...

I haven't been sleeping well, so I'm a big draggy today. LOTS of coffee. lol

The time is finally here, Hubby is losing his job next week due to the plant closing. Thankfully we are not is too bad of shape financially so while it will be tight, we will be ok. I will have to become extremely frugal...which is something I don't mind at all. I'll be whipping out my Complete Tightwad Gazette and getting back into the frugal frame of mind, and I'll be crafting so make some extra money.

Boo is now in 5th grade, and we are still homeschooling. I made sure to purchase everything we need for this year ahead of time, and I still have yet to sell the curriculum we are finished with. That will be an upcoming project. We are using Christian Light for Language Arts, Math and Reading; using Apologia's Botany for science, we are using Diana Waring's Ancient Civilizations and the Bible for history this year, and ABEKA's health, art and music. It's going well so far, but I have to be more diligent to stay on track. It's very easy to get sidetracked with extra projects and activities...and then we end up having to spend time reviewing the things we set aside to do the projects.

I have several crafting projects I'm working on, and lots to list on Ebay and Etsy. My current project is a little quilt for my neice who is due to have a daughter soon. I also have to plan some frugal Christmas gifts for friends and family. I'm thinking that I will be doing much more baking for gifts this year than crafting.

Well, that is a bit of an update for now...I'm off to fold a bunch of laundry and get that put away. Hugs!

Back to Blogging

I have sure neglected this blog, huh? Well, I have thought a lot about whether to keep it or not, and have decided that I'm need some sort of creative outlet. So I'm back to blogging. :D

Remembering 9/11

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

“Peace, be still!”

Honestly...this has been one crazy and difficult year. My emotions have gone from one end of the scale to the other including every stop in between. God has been faithful all along even though I myself had times where my faith was pretty weak.

Hubby and I are getting ready to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary on September 10th, and we are renewing our vows that weekend. I'm finding myself missing my mom a lot right now. She never missed being at anything important like this and knowing that she will not be here is very hard. Last month as my brother and I were going through her things we came across the dress she wore at my wedding. Her picture at my wedding wearing that dress is the one I used at her memorial service. I have no idea what I'm going to do with the dress but it's hanging in my closet for now. My emotions have been raw and sensitive for a while, and it's overwhelming at times.

Mark 4 verses 35-41 tell of Jesus and the disciples being out in a boat when a great windstorm arose. Many times over the past year I've felt like the disciples when they said “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And just like He said to them, He's said to me “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” I haven't heard it in a while, but there is a song by Scott Krippayne called Sometimes He Calms The Storm that says "Sometimes He calms the storm, and other times He calms His child." That really sums it all up. He doesn’t always calm the storm, but uses the storm to teach us and make our faith stronger. Thank you Jesus for Your faithfulness!

Sometimes He Calms The Storm

All who sail the sea of faith
Find out before too long
How quickly blue skies can grow dark
And gentle winds grow strong
Suddenly fear is like white water
Pounding on the soul
Still we sail on knowing
That our Lord is in control

Sometimes He calms the storm
With a whispered peace be still
He can settle any sea
But it doesn't mean He will
Sometimes He holds us close
And lets the wind and waves go wild
Sometimes He calms the storm
And other times He calms His child

He has a reason for each trial
That we pass through in life
And though we're shaken
We cannot be pulled apart from Christ
No matter how the driving rain beats down
On those who hold to faith
A heart of trust will always
Be a quiet peaceful place

Sometimes He calms the storm
With a whispered peace be still
He can settle any sea
But it doesn't mean He will
Sometimes He holds us close
And lets the wind and waves go wild
Sometimes He calms the storm
And other times He calms His child

Back To School Preparations

It is hard to believe that it's time to start planning for the new school year. Even harder to believe that my baby boy is going into the 5th grade this year...and that I've successfully homeschooled him the whole time! It hasn't always been easy, but it's easily one of the best decisions we've made. Even though we school year round, we always try to start our new school year traditionally right after Labor Day. I'm getting ready to put in my order for curriculum. After attending a couple curriculum fairs flipping through and examining everything I could get my hands on and pouring over a bazillion curriculum catalogs and websites, everything is going to be the same except History...which I'm still undecided on. Go figure. Here's what I'm ordering:

Bob Jones University Press - Bible Truths 5: Living In God's Love
Christian Light - Sunrise Language Arts 500
Christian Light - Sunrise Math 500
Christian Light - Sunrise Reading 5
Apologia Elementary Science - Exploring Creation with Botany

We already have these and we're still working on them:
American Education - Maps & Geography 3-6
Prima Latina

I am going to be doing health also, but I will be putting together something myself for that based on a few books I have here already.

There is a local co-op that I have been looking into and a few things might change if we decide to go with the co-op. It's mostly gym, foreign language, art and music which I think would be really great...but not sure we have the money for it.

How are you planning for your new school year?

To Be Continued...

"It's in God's hands." - Beckie

A week ago today, my best friend Beckie lost her battle with a brainstem tumor. Stupid tumor, as her husband Brian says. It moved rapidly and took her quickly. It almost doesn't even seem real. Her body may have had a brainstem tumor, but her heart had Jesus. I will greatly miss her here, but I rejoice that through Jesus our friendship really does last forever. There were times when we would talk on the phone several times daily. There were times we'd talk once a week...even once a month. But no matter how much time passed we picked up right where we left off without missing a beat...and one day in the future we will again be picking up right where we left off.

Beckie was feisty and amusing. She was generous and caring. She was organized and thrived on being busy. She was a good wife and mother, and loved her family very much. And they loved her. I loved her too. She was a good friend...far better friend to me than I was to her. Through this whole illness she was strong, hopeful, courageous and was ready for what ever God had planned for her. "It's in God's hands," she said to me back in May as she shrugged her shoulders. She said that all during her illness. She trusted Him. Now she's in God's hands and completely healed. Thank you Father for blessing me with such a good friend and the hope that I'll see her again...hope that is in You. Help me continue to be a blessing to Brian and the children. Help me to bless others the way she blessed me.

"But we'll keep you close as always
It wont even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though its hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long to live as friends."
Michael W. Smith - Friends

His Wisdom

Boy do I need His wisdom and guidance right now. There is a lot things going on right now and a lot of different emotions to go with it...good, bad and ugly. It is amazing how everything seems to happen all at once and it can seem so overwhelming. I know that my heavenly Father will guide me through this...but it doesn't mean it is going to be easy. He is definately showing me right now that I need to be relying on Him and not me...these are definately God-sized issues that I cannot handle on my own. Please keep me in prayer that I not only can make right choices and decisions, and say the right things...but that I would keep drawing closer to my heavenly Father while I witness Him to everyone around me in my daily life.

Beckie Update - June 24

I hope you will take a few minutes to stop by Beckie's Blog at Caring Bridge and continue to bless them with some encouragement. You can also get emails when Brian updates the journal.

"Words cannot describe how happy I am to have Beckie back at home. At the risk of sounding sappy, I must say that I gained an understanding of how much strength that I draw from her. The tail end of her rehab stay was tough for me, and I appreciate everyone that helped me to get through it. Enough about me....

Beckie enjoyed a nice day off today without any doctor appointments. This gave her a chance to get resettled in at home and to visit with her friends that stopped by to see her. Tomorrow she will be starting out-patient rehab at a local hospital. We expect this will play an important role in her recovery.

Her overall condition is mostly unchanged over the past few days. She has seemed to get weaker in some areas and stronger in others. My understanding is that it takes the body a couple of weeks to start recovering from the effects of radiation therapy. Hopefully she will start to show some improvement within the next few weeks.

Circle July 22nd on your calendar, this is when her next MRI is scheduled. We will be meeting with the Radiation Oncologist immediately after to discuss the results. This MRI will help the doctors learn how the tumor responded to radiation therapy. This information will play on important role in setting her treatment plan moving forward. My hope is that the doctors will be blown away by the damage inflicted on the tumor over the past six weeks. I will certainly be praying for this during the next month.

Brian"

Celebrity Deaths

I remember trying to get my thin straight hair to feather like Farrah's. No matter how much Aquanet I used, my hair would never hold a curl. I remember watching Michael Jackson videos over and over on MTV and at the skating rink. I wore out both Off the Wall and Thriller...having to go to Sam's Jam's to get replacements. But I've come to a place in my walk with the Lord that when I hear news of famous people who have died...I'm not as sad for the loss of their talent as I am sad for the possible loss of their soul. I don't know what Farrah's or Michael's relationship with the Lord was. But having a beautiful face and hair, or being the multi-talented "King of Pop" is not going to get them into heaven no matter how many people they helped during their celebrity lives. Only a personal relationship with the King of Kings, our Savior Jesus Christ gets you into heaven. We do not know when our time will come...it could be after a long illness like Farrah or sudden like Michael. Now is the time to make a decision that will last eternity. Once you die there are no appeals or second chances. It's a long, lonely time to regret not choosing Salvation. If you would like to read more, click here.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Beckie Update - June 20

I hope you will take a few minutes to stop by Beckie's Blog at Caring Bridge and bless them with some encouragement. You can also get emails when Brian updates the journal.

"I haven't seen much of a change in Beckie's condition over the past few days. If anything, she seems to be more tired and weak. This may be due to the work that is being done with her in therapy, or it could be the cumulative effect of her radiation therapy.

She is excited about finishing her radiation on Tuesday. I am hoping that we will begin to see some improvement in the months that follow the radiation therapy. From a medical standpoint, the main battle that she is fighting is purely neurological. All of her muscles are still willing and able at this time. However, the messages being sent from the brain to the various muscles are being interfered with. The main goal for all of the forms of therapy being done is to have her use the muscles and force them the talk to the brain which may help to get the neurons firing again.

The pons area of the brain-stem controls several body functions, such as: swallowing, heart beat, breathing, eye movement, balance, and overall body movement. The presence of the tumor located in this area was responsible for her initial symptoms. Unfortunately, the application of radiation harms surrounding healthy tissue located near the tumor. At this time, it is unknown how much of her troubles are related to the actual tumor, or are being caused by the efforts to harm the tumor. This will be revealed over the course of time as her body recovers from the effects of the radiation therapy.

On Monday, she will undergo another swallowing study. The speech therapists are hoping that they can identify a texture of food that is safe for Beckie to eat at this time. She will continue to rely on her feeding tube to provide her nutrients and hydration. However, the ability to eat certain foods will allow for pleasure eating, and give her a reason to use her swallowing muscles, which will help to strengthen them.

I have had several people ask me how the kids are doing, and I am happy to report that they are doing well. We are trying to keep them all as busy as possible this summer. There have been several close friends helping with the younger two, which has allowed me to keep my focus on Beckie. Obviously, the children are concerned about Beckie's sudden illness and they understand the serious nature of it, but they know that she is getting the best medical care available. More importantly, they know that Beckie is a child of God, who has proven Himself time and again to be The Great Physician.

Brian"