Robin's Big 40th Birthday!

Here are a few pictures of Robin's 40th Birthday:

I used a pan that was too big for the cake so the only way to make it a 2-layer cakes was to make half of a cake. There wasn't much room for all 40 candles!! Boy, one more candle and I might've needed a "Burn Permit" from the town to light this cake!! Robin was a bit...shocked...that I used 40 candles!

Yeah, no problem blowing out all those candles!!

Happy Birthday!!

Psalm 128
1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,

who walk in his ways.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;

blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your sons will be like olive shoots

around your table.
4 Thus is the man blessed

who fears the LORD.
5 May the LORD bless you from Zion

all the days of your life;

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
6 and may you live to see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel.

"My Silly Cat" by Christian Twombly Age 10

"My Silly Cat"

My silly cat sleeps when mom's away.

When mom is home he will play,

but not on a rainy day.

He sleeps in the window

and is scared of crows.

His name is Dash

and he runs with a crash.

When he eats he eats like a hog.

What?!?

Dash is a DOG!!

In Honor of Our Dear Veterans~Thank you!

The Things That Make A Soldier Great

by, Edgar Guest

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,

To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,

Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,

The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,

The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:

'Tis these that make a soldier great.

He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;

'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;

For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam

As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.

Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,

You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.

What is it through the battle smoke the valiant solider sees?

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,

The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,

Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.

The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome

But to the spot, where'er it be -- the humblest spot called home.

And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there

And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;

The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,

And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.

He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,

And only death can stop him now -- he's fighting for them all.

Saturday's Penny Pinching Thoughts

This week I rediscovered "GoodWill". A friend of mine kept insisting I visit this certain GoodWill store south of me. Finally I have and I am so glad I did!! Now, I am picky. I won't buy anything with stains, holes, or too much sign of wear. I want it to look new or nearly new. Oh I found so many great deals for the kids and all of them good name brands like "Arizona," "Nike", "Gap", "Old Navy" and the like! I found:

For Tyler:
1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of athletic pants, 1 winter coat.

For Christian:
1 pair of jeans, 2 pair of athletic pants.

For Rachel:
3 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts, 1 sweater, 1 shrug.

All totalled it cost $18.75! If had chosen Wednesday to go it would have been half price! This week we will go back to see what we can find for my husband.

In other penny pinching news, we signed up for "Ebay" today. I hope to list some curriculum there. I am going to check out "Vegsource" too and see where I might do better. Hopefully it will put some Christmas money in my pocket.

I have two goals this week. The first is to find consignment shops that will buy used adult and children's clothing. I have some clothes in pretty good shape I think I could sell to them.

My other goal is to sign up for "Freecyle." This is an internet yahoo loop where people list things they are willing to part with for free. The website is http://www.freecycle.org/ . You put the name of your town/city and state and it will tell you the towns/cities near you that participate. I'll tell more about it once I sign up! :)

I hope you are all having a great weekend! I am off to do some knitting. I made up a new pattern called "Nubbins". It is cute. I'll post a picture and the addy for the pattern hopefully tomorrow.

"Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." Ps. 100:2

Saturday for God's Glory

No, it isn't snowing yet but I can't help but think that this will soon be our view!

Today has been a good day! It's rain, rain, raining in Maine thanks to "Hurricane Noel". We are all cozy warm at home.

I have been trying to do as much around the house as possible so that we have a very minimal amount to do tomorrow. So we:

~tidied of course

~wash, dried, folded and put away all the laundry

~wrote up a grocery list and Robin went to the store

~Robin also cleaned off our sunroom roof before the rain started

~made sure kids clothes are ready for church tomorrow

I also tried something new. I cooked up our Pot Roast and Potatoes so that when we come home from church we can put the cooked food from frig to plate and heat it up in the microwave. Then, when done our few dishes can go right in the dishwasher. We can have sandwiches for our evening meal.

I am looking forward to a nice day of rest tomorrow after church! :) What do you do to prepare ahead for Sunday?