Christmas Tree Time!

Yay! We FINALLY have the Christmas Tree!! The kids wanted to wait this year to put up the tree. They think it is harder to wait for Christmas when the tree it up! HUH?
This was a good weekend to put it up. We had a blizzard so there was more extra time in our weekend! Here is Robin putting up the lights. He is our "Puttin' Up the Lights Pro". ;)

Then, once the lights were up, the kids could get to serious decorating!

The kids all take turns putting the topper on the tree. This year it was Rachel's turn. She is not fond of being up high but she did it!

Voila!!! For some reason my pictures of the tree all came out blurry but it gives the general idea...

Dressed in White

Home Sweet Home after last night's snowfall.
The driveway and view across the street. Just beyond those trees is the lake.

This 'n That

Yes, it is snowing out! It's dark too, but I decided to try a picture anyway. There doesn't seem to be any doubt that we will have a white Christmas this year. I can't believe that Christmas is only 12 days away!! YIKES! I need to finish up my Christmas shopping and get packages in the mail. Like many others who are paying top dollar for gas and $3.00 per gallon on heating oil, it is be a slimmer Christmas. But Christmas, just the same...

We have been so busy working hard on our schoolwork. I barely have time for anything else. Tyler starts his school work at 7:30 a.m. We start with me teaching him Math. Then I add Christian and Rachel at 8:00 a.m. We break for lunch at noon. Usually Rachel and Christian only need about 30 more min.-1 hour after lunch. Tyler requires more time if he expects to have no evening or weekend work. Most days, even he is done by 3:00 p.m. Then it is time to go to whatever activity is scheduled for that day whether it be music lessons or dance lessons or soccer training. I feel as though we are racing through the days.

This is why I so love snow!! A good snow storm cancels outside activities and gives you time to catch up with yourself. Today's storm was great timing. I needed to correct papers and help Tyler study for a big Biology exam. Robin needs to do some extra computer stuff for work. Rachel has been playing lots of piano today. I bought her a couple of books of Christmas music right on her level and she has been very excited about learning the new songs. Christian is playing a bit with the piano deciding if he would like to learn the piano alongside of already learning the drums. Anyway, it is a good night to be home!

Today I bought supplies for baking Christmas cookies. Too bad I forgot that I promised to bring appetizers to the Ladies Christmas party tomorrow night (church event). Yep, typical "Karen" move!! ;) Oh well, I guess I will pick up a veggie platter on my way there tomorrow. I really can't wait! It is my first ladies event in our new (newish anyway) church. I am excited to get to know more of our ladies. Our church is so friendly and loving. We are just having a blast there!!

Well, I best go get Tyler studying...

Have a great night!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for:

Jesus, my Savior (This print is by Larry Weingartner. You can purchase it at www.allposters.com.)My hardworking husband.

My fun, happy kids.

Our little pup, Dash.

Art Show

Our homeschool group offered an Art Class recently based on the book "Discovering Great Artists". The teacher would read from the book about a famous artist and then the children would use a technique from the artist. This was such a fun class! Christian and Rachel were very excited to share their art at the closing Art Show. This class was definitely a highlight of our fall! We'll miss it.

Snow Day!

This morning, which happens to be Christian's 11th birthday, Christian and Rachel woke up so excited that snow had come! They ate their breakfasts and put on their snow suits...they were all ready to go outside. What?!?! Mom wants us to do MATH first?!?! Well, here they are, snow suits on, doing their Math! This just cracked me up!!

I forgot to take pics of the snow so stay tuned! I'll post those tomorrow...

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?

Pinching Pennies for Breakfast

All summer long I just couldn't bring myself to do much baking. But boy when the house cools down for fall that oven gains its appeal back!! This weekend Robin made up a pie crust recipe. We used half to make a quiche. For me, quiche is a great way to use whatever you have on hand to make a yummy breakfast. This particular quiche used up some left over ham. We didn't have enough for a meal but there was plenty for a quiche. For the filling we just used 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of milk, 1 1/2 cups cheese on hand (this was cheddar), a Tblsp. of flour, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 cup (or so) of ham.
With the rest of the crust, we made poptarts!! The kids love poptarts but they are expensive. But all they really are is pie crust with a thin filling. We made some with our favorite raspberry jam and some with a mix of peanut butter and brown sugar. Personally, peanut butter in my poptarts is not appealing but someone was pleased because they were gone in NO TIME!

Packaged foods become quite economical if you just make up your own form of your favorites!! I would love to hear if anyone out there has some favorite packaged foods that they turned to homemade treats! :)

Smile for Portfolio Pictures, Children!

During the school year I try to take pictures of the kids accomplishments and activities. We bring these to our homeschool portfolio appointment. Last year we put together a little slide show with music of our pictures. The woman who did our portfolio seemed to like that and the kids really liked it too. It was a nice representation of our memories, you know?

So today we took some pics. The first few are them trying to *behave* and smile politely for me. Then last last couple are them *breaking out* and showing what they are *really* like!! (We normally try to keep that under wraps! *wink*)

Such nice children... Here you see their salt dough maps of Ancient Egypt.

Here is a close up of the porcelain pottery they recently painted at "Get Fired Up" pottery store.

Again, still trying to smile nice to mom but dying to break out...

Yep, those are the kids I KNOW!

This 'n That...

We are in a little break from sports so it is a nice time to pull my handcrafts back out. These two dishcloth pics were actually made in August (I have started a new cloth; it is a "Nubbins" pattern I found online and will show soon). These cloths below were patterns from my Monthly Dishcloth group.

I was excited to do the above pattern because I had never done a cable stitch before. I must say it is much easier than one would think!!

This one above is suppose to be a picture of a dolphin leaping above the waves.

We are just having the mildest weather for fall. My annuals are still blooming away and I am still getting tomatoes! Here are my tuberous impatiens that I have had since May:

This pic isn't the greatest but you can see my barrel is still thriving:

Below you can see my plum tomato plants. They keep getting covered with falling leaves!

Poor Young Soldier

Instead of playing his distict championship soccer games, poor Christian slammed his fingers in the van door and broke his finger... Oh it was awful and I felt so bad for him. But he sure thought it was funny when the Dr. in the Emergency Room gave him a note for school to explain to his teacher that he could not do his school work!! She didn't know he is homeschooled!! His dad had taken him to the hospital. So the bright spot of the day was when he could come home and hand me the note!! HAHA! (But alas, with the exception of penmanship, we have rejected the note and he is still doing his school work...ah well. His consolation is that I am his scribe until the splint comes off!) :)

Pinching Pennies

Dash in his "Spider Man costume". This has nothing to do with pinching pennies but it makes me smile!

We have been pinching our pennies hard lately. It is just *that time of year* plus just about everything we own has been breaking from our furnace to cars to the crockpot and even my blow dryer! But I digress...

The first thing we did was look to where the money is going. We are cutting everything that is not necessary. I think trash pick up will be the first to go. Boy, it's nice to have someone come and get the trash for us but we can bring it to the dump ourselves. The cable reception for the TV might be next; we are still thinking on that one. We can't get any channels at all without cable. The joys of living in the woods...

I have really been trying hard to hit the grocery bill. Our money leaks out through food quick readily. It's quite expensive these days. When you combine that with a very busy family often eating on the run you get a pretty big bill! Here's what we are doing with the grocery bill:

1. First, and related, is avoided eating out. Oh this is hard for us! We love to eat out. Plus it is a great convenience when we are out for the kids' activities at mealtimes. But we are learning to eat at strange times or take food with us.

2. I am planning menus for breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks. This way I am not buying unnecessary foods. I am cooking from scratch. I am buying less snacks. Basically I buy some fruit and unpopped popcorn.

3. I am planning menus with the sales flyer in hand. I start with the meats on sale and work from there.

4. I am making sure food does not get thrown out. Even one serving of veggies that is left over can be used again. The kids kind of like this. For example Rachel hates broccoli. So, if we are having that and there is one serving of corn in the frig, I will heat it for her.

5. I am getting the most out of what I buy. No chicken bones are thrown out without being boiled for stock first!!

My next target will be getting better window coverings for winter. I am hunting for flannel to back curtains with or at least make coverings for the evenings. Hopefully this will help the oil bill. Robin is adding more insulation in the basement. We keep plugging away at lowering our heat bill.

I also have rediscovered Goodwill and The Salvation Army, especially for jeans. I am trying to visit them weekly whenever I am in town. I found a brand new pair of Levi's one day for Tyler. I can never get a good sale on jeans in the stores but I am finding if I just look every time I am out (at GW and SA) then I am finding good quality stuff. It does take perseverance though!

How are you pinching pennies? I would love more ideas!!

It's Friday!!

Yay! It's Friday!! I am bushed and ready for the weekend. It's rainy and cold out. Robin is on his way home from work. Rachel is playing the piano, trying to figure out "Minuet 1" by Bach. The boys are upstairs with a small soccer ball playing some sort of made up game with it. They sound like they are going to fall right through to the 1rst floor!! The dog is napping! See, we are all ready for a couple of days off!

I need to write up our weekly menu tonight. Tomorrow morning I hope to do my grocery shopping. I just hoping it isn't pouring rain! I do hate to put the groceries in the car in the pouring rain!

This weekend we need to spend some time preparing the house for winter. For my part I need to plan some warm window coverings. I have long curtains over my glass sliders. I may just attach white flannel sheet material to the back of them and then they will be lined for the cold months.

We got the bird feeders up but already the squirrels have discovered them so I am not sure what to do about that. One particularly chunky squirrel took the whole suet square, naughty thing. Robin says that is part of the experiment...humph!

This past Monday we went to a shop where you paint porcelain pottery and then they glaze and fire it for you. It was so fun! Rachel painted a plate (she plans this to belong to her favorite doll) and the boys each painted mugs (set apart to be their "hot cocoa" mugs for the winter). I will take pics of the finished product when my house is a bit brighter but here are the pics from the painting day:

Have a great day!

My Little Project from Late Summer

I have a ceiling to floor shelf beside my washer/dryer. This past summer my mom and I made a curtain to cover that shelf and the area over the washer/dryer. It was great to do this together! We measured, she cut and turned down the hem, I sewed. I soooo had the easy part! I hate pinning but really need it to sew straight!!

I bought this material right at Walmart. It is two separate curtains with two tension rods. The long one just goes over the shelf while the valance goes from wall to wall. Here it is:

Weekend Happenings!

"I survived High School Soccer!!"

Well, Tyler's first High School soccer season is completed! No more games, just one player/coach meeting and a Sport's Banquet. This gives us a bit of a break until the indoor season starts. Christian finishes up at the end of the month.

Anywho this gives me time to focus more on our home! We've been doing lots of baking lately. It saves us money on the grocery budget and keeps the house warm.

Last night Robin baked corn bread and also burrito shells. This morning I made up a batch of granola (and it is nearly gone!) I made up menus for the week and did the grocery shopping.

Here is our lunch/supper plan for the week:

Saturday: Lunch=spaghetti soup for kids and I, bean soup for dh.

Supper=Grilled chicken leg quarters with bbq sauce on bbq, mashed potatoes, green beans, and peas.

Sunday: Lunch=sandwiches

Supper=Leftover turkey and gravy over rice with dressing and corn on the side.

Monday: Lunch=pizza pockets (Little homemade pizzas folded over and sealed like a calzone. I plan to make extras to freeze.)

Supper=Baked Ham, face down potatoes (potatoes cut and buttered on cut and baked face down on stone or baking sheet), green beans.

Tuesday: Lunch=tacos with homemade burrito shells.

Supper=spaghetti and meatsauce with garlic breads (I take homemade italian bread and just slice it, butter it, sprinkle garlic on it and bake it at 350 F til brown)

Wednesday: Lunch=homemade mac and cheese.

Supper=chicken dumplin' casserole, mashed potatoes, broccoli, corn

Thursday: Lunch=peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with popcorn and maybe homemade cookies of some sort.

Supper=Turkey pie (I make a double shell pie crust. In it goes leftover turkey, cooked potatoes, cooked carrots, a bit of dressing for flavor and a bit of gravy for moisture. I have my leftovers waiting in the freezer. I bake it like any other pie...at 350 F until bubbly out of the crust holes and crust cooked.)

Friday: Lunch=Leftovers or spaghetti soup.

Supper=Grilled boneless breast of chicken, rice pilaf, corn.

Breakfasts include: cereal, granola, pancakes, I may hunt for a cherry coffee cake recipe as I have a can of cherries, corn bread.

Snack foods are: apples, grapes, air popped popcorn.

Other than all this food planning I have done loads and loads of laundry and planned my lessons for the week and tidied the house. Robin and I worked on a "winterizing goal" list. Robin has been working on trim for a window we recently put in with included a trip to the local home improvement warehouse.

Tomorrow is church and Christian has two afternoon soccer games. Robin hopes to get the window trim up that he cut and painted. Tyler will mow the lawn, perhaps for the last time before winter!

Have a great weekend!

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17 (NAS)

What Color Crayon are You?

I saw this and thought it looked like fun... I do love color! :)

You Are a Purple Crayon

Your world is colored in dreamy, divine, and classy colors. You hold yourself to a sky high standard, and you are always graceful. People envy, idolize, and copy you without realizing it. You are an icon for those who know you. And while it is hard to be a perfectionist, rest assured it's paying off! Your color wheel opposite is yellow. While yellow people may be wise, they lack the manners and class needed to impress you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Breakfast Burritos and Turkey Wraps

I am busy thinking about our menu for next week. One big challenge is thinking up quick and yummy things for my husband for his breakfast and lunch. One idea I know he will love is breakfast burritos and turkey wraps.

We use a Flour Tortilla recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_2504,00.html for our wraps. This is such an easy recipe and once you have made your own burrito shell I guarantee you will never want a store bought one again! These are so great for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and various wraps.

For the breakfast burrito I am going to put down some scrambled egg and onion, cheddar cheese, chilies, and some broken up turkey bacon. These are the things I tend to have on hand. You can mix into your eggs anything you like and wrap it up. This will be a good grab and go meal that is a bit healthier than the muffins and sweet breads I made this week.

The motivation for the Turkey wrap came from the turkeys at the grocery store being on sale last week (79 cents per pound). So I roast up a 15 pound turkey and then boiled the bones for stock. The idea comes from the cafeteria at my husband's office. In this wrap we will put: turkey meat, dressing, some mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and cranberry sauce and a very small bit of gravy for moisture. Personally, I am not much for combining all my foods like this, but my husband just loves these turkey wraps. It's all about putting whatever you cooked with the turkey in this wrap. What a great way to use those leftovers! :)

Just today I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Wraps on Wardeh's "Such Treasures" website. As Robin loves to baked, I might ask him if he would try this recipe tomorrow. The ingredients are waaay healthier and Robin loves wheat so I think it is a match made in heaven! :) Then the other wrap could be used more sparingly in moderation.
Here is the link:
http://suchtreasures.wordpress.com/2006/04/28/whole-wheat-tortillas/
I love Wardeh's website. She has lots of wonderful recipes and other great instructions for homemakers. Please note that all recipes and info on her site is copywritten. I am so thankful she is willing to offer her research for free! Thank you for helping me honor her copywrite! :)

What foods do you put in a wrap? I would love new ideas!!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel!

Boy it has been forever since I have posted here! My life has been soccer, soccer, and soccer and a bit of dance thrown in. BUT today is Tyler's last soccer game, actually he is playing two games possibly, and Christian will be done at the end of the month. What will we do with ourselves without 7 days of soccer per week? LOL! Of course indoor soccer will start but at least we will have a break for a month or so!

Here is the passage of Scripture that has been on my mind lately:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand." Eph. 6:10-13

I have had two thoughts concerning this passage. First, my family is attending a new church (and having a BLAST there I might add!!) and my husband and I are starting a new ministry. Well, everything in the house/cars has been breaking. It has been hard because our bank account has dried up and blown away! It has made it hard to focus on the new ministry because everyday some new crisis crops up that we must deal with. But once you recognize your situation as a spiritual warfare it makes you determined to push through it, trusting the Lord, and doing what he has called you to do.

My second thought involves when a person comes up against you. Our pastor shared in his sermon on "Spiritual Warfare" that when a person comes up against you that we ought to remember they are not the enemy, Satan is. When we recognize the real enemy we are more determined to not let them bring us into sin by our response nor discourage up from living out the things God has called us to do!

God is truly in control and if we lean on him and follow him closely we will share in His Victory!! Praise the Lord!

Have a great day!!

Back to Business!

Hello!! Well, it is back to business this year! We celebrated our Labor Day holiday by starting our school year. I know, it sounds crazy... But I hate starting my school year on a 4-day week. It makes me feel behind before we even get started.
This promises to be a busy year. The kids are in activities and we are beginning a new ministry of having a small group Bible Study in our home. I can't wait for the Bible Study! It has been a long time since we have done something like this. I am tempted to say it has been too long but I realize that God's timing is perfect so I'll just be thankful we are there now!
School has started off pretty well and I think this will be a good year. Of course, it is a big adjustment to go from freedom to school but we are getting in the groove. I try to have fun with school for the kids, but then there comes a time that work is work and there is just no hiding it!
Fall is in the air! The weather trend is much cooler. The crispness of fall is around us! I am feeling in a slump with our menus. I have gotten to repetitive and I am sick of our normal foods. So I think I will browse around the internet and my cookbooks and hunt up some yummy recipes. I'll post what I find! I think we are just done with summer cooking. In the summer you just want to keep as much heat out of the house as possible so it is quick stuff. Now it's time to spend some good time cooking and the warmth of the stove! :)
My friend Linda Marie awarded my blog! I love reading her blog and so I am especially blessed by this. Thanks Linda!



I hope everyone reading is doing well. I hope to be posting more now that we are in the "post summer" schedule! I hope you will visit often!

Lazy Sunday

Today is a nice, lazy Sunday. I am loving the restful, easy feeling. The weather is hinting that fall is on the way. It is in the low 70's. It is sunny with a nice breeze!

Robin preached today, filling in for an area pastor. This is a church my dad pastored before he died of cancer. It was nice to see everyone and my mom was with us so it was a reunion of sorts for her. Robin's cousins were there and we don't see them and their families much so this was an extra treat. Robin preached from 1 Tim. 1:12-17 encouraging us that "God is in the business of changing people." Oh, aren't you glad? I shudder to think of the kind of person I would be if God had not intervened in my life with His saving grace and power to change me! Hallelujah!

After church we had a quick lunch and then took the children out for an ice cream (yum!). Then we came home to rest and relax. I have been knitting, Robin has been reading (though he is mixing work with pleasure with some testing that must be done for work). A pot roast is in the oven. After supper I plan to snuggle in with a good book and maybe some more knitting. Even the kids seem extra calm and quiet.

Here are a couple of "exciting sites" from my yard (well, exciting to me... ;) )


I love tuberous impatiens and tuberous begonias. I think this is the impatien variety. I have them on my front steps.


These plums tomatoes will soon be ready for the table! I can't wait! We have lettuce, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes, plus rhubarb and various spices growing. Next year I would like to do a bit more in volume. I like the idea of having a "salad garden." :)

I hope all those reading are having a restful Sunday!

Ready to "Do Good"

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

This is the verse that has taken up constant residence in my mind as I pray and prepare for our 2007/2008 homeschool year. I have been no more excited than the children to start. But as I have prayed and cried out to God to fill me with enthusiasm to do His will, this is the verse that has continually come to mind.

Doing the will of God does not always "feel" like what we would like to do. It is a mistake to go solely by our feelings when determining His will. It won't always "feel" good. But we are blessed when we do His will and then the good feelings many times follow. Obedience first, let the feelings take care of themselves. Christ is our example. Going to the cross did not *feel* good. We see plainly in the Garden of Gethsemane that going to the cross did not sound like fun to Jesus. Are we not told to take up our cross? Is it suppose to "feel" good?

So, I am readying myself to do the will of my Father. I am finding my feelings slowly following. But I know it will be a challenging year full of lots of hard work. But that is okay. As I look down at my hands and feet I see no scars. His burden is easy. Reminds me of an Amy Carmichael poem:

No Scar?

Hast thou no scar?

No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?

I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,

I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,

Hast thou no wound?

Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,

Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent

By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned:

Hast thou no wound?

No wound? No scar?

Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,

And pierced are the feet that follow Me;

But thine are whole: can he have followed far

Who has nor wound nor scar?

Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth

Well, it sure has been some time since I have written here in my blog. We have been savoring every moment of summer and it makes for a lot less time on the computer.

This past weekend we visited a new spot. We met friends for a supper picnic. It was a little cove on the ocean with more treasure to find then any other spot I have ever visited. The kids got to hold an observe several crabs, hermit crabs, star fish, snails, and even shrimp (which were too small to hold but still fun to observe). The only damper on the night was when we had left our site alone and seagulls attacked the food. Ours was in the cooler but our friends had their cheese puffs pecked into and then the gulls stomped on their graham crackers and frosting that was in a large gladlock. The silly bird tried to fly off with it and then dropped it.
Here are some pics (not of the birds, we sort of missed that whole drama til the end!):


This first pic was as we were leaving but I loved the look of the sun so much I put it first!

The boys were way too busy hunting through tidal pools to look up for a picture! ;)

This is an amazing feat for Rachel to be holding a hermit crab! She normal does not touch *creatures* of any kind!! But her dear friend would pick them up first and show her how to hold them and hand them to her. She had so much fun!
We did not find star fish but a man on the beach found them (3 of them I think) and gave them to the kids to observe and hold.
Here is a look into one of our buckets. Those hermit crabs are either playing or fighting...hopefully playing... :)

This was the biggest crab we found. He was quite a good sport about being held. He and the other creature treasures were all returned safely to their homes before we left. I think we have found a new favorite picnic spot!