This Week At Home, Number 52

Twas the week before New Year and all through the house... not a whole lot was happening!  And that is just the way I like it!

Monday...
Dear grandparents came for a lovely visit.  The boys spent long hours building their Legos, too.  In the evening, Jeff got our Androids up and going.  The learning curve was quite small.  I really, really love it!   

Tuesday...
Jeff went back to work.  I got the laundry caught up, which was an enormous job.
And the kids played in the two inches of snow that came and soon melted.

Wednesday...
Went to see my Grandma in the nursing home.  She knows who we are and sometimes seems "with it", but for the most part she is in her own little happy world. 

Thursday...
Grace and I went to get groceries, which turned out to be a great trip.  No one else was out shopping.  The stores were so quiet.  Very nice.  Other than making a huge pan of lasagna, my day was pretty unproductive. 

I am starting to dread next week being thrown back into the busyness.  Stopping to rest a week is a good thing, but makes me only want more.  Now I am looking forward to summer vacation!

Christmas dinner! 

Friday...
More of the same!  Although, Jeff gets off early and Ryan is going to a sleepover with Nana and Granddaddy, so the day will probably fly.

This weekend...
The kids are all going to Nana and Granddaddy's house for New Year's Eve.  Jeff and I will be going out to dinner with a gift card that came our way. 

Happy New Year to you! 
~Jenn

This Week At Home, Number 49

Our resurfaced dining table. 

Monday...
Lessons, laundry, make chicken pot pie, Grace sniffling,dishes, making paper chains, and time to relax.  In other words, a very nice day despite rainy weather and a sick girl. Over the weekend, Jeff and I covered our dining table with Contact Paper!  It's a little darker than we wanted, as that was all the store had in stock, but it works great and next time we will search out a little lighter color.  Grace says it looks like a chocolate covered donut.  :-)  I think it is wonderful not to have to have a table cloth all the time. 

Checking math with Daddy. 

Tuesday...
Lessons, lots of laying around reading, hot tea, more laundry, more rain, and wrapping some presents.  Grace not feeling to well today.

Grace made hundreds of paper chains this week! 

She'd tape one end to the wall and just go for hours, not kidding! 

Wednesday..
Trevor is getting the cold now.  Grace is up and around, making us lunch, but still coughing a lot.  Finished lessons for the week.   Welcome home from FL, Nana and Granddaddy! We missed you!  

Thursday...
We're on break, officially!  Made the last trip to the store before Christmas  for groceries.  Ryan says his throat is sore.  Cleaned bathrooms.  Made homemade pizzas.  Wrote a plan of attack for the rest of the week.  Jeff finished wrapping presents.  Thank you, Honey! 

Sick boy with cat, remotes and (empty) candy box. 

Friday...
Jeff is off at noon!  Today is our baking day.  We're going to make cheese balls, chocolate pies, meatballs, cinnamon rolls, and one batch of cookies.  The children are doing well, must have been a quickly moving virus.  Thank you, Lord! 

Taken earlier with his new sword. 

This week has been a little different than I had in mind, with each of the kids getting some version of a cold.  But, all in all, I am pleased with all that got accomplished.  The house is not as clean as I would like, but resting seemed more important this week. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this wrap-up of our week.  I appreciate all of my faithful friends who stop by to encourage and leave their wisdom! 

We wish you a very, merry Christmas! 

Wordless Wednesday: Chocolate Cake

A picture lasts longer. 

The best cake I've ever made!  Go here for details, then make one! 

Making Some Goals

It's that time of the year again!  It's time to make a long list of goals that we will forget about by February 28th!  Stop!  Not this year!  This year, I've decided that instead of the usual list I make for the new year, I am going to set myself a monthly assignment to make monthly goals and report on them here.

I think this will keep me moving in the right direction all year long.  I am also going to limit my list to 5 things, try to be very specific, and set dates to get them done by.   Just think, 5x12 = 60.  60 goals in one year!  Hot dog!!! 

Here are my goals for January 2012.  I thought about making a list for December, but decided that with Christmas coming it is best to procrastinate!  I may just get a jump on these the last days of December. 

• Read my Yearly Bible, daily, each morning before breakfast
• Put away Christmas decorations by January 8th, purge unneeded items
• Make a NY style cheesecake for Jeff's birthday by the 21st (I've never made one and it is his favorite.  Shame on me!) 
• Exercise 6 days a week.  Walk for 30-40 minutes, 4 days a week, alternating with weight training 2 days with 1 day of rest 
• Visit my grandma once and send 2 letters this month   

Bonus:  get eye exam done, hopefully sooner than January.  I think I need reading glasses. 

Please, Don't Criticize Others

Romans 14 1-12  ESV

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

 ¹As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ² One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. ⁵ One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
 ¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹for it is written,

    "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
   and every tongue shall confess to God."
 ¹²So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

*********

This passage has been on my heart for a couple of weeks now.  It makes me sad when believers cannot live with one another in harmony.  Some believers celebrate Christmas as a way to honor the Lord, and this passage says that this is good.  It is equally good to abstain, if that is your conviction.  However, we are not to look down on one another, making the other feel bad or to feel superior.  Let's love one another, encourage one another, not make one another feel bad.  The bottom line is that we love the Lord.  He is Supreme!  Let's enjoy Him this season (as always) however that looks for your family. 

This Week At Home, Number 48

Merry Christmas! 

Monday...
Another tough Monday came and mercifully went.  It was only mentally tough, having to fight the urge to give into the lazy days of Christmas vacation, a week early.  However, we must and will get through this week (and next!)

Other notes from this day... Our homeschool gym teacher did not show nor did she call the gym to tell them she had taken another job, so one of the moms in the group led warm-ups and then we let the kids play basketball.  I was able to get in my walk, thankfully.

We got our lessons, the basics, got done after gym and lunch.  The evening was spent relaxing. 

Doing his best Julius Caesar impression. 

Tuesday...
My favorite day of the week!  Except for driving 5 minutes to the park to walk in the morning, I did not have to be anywhere.  So, after a full morning of lessons, I cleaned the bathrooms, finished laundry, and made a fine dinner.  We also did a good tidy up.  Lots of little scraps of paper had made their way to the floor, as Grace has been busy making paper dolls lately.

The evening found us running a couple unexpected errands, as Jeff was given the job of getting the boss' Christmas gifts.  But, we made the most of it and got a mocha and drove around looking at lights on the way home.

There is a cat in there somewhere! 

Now you can see the cat. 

Wednesday...
Another good day of lessons.  We are so enjoying the book, Flame Over Tara. Makes me want to know more about St. Patrick, the man.  I've never considered his life before.

Tonight is the last AWANA for a couple weeks, which will be a nice break.  I am looking forward to a couple weeks without going out on Wednesday. 

Florida sunset courtesy of my mom.

Thursday...
Busy!  Busy!  My day started with a brisk walk.  It was a warm morning in the upper 50's.  If only it were cloudy and threatening rain.  And it did rain.  Thankfully, it stopped in time for our grocery outing.  We then dashed home, put away the goods and had lunch, before dashing out again to drop off the boys at their play date and pick up two friends for Grace to play with at our home. 

The evening, I was able to stay home and finish the Christmas cards while Jeff took the kids to their karate tournament.  As I type this, I do not know the outcome. 

More Florida..would love to be there, too!

Friday...
We need to finish our lessons.  We have friends coming for a cozy evening of dinner and discussion of some good sermons.  The kids will watch a Christmas movie and eat Chex mix.  Should be a great time.  I am making a big chocolate cake, too! 

Manatees!

This weekend...
Not much going on.  We'll keep ourselves busy.  Perhaps a trip to the library.  I am looking forward to a quiet weekend. 

I've been enjoying a peaceful season with a good balance of doing and staying put.  The focus of our Christmas celebration has been well placed.  I have enjoyed not over-indulging in endless sweets.  Really, I have.  I love the idea of taking the time of Advent to prepare my heart and it helps not having a ton of indulgences. (Yes, those cookies are still safely tucked away in my freezer.)  

Have a great weekend,
Jenn

Wordless Wednesday: Making Cookies

He's Our Angel

Good day, friends and family.  Here are just a few photos of Trevor during last evening's Christmas pageant.  I will be adding video to this post once they upload.  I think we are at 32% of 4 videos uploaded at this point and I started them around 8:30 this morning on our Windows computer.

Yes, we are in need of a faster computer.  If you have seven SLOW computers, they still don't add up to one fast one.  I am only guessing on that.  We've always had slow, but reliable, computers, usually bought second hand.  But that is another topic.  Just check back later, if you are related to Trevor and want to hear some of the musical.

Until then, here is our "little" angel.  He did a great job and delivered his lines with gusto!  Plus, he was in the special choir for the more talented kids.  Yes, I am bragging.  I get to do that once in a while.  :-)

**Update on the video. The sound did not turn out so well with my little camera from far back where I sat, so unless my mom's video turned out better, and we won't know until she gets a YouTube account and uploads when she gets to Florida (don't ask), I may have a friend who took video. *sigh*

**Update number two.  OK, I think you can hear this, but seeing is another story.  Just shut your eyes and enjoy!

This Week At Home, Number 47

On my way to walk! 

Monday...
Fought the temptation to be a slacker, although,  I could write that every single day, actually.  It is just some days, especially Mondays, I have to fight harder.

It has also occurred to me that I used to think that having to leave the house on a Monday was almost a crime.  There is always so much to do on a Monday around here.  I would love to be home all day and get the week started right.  However,last year, I decided to break my "rule" in the name of fitness and signed the kids up for homeschool gym, which meets on Mondays.

It has taken me this long to see the value in having a set appointment on Monday mornings.  Because we have this appointment, I have to be on task, when I normally would be tempted to ease into the week.  I also have had a standing walking date with a friend who meets me at the community center during the kids gym class.  This date keeps me on track for my week's fitness goals.  My new rule has replaced my old one and that new rule is:  Always exercise on Monday! 

Anyway, back to Monday.  It was a dreary, cold day.  I did not get the laundry as caught up as I wanted, mainly because school took extra time because I was having a hard time with keeping focused on school work.

Green grass in December? 

Tuesday...
Woke up to above freezing temperatures, which means that I could go to the park and walk.  Yippee!  This is my catch up day, so we got our lessons done and then Grace and I baked cookies to bring to the Christmas party tomorrow night at AWANA.  No nibbles allowed!  :-)

Miss Baker 

Wednesday...
Work hard, stay focused!   Starting to feel the pull away from diligence with our studies.  Christmas break is calling my name. I have not set a date to stop, but probably won't take much time off.  We need to keep going the next two weeks, if we can stand it.  I'd like to take the week off after Christmas, starting back on January 3rd.  Pep talk time!  We can do it!  WE CAN!!! 

The computer guru hard at work.  

Thursday...
Walking again at the park in the morning.  It was in the upper 20's, but sunny.  After walking, we got our lessons finished for the week, except their writing assignments.  Grace, Trevor and I went to two grocery stores before lunch, even.  That was a mistake because we were starving.  After shopping, we came home and had a little time to relax after doing some chores.  This evening, Jeff and I got mochas and spent time chatting in the church's new common space while the kids were at karate.

Friday...
Today is the annual cookie baking day with my sweet, dear mother.  We are limiting ourselves this year.  We will be baking only 4 kinds of cookies, putting them into the freezer, and forgetting about them until Christmas Eve.  In years past, we'd chow on cookies from the beginning of December until sometime in January when they were gone.  This year, my goal is to maintain my 21# weight loss, but still enjoy the season.  Hopefully this can happen if I only have treats on the actual holidays.  We shall see.

This weekend...
We have a Christmas party to go to.  Trevor is performing in a Christmas musical, a small one put on by his choir as a present to their parents.  We will also be working on our Christmas cards which arrived a couple days ago.  I hope you've had a great week and I look forward to reading about them very soon.
~Jenn

Wordless Wednesday: Decorating for Christmas

Still My Soul

Keith and Kristyn Getty

Hey, hey! It's Monday!

Happy Monday to you!  Yes, it is Monday and yes, it is raining, but I am feeling back to normal and that is cause to celebrate!  I am praying that we can escape the next few weeks, germ free. 

Today, we have our normal chores of school and laundry to get through.  It should not be too bad.  I also have to remember to thaw some chicken for dinner.  Maybe I should do that right now so I do not forget!  Be right back... 

This past weekend we found time to hang out around home.  We got our Christmas decorations all put around as we like them.  Jeff did some more winterizing of the house.  He put up some plastic on a few of the leakiest windows.  That just leaves the back door to do. It is especially leaky, but I don't want to loose access to it completely, because I feed the Blue Jays peanuts from that door every morning.  And we all know how much I love my birdies!  So, we will have to work something out. 

We finally ordered our Christmas cards.  We took a nice family photo,too.  I will post it after I send it out so that the dears who read this blog will be surprised.  The whole process took very little time.  I wonder why I make such a big deal about it in my mind. 

Sunday was a great day, although I knew the day would fly.  We had a time of beautiful worship in the morning.  We came home for lunch and a couple hours of R&R.  We made a second trip to drop off Trevor for choir rehearsal, then home for a quick dinner and back to church to pick up Trevor and then to stand in line for the Getty concert.  The concert was another time of delightful worship to our King! 

So, here I am.  It's Monday and I am full of joy for the coming week.  There will be plenty to do, but all of it will be done with pleasure. 
~Jenn 

This Week At Home, This Week & Last , Part Two

Time for this week, now!

Monday found me feeling pretty congested and on the couch in the afternoon.  I did get the kids to gym and the library.  Thankfully dance is over until the first of the year.  I picked up a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the library.

My main goal after lessons was to get the laundry under control and to make dinner.  I managed both.  Plus, I read another Laura Ingall's Wilder book, By the Shores of Silver Lake.  There is nothing like a good book when you are under the weather.  I picked up a copy of Little Town on the Prairie, too for when I finish that book. 

Going to gym class. 

Tuesday we were able to keep our minds on our lessons despite the talk of a snow storm coming.  We watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers after lessons.  I started to feel much better after a quiet afternoon of laying on the couch.  I made us a yummy homemade pizza dinner.  The laundry was all caught up, too.

Wednesday was a historic day for our family. Both Trevor and Grace were baptized!  I am sorry that I did not get their testimonies on video, but I did get the actual baptisms.  20 children were baptized, all the fruit of AWANA.  Grace was baptized by one of the leaders of AWANA.  He has known Grace for a long time. 





I cry each time I watch these!

Thursday I took a walk with a good friend in the 22 degree weather.  Brisk!  Then the kids and I went to the grocery stores.  The house was suffering from "dropping syndrome."  You know, "dropping syndrome" is when everything is dropped where it falls and stays there for several days.  I lost steam in the afternoon, though.  I did not get as much done with school as I hoped.  I had to take a nap!  We will make up for it tomorrow.  One fun thing was going Christmas shopping in the evening while the kids were at karate. I am glad that we are about done with shopping. 

Friday is finally here!  We must finish our lessons in the morning.  In the afternoon we'll spend a little time getting ready for flock group, meeting here. 

This weekend, we may go to Christmas on the Prairie.  It depends on the weather.  Sunday we get to go to a special Christmas concert in the evening with Keith and Kristyn Getty!  My mom and I got to hear them in Chicago a couple years ago.  I can't wait!

Happy Weekend to you!
~Jenn

This Week At Home, This Week & Last , Part One

Last week, I was just too busy to post a wrap-up, so I will attempt to sketch a bit of it here so that I do not forget our week completely. 

Monday 11/21  We had a complete day of lessons along with homeschool gym and dance.  We packed away our school books at the end of the day and did not look back!  :-) 

Tuesday 11/22  The youngest two and I went off to get groceries as soon as Aldi and Trader Joe were open to hopefully beat the crowds.  We were successful.  I also made the Thanksgiving banner and we put away as much stuff as possible. 

Wednesday 11/23  Today I was on my feet all day making ahead the side dishes that I was able to make.  Plus, Jeff was off at noon, which made us have a festive spirit.  We set up the big table in the dining room.

Thursday 11/24  Happy Thanksgiving!  12 of us gathered around to share a meal of thankfulness.  It was a happy day.  It also happened to be my brother-in-law's birthday.  Grace headed up the Christmas tree decorating that evening.

Friday 11/25  Jeff was off again.  We took a lovely, brisk walk at the park.  Then we went to the hardware store, a small local one, to get caulking.  We also went to the library.  No Black Friday shopping for us. Grace spent the night with Nana and Grandaddy.  Nana took her to the Children's Museum. 

Saturday 11/26  I spent most of the day reading Laura Ingall's Wilder's The Long Winter, trying to beat a cold that I felt coming on.  Jeff and the boys did some target shooting in the back yard with BB guns.  He also took a LONG bike ride to beat the coming wind and weather. 

Sunday 11/27  A normal Sunday for us with church in the morning, except no choir practice in the evening.  We watched Oklahoma for something fun in the evening.  I think the boys still like Star Trek a lot more. By this time, I had a sore throat and was feeling kind of bad. 

Stay tuned for part two coming on Friday! 
~Jenn