There are some days that when you come to the end you are glad they are over, but even more thankful for all that was done. Today we:
Froze 15 quarts of corn
Canned 6 quarts of green beans
Canned 1 quart of zucchini
Froze 1 quart of peas
and froze about 4 quarts of strawberries.
We have about 6 bushels of corn to do tomorrow. The fun begins all over. :)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Week in Review
Jonathan came home from Kansas on Sunday evening. He worked at Amazing Grace Baptist Camp for about 6 weeks. In typical Jonathan fashion he didn't stay here long. He is in Canada now. Our neighbors invited him to go to their vacation home with them. He is supposed to come back Tuesday.
Monday Stephanie and I cleaned a new house. This is the first time Stephanie and I have worked together like this. Usually our jobs are just one person jobs but this one was huge. It took the two of us 4 hours to clean one level of this house. It had massive amounts of woodwork to dust! I am not sure if we will continue to clean there or not. She said she would let me know. It was kind of expensive because the amount of work. We earned it though, believe me! We worked so hard and so fast. I have NEVER cleaned a house moving that quickly.
Wednesday Dale, Michelle and Heather came up for the day. We celebrated Dale's birthday a little late. Michelle decided she wanted to do a project while she was up here so Mom decided it would be a good time to take out our back porch. The concrete was all breaking and wobbly. Michelle grabbed the sledge hammer and started swinging. After they got most of the top off I went out and helped break up the concrete from the big rocks underneath. Now that is gone and we just have to get it replaced. I wonder how long that will take? For supper that night we had chimichangas (which seems to be almost mandatory for birthday dinners around here). Brian came and so did Daniel Monticue. I will have to do a special post about the excitement of that evening when I get the pictures on the computer.
At the beginning of the Summer a man in our church told us we could go over to his house and swim anytime we wanted. Since he lives about a half hour away, and this Summer has been SO busy we hadn't gotten a chance yet. Finally we decided that we should go after our music lessons on Thursday since he doesn't live far from my teacher. Monica, Amanda, Stephanie and I all went. This man's daughter, Michelle, and her two year old son met us there and swam too. We had so much fun!!! I hadn't been swimming in a pool that I couldn't touch the bottom in a long time. This pool was 20 x 40 and 9 feet deep. It had a diving board and a water slide. When we first got there you would have thought I was five. I jumped in climbed out and slid in, climbed out and went off the diving board, climbed and and jumped in a different way... After a while I started to get kind of tired. We enjoyed it SO much. Hopefully we will be able to swim there again before the Summer is over.
I bought a piece of fabric a couple of years ago that I absolutely loved. It was supposed to be for a skirt but I never used it because I didn't have a shirt that went with it and why bother making the skirt if I can't wear it? Today I was looking in my fabric cabinet and I saw that and remembered a new shirt I just got. I ran down stairs and sure enough they matched. So I found a pattern and started cutting right after lunch. It was a very basic pattern and I finished it already. It turned out really cute but it is too big. Oh well, I guess it is better than being too small. I can still wear it this way.
Beckisue was given a coupon for a free game of miniature golf for six people a few weeks ago. It expires next week so we decided we had better use it today since this will be our last chance. There were exactly six of us home today. We didn't even know that miniature golf place was there! We go often to a place in the middle of town. This place is on the edge of town at the entrance to a golf course. It was 18 holes instead of 9 like the place we usually go. It was kind of fun to play new holes with new obstacles to figure out.
Beckisue also had her carry out card from Papa John's full so she got a free pizza and bread sticks. So when we were finished playing mini golf we got pizza and went to the park to eat it. It was such a beautiful evening for a picnic!
BTW, Hi Uncle Bob! Michelle told me she told you about my blog. I have since been seeing Johnson City on my blog map. I am assuming that is you. :) Hope you enjoy keeping up with the Cosby happenings. :) Feel free to comment sometime and say hi.
Next week promises to be even busier than this one. Yikes! I will update when I can.
Monday Stephanie and I cleaned a new house. This is the first time Stephanie and I have worked together like this. Usually our jobs are just one person jobs but this one was huge. It took the two of us 4 hours to clean one level of this house. It had massive amounts of woodwork to dust! I am not sure if we will continue to clean there or not. She said she would let me know. It was kind of expensive because the amount of work. We earned it though, believe me! We worked so hard and so fast. I have NEVER cleaned a house moving that quickly.
Wednesday Dale, Michelle and Heather came up for the day. We celebrated Dale's birthday a little late. Michelle decided she wanted to do a project while she was up here so Mom decided it would be a good time to take out our back porch. The concrete was all breaking and wobbly. Michelle grabbed the sledge hammer and started swinging. After they got most of the top off I went out and helped break up the concrete from the big rocks underneath. Now that is gone and we just have to get it replaced. I wonder how long that will take? For supper that night we had chimichangas (which seems to be almost mandatory for birthday dinners around here). Brian came and so did Daniel Monticue. I will have to do a special post about the excitement of that evening when I get the pictures on the computer.
At the beginning of the Summer a man in our church told us we could go over to his house and swim anytime we wanted. Since he lives about a half hour away, and this Summer has been SO busy we hadn't gotten a chance yet. Finally we decided that we should go after our music lessons on Thursday since he doesn't live far from my teacher. Monica, Amanda, Stephanie and I all went. This man's daughter, Michelle, and her two year old son met us there and swam too. We had so much fun!!! I hadn't been swimming in a pool that I couldn't touch the bottom in a long time. This pool was 20 x 40 and 9 feet deep. It had a diving board and a water slide. When we first got there you would have thought I was five. I jumped in climbed out and slid in, climbed out and went off the diving board, climbed and and jumped in a different way... After a while I started to get kind of tired. We enjoyed it SO much. Hopefully we will be able to swim there again before the Summer is over.
I bought a piece of fabric a couple of years ago that I absolutely loved. It was supposed to be for a skirt but I never used it because I didn't have a shirt that went with it and why bother making the skirt if I can't wear it? Today I was looking in my fabric cabinet and I saw that and remembered a new shirt I just got. I ran down stairs and sure enough they matched. So I found a pattern and started cutting right after lunch. It was a very basic pattern and I finished it already. It turned out really cute but it is too big. Oh well, I guess it is better than being too small. I can still wear it this way.
Beckisue was given a coupon for a free game of miniature golf for six people a few weeks ago. It expires next week so we decided we had better use it today since this will be our last chance. There were exactly six of us home today. We didn't even know that miniature golf place was there! We go often to a place in the middle of town. This place is on the edge of town at the entrance to a golf course. It was 18 holes instead of 9 like the place we usually go. It was kind of fun to play new holes with new obstacles to figure out.
Beckisue also had her carry out card from Papa John's full so she got a free pizza and bread sticks. So when we were finished playing mini golf we got pizza and went to the park to eat it. It was such a beautiful evening for a picnic!
BTW, Hi Uncle Bob! Michelle told me she told you about my blog. I have since been seeing Johnson City on my blog map. I am assuming that is you. :) Hope you enjoy keeping up with the Cosby happenings. :) Feel free to comment sometime and say hi.
Next week promises to be even busier than this one. Yikes! I will update when I can.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Best anti-home schooling comeback ever!
I found this on a blog earlier. I thought it was SO funny.
"When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering home schooling our children, we are without fail asked, 'But what about socialization?--' Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities.
Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car.
Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality...And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring up morals and values."
Simple enough!
"When my wife and I mention we are strongly considering home schooling our children, we are without fail asked, 'But what about socialization?--' Fortunately, we found a way our kids can receive the same socialization that government schools provide.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will personally corner my son in the bathroom, give him a wedgie and take his lunch money.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my wife will make sure to tease our children for not being in the 'in' crowd, taking special care to poke fun at any physical abnormalities.
Fridays will be 'Fad and Peer Pressure Day.' We will all compete to see who has the coolest toys, the most expensive clothes, and the loudest, fastest, and most dangerous car.
Every day, my wife and I will adhere to a routine of cursing and swearing in the hall and mentioning our weekend exploits with alcohol and immorality...And we have asked them to report us to the authorities in the event we mention faith, religion, or try to bring up morals and values."
Simple enough!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Wonderful Savior is Jesus My Lord
There is a story I have been thinking about telling for a while. I guess I have just been waiting for the right time. I am not sure what makes this the right time but here it goes...
In May of 2007 my dad got a phone call from a lady wanting to ask some questions about our church. She and her husband had found our church listed on the Family Integrated Church site through Vision Forum.
When my dad told us about this family I found out that their oldest daughter was my age. I was excited because there has never been a girl my age in our church.
They attended our church that Sunday. Only the two youngest girls were with them though. I found out that the one who was my age wasn't a Christian.
During that week they came over for supper to discuss some more things about our church. During that visit we found out more about the family background. The parents had been saved less than ten years and had some rough road behind them.
They decided to keep attending their church for a while and continue to pray about the Lord's leading.
The last Sunday in June, which was our first Sunday in our new building, they came to stay. I was very excited because Shelley (the wife/mother) and I had hit it off from the beginning.
This family lives right down the street from my violin teacher so during my sisters' lessons every week I would go down and visit Shelley. During one of these visits Shelley told me that Courtney, her oldest daughter, was going to have a baby. Shelley just told me that they had decided to just embrace it as a new life and pray that God would use this to work in Courtney's heart. At this point I still hadn't met Courtney but I was beginning to have a burden for her. I wanted her first of all to know Christ and secondly I wanted to be her friend.
I think it was sometime in July when Courtney came to church the first time. When I tried to befriend her she was always very civil but she kept guard up and kept me at arms length.
This went on for months. All the while we were praying for her but I think, much to my shame, I didn't really believe that there would be a change.
In December my family went to visit them for an evening. While we were there I noticed that Courtney was totally different! She was open and friendly to us all. I didn't even know what to think. She told me that she wasn't going to be able to be at church that Sunday because she had to work. But she promised to be there the next.
That coming Sunday as soon as I got to church Shelley asked me if I had checked my email that morning. I told her I had but I was very curious why she would ask me that because I hadn't had anything of importance. She told me that Courtney had emailed me that morning. I was so excited I was ready to burst. That was the Sunday before Christmas and we were leaving for Illinois right after services. That would mean that I would have to wait hours before I got to read it! I remembered that I could check my email at the library so as soon as dinner was over I ran across the street to check. There was an email from Courtney telling me that God had been changing her heart! I sat there and cried as I read it and replied.
It has been a wonderful joy to watch Courtney grow in Christ. Her baby was born in January. She will be six months old in a few days. Courtney has a strong desire to be a godly mother to her little baby. She has worked so hard to be able to support her baby and still be able to stay with her.
I don't think I have ever been around anyone in my life who has changed so much. Courtney has changed down to the way she sounds when she talks. I few weeks ago I listened to her voice mail recording that she had on her phone for a long time and she sounds so different! She told me the other day that even her taste in colors has changed since she has been saved. :)
Courtney was baptized on Resurrection Sunday along with two other people.
I thank God for the blessing of her friendship and watching her grow in Christ.
Her father has just accepted a job over an hour away from here so they will be moving. I am very happy for them in this wonderful opportunity. I will miss seeing them during the week but they will still be attending our church. I am very grateful for that!
In May of 2007 my dad got a phone call from a lady wanting to ask some questions about our church. She and her husband had found our church listed on the Family Integrated Church site through Vision Forum.
When my dad told us about this family I found out that their oldest daughter was my age. I was excited because there has never been a girl my age in our church.
They attended our church that Sunday. Only the two youngest girls were with them though. I found out that the one who was my age wasn't a Christian.
During that week they came over for supper to discuss some more things about our church. During that visit we found out more about the family background. The parents had been saved less than ten years and had some rough road behind them.
They decided to keep attending their church for a while and continue to pray about the Lord's leading.
The last Sunday in June, which was our first Sunday in our new building, they came to stay. I was very excited because Shelley (the wife/mother) and I had hit it off from the beginning.
This family lives right down the street from my violin teacher so during my sisters' lessons every week I would go down and visit Shelley. During one of these visits Shelley told me that Courtney, her oldest daughter, was going to have a baby. Shelley just told me that they had decided to just embrace it as a new life and pray that God would use this to work in Courtney's heart. At this point I still hadn't met Courtney but I was beginning to have a burden for her. I wanted her first of all to know Christ and secondly I wanted to be her friend.
I think it was sometime in July when Courtney came to church the first time. When I tried to befriend her she was always very civil but she kept guard up and kept me at arms length.
This went on for months. All the while we were praying for her but I think, much to my shame, I didn't really believe that there would be a change.
In December my family went to visit them for an evening. While we were there I noticed that Courtney was totally different! She was open and friendly to us all. I didn't even know what to think. She told me that she wasn't going to be able to be at church that Sunday because she had to work. But she promised to be there the next.
That coming Sunday as soon as I got to church Shelley asked me if I had checked my email that morning. I told her I had but I was very curious why she would ask me that because I hadn't had anything of importance. She told me that Courtney had emailed me that morning. I was so excited I was ready to burst. That was the Sunday before Christmas and we were leaving for Illinois right after services. That would mean that I would have to wait hours before I got to read it! I remembered that I could check my email at the library so as soon as dinner was over I ran across the street to check. There was an email from Courtney telling me that God had been changing her heart! I sat there and cried as I read it and replied.
It has been a wonderful joy to watch Courtney grow in Christ. Her baby was born in January. She will be six months old in a few days. Courtney has a strong desire to be a godly mother to her little baby. She has worked so hard to be able to support her baby and still be able to stay with her.
I don't think I have ever been around anyone in my life who has changed so much. Courtney has changed down to the way she sounds when she talks. I few weeks ago I listened to her voice mail recording that she had on her phone for a long time and she sounds so different! She told me the other day that even her taste in colors has changed since she has been saved. :)
Courtney was baptized on Resurrection Sunday along with two other people.
I thank God for the blessing of her friendship and watching her grow in Christ.
Her father has just accepted a job over an hour away from here so they will be moving. I am very happy for them in this wonderful opportunity. I will miss seeing them during the week but they will still be attending our church. I am very grateful for that!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Cass County 4-H Fair
This morning we went to the fair-grounds to find out how we did on everything that was entered. Stephanie is the only one in 4-H, but some of my sisters entered things and we all entered a quilt. Here is the rundown: Beckisue got a blue ribbon on her apple pie; Amanda got a blue ribbon on her quilt; Amanda got a red ribbon on her jam - she was really disappointed with that. She got knocked way down because her tag got knocked off the jar. It was there when she entered it. She found it sitting on the shelf with the jars. I guess the judge just didn't see it. Our quilt got reserve champion. We were all pretty happy about that! Stephanie got a blue ribbon on her photography poster and she got champion on her Color Salon (matted 8x10)! She is so excited about that. This is her first year in photography. She also got judges choice and she gets to compete at State. We are all pretty excited about it.
This evening we went back to the fair just to look around. We saw lots of people we knew. As we always do at the fair. Mom told me that Amanda and I couldn't go ahead of them any more because every time they saw anyone we had already seen them and told them everything that they tried to say. :)
Dad saw a t-shirt tonight and said he had to go comment on it. We are used to that. Dad is always commenting on people's t-shirts. This one was very unusual though! I turned around and knew which one it was immediately. There was a girl wearing a shirt with a Confederate Battle flag on the back. Above the flag it said "If this shirt offends you..." and at the bottom it said "You need a history lesson!" I loved it! We talked for quite a while with that girl. Dad started out by telling her that his great-grandfather fought for the 43rd Mississippi Infantry. Almost before he could get that out she said "My great-great-grandfather was Gen. Joseph E. Johnson." So then dad said to her "Oh! Then my great-grandfather fought under your great-great-grandfather!" They talked a little more and decided that he didn't fight under him after all. She ended up asking my dad if he would be willing to go to a board meeting at the high-school the end of the year. She said they are going to be discussing what t-shirts kids are allowed to wear to school. She said that she knows there are offensive t-shirts out there but she isn't wearing hers to be offensive. She said that they are actually talking about not allowing kids to wear the American flag!!! They just don't want to offend anyone!!!!!!!!! What's with that?
You never know what you will see in public! We were standing there talking to some friends tonight and this guy walked by with a snake around his neck. It looked SO real. I thought there is no way it could be though. He passed and I looked to see the head. It was REAL! That's terrible! Snakes were NOT meant to be pets!! The very idea of having a snake around my neck gives me the creeps!
Here is the picture. It is pretty by itself but it is absolutely beautiful matted!
This evening we went back to the fair just to look around. We saw lots of people we knew. As we always do at the fair. Mom told me that Amanda and I couldn't go ahead of them any more because every time they saw anyone we had already seen them and told them everything that they tried to say. :)
Dad saw a t-shirt tonight and said he had to go comment on it. We are used to that. Dad is always commenting on people's t-shirts. This one was very unusual though! I turned around and knew which one it was immediately. There was a girl wearing a shirt with a Confederate Battle flag on the back. Above the flag it said "If this shirt offends you..." and at the bottom it said "You need a history lesson!" I loved it! We talked for quite a while with that girl. Dad started out by telling her that his great-grandfather fought for the 43rd Mississippi Infantry. Almost before he could get that out she said "My great-great-grandfather was Gen. Joseph E. Johnson." So then dad said to her "Oh! Then my great-grandfather fought under your great-great-grandfather!" They talked a little more and decided that he didn't fight under him after all. She ended up asking my dad if he would be willing to go to a board meeting at the high-school the end of the year. She said they are going to be discussing what t-shirts kids are allowed to wear to school. She said that she knows there are offensive t-shirts out there but she isn't wearing hers to be offensive. She said that they are actually talking about not allowing kids to wear the American flag!!! They just don't want to offend anyone!!!!!!!!! What's with that?
You never know what you will see in public! We were standing there talking to some friends tonight and this guy walked by with a snake around his neck. It looked SO real. I thought there is no way it could be though. He passed and I looked to see the head. It was REAL! That's terrible! Snakes were NOT meant to be pets!! The very idea of having a snake around my neck gives me the creeps!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Scenes from the Rooftop
I am getting quite bored with posting the same ol' thing every night, so I know everyone is tired of reading it! I decided to do a post I had planned to do a couple of months ago.
After living in this house for three years, I finally decided to go up to the roof a couple of months ago. There is a staircase to the roof and a flat square about 4' across. I don't know why I had never climbed up there before. Usually when I thought about it I wasn't dressed for it. It is pretty dirty going through the attic. Here are a few pictures I took.
My bedroom is on the first floor straight down from the left side of this picture.
Here is one of my favorite farms around here. I think it is so pretty.
Here is the same farm with out the zoom.
The rubber roof on the right is above my parents room and the roof on the left (one story down) is my Grandma's rooms.
It's a pretty neat view from up there!
Just so I don't totally break tradition I have to mention that Beckisue and I went with Rhenda today to pick blueberries! I am sure that comes as a great shock to everyone. :) The picking was good today. Beckisue and I picked about 19 pounds.
After living in this house for three years, I finally decided to go up to the roof a couple of months ago. There is a staircase to the roof and a flat square about 4' across. I don't know why I had never climbed up there before. Usually when I thought about it I wasn't dressed for it. It is pretty dirty going through the attic. Here are a few pictures I took.
My bedroom is on the first floor straight down from the left side of this picture.
Stephanie went up with me. She has gone up there many times.
Here is one of my favorite farms around here. I think it is so pretty.
Here is the same farm with out the zoom.
The rubber roof on the right is above my parents room and the roof on the left (one story down) is my Grandma's rooms.
It's a pretty neat view from up there!Just so I don't totally break tradition I have to mention that Beckisue and I went with Rhenda today to pick blueberries! I am sure that comes as a great shock to everyone. :) The picking was good today. Beckisue and I picked about 19 pounds.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Still more quilting and blueberry picking
Beckisue, Amanda, Rhenda and I went to pick blueberries again this afternoon. It wasn't the nicest of trips. It was very hot and there weren't a lot of ripe berries. With three of us picking for almost two hours we only got a little over 14 pounds. Rhenda only got 6.
On the way home Rhenda decided she wanted ice cream. Of course, the rest of us decided it sounded pretty good too! So we took a slight detour to go to an ice cream shop on the way home.
Just before we left to pick berries and as soon as we got back we were quilting like mad. We are going to enter Rob and Chrissy's quilt in the fair tomorrow. We are cutting it pretty close. We finished the quilting before supper and then just had the binding left. Mom had the binding strips ready to sew on and when she was almost finished she realized that she was short about 18 inches of binding! Yikes!! We didn't even know if we had any fabric left. The binding strips were cut a long time ago. We started looking through everything. I finally found a piece and Mom and Amanda were able to cut more out of it.
We did the hand stitching of the binding tonight while we watched one of Vision Forum's History of the World DVDs. We had tried to watch this particular one twice before and weren't able to finish it so I was glad that we finally made it all the way through. I was at the conference that the video's were from but that was two years ago. I need my memory refreshed. :)
I will just skip the rest of the details of the day. My posts have been pretty lengthy lately!
On the way home Rhenda decided she wanted ice cream. Of course, the rest of us decided it sounded pretty good too! So we took a slight detour to go to an ice cream shop on the way home.
Just before we left to pick berries and as soon as we got back we were quilting like mad. We are going to enter Rob and Chrissy's quilt in the fair tomorrow. We are cutting it pretty close. We finished the quilting before supper and then just had the binding left. Mom had the binding strips ready to sew on and when she was almost finished she realized that she was short about 18 inches of binding! Yikes!! We didn't even know if we had any fabric left. The binding strips were cut a long time ago. We started looking through everything. I finally found a piece and Mom and Amanda were able to cut more out of it.
We did the hand stitching of the binding tonight while we watched one of Vision Forum's History of the World DVDs. We had tried to watch this particular one twice before and weren't able to finish it so I was glad that we finally made it all the way through. I was at the conference that the video's were from but that was two years ago. I need my memory refreshed. :)
I will just skip the rest of the details of the day. My posts have been pretty lengthy lately!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Baby news!!! and other mundane (in comparison) news
This morning before Monica and I left for music lessons I was informed that we were going straight to my cousins house from lessons. I didn't mind this but I think everyone knew except me. My cousin Bryan and his wife Leah flew in from Arizona and were only going to be at his sisters house for a few hours. I would say what the plans were supposed to be but they all got changed. I guess I will just cut to the chase and say what did happen. Nothing around the Cosby household ever happens the way it is planned! I guess it just keeps life interesting.
We decided that if Grandma was going to be able to see them she was going to have to go with us. Mom drove to meet us with Grandma on our way back through from lessons. Bryan and Leah were going to be a lot later than planned so we weren't in a big hurry. We stopped at Dale and Michelle's on the way down so we could see Heather. (notice I didn't say "So we could see Dale and Michelle") :) Being an aunt is SO much fun. When I walked into their apartment Heather was sitting in her little chair watching a movie. She was all laid back and look about half asleep. She saw me and her eyes got big, she gasped and she got up and started jabbering so fast. I have no idea what she said but it ended with "Mary Poppins" and that was the movie she was watching. I guess she was telling me all about it. Each time I see her she has knew words she has learned. She talks all the time though it is in her own language. It is funny because every once in a while we can actually pick out a word that she says. Dale turned on a Youtube video of a baseball game and she started cheering. It was SOOOO cute. I have seen her claps for stuff lots of times but she was waving her arms in the air and saying "Yea" and all kind of other things. It was hilarious!!!
When we got to Bethany's house we watched her four kids swim for a while. They are so cute. We had a couple of hours to spend with them before Bryan and Leah got there. As I said our plans got totally changed. We had planned to leave for home at 4:00 but Bryan and Leah didn't even get there until after 5:00. So we stayed until 7:30.
Tonight was Monica's night to take over for her shift at Fran's house so we drove straight up there. Just before we got there my cousin Erin called. She is the one that got married last month. I was expecting her to say that her wedding pictures had been posted on the internet. But she had much more exciting news than that! She is going to have a baby!! I had to laugh though because she had planned to "wait" a year. Ha! What was it I was saying about plans changing?? They are very excited and I am very excited for them!
As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. Psalm 18:30
So see? Even if plans change they are still perfect!
We decided that if Grandma was going to be able to see them she was going to have to go with us. Mom drove to meet us with Grandma on our way back through from lessons. Bryan and Leah were going to be a lot later than planned so we weren't in a big hurry. We stopped at Dale and Michelle's on the way down so we could see Heather. (notice I didn't say "So we could see Dale and Michelle") :) Being an aunt is SO much fun. When I walked into their apartment Heather was sitting in her little chair watching a movie. She was all laid back and look about half asleep. She saw me and her eyes got big, she gasped and she got up and started jabbering so fast. I have no idea what she said but it ended with "Mary Poppins" and that was the movie she was watching. I guess she was telling me all about it. Each time I see her she has knew words she has learned. She talks all the time though it is in her own language. It is funny because every once in a while we can actually pick out a word that she says. Dale turned on a Youtube video of a baseball game and she started cheering. It was SOOOO cute. I have seen her claps for stuff lots of times but she was waving her arms in the air and saying "Yea" and all kind of other things. It was hilarious!!!
When we got to Bethany's house we watched her four kids swim for a while. They are so cute. We had a couple of hours to spend with them before Bryan and Leah got there. As I said our plans got totally changed. We had planned to leave for home at 4:00 but Bryan and Leah didn't even get there until after 5:00. So we stayed until 7:30.
Tonight was Monica's night to take over for her shift at Fran's house so we drove straight up there. Just before we got there my cousin Erin called. She is the one that got married last month. I was expecting her to say that her wedding pictures had been posted on the internet. But she had much more exciting news than that! She is going to have a baby!! I had to laugh though because she had planned to "wait" a year. Ha! What was it I was saying about plans changing?? They are very excited and I am very excited for them!
As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. Psalm 18:30
So see? Even if plans change they are still perfect!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Living, The Dying, The Dead, And Death Conquered
Aunt Cathy and Uncle Mike stayed a little longer this morning than they usually do but my sisters and I had to leave before they left! :( We had agreed to clean a house a few miles away from here. I was only able to be there for about an hour because I had to come back and clean our neighbors house. We cleaned windows there this morning. It amazed me how long it took to clean them! We had to take out the storm windows and wash the tracks, wash the windows, wash the storm windows and put it all back together. It doesn't sound like much but it was a pretty big job. We also ironed the drapes and put them back up.
I was only home long enough to practice my violin for a little while, (the first time I have touched it all week and I have a lesson tomorrow!) take a shower and get ready to go to a funeral. A man my dad met through his jail ministry died from a heart attach last Friday. He was only 48. It was a strange funeral to me. It was a really rough group of people. Dad said it was a group that every preacher dreams of being able to preach to. This man had gotten saved about four or five years ago and his step-son a couple years before that. Other than that I don't think there were any other Christians there. It is sad to see how messed up peoples lives are. The step-son got saved the very first time dad preached in the jail six years ago. Dad had worked with him ever since. He lives in Indianapolis now so we don't see him all that often. He has taken this very hard because he was very close to his step-father.
After the funeral we went to see a friend who is dying of cancer. He is only 35. I can't believe how skinny he is. He was always very thin but he is wasting away now. Dad told him he doesn't know what God has planned but either way it turns out will be a victory. If God heals him, it will be victory of the disease. But if God calls him Home it is absolute victory because Christ has already conquered death! He kept saying "That's right, that's right!" As a Christian life is so wonderful and full of joy, but there is such sorrow too.
I was only home long enough to practice my violin for a little while, (the first time I have touched it all week and I have a lesson tomorrow!) take a shower and get ready to go to a funeral. A man my dad met through his jail ministry died from a heart attach last Friday. He was only 48. It was a strange funeral to me. It was a really rough group of people. Dad said it was a group that every preacher dreams of being able to preach to. This man had gotten saved about four or five years ago and his step-son a couple years before that. Other than that I don't think there were any other Christians there. It is sad to see how messed up peoples lives are. The step-son got saved the very first time dad preached in the jail six years ago. Dad had worked with him ever since. He lives in Indianapolis now so we don't see him all that often. He has taken this very hard because he was very close to his step-father.
After the funeral we went to see a friend who is dying of cancer. He is only 35. I can't believe how skinny he is. He was always very thin but he is wasting away now. Dad told him he doesn't know what God has planned but either way it turns out will be a victory. If God heals him, it will be victory of the disease. But if God calls him Home it is absolute victory because Christ has already conquered death! He kept saying "That's right, that's right!" As a Christian life is so wonderful and full of joy, but there is such sorrow too.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Journaling, piano practice... and Berries!
Everyone is probably getting tired of reading my day-to-day happenings but the reason I started this blog in the first place was so I could keep it like a journal. So, if you are too bored find someone else's blog. :)
Today was pretty boring compared to yesterday. It could have been as full but I was too lazy. I weeded the garden for the normal half hour this morning. I try to get out as early as possible before it gets too hot. This morning is was almost 8 which is later than I like. But thankfully it wasn't terribly hot.
I made an other batch of jam this morning. I used the berries we picked yesterday morning. I have never picked so many berries or made so much jam in my life. I think I have picked more berries this year than I ever have in my life put together! Amanda and I have enjoyed it. I forgot to say yesterday that Amanda froze two quarts of peas and canned 2.5 quarts of blueberry jam. She picked and froze an other two quarts of peas today. We really like snap peas so we are hoping to get a lot this summer. So far they are producing very well.
A funny thing happened this morning while I was practicing the piano. I set the timer for 10 minutes for this one song I was working on. I kept playing it over and over until I thought the timer was never going to go off! Finally I looked at my phone and realized that the timer was set for 11:50 PM not AM. I had been playing that song for 20 minutes. I guess if I had kept playing it until the alarm went off I would have known the song VERY well.
My Aunt Cathy and Uncle Mike came for a visit this evening. They will head home in the morning. I am not sure how late they will stay. Usually they leave pretty early when they come. Hopefully it won't be terribly early this time since they didn't get here very early.
A word of wisdom for everyone: Don't hang white sheets on the line during mulberry season. Very bad idea. When my sheets came in tonight they had almost as much purple as white. Not quite - but it was pretty bad! I rewashed them and I think all the spots came out. This time I put them in the drier.
That was basically my day.
Today was pretty boring compared to yesterday. It could have been as full but I was too lazy. I weeded the garden for the normal half hour this morning. I try to get out as early as possible before it gets too hot. This morning is was almost 8 which is later than I like. But thankfully it wasn't terribly hot.
I made an other batch of jam this morning. I used the berries we picked yesterday morning. I have never picked so many berries or made so much jam in my life. I think I have picked more berries this year than I ever have in my life put together! Amanda and I have enjoyed it. I forgot to say yesterday that Amanda froze two quarts of peas and canned 2.5 quarts of blueberry jam. She picked and froze an other two quarts of peas today. We really like snap peas so we are hoping to get a lot this summer. So far they are producing very well.
A funny thing happened this morning while I was practicing the piano. I set the timer for 10 minutes for this one song I was working on. I kept playing it over and over until I thought the timer was never going to go off! Finally I looked at my phone and realized that the timer was set for 11:50 PM not AM. I had been playing that song for 20 minutes. I guess if I had kept playing it until the alarm went off I would have known the song VERY well.
My Aunt Cathy and Uncle Mike came for a visit this evening. They will head home in the morning. I am not sure how late they will stay. Usually they leave pretty early when they come. Hopefully it won't be terribly early this time since they didn't get here very early.
A word of wisdom for everyone: Don't hang white sheets on the line during mulberry season. Very bad idea. When my sheets came in tonight they had almost as much purple as white. Not quite - but it was pretty bad! I rewashed them and I think all the spots came out. This time I put them in the drier.
That was basically my day.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Berries, Berries and More Berries
I headed out to work in the garden just after 7 this morning. When I got out there it looked like there was a storm coming and the thunder was crashing like crazy. I decided that the weeds would be there after the storm past but the berries wouldn't be so I would do that first. I ran back in the house to get a container and I started picking as quickly as I could. Amanda joined me soon and we both worked for a while. Amanda went to pick peas and green beans after a while and I kept on with the berries. By 9 o'clock we had well over a gallon of berries a large bowl of peas and enough green beans for a meal and I thought I was about to starve. I NEVER wait 2 hours after getting up before I eat breakfast!
I spent a large part of the morning cutting the stems off of the mulberries. I really need to figure out a way to do that faster. It takes as long or longer to take the stems off as it does to pick them.
Amanda and I went with our neighbor right after lunch to pick blueberries. Amanda and I picked 18 pounds. Rhenda picked 14 lbs. I don't know how she does it so fast. The two of us together only got four more pounds than she did in the same amount of time. I think we are going back on Saturday to get more. Rhenda wants 50 lbs. this season.
When I got home I was totally exhausted but my day wasn't over. I still had a piano lesson. After I had a shower and ate supper I felt better. I didn't realize that it was still so hot and humid when I left to ride over there. My teacher only lives about 3 miles away but I still felt like I was going to melt by the time I got there.
I had a pretty good lesson. I started a new book tonight.
My teacher decided that she wanted to see if my bike would fit in her van in case she ever had to drive me home. So once we got it in there she said she would just take me home tonight. Last year one night Monica and I had ridden over there one night and it was sunny a nice and then on the way home a storm rolled in. So ever since she worries that a storm will come or it will get dark or something. Now we know that the bike will fit in her van if needed. :)
Thus ends a long day. Now I am going to go read a book!
I spent a large part of the morning cutting the stems off of the mulberries. I really need to figure out a way to do that faster. It takes as long or longer to take the stems off as it does to pick them.
Amanda and I went with our neighbor right after lunch to pick blueberries. Amanda and I picked 18 pounds. Rhenda picked 14 lbs. I don't know how she does it so fast. The two of us together only got four more pounds than she did in the same amount of time. I think we are going back on Saturday to get more. Rhenda wants 50 lbs. this season.
When I got home I was totally exhausted but my day wasn't over. I still had a piano lesson. After I had a shower and ate supper I felt better. I didn't realize that it was still so hot and humid when I left to ride over there. My teacher only lives about 3 miles away but I still felt like I was going to melt by the time I got there.
I had a pretty good lesson. I started a new book tonight.
My teacher decided that she wanted to see if my bike would fit in her van in case she ever had to drive me home. So once we got it in there she said she would just take me home tonight. Last year one night Monica and I had ridden over there one night and it was sunny a nice and then on the way home a storm rolled in. So ever since she worries that a storm will come or it will get dark or something. Now we know that the bike will fit in her van if needed. :)
Thus ends a long day. Now I am going to go read a book!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Today
We had a wonderful day at church today. We were missing many members though. The sermon was excellent. It was titled (actually, I don't know if it really had a title) "But God." Dad dealt with biblical accounts were everything looked hopeless from a human standpoint, 'but God' had other plans.
This afternoon I took a nap when I got home. I always love Sunday rests! When I got up I went out side and three guys from our church were trying out our new wood splitter. I think they were having a lot of fun. I was SO happy to see it work because I was very scared of the thing when I imagined how it would work. I thought it would chop very fast and it would be dangerous but this goes very slowly. Rich, the man who made sure everything was running right, said that hydraulic splitters are slow but powerful. I am so thankful that the Lord provided this splitter for us. It was WELL worth the $380!!! I am also very thankful that Brian, Rich, and Chay are willing to help with so many things. Since all of my brothers are out of the house now there are just some things we can't do. This splitter is so easy though that I think we could handle it though. We are already well acquainted with hauling wood. That isn't a problem.
We played a new game with Brian and Chay tonight. It was fun! It was kind of like the books I Spy in game form. I think it will be a new favorite.
Brian decided to set off fire works after the game. I didn't go out but after a few minutes I decided to look out the window and watch. I opened the screen and was leaning out. They set one off that shot one right after an other in the air. There was just one problem! After the first couple it fell over and started shooting were it really shouldn't! It shot one straight at our house and one went skimming right by Stephanie. Brian said he got a little something in his eye! I think fireworks are a little scary. We are thankful once again for God's protection.
Speaking of God's protection... Thursday morning Brian and his dad were helping his brother and sister-in-law re-roof their house. Brian hadn't been working long and he slipped and fell off. He fell about 12 feet onto the deck. He landed face first. His eyes are black and he has a scratch on his nose. He also injured his knee. As far as we know there weren't any serious injuries though. I kept teasing him about his eye makeup. His knee is bothering him the most. Hopefully it is just bruised and the pain will go away.
This afternoon I took a nap when I got home. I always love Sunday rests! When I got up I went out side and three guys from our church were trying out our new wood splitter. I think they were having a lot of fun. I was SO happy to see it work because I was very scared of the thing when I imagined how it would work. I thought it would chop very fast and it would be dangerous but this goes very slowly. Rich, the man who made sure everything was running right, said that hydraulic splitters are slow but powerful. I am so thankful that the Lord provided this splitter for us. It was WELL worth the $380!!! I am also very thankful that Brian, Rich, and Chay are willing to help with so many things. Since all of my brothers are out of the house now there are just some things we can't do. This splitter is so easy though that I think we could handle it though. We are already well acquainted with hauling wood. That isn't a problem.
We played a new game with Brian and Chay tonight. It was fun! It was kind of like the books I Spy in game form. I think it will be a new favorite.
Brian decided to set off fire works after the game. I didn't go out but after a few minutes I decided to look out the window and watch. I opened the screen and was leaning out. They set one off that shot one right after an other in the air. There was just one problem! After the first couple it fell over and started shooting were it really shouldn't! It shot one straight at our house and one went skimming right by Stephanie. Brian said he got a little something in his eye! I think fireworks are a little scary. We are thankful once again for God's protection.
Speaking of God's protection... Thursday morning Brian and his dad were helping his brother and sister-in-law re-roof their house. Brian hadn't been working long and he slipped and fell off. He fell about 12 feet onto the deck. He landed face first. His eyes are black and he has a scratch on his nose. He also injured his knee. As far as we know there weren't any serious injuries though. I kept teasing him about his eye makeup. His knee is bothering him the most. Hopefully it is just bruised and the pain will go away.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
This Week
An other busy week has flown by. I started my piano and violin lessons again. I took about six weeks off from the violin and about four months from piano. I didn't intend for it to be that long but for many different reasons it just happened that way.
My sisters and I spent quite a bit of time this week picking black raspberries and mulberries. We had never canned mulberries before so I decided I wanted to try it. Amanda canned a batch of strawberry-rhubarb jam and I canned a batch of mulberry-rhubarb, mulberry, and black raspberry. They all turned out well.
My family and I went to a party last night in town. A group of friends live on the same street (most of them are related to each other and the ones who aren't related attend the same church as the rest) hosted a big party. It was fun. This was their second year to do this. Both years we have been surprised by seeing people there that we knew but didn't know that they knew the hosts. The hosts were surprised last year twice that we knew some of the people. I guess we know a lot of people around town for only living here eight years.
It seems that there were many more things to tell about this week but I am so tired right now I can't think of any. So I guess I won't ramble any longer.
My sisters and I spent quite a bit of time this week picking black raspberries and mulberries. We had never canned mulberries before so I decided I wanted to try it. Amanda canned a batch of strawberry-rhubarb jam and I canned a batch of mulberry-rhubarb, mulberry, and black raspberry. They all turned out well.
My family and I went to a party last night in town. A group of friends live on the same street (most of them are related to each other and the ones who aren't related attend the same church as the rest) hosted a big party. It was fun. This was their second year to do this. Both years we have been surprised by seeing people there that we knew but didn't know that they knew the hosts. The hosts were surprised last year twice that we knew some of the people. I guess we know a lot of people around town for only living here eight years.
It seems that there were many more things to tell about this week but I am so tired right now I can't think of any. So I guess I won't ramble any longer.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
An Evening with Dale and Michelle
Dale, Michelle, and Heather came to visit this evening. Dale needed to see if he could fix Monica's computer. It crashed the other day (yes, even Mac's crash occasionally) and all of Stephanie's pictures are on it for 4-H. She has to have her projects done by Monday. Yikes! He thinks he can get them off there tonight and send them to Steph. Hopefully he can or her photography projects just might not get done. She has taken some beautiful pictures. It would be sad to lose them!
We fixed a big supper for them. I am not sure why because it was too hot in the kitchen to cook that much. We had fried chicken, snow peas and onions, squash and onions (the peas and squash were from our garden) mashed potatoes and gravy, and salad (the lettuce was also from our garden). That is a LOT of food for one meal! Which means a lot of dishes. We enjoyed it anyway.
Dale wanted to go put-putting after supper. Heather had never gone before. She loved it. Of course she didn't want to stay off the green while others were playing. It was the craziest game I have ever played!
After the game we ate blueberry pie and ice cream that we had brought along. Though the ice cream had been doubly insulated it was still melting by the time we ate it. It was good anyway.
We went to the play ground next. Heather slid down the slide many times. That is her favorite. She calls it "the wee." I held her up to the monkey bars and she actually lifted herself up! Of course she doesn't weigh much. I held Heather on the swing and Dale decided he would pull her off so we counted "1...2...3..." and he grabbed her. THEN Dale decided to put her back on but didn't tell me. I swung forward and he held Heather out to me. I wasn't looking so her head and my lip collided. Heather of course cried for a while and I told Dale to warn me next time. I now have a fat lip!
It was an absolutely beautiful evening for an outing. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.
We fixed a big supper for them. I am not sure why because it was too hot in the kitchen to cook that much. We had fried chicken, snow peas and onions, squash and onions (the peas and squash were from our garden) mashed potatoes and gravy, and salad (the lettuce was also from our garden). That is a LOT of food for one meal! Which means a lot of dishes. We enjoyed it anyway.
Dale wanted to go put-putting after supper. Heather had never gone before. She loved it. Of course she didn't want to stay off the green while others were playing. It was the craziest game I have ever played!
After the game we ate blueberry pie and ice cream that we had brought along. Though the ice cream had been doubly insulated it was still melting by the time we ate it. It was good anyway.
We went to the play ground next. Heather slid down the slide many times. That is her favorite. She calls it "the wee." I held her up to the monkey bars and she actually lifted herself up! Of course she doesn't weigh much. I held Heather on the swing and Dale decided he would pull her off so we counted "1...2...3..." and he grabbed her. THEN Dale decided to put her back on but didn't tell me. I swung forward and he held Heather out to me. I wasn't looking so her head and my lip collided. Heather of course cried for a while and I told Dale to warn me next time. I now have a fat lip!
It was an absolutely beautiful evening for an outing. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.
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