You can tell a lot about a person...



The library...the library...oh how I love the library...

Resident Biblioarchitect,
Donna

A day of Gifts

We celebrate another birthday today. Our Emma Jean is 15!

I am forever grateful of the gift she has been to us!

For All Good Gifts

We plow the fields, and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God's almighty hand.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord,
For all His love.

-Matthias Claudius

___________

I am going to make Emma a ice cream pie for her birthday. She doesn't like cake. Imagine that!!!

So the pie will be an Oreo crust, Java Chip ice cream and Dove's Hot Fudge on top.



I will be whipping this up this afternoon. Right after she gets her ears pierced!

She has an exciting year ahead of her....you know...with Driver's Ed. right around the corner. Pretty exciting :o)

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow,
and never stop....
Encouraging one another,
Donna

Consequences

Thinking things through just doesn't seem to enter the picture in a big part of this world.

There is a tv show called Average Joe. The Average Joe who lost the girl has returned and is now picking out his own true love. ha....

It is so sad and pathetic. Yet I can't look away.

Why do women( and men) come on these shows?

O.K. they are looking for true love. The man of their dreams. The fairytale.

Got it....but IF they would take just ONE second and think it through a little tiny bit....

They would have to come to the conclusion that they are going to be humiliated in front of the whole television world. Most likely!

Fame and fortune, fame and fortune...

Is that it? Does it have a blinding effect?

Is the desire to be loved so huge that the ability to think rationally goes a missin'?

Or is it just an example of folks who do not see the consequences to their actions?

Well....let me just recommend watching Pride and Prejudice.


In watching Pride and Prejudice you have a chance to see good choices and bad choices lived out in a dramatic way. This is also true of Sense and Sensibility.

Some choose foolishly and suffer the consequences. Others live quietly and patiently and have good character...with excellent outcomes.

I like that. I'm glad my daughter reads Jane Austen and watches movies adapted from her novels.
I'm glad she knows she is loved already by her Heavenly Father.
And by her parents here on earth.

I pray, knowing this helps her make wise choices and to think of the consequences.

I'm glad she's not interested in watching Average Joe. Like her silly mother.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Good-Night Words

H. Clay Trumbull has some tender words to say about bedtime;


If there is one time more than another when children ought to hear only loving words
from their parents, and be helped to feel that theirs is a home of love and gladness, it is when they are going to bed at night.
Good-night words to a child ought to be the best of words, as they are words of greatest potency. Yet not every parent realizes this important truth, nor does every child have the benefit of it.

The last waking thoughts of a child have a peculiar power over his mind and heart, and are influential in fixing his impressions and in shaping his character for all time. When he turns from play and playmates, and leaves the busy occupations of his little world, to lie down by himself to sleep, a child has a sense of loneliness and dependence which he does not feel at another time. Then he craves sympathy; he appreciates kindness; he is grieved by harshness or cold neglect.

There should be no severity then, no punishment at that time. Every word spoken in that hour should be a word of gentleness and affection...."

-From Hints on Child Training by H. Clay Trumbull. Originally published in 1890



- Elizabeth Orton Jones

At the end of the day I tend to rush Katie to bed and I can be impatient with her questions. Re-reading the chapter in Trumbull's book has encouraged me to be more tender to my little sweetie.
Last night Katie prayed with her daddy and then we read from Ribsy and A Prayer for a Child.

I needed a reminder.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Looking beyond the Suffering

I have just finished reading These Strange Ashes by Elisabeth Elliot.
A few things stand out.

Elisabeth is very honest about her struggles in the jungle.

When our circumstances are beyond our understanding, "Faith, prayer, and obedience are our requirements."

Life is not about what we accomplish...it is the daily living...the daily trusting...the daily obeying.

Elisabeth concludes;

"And so it often is. Faith, prayer, and obedience are our requirements. We are not offered in exchange immunity and exemption from the world's woes.
What we are offered has to do with another world altogether."

Janet tells us in her comments last week...

One of my favorite verses relating to suffering and hope is:

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

We must look beyond the suffering to our hope in Christ.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Movies We Just Can't Turn Off

1. To Kill A Mockingbird (I happen to love the piano music along with everything else about this movie)
2. Green Card
3. Parenthood
4. On Golden Pond
5. Sleepless in Seattle
6. Bull Durham
7. Field of Dreams (Is this heaven? No it's Iowa.)
8. A League of Our Own (There's no crying in baseball!!!)
9. The Natural (I love the ending...running the bases with the sparks raining down...Wow)
10. The Women (Old black and white sassy comedy/drama directed by George Cukor)



"Neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives."

Who knew we liked so many baseball movies?
We actually like baseball movies much more than we like baseball.

Batter up,
Donna

Two Girls!



Our family was doubly blessed on March 27, 1966!

Janice Jean aka A baby and Janet Jean aka B baby were born into our big happy family!

We were all delighted then....they delight us still!

Twins are very special, don't you think? Well...our twins are really special. Janice has our father's Greek coloring and Janet is blond with blue eyes. They're both beautiful inside and out and always have been!
Our special twins!



Sing...Dance...Eat a little cake.

Big Sister,
Donna

Go and visit Buried Treasure

Carmon the Amazing Prairie Muffin, is blogging basically non stop over at Buried Treasure!
She is conducting a Blogathon and has been posting every 1/2 hour all day today...

Go over and see all the excellent things she is thinking and writing about!

'When you walk, thru a storm, hold your head up high.....'
-Jerry Lewis

Just click Buried Treasure at the sidebar!

Night Sky 101...Don't miss your chance to see all of these planets...get out there and gaze!

Friday Five

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?

2. What are your favorite flavor of chips?

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?

4. How do you have your eggs?

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?

_________

The last person who cooked a meal for me was a chef at Ditka's in Chicago.
I had Horseradish Crusted Chilean Sea Bass. It was excellent.

We mumbled and grumbled about even entering Ditka's...

It felt sacrilegious.

How could we eat at a restaurant owned by a former Chicago BEAR?

But it was late...we were hungry...we saw the lights...

The restaurant was less Da Bears and more Mike Ditka.

There was a big painting of Vince Lombardi on the wall....

It was going to be alright.

_____________

I am teaching a small part of the homeschool choir sign language again this year.
They will sign along with singing.
There are always a few words that I can not remember...such as worthy and honor...

I have found the most wonderful sign language site that has a big vocabulary and a little video.
So sorry I can't figure out how to make a little link for you :o(
I tried.

Do check it out if you have children interested in sign language!

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm



I recommend this sign language book for children.

Encourage one another,
Donna

City of the Big Shoulders

Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.

-Carl Sandburg

After living in Namby-Pamby Politically Correct Madison for three years, Chicago's coarseness and big shoulders felt...just right.

But Chicago is not just big and loud. It is beautiful and quiet and filled with memories for us.

"That's where Patrick was born....this is where Cindy was married and there is Aunt Dorothy's building...We stayed up there for our honeymoon."



My favorite critters at the Lincoln Park Zoo! It was gorgeous out!
We are resting up for the long walk back to the hotel. My Chicago Hotel as Katie calls it.



We walked past this mansion on our way...it's not as crooked in real life.



"This is ok...but I'd rather be dangling my feet in the little pool."
-Katie

One town that won't let you down
It's my kind of town.

Donna

Come on in and take our stuff....

Janet wonders why I left for Chicago without a big announcement...
Well since anyone in the whole world can read this little blog...I didn't want to be too unwise and announce that our little home would be uninhabited...for a few days.

Even tho Maggie the Cat is quite sassy, I don't think she would keep the robbers away :o)



We are safely home and our stuff is still here.
We had a very nice time...

More later,
Donna

Etiquette, according to Katie

It is very rude to go to a birthday party when you are not invited.

They will stare at you. And be mad.

Packing, according to Katie

All I am taking is my swimsuit, towel and sunglasses.
______________

Which reminds me of a funny story...

Our parents took nice long vacations together. They went to Acapulco many times.
Our father thought it would be fun to drive to Acapulco. He would drive with his friend Jim.

Jim and Jim driving to Acapulco.

Our mother would fly down to meet them.

So Jim and Jim leave Chicago and head to Acapulco with their wanderlust and luggage.

Esther prepares to fly to Acapulco with her purse and a small overnight case with just her undies.

The Customs Officer thinks Esther is one racey chick.

Esther blushes and giggles and gathers her undies.



Adios Amigos,
Donna

Rejoicing in Your Work

O Lord, renew our spirits and draw our hearts unto Yourself,
that our work may not be to us a burden but a delight;
and give us such a mighty love to You as may sweeten our obedience.
O let us not serve You with the spirit of bondage as slaves,
but with cheerfulness and gladness, delighting in You and rejoicing in Your work.
-Benjamin Jenks



Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
-Psalm 51:10

We sang that verse every week in church when we were young. It is a good verse to know.
It is another of those simple sounding verses that are full of theology.

Encourage one another,
Donna

The boys are back in town...



Bearing gifts....er....laundry....

Matthew: Is this for the blog?
Mom: You betcha

By the way...it was 11:15 when they arrived home...they just had to stop in Iowa City
to watch the Wisconsin Badgers Basketball game on television at an Applebees.

I am so happy to have them home! Katie gets to go and wake them up between 10:30 and 11:00 this morning.
She has learned that big boys sleep a lot!

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth."
Psalm 127

Encourage one another,
Donna

Fab Friday Five

If you...

1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?

2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell?

3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be?

4. ...ran a school, what would you teach?

5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it?

p.s. For those of you who do not know...I do not write the Friday Five. There is a website dedicated to doing this little project. Thank you Friday Five.

p.p.s. Isn't this a great one?



Encourage one another,
Donna

School Blog



Benefit to homeschooling...goldfish during a test
Drawback....can't slip thru the cracks :o)



Katie is showing an interest in writing.
She likes to fill in booklets.

The orange page is from the Readywriter series. Looks like it is time to get some lined paper for her!

The streak is over.

Dear Husband is home....sick...today.

We have been married for 23 years and this is a first!

Not missed a day of work due to sickness in 23 years....Cal Ripken got to run the bases for his streak in baseball a few years back. BASEBALL....never missed a game....big deal, I say!

Cal is a really cool dude. We love the hearty, hal, workhorses here in Wisconsin. Look at the Amazing Brett Favre.

But no one compares to my dear hubby when it comes to hardworking.

So this is his tribute...no fireworks....not jog around the field...just a blog entry :o)



"Get Well Buddy"
-Brett

"The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince."
-Vince Lombardi

We are thankful for our health and know that every good and perfect gift is from above. We consider our healthy bodies to be gifts. Nothing deserved.

Someday I will tell you our chicken pox story.

The lessons we learn from times of illness and despair are priceless. Painful to endure....but the gems of understanding and gratefulness and strengthening of faith are what grow us. I have been know to say..."But I don't like the fire."

Who does?

Yet it feels so great to be out of the fire. With new eyes and deeper wisdom and thanks.

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
-James 1:2

Encourage one another,
Donna

And you thought I was Off Topic before..

My mind is very adept at making connections (which it is supposed to do) and remembering, and dreaming...

I know a little bit about almost everything...and I love to learn.

So this is how my brain worked yesterday. On Jeopardy, 'outrigger' was the answer to a question. No one answered it correctly but me...but you see I already had Hawaii on the mind.

Earlier in the day I saw a picture of a hotel that looked like the Sheraton Maui. I told Emma all about the trip our parents took Cindy and I on to Maui n 1972.

Then, because we did not go to guitar...we watched American Idol. And there were two sweet girls from Hawaii. (By the way I voted for 7,11,12)

"Oh we're goin' to a Hookelau...."

The song popped into my mind...and I had to hear it again...
My sisters and I learned it from a big girl (probably 6th grade) in Elmhurst Ill one summer.
We were very young. She taught us the song and the Hawaiian hula hand motions. Which I still remember!

I had to find it.

No luck at first. How on earth is Hookilau spelled???

With the help of the amazing searching abilities of the personal computer...I came up with lyrics AND someone singing the song.

http://www.thehukilau.com/

Aren't those the cutest graphics? The Hukilau site wins my Best Graphics Award!

What a funny memory. What a time it was...the sixties....the suburbs...the innocence.

Little children dancing the hula on the driveway, on a elm-tree lined street.

Little girls with pixies dancing the hula.




Back to Life...Back to Reality
Emma is well...
School is back in session.
The boys will be home from college on Friday! Hooray! Must... buy... food.....

And I am just beginning my second official photo album. They are called Scrapbooks nowadays...but the one's I make consist of mostly photos and a little writing.

Last year I made Matthew an album for his High School Graduation. It contains photos from all of his school years. He loves it. We all love it. Memory Lane you know....

So as our oldest son is preparing to graduate from COLLEGE this May...I have decided to put one together for him.

With the help of my dear friend Jeaneen, a Creative Memories Consultant....I am well on my way.

The pictures are selected, cropped, and put in chronological order.
Now I will start the creative process of putting them on paper....this is a little scary....and I kinda wish I had Matthew's book here so I could copy the creative ideas....

But I must be brave and just get to work. I have until May 7th!

I work very well with a deadline.

But the neat part about doing this album is lookinig at all the photos again!!!
What a sweet little family. The children were so close and got along so well.
Happy times. Happy children.



This is what it looks like today...fresh new snow...

I'm going to a Hukilau,
Donna

Why should I do that?




Here is my beautiful Booja J bag knit in Noro Kureyon 102.
It has bits of a pink towel all over it. I have been able to pick most of them away. I did not put my wool bag in a zippered pillowcase this time. I didn't think I needed to do that....well...it would have kept the fuzzies off of it. I am thrilled with how it felted tho. It is much prettier felted than it was unfelted.
The i-cord got very tangled whirling around in the wash machine too. It probably would have faired better in the pillowcase.
My excuse for not using a pillowcase this time is that the last thing I felted did not felt as nicely IN the Pillowcase as the things I have felted outside of the pillowcase.



Here is the Opal Southwestern socks I am now knitting. Isn't it pretty.
My challenge for these socks is to see if I can match the stripes.



See how unmatched the stripes are? Some folks don't mind unmatched stripes. I think I mind.
So I guess I will unravel the ball of yarn and see if I can find the same beginning. Yikes...I'll let you know how THAT goes.

________

Emma is still unwell. Poor dear.
We may be adjusting our busy Tuesday schedule today.

_________

Anybody want to talk about The Practice? We have thoroughly enjoyed this season. James Spader is awful and funny and odd. I hear that they are canceling the show and giving James his own show.
Has anyone else heard this news? Do you think they will take anyone along with him to a new show?
If anyone goes with him I predict it will be the actress with the English accent and the blonde.
Both so forgettable to me that I can't even remember their names. Sharon Stone should come back and work with him....she was great in her guest starring role.

Am I talking to myself here?....very possibly...sorry...

_________

One last thing, if you like knitting and blogging, check out Wendy Knits and Knit Happens over on my sidebar....

Wendy is the most amazing knitter I have ever encountered.

Knit Happens has the cutest pink and green site and new yarn store.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Samantha...here I am.
This is the most acceptable photo I have of myself.
I am extremely unphotogenic...and camera shy.

Mom is Up
Emma's Down



Here she is feeling well and groovy.



Mommy on the couch...Katie joining in with a sympathy snooze.

___________

I had so much news yesterday...and then I too sick to tell you all about it.

We bought a digital camera. An Olympus Stylus 300. It had the quickest lag time in our price range.
This was very important to me. With a wiggly girl in the house...it is important that the shoots when you want it to shoot...not a second later.

I picked out paint for Katie's room. Her room is still a little boy's room(we have lived here two years). Katie is very girly and wanted green and purple. I bought very light minty green and lavender for her. I am just going to paint two walls green and two walls purple.
Not too complicated!

I received our Henle Latin in the mail on Saturday too. It looks so fabulous. I have been using Oxford Latin this year with Emma and it has been giving me fits. The instruction is vague and jumps around too much for me to teach well.
The Henle looks very well organized. Yipee!

We made reservations at the Doubletree in Chicago to go with the kids for a few days during spring break. We really like bumming around Chicago!!! I'm gonna hope for 50's or 60's! Is that too wishful?

Started a new pair of socks and felted my large booga j bag. I will post a 'knit blog' tomorrow.

Bought a Barry White Cd and grooved to "You're the first. The last. My Everything.
Have you listened to the words to this song? Love it!

"My first, my last, my everything,
And the answer to all my dreams.
You're my sun, my moon, my guiding star.
My kind of wonderful, that's what you are.

I know there's only, only one like you
There's no way they could have made two.
You're, you're all I'm living for
Your love I'll keep for evermore.
You're the first, my last, my everything."
-written by Peter Radcliffe, Tony Sepe, Barry White

I also heard a Spinners song on the radio Saturday and am really longing for one of their CD's now!

One summer I was in the north woods (Minocqua Wisconsin) pretty much by myself. I was 17 years old. I had a blue 442 with an eight track...I only had three eight track tapes. One was Chicago (I'm a man, yes I am and I can't help but love you so...) the other was The Spinners, and the last was That's Entertainment.

The songs from those Eight Tracks are burned in my brain. When I hear them I am driving along curvy Country Club road with the sun flickering through the leaves...
It is my life's soundtrack.
I also ate a lot of ice cream that summer and played a lot of Yahtzee! Yahtzee!!!

Enough nostalgia...I have a thirsty girlie in the other room.

Encourage one another...with stories and friendship and love,
Donna

Excellent things

Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
Isaiah 12:5

Emma is at church playing in a guitar 'choir' this morning. Her dad is watching.

I am home with a tummy ache. Katie is watching cartoons.

I wish I could watch her play at church this morning...
Ah well...she will play for me when she gets home.



Encourage one another,
Donna

These Strange Ashes

I am reading Elisabeth Elliot's book These Strange Ashes. (Thanks for the push Camy :o)

Last night I read something so excellent and typically Elisabeth. She is speaking of the 'church' in the jungle.

"Here, in the greatest simplicity, a few true believers had come together to give testimony to their belief...
As regards the setting, the music, the degree of understanding on the part of the majority, the command of language...the Miguel church left everything to be desired.

But Almighty God does come and in fact dwell with men. And He, when He was God manifest in the flesh, left a simple command, "This do in remembrance of me."

Obedience to that command is possible nearly anywhere, anytime, by any who are willing. It does not require much of visible trappings, of emotional enthusiasm, or of intellectual vigor.

"It hits below the intellect," I heard a priest once say.

So it was this San Miguel assembly that was the real heart of our life together."

Isn't that wonderful?



Anywhere...Anytime...By any who are willing,
Donna

Friday Five

1. What's your favorite animal?

2. What pets have you had in your lifetime?

3. Is there any specific pet that you've wanted but never had? Why?

4. Are you allergic to any animals?

5. Do you have any 'pet' pet peeves (your pets or others')?

___________

Here is a 6th question...

If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?

That's easy for me...I would be a bird!
Flying and Singing....No Contest!
I'd like to sing like a cardinal and fly like a hawk!



-Bev Doolittle, artist
http://www.bnr-art.com/doolitt/doolitt4.htm
________

Katie is a bit sick. She was throwing up (first time ever) at 5:00 am...completely surprized herself.
Quick bath...soap in the eye...big drama...remake the bed...happy cheerful child...

Is she sick?

Threw up again at 6:45 am....
Changed clothes...rinsed bucket...got up...
No tears...cheerful child...

Who knows?


Encourage one another,
Donna

You are Photography.
You are adept at recording reality and are inclined
to see beauty on the surface of things. You
are still growing and just beginning to
discover what you're capable of. You get along
well with Painting and Film.


What form of art are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Now...Dear Sweet Newbie blogger friends...you get to take this quiz.
Click on the part that says "What form of art are you?" and answer the five questions. Then you will find out the answer for yourself. Let me know what you are...that is where the fun is :o)
Now go take the quiz!
Bossy,
Donna

By the way...this is the most accurate quiz I have taken yet! I was the head photographer in College...and did my Senior Thesis on Photography.
Very Interesting...to me at least :o)

Your job, if you choose to accept it...

Here are some thoughts by Susan Wise Bauer (co-author of The Well Trained Mind) on the subject of Character Training.

"What is character? Character is the possession of moral qualities that have become habits of life."

"If these moral qualities are to become habits of life, they must be reinforced by both observation and practice. As you supervise your child's education, you can encourage him to read books and watch movies that demonstrate admirable character...
You must also be a model of these qualities every day. When you forgo your own wants to tutor your child through fifth-grade math, you're demonstrating self-control. When you patiently go through a lesson several times until the child figures it out, you're showing perseverance. When you introduce a history lesson, complete with coloring books, paper models, and interesting books that you've collected, you're showing enthusiasm. When you turn off the TV because a program you want to watch wouldn't be good for the child, you're showing self-discipline. These qualities have to be internalized by the child, and this will only happen if she continually sees them being practiced by you."

She concludes

"Powerful models of character are found in stories. Read them together. Talk about them. The joy of home education is the at all of this learning takes place in the context of the family. You're not just teaching hard principles. You're also living them out. Thus, education becomes entwined with the living of life-together."

Recommended resources...






Numero Uno Character Building Book



As the kids get older, it is the lack of character that grieve a mom's heart the most I think. Not that they didn't read Moby Dick.

Lack of self-control, lack of discilpine, laziness, ungratefulness....

Dear me...and where they fall short, is often where I have fallen short.

There are no do-overs.

It is so much easier to learn a habit as a child.

Keep at it moms! Be diligent...It is your job...if you choose to accept it.

Encourage one another!
Donna

Ya want to know what makes me mad?



I tell you those Peta folks know how to push buttons...they are good at it...and they are morons!
The slogan is a clever play on words in a demented, disrespectful, blasphemous way.
I am not too surprised.

I believe we are stewards of this lovely planet. We are to take care of the beautiful animals and land that God has provided. But I also believe there is an order to things. God placed man over the animals...if man decides to eat some of the animals...so be it.

Hey Peta....it's my choice

I'm sure they are very familiar with that slogan.

In Animal Utopia, the animals can be in charge. The Peta folks can join them.

So there!

_____________


Lord, what fools these mortals be!
William Shakespeare


There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
______________




"The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said,"Surely this man was the Son of God."
Mark 15:38

Praising Him,
Donna

Here Chick...Chick...Chick...

Has anyone ever tried Chicken Pot Pie Soup? I had a small cup at a local restaurant last Saturday night. It was wonderful. I have found a few recipes on the internet. They vary wildly. One is by Wolfgang Puck and is extremely complicated...the other is so simple I can't imagine it would taste like Chicken Pot Pie.
If you have a recipe please send it to me at my email. Click 'Me' over at the sidebar. Thank You :o)



Popeye's Honey Pecan Chicken Salad

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup relish
2 T. minced onion
1 T. honey
1 1/2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. white pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 1/2 pounds chopped cooked chicken (about 4 cups)

Combine the mayo, relish, onion, honey, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Stir in celery and pecans. Fold in the chicken. Chill. Serve.

I like this on a bed of lettuce. You can serve it on buns also.
I use about 1/4 cup of relish.

It is the perfect chicken salad. Yum.

The recipe is from Longaberger's Fresh From the Pantry Recipes for Every Day
_________

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients."
Julia Child (1912 - )

"Never eat more than you can lift."
Miss Piggy


Encourage one another,
Donna

This is for all of you youngsters...

Strawberry Shortcake Lunchbox!


Which 80's Lunchbox would you be... if you were an 80's lunchbox...
brought to you by Quizilla

Home

God Gives all men all earth to love,
But since man's heart is small,
Ordains for each one spot should prove
Beloved over all.
-Rudyard Kipling



Where is your beloved spot? Is it the home of your childhood? The home where you raised your small children? Where you are right now?

It is tied to my family, I know that.

"Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank Thee for this place in which we dwell;
for the love that unites us;for the peace accorded us this day;
for the hope with which we expect the morrow;
for the health,the work,the good, and the bright skies that make our lives delightful..."
-Robert Louis Stevenson
_____________

For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For thyself, best Gift Divine,
to the world so freely given,
for that great, great love of thine,
peace on earth, and joy in heaven:
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.
-Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1864

Encourage one another,
Donna....choir director at heart...leader of camp fire songs...I've got a song in my heart :o)

Did you know?

Dr. Seuss was in advertising in his early days.


If this interests you...check out this web site:
http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dsads/index.shtml

He was also childless. Who'd a thunk it?

"We are here...we are here...we are here!"
Donna

Because it's true

"The Bible is my anchor. It holds me in the storms of life.
It is the one thing that is constant in all the swaying to and fro,
of the opinions and fashions of modern thinking."
-Let me be a Woman, Elisabeth Elliot

"The Grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:8

Miss Match



Sleeping Beauty



Who cares about that Herman Munster Sock....Look at my baby!

Blessed,
Donna

What would you make with this fabric?



I am thinking of a jumper for Katie Gracie...
Anyone know of a nice simple pattern?

More later today...I think I will have some photos of The Amazing Mismatched Socks.
Donna

Fun Friday Five!

What was...

1. ...your first grade teacher's name?

2. ...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?

3. ...the name of your very first best friend?

4. ...your favorite breakfast cereal?

5. ...your favorite thing to do after school?



______________

I have finished my socks! But they are hardly a pair.

The first sock looks like it will fit Herman Munster.

It is large on my husband, especially at the heel.

The second sock looks like a sock should look AND it fits me. Hooray!

I have asked dh to bring a digital camera home from work with instructions...so I can take a picture of my mismatched socks for you....you'll know tomorrow if he remembered and if I can figure out how to use the camera.

By the way, I cast on the stitches for my third sock....in a week I should have a true pair.

_____________

True happiness is to understand our duties toward God and man,
to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future,
not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears,
but to rest satisfied with what we have,
which is abundantly sufficient;
for he that is so wants nothing.

A wise man is content with his lot,
whatever it be-
without wishing for what he has not.
-Seneca

Encourage one another,
Donna

Well...Duh

How do I make my home a place of beauty?

I realized Tuesday evening (During my book study with Brooke) that it wouldn't take a shopping trip or a can of paint, really, to have a more beautiful home.

Picking up the piles and clearing off the kitchen table make my home so much more beautiful!

Yeah...yeah...yeah....I have been married for 23 years....I know...I should have learned this by now!

But I have just slipped lately. No excuse really...I just forgot how nice it looks to have everything put away.

Our house was on the market (For Sale) for 12 months out of 18 months two years ago. The house was very neat and tidy, looking it's best all the time! It only took an hour or so to be ready to show. Now that is nice! It doesn't take a long time.....if you just keep at it.

So I am inspired to make the home more beautiful for my family...and all it will take is a little elbow grease.
Starting with a spotless kitchen table and no dishes in the sink :o)


The Beauty which old Greece or Rome
Sung, painted, wrought, lies close at home.
-John Greenleaf Whittier

Encourage one another,
Donna

On the windowsill



Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is Hatred, let me sow Love.
Where there is Injury, Pardon.
Where there is Doubt, Faith.
Where there is Despair, Hope.
Where there is Darkness, Light, and
Where there is Sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.


This poem was on the windowsill above the sink at our friend's house.
We would read it as we did the dishes.

I'm sure I had not idea what it meant to live in such a way...being a self centered teen...
but I knew it was good.

I read the poem now and see that it is full of theology and goodness,
and I think it deserves a place at my windowsill and in my heart.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday!!!

Katie does not know all of the days of the week, in order, quite yet. But as you know, she really likes when it is Tuesday. So we sing a Mr. Rogers song about the days of the week so she can hear when Tuesday is coming. The rows on the calendar do not make complete sense yet...but that will come too.

Over 20 years ago I was a teacher's aide in a classroom with 3 and 4 year old hearing impaired children. Every day we sat on little chairs in front of a big calendar and signed, "Good Morning. Today is Monday. We are at school. How are you today? You look beautiful today."

They stared wide eyed and quiet. By Christmas they were answering 'fine'. Their language learning had just begun. One boy had deaf parents so he had a head start with sign language. One February morning when I signed 'Good Morning Charles. You look beautiful today." He signed back. "Beautiful. You."
He understood. I will never forget this little boy with curly blond hair and nimble fingers and his compliment...that was so much more than a compliment.

Katie will have a full day of socializing and exercising. It is the last day of the gymnastic session so parents are allowed to come into the class. Patrick is coming and Katie will be so happy to have him there!

There is a really sweet group of children in this class (only six)...and the mom's are just as sweet. We have such a nice time visiting during class.

Tuesdays are pretty special around here. Two gym classes, three social opportunities for mom, and guitar for Emma.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart."
-Helen Keller


Encourage one another,
Donna

Susan Hunt-Wulkowicz visits Quiet Life



"My artwork has always been imaginary, as I escaped the city by creating the places I'd rather be. These works became increasingly detailed to bring the fantasy closer to reality. As my eyes changed, I turned to magnification for a greater level of fineness. Each piece contains tiny names and scriptures as well as insects and other creatures the surroundings require. All of creation is an amazing miracle, even down to the smallest blade of grass. I'll never tire of expressing this belief."
-Susan Hunt-Wulkowicz

Imagine my delight and surprise to click on my email and find a letter from Susan Hunt-Wulkowicz.
She was surfing the web and happened upon her artwork...on my humble little blog.

She has brought so much joy to me over the years as I have admired her beautiful, intricate etchings.
She comes to the Art Fair on the Square here in Madison every summer and I squeeze into her very popular booth for a close up look at her artwork. It's very special.

She told me she was encouraged. Well, that just blessed my socks off :o)

Next summer I will get to go right up to her and give her a big smile and perhaps a hug and we will both marvel, I am sure, at how the internet *can* be a place where two people who would otherwise never meet...get to know a little bit more about one another and encourage one another and share in the community of connectedness.

Encourage one another,
Donna

There is a link at my sidebar to her website.