From Luther's Little Instruction Book

How a Father Should Teach His Household
to Conduct Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning Devotions

As soon as you get out of bed in the morning, you should bless yourself with the sign of the Holy Cross and say:

May the will of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be done! Amen.

Then, kneeling or standing, say the creed and pray the Lord's Prayer. If you wish, you may then pray this little prayer as well:

My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last night. Save me, I pray, today as well, from every evil and sin, so that all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your holy Angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power over me. Amen.

After that, with joy go about your work and perhaps sing a song inspired by the Ten Commandments or your own thoughts.

-Martin Luther

"How a Father Should Teach His Household
to Conduct Morning and Evening Devotions"

And I thought all of this talk about fathers being the spiritual head of the family was a recent phenomenon.

Nothing is new under the sun.

Does anyone know who said that? Probably Shakespeare.




Happy Sunday...Reformation Day...Harvest Day...Halloween,
Donna

Trickledown

Why is the Christian family so important?

The Christian family is important because as they love, serve and obey God they are blessed. These blessings are poured down on them from God. The blessings overflow...into the church, into the community, throughout the country.

God blesses America through her people. Not the country in general.

There was a time when our country was filled with believers. I believe our country was founded by men who believed and feared the God of the Bible. This is evident in our country's documents and personal writings of the founding fathers.

God is everpresent to those who believe. (Actually isn't God everpresent for everyone...they just don't know He is there?)

Anyway...so this week when I read this:


"SHARING IN GOD'S WORK
In asking man to reproduce and fill the earth, God is asking man to help complete that which He began to do in the beginning. In giving man the responsibility to be fruitful, He allows him to participate in the creation of human life. In giving him charge over the earth, God is vesting man with some of His own authority, in effect asking man to share in His work of ruling. Man's two-part vocation is thus a reflection of God Himself. It enables him to be what he was created to be: a creature made in God's image. And it is in fulfilling this vocation that he gives praise and glory to God."
-Julie

"It enables him to be what he was created to be: a creature made in God's image. And it is in fulfilling this vocation that he gives praise and glory to God."


It all just became so clear to me. I know great books have been written on the importance of the family. But sometimes we have to see things in just our own way at the right time...to get it.

Spiritual trickledown.

As we are Blessed by God, we then bless others, especially our children.
If they are raised with the fear of the Lord and the importance of this 'vocation' of being fruitful and multiplying, the blessings will continue.

And there will be hope, and ultimately God will be glorified.




Putting it together, bit by bit,
Donna

I would like to acknowledge Pastor Jarvis for his inspiring sermon last Sunday and Julie for her thought provoking words.

Fall Friday Five



1. Did you carve your pumpkin yet?
2. Have you raked you leaves?
3. Are you a football fan?
4. Is there a difference between apple cider and apple juice?
5. Are you or your children going to a costume party? If so, what will you wear?


Emma and Katie carved the pumpkin/cat out on the driveway a few days ago.
Having your children carve the pumpkin outside is a very good idea ;o)

I was giving Mrs. M-mv some raking pointers last night and thought you'd like to hear the neat thing we did with the leaves. We made houses. We would rake them into big squares, make doorways, bathrooms, and living rooms. Blueprints made with leaves.
Very fun!

I'll bet my sister Sue remembers that!

***Update to the Friday Five***
What is your favorite candy bar? What was I thinking this morning?

Encourage one another,
Donna

Sleepy

The dim autumn mornings have lent themselves to a rare treat; sleep.

Yawn. Blink. Blink.

Man I feel like a 'lazy bones' :o)


Home Economics

Emma and I made apple crisp yesterday. It was delicious! It took every bit of my self control not to eat the whole thing. This is very buttery and I think you could use less butter than the recipe calls for, but it was so good I don't think I would mess with it.

6 Macintosh apples
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Peel and slice (in chunky slices) the apples.
Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Cut in the softened butter.

Place apples in a pie plate or 8x8 pan (or something like it)
Crumble topping on top.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.


The Twelve Months

SNOWY, Flowy, Blowy,
Showery, Flowery, Bowery,
Hoppy, Croppy, Droppy,
Breezy, Sneezy, Freezy.

-George Ellis

Thanks to Leslie over at Abiding for sharing that charming poem.

Lost Souls aka WTM readers

The Well Trained Mind general board has been closed...for a season.

So if you are stopping here for the first time; Welcome!

Many of your board friends are here and about.

We do not fight here.

We just try to have a nice visit...

And encourage one another,
Donna

My parrot

I have a little parrot
Her name is Katie Grace.
If I don't keep my mouth shut
I'll have egg upon my face.

Yesterday, Emma and the Tigers played their last game of the season. The final game...in the rain. Ick. I just don't like to get wet. I know, I'm a wimp.

So we sat in the car and watched the game. Katie was free to climb all around and pretend she was having a picnic in the back and even got to sit in front and pretend she was driving! How thrilling for her :o)

I knitted.

The Tigers won! They hustled, got drenched, had fun, and won.

After the game, lots of the parents and players like to go out to eat together. So I took Emma over to the restaurant. As we talked in the entryway of the restaurant a few ladies commented on my dry state. A little guilty, I replied, "I don't do wet." We chuckled.

Katie and I left a few minutes later. I couldn't stay; I just couldn't. After being on the go since 9:00 a.m. all I could think of was, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

Home pulls me like a magnet.

So Emma stayed, with the assurance of a ride home.
Katie and I trotted out to the car in the rain.
And I heard Katie chirp, "I don't do wet."


Be gone, now, O clouds

There is an eclipse tonight. If ya didn't know.
Science class right outside your back door.

Looking to the heavens.
Donna

p.s. I have finally done it! I have spelled 'restaurant' correctly! Wait until I tell Emma. She will be so proud!

Fun quiz found over at Marie's.

Can you pass the third grade?

I passed :o)

But I know I would NOT have passed it when I was in third grade...I'm a late bloomer :o)



My favorite socks so far!

Off to meet my crazy Tuesday!
Encourage one another,
Donna

I've been busy...

I set up a new blog yesterday :o) Its my recipe blog :o). I have always wanted an easy way for you all to find the recipes and I couldn't figure out how to do that with the archives...so I just created a new blog and put them over there.

There is a link on the sidebar that will take you to it. It is called Recipes I have known and loved.

I love it. Hope you do too!

Super Size Me

We watched Supersize Me, Saturday night. It really is a good documentary. Who would have thought 30 days of eating only McDonald's, would take a person from perfect health to seriously declining health.

I feel convicted to feed my family the healthiest dinner I can.

By the way, have you ever supersized a meal? I have not. Really, I can not imagine eating and drinking that much food at one sitting. I love my Diet Dr. Pepper...but 42 ounces for lunch. Yikes!

Do people really drink those big gulps?


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

Encourage one another,
Donna

A faint gleam of heaven

A quote from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

"To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way. A less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you."


"Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."
-Proverbs 3:5

Encourage one another,
Donna

Barn dance
What do you get when you put together a bunch of homeschool teens, their families and some lively music...in a barn?















FUN!

I arrived home from Chicago at about 6:30 last night, drank a Diet Dr. Pepper and jumped back into the car and drove to Sun prairie with the whole family to attend the Barn dance. I'd say seventy-five people attended!

It was perfect in my eyes.

The inside of the barn was decorated with twinkling lights, corn stalks and pumpkins.

The band played square dance music and instructed the dancers. Almost everyone danced! (One of the great things about these kids is they just jump right in and start dancing! None of this, standing along the walls, waiting to be asked. Just a great attitude of fun and friendship)

My husband was in fine form and was my willing dance partner, for which I am thankful!

Emma danced and talked. Katie batted a balloon and played with her little friend, Katie and a little boy (name unknown).
Matthew even danced a polka and a reel. A very nice friend of Emma's invited Matthew to dance and thank goodness he did not turn her down. It was very good for him...he needs to come out of his shell :o)

I can't say a good time was had by all, because I learned never to say that in journalism class, but I really do think it was a perfect night of fun and memory making :o)

Earlier in the day my cousin Judy told us how much Grandma Hansen loved to dance. She said Grandma was telling her about the Danish dances in Chicago(in the 1920's) just last Saturday! She also said that Grandma told her that she danced every night on the ship coming over to America. She was sixteen years old.

How about that!

I feel so blessed! Blessed by the homeschool teens we have here in the Madison area...and their parents who work so hard to make being a teen-at-home fun!

Big hugs to Kris (who posts often in the comments) for organizing such a grand time.

And I also feel blessed that the love of life can be passed down from generation to generation!

Blessings to you,
Donna

Friday Five

I'll be leaving soon for our Grandmother's burial service.
Our house will be very much inhabited, so all you robbers out there...don't bother.

It is strange to look forward to such a thing. But I will have the chance to see cousins and Aunts and Uncles that I have not seen in a very long time.
I hope to hear many lovely stories about Grandma Hansen.

I used to think I would not have a funeral. (I wouldn't want to put anyone out)
But I see now that they are a time of love and reflection and respect and comforting.

I will leave you with a Thoughtful Friday Five

Name five things you would like your children to remember about you.

and

Are you on track?


I'll be back. God willing ;o)

Be good!

And encourage one another while I am gone,
Donna

Bandwagon

No, no...not the movie with Fred Astaire (he he)...

The October World Series Bandwagon!

I could care less about baseball in general. I have not watched one bit of baseball until Monday night. When I watched the Yankees and the Red Sox game.

You see...I like the story better than most any game. I like the drama, the player's families and best of all, the curses.

If it weren't for 'The curse of the Bambino' I doubt I would have cared.

But, I am caring more and more with every game.

So here goes: Theeeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees.....lose.

For those of you who are not following baseball. The Yankees were up 3 games to zero. The Red Sox fought back and won the next four. This is unheard of. Historic.

So the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals have to duke it out in their seventh game tonight to see who will go to the World Series and play against the Rex Sox.

I have two sisters in Missouri...so of course I will cheer for their Cardinals. (Sorry to all my friends in Texas :o)

Matthew, who knows about these things, and thinks it was very funny when I professed, "Oh everybody here hates the Yankees," on the phone the other night,
says the Cardinals are the best team. I believe him.

Well...no matter what, the Red Sox are going to a World Series and the only thing better than that would be if the Chicago Cubs were going! The Cubs have an even longer curse with fans as loyal as the Red Sox... but not quite as rowdy ;o)

So I am officially a bandwagon jumper. My baseball season runs about two weeks.

Play Ball!
Mrs. October

Not one Pooh!

I was suprised to see that no one choose Winnie the Pooh as their favorite cartoon character last week. I forgot all about him too :o)
Until someone wrote Tigger....and I remembered Pooh.

I do love Winnie the Pooh. I think we may be soul mates.




Winnie the Pooh's Logic lesson;

"That buzzing-noise means something. If there's a buzzing noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee. ....
And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey.....
And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it." So he began to climb the tree."

Winnie the Pooh on spelling;

"My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places."

Winnie the Pooh on remorse;

"Yes," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
"I see now," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
"I have been Foolish and Deluded," said he, "and I am a Bear of no Brain at All."

Winnie the Pooh Song

Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff
He's Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh
Willy nilly silly old bear

Of course, all the quotes above are A.A. Milne's.
The song is from the movie.

I just love how the letters fly off the page in the Blustery day story.
Charming.

Gopher : If I was you, I'd think about skedaddlin' out of here.
Winnie the Pooh : Why?
Gopher : 'Cause it's Windsday!

Ta ta,
Donna

Janet called with news of Grandma Hansen's death yesterday.
Grandma was ninety-seven years old.

Aunt Betty says that when last she spoke to her mother (on her birthday on Oct. 4th) she was still sharp as a tack.

My memories are too few. We have lived far from one another for twenty-five years.
When you are a kid, you don't ask your Grandmother very many questions. It is a shame. She was married to our Grandfather for over 50 years. She had seven children. She was a survivor.

I wish I knew more about her.

Her voice was sweet and she had very soft lips. Her kitchen was steamy and she wore a practical apron. One could always find a bowl of peppermints in the kitchen and African violets in the living room. She liked to listen to jazz and she taught me to knit.

Our dear Danish grandmother...

We will all miss her so.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

I found this poem yesterday as I was meandering around a most wonderful website.
The site is called Poet's Corner.

I am familiar with Thomas Bailey Aldrich from reading his amusing and rich book
The Story of a Bad Boy. I hear Mark Twain was inspired by this book and then went on to write Tom Sawyer.

I was pleased to find this lovely and true poem by Mr. Aldrich.


Memory

MY mind lets go a thousand things,
Like dates of wars and deaths of kings,
And yet recalls the very hour--
'Twas noon by yonder village tower,
And on the last blue noon in May--
The wind came briskly up this way,
Crisping the brook beside the road;
Then, pausing here, set down its load
Of pine-scents, and shook listlessly
Two petals from that wild-rose tree.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich





We had a raccoon in the small tree in our front yard last night. It was trying very hard to reach into the bird feeder. Katie, Maggie-the-scratchy-cat, and I watched it with delight!

I will remember our cats tail! So puffy!

I hope the raccoon comes back :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

Create in me a clean heart, O God

When I was growing up, we sang Psalm 51:10 every Sunday after the offering at church.
I'm sure it was the first Psalm I memorized. (I don't think I even knew it was a Psalm :o)

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.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Donna

"We got nothin'"

This summer Patrick and Matthew replaced our thermostat with a bright shiny new thermostat. It worked quite lovely with the air conditioner.

However, last night Patrick figured it was time. Time to turn on the furnace.

Well, the furnace doesn't agree.

So today's big project is solving this household problem.

Patrick will work on it and Katie I will stay out of the way.




Flown the coop

Emma and Matthew are both in Nebraska for the weekend.
Emma went with her friends from up north. They are on a college visiting excursion. The Yates just happen to drive right by our town so they picked Emma up yesterday morning. Emma is delighted. They are a very fun bunch!

Matthew took three friends from here in Madison to Omaha to visit his brother, Patrick Jr.

Since I have not heard from them yet...I will Trust they are all fine...and not dead in a ditch or underwater somewhere along the way.

My sister Sue and I think this way...

We call these Morbid Mom Thoughts.

Those horrid thoughts that must be quickly brushed away come to you like a flash when you become a mom. It takes great skill, practice and faith to deal effectively with them.

A lot of faith and a little Scarlett O'Hara is what it really takes.

"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."
-Scarlett

"Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children."
-Amy Carmichael

A prayer and a movie quote...solves just about any problem.

Encourage one another,

Donna

A job well not done.

Out of the mouths of babes...

We just came home from the store, unloaded the groceries, opened a package, (A birthday gift from sister Sue. Into the Woods DVD and a Paula Deen cookbook! How lucky am I? Thank you!)and cooked some chocolate pudding.

I then realize I forgot the MAIN thing at the grocery store!

Bummer.

Katie says emphatically,"A job well not done!"

Funny girl!

Friday Thirty :o)

Name THREE of your...

1. Pet Peeves:
2. Favorite Sounds:
3. Biggest Fears:
4. Biggest Challenges:
5. Favorite Department Stores:
6. Most Used Words:
7. Favorite Pizza Toppings:
8. Favorite Cartoon Characters:
9. Movies Recently Watched:
10. Favorite Fruits & Vegetables:


I spotted this over at MamaT's yesterday. Gracias.

I sure enjoyed the chatter in the comments box yesterday!

Thank you all for keeping me company :o)

Looking forward to your answers today.
Ya don't have to answer them all to play!

I'm off to ponder my pet peeves,
Donna

Tradition Day by Day

We are learning about the early church this year.
Villanova University has a great website with a handy list of quotations by the saints of the early church. I learn something every day by visiting this website. I am surpised by two things. I am surprised that I have never heard of most of these men and that they are wise and faithful and that nothing is new on the face of this earth.

Day by Day

So...

What are you doing today?
Are you reading anything wonderful?
Making anything special for dinner?
Are you watching The Apprentice or Survivor?
Seen any good movies lately?

Too many distractions to write much this morning...

Talk amongst yourselves :o)
Donna

The 'Go Tigers' Scarf




The 'go tigers-knit it twice to make it long enough' scarf will be how I think of this little orange wonder :o)

Isn't it wild? The Squiggle yarn is actually called 'Firecracker', but to me it said Tigers!

Our homeschooling soccer team was put together by Anita. She willingly and brilliantly put together two soccer teams for our homeschoolers here in the Madison area. I just wanted to give her a little thank you.

The teen age girls were very impressed with her fuzzy scarf.



Katie couldn't stand not being in the picture. Peek!


You too can knit!

I would teach each and every one of you. But since that is a little far-fetched you must find someone near to you to help. There are beginner classes, grandmothers, friends, internet video demonstrations, books...
So many of the knitting websites are hosted by women who have taught themselves.


The scarves I just knit are perfect first projects. You only need to know how to cast on, knit and cast off.

It will feel a little awkward at first, but just keep stitching!

You can do it!

Loving the unlovable is even harder than knitting.

The following reply is in response to severe, complaints I read on a message board yesterday.
I did not respond because all I could think of saying was, "Snap out of it!"

But that was not very gracious so after a little more thought, I came up with this~
(but I'm still not posting it over at the other board)

We all have unlovable people in our lives.

Every single one of us.

And guess what?

They are there on purpose. God thinks it is *so* important for us to get over ourselves and learn to Forgive and to Love, that the unlovable folks will always be with us.

The are sort of indispensable to God.

He uses unlovable people to shape our character, to form us more to His image.

If you escape one thorn...without learning to love and forgive...God will, no doubt...give you another thorn.

-Matthew 5:44
-1 Corinthians 13:4-8
-Psalm 103:8

Donna's definition of Forgiveness; forgiveness does not mean it is o.k. that you have been harmed, injured, abandoned, etc. I think it means giving your sorrows up to God to deal with.

"Here God...you take this pain and hurt...I give it to you.
Help me, ease my pain,
thank You for always forgiving me, when I hurt others...and when I am unlovable"

Definitely harder than knitting.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Peppermint ice cream





This scarf was knit in a few hours on Saturday. It is knit with two strands of yarn, one chenille and one called Squiggle( only one ball of each).
It is extremely soft and girly.

I cast on 12 stitches with big size 13 knitting needles and knit until the yarn was gone.

The Peppermint ice cream scarf is very long due to the number of stitches and the stretchiness of the chenille yarn.

I recommend this project :o)

If you would like to see more Squiggle yarn colors... click this.


Train Wreck

I could barely watch the Packers play last night.

"It's deja vu all over again"
-Yogi Berra

and one more for good measure.

" We made too many wrong mistakes"
-Yogi Berra

Today's Plans

Busy day here with Science class in Madison, English class (on-line) and a soccer game and picnic.

I think I will just bring sandwiches, chips and pop. I don't think I can manage more than that. Just getting to spend time with her soccer friends is enough to make Emma happy :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

Ya'll will love her!

There is something about Paula Deen.

She is a television chef on the Food Network.
She oozes Southern charm.
She mesmerizes me.

I have put her cookbooks on order at the library. It seems she has two grown sons that she is in business with in Georgia. A restaurant.

Everything she cooked this week looked delicious. If you follow the link above you can find a little bit more about her and check out her recipes.


Ben Stein on Sunday Morning

The very versatile Ben Stein (speech writer, gameshow host, author, actor) has a heart of gold. He has written a few pieces for CBS Sunday Morning. The pieces that I am so fond of were both tributes. On Father's Day her wrote a beautiful and touching piece about his father. This week he eulogized his father-in-law.

We writes with love and admiration for these men.

Here is a bit of what Ben Stein said on Father's Day;

"If your relationship with your father isn't great, start making it great right now. Call him. Spend time with him. Listen to him and don't just ask him to buy you things. If your relationship with your kids isn't great, start working on it right now. There is no more important task you'll have on this earth than being a good father. This is what you were put on earth to do."

Well said, Ben Stein.

Here is the link to his articles. Ben's House.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Go Pack! Dear husband and dear son are headed to the Packer game at Lambeau Field tonight! Wish them well :o)
(When you say Lambeau Field you must say it in the lowest voice you can.)

Set Apart

How do you set your Sunday apart from the other days of the week?

Do you prepare for Sunday Worship/Mass in any special way?
If yes, how do you prepare your heart?


At our home, I am sad to say, we have not approached the whole day with reverence.
First church then

'are you ready for some football?'

I remember reading Elsie Dinsmore a few years ago. Elsie would not play worldly music or read worldly books on Sunday. I remember thinking, 'how odd and very old fashioned'.

But Dana at Hiddenart has started discussing this very topic.


"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God;"

"For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea
and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;
therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and made it holy."

-Exodus 20:8-10 and Exodus 20:11

How do you keep the Sabbath day holy?

Blessings,
Donna

How long?

I knit a scarf yesterday.
It is only 48 inches long.

Boo hoo.

I have it hanging up in hopes that it stretches a few more inches.

Are all of those eyelash, frizzy, fuzzy, new-fangled scarves long...or is it alright for one to be a bit short?

It was meant to be a gift.

Tell me the truth.

Are short scarves o.k.?


I can handle the truth :o)
Donna

What is Ho?

The funniest answer ever given on Jeopardy, that's what!

Ken Jennings was whizzing along in his usual take-no-prisoners style when he said;

Ken: I'll take Tool Time for $400, Alex.
Alex: A garden tool which is also a promiscuous person.
Ken: What is a Ho?
The Audience: laughs hysterically
Me: laughs out loud
Patrick Jr. in Omaha: blurts out with laughter

Alas, the wrong answer.

Really!

Some other contestant: What is a rake?

Alex:Right

Well then...vocabulary lesson today on Jeopardy...and the funniest. answer. EVER!

Oh and by the way...both Patrick Jr. and I, tho seperated by the state of Iowa, both answered,

"What is ho!"

It is the logical answer. Don't ya know!

(The above information is not verbatim. Just from my sorry memory.)

I will not forget how funny it was tho :o)

Donna

Friday Five:Synesthesia Edition

A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.
(Thank you dictionary.com)

MamaT sent me an interesting Friday Five idea yesterday.

1. What feels blue to you?
2. What smells green to you?
3. What tastes red to you?
4. What feels purple to you?
5. What sounds white to you?



I am wondering if this condition is more common with people who are musical or artistic.




-D Williford



-Frank Stella



-Bruce Morrow

I imagine this will come very easily for some of you, and for others it will be a struggle.

Homeschooling/Education Bit

In his book Any Child Can Write, Harvey S. Wiener writes a chapter on The Senses at Play:Images as Building Blocks. It was a fun chapter to do with all three of our children. (Ten years ago!)

In the pink,
Donna

What's for Dinner

Do you ever feel like there are only about four things that you prepare for dinner?
Do you ever stare at your frozen chicken breasts and hamburger meat (ground beef) and sigh?

Well...I do.

So I made a list of the homemade things my family will eat.

Chili, Potato soup, Chicken a la King, Hamburgers, Bacon and Eggs, Meatloaf, BBQ Pork, Beef Stew, Spaghetti, Lasagna, Turkey, Shredded Beef (Carm's style), Chicken in the crock pot, Lemon Pepper Chicken, Pizza and Cod nuggets.

Dear husband will not eat a few of these things so he gets a hamburger or cod nuggets on the nights I cook fancy i.e. Chili :o)

My list is going on the fridge.

I think it will help when I am drawing a blank!

Donna's Simple Chili

1 lb. ground beef
1 can Brooks Chili Hot Beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin

Brown beef. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer. Serve with a slice of cheese on top.

This recipe only makes enough for 4 1/2 bowls around here. So double or triple as needed :o)



"We thought for years that if there's such a thing as a national American dish, it isn't apple pie, it's chili con carne.... In one form or another, chili in America knows no regional boundaries. North, South, East, and West, almost every man, woman, and child has a favorite recipe." --Craig Claiborne

Encourage one another...and have a bowl of chili :o)
Donna

A Boy's Mother

My mother she's so good to me,
Ef I was good as I could be,
I couldn't be as good - no, sir! -
Can't any boy be good as her!

She loves me when I'm glad er sad;
She loves me when I'm good er bad;
An', what's a funniest thing, she says
She loves me when she punishes.

I don't like her to punish me, -
That don't hurt, - but it hurts to see
Her cryin', - Nen I cry; an' nen
We both cry an' be good again.

She loves me when she cuts an' sews
My little cloak an' Sund'y clothes;
An' when my Pa comes home to tea,
She loves him most as much as me.

She laughs an' tells him all I said,
An' grabs me up an' pats my head;
An' I hug her, an' hug my Pa
An' love him purt' nigh as much as Ma.


The 'Hoosier Poet', James Whitcomb Riley.

Thanks Sue. I was not familiar with Mr. Riley, really.

Jack Frost

Isn't there a famous poem about Jack Frost? I have looked and this is the only one I find. It's a pretty poem, but not the one I am thinking of.

Jack Frost
by Helen Bayley Davis

Someone painted pictures on my
Windowpane last night --
Willow trees with trailing boughs
And flowers, frosty white,

And lovely crystal butterflies;
But when the morning sun
Touched them with its golden beams,
They vanished one by one



Yesterday morning Katie walked as in a trance to look out the window at the frost covered grass.

Me: That's not snow...that's frost.
Katie: oh...
Me: Jack Frost has been to visit.

(insert famous children's poem or song...if I could think of one!)


*On the knitting front.

I turned the corner(of the heel) on the socks I have been knitting last night.
It is a crying shame that it takes me two weeks to knit one pair of adult socks.
Give me two days...and this pair should be finished.

Katie and I both wore our hand-knit socks yesterday.
It was a simple pleasure :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

Taking it back

I am usually a mom-of-her-word. Once the discipline or answer has been declared...it is pretty much set in stone. You know, the old, stick to your guns.

Well....

On Friday Emma kept me waiting outside of her choir class for 20 minutes. She was talking to her friends. I explained to her that it is rude to make me wait. She understood and apologized.

So...

Last night, right during the dinner hour, I set off to pick Emma up from a Soccer game.
I thought she said 'pick me up at 5:15'...but I think she mumbled something about the cell phone. Matthew says at 5:00, "Mom, aren't you going to get Emma, she said 5:15."

O.k. then....

So I get to the park and I wait and I wait and I wait...and I get angrier and angrier and angrier.

She comes running down the hill after I have waited 1/2 an hour. (I sent a friend up the hill to look for her)

I proclaim that she is grounded from going anywhere for a week. If she wants to get to soccer practice and choir and church and anything else...she is going to have to arrange other transportation. (You see I had a whole 1/2 hour to stew and plot and scheme.)

She explains that she said she would call me to tell me when to pick her up.

I did not hear this clearly and Matthew confirmed the time I thought I heard.

She is very remorseful, cries, and she asks for forgiveness. She said she did not know I was waiting for her and she would not have let me wait like that.

So it looks like I am going to have to take it back, doesn't it?

The problem seems to be one of misunderstanding and poor communication rather than lack of courtesy.

I guess we need to discuss the importance of clear speaking and communication.

I guess I should have listened to her side of the story before declaring the sentence.

Commuted Sentence.

Still learning,
Donna

Movies that make you blubber.

Becky at Fluffa mentioned this weekend that she messed up a sleeve she was knitting because she was sobbing over a movie. The movie was Stepmom with Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon.

So what movies make you blubber?

My short list;

Terms of Endearment (extremely well developed characters)
Field of Dreams ("Wanna have a catch?" Waaaaaa)
Schindler's List (the ending)
Accidental Tourist (the music and sadness)
Steel Magnolias (funny script...such a sad story)
I Am Sam (Emma and I cried continually through this movie)


Patricia Polacco

Another very special author and illustrator for you.
Visit her fun and fabulous website.




We all liked this sweet story and it's illustrations :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

A great verse for life!

Hebrews 12:1-2,28-29.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
for our God is a consuming fire.


Isn't that a beautiful, encouraging and freeing verse?

That's the verse I will look to in the midst of all of the various debates I come across in life and on the web.
I want to offer to God my service with reverence and awe...I want Him to be my consuming fire.

Running the race,
Donna

Adorable

If I were creating a calendar, I would put pictures like this on it!









Cover Art by Sarah Stilwell-Weber

Have you ever noticed that back in the day when women did not regularly work outside the home, they were creating beautiful illustrations and art work?
I would like to go to an exhibit of Art from Home.

Just imagine the beautiful paintings and quilts and knitting. All of the lovely handmade, delicate, children's dresses, tablecloths and needlepoints.

I definitely want to go to that exhibit :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

My new friend, Dana sent me a Friday Five suggestion!
Dana and I both graduated from Hillsdale College. One year apart. We met at Carmon's blog. The wonders of the internet!


Friday Five Beauty Tips:Spiritual or Temporal

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.


Dana also shared this poem on her website. Thank you, it's lovely!

Time Tested Beauty Tips

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers though it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone...
People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed,
and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed.
Never throw out anybody.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older
you will discover that you have two hands.
One for helping yourself,
the other for helping others.

by Sam Levenson
US humorist, author
1911-1980






Now, this, Charlie Brown, is what Motherhood, is all about.

-photo taken by Emma on Sept 30, 2004

Encourage one another,
Donna