Ice Skating Adventure

Long time homeschooling friends of ours are moving out of state. One of the boys had his birthday party at the ice skating rink before they left. I am happy to say that the couple times the boys have been roller skating must have paid off, because they were skating like old pros! C fell something like 10 times, by his own admission, and H fell a few times also, but they were really throwing caution to the wind with their skating. All of their falls tapered off toward the end of the skating. Other than it being so cold, and us not knowing how cold it would be (thereby forgetting coats and gloves!) they had grand fun.

B stuck pretty close to the wall, chance to fall. She would pass people, though, if they were hanging on the side and wouldn't move for her. I think she only fell once, but like I said, she was very cautious. She made and didn't give herself much of a me put skates on, and I might have been okay except that my feet hurt something terrible! I couldn't get the skates to fit right. Oh, and I was very cold. Yes, it was my own fault. : )

We're going to miss our homeschooling friends after their move, but we know it's for the best for them. I hope you're reading this, V. Family!

Quilting Blog Post Updated--see below.

I am using a different web browser, and it's letting me post pictures!! Now you can see the quilt pictures after all.

Also added, the rainbow picture in the "I Must Admit" post a little farther down.

Out Our Front Window in the Morning

I have posted pictures before of the view from our property in the evenings. Here's a picture of what I saw when I got up the other morning. It was so neat. We've seen them before, where they passed right over the house!! That was exciting for the kids, to be sure.

Mother in Law's Quilt Finished

Well, I am excited that I got my mother-in-law's quilt finished tonight. She has been very sick, and I want to have something to give her if she goes into the hospital again, or if and when she gets a liver transplant. The colors in the quilt will match their house nicely. The darker color is a dark rust, not red as it appears to be in the picture. And if you are wondering, the fabric is "Dandelion Girl" by Moda. You may also be wondering: "Yes, I am a lazy quilter." This quilt was entirely machine sewn, including the binding which was also machine finished. But at least I'm getting some quilts made. I know it wouldn't be happening if I had to hand sew them. : ) I've now finished 4 quilts in under 5 months. This quilt has been the smallest so far, and is a large lap size. Oddly enough, quilting doesn't seem to take up too much of my time. I actually think I am keeping up with housework better, because I have this fun outlet of something "just for me".


I am very UPSET right now, though, because I cannot get Blogger to upload any pictures. I seem to have "pop-up" blocker, and even if I turn it off, I am still not able to load any pictures. I cannot even get the "Help" menu page to display if I click on it. Where can I go for help if not on the help page?

Somebody, Please Help!! I'm begging now..... I am very visual, and I don't feel like blogging anything if I can't attach pictures of what I am talking about!

UPDATE--I was able to upload pictures using a different web browser. Hooray!!!!

I Must Admit

This may sound weird to some of you, but part of me is disappointed that we may not see very much of this Tropical Storm Fay. Don't get me wrong, I know how devastating a hurricane or tropical storm can be, but I always secretly hope for a mild tropical storm anyway. It's not just the much needed rain that we would get from it, but the excitement and change from the mundane that I must crave on some level. Yesterday, the kids and I were hurriedly doing laundry, to catch up, and baking. Planning for the storm with the kids' input was pretty fun. And now that it might not be coming our way necessarily, is a bit of a let down I suppose. We're not out of the woods yet, so maybe we will get a little something out of it after all, but it looks like we may just miss the rains it is supposed to bring to some lucky counties. And yes, we pray that people will be safe, and that their property will weather the storm unharmed. But part of me still hopes we will see just a little of it in our neighborhood!


Here is a picture I snapped this morning after a 20 second rain shower. When I saw it out my front window, it was a full rainbow! I ran to get the camera, but when I came outside with it, half the rainbow was missing already.

Okay, I lied. Blogger will not allow me to upload any pictures! I hope it is a quirky thing that is solved soon, and not a problem with my internet protection software (which I've had for a while now without this problem). Otherwise, I am stuck up a creek without a paddle. Any ideas??? I've never had this problem before.

UPDATE--Obviously, I've figured out by now how to post pictures using a different web browser.

What a Day!

Today was a huge day for me, in more ways than one.

First, it was our second Sabbath at church (hubby too!) in as many weeks. This is huge.

Then, church itself was SO neat. There was a real archaeologist visiting, and we got to see real pictures of some really cool stuff. He shared with us pictures of the site of Noah's ark in Turkey. He is going there on another expedition/archaeological dig again in 3 weeks. Then he showed us pictures and explained all about the places where the Crucifixion and burial of Christ occurred, explaining it all against Biblical texts to explain it. He then taught us about the ark of the Covenant, again relating history to the Bible, etc. It was really neat, especially since one of my boys told me just this week they want to be an archaeologist when he grows up. (Yes, this may be just another of their many passing fancies, but still: It cannot be yet another "coincidence". God brought this into our life NOW while it is in the boys' forefront of thought.) If you want to know more about this topic, visit this website.

After church, we high-tailed it home to eat really quick, then I headed back to the church without hubby and boys since they had other plans (it's nearly an hour's drive one way, which I made the round trip twice today!) for the beginning of a series of meetings, a mini-seminar if you will, for ladies. The speaker is Linda Werner, the founder of Circle Christian, a homeschool organization no less! She has more recently founded Legacy Principles also. Well, she shared a powerful message with us, and she'll be back 4 more times before the end of the year and I can hardly wait to hear more. She's helping us to figure out God's calling for each of our lives personally, as women. God has a mission for each of us, and we can cooperate for His glory, or be stagnated with inactivity. I'm excited and I feel empowered tonight to impact the lives of my family and neighbors for good. I pray that God can use me in a major way.

After that, we viewed the movie titled, "Lord, Save Us From Ourselves". This was also very powerful. If you ever get the chance to watch it, I highly recommend it.

To top it all off, on my way out to my car, I got talking to a lady that has been an acquaintance of mine since we see each other off and on, attending the same church for probably 7 years now. We've never really connected before, but suddenly we were holding hands, praying and crying together in the parking lot. I'm a pretty private person, so this is HUGE for me. I am reminded from time to time that all of God's children, though we are all so very different, we are all really VERY much alike!

So, that pretty much wraps up my incredible day. Only thing is, I have so much to process with all that impacted me today, I may not sleep for a while yet. This post helped me to start organizing everything in my head. I've got a lot to think about!

We Did Go!

A little update concerning my last post. And thanks, guys, for your kind words regarding this situation. It's certainly very exciting for me.

We did all go to church together Sabbath, our hubby/dad included. We were on the road by 8:00 a.m. sharp, and probably the first ones ready for first service, which starts at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Here are a couple pictures. The one of me is a rarity, since I'm always the one behind the camera. Hubby declined a picture, as he usually does if I ask him before I snap the picture!

So, now I am praying that this will become a regular occurrence for us. I have so longed for our church-going to be a family affair.

I'm Hopeful

My husband quit attending church with me 3 years into our marriage. He has not been anti-Christian, and has remained an honest and moral person, but has not been practicing what he believed religiously when we were married 14 1/2 yrs. ago. It has been pretty hard for me to hold my tongue these past 11 or so years.

Imagine my surprise when he told me several days ago he would attend church with me and the kids this Sabbath. We'll be digging into his closet tonight, to find something that fits, so we don't have to worry about it tomorrow morning. I am holding my breath, and praying, hoping that nothing comes up to sway his decision.