Real Life lately feeling like levels of Dante's Hell

Real life has been demanding lately.

My good friend Kelly is going thru a type of hell every parent wishes to avoid in that her oldest daughter has run away from home.

My oldest sister ran away from home several times before she did it for good, a few months before she graduated from high school. Several years later she got her GED and took a few college courses, but by then her life's pattern was established. She battles drug and alcohol addictions. She is sober for now and is an "ordained" minister after two weeks of intensive training in a "Jesus-only church." At least we know where she is and that she's alive. That's a special kind of hell when a loved one disappears and you know not where they are or even if they are alive.

My dad has been ill with pnemonia twice in the last two months after moving into an assisted living facility. He's been hospitalized twice, this time to remove a blood clot in his femoral artery and insert a stint. His heart isn't working up to snuff despite having a pacemaker. His intake of oxygen is now constant and at 4 liters per day, which means congestive heart failure. Dad's surgery is scheduled for Friday on the femoral artery.

My nieces are at their father's side because it seems the end is emminent for him. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in December that had metastacized to his pancreas, liver and intestines. One of those nieces is 30-weeks pregnant with her third son. Their dad is a Vietnam vet who served two tours there. He's been a good dad to those girls. And he's always been my favorite brother-in-law. We're praying for a peaceful death. My heart is breaking for my nieces as they uphold each other through this difficult time and watch their father slip away before he's even 60 years old. Man knows not his time.

Prayers for any and all of these situations would be appreciated. May the Lord's will be done.

Passage from Heidi

My youngest and I have been reading aloud Heidi by Johanna Spyri. When I had first begun to read chapter books I loved this book! Even though I struggled with some of the words, the story itself captured my imagination and took me straight to the Alps! Usually I was too impatient to continue reading if I was challenged by struggling with words. I did not want to stop reading to inquire of someone, "What's this word?"

This particular edition is by Viking and has wonderful illustrations and explanations on nearly every page so that the reader is introduced to things as they might have been back then and are no longer familiar to our society.

We have one chapter left to read. But in our reading today, I wanted to share this passage.

Heidi is still in Frankfurt at the Sesemann's home. Mrs. Sesemann (the grandmother) has come for a visit. She and Heidi have this conversation one day...

"My dear, tell me why you're not happy. Is it still the same trouble?" (Mrs. Sesemann asks.)

Heidi nodded.

"Did you tell God about it?"

"Yes."

"And do you pray to Him every day to make you happy again?"

"No, not any more."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Why have you stopped?"

"It's no use," Heidi told her. "God didn't hear me and I daresay that if all the people in Frankfurt pray for things at the same time, He can't notice everybody and I'm sure He didn't hear me."

"Why are you so sure?"

"I prayed the same prayer every day for a long time and nothing happened."

"It isn't quite like that, Heidi. God is a loving Father to us all and knows what is good for us. If we ask for something it isn't right for us to have, He won't give it to us, but in His own good time, if we go on praying and trust in Him, He'll find us something better. You can be sure it's not that He didn't hear your prayer, for he can listen to everybody at once. That's part of the wonder of it. You must have asked for something He thought you ought not to have at present and probably said to Himself, 'Heidi's prayer shall be answered but only at the right moment so that she will really be happy. If I answer it now perhaps later on she'll wish she hadn't asked for it, because things may not turn out as she expects.' He has been watching over you all this time - never doubt that - but you stopped praying, and that showed you did not really believe in Him. If you go on like that, God will let you go your own way. Then if things go wrong and you complain that there's no one to help you, you will really have only yourself to blame, because you will have turned your back on the one Person who could really help you. Do you want that to happen, Heidi, or will you go now at once and ask God to forgive you and help you to find more faith, to help you to go on praying every day, and to trust Him to make things come right for you in the end?"

Wow. That's quite a clear refutation of the "once saved, always saved" false teaching. Although we cannot be taken from God's hand, we can turn our backs on Him and reject Him.

I also liked the way the Grandma asked for Heidi to ask for forgiveness and then to pray for Him to add to her faith and help her to pray. Who knew such theology would leap from the pages of a child's book?

Mmm good!

We made these tonight for dinner. Hubby was home for the afternoon while I was watching Paula Dean's cooking show.

A recipe for chicken-wrapped with bacon was on and his taste buds got to drooling...

My 7-year old had such a great time with me wrapping the chicken (she loves the feel of uncooked bacon in her hands) and rolling it in the brown sugar mixture.

Good stuff! If you try it, let me know if you liked it!

Fishers of Men

Our Pastor's sermon yesterday might have been called "Fishers of Men."

He posited about a club of fishermen who used to fish. They would gather and talk an awful lot about fishing, formed committees to carry on their club business and even hired staff. As time when on though, nobody was actually fishing anymore. History shows that they used to fish at every opportunity, even with those whom they didn't like.

As time went on, they began to focus on scandal, strife and being scared. They doubtfully questioned, "Was God closer to them than He is to us?" Have we become "keepers of the aquarium instead of fishermen?"

How can this change? We start by repenting and forgiving others as He has forgiven us. We continue by remembering all that He has done for us. Then we remember that you cannot catch fish if your line isn't in the water.

Ron Paul for President

It sort of creeps me out that Bill Maher is talking about Ron Paul's logic, but I think I can overcome the hibee-gibees on that.

Lullaby

When our first child was born, my husband made up words to the traditional lullaby "Rock-A-Bye Baby." He felt he missed so much during the day while I was home with her, he insisted on putting her to sleep every night.

All of our kids were rockers -- we rocked them to sleep. Not by sitting in a rocker, but by gently rocking them to and fro in our arms. He sung them all to sleep with this song of his.

Walking around her room, with her cradled in his arms, he would sing:

Sleepy-by and good-night
Little (name) is going to sleep
Close your eyes
Dream your dreams
Wake up happy

Then he'd hum the rest of the song. He'd sing this over and over until someone's eyes drifted shut and their body went slack from being asleep.

His first Father's Day as a Daddy was within weeks of our first daughter's birth. His baby girl and I got him the new cassette from Garth Brooks. He was particularly feeling old due to the new parent lack of sleep mode we all experience, so he had great affinity for some of the lines in the song "Much to Young to Feel this D*** Old." (And although this song introduced a lot of folk to Chris LeDeux, we had been fans and knew of Chris for a while before this, so that was another attraction to the song.)

In honor of the father of my kiddos, here's that song.

Goodness, but we were young then!

Ear Bug Alert

Glenn Beck is trying an experiment and I thought I'd share it with you.

He postulates that you'll think, hum or outright sing parts of this song at least for one day after hearing this.

Let me know how that goes for ya.

More words from The Word Museum

Herewith I share more words and their meanings and my comments about them.

carfumish - to diffuse a very bad smell. Isn't it interesting that this word begins with car. You know, when you're trapped in that very confined space and there exists an odor, we pull our shirts up over our noses while two windows are opened so that cross-ventilation can occur and the offending odor can be sucked out the windows.

causey-webs - to neglect one's work. Yes, I confess, it is because of the web that work has been neglected.

celebataire - bachelor. Makes him sound sophisticated.

chamber-lye - fermented urine, used for laundry purposes being a strong detergent. Yuck. Just yuck.

chatter-broth - tea. Yes, it is best for me to not talk in the morning before the first cuppa tea, otherwise who knows what chatter will be forthcoming.

clamberskull - a heady liquor. Seems reasonable.

clawscrunt - an old tree which cattle rub themselves against. Maybe Pioneer Women needs a few of these for her herd.

clointer - to make noise with the feet as in one who treads heavily. Why do the lightest and littlest people always make a racket by their clointer?

clumpst - hands stiff with cold are said to be clumsy. This is most certainly true.

cover-slut - a long apron used to hide an untidy dress. I can think of several celebrities who need this.

cramble - to hobble. Sounds painful.

crapulous - given to gluttony. Well, I bet this word alone would be a great deterrent to over-eating.

crizzles - rough sunburnt places on the face and hands. We'll be adding that to our words to use to describe sunburnt, along with our already used crispy-critters.

curglaff - the shock felt in bathing when one first plunges into the cold water.

cynanthropy - madness caused by the bite of a dog, wherein the patient avoids light and water. Can you say Old Yeller?

dansey-headed - persons growing giddy from dancing. This describes my daughters who enjoy dancing so much and talking about it so much that they are giddy from it.

day-spring - first appearance of light in the morning. I like this, it's more poetic than dawn.

deepmusing - lost in thought.

deosculation - the act of kissing. Sounds poetic.

dirt-haste - a course term denoting the hurry occasioned by one's losing the power of bowel retention. Doghouse dweller suffered from this malady according to a post by Kelly a few days ago.

dittology - double reading. Ditto.

doatte - to nod the head when sleep comes on whilst one is sitting up. Former President Clinton suffered this at a recent MLK celebration.



dowfart - a stupid, dull fellow.

dwang - to harass, worry or oppress with too much labor. Dwang-it!

dwizzen - having an appearance of withered fruit such as the skin of old people.

Delusions of Grandeur

It's been rather snowy here lately. I tried to take pictures the other evening as the flakes were falling soft, slow and fat upon the ground. It just looked so peaceful . . . but being dark, the pictures didn't turn out well. So use your imaginations.

Because it has been so snowy, we've been inside a lot. No we haven't reached cabin fever status . . . yet.

So R and I were having a conversation the other afternoon and she grabbed my face in both of her hands. She told me to try to get out of that! It was a challenge. But one I thought I was prepared for. I told her not to dig her nails into me because "I had grown attached to my face."

She received that bit of information with huge, rolling peels of laughter! Oh the delight of hearing one's children laugh. I laughed with her. We laughed so much that tears were streaming from our eyes. Finally, in attempts not to pass out, our laughter dissipated so that we could breathe again.

I was feeling rather proud of myself that this tired old expression brought such delight to my daughter. Upon catching our breath, she giggled and said, "Mom, you've always been attached to it!"

So much for my delusions of grandeur.

Thompson Drops Out of Race to the White House

Fred Thompson has dropped his Presidential bid.

This is the first presidential campaign that I have felt so conflicted about who to support. I chose Ron Paul because I agree with him on most issues (the largest disagreement I have is with his position on Iraq). However, having been involved as a voter and supporter who has been a county and state delegate, and election judge, I'm also jaded enough to realize that Ron Paul probably won't make the ticket.

Now I feel like I'm in a quandry, and the choices are ones that I wish DIDN'T have to make.

How are you all feeling about how this Presidential race is shaking out? Who are you supporting and why?

Debating Mike Huckabee

Very interesting exchange and information about Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee can be found here and here.

The first is a site shared by Heidi, thanks Heidi!, outlining Mike Huckabee's positions. What it seems to lack are examples from Mike Huckabee's time as a public servant to back-up the positions. It is a rather extensive list of Mike Huckabee's positions, however.

The second is a blog I found that has a nice give and take in the comments about Mike Huckabee and the endorsement from HSLDA's Mike Farris and popular homeschool blogger Spunky. It begins with a letter from Mike Farris to South Carolina homeschoolers which seems to me to tout that Mike Huckabee is a good orator/debater and is electable.

What's with all the music video posts?

My Mom grew up dirt poor in North Dakota. She was born during the Depression and her father died when she was two years old, leaving her and her two older brothers and mother to eck out a living during that difficult time. It was a hard time for a lot of folks, but I believe that it helped to form a resiliency in my Mom that she carried with her throughout her life. My Mom was not a complainer, but a do-er.

One thing my Mom desperately wanted was to learn to play the piano. One year for Christmas she got six piano lessons as a gift. They didn't own a piano, so she had to receive her lessons and do all her practicing at church. She learned so much in such a short time that by that spring she was playing the piano for church services. She continued to play until she graduated and moved away.

Mom played the piano the rest of her life, learning new skills and stretching her knowledge and skills all the time. She was a good pianist, too. She shared this love of music with all four of her kids, and with her grandkids (who were here before she died).

One of the things my family enjoyed in the 60's were musical variety shows, such as The Dean Martin Hour, The Smothers Brother Comedy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Lawrence Welk Show, The Red Skelton Hour, The Carol Burnett Show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Jackie Gleason Show, The "Tennessee" Ernie Ford Show, The Johnny Cash Show, The Andy Williams Show. In the 70's Sonny and Cher and Donny and Marie were big hits as well.

Because of this background of exposure to a variety of music, I grew up appreciating lots of forms of music. Thanks, Mom, for insisting we at least listen to the music.

Of course, with two teenaged sisters at that time, I was also exposed to a variety of popular music at the time. One sister was into "rock" such as Janis Joplin, Three Dog Night, Cream, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendriz, Led Zepplin.

The other sister was into more tame sounding stuff like The Lovin' Spoonful, The Bee Gees, The Beach Boys, Herman's Hermits, The Association, Paul Mauriat (Love is Blue), Simon and Garfunkel.

Our middle daughter tried out for American Idol last August. She didn't make the cut, but plans to return again this year. So, as a family, we watch American Idol together, and the new season began this week. That's what brought up this trip down memory lane with music.

It touched me that when I asked K who she would consider were her musical mentors, she said her Grammy (my mom) because Grammy taught her to sing.

When S and K were little, my Mom and Dad used to visit our home everyday. They said they had to "get their S & K fix." The visits were usually short, an hour or so, and always my Mom would teach the girls a song, usually a Sunday school song Mom has learned in her childhood, but also some really sweet "oldies." She even taught them the Paul McCartney song "Ebony and Ivory."

Some legacies live on pleasantly in succeeding generations.

Love Me Tender -- Elvis Presley

We had a friend sing this at our wedding over 21 years ago. It still clutches at my heart.

When we had returned from Japan, and were then living in the frozen north known as Great Falls, Montana, I remember being sick one day and staying home from school. That means I was in kindergarten, because at the end of my kindergarten year we moved from Montana to Colorado. Anyway... I remember staying home from school and getting to watch the movie "Love Me Tender" on television. I also remember being very upset at the end of the movie (spoiler here for those who haven't seen it) because I thought that Elvis had really died like his character in the movie.

My mom comforted me with her reassuring words in my ear that Elvis wasn't dead and it didn't matter if our comfort was in Jesus.

Memories are Made of This -- Dean Martin

What a smooth voice Deano has!

Lost -- Michael Buble

Michael Buble's new release from the album, Call Me Irresponsible. This song is called Lost, and I like the new video to go with it.

Sigh.

One Thing Leads to Another

As parents we have poured ourselves into the thought that educating one's children in whatever manner we choose (state-controlled public school, private school or homeschool) is a parental right given by God. God did bless us with the children afterall, not the state.

Homeschool circles have an ebb and flow of popular topics and trends. It has always been curious to me how people who have opted out of the "norm" in society have such a tendency to be followers of the latest "hot" idea or endeavor. Or maybe we're all just responding to what we're exposed to? However you view that dichotomy, our involvement in homeschool circles has given us the opportunity to explore avenues of thought, such as entrepreneurialship, which seems to be a hot topic in homeschool circles.

My husband has always had a desire to be his own boss, to run his own business and to forge a way for our family to be self-sufficient. I have been the one who has brought up every "what-if" and stubbornly resisted the idea. But the last few years' experiences have softened my attitude towards the idea and I now actively look for ways that might support my husband in this dream of his.

It's interesting to note that our children have varying degrees of interest in entrepreneurialship endeavors that I'm sure have been shaped by our discussions at home, but are also an integral part of their nature and the characteristics the Lord has blessed them with.

At the Colorado State Homeschool Conference in June this year, we will spend one day on entrepreneurialship and how to incorporate that into a family. So this topic is one of interest to us as we work for CHEC, and also because it touches on my husband's dreams.

I found this article intriguing concerning that topic. (I don't agree with the theology in this piece, but I do agree with the elements about entrepreneurialship.)

Ideas have consequences and hearing that reminds me of The Fixx's song, One Thing Leads to Another, a classic 80's and early MTV offering. My how times have changed (concerning the MTV thing).

Interesting Discussion about the DEMAND for homeschooling

Interesting discussion about the demand for homeschooling in Germany and why it matters to Christians.

HT: On the Wittenberg Trail

Evil Triumphs When Good Men Do Nothing, Edmond Burke

Bill Federer has published and graciously sends out for free "American Minute" quotes and information from American history. Here is today's offering:

January 12

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

This famous quote was from British statesman Edmund Burke, who was born JANUARY 12, 1729.

Considered the most influential orator in the House of Commons, Burke stands out in history, for, as a member of the British Parliament, he defended the rights of the American colonies and strongly opposed the slave trade.

In "A Letter to a Member of the National Assembly," 1791, Edmund Burke wrote:

"What is liberty without wisdom and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without restraint.

Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites; in proportion as they are disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good in preference to the flattery of knaves."

Edmund Burke continued:

"Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without.

It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."


This seemed to go hand-in-glove with my previous post about economics and our government. Isn't that special when things work out like that?

AFA Hockey

Last night was $ Days at the Air Force Academy for Hockey. That means we got in for $2 each instead of $11 each. (They still get ya at the consession stands! No wonder attendance is down. How many families can dole out that kinda money several times over a hockey season?)

Anyway, it was a surprisingly good game. In my self-imposed fast from sporting events that consume way too much time, energy and $$$ with little return as far as advancing character or knowledge, I've not been aware that the Falcons are considered one of the better teams in their league this year for hockey.

The first 71-seconds of the second period produced 3 goals, two for AFA and one for RIT. This was after the second goal by the AFA.

We sat down close to the plexiglass, warning the kids that it might be loud and people might get slammed into the glass and boards right in front of us. It was amusing to hear K scream the first time, and a few after that, someone got checked into the boards close to us. K is usually so fearless, such a paragon of strength and moxie.

R insulted the mascot as he roamed the crowds calling him a "chicken" instead of a falcon. He "high fived" her anyway and gave her a hug. :-)

Another live-action shot. Sorry for the poor quality, but someday we'll get a real camera. We just liked the way some things are sort of in focus here and some things are blurry from movement, although they all were moving.

The Gathering Storm

Who is accountable for this fiscal disaster about to happen? (Yes for you pun-dits, I intended the pun.)

It may be easy to say that our elected representatives are, however, WE -- the voting public -- put them there! If they aren't behaving responsibly, then we need to remove them by vote or impeachment if applicable.


This really big monster is looming everywhere that our national government has it's sticky fingers. Whose culpable for it?


More importantly, I want to know how to fix it. What's the solution? Can we leave that mess to ur children? Do people understand the danger in operating a government this way?


This is what I want to hear about from candidates. And this is one reason why I support Ron Paul. He is light-years ahead of the other candidates in talking about this issue and facing it practically, not as if putting one's head in the sand might make it go away.


Time to grow up and quit playing political games for personal power and achievement and start behaving as statesmen!

I define statesmen as: a person who exhibits great wisdom and ability in directing the affairs of a government or in dealing with important public issues.

Homeschoolers Talk about Politics - edited

Spunky's thoughts on Huckabee, in three parts, beginning here.

Mary Pride's thoughts on Huckabee.

Susan's thoughts on all this. I agree with her about not having the government intrude into homeschooling, so I'm NOT in support of vouchers no matter who is touting it.

Cheryl weighs in regularly, her latest two.

In case you couldn't tell by the new sidebars I've installed, I've aligned my support behind Ron Paul first, and Fred Thompson second. There is no candidate who represents ALL of my ideas about political issues, but Ron Paul comes closest. I'll discuss my differences with his views in another post soon.

Heidi's list on Ron Paul's public achievements as a Representative is quite impressive.

Notice the Hearth Fund in the sidebar. This is a PAC that supports candidates in Colorado who support homeschooling and conservative values. And in the interest of full disclosure, my oldest daughter is the Executive Director of the Hearth Fund.

See you at the caucus on February 5!

Yea Goose!!!

"Goose" Gossage made it into the baseball Hall of Fame!

Congratulations to a nice guy who plays baseball fairly well!

Goose went to high school here in Colorado Springs, and as a child, with a father who L-O-V-E-S baseball, I remember hearing about Goose as a kid. (Goose is only about 10 years older than me.) My Dad always kept track of the good high school players as well as college players who were good.

Laughter

Wanted to share some You Tube laughter with y'all! Enjoy!

Smashtabulous

Our mid-week Bible study is on the Book of Concord. So this week we've been learning about the theological underpinnings of original sin and free will. What was interesting to us was that we were able to weave the main idea of concupiscence together with an off-hand remark (Romans 14:23) from our Pastor's Sunday Bible study (which was the end of our study about the LDS and how to approach them), and a devotional from Higher Things today.

I've got a doozy of a cold, so reading aloud from the BoC and having to read the word "concupiscence" dozens of times was difficult. At times I was just referring to it as "that word." My children like to make fun of the words that get garbled coming outta my mouth when I read aloud. I'll have to share about those mis-speaks sometime.

That conversation morphed into thinking about the words that my older kids use on a regular basis that are a combination usually of other words. Some are part of the lexicon of teenage speak now, and some are of their own origination from my older girls!

Here for your edification and pleasure:

confuseled = confused and misled, you've deliberately confused me by misleading me

smashtabulous = smashing, fantastic and fabulous, meaning REALLY great!

indeedity = indeed with another two fun syllables attached

fantabulous = fantastic and fabulous, not quite as great as smashtabulous, but close!

This reminded me of a George Carlin routine where he talks about "soft language." If you want to view it, visit here http://youtube.com/watch?v=h67k9eEw9AY. Remember folks, this is George Carlin, and while his language isn't as colorful as it once was, I did count 5 explicatives in this one.

Logistics

I previously posted about my children's marvelous attitudes and how grateful I was for them here.

This recently was exhibited when S had to give up working at the capitol* this legislative season due to us only having one working car and seven jobs between the four of us who are wage-earners. Thank heavens most of my three part-time jobs can be done in the comfort and convenience of my home -- but there are times I required to leave it to complete my responsibilities. Of course, hubby needs the car most days and evenings, too for that matter, to do his job. K needs it four times a week to get to and fro from her job at the library. S does her PAC work mostly from home.

So pardon me while I bask in the glow of a young lady whose maturity is dazzling me, and whose attitude is sparkling!

I love ya, sweetie! And I'm sorry you had to give up this part of your dream for now, but I'm proud of you for knowing that it's temporary. The above picture was taken for her first Christmas!

(*S has worked at the state capitol for the past four legislative seasons. She dearly wanted to again this season, but with us living so far away from it (over 70 miles one way), we just couldn't get it to work.)

Politics

I haven't been feeling well enough to gather thoughts on a post about politics, but I've been enjoying immensely the discussions going on listed below.


Heidi's got a good discussion going on at her blog.

Cheryl often posts about political issues on her blog. The latest is this one.

Susan shares her thoughts here.

Snow!

Yesterday, we attended a meeting in Denver to plan for the state homeschooling conference in June. We encountered strong winds that whistled through our old car (an '87 Toyota Camry) and caused my husband to forcefully grab the steering wheel with both hands for most of our drive north.

On the way home, the winds had dissipated quite a bit, and we could survey the damage all along the highway. In Monument, there were winds of up to 79 miles per hour which is the same strength as a category 1 hurricane. Amazing, really, for here on the front range.

With all the winds, though, the temps reached into the 60's and we finally got rid of all the ice on the street in front of our house from the snowfalls in early December.

Then, this morning we were greeted with this:

Notice you can no longer see the curb -- which means it was about 5 inches deep, although in some areas it accumulated a little more. Without winds, however, we did not have drifts.

Being a wet snow, it was slick going to church. But because it was a wet snow, by the time we were traveling home after church, the roads were simply wet. Of course this evening as the temps dip below freezing, it'll be slick again.

I love the beauty of snow. It is invigorating to me and today it reminded me of the Light of the World, Jesus.

The Epiphany of our Lord

Pastor's sermon today was about Darkness and Light. He reminded us of how the world began, and in the darkness there was no life. After the Lord spoke the light into being, then we had life.

Epiphany is a reminder that God has called us to rise and shine from the darkness.

We can live lives of quiet desperation, and we can try to look to the government, schools, technological or medical advances to save us. But we will still deal with our sinful brokeness which seperates us from God. We need to turn to Jesus' light, love and forgiveness to redeem us.

Like florescent lights which need to be close to a source of light to absorb the energy and light so that it can reflect that light and energy, we need to be close to the Lord via Christian fellowship, worship, daily Bible reading, etc. so that His light can be reflected through us. We need to be forgiving, prayerful, thankful, kind, living pure and holy lives and let our speech reflect our beliefs. Of course, will fail to do all of that, but we are still forgiven, redeemed and loved by God because of Christ and Him crucified.

My favorite hymn from today was Songs of Thankfulness and Praise, LSB 394. I especially like the last stanza:

Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord,
Present in Thy holy Word --
Grace to imitate Thee now
And be pure, as pure art Thou;
That we might become like Thee
At Thy great epiphany
And may praise Thee, ever blest
God in man made manifest.

Pastor Wangerin

Pastor Walter M. Wangerin passed away in his sleep on December 30th, 2007.

He and his wife, Virginia, have been welcome members of our congregation for years.

They made a moving and special gift to our church several years ago which reflects Pastor Wangerin's lifelong motto, "Remember your baptism." Next time I'm at church during the day, I'll take a photo to share with you.

Instead of sharing with you the various ways that Pastor Wangerin served his ordination vows, I'd like to share some personal remembrances with you.

First, he and Virginia were always together and their loving devotion to each other was touching.

Wanting to be connected to the church and its members, they both were part of the prayer circle until health prevented it. But even then, somehow they found out the prayer concerns and Pastor Wangerin had the habit of wearing a trail in the carpet while he paced and prayed. This impressive habit and his utter reliance upon prayer was of great inspiration to the rest of our congregation.

When they were able, their attendance at our church was filled with joy. They were not ones to complain or talk of their ailments or how time robbed them of the things they used to do. Instead, they joyfully and purposefully sought out the youth and asked them questions about what was going on in their lives. They patiently listened and asked more questions showing that they were engaged in what was being discussed and cared.

Pastor Wangerin was the author of various books (as is his son, Walt Jr.). We have used Pastor Wangerin's books throughout our homeschooling to teach the catechism to our children and to ground them firmly in their faith. I remember the time when we first shared this with Pastor Wangerin and his response was one of genuine surprise. Of course, with his usual humility, he wanted to credit the Lord for it. The Lord used Pastor Wangerin to bless us, and we are very grateful for that.

Pastor Wangerin's funeral service was yesterday, and as we partook of the Lord's supper today at church, I thought that Pastor Wangerin is now enjoying the feast with Jesus and that one day we will too. I am so glad to have known him and for the wonderful example he was to all of us.

Please remember Virginia and his six living children and many grandchildren in your prayers.

Playing with Fairies

Today R has been playing with her fairies. Here's snap shots of that.

These dollies are a bit taller (and skinnier) than her Liddle Kiddles and Krystal Princesses. My but she loves to play with little things!

Scotch Tape Wedding

Here are some photos from December fun for my youngest when she got scotch tape and paper towels and created an aisle for a wedding.

So here's some of that fun day!

Mexican Train - just for Heidi

Mexican train is a type of domino game that my parents taught us back in 1998. They had wintered (snowbirded) in McAllen, Texas and learned the game there. It's a game that younger kids and up to whatever age wants to can play. You can play with up to 7 players or teams with the game board we have.


It's a game that you can talk a lot during, which is a necessity for our family. :-) We've enjoyed playing it with so many different folks and family! And we last played it on New Year's Eve with our friends from our church!

At first, we cut out notches in a paper plate to place the the dominoes in. Then my mom was so excited when she found "game boards." Here's a picture of the one she gave us.

Because they played with so many folks, and at first were using different coins when they had to "put their train up," I was delighted when I found some beads at the craft store that were trains. So I painted some and left the others with their colors and here's what those look like. (I gave my parents a set of them, too, and they really used 'em as do we!)

They both loved traveling in their retirement, and I'm glad they did so much of it before my mom became ill and died quickly in November 2000. It was always fun to hear about their various experiences from all the places they visited.

Lastly we have a picture of the "Mexican Train" which makes whistles and choo-choo noises.

Rules for Mexican Train can be found here.

Lessons Learned in 2007

Looking back over this past year, it's easy to see that the Lord has been with us, sheltering us from harm and providing for us as needed. Although there have been times of doubt and insecurity, in the end God has been our rock and shield.

I think most would not call our life easy -- we don't either. But there are things we've learned through this difficult year. Things we couldn't and wouldn't have if we had not experienced this past year.

Compassion is high on the list. It's easy to lament your circumstances, but when you know others worse-off and others who struggle as you do, it's hard to sit on the pity pot too long.

Perspective is another thing we've learned. It really isn't only a matter of perspective, because perspective is intertwined and dependent upon your attitude. How you view things, the proverbial glass half-full or half-empty, is directly related to your perspective.

While our outlook isn't always the best (as I mentioned we do have times of doubt and insecurity), for the most part we are genuinely filled with gratitude and gratefulness. Especially our children. I am so proud of their adjustment to our circumstances. For their willingness to persevere and to do it with so much joy and panache! I commend my children for their dutifulness in pitching in with whatever needs to be done, however mundane it may be. I also have great respect for them for knowing well beyond their years the value of "things" and not judging their peers who whine about petty matters.

One of the things we started doing a couple of years ago was to make weekly and monthly goals, not resolutions. At the beginning of each month we have a family meeting and coordinate our calendars. This is necessary since everyone's so busy and we have various and sundry responsibilities, deadlines, schedules, etc. It's also a time to discuss our goals, dreams and plans. Taking things by small chunks instead of wide strides seems to work better for us.

So here's to lessons learned, and hopefully an easier year in 2008.

My prayer is that each of you have a fabulous year too!

Words, words and more words

When KellyJean and I went out last week, we spent some time at Barnes and Noble. It was delicious being able to examine books without children interupting every few seconds to say, "Mom, look at this!"



One of the books I looked at was this one




















Here are some of the words from there that we've been enjoying.


allecter: to wamble as a queasie stomacke dothe. (This made me think of my queasy stomach friend.) :-)


all sorts: a slang term designating the drippings of glasses in saloons, collected and sold at half-price to drinkers who are not overly particular. (This, of course, made me think again of my queasy stomach friend because I'm sure she would go EWWWW!)


aquabob: an icicle.


aubades: songs or instrumentall music, sung, or playd under anyone's chamber window in the morning. (Um, someone who stands and sings or plays music outside my bedroom or bathroom in the morning would not be someone who is appreciated.)


audit ale: extra strong ale, supposed to be drunk when the accounts are audited. (This made me think of KellyJean's doghouse dweller hubby since he's an -whispers, looks left then right-accountant.)


azzardly: a wayward child. (Thankfully I haven't one of those, but this sounds like a fun word to describe such a child.)


Now we're moving on to the B's...


ballop: the old name for the flap in the forepart of the breeches which is buttoned up; in English, formerly called the codpiece. (Personally it was the codpiece that made me laugh.)


beblubbered: swollen. (Now that's just funny!)


beggars' velvet: downey particles which accumulate under furniture from the negligence of housemades. (Sounds better than dust bunny!)


belly-pinched: starved; hungry.


billy-winks: a child's term for sleepy; said of a sleepy child. (awwwww.)


blepharon: he that hath great eyebrows.


blutterbunged: confounded, overcome by surprise.


bouffage: a satisfying meal.


As we continue to be entertained by this book, I'll probably share other words!

Oh yeah, all the spelling is taken directly from the book, least some of you spelling champs thinketh that it is moi who misspelt them!

The Fabricated Luther by Uwe Siemon-Netto

There's an interesting book review at Rob Shearer's (of Greenleaf Press) blog.

The book is written by Uwe Siemon-Netto who dispells myths from WWII and the Lutherans involvement, or lack thereof, with the Nazis.

You can read Uwe's monthly blogs here.