Thankful Thursday: A Spoonful of Sugar

Sometimes it's just nice to have someone to tie up the loose ends. This morning, David was making Orange Stuff for Michael's birthday dinner, but didn't have time to finish it before homeschool co-op. I agreed to finish making it for him. After they left, I found this on the table:

 Can you read it? It says: liz for makeing orange stuff

Made me smile!

PS: At age 11, David is one of our best cookie dough makers.

7 Home Alone 2

We had one week to pull it off, and I have to say it was only by the grace of God that we did. Considering that we did the last one in 24 hours, you'd think it would've been a breeze, but no. Drama, you know. Still, it was a lot of fun. Love these people! Anyway, enjoy our sequel...

Can I brag on my clubbers?

I love these people.

Yessiree, those are first-place ribbons for our first-time-ever first-place Sparkies. Yeah! I had so much fun being on the line as a coach with them. They are just precious.

And these people...

...did so well! 

The competition was so tight between all 4 teams, that even the 4th place team (us) won quite a few games. The girls did especially well. Look at Laura, halfway between clubber and leader. During practices she was gracefully coaching the younger players. She makes me proud.

And speaking of people I'm proud of, two weeks prior...

David, Maddie, and Emma knew their Bible quizzing material forward and backwards, and proved it! Second year in a row as 1st place winners!

Since we didn't have any other Book Four people for Laura to quiz with, she teamed up with two other girls from two other churches. They were the best of the best. Laura made family history by finishing out her fourth year of T&T with her fourth Bible Quiz medal! When she wore them all at once my dad nicknamed her Clackety. *smile*

All our Quiz teams. Brian also did very well, with a perfect paddle score.

A big thank-you to Commander Dave, Mrs. Cory H., Mrs. Peggy N., and all the other leaders and parents. Your support was invaluable!

This Saturday is our Grand Prix (Awana's version of a Pinewood Derby). It will be our 9th consecutive week of extra Awana stuff. Whew! The practices were worth it, though. Not only did the clubbers perform better, we got to develop deeper relationships with them. I'm happy to say I can now tell the twins apart (both sets). :)

And I didn't even write about Summit, which was right in between Quizzing and Games. Well, in case you were wondering, I'm very proud of Stephanie too. That deserves a whole 'nother post.

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

You didn't see me take these pictures!

Trail of History 2013

 

For the first and last time, we stayed overnight at the Trail. The night was cold, but the morning was beautiful, and I pulled out my not-historically-authentic camera. I got teased a little by our Highlander neighbor, but then he admitted to taking some himself, including one with the tipi-framed moon.

 Our neighbors on the other side included an incredibly social and adorable three-year-old.
Laura and David made their own haversacks, with a little help.

Michael went barefoot all weekend.

We volunteered at the Children's Dress Up site during the day on Saturday and slept inside the tent that night. We brought in the straw bales for a mattress and despite the freezing temperatures, most of us stayed warm enough. We had enough blankets!

.:The trail Sunday morning:.

 

.:Sunrise:.

 

 

David walked to the top of the kame with me.

.:View of the Valley Floor from the kame:.

.:Tents:.

The French voyageurs. I never did get to watch them do their canoe launch.

~

My mom took some more pictures of us, so I may post a few of those in the near future. 

Thankful Thursday: Boredom is a Choice

I'm thankful for learning... learning domestic arts, learning mandolin, learning trigonometry, learning Advanced square dance calls, learning how to work with new situations, learning how good and faithful God is. The learning never stops, and I'm so glad!

And in keeping with the post title, here's proof that our home is never boring...

 

(learning how to make videos...)

A boy I'd like to know better

Kenton, my nephew. :)

His parents are divorced.

I still love them.

The story's not over yet.

I believe God will do the impossible.

Bring it on!

PS: Just for fun, here's a picture of baby Chris:

And then there were four...

More than a year ago, I posted here why I was thankful for each of my grandparents.
On Sunday, I lost one of them.
I thought it would be appropriate to re-post my little piece about him:

Grandpa (My dad's dad) - He introduced me to a love for playing piano. He was the first piano teacher I had, and the one who challenged me to take it up again when I was a teenager. Now I love playing on his grand piano, not the least because I think he enjoys hearing me! I also love his constant wisecracks and jokes, and the fact that he was a square dance caller!

Grandpa, I miss you. Thank you for the legacy you left in your family - it's a good one.

Kenton

Can you believe it? As of 12:25 MST, October 29, 2012, my brother is a dad! Kenton weighed in at 7 pounds even and 20 inches long. He has a bit of light brown hair. Good job, Hannah!

 Chris & Kenton

I love the fact that he was born on the 29th - if you've ever heard Eric Ludy talk about Job 29 you know why. What I am even more excited about it that he did not come early as some had feared... praise God. The name Kenton means "royal town" or "royal possession", and as far as I'm concerned he belongs to the King from the very get-go. Please continue to pray for Chris and Hannah. The enemy still wants to speak defeat over their lives and marriage, but as saints we can stand in the gap with victorious faith in our Almighty God.

Life: Incoming

(PS: If the print is unreadable, try zooming in: [Ctrl] & [+] ).

Comic strip courtesy of www.fborfw.com.

Thankful Thursday: Grandparents

I am blessed to have five terrific grandparents, all living. I would like to share why my grandparents are so great.

Grandpa (My dad's dad) - He introduced me to a love for playing piano. He was the first piano teacher I had, and the one who challenged me to take it up again when I was a teenager. Now I love playing on his grand piano, not the least because I think he enjoys hearing me! I also love his constant wisecracks and jokes, and the fact that he was a square dance caller!

Grandma (My dad's mom) - She is always serving. Preparing food, helping grandkids with constant requests, and never complaining about it, ever. But she's not a pushover. She is, however, one of the gentlest, most clear-headed people I know. She taught me and Valerie how to sew... a great gift.

Gramma M (My mom's mom) - She is so many things: a hairdresser by trade, a gift-giver by nature. I love that she visits every year, even though she lives in California. She is also a tireless servant, washing dishes and scrubbing bathtubs without ever being asked (like we would!). She keeps us on our toes - if we don't do our chores fast enough, she will! I love that she is still an active square dancer, and looks amazing in the fancy dresses. :) She always sends a card for each birthday, half-birthday (family practice), and anniversary.

Grandpa O (My mom's dad) -  He built our favorite swingset, despite our "help". That is only one of the many projects that he has tackled when he came to visit. (He lives in Washington State, formerly California.) He is a very diligent worker. At one time he worked at a station above the Arctic Circle. I like his Canadian accent that you can hear sometimes. With him as my partner, we pulled ahead for a great victory in Spite & Malice! (his and Grandma Jan's favorite card game).

Grandma Jan (My mom's stepmom) - Even though we are not biologically related, she has always and will always be a grandma to me. She is very candid and intelligent and a great person to converse with. I always like hearing about places they've traveled. I think it's great how she and Grandpa O play golf together. She remembers our birthdays, too!


Thank you for being such wonderful grandparents! I love you!

If the Lord wills...

 Maybe you would be interested to know that my brother Chris is getting married on Monday? Hannah Joy is to be my very first sister-in-law. We are all flying down to Arizona on Saturday. Of course...

"If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."- James 4:15

May His will be done! Thank you for your prayers!

The Best Thank-You Card Giver In The Whole World

I love my sister. The other day she was showing me the thank-you cards she had made for our grandparents for Christmas and such (better late than never!) I liked them so much that I told her,

"You are the best thank-you card maker in the whole world. I hope I draw your name [for the gift exchange] next Christmas so I can get a thank-you card from you!"

I think it was only the next day that she gives me this:

If you didn't understand all of that, don't feel bad. Reading her writing is like solving a good riddle or code (fun!). I'm still not sure what the part about the green paper (apperpay) is about. LOL. 

 

When you pray for little sisters (or brothers), God is so good! I love you, Laura!

Ice Rink! (pictures and video)

It's here! After many hours of cold, hard work, our backyard ice rink is up and functional! We are having lots of fun, especially Valerie, Stephanie, and I. We three have used it almost every day. It's 35 x 45 sq. ft. We thought it was funny to tell people that we used buckets to fill it, but actually we used hoses. (More than one because our back faucet stopped working for some reason.) We were very careful to not let water freeze in them.

Chris putting some water in the rink.


A couple kids out on the ice. Closer zoom-up from the same day.










It's great having our own private rink. You can do anything from "change direction whenever you want" to, what else, square dance! :) (Sorry for anyone who can't watch the below video... it's not too amazing :P)