Thank God for Dirty Dishes

Thank God For Dirty Dishes


Thank God for dirty dishes; They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry, We're eating very well.
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn't want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence, God's been very good to us.

Awhile back I found this poem on Jammin's Blog. I really enjoy her fresh outlook and thought it would be fun to share here.

"Once In A Blue Moon" comes around this New Year's Eve

A friend shared this link with me and I thought it would be fun to post here.
This is the definition of a Blue Moon from NASA:
"Most months have only one full Moon. The 29.5-day cadence of the lunar cycle matches up almost perfectly with the 28- to 31-day length of calendar months. Indeed, the word "month" comes from "Moon." Occasionally, however, the one-to-one correspondence breaks down when two full Moons squeeze into a single month. Dec. 2009 is such a month. The first full Moon appeared on Dec. 2nd; the second, a "Blue Moon," will come on Dec. 31st."

Click here to go to the NASA page where it explains more about this.

Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Why Jesus is Better Than Santa Claus

Wow! I didn't realize how long it has been since I last posted something here.....it has been a bit crazy around our house and well, to be honest, I haven't been as disciplined as I should be with my time. But I came across this and wanted to share it with you all (if any of you are even checking in here anymore). I promise to try to be more consistent in my postings in 2010.

Why Jesus is Better Than Santa Claus

By Rev. James Spellman of Ohio

*Santa lives at the North Pole... JESUS is everywhere.
*Santa rides in a sleigh... JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
*Santa comes but once a year... JESUS is an ever present help.
*Santa fills your stockings with goodies... JESUS supplies all your needs.
*You have to wait in line to see Santa... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
*Santa lets you sit on his lap... JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
*Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?"... JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our head.
*Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly... JESUS has a heart full of love.
*All Santa can offer is HO HO HO... JESUS offers health, help and hope.
*Santa says "You better not cry"... JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."
*Santa's little helpers make toys... JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
*Santa may make you chuckle but...JESUS gives you a joy that is your strength.
*While Santa puts gifts under your tree... JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

Its obvious there is really no comparison! Jesus is still the reason for the season. Yes, Jesus is better, he is even better than Santa Claus.

I found this poem over at the 1+1+1=1 blog. It is part of a lovely FREE Christmas Symbols lapbook she has put together!

IF YOU GIVE A MOM A MUFFIN

I saw this posted on The Old Schoolhouse's Facebook Account and couldn't pass up posting it here. It is so great!!! I think it might turn into a writing and art assignment for my boys. I'll let each of them pick something (ie. muffin, football, schoolbook, etc.) and then write about them and that item. When (or if) we finish it I will post them here!

IF YOU GIVE A MOM A MUFFIN…

If you give a mom a muffin,
She’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She’ll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she’ll find dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook (”101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger”).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.S
he will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She’ll smell something funny.
She’ll change the two year old’s diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are…
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

by Kathy Fictorie

Fishin on the River - the Salmon are coming

We have been to the river 2 times so far. The first was in our boat and we didn't have the right set up or bait. But it was sunny and warm.

The second time we went we had the right bait.....sandshrimp. We didn't take the boat since we went with friends. We were fishing on the sandbar and still didn't have MUCH luck. We had a few bites but couldn't get one to stay on the hook.


Here is the sandshrimp.

I HATE using live bait because I feel so bad for them when they get skewered onto the hook. The boys don't seem to mind though.

Josh, Marcus and Darren are on the other beach.

Tammy came to visit with Mungi and I since none of us "girls" fish.

Here is Ken's BIG CATCH. Poor little fishy!

Day at Dad's Company Picnic

The day was beautiful, the food was FABULOUS (T-bones, salmon, corn on the cob, Hagendaaz ice-cream bars, etc.) BUT the wasps were everywhere when we were eating. Poor Josh - they really like him because he is SOOO SWEET. He went and sat in the truck while we were eating. The entertainment was the best. The Reptile Man came and showed off some of his collection. His zoo is really cool but we don't get there often enough - a bit of a drive for us.

Here is Josh holding Alice the Alligator. Jacob holding Alice. Looks cuddly, huh?
Jacob holding the Blue Tounged Skink. She was pretty cool and yes, she has a blue tounge.
She looks kinda like a hot dog with legs. Learn more about her here.

Jacob holding a boa constrictor. He was in heaven.
**He wants a snake but I told him he will have to wait till he gets his OWN house.**

Dad and Josh sharing a bonding moment while downing Mt. Dew....their drink of choice.

This was taken while we were waiting for the raffle drawing. We didn't win anything but it was fun waiting for the numbers to be called.

Football Jamboree

Jacob has his first "game" which consisted of 2 short games - 10 offensive plays per team. We won one and lost (or tied - I got a bit lost in the excitement). I will have better scores for the "real" games.

After these pictures I am convinced that I am in NEED (I'm sure it isn't just want!) of a new camera.......with a good zoom and the ability to take pictures right after each other. Jacob really is on the field in these pictures - I'm just not sure where. He is #11.

Who are we? COUGARS! Who are we? COUGARS! Who are we? COUGARS!!!

GO TEAM!

Finale of Summer - Waterslides

Well, summer has come to an end here. We started Math and Language Arts last week and will add more this week. We should be up and running full speed by Sept. 14. And, as I look out the window right now, it is storming and yucky. The caner is going with green beans in it which confirms that fall is upon us.

So, before the summer was over we had to do an afternoon at the waterslide park. The boys had a blast and the moms did too. We sat and visited while the boys ran and ran and ran. The day was beautiful and the park was not crowded so there were no long lines to wait in.

Here are the boys ready for water fun.

Football Season is here - and my BABY is playing

Well, I knew it would come sooner or later but it is here NOW! My baby - who is 9 and reminds me that he is NOT a baby anymore - is now playing TACKLE football. He has played flag football for the past 2 years but has just been itching to get into tackle. His team is called the Cougars - which is a bit of a problem for the parents who are HUSKY fans (Go DAWGS!!!) - but he has good boys on the team and a wonderful coaching staff.

They started the season off with practices and a car wash to help offset the cost of the BLACK pants for our team. The Boys and Girls club provides white pants (I wonder if any of them have had children play football in white pants and then try to get the grass and mud stains out of them?????). I would have been more than happy to pay full price for the black pants just to save on laundry. I thought I would get carpal tunnel syndrome last year when Josh played tackle and wore the white pants.

Coach Darren and the boys trying to get some customers.

Jacob taking a break and playing with Wally.

Check out those good looking boys...Jacob and Marcus.

Working hard - Jacob is at the front corner.

Public School e-book

I haven't had a chance to read this yet but I LOVE anything that comes from The Old Schoolhouse magazine. Check out this link for a FREE e-book about Christian kids in Public Schools. Click Here for your free download.

Why God Made Moms

I know this is probably not new to you but I just got it in an email and it made me smile so I thought I would post it and create more smiles.

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad...

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Camping Finale

Here is how we set up our tent sites.....we have 3 side by side and put the tents and the kitchen on the gravel and then the kids can play on the grass.We walked up from the campground through town to the upper lake (boy was it a hike!). Then we sat on the dock for moral support until we were too frozen to talk......we decided that since all the boys were out on the lake and we couldn't even see them we would be just as supportive back at the camp by the fire. So we drove back to camp.

Poor Obbie was so cold on this night that he crawled into Ken's sleeping bag before we went to bed. It looks like we tucked him in but he did his own tucking!

Jacob found a lizard.....are you surprised after all his animal adventures when we first got here?

This is our knitting circle. Angie learned how to knit this year and I actually finished a whole dishrag in this trip. I learned last year but it took me all year to finish the dishrag I started last year.

Jacob had to go for one last ride in Tammy's new kayak. He sure can move in that thing!

Jacob caught a nice rainbow out of the lower lake.

This is the annual group photo.Here's the boys before Aaron and Marcus left on Friday. We stayed until Sunday so the boys were a bit sad to see their friends go home earlier than us.

Gene, the owner of Liar's Cove, even got in on the silly picture!

Once everyone left, we walked to town and got ice cream cones at the store.

The boys got to kayak with Averie - the granddaughter of the owners. They were helping around the campground so they earned free kayak rides. They went all the way across the lake and explored the irrigation dam and then raced back.

The boys got a raft from Uncle Scott and Aunt Val. Jacob took me out for the maiden voyage while Josh watched from the dock.

Obbie was exhausted since the boys and Averie took him on a walk to town Friday and Saturday.

We had a close encounter with a nice deer. Jacob and Grandpa were able to feed her.

Jacob even got an eye to eye look!

The kids were using the golf cart to help with picking up garbage and pinecones.

They were nice and gave Grandpa a ride up to his cabin.

One last trip to the upper lake to catch bass. It sure does taste good. Josh likes it cooked with butter and Johnny's seasoning. We like it deep fried with beer batter or panko crumbs. YUMMY!One final kayak ride Sunday morning before we left.

On the way home we stopped in Winthrop to get ice cream, caramel apples and caramel marshmallows. Josh has been wanting a gold pan so he found one there. He was very excited (don't mind the false smile - he is in a goofy stage when it comes to pictures right now).

Jacob and I played mini golf. We didn't keep score but we were both pretty even.