"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld

His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth"

John 1:14



 

Wrapping It Up

(in an organized manner)

 

 

We have six people in this household who purchase and then wrap presents.

Of course, these people do not want others in the household to know

what they bought so lots of secrecy goes into this gift wrapping business.

So, the needed supplies are gathered and many rustlings take place

behind firmly closed bedroom doors.

 

Last year I decided that I was tired of missing supplies.

Scissors, tape, and wrapping paper had a way of getting lost in the bedrooms.

When I insisted that the wrapping take place in my bedroom,

then my bed was used as a handy place to cut paper.

I feared for the life of my comforter.

I knew there had to be a better way.

 

This year we have a Wrapping Station.

That is a very grand description of a simple table decked out with supplies.

 

This table fit right over the tea cart that sits in front of my bedroom window.

On it are all the necessary items such as: scissors, tape, curling ribbon, and gift labels.

On the tea cart is an assortment of small boxes waiting for gifts.

The storage containers sitting on the floor contain bows and wrapping paper.

 

It has been a wonderful and organized solution.

We are no longer missing supplies

and no one has to hear from me,

"Don't you dare make a hole in my comforter

when you are cutting that paper."

 

****************************

 

Tiana was wanting a Christmas Bible verse to go with a picture she was drawing

so she asked me for some suggestions.  I told her that there were so many verses

that could be for Christmas.  She replied, "Well, I was looking for one kind of like,

And He sat down and feasted."

I told her that was not exactly part of the Christmas story

but that she had a good understanding of American holiday life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Addressing the Crazy

 

 

I feel kind of guilty when I link words like "crazy"

to what should be a season of peace, joy, and good cheer.

Somehow it is too easy for the good to get lost and

the whole season to end up being overwhelming.

I often have to wonder how much pressure to perform comes

from others and how much comes from within.

 

 

 

We say we do it for Jesus

but does He really care about all the minute details,

that we find to be important,

or is He more interested in what is going on in our hearts?

 

 

 

This year our decorations are very simple.
The traditional has been put up and the rest left in the box.
Nothing here will make it onto Pinterest.
And that is perfectly fine with me.
What matters is the spirit we live in.
Is it a spirit of peace or a crazy spirit that Jesus never
meant for us to have?
 

 

 

 

Speaking of crazy: Our youngest is over-stimulated.

It's just been too much for her.

Me being away, then the awful flu, the schedules

that slipped away more and more each day,

the sporadic attempts at schooling,

her having too much control over her day,

Christmas decorations,

knowing we go to Grandma's for Christmas,

It's just too much for her system to handle.

 

So, we have retreated.

No more performances.

No more social events.

Even the good and uplifting events are too much.

Home is the best place to be.

It's secure.

It's structured.

It's safe.

 

Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 15th Birthday,

Bethany

 

 

 

This post got lost in the crazy shuffle of life and
was never published.
So...despite being a month late...
Happy Belated Birthday, my sweet girl.

How Plans Go Awry

 

The Plan:

Dash away for an adult extended weekend in Pennsylvania

with our traveling buddies, Terry and Shari.

Return from said weekend,

and in one day unpack, wash clothes, and repack.

Then Tiana and I were to take up residence in southern California

in order to help my brother's family after his kidney donation surgery.
After returning from that, we had tossed around the idea of a trip to the
Pacific Northwest over Thanksgiving.
It was to be a very busy month
but the good kind of "very busy."

 

Reality:

The weekend in PA went great.

Travel was smooth; nothing went wrong.

Nothing that we knew of anyways.

 Our trip home was smooth despite a tight schedule.

There was a bit of unsettled feeling in some but that was attributed to the

flying, busy days, and crazy PA roads.

We returned home to our kids and I prepared to hit the road again.

 

On Monday, Terry ended up home from work sick.

Rudy felt great but had a sensitive stomach and continued to work.

Tiana and I headed down south having a great time

while we shared food and drink.

Our treat was taking care of a baby for a few days.

A very cute baby.

And we did take care of the baby...
until the stomach flu hit me hard in the middle of one night.

 While we were able to resume baby care,
things continued to spiral downward for me
until I eventually ended up in urgent care attached to an IV drip.

My stay at David's extended an additional week as I was unable to get home.
Despite my symptoms remaining, I was able to drive north to meet Wesley
who had traveled south on Amtrak.  He drove us home.
I slowly recuperated at home and regained my strength
so that this week I am finally back to a normal schedule.

In the midst of me being sick away from home,
Rudy spent a week sick at home.
To say the least, a trip over Thanksgiving was no longer considered.
Rest and recuperation were all that could be handled.

So, now we are in December and I feel like I have lost the
past three weeks.
School schedules, bedtime schedules, housekeeping schedules
have to be reestablished, which is not the easiest to do when
things have been allowed to lapse.

Despite all this, we are so thankful for a variety of blessings.
We are so glad the stomach problems did not hit while we were flying.
That would have been beyond miserable.
My prayer while down south was that the baby would not get sick,
that David's family would stay well,
and that my parents (who were headed to Africa) would not get sick.
Everyone stayed healthy,
 Praise the Lord!!

 

 



 

 

 

Doing Hair

 

 

To say the least, Tiana has opened up a whole new world to us.

This is the world of Black hair care.

We have become acquainted with procedures, products, and politics

that we had no idea even existed.

 

The way you care for your African American child's hair is a direct

reflection of your ability to mother a child.

If the hair is messy, dry, or having issues

then it says that the child is not being taken care of properly.

 

Extensions have been our sanity saver.

Although they are expensive, they have saved us many hours

of straightening and arranging that end up occupying our

whole Saturday night.

 

We had extensions put in before our summer road trip

and when those came out we had another set put in within a few weeks.

Extensions are synthetic hair that is braided in with the natural hair.

Often, the weight of the extensions helps the natural hair to grow

stronger and longer.

 

This is how we curl the ends of the synthetic hair to

avoid straggly ends and to give it bounce.

First, we take a few braids and roll them tightly in foam rollers.

We repeat this all around her head using both small and medium rollers.

Then we boil water in the tea kettle.

When that is ready, we wrap Tiana in a thick towel, and get another towel ready.

 

 

We pour the hot water in a mug and dip the curlers in the mug,

holding it there for a minute or so.

 

Then that section is taken out and squeezed as dry as possible.

It can be a rather steamy job, hence the need for all the towels.

It would be distressing to get burned while getting you hair done.

 

Voila!

The hair has been taken out of the curlers and arranged as desired.

 

These should last for a month or so before daily wear

and washings take their toll.

 

***********************

 

"No matter who you are, you are called to push back the darkness."  Jason Grey

 

 

 



 

 

 

Making Do

 

 

No-Bake Cheesecake

 

This past week this recipe was shared on social media.

Once I had seen the picture and read the recipe,

I could not get it out of my mind.

I was pretty sure that we needed to try it ourselves.

 

I started making the crust, which called for Nilla Wafers.

My box of cookies did not yield enough for the recipe so I

threw some graham crackers, and then some animal cookies

into the food processor.  Tiana had wondered what I would have done if

we didn't have animal cookies.  I told her that I would have used some kind of cereal.

By then, I had produced an overabundance of crumbs so with the addition of more butter

 I was able to make two pie crusts. 

 

I set out to mix the no-bake cheesecake filling.

I did not have enough cool whip and when

I searched online for a substitute I mostly found that cool whip was

an inferior form of whipped cream.  I would have been happy to whip cream if I had

actually had some in my 'fridge.

Instead, I had to wait until I could go to town and could buy some.

 

The filling was not changed too much except I put in 2 cups

of powdered sugar instead of 1.

With that all whipped up, I poured most of it into my larger pie crust. 

I added some sour cream to the rest of the filling and put that

in the smaller crumb crust.

With a few tastes here and there, I decided I really liked

the sour cream enhanced filling better than the original filling.

 

Both pies were then topped with one can of cherry pie filling.

The smaller pie got the bad end of the deal and did not

end up with as many cherries as it should have.

We then had one pie as a treat for ourselves and another one

to take to potluck on Sunday.

 

I wanted to tell my friend who had posted the recipe how yummy

the pie was but I decided I had changed so many things that it wasn't quite the

same any more and only resembled the original.

 

While semi following this recipe I had to wonder how I had arrived at this point.

In the distant past, I was one who always very carefully followed recipes

yet I admired people who cooked by throwing things together.

That's what my grandma and my mom were good at:

opening the 'fridge and throwing together a meal

or starting a recipe and modifying it to fit their available ingredients.

 

Somehow, through all my years in the kitchen, I have found

that I have become more resourceful and adventurous.

Of course, there are always those experiments that don't turn out too well

but overall my family is well fed and happy.

And I am especially happy to be relieve from the restriction of having

to run to the store for little items while something that might

do just as well is sitting in my cupboard or freezer.

 

*******************

 

Rudy loves to cook outside and more often than not

his camp stove is set up on our deck.

He usually has a bevy of feline admirers who appreciate the smell

of his cooking.

 

Due to Bethany's cold this week, we had to cancel supper company one night.

Rudy was most disappointed because he was looking forward to cooking for them.

I am sorry, but I just can't relate.

My cooking is done out of necessity not out of enjoying the process.

 

 ***********************

Tiana, singing along with a hymn:

"All other ground is stinking sand."

 



Flying Through The Days

 

Not too long ago I read a quote that went along these lines:

As you live each day
So you live your life

I am not sure that I want my whole life to be known for the wild pace
that we have been recently living.
That's why I usually sing an ode to the month of January
when we force life to slow down and take a more leisurely pace.

Sometimes our activities add to our hurry and scurry but they are
usually a benefit that adds more pleasure to our days
than does driving here and there and taking care of monotonous daily events. 

One warm morning, we joined the local home school group at
the lovely Vista Ranch.
Not only did they have activities for everyone,
 the grounds were a feast for the eyes. 
It was a pleasure just to walk through the well tended gardens
and the flower patches.

 

 

 

 

Tiana and I went on the hay ride that passed by orchards,

vineyards, olive trees, a pond, and rose gardens.

 

Our older kids had already conquered the corn maze by the time we arrived.

I allowed Tiana to lead to the way.

 

 

Ta-Da...I think this is the way out.

Maybe?  Hmm...maybe not!

 

 

The corn pit was a big hit with all sizes of kids.

 

One of the best things about this place: No Halloween decorations, at all.

Plus, there were cookies and chocolate milk for the kids during story time.

You can't go wrong with that yummy combination.

 

*******************

 

Sad to say, life is not all fun and games and corn mazes.

Infections can suddenly crop up and put a damper on life.

This is what an infected mosquito bite morphed into...

 

But, we are very thankful for antibiotics that quickly take down such problems.

(Not even 24 hours later and the swelling has gone down quite a bit)

 

48 hours later and all is back to normal.

 

To remind us to keep administering the medicine,

this message is posted on our white board:

 

 

*************************

A trip to the park was in order when our shopping was done and

it was not yet time for the older kids to get out of chemistry class.

 

 

Tiana said that this was like swinging in the dentist's chair.





 

********************

We hit up the pumpkin patch a little late in the season.

The corn field had been cut and the pumpkin pickings were few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

********************

If you buy nuts from our youth group here's some of the work that

goes into processing the walnuts.

Everyone in our church pitches in and helps shell a few hundred

pounds of donated walnuts each year.

The youth use the proceeds to pay for travel to Retreat and Bible School.

 

 

 

18 lbs of walnut meats.

 

********************************





Quote of the week:
Do you think a house can really be haunted?
No.  The haunting come from within the person.

 

 

Treasures from the Sea

 

Showcasing the work of this handsome photographer.

He was not inclined to provide much commentary so this is mostly a photo post.

 

 The main reason for taking a day trip to the ocean was for the boys
to make many observations for their Marine Biology reports.
One thing about college classes, they can require you to take you own field trips.
Instead of taking notes, Nathan chose to make a photo documentary
of what he saw.  I am sharing a very small portion of his photos.

Our main stops of the morning were the rocky areas along the coast.

 

Kelp with a brown holdfast.

It's kind of like the root system that holds the kelp onto the sea floor.

 

 

 

 

 

Anemones

 

 

 

 

 

 

A crab hiding in a crack, most likely trying to avoid becoming lunch.

 

This crab did not hide well enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This seal was resting quite a ways from shore.

 

 

He eventually got tired of his rock being inundated and

 slipped into the ocean and swam away.

 

 Nathan has the eye of an artist and does very well taking

close-up shots of small objects.

He likes to get down on the ground and to get close to his subjects.

 

 *******************************

 



Quote of the week: I have such an angel face that I can't even grow facial hair.