Flowers and such...

I'm trying to pick back up on my walk/jogging, so the other morning I was out. I was so rewarded by the cheerful good morning of these Black-eyed Susan's. Usually that area of the woods is mowed by Papa in anticipation of a large amount of snowfall, so it doesn't give time for the later summer flowers. (I did let him know so he won't mow yet this year. :-) They are so perky.

Here's Darling "helping" with the laundry. She loves that perch. She likes to play with the dryer sheets or whatever else is up there from someone's pockets.

There other day we walked up the hill to Gpa & Gma's and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. This is posted for Gma's sister in Texas.

Darling and Gma share a favorite passion - looking for and collecting rocks. Gma lets Darling put rocks along her flower garden ledge.

Dunk has Gma playing ping pong (great brain exercise!) with her grandkids along the front of the house.

(The pink board is for covering the table when not in use, so the dew doesn't wreck it.)

The moon has been beautiful and full!! This is from up the hill, looking down.

I've been busy getting ready for school, as well as helping and watching a close friend get ready to leave for China. It is heart-rending to watch her go, but inspiring to watch her family go through this time and see God's grace in their lives. We take them to the airport about 4 or so on Wednesday morning. If you think of them, please pray for them as they make the journey and the transitions. Tonight will be our last meal together for quite awhile. Our family is praying about making the journey to visit them in 2010. That would need quite a bit of prayer as well. :-) We'll see what the Lord has is store......

Book Review - Children's Extravaganza!

We had cozy fun reviewing the following delightful books:
God Gave Us Heaven

Summary: Little Cub awakens one morning with some important questions on her mind: What is heaven like? How do we get there? Will we eat in heaven? Will we be angels?

During a delightful day spent wandering their arctic world, Papa gently answers each question, assuring Little Cub that heaven is a wonderful place, “a million times better” than she can imagine. He explains how God has made a way for those who love him to enter their heavenly home forever after their lives on earth are over.

Reuniting the best-selling author-illustrator team from God Gave Us You, this gentle story provides satisfying answers for a young child’s most difficult questions about heaven. Parents, grandparents, childcare professionals, librarians, Sunday school teachers, and others will appreciate the gentle approach to a topic that’s on the minds of so many “little cubs.”
Through captivating, full-color illustrations and tender, biblically sound storytelling, young readers and those who love them will find reasons to rejoice in knowing that God Gave Us Heaven.

Author Bio: Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than one million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Heaven is Lisa’s fourth children’s book, following in the tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She makes her home in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

God Love Me More Than That

Illistrator Bio: Laura J. Bryant studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She has illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books, including God Gave Us You, Smudge Bunny, and If You Were My Baby. Laura lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
Summary: In two new books from best-selling children’s author Dandi Daley Mackall, clever rhymes and delightful illustrations help young children, ages three and up, understand God’s huge love for them and his joy in creating them. These enchanting picture books from the writer-illustrator team of Dandi Mackall and David Hohn will instill awe in young children as they revel in each page. Parents alike will appreciate the engaging stories that communicate God’s perfect plan and his divine purpose for little hearts.

In God Loves Me More Than That, children learn that God loves them deeper than a wishing well, wider than a semi-truck, louder than thunder, and softer than a kitten’s sneeze. Each question, presented with charming child-like faith will help young ones grasp the great love of God through comparisons and descriptions they can easily understand. In short, they’ll discover that His love is bigger, wider, higher, and deeper than anything they could imagine!

When God Created My Toes

In this book, kids are drawn into the wonder of their creation by God. Their masterful artist who fashioned them just right for amazing and delightful adventures, such as roller skating, finger-painting, doing flips, and drinking cocoa. Children will come to an understanding that God shaped each part of their amazing bodies with joy, delight, and humor.

Author Bio: Dandi Daley Mackall has published more than 400 books for children and adults, with more than 3 million combined copies sold. She is the author of WaterBrook’s two other delightful Dandilion Rhymes books, A Gaggle of Geese & A Clutter of Cats and The Blanket Show. A popular keynote speaker at conferences and Young Author events, Mackall lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, and a menagerie of horses, dogs, and cats.

Illistrator Bio: David Hohn is an award-winning illustrator who graduated with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has worked as both a staff artist and an art director for a children’s software company in Portland, Oregon, a position which led to his art directing an award-winning project for Fisher-Price. Hohn’s recent projects include Lisa Tawn Bergren’s God Gave Us Christmas.

Have some little ones or grandchildren you'd like to bless with these books? Post a comment by August 26th. Thanks!

Firearms Refresher Course

'Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.'~ Thomas Jefferson
FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE (going around on e-mail)
1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more.
24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

The Weekend

We had a great weekend!
Friday night I went to the our local fair to help out at a booth for a friend. She's my midwife when we have kids, and her 13 yr. old daughter, a former ballet student of mine, passed away last Sept. Since then she and her husband have been working hard to fulfill Hannah's dream to help the children in other countries through World Vision. They have raised enough money for a well in Africa - $18K. This September they are planning a bike-a-thon to help raise money for a second well. Feel free to visit them at http://www.hannahshundreds.org/
The picture at the top of the page is of Hannah. One evening she and her mom were enjoying the sunset at their home. After taking pictures and marveling at what God had designed, Hannah exclaimed "He's Magnificent!" while her mom snapped a picture. It's incredible.

Saturday we went to my folks cabin for a family reunion. Dot stated, "It's the best reunion I've ever been to!" She had a good time. :-) Drum got up on skis for the the first time, and Dime did a 360 on the knee board. Both were ecstatic!! They can hardly wait to go back and do it again.
It was fun to visit with my Aunt who was back from the war, where she was serving as a soldier. She has 3 kids who were so happy and relaxed this year to have their mom with them.
My other Aunt showed several of us how to make my Grandma's kuchen. It's loaded with cream, and includes eggs, flour, sugar, and cinnamon. I haven't had it since my Grandma passed away, and it was one of my favorite treats. What fun to now know how to make it! My kids wondered what the big deal was about kuchen. I mean, it's good, but... Memories, my child, memories.
After watching the stars at the end of the dock, and enjoying some games around the campfire; we finally headed home at 12:30 am!! :-)

Sunday we slept in. Our church meets at the fair once a year - a great thing! - but expensive for a family of 9, so we rested our weary bones in bed.
Plus, we got together with Jerry's sister and husband for lunch to celebrate Papa W's 78th birthday!! I can't believe he's 78 with the energy he has. I think he'll easily make it over 100. I'm praying they do. We need them!!
In the afternoon, the kids played croquet with everyone.
At 4:30 Dunk left for the week; at 5:45, Dot and I left for her mission's trip reunion. We had a great time listening to everyone's memories of the trip. They'll be sharing in church on the 24th.
When we got home, Dot left with her Aunt and Uncle to spend the night and go to the science museum today. She was looking so forward to spending some time with them.

PS. Joy's been starting her updating from the trip at www.xanga.com/joy4kitties It says "don't read this yet" because she's still adding stuff. She's started with getting some poems on there. Tuesday or Wednesday should see a fuller report. :-)

Today was the first morning this week that I did not have something going that I needed to get up quickly and ready for. Yeah!! It is relaxing. I really should be out walk/jogging, but I just had to check blogs first.
Dot got her pictures back from her trip. She's working on a picture board for church to show what she did on her mission's trip. It is so fun to see what she's been talking about.
Our biggest news is that Dunk is now working out of state again. I'm not a crying person at all, but it was horrible to find out Monday morning last week, that he needed to travel again. He had only been working "in town" for two weeks. When I picked up Dot from her trip, she was bummed to find out she couldn't hug Dad until Saturday night. The good news is that the job has overtime. We are praising the Lord for cell phones. I can't imagine what it was like when husbands had to work out of town, and could rarely call home. It really helps the kids to be able to at least call. This job may last until mid September.
Gotta run.

Finally, "Some" Pictures.

Last time I blogged, I couldn't upload any pictures. Don't know why. So, here they are in random order.
Dessert and Cousin TT (Twinkle Toes) give Darling a ride. (PS. The water is only a foot deep)

Fun tubing: Duke, Dessert, & Cousin E

Uncle Johnny brought up his kayaks!! Fun.

Dot & Darling:

Catch of the Day!

Watching Uncle J clean fish. One of his many talents. :-) (He wore alot of hats that week. Dad to his kids, Uncle to mine, Teacher for the drawing class, etc.)

These are pictures from Dime's Encampment graduation.

He's the short one in this picture. At least one of the tall guys in this picture is only a little over a year older than him. I'm starting to wonder if all the tall people moved hear to be near Paul Bunyan.

I have about 100 of these pictures. That's what I get for leaving my camera on the picnic table. :-)

She was having a blast with big brother Drum.

Cousins are so fun!! Yep, that's my kid with the socks on, no shoes, by the campfire. And I wonder how his socks get so black on the bottom?

Dot's July 4th dessert:

My favorite spot at the cabin. On the lake during the sunset:

I have about 30 of these adorable pictures of Darling in her swim suit. :-) She had a great time with her cousin playing in the water.

The annual 4th of July boat parade. The kids one 1st place this year!! (only two speed boat entries) They looked great!! The 3 older boy cousins are in the front of the boat, dressed in army and air force uniforms. Dot is in the back wearing the sailor hat. The rest are waving flags.

Watching the parade from the dock:

Dunk's friend he stayed with in SD. He enjoyed his trip for the 4th.

The ever-changing face of the lake.

Happy Birthday Dime!!

He had a great party with friends.

Three Teenagers!!

Three teenagers!! Since son # 2 turned 13, we are now the parents of three teenagers. :-) I'm loving it so far. Sure, we spat back and forth, but they are great kids, and I really enjoy hanging out with them, and watching them with their friends. Dime had a great birthday party last night and got to have one of the boys spend the night with him in his fort. He has it all hooked up so they could watch a movie out there. After I take the friend back to St. Cloud, we head up to the Lake. We'll come home tomorrow, so it isn't a long trip.

Friday night we were in a parade for my Mom. I think it is one of the longest parades I've been in! and fastest as well!! I kept thinking we were almost done, and it kept going. Dot, Dime, Deer, and Duke rode unicycles. Dessert handed out stickers with me. Dunk & Drum were busy with stickers. Darling was just cute in her stroller. :-) The kids had a blast afterwards with their cousins, and grandparents at the fair! Dot, Darling, and I went for a snack and then to get some items she still needed for her trip. The others were pumped up and chatty when I picked them up at 10. They boys got these little frisbees that fold up and spring out. They are great!! Dime rode the tornado! :-) Fun memories!!

Sunday we went to Dot's commissioning service at her youth group's church. There are about 20 on the trip! Great group. Then we headed over to my Dad's Mom's family reunion. We had a great time eating and playing. Later, I took Dot home to finish packing while the rest played. Then we went back, picked them up, took Dot's luggage to be loaded at 8pm, went to Wal-Mart for one more thing she forgot, and finally got HOME!! :-) Dunk took her for her ride at 4:15 am Monday. By 9 LA time she was in CA!! We haven't heard from her, but no news is good news at this point. We've been praying for her a ton. It has been weird to have her gone. A Mom likes her chicks in her nest. :-) I'm so proud of her commitment though. She definitely is going beyond her comfort zone. :-)

I've recently read the series "MisMatch", "ReMatch", and "Matchpoint" by Erynn Mangum. They are hilarious!!!! and excellent! Dot borrowed them from a friend, and Dot, Deer, and I laughed and laughed our way through these books. If you love coffee, chocolate, and chick fliks; you'd love these books! I Don't drink coffee, like chocolate in only certain forms (fudgy chocolate cake, blue symphony bars, German-chocolate cake my Mom makes, you get the idea), but I still LOVED reading her matchless funniness! Wish I owned a set to read again, and loan out. :-)

Book Review: Love as a Way of Life

I'm finally getting on here to blog, in the middle of the night! A girl's got to get a chance to blog sometime. :-) I'm going to start with a book review!
"Love as a Way of Life" by Gary Chapman was a wonderful encouraging read. It shares uplifting, heart-encouraging stories and practical ideas to develop the 7 characteristics of a life of love. This book focuses on how to give love, not just get it. The seven characteristics are kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty. Each characteristic is developed with examples and explanations. I really enjoyed the definition of patience - allowing someone to be imperfect.
I believe this is so important as it sets us aside as Christians, that we show love to one another. Our local Christian radio has days set apart for a "Drive Thru Difference." They encourage their whole audience to participate in showing acts of kindness throughout the day. It shows the power of Christ's love in our lives. "Won by Love," about Norma McCorvey the Jane Roe in Roe V. Wade, is an awesome book that shows the power of just sharing Christ's love with others, including our "enemies." The movie "Evan Almighty" shares a great idea for remembering to share Christ's love for others in doing an "Act of Random Kindness" - ARK. I've considered pasting up the word ARK around our house as a reminder. No matter who starts it, showing kindness breeds more kindness.
As part of the book's summary states, "Convinced that in a world of constant conflict people desperately need authentic love, Chapman paints a compelling vision of how life can be richer and relationships more satisfying for anyone who practices Love As a Way of Life."
The book is way richer than my summary. You have four options:
1. Purchase the book at http://www.amazon.com/Love-Way-Life-Transforming-Aspect/dp/0385518587/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215792028&sr=1-1
2. Purchase the book at your local bookstore.
3. Borrow my copy of the book.
4. Comment here for your chance to own this fantastic, encouraging book!

I really should post about what we've been up to lately. Anna had a fantastic week at my folk's cabin learning with her friend from my brother about drawing. We enjoyed being with my niece and two nephews. The kids had a great week, and I really enjoyed the time to visit with my brothers. I'd do that again every summer. :-)

Dime survived Encampment!! It was a great, working, learning experience for him and he was so grateful to pass. Drum made it through Wednesday and then realized he needed to try again next summer. It has been one of those learning experiences he will value in the years ahead. We are pleased with his attitude towards those who finished, even when he did not. Great work guys!!

Last week we hosted a Gameathon for 13 guys on Tuesday to Wednesday and 24 girls on Thursday to Friday!! The kids worked so hard getting ready, and then played hard and had a blast! Believe it or not, I have not one picture of our second annual event. I was too busy keeping up with kids, the meals, and keeping picked up. I really enjoy watching the kids enjoy themselves. My favorite is helping with the timing for the obstacle course. It is 2-3 minutes of grueling labor. :-) :-) No problems with extra energy kids after that!! :-)

Our great news lately is that Dunk got a job around home. Well, I should modify that. He was driving 5 hours to a different state and staying there and then driving 5 min to work each day. Now he spends his nights at home, but is driving 2 hours one way to work. It is definitely an improvement to see him at night, but still draining for him. This job will last two weeks, and I'm praying hard his next job is closer to home (and of course would last all year or more). Doesn't hurt to dream big and pray hard!! :-)

Sunday we celebrated Grandma W's birthday with 76 trombones!! Well, skipping the trombones I guess. :-) It was great to see Aunt S.

This week Dot is getting ready for her big mission's trip, and the rest of us are catching up on this and that around the house. Papa W put in three lights in the dining room, which look fantastic!!! Dot got her eye's checked and found out they are improving!! That's a switch. She loves her new contacts because she can see so much better with the proper prescription. No wonder they were bugging her.

I really better hit the hay. I'm going to try to post this after the book review post, so we will see what happens to the date, etc.

Monday Mupdate - well, it rhymes :-)

Yesterday, Dot and her mission's group did a car wash and earned over $600 for the house they will be building in Mexico. They had a great time, and even had a motorcycle show up. :-)
Darling said, "Love you," to Dad for the first time. So sweet!!
Dime and Drum are still hanging in there at Encampment. I am looking so forward to seeing them again, and hearing how their time went. Please pray for them if the Lord brings them to mind. Encampment is like a boot camp that lasts 9 days vs. 6-12 weeks. It is very hard, and a challenge for the teens there. They have them up and out doing PT by 6 am. They have classes with tests, PT, and inspections throughout the day. We cannot talk with them, but can e-mail, which they get every night.
This week Deer has art lessons with my brother up north. It will be fun to see the cousins.
Yesterday, we got the dryer working again. Saturday morning the lint fell down the shute when Dunk went to empty it. Papa W and I took the dryer apart and got the lint out, made sure it was working again, and then closed it up. It did work, but there was now no heat. I couldn' t figure it out then, Papa was working on the broken lawn mower, so waited til Sunday. On Sunday I took the back off the dryer again, and had Dunk look at it. After checking fuses he mentions - Is the gas on? Oh brother!! I remembered Papa and I turning it off while we worked, in case we kinked the gas tubing. It works great now!! :-) I had alot of laundry to catch up!
Dunk and Dot had a fantastic Saturday at the Rebelution conference. I'm still waiting for a full report on Dot's blog. :-)

Quiet Morning Update

The boys are off to Encampment, Dot & Dunk are off to their Rebelution conference, so the youngest 4 and I are home for the day. Well, Deer & I might run to town for art supplies for next week's art lesson with Uncle J. Everyone is sleeping in late as Dunk got home at 10:45 last night, and of course they all wanted to visit and hear stories. I really enjoy quiet mornings.

Yesterday we had quite a day with getting the boys off. We ended up spending 1 1/2 hours waiting in the parking lot to meet the van (understandable reasons, but still had to wait). Then 10 mins of frantic sewing on the cap tapes that just arrived, so they have them on for encampment. Two ladies graciously agreed to help me sew on the 3 patches I needed to do. One pierced her finger deep 2 times!! Ouch!! I felt so bad for her, being it wasn't even her own kid she was giving blood for. Thanks, Julie & Lynn, for your help!! I finally got smart and said my last words and good-byes to the boys before we got to the parking lot. Only thing I forgot was their hug at home, so didn't need to do it in a parking lot full of peers. They still remembered and came for a quick one behind the car before they left. I love those boys!!

Last night we went to Elliot's graduation party. It was such a great party!! I loved the "know Elliot" game. Good food, fun times, fun friends.

Gotta go do something else with my quiet morning. :-)

Ramblings

I have no good reason for not posting lately. Unless one wants to count: tired, carpal tunnel like symptoms in my right arm, laundry, movies, can't eat bars and type at the same time. lol :-) Darling doesn't like me to sit and type. She prefers I hold her, or take her outside. The mosquitoes have been crazy around here. In the evening, she doesn't move fast enough to be outside.

Our days lately have been filled with orthodontist appts., friends over, looking for missing books, baking bars, eating bars, watching movies, playing with the slip-and-slide, playing with the hose on the tramp, mowing the lawn, etc. I've done the driving, laundry, movies, baking, and eating bars. No wonder I'm not as skinny as my kids. I got my thyroid levels checked yesterday, and Dot got her pre-trip immunizations. I'm always hoping thyroid is the reason I'm tired. Not because I read a book late, didn't get enough exercise, or a dog or cat woke me up early. 6:15 our dog woke me up today!!!! Good Grief!! I'm on summer schedule!

Occasionally I go through a spurt where we just want to watch a "few" movies. We hadn't seen any for so long. We went to the video store and I found out they had a limit on how many we could check out! :-) I had nine in my pile. They would only let me check out seven. :-) So we've been watching them this week.

It seems like I should have plenty of time to get whatever I needed done, but somehow the time keeps flying by with little stuff. Drum and Dime leave on Friday for Encampment, so we've been getting the details ready for their trip. They have to have 6 plain black shirts, 5 white v-neck t-shirts, 6 black boot socks, 4 black dress socks, etc. That is all doubled as I have 2 boys going! I have 10 patches to sew on. 10!!! That's a lot of pokes in my fingers. You'd think I'd have all those patches sewn on watching movies, but that would be because you haven't watched a movie with a 1 1/2 year old in a while. Sometimes I think I watched the movie in constant motion myself keeping Darling from making noise.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We're back... Yep, we had a great "vacation" and did all our field trips for the year. :-) I was very impressed with Sioux Falls. (I now know how to properly spell it without checking.) We enjoyed the weather, most importantly the lack of bugs! We could walk outside at dusk without swinging our arms like windmills in a windgust. (We are having a bupper crop of mosquitoes this year.) Dot did a great job outlining our vacation at www.xanga/joy4kitties.

I really couldn't believe all the beautiful parks. We stopped at one huge swimming park to find out how much it cost to swim. The lady told me they had a broken line so were out of business for the day, but there were 3 other swim parks in town I could go to!! This is besides the many other regular parks. I say regular but they were beautiful!!! Nice playground sets and beautiful trees and lawns. They have a bike trail we rollerbladed on, that goes in a huge loop around the city, 26 miles!! I wanted to conquer the trail, but not enough time. lol We'd have to work up to that, and get Duke and Dessert a bike there.

Our favorite park was the Japanese gardens. What a beautiful and relaxing spot. Perfect for pictures. My camera was full and we wanted to relax, not just photo shoot - but wow! Need to go back for more pictures someday. My favorite shot turned out blurry - huge bummer. Need, need to go retake this one.

Our favorite bakery was Daylight Donuts. I'm so glad they are not located close to our home. Our favorite eating out was Olive Garden - ahhh, culinary culture with elegant service. (a plus was Darling slept through the meal :-)

Here are a few pictures from the science museum:

Battleship Memorial:

This is Darling surrounded by one of her favorite things - Rocks! This is while waiting for the boys at the CAP class they visited.

The sculpture walk:

The Zoo:
Included in the picture is the Gentleman we stayed with in his basement, and his grand-daughter.

Fishing on Saturday:

It is great to be home, but we still feel like we are catching up. We are all having an aversion to being in the car. Question: "Want to go.....?" Reply: "No."

With Endless Sight - A Book Review

Summary:
Born into a life of privilege in 1861, fourteen-year-old Belinda never questions her security, even as she leaves Illinois with her family to discover new adventures in the Oregon Territory. But when disaster falls, Belinda is left wounded, weak, and alone. Her faith in God gives her the only strength she knows in a harsh new world. Belinda’s journey takes her to a snow-covered mining camp and a red-roofed brothel in the Wyoming mountains, but not before she must spend a lonely winter with the man who took away the life she knew. Throughout the grief and hope of a strange land, Belinda must decide if her faith is big enough to allow her to forgive.The satisfying conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series, With Endless Sight offers a rich story of family, new beginnings, and the freedom that grace can bring.

You may purchase the book at Amazon.com: With Endless Sight
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601420129

Or Comment by June 14, to win your copy of this book.