WORDLESS WEDNESDAY(NOT SO WORDLESS)

ABOVE: GRANDMOM (BANGI) MADE EARS WITH KATIE

BELOW: ANA LICKING THE VERY COLD WINDOW (YUCK!)

IF YOU GO DOWN A FEW POSTS, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF OUR CHRISTMAS.

Katie's beautiful flowers and The Nativity

While we watched "The Nativity" tonight, Katie decided to do some crafting. All by herself she designed these 2 flowers with pots. The one on the right is completely taped. I think she did a great job with her design...especially since she is only 5 years old.

The Nativity is a very good movie. It shows the time of Mary when she finds out she will have God's son. It also shows how Joseph reacts and others react. We never really think of what they went through and this was an eye opener. Mary must have gone through a terrible time with people shunning her and Joseph with trust and also fear. I'm sure he wanted to protect Mary and the baby Jesus not realizing that God was totally in control. There was no need to worry. God had a plan and no one would be able to stop it. We also do not realize how far they had to travel to Bethlehem. I didn't know it was about 100 miles. Can you imagine "us" trying to travel that far on foot and on a donkey. I don't think so. It was rocky, sandy, dirty, and dangerous.
When Jesus was born I try to think about how they felt. Joseph, his hands holding God's son. Mary giving birth to God's son..her saviour...Wow! the awesome power of all this. Joseph thinking how he would help this child to grow. Did he have to teach him anything? He being his earthly father and not wanting to do anything wrong.
I saw a painting in the bookstore today of a carpenter looking down at his little son who was trying to pick up a nail. This son already knowing that nails would be pierce his hands some day. My saviour Jesus Christ.

Christmas Memories (Pictures)

The gingerbread house above was given to us...it was eaten within 2 days!

I made all the above gingerbread girls and boys and added all the names to $1.00 stockings

Above is my love, Ed.

Above..Ben gave me very soft, big duck down boot comforters.

My feet will never be cold again.

Christmas Breakfast

Ed, not to happy getting his picture in the morning. Ha!

More Christmas breakfast

Ben and Eddie playing Playstation 2 on our new tv.
Ed's Aunt bought this for us!

Eddie, Becca, and my mom (Above)

Above...Jon with new bb guns and my dad in the background

Above is Tom with one of his new Star Wars toys

Above is Katie with a new God's Girlz doll

Ana and her new horse...she has found a love for horses.

Ben and his new "everything" cell phone

Above is Becca and myself (very tired)

If you made it to the end of the pictures I pray you had a wonderful Christmas and soon a Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

LUKE 2:7
And she brought forth her firstborn son,

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,

and laid him in a manger;

because there was no room for them in the inn.

*Luke 2:10-11*

...Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

*Luke 2:14*

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN.

Pictures of the past month

UPDATE Urgent Prayer Request

Alyssa is so far ok. She did not have another surgery. We went to church this afternoon and Pastor said that they are trying to regulate her seizures with medicine. The tumor was on the part of the brain that controls speech, movement, etc. I believe she has a long way to go. She is to have absolutely no visitors. Please pray that she recovers with no problems and that she continues to have faith in the Lord. (same for her family). Thank you so much for your prayers!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

Alyssa (21 yr.old christian from church), had a tumor removed from her brain on Monday. We got word this morning that she had 6 seizures and swelling of the brain. They were to operate and we have not heard anything since. Please prayer for her!

Broken Finger

I thought we were going to have a nice homeschooling day. Tom's been doing his Black Death lapbook, and Katie's been coloring her ornaments. And Becca, she reads all day. She always has a book on her lap. Ana doesn't seem to want to color so she's been playing and watching a "little" tv. We only get about 4 channels and one is P B S ... (adding an 'eye's rolling' smilie face here). BUT......
Ben came home from his basketball game and showed me his pinky. I think it is broken. :(
Now I have to get him an x-ray without going to the emergency room. The orthoped. will not take him until he gets one...even though we've visited them many, many times.

Ed, myself, and Jon have a dinner to attend to tonight. It is at church for everyone who works there. Ed and Jon have been doing some janitorial work. I'm sure we will have a good time.

Enjoy your day!
Margarete

UPDATE: The finger is not broken! :0)

Always in the Car and Birthday

Today I had to go out again. I had to return my original printer through FedEx. I finally had received a replacement from Epson that was not broken. The first replacement didn't work at all. Now I have many ink cartridges! That is a blessing. They can get so expensive.


We went to the library again also. The local church has a nice library and the little ones have been enjoying taking out alot of 'The DonutMan' Videos. Honestly, I have never seen one of these videos until recently. I had heard they were nice. They have also been taking out videos about Jesus...at their age level. Katie has been asking alot of questions and Ana mentions him alot. Becca has taken out between 20-30 books and has read just about all of them. Tom has found the 'Left Behind Series' comic books.


I had to get a paper signed for Ben to play sports and forgot that it was at the dr's. office. I needed to get that back to the school today because he's playing basketball tonight.


Finally, We went to McDonalds. Yes, we did. We haven't been there in soooo long. After we got our order, we went over to Burger King to get Katie some french fries. I'm praying she doesn't have a reaction to them. It is nice to have kids that really appreciate going somewhere...it was special for them.


Today is Becca's 15th birthday! Ed and I cannot believe it has gone so fast. Happy Birthday Becca, we love you!

Paper Christmas Ornaments UPDATED w/ Pics.

Today Tom and I started to make the woven hearts for the Christmas tree. I would say that I'm getting old. LOL!! I'm having a hard time seeing and holding the paper. Hmmm, I think it is time I go to the eye doctor. Bifocals might be in order! I'll let you know how we are doing. :0

The above will be filled with candy...I'm going to try and put around 20 on the tree. Give or take a few.

The kids coloring in front of our new coal stove...it can get quite toasty.. ;0)

The picture above and below are ornaments colored and (the one below made) by Katie for the Christmas tree.

FRIDAY

I received this in my e-mail from a friend (The e-mails you are supposed to pass on):

SCARS OF LIFE

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida , a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.
In a hurry to dive into the cool water,

he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks,and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake,an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father.

It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him.

From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.
The alligator was much stronger than the father,

but the father was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal.

And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs.
And then, with obvious pride,he said to the reporter, 'But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go.'

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past.
Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle,
God's been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God.

God wants to protect you and provide for you in every way.
But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations,
not knowing what lies ahead.
The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins- and if you have the scars of God's love on your arms, be very, very grateful. God did not and will not ever let you go. Please pass this on to those you love. God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing to others.
You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through.
Never judge another person's scars,
because you don't know what
they are going through
or how they got those scars.

Also, it is so important that we forward this message to someone else.
Right now, someone needs to know that God loves them,and you love them,too. --enough to not let them go .

This is what I tell my kids. Do not judge the people in stores, while walking outside, etc.. that seem to be having trouble with their children (who seem to be really misbehaving, running around, etc) . We have no idea, whatsoever, what these people are going through. Their child could have Autism, some type of emotional problems, anything. We just do not know. We are better off to ask them if they need help, give them a smile, or mind our own business.

There have been times when I was having difficulties with my children and people just stared. It would have been nice if they would have asked me if I needed help. I most probably would have said YES!

~GRUMPY~

Yesterday and today was enough to make me go to bed for a few days. :)

I'm pretty sure I had posted about my printer dying. Well, I found the receipt (1 year warranty is up on December 15th), called Epson, and they sent me a replacement. Wouldn't you know that it was refurbished and didn't work!! UGH! So I was on the phone for quite awhile last night and I really don't want to tell but... I yelled at the man. Please forgive me. :( He started talking about the credit card and the $139.95 they put on it for collateral (sp??) . I told him I now have 2 broken printers and blah, blah, blah.... I gave the phone over to Ed and he took care of it. Sooo, I had to send back the replacement today. Who wants to bet they will send another refurbished printer? I know, I have to really pray because I know the Lord will take care of it. I'm being so miserable. What's my problem?

Today I had to go grocery shopping. Every store (except 1) that I usually go to, didn't have all the things I usually get. That can be frustrating. My friend ended up buying the choc. chips (dairy/gluten free) for me and brought them over. She was going my way anyway. I'm so thankful for her. I have plans on baking with the kids this coming week and Katie wouldn't have been able to eat choc. chip cookies. That is a big deal for her. :) I am grumpy! (Could it be that I had a regular coffee Not decaffinated?)

I have to remember the verse:
Casting all your care upon Him: for He careth for you. 1 Peter 5:17
And especially this one:
Do all things withou murmurings and disputings. Philippians 2:14

Pictures & Thanksgiving Vacation

Today is a great start for the week. We have off! Ed took Tom up to the mountains to hunt. I say it's to 'grow into a man'. ~smile~ He does need time away from the girls...he's always with them and believe me they are tough. Hopefully they will come home with a nice deer. Ed hasn't been hunting in years and I'm sure he is very excited to be doing this again.

We went to my parents' house for Thanksgiving and it was nice. They just moved and they now have no grass to cut, no trees or bushes to be taken care of and now can relax. I will have to search for some pictures to show you how beautiful their house was. Part of the backyard was like Williamsburg. Absolutely wonderful. Years ago, Ed had built them a large shed and woodshed just like The colonial type. The garden was circular with a white wooden fence and many flowers.

Here are pictures of me, Ed and the kids:

No, Ben and Becca are not twins. They are over 2 years apart. It is amazing at how much they look alike.