Pumpkin Carving Extrordinaire

J and I went out to B's to carve pumpkins with her family and with the 2 Korean boys that she tutors in English. It was their first time to ever experience the American tradition of carving pumkins. I also picked up another youngster who is Chandler's age, and we stopped at the grocery store for goodies to share and pumpkins to carve. Actually, I was supposed to stop at a farmer's place on the way out there, but when the little guy caught sight of this very LARGE pumpkin, he just had to have it. And since his dad had given me $3 and it cost - you guessed it -$3 - I gladly took the opportunity to save myself a stop at the farmer's house. I just got one for Jess at the same time. The only problem was that my little charge couldn't CARRY his pumkin, so I had to carry TWO!

THE GIANT PUMPKIN!


















THE GANG CARVES PUMPKINS!

It was pretty funny watching them all get really grossed out by the pumpkin guts. They found out that it was a lot of work to clean those huge pumpkins out. And carving through the thick skins was more than a little difficult. They perservered, however.



Here is Harry pulling off the top to the sounds of "ooewe!!"











J & E were downstairs stenciling on theirs to make spiders and turkeys. Theirs turned out pretty neat.

DOORS

Doors are fascinating to me these days. Here is one off the internet - from France.... The next one is from Bay City. They seem to indicate portals which can take you wherever you want to go - seems that there must be something very interesting on the other side.

Jesus said in Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

And also, in Matthew 7: 13-14 -
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. "



Jesus had a lot to say about doors. Probably the most important thing he said with regard to doors is found in John 10:9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

As for me, I guess I am searching for which door I should choose. Not about my faith - that is firm and solid. However... while much of my life is pretty satisfying, there still seems to be a void - so... for today, the subject is DOORS.

THANKSGIVING 06

We had 13 in for Thanksgiving dinner, which included my mother-in-law and father-in-law, which is truly a blessing, since this time last year, we weren't sure how my mil would be doing, as her health has been in decline. We were very thankful to have her with us this year.






DOUG AND MAGGIE
AFTER DINNER CONVERSATION.......
Just what is it that makes jello not gel when it has fresh pineapple in it?? Let's check out the biology text....


Also, my son was home. This was a true blessing to me as well. I never get as much time with him as I would like, and it is always a joy to have him here.














RYAN WATCHING TV AFTER DINNER

He will be a Senior at school this next semester, and he will be out in the world before we know it. BTW, here is a link to the latest article about him at school.

MEET THE MUSICIAN:
http://www.hillsdale.edu/collegian06/default.asp?issue=110906§=arts&item=meet_the

Also, Ron's sister was here with her boyfriend and her two sons. We also hosted my friend and neighbor and her daughter. We had lots and lots of pies. It seems everyone this year wanted to make pies. We had 2 apple, 3 pumpkin, AND a pan of brownies - WOW!










JAN AND CRAIG










RON AND KIDS WALK OUT AT CITY FOREST















BOYS PLAYING FOOTBALL














And then there were the animals. Jan's dog, our dog, our cat and our 2 guinea pigs made for exciting times. I think all survived unscathed (although haven't checked the pigs cages lately : ).



RON, PHILIP AND FEZZIK



















JESS ON TOBOGGAN RUN AT CITY FOREST

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, because it is truly a time to be with family and friends and appreciate all the blessings we have from our Heavenly Father. Even though we struggle often, there is always something to give thanks about. To have a healthy and safe holiday, with so many of us here to enjoy it, good food, good friends, family and a warm, comfortable home in which to enjoy it. Richness beyond what most in the world are able to have.

I am so thankful for our freedom to celebrate in peace here in this country and for the troops who are serving over seas. We just recently heard about a school (which we had supported being rebuilt about 2 years ago) had just been bombed by the Taliban in Afghanistan and most of the children and both teachers were killed. Just senseless! True proof that evil is rampant in our world and, as the Bible says, "Satan is prowling around seeking those whom he may devour." Our heart aches for the families of those innocent ones. I pray comfort for them during this difficult time.

PHOTOS BY KATY and ME!

Kate's Trio Qualifies for Nationals!

Katy's trio swam at the North Zone Regional Synchro competition in Chicago and they placed 3rd! So that means they qualified for nationals held in Seattle, Washington. Wow! That is awesome.

Mexico Mission Trip

We were able to go to Reynosa, Mexico, along with another family to help out in a children's home over Spring Break. It is the same place that Katy and Ryan had been (Ryan - 3 times) and so we felt it was a great opportunity for a family mission trip. We had never really been on a mission trip together, although Ryan couldn't go, since he was still away at school. I spent a lot of time fretting over what it would be like, since we didn't really have a good idea of what we would be doing. The men knew that they would be framing and drywalling, but we weren't sure what we ladies would be doing. I was also concerned that it would be too hot for me, since I have been having major hot flashes over the past few months (ain't 50 grand!) and that I wouldn't be able to hold up to hard work. Well, in the end, the Lord was gracious, providing wonderful weather and upholding me throughout the week. It was truly a great and rewarding experience. I am so glad that we were able to go.

FOUR

A list - A list - a good idea.

4 Jobs You Have Had

1. Homeschooling Mom - Current
2. Senior Research Chemist - The Dow Chemical Co.
3. Sales/Service Clerk for Sears - worked my way through school
4. Accounting Clerk - Texas Dept. of Health

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over

1. Pride and Prejudice - yes, the 5 hour version
2. Star Wars - the original
3. Finding Neverland
4. Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree - if you have to watch one over and over, this is it!

4 Places You Have Lived

1. McComb, MS
2. Austin, TX
3. Baton Rouge, LA
4. Newark, OH

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch

1. The Carol Duvall Show
2. DIY Scrapbooking
3. Decorating Cents
4. Andy of Maybury

4 Places You Have Been on Vacation

1. Hawaii
2. The Smoky Mountains
3. Destin, Florida
4. Cheboygan, MI

4 Websites You Visit Daily

1. None, really. Ideally, my email. But if I did --
2. Two Peas
3. My son's blog
4. My daughter's blog.

4 of Your Favorite Foods

1. Lobster (New England, only - and fresh!)
2. Stir Fry - my husband's recipe
3. Spaghetti - my son's specialty
4. Chinese - any kind - especially my Chinese teacher, Pat's

4 Places You'd Rather Be Right Now

1. In my dining room, scrapping or making altered art!
2. Visiting my Aunt Mary in Mississippi
3. At Barnes and Noble having coffee with a friend.
4. In Shanghai visiting my friend, Patty.

4 Bloggers You Are Tagging

None - no one reads my blog!

Christmas 2005

Christmas Morning and my three chicks are home safely in my nest. I don't think I will ever feel totally at ease when they are scattered about the world doing their own things. Even though I know intellectually that it is time for them to start spreading their wings and flying, I still feel most comfortable inside when they are under my roof.

Ryan is home for a few weeks from Hillsdale College where he is majoring in English. He has always had a passion for words - being a very verbal child right from the start. His real and most driving passion is his music. He has become quite an accomplished guitar player and song writer. I am constantly amazed at how good he sounds and how good the songs are that he writes. So he will be knocking around here until mid-January.

Kate is taking a break from gymnastics since she hurt her shoulder. She is wrestling with whether she wants to quit altogether at this point. She doesn't have that many more months left, and it seems like this might be a good time to just move on. I am not opposed to it, since I only have her home for one more year. She will be a senior next year. And she still has syncro.

Jess is just busy being 11 - preteen through and through. She thrives on her friendships, pets and activities - both gymnastics, synchronized swimming and piano.

We had a very nice Christmas this year. We started off with the proverbial "bang" with a visit from our friends from Shanghai. They moved away last Christmas and we got to spend a couple of fast and furious days with them here. We had a little welcome home gathering here that was a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed being together and catching up. It was hard for me to grasp that they would be leaving again so soon. Patty and I got to go to coffee at our old haunt, Barnes and Noble, and talk about just "stuff". It was like they had never left. I really look forward to them returning in 2 more years!

Next, we had our Christmas here and we got up around 8 a.m. and opened gifts for a while. Then we all loaded up and went to church. In some ways I was sort of dreading having to go out and interrupt our family time, but in the end, it was really great. It was very worshipful being in church and seemed actually more like a real Christmas. Billy preached a great sermon on 9 non-returnable gifts using CRISTMAS as an acrostic. Then Ben showed a slide presentation of the orphans in Mexico opening the gifts that we sent them. That was really touching to see. Just singing the old carols and being with close friends worshipping was really uplifting.

Later on, after church, all of us pitched in together for a cooperative effort to make Christmas dinner. Ron had already spent much of Saturday cooking pumpkin pies, Christmas fruit cookies, Sweet Potato Pudding and Congealed Salad, as is becoming his tradition. So on Christmas Day all we needed to do was to cook the turkey, stuffing, beans, mashed potatoes and rolls. I acutally successfully stuffed my first turkey. It turned out quite delicious, which was a relief, since the one I cooked at Thanksgiving was less than desirable. All these years, either my mom and dad or Ron's mom had made the turkey. So I wasn't sure how it would turn out. But I was determined to try to succeed, since we all love turkey. In the end, all turned out great. It was one of our better Christmas dinners.

Ron's parents came over for the evening, and we all had a really nice time. Ron's p's gave him a really nice GPS system to use on the boat, although it is a hand held and can be used for other things as well. I think they really enjoyed the dinner, too.

Key gifts this year were: Ryan's banjo, Katy's coat and ski pants, Jess' Harry Potter movies, Ron's snow shovel (LOL) and my Altered Journal Book. There were lots of other great things, but we will limit the list to the above for now. The best gift of all was just being together as a family and celebrating the birth of Christ and our salvation in Him.