I Heard Him Speak...

This morning was a unique opportunity for a one-on-one date with my Lord, and before verse 5 of Romans chapter one, the Lord's message to me was quite different than the one I sought.

It had nothing to do with the words I read up through verse four, rather the words He delivered softly through our broken tete-a-tete on the patio.
My prayer "Show me something Lord..." was answered this way:

A giggling Susanna joined me on the chair beside, animatedly recounting an episode of Tom and Jerry.
Olivia Honor climbed up on my lap and with me watched brilliant flashes of lightning streak down out of the dark sky. I told her that God created the Lightning, did she know that? Then I listed off a long string of the things we saw before us that God had made, and discussed how great He is a making stuff!
Moments later, I had to reenter the house to wipe a bottom.
It was not the "date" I had imagined when it looked like I might have some uninterrupted minutes in the cool of the morning, but He spoke to me.
And this is what He said:

"See? This, Analene, is life.
When I gave you these children, I fully expected you to be busy in the caring for them.

If You are too busy being religious for me, and have not the time to listen intently to them... to laugh at their antics, and discover my glory with them, you have missed what I could show you as I reveal to you the heart of a servant.

Keep coming to me, but be prepared for interruptions, and I will speak to you... even in the midst of that."















I believe Him.
I intend to keep trying for that one-on-one date, but if we are joined by two, three, or however-many others, I will trust Him to speak to me... for I know He will.

He has.

Last Saturday

The Sadder Side

Have you ever seen such a high altitude on ONE EYEBROW?

















This is my Clayton.
This is a expression you will not see on my Clayton very often!
He is complying somewhat reluctantly to my terms, and it is pretty evident on this face.

When I originally took this picture, it was for the purpose of instruction, but now I'm posting it for my friends because this really IS one of THE CUTEST FACES EVER!!

Even his forlorn looks make me smile:-)

He's able to pull out of it fairly quickly most the time - especially when I am laughing myself to tears, which is what I did when I saw THIS one:











What do YOU think?

Week #10

Titled: "PUFFY BEANS?"

I have been industrious.
While Emma has been been holding my computer hostage, I have been diligently sewing away!

"Sewing what?" you ask.

The napkins I already cut out?
No.
The baby quilts I impulsively bought fabric for?
No.
Zachary's quilt that needs quilting yet, or Clayton's quilt that is still in the planning stages?
No.

I have been sewing bloomers.

















Fun, sweet, darling, girlie bloomers which will help preserve a bit of feminine modesty!
I just love little girls in sweet little dresses and skirts, but it just takes the wind out of my sails to see those sweet little girls playing on a playground or sitting on the ground inspecting a hole in their sock exposing themselves to the world's scrutiny.
I prefer overalls to that!

Auntie Hannah mailed me this pattern, and in perfect timing, because I was about to get desperate and modify a pajama pattern.
I was pleased at how easy these were, and how fast they were to sew up (when I remembered to sew right sides together) ;-)

If anyone is interested, I might be able to post a picture of the pattern. I really think that someone like Eldest Daughter could duplicate it and be successful. It is only one piece times two.


















I finished off mine with lace trim, and got creative with my polka dot ones!
I told the girls the trim was called pom-poms, and Susanna said "they're Puffy Beans!"
And here is a picture of the bloomers with Puffy Beans:-)















The girls wore their bloomers to church today, and when we got home they wanted to dress down.
In future, I may make this pattern in a tighter weave fabric so they aren't transparent should the girls want to wear them without a skirt.

One step at a time! (and as long as Emma keeps hogging my computer, I will have plenty of time for steps!)

They really are pretty cute by themselves, aren't they? (the bloomers, not my daughters - that goes without saying!)

A Few for You...

...and More to come

Better Than Words

Darling sweet (wet) (...but clean!) sisters:-)














Wrinkled toes














Biggest brother - big enough now to pick Carolina up and bring her to Momma when she needs some momma-lovin'.

I Am Here!

Yes I am!

Just having too much fun playing with Emma to write, though I have dozens of things to talk about.

Such as: Zachary's plans to build an army of robots to protect us against a Chinese invasion (?)

and Carolina's first tooth (an unhappy last few days)

Our Idaho adventures (looking at property there)

Tucking in the children at bed time (the saga continues)

slumber parties,

park excursions,

Plans to make lip balm,

One week of school left to finish the years requirements (yippee!)


Tonight my beloved arrived home. He'll be here until I drop him off at the airport tomorrow evening (one last week of travel!).
We had a neat family join us for dinner tonight, and had a nice time. They are heading to Missouri to home-stead, and it is just lovely to meet people with a vision similar to our own!
Here is some of our two crews (minus two) eating dinner on the patio.













I am just plain lazy. There's no nicer word for it! I like to send the children out to the patio to eat when the weather is nice, so I don't have to clean so much after -especially when th meal includes rice. You know how sticky that stuff is! Most of us have probably experienced getting a piece of fallen rice stuck between our toes.
Speaking for myself, I don't appreciate that sensation!!

Anyhow, AJ is talking shop with his brother right now, but I'm about to hog him back:-)
Hopefully I'll get back to my faithful friends here soon!

Love,
Me

Week # 9

Being a good keeper of the home means looking well to the ways of your family's health.

Here is one of our natural remedies that pulled through once again, and recently saved my bacon:

GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT



















Here's my Testimony

You may remember a couple weeks ago while my husband was out of town, we ended up with half the family in ear infections and a cold-flu?

I (and the other half of my family) took roughly 15-20 drops (which was just a decent squirt) in liquid once to twice daily and didn't get sick.

Honestly I was amazed, and think I can safely say that apart from the gracious healing hand of God, this stuff was what kept us well.
That is also coming from someone who's immune system is pretty low because of nursing a baby through the night!

WARNING
This stuff taste's amazingly terrible - literally, you don't want it to stay on your taste buds!!
Get it to the back of your mouth and swallow quickly.
You can buy GSE in pill form, but I feel that my body can put the liquid to work much faster.

For children: I recommend putting a couple drops into a small spoon-full of applesauce.
encourage them to swallow it quickly and offer another bite of applesauce or
something to wash it down with afterwards.

For Adults: Add liquid GSE to a swallow of grape juice. You probably won't want it mixed in with a whole glass :-)
Save that for after you're done with your swallow.
Water works, but beware of a pucker that lasts at least ten minutes if you do it in water!! :o*

Here's a link that is very informative: http://www.nutriteam.com/index2.html
Read up on GSE and it's amazing qualities yourself and let me know if you might become a convert!

She Stole My Spinach!

She did - REALLY!
Mrs. Smith stole my idea of buying loose leaf spinach and using it for salads instead of salad mix.
(this is only applicable to those of us without gardens, I suppose).
I never knew she "stole" my idea until I joined her for dinner on night and she served a spinach salad with the main dish! (she actually apologized for "stealing" my idea!)
My children seemed to like her salad much better than mine though; it had walnuts, avocados, and cranberries. Mmmm!

In all fairness, I stole her snap peas.
Yep, you heard right!
Here I was buying prepackaged carrots, prepackaged spinach, and I never noticed the snap peas!
One evening while Mrs. Smith and Greta were here she brought a bag of snap peas that were oh so sweet, and we munched away at them while we watched a movie.

I found them at Costco for reasonable (compared to grocery store prices), and I like Costco prepackaged veggies because they are often organic, and you get a lot for a little.

So anyway, if you need a tip for lightening up your dinner menue, you can steal my spinach if you want.
Or for that matter, even Mrs. Smith's peas!

For My Friend...

Psalm 143
1) "Hear my prayer,O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

2) And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

3) For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

4) Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.

5) I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.

6) I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Se'-lah.

7) Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

8) Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherin I should walk: for I lift up my soul unto thee.

9) Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.

10) Teach me to do thy will: for thou art my God: thy spirit is good: lead me into the land of uprightness."



I love you dear friend.
My prayers will be with you all through the days ahead.