Snapshot Summary #19

Saturday
20 - November, 2010

While Drew took Chloe, Baruch and Cob to visit Pa and Grandma Mary and Abi stayed here to help me take care of Abram. Poor Abram did not feel well. Abi and I ran to Aldi and Sam's Club in the AM. Got home, unloaded groceries, then I took off for a lesson on grooming Banjo. Banjo did very well. The lady who showed me how to groom had a calming effect on myself as well as Banjo. She whispered puppy and we both responded well. I learned an incredible amount! You can tell by the snapshots who had the camera :-)


Sunday

21 - November, 2010
Abram was still down today and Mary's sore throat changed to a head cold. Drew stayed home with four so I could take Cob and Abi (the healthy ones) to church. I am so thankful to be memorizing a verse each week for the Crown Bible Study. I plan to meditate on last weeks verse for the rest of this month, on through December. 1 Chronicles 29:11,12 "Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the Ruler of all mankind; your had controls power and might and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength" 1 Chronicles 29:11,12

Monday

22 - November, 2010

We took Banjo with us on our daily walk today. His first real out and about walk. I was amazed at how well he kept up! Praise the Lord we stayed on schedule (mostly) today. Got the turkey out to thaw! Purchased this years sugar and got that bagged up and labeled.

Tuesday

23 - November, 2010

Baruch is READING!! His words come slow but they come. We just read one page a day buy we read. We snuggle and laugh. I love reading.

Wednesday

24 - November, 2010

House breaking Banjo is coming along well. Eight people muddles consistency, creating problems, eh hem. Considering this elevates our minimal success to above average, in my opinion :-)
Meet Hector, the neighbors dog that Jacob loves to dog sit and takes for regular walks.

Thursday
25 - November, 2010

Thanksgiving Day - Indeed a day to give thanks!

Thank you Lord for family and friends!

Instead of snapshots today please click here to see a Thanksgiving Slideshow

Friday

26 - November, 2010

Drew's parents came Thursday night and spent the night! It was great to get to see them on Thanksgiving day. Drew asked them to come so we could hit some Black Friday sales. We went to Best Buy first, Menards second, then Drew dropped me off at Jo-Ann fabrics and he went back to Best Buy. I made up a list right before going to bed Thursday night. We had talked about different items Drew had seen in the Menards ad and since our computer died several weeks ago we were in the market for a new one. Best Buy's organization impressed me greatly. Menards on the other hand verged on fatal! Striking contrast indeed.

Photoshop.com Album: Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving Menu

I am looking forward to a wonderful day of giving Thanks to the Creator! I love the way Billy G., in the post I linked to earlier today said God's Word is nourishment for the soul. How convicting that I bumble around without it at the forefront of my thoughts every moment. I know I have been used as a tool for Satan as a result. Not wallowing in that, just stating facts. I repent and am thankful for forgiveness, that I don't have to feel guilty continually. By God's grace I can walk in the Spirit, renewing my mind through His word!

We will be nourishing our souls together around God's word, then plan to nourish our bodies with food from the menu below.

Guests: Grandma Ruth, Mrs. R, Marilyn, Laura and her children.

Menu:

turkey

ham

sweet mashed potatoes courtesy - Marilyn

crock pot mashed potatoes - see link below

green salad

stuffing courtesy - Laura

zucchini dish or steamed carrots

Whole wheat dinner rolls (I made them yesterday)

muesli courtesy - Grandma Ruth

cranberry sauce courtesy - Laura

relish tray

homemade vinegar dressing

desserts

pumpkin custard courtesy - Laura

pumpkin pies

grandpa's field bars - see recipe below

plenty of honey sweetened whipped topping :)

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/11/crockpot-mashed-potatoes-with-cream.html

Grandpa's Field Bars (We had these at Heidi's last Wed. night. They reminded me of Chocolate Revel Bars less the flour + crispy. They were awesome and the kids requested them for Thanksgiving. )
1/2 C butter
1/2 C coconut oil
2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
3 C quick oatmeal
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 T Butter

Melt butter and shortening, transfer to mixing bowl. Add vanilla and salt. Add eggs and mix. Add sugars alternately; mix well. Add oatmeal about 1 C at a time. In a greased 9 X 13 pan put a layer of batter, saving a cup full for topping; set aside. Melt chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter. Spread over the layer. By small pieces of dough, drop the extra dough until all over the pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350 F. Cut bars when cold. Enjoy!

Writing for the Soul

A few days ago I was headed in the direction of a very encouraging post. Encouraged, convicted and challenged. Hope it does the same for someone else :)

http://annkroeker.com/2010/11/14/will-i-partake/#more-10233

Snapshot Summary #18

Saturday

13 - November, 2010

A boy and his dog (well the family dog).

Sunday

14 - November, 2010

We enjoyed helping Connor celebrate turning seven! Here's Connor's Grandma and little sister Penny.

Poor Red Neck (aka Penny) stepped in a rat trap (of the sticky variety). Baruch came rushing in with the dreadful news. By his anxiety I thought the poor bird had gotten her beak stuck, awaiting emanate death! Thankfully she had only stepped in it. I dipped her feet in oil and scrubbed her up with soap. She got the tiniest bit on her feathers so there was minimal clipping to get her back up, running and as good as new.

Monday
15 - November, 2010

I am so thankful for the plethora of blogs that I have run across posting something they are thankful for each day for the month of November! What a testimony of God's greatness. For me putting on the thankful heart eliminates so much anxiety and distress. I am ashamed I do not walk in thankfulness more.

Today I am thankful for:

God's Word (so amazing -no matter how much I study and memorize there is always more to learn!)

God's Forgivness

A husband who seeks the Lord above all else

Family near and far

Neighbors who love the Lord

Puppies

Children of all shapes and sizes (six in particular)

Friends who plan to join us for Thanksgiving

Food a plenty (even on a budget)

Another Crown Bible Study (I am learning so much!)

The forgiveness of friends

Baptisms and the testimonies that accompany them

A sister living close by for a time

Mary enjoying to play with my hair

The music Jacob fills this house with

The blessing of Abi's tender love for Chloe

Baruch's insatiable curiousity

Abram's zest for life

Chloe's precious trainable self

Warm weather in November

How amazing God created each aspect of our bodies (we are studying Anatomy this year and it is so fascinating!)

Friends to learn with

Birthdays to celebrate

Indoor plumbing

Here's a few blogs doing the 30 days of thankful

Amy in Peru

Kristen McG

Shelley

And here's a blog in my favorites

In Our Write Minds

Give Thanks to the LORD for HE is good!

Tuesday

16 - November, 2010

Pa and Grandma brought the neatest globe when they last visited. It is a v-tech interactive globe with a game that tests how many continents and oceans/ countries / state and provinces . . . you can locate in 45 seconds. What an exciting way to improve everyones geography skills. I enjoy the challenge too!

Wednesday

17 - November, 2010

One week ago we brought home a new member of the family. He is fitting in very well. Here is a coming home picture

Thursday

18 - November, 2010

Friday

19 - November, 2010

Here Jacob is doing to Chloe what we have been doing with Banjo to teach him to enjoy someone touching his paws as well as to teach him to submit to our authority. Chloe needs the later ;)

Here Chloe enjoys one of her favorite things - watching a slide show of family photos!

Until next time - hope you enjoyed this weeks snapshot summary. Sorry I am a little late. Our computer crashed. I am used to working on a Mac so am going through a little learning curve using Drew's lap top here. One more thing I am thankful for - this computer!

Snapshot Summary #17

Saturday

6 - November, 2010

A Busy work around the house day with Pa and Grandma here to help (sorry no snapshots).

Sunday

7 - November, 2010

Monday

8 - November, 2010

Cob writing out a Morse Code message

Mary decoding a message from Cob

Baruch's reading lesson.

.... --- .-- -... .-.. . ... ... . -.. .. ... - .... . -- .- -. .-- .... --- -.. --- . ... -. --- - .-- .- .-.. -.- .. -. - .... . -.-. --- ..- -. -.-. .. .-.. --- ..-. - .... . .-- .. -.-. -.- . -.. .-.-.- -. --- .-. ... - .- -. -.. .. -. - .... . .--. .- - .... ... --- ..-. ... .. -. -. . .-. ... -... ..- - .... .. ...

Cob has been into the Morse Code lately. Today there was a lot of message decoding going on. After receiving my second message I found a handy web site you could type the code into and it spit out the translation in the language of your choice! Pretty handy!! Later when Cob was typing out what I thought was a story on the computer I noticed it was all in Morse Code. He told me how much faster it was to type out since you only use two keys. He is planning to write all future stories using Morse Code, then hit the conversion web site and save tons of time. He really is a pretty funny kid. I love that boy. It takes all kinds ;)

Tuesday

9 - November, 2010

Drew worked much of the weekend sanding rust off our "new" van. He than put some p.o.r. stuff on it that is suppose to help keep the rust off. After priming on Monday painting started today. By the end of the day it looked like this!

Here's a close up of the black painted area

Thanks Uncle Eldon for all the advice and for suggesting P.O.R. !

Wednesday

10 - November, 2010

Choices:

Choices narrowed some:

Our Pick:

Yes! We have a new member of the household!!

Please meet Banjo, our ten week old Havanese puppy.

(He shares Uncle Mark and Aunt Rita's birthday)

Drew's parents so kindly offered to keep the children while we decided on a puppy. It was a difficult decision, I cannot imagine how hard it would have been with everyones input!

Everyone enjoyed a turn holding our new puppy!!

Thursday

11 - November, 2010

Puppies need their rest.

I cannot believe how great Abram handles the little fellow!

Abi is my grooming assistant.

Friday

12 - November, 2010

Here's Lydia holding Banjo while Georgie, Julia and Meleah look on. The cousins showered Banjo with love and attention! The children enjoyed playing with each other too but there was always someone willing to hold the puppy. He went to his crate tonight without even one whimper of protest! Bet he sleeps good tonight.