Wonder

Thought I'd share a bit about why it has been rather quiet over here in my portion of the blogosphere.  Honestly, I am still feeling rather dull.  I am not feeling very creative or feel that I have anything interesting or new to share.  Guess I am kind of feeling like a one trick pony who has done the same trick one too many times.  With that said, I'd have to say that we continue to live life.  

Today I  played with flour...
I created...
(a sweet white and an extra white dough for the freezer), 

made pita bread (about 15),

a blueberry pound cake (well actually two),

4 loaves of whole wheat for the freezer as well.  

Right now a cherry spice cake is cooling on the counter
for my girlfriends who are popping over for the weekly Tuesday visit. 

Perhap, I am so tired tonight because of all those carbs I worked (even though I didn't eat them yet!)  or maybe it is because I have been slacking with my thyroid medication, that I am supposed to take daily, but many times I just leap over it and say, "tomorrow, it's too late today to take it now."  

We continue to press on in adoption paperwork. 

Our social worker came out last week to interview the children for our waiver, that we need to move on with our adoption (and thank you dear Annie for your donation to our fund...you are so sweet!)  We seem to be moving, but at a snails pace if you ask me.

Tonight I found myself praying at our family altar for God to bring me some excitement.  I confessed that I was feeling flat and that perhaps a bit of God's wonder would jerk me out of my funk. Oh to look to Him and not to let this wave of heaviness settle on my spirit.  I asked Him if He could bring me some excitement (the fun kind, not the scary kind).

My Ethiopian friends shared that they had an all nighter Saturday night.  It was a prayer meeting and they do it regularly (I think they said once a month.)  I wish I could speak Amharic or even understand...I so would love to go, but am not sure I would be able to stay up for a whole night. Our thirteen year old Ethiopian daughter says they normally break for tea after a few hours, and then continue on in hours of prayer.  I love my Ethiopian friends from Ebenezer Evangelical Church...truly such loving, kind and caring people. Though the service is in Amharic, the fellowship is always rich.  We are blessed to have a second church and such wonderful friends.

hoping to catch sight of a bluebird...

they are my favorite and are a reminder of *happiness*  

In our neck of the woods they should be arriving to choose nesting sites. 

i would just dance and sing if one came into my yard and chose my bluebird box for its home. 

wouldn't that be a wonder and some excitement? 

this one trick pony sure thinks so.

waiting on Him.

this one trick pony needs a hot bath..

hope to hear from you and your end of the world!

Though the Darkness Closes In...

 

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in Lord

Still I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name...

Confession Instead of Prayer Request Sunday

Not that I don't love to pray...or that I don't do it daily or even when I don't really feel like it,
but today I am going to share something different.

I am feeling rather flat.

Not quite empty, but teetering very close to that dangerous edge.  I have been doing all the right things, keeping myself in the Word, praying, confessing sin, praying, making time to be alone with God (although never enough to my liking)...and still I am feeling rather dull in spirit.

I am not sure why.  Well, maybe I am leaning towards a few things, but can't really put my finger on it.  

God hasn't been saying much lately and this perhaps sits heaviest on my heart.  My relationship certainly doesn't need me to hear from Him to continue to walk with Him, but certainly His voice is wanted.
always 
WANTED.  

Perhaps it is just a season, but thought you'd like to know.

I am ahead in my chronological Bible reading plan.  I have been enjoying time in His word and reading through in this new order.  We've begun to have a family altar at dinner time.  My Knight leads, we are reading together through the book of Mark.  We also pray together as a family at this time.  It hasn't happened every night, but we are aiming for as often as we can make it happen.  I think just the thought of us gathering together and that there He is in our midst, has brought tears and joy to my heart.  

But still something is not right.  A heaviness is on my heart.  Actually it feels like it wants to press me to the ground.  It is rather a smothering kind of feeling, not at all nice.

I wanted to share, as I know you are my friends and will help to carry me through this. 

Of course I am open to suggestions...

Its Cancer

I took my sweet companion Hunter to the vet today. Hunter is merely 6, but has had a hard life.  We rescue/adopted him from the Humane Society 5 years ago when he was one.  Seems he was trouble for his first owners and they had enough of his destroying their home. He was perfect for us, when he came there were only 3 children in the family.  I begged my husband for a big dog, because I knew as we grew in family size that a dog would be the last thing I would convince him of. 

Hard to believe that in 5 short years we also added 5 children to our family...
along with the enormous dog with the fuzzy Polish chicken feet.

The first tumour came in 2007, since then we have battled this strange mass, but today it decided it wanted to take control of all of us.

We were hoping they'd be able to remove the tumour growing in his mouth.  Once before we had surgery for it, this time they said they were positive it was cancer and inoperable.  

I was thankful that my girlfriend Beth insisted to go with me to the appointment.  I didn't think I needed her, but was so glad she was there, because my mind was not working...

The people were talking, I could see there lips moving, but the words didn't make sense.  The receptionist asked me to put my dog on the floor scale.  I didn't know what she meant.  Beth pointed kindly to the huge new floor scale for Hunter to stand on.  How would I get him to stand (he is 125 pound of muscle) on it.  She said, "Didn't you put cookies in your pocket for him Kimmie?"  I was like, "Oh, yeah, thanks Beth."

Beth asked the questions, she dug a little deeper, when my throat just felt thick and tears wanted to pour out on the floor.  This is my dog they were standing there moving their lips about.  All those big words meant that soon I would be without him.  Too soon.

My heart hurts, as there are no other options for us, but to decide when to make his final trip to the vet.  He isn't suffering (yet) but we know he is beginning to feel uncomfortable, as the tumour has grown considerably. 

If you think of us, would you pray.  I am so sad. I know he is a dog, but he is mine.  I love him, even if he is a lumpy dog who doesn't listen so well. 

In a lot of ways, I think we are a lot alike.

Have You Met My Mum?

My sweet Mum.  

Thought I'd introduce you.  She is the sweetest grandma and all my children request to spend their birthdays at Grammie M and M's house.  Above is her improvising a birthday candle for Miss Sunshine's day last month.  

Currently she is away on holiday...hope she is enjoying sunshine and warmer weather.  Can't wait to hear about the car ride to Florida and all of her adventures. 

She is a good mum and I am blessed to have her.

Simple Homemaking

Simple Homemaking Tip of the Day!

Out of your normal laundry whitener

...well try dishwasher gel.

Dissolve in warm water and give your clothes a soak in it.  It is a great stand in in a pinch. After soaking, launder as usual...before your clothes go into the dryer be sure to check that your stain is thoroughly removed.
I am amazed at how it whitens and brightens.

I also use dishwasher gel on hard
to clean gunked-up pans (is gunked-up a word?)

Squeeze about a 1/4 cup full into your pan
and then add water at least an inch or two of water.
Heat up pan to boiling, lower heat and cook
long enough for your pot to be totally ungunked!

Keeping an eye that you have enough water in the pan, so it won't reburn.
Continue until all your stuck on stuff is floating about and ready to be dumped.
I find that a little stir with a spoon, helps the process along if you are in a hurry.
 Dump, rinse and finished!

For really bad burnt on items,
let soak overnight and reheat in the morning (adding water if needed).
It has worked every time at our house!

Some Thoughts to Ponder for Today

 

Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him,
and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.
George Mueller 

"You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list.

The longer your list, the smaller your God."

Unknown

I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. 

I believe in love even when I am alone.

I believe in God even when He is silent.

Unknown  

Pondering with you... 

Kimmie

Hearts and Kisses!

Happy Valentines Day

...hope your day is filled with Love!

I am so thankful to have you all for friends!

Welcome to Prayer Request Sunday!

Can I pray with you this week? 

Leave me a comment and we will get busy. 

 (my email is on my sidebar if you don't want to share it with everyone.)

Our Vacation Property-Adoption Fund-Raising!

Everyone needs a little place to getaway from it all...

 

Are the stresses of life making you yearn for a vacation?

Yearn no more...

We are thinking about using it as a time share-

perhaps the funds will help us pay for this new adoption God is calling us to. 

Let us know if you want to be the first

on the list for this ultimate luxury getaway!

Let it snow Baby!  

And so you know...we are under almost 7 feet of snow now.

"Ridiculous?"

You could say that or you could say... 

"Rental, why I'd love to!"

One of them is 20 Today...

Our oldest homemade turned 20 today.

 Seems like just yesterday I was throwing her in the baby carrier and slinging her on my hip through the day.  Actually, it seems like just yesterday that I was off to the hospital to give birth...how did twenty years manage to get by me?

Now she is a big girl

(as is the 2 year old, who keeps telling me,
"she is not a baby but a BIG GIRL!")

Bella made the fox and panda hats...they came out so cute.  She is a crocheting genius, as she has only been doing it for about a year now.  I taught her so she could edge off one of the knit hats she had made.

She is taking orders if you are interested in having a cute hat of your own.  

She does custom orders
(she just finished a really cute sock monkey hat).
She is so creative and FAST.

Time flies so quickly. 

But as I have always told all of my children,  

"You will always be my baby."

Simple Homemaking

Simple Homemaking

Homemaking Tip of the Day:

A cleaning tip that might be helpful as we straighten things up around our homes...

• A simple tile cleaner is shaving cream!  Shaving cream is really just a foamy soap.  Spray it on, let it soak, scrub with a brush, sponge or rag and rinse.  Stand back and smile.  Great cleaner to tackle grime and stains. 

 So simple and so good.

~Your friend~

Kimmie

Making Pasta!

It began as a strong desire to create in the warmth of our kitchen,

after all our home school books were tucked away for the day. 

I found a pasta maker online and ordered him to come home,

we named him Mr. Atlas 150-

~our current hero!

We loved our first ravioli making lesson.

  I watched a couple of videos on the how-to on YouTube 

(how I love YouTube...visually it teaches me so much!)  

Our first session we rolled out two varieties 

and not a single one exploded when cooked 

(I am told this is a sign of good ravioli making!)

The cool thing was the fillings weren't from a recipe...

only from what we had on hand and what I thought MIGHT be delicious.

The kids had a ball 

and though our backs hurt from all the hard work,

our stomachs are screaming to make more!  

Fine dining at our house, welcome friends~

the humble beginnings...flour, egg yolks, olive oil and a bit of salt

Gathering up and kneading

Heavily floured so they don't stick while they wait to be cooked

and to finish the meal...

our daughter who normally doesn't cook
made with a little help from Mama,
a lovely accompaniment...
one with cheese and one with no cheese...

(Ethiopian Princess Sweetness is allergic to dairy- so many of our meals are dairy free now).

Winter Wonderland (in my yard!)

Homeschool -State study

We are pressing in and learning about America! 

Want to join us...we are going alphabetically through each state.  We will be using computer print outs to help us learn (and memorize) our U.S.A. facts. 

Dinner time will be drill time for us, to see who can remember the facts tied to each state. Incentives (i.e. candy!) will be given to those who can answer the most questions correctly!

Some of the questions we have used are just simple, like~  

• What is the capital of this state (pick the state you are studying or throw in one from the previous day or week). 

• What is the motto for this state? 
• The state's nickname?
• Mountain range or major rivers?
• What is the number associated with this state joining the U.S.A.?
• What is this state known to produce? 

Links to help you...

Great worksheets galore!  

*fill in a 5 page state report!

stories and fun facts on each state

This site has great print outs, but requires a membership

 Notebooking ideas!

And...wouldn't it be fun to take a white vinyl tablecloth and make a huge map to label

...hmmm, I will have to see what would be the best way to do this ;-)  Any ideas?

And don't forget to check out your local library too!