A Day of Rest

Sometimes a day of rest, especially where we live, means a day of rest from the rain. Although we do usually try to rest on the Lord's Day, today was one of those days where we rested from the rain. There is always some work to be done out here so today we took advantage of the sunny fall weather and did some work.

Dear Hubby works on the never ending pile of wood.

B#3 helps with the huge leaf pile left by an unwanted cotton tree.

B#4 helps with B#7, trying in vain to get boots on his chubby little feet.

And B#2 stands by watching it all with her broken wrist. She claims she is supervising!?!? B#1 was up on the hill burying some pipe. Mom wasn't willing to walk all the way up there for a picture of him so you will just have to use your imagination. B#5&6 were busy playing instead of helping so they didn't get their picture taken either.

A Good Book

"Every part of a child's day, whether he is learning how to get along with others, or studying history, or learning to do his chores. or listening to discussions of current events in the world, should be from God's perspective. This is true piety and holy living."

So starts a good book that I am reading through for the second time called "The Little Book of Christian Character and Manners" by William and Colleen Dedrick. It has an adorable cover and wonderful parenting advice based on the Bible. I would recommend it to anyone raising children.

Soap Making

Last month several ladies and girls got together at a friend's house to make soap using real lye. I have always wanted to learn but using lye scared me so I never pursued it. It was amazingly easy, especially when all of the ingredients were provided to us already measured out. B#2 and B#4 had a good time making several batches while B#3 helped me with the little ones to keep them out of the kitchen. A good time was had by all and we were pleased to be invited to join in with the ladies this year. We are looking forward to next year unless we get brave enough to try it on our own here at home.

There were two different ways to make the soap. One way was the "hot process" which we did using crockpots. One lady needed to do hers in the oven and that seemed to be a better way to do it. The other way was called the "cold process". That one went much quicker but had to cure for two weeks to let the lye become safe to touch. We added essential oils and fragrances to our soap to make different smells. My favorite it the lavender, as that is one of my favorite smells and flowers.

Birthdays continued

Okay, I am back to finish up with the birthdays for the year. I will be missing B#6's birthday since I don't have any photos on my camera card that far back. If I find one I will add her birthday too. If not, hers is right around the corner again.

I couldn't resist posting this picture of DH's cake. Looks like we might need to call the fire dept. Sure is alot of smoke coming off of his cake:) According to the cake he is 29 but we know that isn't true, I just ran out of candles.

B#4 just celebrated her birthday this week. For the longest time I just didn't know what to get her. But the Lord put an idea in my mind and I ran it past dad who thought it was a great idea. Obviously from the look on her face she thought it was a great idea too. I think dad liked it just as much as she did. Any guesses? A camera. Now she can leave mine alone.

Well that's all for now folks. I am all tuckered out from birthdays, now on to Christmas!

Birthdays

The kids have been after me because I haven't blogged about anyone's birthdays after B#1. I thought I would just wait until we were done with birthdays until 2009. As I worked on adding pictures it seems that I can only add so many pictures to one blog so I will have to post again to add the rest of the birthdays. B#2 wanted to have strawberry shortcake for her birthday, hence the photo above. It isn't all that easy to have candles in strawberry shortcake.

For B#2's sweet 16 birthday we decided to get her some pretties for her hope chest, which actually was more like a hope box but we forged on anyway. I found lots of pretty things at Goodwill, people must not like to entertain with pretty things anymore. I found her a pretty silver tea pot at the local antique store. She was with me when I purchased it, boy was that hard to keep a secret. Her mamaw and papaw decided that a girl needs a proper hope chest so they bought her a beautiful oak one to put all of her pretty things in.

B#7 comes next in the birthday line-up. We used to go all out for birthdays, even for a one year old but we have grown older, wiser and added more children to the mix so we really try to keep things simple. For his birthday he had over one friend from church to help him open his presents. I do think he liked the boxes more:)

For B#3's birthday we bought her a big person bike, no more little bikes for her:) We decided that if you get a bike for your birthday then you need to go riding. We went to a local state park for a beautiful day of riding. I pushed the stroller as a bike just isn't a good idea for me. B#2 kept me company.

As I mentioned in our Reformation post, B#5's birthday falls on the 31st of October but since dad had to work he got to celebrate it early. We did offer him the option of waiting until after but for some reason he didn't want to wait:) He is very interested in anything space so we bought him a space set at the local museum and put it on top of his cake. He also loves science so we bought him a big jug of his very own vinegar and a box of baking soda. What more does a boy need?

Farewell family and friends

B#2 here, for the last time. Mom mentioned a few posts ago that I was considering doing my own blog. Well, I did it and will now leave you poor readers alone. :Sigh: No, I will no longer pester you with my odd writings and musings.
But wait. There's good news. You can visit my blog whenever you want!
You will find me at www.kingschild-caitlyn.blogspot.com I'm still getting started so there isn't that much on there but, I'll catch up eventually. :)
Goodbye for now.

~B#2

A message from our Pastor after election day

Many of us were disappointed last night. If you were not and all your candidates won, bear with us :>)

What can you do?

"Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit."
I Thessalonians 5:17-19

1. Pray without ceasing. For 8 years many of us have been, though we hate to admit it, trusting in George Bush. Now we need to do what we should have done all along - pray fervently for our nation, the unborn, marriage, religious freedoms, and for the grace of God to give us strength to suffer for doing right. The church has spent most of its history under bad governments and we have been spoiled. If the Obama administration and the Democrat congress were to accomplish what it says it wants, this is going to be a bad time to be a half-hearted believer in Christ. I will be praying that they will not accomplish their desires, but if they do, you will need to know Christ intimately in order to stay with Him.

2. In everything give thanks. For what? That nothing, no nothing, can ever separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39). That Christ died on the Cross because He loves us that much. That to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). That we live in a country where we are still allowed to vote. That the structure of our government is based on the Word of God with checks and balances other governments do not have. That we have a church like ours. That attacks on the church and the family, if responded to in the right spirit and in the power of Christ, have historically strengthened and purified the Body of Christ. The list goes on.

3. Quench not the Spirit. Friends, if there was ever a time when you and I needed to be about the Lord's business, this is one of those times for sure. In Romans 8 we are told to set our mind on the things of the Spirit and not of the flesh. Search the Lord's Word in prayer and as the Lord leads you, follow Him. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual world (Ephesians 6). The coming days could be the best days yet for the church. Don't dwell on the news of the world, but look for ways the Lord might use you to advance His Kingdom during these times. "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer." (Proverbs 25:4) Focus on the spiritual in your life, allowing the Lord to "take away the dross" from your life. That dross was the scummy or dirty part of the silver that had to be removed through the purification process. Then, when the purified silver remained, a fine piece could be crafted. Let's not quench or block the Spirit of God as He seeks to make us, the Church, useful to accomplish what He would during this time.

Anxiously awaiting the future activities of His Kingdom and blessed to be your pastor.

Reformation Party

One of the older girls reading about Martin Luther to the kids.

Our family has chosen not to celebrate Halloween and that decision was made even easier when B#5 was born on October 31st. Generally we celebrate his birthday that day. This year, however, dad had to work on his birthday so we decided to celebrate it earlier in the week so when we were invited by some good friends to a Reformation Party on the 31st we gladly accepted. The kids had a great time playing games like "Chucking Bibles into Germany", an Indulgence throw-away relay race, reading about Martin Luther and making crafts, bobbing for doughnuts(very messy), a hymn sing, lots of food and wonderful fellowship. All in all there were only 7 families but we had 35 children, lots of fun! B#4 took some pictures of it all so enjoy and happy belated Reformation Day.

B#6 bobbing for doughnuts. You thought there was water involved, didn't you?

Making cinnamon dough ornaments.

Coloring and still making ornaments.

Interesting Times We Live In

I did not start this blog with the intention of ever putting anything politcal on it but during these very interesting times I decided to do it anyway, at least this once. Below is an interesting article about Obama from the Boston Herald( I believe)...enjoy, it's pretty short:)












These pictures were taken by my dear husband at a 9-11 memorial event in a town near here to remember all those who died that day. There was a flag set up for each and every individual who died. How quickly America forgets what terrorists did and how quick we are to vote in someone with terrorist ties all for the sake of our own pocketbook.



Five reasons to vote against Obama
By Howie CarrSunday, November 2, 2008 - Updated 3h ago+ Recent Articles
Boston Herald Columnist
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Five reasons to vote against Obama? Only five? I could give you 50, no problem.1. He wants to tax working Americans back to the Stone Age. He lies when he says he will cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. You know its nonsense because they can’t keep their numbers straight from hour to hour. Obama claims everyone making under $250,000 is safe, or is it $200,000 (the infomercial) or $150,000 (Joe Biden)? On Friday, Gov. Bill Richardson cut it to $120,000.
Oh what a tangled web we weave. The fact is, the wealth-spreaders have vowed to do away with the Bush tax cuts. So everybody who pays any income taxes is going to take a hit. Plus, the friends of ACORN also plan to get rid of the cap on Social Security withholding taxes. That means everyone who makes over $102,700 will be slaughtered. I don’t have room to talk about capital gains.

2. The federal courts. In that famous 2001 Chicago radio interview, Obama wistfully talked about the need for the Supreme Court to break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. You know, those pesky constraints that make us a nation of laws, not governed by the whims of the Friends of Obama, or Jeremiah Wright. You think Breyer and Ginsburg are beyond the pale? Obama’s crowd thinks they’re too conservative.
3. Teach the Obama-worshipping bumkisser media a lesson. Have they ever been more in the tank for anyone? They’re all worried about the Patriot Act and terrorists’ rights at Gitmo, but they had no problems printing flat-out lies about Sarah Palin. More recently, they took handouts from Obama thugs in Ohio on Joe the Plumber’s tax liens, divorce problems, child-support payments etc. - worse violations of privacy rights than anything that’s happened under the Patriot Act. But who cares - Joe the Plumber is just a typical white person.
3. The character of Barack Obama. You can always tell a Harvard man, but you can’t tell him much. He lectures you that your kids will have to learn Spanish - your kids, not his. He’s always railing about economic justice, but his illegal-alien aunt lives in poverty in Southie. Hey Barack, I thought charity began at home. Like John Kerry and Joe Biden, he doesn’t believe in donating to charity. Obama is a classic liberal hypocrite: He’ll give anybody the shirt off your back, not his.
4. Michelle Obama. Another pampered semi-literate Ivy Leaguer who still considers herself a victim, even with her $360,000-a-year job as diversity coordinator at a Chicago hospital. Can you stand four years of this harridan lecturing you on your greed?
5. All the other stuff I don’t have much room for. Where the heck was Barack Obama really born? Dont forget his pal Bill Ayers dedication of his 1974 book “Prairie Fire” to, among others, Sirhan Sirhan. (Are you listening, Teddy and Caroline?) If Obama loses, Gwen Ifill’s book tanks. The return of the Fairness Doctrine to censor free speech. Joe Biden, a heartbeat away. And the No. 1 reason of all to vote against Barack Obama: If he loses it will drive the moonbats absolutely bonkers.


Kelly