Our Week

John has been off of work this whole week which has been very nice for this busy week of birthday, anniversary and Thanksgiving. For John's birthday, Monday, we took the kids to see Bolt and to lunch at Red Robin for lunch. I can highly recommend Bolt. It is a cute movie (not in 3D like advertised which was disappointing, I guess in some theaters but not ours), I didn't notice the Lord's name taken in vain, any swearing or partial swearing which has become so popular, no suggestive comments. I might have missed something along the way but I was all around very pleased with this movie.

Tuesday was our anniversary, 13 years. I'm not sure when we passed the "lets go somewhere by ourselves" anniversary but this year we took the kids to OMSI. Not the typical anniversary date but it was still really nice because we spent the day together as a family. Not much to say about the day except that it was fun and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. Emma's favorite part was the spelling bee and building the bridge. I don't remember Riah's favorite part but I know she enjoyed the swings and building the bridge with Daddy.

Emma is playing the spelling bee game


The girls were just building some random shapes out of tetris type pieces


They both love snakes so this was a highlight


They had a whole huge room dedicated to the babies, I took Sarah there for a while to let her play

Emma is trying to figure out how to make a building to withstand an earthquake


Wednesday was busy for myself but everyone else just seemed to have a quite day at home. I spent the day getting ready for the big day, Thanksgiving. I started all the cooking and got out all the china and crystal, set the table, etc. I cooked everything on Wednesday, except the turkey. It made Thursday so much more enjoyable and I could focus on making the house look nice on Thursday.

Thursday was of course Thanksgiving. It was a nice day, lots of family and friends came over. The food was great and it was actually somewhat hot this time (I put it all in the oven for about 1/2 hour right before we ate). I was able to start our tradition of the tablecloth this year. I also started a new tradition, we are writing down what we are thankful for on 3x5 cards and saving them through the years.

Friday was the day that I wait for all year, BLACK FRIDAY. I know it's a nightmare for some but a fun experience for others. I am part of the others. I love this day, it's so much fun to get out there and see what kind of deals and treasures you can find for such a good price. This year I stayed out all day, started at 4AM and didn't get home until 6PM. I came home for an hour in the middle to take a shower (just felt to gross to go to Salem). It was a good day spent with my mom.

Saturday was Civil War................................ Well what can I say, the day started out just getting the house ready for company and preparing more food (well not much preparing, just thinking about what we were going to have, sandwiches, easy!). The day ended in dissappointment. Our Beavs were supposed to win this game and then be headed to the Rose Bowl but no, their defense just stayed home and lost the game. To be completely fair, Oregon just played a really good game, they looked like a ranked team this year, we did not but the officials didn't help either. So it was disspointing to us but it's not everything. Now we just have to cheer for UCLA this week to beat USC and then we can still have a Rose Bowl dream. We'll see what happens next Saturday.

And now we are at Sunday. Today we did nothing, finally! We stayed home from church, had home church instead, I played games with the girls and did a few dishes but the laundry.......well it's still sitting here and I'm not doing it today!!!!! John is taking tomorrow and Tuesday off too so I'm not sure when we'll get back to school. I'm thinking we might just start again tomorrow but on modified easy school schedule. I really hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week and we can all remember all year long what we have to be thankful for.

Busy Busy Dreadfully Busy (VeggieTales)

Sorry Peeps, no, I'm not ignoring my blog! We have been busy busy busy around here with John's birthday, our anniversary, Thanksgiving, black friday and Civil War, and all the kids are sick to boot. Wow, that's alot to do in 5 days, no wonder I haven't blogged. In a few days, after I catch my breath, I will update everything that we have done in the last week. Right now, I feel like I'm going to collapse from exhaustion. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Just a glimpse of what we've been doing.

UPDATE TO SISTERS

UPDATE AT THE END

It has always been my prayer that my kids would be best friends. I would imagine that one day they would live near each other and get together all the time because they are best friends, their kids would all love being together and holidays would always be spent together. Well today.......I saw a glimpse of what I have always prayed for.

Our friends the Reeves' are coming over today. Emma & Nickelle have always been buds and, of course like every other family of siblings, they want to play together and not include the other siblings. Well as Emma & Riah were sitting down for breakfast this morning, Emma said "When I play with Nickelle, I don't care if Riah plays with us now because I love Riah." and gave her a big hug. Melt my heart!!!! My prayers are being answered.

Now I know that I have to be realistic and Emma will probably have a change of heart in about uh,........ 2 minutes but I know that the closeness is there. Got any tips seasonsed parents????

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UPDATE:

I am updating my post today to add a little something from MckMama at My Charming Kids. She is giving away some fun photography and blogging freebies. Her give aways are all things I have been wanting to add to my camera inventory and blog. Jump on over to her site, she has an amazing story about her son Stellan and she is an incredible photographer (you know that gets me anyday). Her contest is Small Fryday Contest, yes, spelled incorrectly on purpose. All her kids nicknames are plays off of that McChain we all know and love to hate. Anyways, jump on over, you won't be sorry.

Handipoints

I wanted to post today about a daily tool we use around here. It's called Handipoints chore charts. I have always looked for different tools to use for keeping track of chores. We seem to be in a pretty good routine of when they get done (after lunch, before quiet time) but I always have tried so many different things of how to keep track of who is doing what and always keeping it fair. The other thing to keep track of is rewards. I don't want my kids to get money or rewards just for the sake of having an allowance. So I found this site online, it's called Handipoints. It's 100% free (well except the rewards you choose which I'll get to in a minute) and it's very user friendly. My kids think it's a pretty neat thing since it's on the computer and it's esthetically pleasing. You can put on your child's "ToDo" list anything and I mean anything..... They have the simplest things on there, for instance, wear socks. I think those easy ones are really good for those problem areas within our lives. You can make items a one time chore or an everyday chore or any combination in between. As your kids do their chores they earn points. The cool thing is that it keeps track of their points and keeps track of how close they are to earning your desired reward. Emma just earned her first American Girl book and Riah earned having a friend over.

I would highly recommend this chore program. It is so friendly to use and the kids really enjoy using it, (they do all the tracking, I check it but they go to everyday on their own). Oh and I didn't mention about Handiland. They also earn points to use in Handiland to dress up their "kitty" and decorate their home. Just a fun added bonus that again, doesn't cost anything.

Sometimes we play silly games while we do chores. Here is Emma pretending to be a snake while putting her sister's clothes away.
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I wasn't paid for this referral, I just genuinely really like this website.

The Star of Bethlehem

My Man!

I have to tell you about my man. He is awesome! His name is honey, daddy, baldy....or whatever else we feel like calling him for the day. Our 13th anniversary and his 39th birthday are both coming up soon and it makes me think of him more and what I can do to bless him.

I love it when.....

he is fresh out of the shower with a freshly shaved head and face
he comes up behind me and hugs me
I hear him singing with the kids
he is quite about something that maybe I should have done differently
he snuggles up to me just before bed
he shows his integrity of being an honest man
he is slow to speak and slow to get angry
he does his big surprises (i.e. Mother's day)
he holds my hand
he says "I love you more!"
he reads his Bible
he serves
we pray together
he puts my rest time as a priority
he mops the floor when I never expected it
unloads the dishwasher while I'm still sleeping
he writes notes to me on our bathroom mirror
(did you know dry erase marker comes off glass)
he tries to put us first before work
he has a strong opinion about something
he spends time just playing with the kids
he gives me the freedom that I need
he blogs
he reads my blog
he takes the kids out to give me some much needed rest
(there are others but it wouldn't be appropriate to share them ;) )

John is one of the gentlest people I know. He doesn't let his emotions take him too far and watches what he says to me. He is wise and would never say anything on purpose to hurt me. He loves his children so much and loves to take them to the store or work with him. He takes every opportunity he can to involve his kids in anything he does. He really is a great man and I can't wait to spend 50 more years with him!

Here they are!

I am so excited. I had such a good time today taking photos of the Reeves' today at Bryant Park. I have been doing all kinds of editing. Tell me what you think and what I should do differently for next time. I want to do this more often. Let me know if you want someone to experiment on your family.
So without further ado...........................

Look at those eyes!

Fun Friday

The other day I told Riah "See how long it takes you to fill this bowl with water using this", she tried, she said "Mooooooooooom.............................".
It's a strainer!

I am going out today to take some pictures of a friend's family. It should be fun and I hope I can get some good practice. I don't know that I can do even half as good as some of the photo genius's out there but I can sure have fun trying. Wish me luck, maybe you'll get to see some of the results later!

Homemade with Love

Aren't those the cutest kids in the bath you ever did saw???

On another note:

I have never been much of a home made type of person and in fact, have never been very good at it either. One year I decided that I would make soup mix & spices baskets. The idea was great I would make up some soup mixes, I hand painted some shakers to put spices in and with some wooden spoons in a cute little basket, you would have thought it was a cute idea right?? Well most appreciated it and the other, well maybe she appreciated it later but when she opened it up she said, and I quote "is this a joke???". See I had completely forgotten that my cousin is not a cook (or at least was not at the time). Her husband is the cook in the family and he was already receiving another gift from us so this just seemed like a lost waste for her. I felt bad, I don't remember what they got us that year but it was probably something meaningful.

I have made fleece blankets which I think everyone seemed to enjoy but who knows, maybe they are freezing in their homes because they refuse to use the blankets Brooke made them so many years ago, LOL (wink, wink). This year I am sticking with purchased gifts for most and a few hand made gifts for some friends, but sshhhhh, don't tell!! I will be making the kids some Christmas Flannel Jammie Pants, I think those are pretty safe (I'm only making the pants, not the shirts).

Have you made any homemade gifts that have turned disastrous? You can share it in the Parent Bloggers giveway this weekend for Klutz. Or you can share in my own comments, I would love to hear them.

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“This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Klutz.”

Doctrine Q. 4

For those of you who have missed my other posts about doctrine here's the link to the first one. This weeks question:

How can we trust the Bible?

First, you can't prove the Bible with itself, except by proving the historical, archeological and scientific accuracy by the timeline and different verses within scripture. Since there are so many discoveries to list to prove the accuracy of the Bible I will just start with each of the three listed above and list 2-3 examples of each. It may get long but bear with me, it'll be worth it.

A. Scientific Accuracy
In 1492 Christopher Columbus set out to prove that the earth was indeed round. Now, he thought he found Asia but in that time it was still widely believed that the earth was indeed flat and he was able to prove that he wasn't going to fall off the earth if he kept going. Isaiah wrote sometime in between 740-680 BC

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth. Isaiah 40:22

Sometime between 384-323 BC Aristotle understood the need for the continuous Hydrologic Cycle but did not understand how it worked. The first correct explanation was given by Leonardo DiVinci in his lifetime of 1452-1520 AD. Solomon wrote regarding the cycle of the waters in approx 935 BC.

All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. Ecclesiastes 1:7

None of the authors in the Bible discovered anything scientific but remembering that all scripture is inspired by God, shows us that God knows the science of the earth and that He knows how it all works together. With the time frame of these discoveries vs. God's word and when it was written shows the knowledge of God. This brings me to...

B. Archaelogical Accuracy
The Dead Sea Scrolls is probably the most famous proof that the Bible is accurate. I am not a historian and I don't claim to really understand history very well but the Dead Sea Scrolls are the most evidential form of proof that we seem to have that proves the Bible without a shadow of doubt. There are plenty of manuscripts that line up with scripture and in fact some piece of every book of the Old Testament was found in these scrolls. The only one not included was the book of Esther.

I just found this quote in an article that intrigued me.

Couldn't someone just write these down and pretend they were written earlier? Here's your answer: Many people who do not believe in the Bible say this. However, manuscripts have been found that confirm that these various prophecies were written down 400-1000 years before they actually occured. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls put to rest most of such idle talk.

Nelson Glueck was stated as saying "no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible".

C. Historical Accuracy
In the late 1800s or early 1900s Sir William Ramsay was taught that the New Testament was not written in the first century and was not historically reliable. This is what he was quoted as saying after doing his own research to determine that the book of Acts was indeed incorrect and not historically accurate: "Luke's history is unsurpassed in respect to its trustworthiness". To read more on this you can read this article.

Here is one more thing to say about the Bible, the unique structure:

Although it is a collection of 66 books written by 40 or more different men over a period of 2,000 years, it is clearly one Book, with perfect unity and consistency throughout. The individual writers at the time of writing, had no idea that their message was eventually to be incorporated into such a Book, but each nevertheless fits perfectly into place and serves its own unique purpose as a component of the whole. Anyone who diligently studies the Bible will continually find remarkable structural patterns woven throughout its fabric, with an intricacy and symmetry incapable of explanation by chance or collusion.

The one consistent theme of the Bible, developing in grandeur from Genesis to Revelation is God's great work in the creation and dedemption of all things, through His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know that without going on and on forever and forever I can not prove the Bible to be true. I would challenge you to do a google search How do we know the Bible to be true. I think we have to come to a point within our own lives where we make a CHOICE. We make that choice for ourselves, are we going to take the facts that we have and have the faith that those facts are indeed true and follow the Bible? I was just reading some skeptics reviews and all the comments they made, supposed contradictory to the Bible, were made without the full knowledge of the Bible and being filled with the the understanding of the Holy Spirit.

These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 1 Timothy 3:16

Next week: What is different among Christianity and Mormonism?

NASCAR, here she comes!

On Saturday was the AWANA Grand Prix. About 4 weeks ago we bought Emma's pinewood derby car for $2. John & Emma's plan (I believe Emma's idea) was to paint the car black, put a sticker that said SIN along the bottom, then cover half of the car and the word SIN with white and then splatter red over the white. This is a picture of our sin being covered by Jesus' sinless nature and then covering that would be Jesus blood which covers our sin. I thought the idea was brilliant.

The morning of the races she kept saying, "It would be so much fun if I won" and we kept warning her, "Emma, you need to go with the idea to just have fun and don't expect to win, but be excited if you do". Well little did we know....... 8 races later, being first in all 8 of them, would bring her the 1st place trophy! Her average MPH...... 205.6, I think we might be in trouble! All the winners, 4th place on up to 1st place, all girls!!!!

Her car amongst 28 others
The last race!
Where are all the boys???


But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24

Thanksgiving

I am so excited about Thanksgiving this year. This is the first Thanksgiving that we have decided to really make Thanksgiving the holiday of celebration and choice around here. John's birthday is on the 24th and our anniversary is on the 25th. We would always like the kids to come home for Thanksgiving, whenever possible, so I figure we better make it the best we can now so they will always want to come home later. I know that later in the years we won't have our choice to have them around all the time and I'm willing to give up Christmas to have everyone come home for Thanksgiving (we'll just need a larger home to accommodate).

I need some practice in the meal preparation though. My biggest problem is having everything come out at the right time all prepared correctly and hot! Not that big of deal if you don't mind eating cold mashed potatoes, orrrr cold rolls, orrrr cold gravy. It all just doesn't come out hot. I can't even get it to come out luke warm, it is always cold cold cold. I think I've also had a turkey that was too dry and a turkey that wasn't done yet. If I want these Thanksgivings to work, I'm gonna need some help. I think I might have to do some searching around on the Butterball website before too long, how far is Thanksgiving? Oh yeah, too close, aahhh, 3 weeks away, eek, I better get to planning.

I do have a new tradition that I am planning this year. I am going to find a tablecloth that we will only use for Thanksgiving and start having everyone sign their names on it. We will use the same one every year and over the years it will be neat to see who has joined us every year and who we are missing. What exciting things are you planning for your holidays this year?
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“This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Butterball.”

Election

I am not a politician and usually don't have much of an opinion in politics but I have to say, I'm disappointed in the outcome of this election. With our country in the state that it's in I knew it would be difficult for a Republican to get the popular vote.

I have three strong thoughts on all this is
(and it comes from Kari's blog, although I had thought this before).

1. Submit
2. Respect
3. Pray

As Christian's if we do this then we will be able to stand before Jesus and say we did as we were supposed to.

Doctrine Q.3

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15

This is the reason for this post. Along with the other two questions, we need to be ready to answer any unbeliever and be well equipped to stand up against the wiles of the enemy (Ephesians 6:11). This weeks question:

Why does God allow "bad" things to happen to "good" people?

Are people really good? No, God is the only one who is good. God created us to be good and perfect within His sight but, again, through one man we became sinners, Adam.

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." Romans 3:10-12

For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Romans 3:23

Does God allow "bad" things? Yes, He allows bad things because we are in a fallen world. Again, it used to be perfect but because of one man's sin, it became a sinful world.

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners,...... Romans 5:19

Some things are a result of Satan being active in this world, the ruler of the darkness. In Acts, Peter is speaking saying:

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

He states that sure enough, people are oppressed by the devil. He is at work in people and he is still at work in people today. In Ephesians 6 it talks about being ready to work against the wiles of the devil, if he wasn't at work, we wouldn't need to be ready for him.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Some things are a result of God's just judgement. Like when David took Bathsheba, God showed His just judgement on David by killing his son.

So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die. 2 Samuel 12:13-14

Some "bad" things are not a result of God's judgement. The blind man that Jesus healed, was only blind so that God would receive the glory for his healing.

And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. John 9:3-4

This brings me to my last point. In Paul's letter to the Romans, he states;

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Everything that happens to the believers good or bad, is used for the glory of God. We may think of it as a horrible thing, like the death of a child or when someone gets cancer, but if God is glorified through it, then it is all worth it. We are sinful people, yet God does not give us what we deserve. He would be justified and righteous in giving us death, but had mercy on us and through grace we are saved. But we still have consequences for our actions.

Next weeks question: How do we know God's Word is true? How can we trust the Bible? Stay tuned! In case you missed them, here are the other two questions:

Q 1: How can a loving God send people to hell?

Q 2: Why is Jesus the ONLY way?

The Duggars

John and I don't really watch that much TV except Beaver Football and I watch Monday night TLC. I am so impressed with TLC lately. Granted we don't enjoy LA Ink and the hosts on What Not To Wear can sometimes be cruel but Monday nights are my favorite night to watch TV. Usually we miss Little People Big World because we are coming home from Home Group but we'll catch up sometimes. My two favorites are the next two shows, Jon & Kate +8 and 17 Kids and Counting. Jon & Kate +8 has been a favorite since we got cable last year although there was awhile there where Kate was being pretty rude to Jon but I think she has changed her attitude and is getting better.
TLC's newest show, 17 Kids & Counting, is my new favorite. This family, The Duggars, has 17 kids and she is pregnant with #18. They are followers of our Lord Jesus and have chosen no birth control and to put it in the Lord's hands. I'm not sure that I would be that brave especially with the pregnancy part of it, (although I think she had a couple sets of twins so I think she has ONLY had 14 or 15 pregnancies, LOL). What I am most impressed about is what TLC has done with this program. On one episode Josh, their oldest, got engaged, the entire program (actually two 1/2 hour programs) was dedicated to them explaining the reason for courting, why they needed chaparones for every date and why they don't kiss until their wedding day. I don't believe they used any scripture in the actual episode but they talked about how God has ordained it to be this way and the beauty in it. Last nights episode was them going to a family reunion but on the way had to stop at the Creation Research Museum in Ohio (I think??). Ken Hamm was on there expaining that creation is scientifically based and that the Bible accounts for a 7 day creation. They showed, what it seemed like, the entire museum from Adam & Eve to Noah, the Grand Canyon and some other really poinant details of the museum.

For one thing, I am impressed with TLC that they don't seem to cut out any of the "good" stuff but what I am mostly impressed about is that they haven't pulled the plug on the show or changed their focus of the show. I'm assuming The Duggars wouldn't do it if they did. They always show interviews with the kids and what they believe and they are always right there backing up their parents and stating the facts as their parents have taught them. One of the other things about this show is that TLC seems to promote it as one of their top shows.

This family makes me think of this verse:

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

They are presenting themselves as sanctified FROM the world, they explain why and they are being held blameless before Jesus. I don't get the impression that TLC is mocking them but I'm sure there are people out there who are making fun of them, (and I'm sure there are the people who want it off the air). I think we should pray that this show stays on TLC, more lives are touched by them and some people might start to ask where their joy comes from (we know ;) ).

Here are three links to their episode and their family website.
The Duggars
TLC
Discovery Health

YouTube

We found some really funny songs on YouTube and thought they were too funny not to share. Click here if you want to see more. Oh by the way, you'll want to push pause on my playlist on my sidebar.

La Bible

Bethlehem Rhapsody

This one is my all time favorite. Before I was saved, I'm ashamed to say, this was my favorite song, I loved it. Well now I can enjoy it again, yahoo!

Harvest Carnival

We don't celebrate Halloween in our family. We just don't see any redemptive value in it and quite honestly, really just despise the holiday and anything it stands for. I know that alot of people can find some good things to say about it but in my book, it doesn't stand for any good. If you are interested in finding out more info about Halloween and it's evil you can click here. Yes, I know our family would not be choosing to take part in the evil that Halloween represents but why would I want my children to even take part in a holiday that has such evil history? In any case, here are our pictures from the Harvest Carnival that our church puts on. It's the largest Harvest Carnival in the area and hosts I think somewhere around 4,000 people every year. It is meant as an outreach and I would hope that there were some souls reached this year.

Emma was Felicity from American Girl along with Nickelle was Samantha and Audrey was Kristin (although I was informed that "no one knows how I am so I'm going to be Laura Ingalls" from Audrey)

We added the hair to the back of Emma's bonnet since she obviously doesn't have the right hair for Felicity.

Riah was a butterfly. The horses are the higlight for my kids every year.
Emma and I did karaoke to the Daniel song from Veggietales. It was fun!

Moses was great!

Sarah The Ladybug
Arm wrestling Samson

Just before we were ready to go, Sarah found Karen Roth. Karen had just served in the nursery the week before and evidently remembered her. She was enamored!

It was fun but I think next year we might look into maybe doing a Reformation Party with some of our friends. There is a group of women who did it up in Washington, take a look, it looks like lots of fun. I don't know much about Martin Luther but it looks like the kids learned lots of christian history.