May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born in faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us. St. Theresa’s Prayer
Friday, October 31, 2008
Scary!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Art of Compromise
And now the satellite dish clings triumphantly to the side of the cabin.
Kind of like a wart on a hog's nose
And my view in the morning, as I awake and gaze out the window is... a wart on a hog's nose.
But that, Gentle Reader, is the art of compromise. True love.
And if I squint a little, it fades into the scenery.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Favorite Things
Monday, October 27, 2008
Brotherly Love
When Shanna was a newborn, I took her in for her immunizations. This was a major undertaking because I had to pack up Scott (age 3) Siara (age 19 months) and Shanna along with carseats, diaper bag, books and games for distraction etc. We got to the Kaiser clinic and waited our turn in the waiting room. When we got called back, I packed up my menagerie and followed the nurse. She had me lay Shanna on the table and Scott and Siara were standing next to it. I had no trouble keeping them near me because Siara had a tight grip on my leg and Scott was enthralled with all the gadgets and was busy asking a lot of questions. But soon he saw what was happening--the nurse turned around with a big needle and turned Shanna over. As she gave Shanna the shot, Shanna gave a little whimper but Scott burst into tears. I gathered everyone up to leave and as we walked through the waiting room some nice elderly people saw Scott crying and said,
"Oh! Did you have to get a shot today? Did it hurt?"
And Scott said,
"No! They shot my BABY!"
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Overheard
I said, "This is heaven! A warm fire, canning applesauce and discussing art...it doesn't get any better than this." Then I got up to stir the applesauce on the stove.
Sam: (Loud whisper to Andy) "HELP ME"
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Oops!
Yesterday I printed the Oatmeal Cake recipe with the wrong amount for the butter--sorry about that! I'll fix it on the post as well.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Having My Cake and Eating it Too
I made the mistake of telling this story to the youngsters--now they bring it up whenever we make oatmeal cake for family night treat. Really, I only did that the one time--though I could still eat a whole oatmeal cake. Luckily, now I have plenty of people around to share it with.
1 stick butter (1/2 C.)
1 cup oatmeal
1 1/4 cups boiling water
Pour the boiling water over the butter and oatmeal, stir, cover and let stand for 20 minutes.
Add:
1 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 C. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix well and pour into 9X11 baking pan. Bake @ 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Topping:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 C. evaporated milk
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. coconut
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. chopped nuts (walnuts are good)
Mix and spread over cake while it is hot. Then eat just one piece. If you can.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Doing a Little Yardwork
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Outtakes
The camp caretaker is thanking Spencer for the picnic tables that his amazing Eagle leadership provided...she is really, really, happy. Spencer is medium happy.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The Eagle Has Landed
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Bimbo in My Laundry Room
But, when it came to picking out the washer and dryer for the cabin, I have to admit to being drawn in by only one thing: the color RED
It was calling to me from across the store, "Look at me, I'm reeedddd. See how beautiful and shiny and RED I am"
All common sense left my brain and I pointed and said, "I want the RED one."
Truth be told, it is GE--a supposedly reputable manufacturer of appliances--so I didn't go completely off the deep end. I figured it was a brand I could trust.
It turns out I ended up with a pretty, shiny, RED washer...that is useless.
A dumb bimbo.
Oh, she sure looks good, but should I ask her to spin out the towels I get this response:
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! as she rocks back and forth.
Me: "Uh, what are you doing? You're supposed to be spinning the water out of the towels."
Her: "Huh?"
Me: "SPIN! You're supposed to spin!"
Her: "I like to rock around the laundry room-- I don't really do the spin thing."
Me: "These towels are soggy and drippy. They have to be spinned so your friend here can dry them."
Her: "OK, I'll try"
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Me: "Yeah. That's not spinning, that's useless rocking back and forth."
Her: "What exactly am I supposed to do again?"
Me: (rearranging soggy towels hoping to configure them just right so the spin cycle will work)
"Come on honey, you can do it. SPIN!"
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Me: (Sigh) "Well, you are RED."
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tell Me a Story
Later at home, I got the books out to put name labels in them for Bailey. I noticed the plastic wrapper had been removed from "Pat the Bunny". Shane smiled and said "I just had to read it. I love that book."
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx
"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." PJ O'Rourke
"The love of learning, the sequestered nooks. And all the sweet serenity of books." Longfellow
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Hmmmm...
Shane: Cheez-its
Mom: You're going to turn into a Cheez-it!
Shane: Good. Then I'll eat myself.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Labor of Love
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Up to Our Ears in Corn
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Favorite Things
Now we can step out and enjoy a beautiful view of our river. Ok, it's not really OUR river but the part that runs in front of our cabin belongs to us. Not that you can really posess running water that is flowing to the ocean. But it is beautiful.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Just Tryin' to Help
I mowed one over with the car...
I try to do my part.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Itchy and Scratchy Show
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Good-bye to Brother Roberts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Dinner Conversation
Mom: These biscuits are delicious--if I do say so myself.
Shayla: Well, aren't you a little full of yourself?
Dad: (Sucking up as a good husband should) They are perfect--golden brown, flaky and delicious.
Shane: Just like an orange kitten.
Everyone: Huh?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Blood and Fire and Vapors of Smoke
After Conference, it was a little chilly so we thought a fire would be nice. We haven't had a fire in our giant fireplace yet. We did have it inspected by a chim-chimanee chimney sweep. He said it might have trouble drawing the smoke up unless we start with a small hot fire. Apparently it was either not hot enough or not small enough because smoke began to fill the house. Of course Dad responded with his usual "calm, cool, collectedness". Soon, it looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel in his head. In the meantime the smoke was billowing through the house. Our main worry was setting off the alarm because it goes directly to our security company and they call the fire department. They charge large amounts of money if you cause a false alarm, so you can understand why Dad was so alarmed. Somehow we managed to gather from his shouting: "OPEN A DOOR! OPEN A DOOR! OPEN A DOOR!" That someone should open a door. I opened a door. But he couldn't see the open door because of the smoke. So naturally he continued to shout: "OPEN A DOOR! OPEN A DOOR! OPEN A DOOR!" While we all stood in the smoke wondering if he would stop shouting long enough to hear us say "The door is open." Shane responded to the primitive "fight or flight" instinct and ran to his room and shut the door. The problem was finally solved with a fire extinguisher. This brought up the problem of everything being covered with the powdery residue from that. It was a lovely ending to our peaceful, uplifting Conference weekend.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Newsletter: Month 264
Today you are 264 months old. Wow! You are growing up so fast! It seems like it was just yesterday I was in labor--waiting for you to come into the world. That was a Conference Saturday too. Your October Birthday has always been a fun celebration of Fall, Halloween and Shanna. A Jack-O-Lantern cake from Safeway and a Barbie and life is good. We love to laugh about the funny highlights of your life: eating a slug, eating too much orange frosting and candy corn at the Joy School Halloween party and barfing down my shirt. ("What's the matter Nunny?" "My tummy hur....BLEAHHHHH" "OK time to go". Stomping your foot and clenching your fists when you got mad...
Happy Birthday Scott!
It has been awhile since I updated this little family scrapbook on the internet. I like to pop over here from time to time and look at our ...
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The view from my kitchen window. I stand here several times a day and just drink it in. It reminds me of this Primary song~
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The Gale Academy of Classical Education is on hiatus for the week so here is an opportunity to do some catching up. A list of recent hap...
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Oh hey there! Remember when I used to annoy the world with all of my rapturous writings on gardening? It's been awhile but I was goi...