What Holiday Are You?

You Are Valentine's Day

You are a true romantic who places the ultimate importance on love. You are warm hearted, and you find it easy to care for people. Love is what drives you - and you have a love to give. You enjoy making someone's day. You're full of surprises. What makes you celebrate: Being with the person you love on a special day At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The sentimental one On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: See it as romantic and special

I think they pegged me. Want to try?

One smart cookie

Yesterday Rose was flicking the light switch for the hall light that no longer works (it just quit working on day). We told her that it was broken, and she replied, "It need batteries?"

Dream House

Jendi asked, "What is a feature that your dream house would have to have in order to be your dream house?"

I started thinking about that and just got on a roll. It's addicting. So hop over to Jendi's Journal and leave your answer, make your own list on your blog, or just chime in here. Here's my off-the-top-of-my-head, but didn't-spend-a-lot-of-time-thinking-about-it list.

1. lots of windows - I love light
2. a morning room with (shock) lots of windows, including a bay window with a window seat
3. a library with cushy seats
4. a rose garden
5. big trees with at least one good climber
6. moving water outside, preferably a small creek
7. streets around it (or a big driveway) good for riding bikes and sidewalks for walking (unless, of course, it was an estate with walking/biking trails)
8. a fireplace
9. a big porch with a porch swing
10. a master bathroom
11. a guest room - I really miss mine (three kids, 1 boy and 2 girls + 3 bedroom house = no more guest room)
12. a flat top stove - it was one of the only things I liked about our fixer-upper house when we bought it and I would hate going back to a regular range
    

Found quote

I saw this at a message board with someone's signature.

"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing. But in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture.”

Ethan's blog

Ethan's been begging for a blog, and so this past weekend we launched Art by Ethan. Go have a look and leave some comments - make his day!

Easter news and pics

On Good Friday, after much debate with myself, I decided to ditch my somewhat sick kids and off-for-the-day husband in the afternoon and attended a 20 year college chorale reunion which involved a short rehearsal, dinner together, singing as a reunion choir for the last Bible Conference service, and a reception. Brian's mom came to watch the kids so that Brian could join me for the reception and it also happened to be my 10 year college reunion that night too, so we popped in on that as well. I'm so glad that I went to the chorale reunion. Being in that choir was my favorite part of college, and I love the director. He is a wonderful choral conductor and kind, personable teacher. It was so nice to see and talk with him again.

First thing Easter morning, Ethan created a couple of dioramas - I love this one!

Isn't Mom's Easter table pretty?

Brian and his grandma

The artist as one can usually find him

They missed the Saturday egg hunt, because, despite the cute pics, they were feeling really crummy.

So even thought I'd planned on skipping the Easter afternoon egg hunt, they begged for it.

So I swiped a dozen eggs from Gran and the candy from their favors and hid them - they were quite pleased!

Rosie got swapped out in Photoshop by my brilliant husband, and I think that it turned out rather well.

Our day-after-Easter-50% off- baskets and bunnies. It really was a great concept, but those toys redefined cheap. Ethan couldn't even use his - they have to be returned, and the others aren't far behind. I think we'll skip Walmart and see if K-Mart or Target have better quality next year.

Easter desserts

My contributions to the Easter menu were a spinach salad (a family favorite - my kids protest if I serve iceberg lettuce!) and three desserts.

Simply Lemon - a crustless cheesecake with a

sour cream layer and topped with lemon curd -

this is wonderful, friends

Lemon-Lime Daquiri Layered Dessert - don't worry it's non-alcoholic despite it's yummy appearance and name and would make a fantastic summer party dessert

Creamy Jello Jigglers - I thought that they would turn out a bit more pink :^)

Seeing the light

At the end of the tunnel, that is. It's been busy! Easter and birthdays with a lovely mix of bronchitis and stomach bug has been exciting, but it's winding down. I think Anna Kate is officially over the stomach bug and Ethan's cough is almost gone and the girls' coughs are much improved. And we only have one birthday left - Anna Kate's ballerina party is this Saturday (her birthday is April 1). We've enjoyed all of the celebrations, but shopping and doing all of the extra stuff with three sick kids was a little much. Just wanted to pop in quick. So many posts and pictures, so little time...

Bring me to life: Sleeping Beauty

This is a suprising combination of an amazing song and one of my old favorite movies. Listen to the lyrics. I found this song as we were preparing Ethan to be baptized a few weeks ago and it was loaded with parallels.

A Blessed Easter

Alleluia! Christ is risen indeed!

O Death Where Is Thy Sting?

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs

Remember His sacrifice today. Make hot cross buns for your family, listen to Handel's Messiah, meditate hourly on the events of this day (9AM, 10AM, 11AM, 12PM, 1PM, 2PM, 3PM), wear black or a cross necklace to remind you of the day's monumental importance, mourn for your sin and the cost to our Savior. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted...

Obama's support of live abortions

Okay, I never supported Obama, but after reading the article, Why Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama , I no longer feel that he would perhaps not be as bad as a Clinton. Indeed, "anyone but Hillary" doesn't even sound funny anymore.

"As a nurse at an Illinois hospital in 1999, I discovered babies were being aborted alive and shelved to die in soiled utility rooms. I discovered infanticide.

Legislation was presented on the federal level and in various states called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. It stated all live-born babies were guaranteed the same constitutional right to equal protection, whether or not they were wanted.

BAIPA sailed through the U.S. Senate by unanimous vote. Even Sens. Clinton, Kennedy and Kerry agreed a mother's right to "choose" stopped at her baby's delivery.

The bill also passed overwhelmingly in the House. NARAL went neutral on it. Abortion enthusiasts publicly agreed that fighting BAIPA would appear extreme. President Bush signed BAIPA into law in 2002.

But in Illinois, the state version of BAIPA repeatedly failed, thanks in large part to then-state Sen. Barack Obama. It only passed in 2005, after Obama left.

...Obama articulately worried that legislation protecting live aborted babies might infringe on women's rights or abortionists' rights..."

by Jill Stanek, WorldNetDaily, read the rest here

Sweet 32

Ethan made up this version for me and compelled everyone, even my sassy father-in-law (love you, Dad!) to sing it for me. Brian's mom made dinner and my pretty cake.

I just realized I'm twice my Sweet 16 birthday. That'll make a girl feel old ( I was doing well until then!).

St. Pat's

I think that my orginal thought was to downplay St. Patrick's day this year since it fell during Holy Week, but we have to wear green still, and watch The Quiet Man (best kissing scene ever), and Brian was thinking corned beef and cabbage, and the library had a special program...

Ethan and Anna were both chosen as characters to act out The Leprechaun's Gold at the library program. Ethan was swaggery Young Tom and Anna Kate was the rabbit. They were so cute and did a great job - and I could have shot myself for forgetting my camera/camcorder.

But supper turned out great and Ethan asked if he could have cabbage the next day for lunch too. He, by the way, has a wicked cold (at least I think it's a cold - it's miserable and the cough is keeping him up either way) -please rememeber him in your prayers. Rose has a lesser case of it and didn't sleep well last night either.

Without further ado, here are some pics.

Plans for Holy Week and other celebrations

Palm Sunday
We finally got our Easter decorations up. Ethan brought some wonderful things home from our fantastic children's program at church, including this craft, which is a family tradition of one of our pastors. It is hot glued stick crosses stuck into a foam block and covered with Spanish moss. It came with six interchangeable ribbons.

1. Palm Sunday - Green, The Triumphal Entry: Jesus Arrives in Jerusalem (Mt. 21:1-11; Mk. 11:1-10;Lk. 19:29-38)
2. Thursday - Brown, The Last Supper: Symbol of Jesus' Coming Death (Lk. 22:14-20)
3. Friday- Red, the Crucifixion: Jesus Dies for Our Sins (Lk. 23:33-47)
4. Saturday - Black, The Waiting: Jesus' Body in the Tomb (Lk. 23:50-56)
5. Easter Sunday - White, The Resurrection: Jesus Conquers Sin & Death (Lk. 24: 1-12)
6. Monday - Purple, the Mission: Jesus' Work Continues Through Us (Mt. 28:18-20)
   

Then we made this craft (Thanks, Dawn!)

Monday
You know that you celebrate too much when your kids find out that it's St. Patty's day and immediately want to know what kind of green breakfast you're going to have. I thought I bought Lucky Charms with extra clover - but I couldn't find it if I did, so we had green apple oatmeal!

We're going to an Ireland activity at the library later too, and have several books to read - and green clothes, of course.

Brian left me devotional readings of Jesus' final week in addition to the wonderful family devotions he's prepared for the evening. There are many wonderful ideas for Holy week at children's ministry.com, including the idea of having a special corner for worship this week, including candles or a bare branch wrapped in white lights. We don't really have extra corners at the moment, but this candle tray is top of a bookshelf and will be taken down and lit twice a day for family worship. I'm planning to incorporate most of their ideas for worship each day - they're so easy to implement.

We'll also do a green pepper craft - a pepper ring makes a clover shape. We'll dip it in green paint and make prints. Then corn beef and cabbage for supper and we'll watch The Quiet Man - it's tradition.

Tuesday
Alamo Day for school - books and the John Wayne movie - and Ethan's memorizing a song from his Western CD (can't find the title - will get back to you).

Wednesday
My birthday - an ice cream sundae supper?

Thursday
First Day of Spring - our second annual spring photo shoot. Each kid gets a disposable camera and photographs signs of spring (not including runny noses). We'll take the newly developed shots from last year and put them in an album. We'll also be at a short outdoor concert and have a picnic lunch.

Good Friday
Possibly a Resurrection Party at a friends. Hot Cross Buns for breakfast. A cross craft. Lots of Bible readings (Brian's off). 3PM quiet hour and blowing out the prayer candle.

Saturday
Egg hunt and Easter story at a local horse stable, then lunch and egg decorating with friends. Preparations for tomorrow's celebration. Contemplating attending the Great Vigil at a local Reformed Anglican church.


More concrete plans and ideas to come, this is just the beginning...

Avon Deals

For one day only, you can get free shipping at Avon.com with a $10 order. Just use the coupon code SHAMROCK. Check out their spring collection, some of which is 50% off. It's time to order waterproof mascara for that Caribbean trip...

That lady tried to kill me

And she almost succeeded. I have a love/hate relationship with Denise Austin. I really like her perky ways and encouraging words. Usually. But tonight I hopped back on the exercise train by trying a different workout. Shrink Your Female Fat Zones. Well, something better shrink - and fast, because that exercise routine could count as torture.

And she just kept smiling.

"You're looking good." Are you kidding? They could make a best-selling comedy of me trying to get into the right position on this under-inflated stability ball. And why do they call it a stability ball anyway, because it felt far from stable as it kept rolling me sideways while I pretended to do crunches.

"That's my trouble zone too." Can I smack you now? There is no trouble zone on your perfectly sculpted body. The only thing perfectly sculpted on me are my eyebrows.

"Ooo, this stretch is one of my favorites. It feels so good." No, Denise, it hurts like crazy. It is not my favorite, none of them are my favorite, the end of your video (if I had made it that far) would be my favorite.

I'm going on a cruise in just a few weeks, Denise, and this torture had better live up to its name. Because I'll be back for more tomorrow, and if you say, "now give me a smile" one more time, I'm going to stick my tongue out.

Anna's First Date

She'd had a bad day. You know, an ornery one. Brian had taken Ethan out for coffee a few weeks earlier, so when he called me to let me know he was heading home, I told him that I thought that Anna ought to have her date night if he felt up to it. Try to turn her day around. He agreed. I hung up the phone and told Anna, "you and Daddy are going on a date."

*

The squealing and whooping lasted for about five minutes.

*

I called Brian back to let him hear some of it: "I'm goin' on a date. I'm goin' on a date. Ethan! I'm going on a date! Woohoo! whoo! whoo! I'm goin' on a date. whoo!"

*

We were thinking pet store, but before we suggested it, she decided that she wanted to go to Dunkin' Donuts. (She'd only been there once before.) She wanted one of every kind of donut. :^)

*

With the location settled, the primping began. Favorite dress, pink leggings, favorite shoes (black mary janes), a big pink bow, a bit of mascara, and some pink eyeshadow and lipstick, bright pink nail polish, and she was glowing and ready to answer the door.

*

They didn't stay very long (she burnt her mouth on her cocoa and missed her mommy), but she returned as happy as she'd left, and ate all three of her donuts and a few donut holes.

My Life In Pictures

It's a good thing that I like to take pictures, because it's the only way that I remember what I did a week ago!

So here's the run down:LEAP DAY 2008:

The gang with their Amphibian Ark frog masks

Ethan was so excited each time he caught sight

of another table set up at the zoo for Leap Day.

the kids made origami frogs at this one.

*******

preface:

Rose is always in character, usually as a princess, and most

often as Luciana (from Barbie's Island Princess movie).

"Come'on, Rosie, smile."

"Smile for your prince, Luciana." (The things mothers will come up with to get a picture!)

Our friend, Leah thought this leapord was too funny with his

tongue hanging out and had me take this picture.

Sherbet the Frog

And his short life span...

O Happy Day!

When I was a little girl, I loved Spring more than any other season. I was, however, slightly peeved about something. My birthday is March 19, and so when my third grade teacher asked for people to raise their hand to indicate the season in which they were born, it became painfully obvious that I was literally a day (or two) late. Just a day or two. Sooo disappointing to miss your favorite season. You know how much it meant to me then ( because I remember this over 20 years later), when she told me not to be sad- that I'd brought Spring with me. Wasn't that sweet? She was my favorite teacher ever ( and not just because of that!)

Fast forward a few decades....

Drumroll...

IN 2016 THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING FALLS ON MARCH 19!!!!!

Now that's a good way to celebrate your fortieth birthday. Kinda takes the sting out of it, don't ya think?

Check out the spring dating info at Space.com.

LitLovers

Did you notice the pretty newish button on the sidebar? Leslie is starting a book club! The first book will be The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. If you think that you're a pretty good wife, this book was written to shatter your illusions. Just kidding. Sort of. Honestly, it is the best book I've ever read on what a wife should be and do, and it is basically straight from Scripture. Not a lot of personal preference or opinions. You will learn and you will be convicted. So hurry and buy or borrow a copy, and join in. It will be starting some time after Easter. Go to Lux Venit for more details.

The Governor's Reply

Thank you for contacting me about the recent Second District Court of Appeals ruling on home schooling.

Every California child deserves a quality education - but it is the parents' right to decide what's best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education.

This ruling is outrageous and must be overturned by the courts. If the courts do not act to protect parents' rights, then - as elected officials - we will.

Again, thank you for adding your voice to this important issue.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

Your state's blatant disregard for parental rights in education and the outrageous ruling of the California courts in their recent decision on homeschooling is of great concern to parents everywhere. Americans are a people who have earned the right to determine their own destinies and that of their children without the interference of government. The government's responsibility is to protect people from harm, not from the teaching of their parents. It is unbelievably arrogant to act in a way that implies a complete lack of respect for the parents' rights to educate and transmit their own values to their children. I would urge you to investigate this matter and intervene on behalf of the many families in your state who have sacrificed their time and resources to see that their children receive a good education at home.



You can send an e-mail here.

The Big News

It's been hoppin' here, and I've lots to tell and show you, but the biggest news is:

We're goin' to the Bahamas, baby!