A Beautiful Day

Chuck made it home yesterday, and as I am typing he is dazzling the kids with new magic tricks.

It is a beautiful day.

Please Say a Quick Prayer

Chuck is flying home tomorrow: from Abilene to Dallas, from Dallas to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Houghton... then driving home from there. (I think that's it...) Please say a prayer for him to travel safely and that they do not loose his luggage in Dallas!

It is going to be quite a shock for him to leave Texas where it is still "t-shirt weather" and come home to about six inches of snow on the ground and sub-freezing temperatures!

Chuck's Pictures!

If you haven't visited in a while, I invite you to head on over to Chuck's website and take a peek at what he's been up to.

I am so proud of how well he is learning his camera... he's in Texas now and has gotten really fantastic pictures while he's there.

For a while he has lifted the security feature so that you can save his pictures to your computer. Of course, you'd be welcome to purchase copies, too! ;-)

Our Forecast..

Tonight- snow showers
Tuesday- snow showers
Wednesday- chance of snow
Thursday- snow showers
Friday- snow showers
Saturday- chance of snow

Gee... do you see the pattern here?

I've caught myself singing or humming Christmas-y music all day long.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! ('Cuz you can't stop it anyway!)

You're my...

..brown eyed girl!

...sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-a-la-te-da...

Happy Birthday to my blog

I've been blogging for two years now!

In that time I've gotten just over nine thousand "hits" and over fourteen thousand page views. I've written 290 posts. I average 21 visitors a day, but some of that is me checking for comments. ;-)

I had a lovely birthday yesterday. We were able to go visit with some friends (three houses in a row!) and we had so much fun.

Today it is just a typical "yucky" November day- grey and cold and wet. Most of the snow we got early in the week has melted away, but not to worry; we have more coming! It's about time for our annual First Hike to the Sledding Hill. This year Mary is about big enough to come out with us (I even found her some itty-bitty snow boots!) so I have no excuse to miss out on the fun!

One other thing I forgot to mention is that our dog, Snickers, died a few days ago. He would have been about 15 years old, and we are very thankful that we were able to give him some love and attention these last two years. I am going to miss our "Old Man". I will especially miss the way he would get so excited to see us sometimes; he would try to bounce around and be playful. Then after a minute of that he would start wheezing and stagger off on his arthritic limbs to rest! The kids asked me if he would be in heaven. I'm not usually all that sentimental about animals, honestly. I don't believe all dogs go to heaven. It seems to me that if you think you have to have your favorite pet with you in heaven to be happy, then you probably have an underdeveloped idea of what heaven is. (How could the utterly mysterious and glorious and awesome presence of God be dimmed because I miss my childhood parakeet?) But, whatever it was that made him him- his "soul"- has certainly gone back to the God who made him.

On that note... have a blessed day!

Happy Birthday to me

I am 32 years old today!

God has given me so many of you, family and friends, to love me, pray for me, and wish me well on this day. I thank Him for each one of you; your love is the best gift of all!

Looks almost like winter out there...

Robert took this picture of the "snow clouds" yesterday before it started to snow.

The reason I say it looks "almost" like winter is because you can still see the ground in a few areas! We have a few more inches in the forecast and then it will warm back up a little (40's) early next week. So, this snow is nothing serious, but rather a sign of winter right around the corner.

God bless!

Food for the Poor

I still remember that visiting priest very clearly, and I still hear almost every word of his sad story although I do not remember his name. We were living in South Carolina at the time, and he was a missionary priest visiting to raise funds and awareness for the group Food for the Poor.

He described the crushing poverty of the families he worked for. He told us about the children who would spend their days climbing around barefoot at the dump, digging through the garbage to find junk they could maybe sell or even food they could take home for their families. His words have stuck with me all these years.

Since then we have been pretty faithful donors to Food for the Poor. Today we received their quarterly mailing and read the story of a 4-year-old boy who came into the nutrition clinic weighing only 12 pounds. That's about half as much as Mary weighs. The pictures were absolutely heartbreaking- so difficult to understand why, in such a rich and beautiful world as ours is, there are people starving to death at the rate of thousands a day. The selfish heart might say it is because there are too many people. I think an open heart would say it is because "I" am not loving them enough.

We have decided to add an Our Father to our meal-time prayer for all those who are hungry. It still doesn't feel like enough, but it is something we can do. Maybe some of you would like to do this, too. Through our "blanket" of prayer I believe we can make a difference for those who have inadequate shelter, and perhaps we can spiritually feed those who have no food.

Thank you, Sweetie!

First, my darling pointed out that I failed to mention that yesterday was not our wedding anniversary. We can't claim credit for being married 15 years yet- it's only been 13 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days. Yesterday was the anniversary of the day he took me to the park and asked me to be his girlfriend. (I am quite certain that he already had marriage in mind, but it was all of two more months before he first brought that up, LOL!)

Second, my darling sent me a bouquet of 15 red roses yesterday. He's such a romantic, and that makes me one very blessed wife.

On a side note, some friends of ours are on the road to the UP and in serious need of prayer for protection. Please say a prayer for them right now! God knows who they are.

God bless!

Happy Anniversary

I'm amazed that Chuck and I have been together for 15 years. It seems so long ago, and yet it doesn't. Anyone who is in love will know what I mean. I looked through our photo albums to find a picture of just us, and this is one of the few that I found.

Aren't we so young and cute!? :-D This was taken at his Grandma's house on Thanksgiving Day in 1995.

My prayer for today... Thank you, Lord, for our marriage and our family! Forgive us for our failings, strengthen us in our weakness, and bless us with Your love for many years to come.

Eggs!

Wow, our girls are suddenly doing great! Last Saturday we got one egg, but the day before that we got none. Now we've gotten exactly three dozen eggs so far this week- 8 on Sunday, 6 on Monday, 10 on Tuesday, and 12 today. It was exciting enough when the kids would go out to check the nests and come back with one or two eggs, but yesterday Robert and Raechel went out and came back with seven!

If you have never been out in the warm fall sun and watched a flock of chickens scratching around in the dirt, clucking contentedly to themselves, then I really cannot describe the simple joy of it.

I printed off a calendar of this month to keep track of our chicken-related expenses and their egg output. But, comparing the quality of these eggs to the organic, free-range, almost-four-dollars-a-dozen eggs... I'd say we're definitely getting our money's worth from these hens.

This morning we had our eggs scrambled in bear grease that our neighbor gave us and I rendered myself. You can't buy satisfaction like that from any grocery store. God is good!

I'm glad it's over

Yesterday, we got exactly what we deserve, Lord help us.

I present to you our President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama as I will always picture him.

It disgusts me to think of the millions of innocent babies who will be slaughtered because of this man's promise to sign FOCA into law. God, have mercy, not that we deserve it.

Quite a Weekend

We had a good weekend, for the most part. And the parts that weren't good were, let's just say, memorable.

After Mass yesterday evening, while we were cooking and getting ready to head out for the All Saint's Day party, the back window to our "new-to-us" car got busted out. There's no reason to explain exactly what happened; those involved have apologized and been forgiven. But, because of the incident we missed the party on Saturday. That was a big disappointment for all of us. And I am, once again, without wheels until it is fixed.

Fact is, I was rather proud of that vehicle. It is so much nicer than the van we had been driving, by far the most "luxurious" car we've ever owned. God sure knows the fastest and surest way of putting me back in my place! Chuck and I had a good opportunity to talk about what happened and how we handled it. The damage to the car is fixable, and the lessons learned will hopefully benefit each of us personally for a long time to come. God is good!

Chuck had to leave for the early-morning flight today. The time he is home always goes too quickly. (Do I say something like that every time?) He will be in Texas, probably from now until they send him home for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! I can't believe but it is almost time to start planning for the holidays...

God bless!

All Saint's Day

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God... Today we keep the festival of your holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother. Around your throne the saints, our brothers and sisters, sing your praise forever. Their glory fills us with joy, and their communion with us in your Church gives us inspiration and strength as we hasten on our pilgrimage of faith, eager to meet them. With their great company and all the anges we praise your glory as we cry out with one voice: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of power and might!

(from the Preface of All Saints)

All you holy men and women, pray for us!