What a week!

Think whirlwind! That's the way it always is at the start of the school year but I'm never totally prepared for it. The freshman arrived on campus Tuesday and pretty much everyone else made it in for convocation services today. It looks like a great group from the turnout at the freshman picnic yesterday. I well remember those freshman college days...some fond memories...others are still going to take more time. Perhaps it's the mother in me but I just want to put my arm around them and say, "Stick it out three weeks and you'll be glad you came!" The weather has been really cloudy and cool which doesn't help any! I'm so glad those days are over! People used to say, "These are the best days of your life" and I'd ask my mom if it was really true. Because if it was true it was going to be a very long life. My mom is wise, she said these were good days...but not the best days and she was right.

Allan started back to kindergarten full time on Monday. It's been a struggle for him to sit down every day and do the work. By Friday both of us were in need of a break so we had a very light day. Since he went 20 days during the summer I figured going light for 20 Fridays won't hurt us a bit. Tuesday and Thursday he attended music class at Aldersgate Christian Academy and really liked it. I've not been able to gain much information about the content of what he has learned but he did tell me his teacher is "really pretty". When he told me that I said, "Is she really?" and he said, "Oh yes mommy, I'm being serious!" He's enjoying learning to read and can't wait until he can do it all by himself.

Daniel has settled into the school schedule as well. He's learning to sort things by color and shape. He's enjoyed using the Lauri color and shape sorter while Allan is watching his classes. He wants to be right with us so I try to adapt as much as possible so he can be a part of what is going on. He's still careening from pillar to post. Running down the sidewalk this week, he tripped and busted his upper lip, the next day he fell again and smashed his bottom one. Yesterday he poked himself under the eye with something .... sighhh.... I just know he'll be our first child to break a bone...I'm just waiting for it to happen. He diligently carried firewood to the basement for his daddy so that he could earn some money for his piggy bank. He was rewarded with money and found a snake. It was a little thing but not a very happy camper!

Stephen is moving everywhere with such speed that I can't keep up with him. Climbing is his favorite activity of choice. Friday I caught him as he had crawled up on the stool the boys use to use the restroom and was trying to crawl up onto the lid of the toilet. It was too slippery so he fell off. He has perfected the army crawl and still won't get up on all fours. At least now he is using his legs to push himself along. Still no teeth...we have the fussing, drool, runny nose, pulling at his ears...but no teeth.

I spent most of yesterday working in the garden trying to redeem my tomato plants. The last they were tied up was probably two months ago. They're all now up where they belong and it looks like they're going to produce well. I'm having to harvest okra every day. We have four nice sized watermelons coming on and the second planting of green beans are looking good. This week I need to put out the broccoli and cauliflower starters I have but they need to be hardened off first. I've been working mainly on finalizing our daily schedule now that school has started and slowing down from housework. This week I have two more windows to clean, I need to defrost my freezer and then all my big chores are done. I've even been able to finish some reading that has lingered all summer (Following God with All Your Heart by Elizabeth George) and picked up an old favorite, Our Sufficiency in Christ by John MacAurthur. The first time I read the book was for an Introduction to Counseling class taught by Greg Mazak at Bob Jones. It was one of those books that leaves a lasting indelible mark on your life. I've just finished the chapter "Does God Need a Psychiatrist?" The two quotes that struck me the most this time were, "Some of the supposed problems of our culture are pathetically trite. Self-image, looks, co-dependency, emotional abuse, mid-life crisis, unfulfilled expectations - today's 'infirmities' were once seen more accurately as the pains of selfishness." and "Sin is called sickness, so people think it requires therapy, not repentance. Habitual sin is called addictive or compulsive behavior, and many surmise its solution is medical rather than moral correction." It was interesting how God used the truth of His Word presented in this book to shape my thinking during the first year of our marriage when I was struggling so much with some thinking patterns that it was strongly affecting my physical health. Then, three years later God would use some of the crucial lessons I learned during that time to ease me through the year of coping with post-partum depression. So it's been interesting to pick it up again when I'm in a period of my life that is relatively calm. I find it's still good! :o)

This is what happens on a lazy Sunday afternoon when everyone else is sleeping and I've been reading and thoughts start churning. I believe I'll go on my other blog and be verbose! Hope you're having a blessed Lord's day!

This week's Savings Summary

Contrary to what my sister-in-law says, I'm not the queen of frugality. I wish I were and I'm endeavoring to get better but there's only so much energy that I can afford to pour into it. One of these days I'd like to write down the money saving things we've implemented in our home (long before there was any economic 'depression' ) that flows out of our philosophy of money and stewardship. But that will be the day when I have more time than what is available to me now.

This week there were some good deals at various places so I made two trips to Walgreens (I only have a picture of one of the trips), and one to CVS and Kroger. Here were the final results:

Kroger: Two 6pks of Dannon yogurt, One 6pk Danimals yogurt, two pkgs hot dogs, chicken breasts, 2 pkgs sausage, 2 pkgs bacon, 2 jars salad dressing, 1 jar mayo, 4 pkgs Knorr pasta sides, 1 box rice, 1 jar oil, 4 boxes cereal, 1 roll paper towels, bread, bananas, 2 gallons of milk.
Total value: $83.56
After coupons, sales and promotions paid: $37.81

CVS: 2 jumbo pkgs Huggies diapers, 1 pair scissors, 1 softsoap body wash
Total before sale: $33.07
Total after sales, coupons and promotions: $6.14
Received: $11.00 in Extra Care Bucks for next trip

Walgreens: 1 tube Colgate toothpaste, 4 cans Campbell's cream of chicken soup, 4 pocket folders (for fillers in Walgreens won't accept more coupons than the number of items you have...very unhandy policy), 2 pkgs (2 in each) reach toothbrushes, 1 reach dental floss, 2 pkgs Neosporin
Total before sales: $31.26
After coupons, sales and promotions: $10.63
Got back: $10.00 in Register Rewards for next store purchase.

So that means I paid out of pocket $54.58. Our budget is $60.00 a week for groceries, papers products, health needs, diapers, cleaning items. Basically that covers everything except clothes which is kept in a different fund and rolls over each month. Whatever is left over after our $240.00 either goes into savings or if there are any "needed" purchases then we can look at using the money towards that. Pretty good week!

Marianne's Cakes is now Online

After several weeks of work it's finally finished. Marianne's Cakes is now online. It's listed at mariannescakes.wordpress.com

Visit to WV

I have fully recovered from my trip to West Virginia this weekend! What at trip! The night before was fitful due to little boys who kept checking to "see if mommy was still here", a husband who sat up in bed and said, "so that's why they weren't in church Wednesday night", and a dream that I turned my alarm clock off. At 4:00 I thought, "fiddle....might as well get on the road." The sluggishness didn't allow me to get anything done very fast so I didn't pull out until 5:20. It was a wonderful trip down! Ruby kept saying what a sacrifice it was for me to come all that way. I told her, "Ruby, I can't remember the last time that I was able to sit somewhere for 11 hours in total quietness, no work to be accomplished, no one waiting on me to do something for them, just time to relax, reflect and pray!" What a privilege. But let me say right here: this trip would not have been possible without my husband! He cared for the boys and when I arrived home the house was organized, picked up, dishes done, etc. What a wonderful man I married! But I digress....

As I traveled I realized the car was not sounding right and I prayed that God would keep the thing in one piece until I arrived home. When I pulled into Bill and Ruby's Drive a little after 11:00 something was thumping in the back part of my car (at the same time I lost certain functions...like power locks)and the thought crossed my mind that this thing might not ever start again. I shoved that to the back of my mind and told God that was up to him. I then greeted Ruby....my how good it was to see her! The last I saw the both of them was at my wedding eight years ago.

Bill of course is battling lung and bone cancer. I was shocked when I saw him. Typically someone who laughs a lot, spry, on the go Bill was just a shadow. When I hugged him there was just nothing there. At one point he was down to 97lbs and I don't think he's gained much since then.

Most of what happened are things that are so personal I'm not going to share. But I will say, God did open a wonderful opportunity for me to ask Bill if he's ready to meet God. He answered in the negative but also said that there's nothing he knows of between he and God. I have my own analysis of what is happening but was encouraged that he says he wants to go to heaven and hopes that he does. I shared with him from Scripture the good news that we can know for sure. The talk was very positive from my standpoint and my prayers is 1. If there's nothing between he and God that God will give him assurance of salvation and help him to rest on God's promises 2. If there is something that needs to be confessed and forsaken that God would also make that very clear to him. By the time we finished talking and praying he needed to rest so I talked with Ruby and caught up on the past eight years.

Due to some traveling sickness and other complications we weren't able to go out for crab legs as we had planned (an old tradition) but Ruby sent plenty of snacks for me to munch on as I traveled. After saying some very hard goodbyes, I hit the road about 5:30. When I started the car it was very evident that something was very, very wrong with the car but since it was on, I kept moving! When I stopped for gas at 8:30 I realized after looking under the car that my muffler had rusted off in such a way that it was just hanging (hence the thumping noise) there but try as I might that thing would not come off and I had no tools to take it off. God kept his hand on me and I arrived home 10 minutes before midnight. I would have been home sooner but in talking to my mom I missed 71 south at Columbus and so took 270 the entire way around Columbus which added an hour onto my time. I was able to stay awake but slept through the next morning and took a long afternoon nap!

It was a wonderful trip in many ways: seeing old friends, being able to share God's word and His plan for the redemption of man (which bears repeating even if you do have a personal relationship with God), the hours I was able to spend in fellowship with God over the miles.

God answered prayer in so many ways and I'm very grateful for every blessing!

Update/Prayer request

My computer monitor has died so I'm having to work through Log-me-in which is fine...just a bit more burdensome. We've had a good week of beautiful weather. Well, beautiful weather except for Tuesday. Philip and I were planning on celebrating our anniversary by going canoeing but due to heavy thunderstorms the place closed and so we ended up going to the Creation Museum. That was a nice experience since it was the first time I've not had a child with me. We've worked in the garden, I've gotten most of the windows and screens washed, and worked on our school schedule. Plans are to start full swing into schoolwork on Wednesday. Allan can hardly wait. This week I wouldn't allow him to do school because I needed a break to get some things done.

Lord willing, Saturday morning about 5:00 I'm going to pull out for a flying trip to WV to see a friend dying of cancer. Since this is Philip's last week off he offered to stay with the children so that I can go make some more memories and say good-bye. Bill and Ruby have been dear friends since college days and Bill doesn't have long to live. Unfortunately, by his own admission, he is not ready to die, but most unsettling, his seeming lack of concern. Unless God performs a miracle I will not see him again and I want God to give me wisdom and discernment to do/say the right thing. I want this to be a "Bill, thanks for everything you've done and all the cups of coffee you've brewed...I'll see you in a while." I don't even want to think that this is the final goodbye before he enters eternity without having a right relationship with God. If it comes to your mind I'd appreciate your prayers. I hope to get home by 10:00 Saturday night so I'd appreciate prayers for traveling mercies. Our car got a new serpetine belt and radiator on Wednesday so it should be good to go! :o)

A Child's View of Reality

Allan has a little characteristic that I wish I was able to emulate. When he has an unpleasant experience, he "cuts" it out of his day. Tonight when his daddy asked him how his day went he gave most of the details except one large account of an unpleasant circumstance. Philip asked him about it and he replied that he'd "cut that part out." After cutting it out he throws it in the trash and never sees it again.....wonder how I could do that?!

Last night after church Daniel was being his usual self and I turned around at the back of the church to see him somersaulting down the aisle towards the alter. After catching up with him, I explained that this was God's house, a special place set aside to worship and we don't run or yell or somersault out of respect for this special place and our love and respect for God. He looked around quickly and said, "But church is over. God isn't here."

Stephen climbed the steps today by himself. I caught him about 8 steps up and watched to see if he'd go the rest of the way and he did. It's as though every fiber of his being is saying, "I'm not a baby anymore...please don't ask me to do baby things!" Sighhhhh..... "when did they grow so quickly, the time's gone so fast." But I certainly am thankful for little, healthy boys who are growing normally.