Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard you
There is much to be thankful for every day. Today, though I'm sad that I must leave, I'm thankful to have been able to spend several days with my parents and to see other family and meet some new friends as well. My sister's family and one of my dad's sisters with her husband joined us Thanksgiving day, as did 6 of my parents' Chinese friends.
I hope you all have had a safe and happy Thanksgiving, too, and that you will continue that thankfulness to our gracious Lord every day.
Missed you guys this week! Glad you had a great time seeing family and friends. Many must have been out of town this weekend, as our numbers and pews were low this Lord's day.
I had no idea until recently just how many ideas there were for doing gift jar mixes. Our Keepers at Home group is getting ready for a bake sale and will be selling some of them. So Monday last week and Thursday this week my house was overrun with little girls and their moms, LOTS of jars, and quite a few messes as we layered up about 114 jars/bags (if my count is right) of various (about 18) different items, including soups, cookies, drink mixes (tea, cocoa, and cappuccino), muffins, etc. Big messes, lots of chaos, but also lots of fun! And, unfortunately, I have not even a single picture to show. :-( I was too busy working to find my camera and make use of it.
Next will come the job of decorating the jars, assembling some of them with other items in baskets, putting tags on them, etc. I expect that to be fun, too, but hopefully somewhat less chaotic.
Ariel can hardly wait for the bake sale. It isn't until December 13 (though we may make the jars and baskets available for sale before the actual sale date), but she wants to go ahead and start recruiting customers. Her enthusiasm is great!
Of course, I'm getting pretty excited, too, which is a good thing because I'm doing a lot of the planning and preparation. It's a lot easier to do a job when it seems fun. :-)
If I'd kept track through the years, I'm sure I'd have hundreds of these, but for now I'll just post a couple of recent sayings:
Variations on "Mommy"
Ariel:
Sometimes the regular: "Mommy"
More frequently: "Mommy-uh"
When she's trying to be grown up: "Mom"
Timothy:
Sometimes the regular: "Mommy"
Sometimes: "n'Mommy"
"Stressed out?"
Yesterday had several elements that caused me some level of frustration (I won't go into great detail.), so Richie had told the kids at one point that I was *stressed out*. This morning the frustration was building again due to work that wasn't working, frequent interruptions, etc. Apparently, my body language revealed some of this because Ariel asked me if I was "s t r e t c h e d o u t." I said that I was feeling too "stretched out" and this was also making me a bit "stressed out." *grin*
Yes, Richie, Timothy, Ariel, and I went to the fair today. Thankfully, the weathermen were wrong, so we had pleasantly cool weather but no rain the entire time we were there (and only a very short, light sprinkle on the way home). Also, thanks to our 4-H club for getting us free tickets, a little planning ahead, and willpower, we managed to spend only the money on gas to get there and $10 to park. I don't know about anyone else, but I totally didn't miss the rides, midway games, etc. In fact, I probably had more fun this year than I did in past years getting to go to shows, hands-on activities for the kids, etc. Richie and the kids seemed to have a really good time, too! All in all a fun family outing. - How was your Thursday?
Keith and I drove by the fair on the way to take Mom to the airport. We decided that we really want to go next year. It's been many, many years since we have been. Actually, the last time we went we were in high school! Glad to hear you had such an affordable, fun time. I don't want the rides, either, but I hope to enjoy some of the food!
When I finished the first one, I was bawling like a baby. I could *not* believe what was happening! I couldn't believe it was ending like that! I went to bed, and couldn't sleep I was so upset. They were so so so good. I saw Redeeming Love at the bookstore and thought I'd like to try that one next.
