Thursday, December 30, 2010

A New Year is beginning

Another CHRISTmas is over, and  a new year is beginning.

We had a great CHRISTmas, spending the day with family...and, as usual, receiving far too many gifts.  The girls got Nikon Coolpix cameras and have been having a blast with them.  I got the latest version of Corel PhotoShop...and a book to help me learn it!  Everybody got books to read (of course!)......and I've already read one of them, The Reluctant Prophet by Nancy Rue.  (If you liked the Yada Yada Prayer Group/House of Hope series, you'll like this one too!)

We finished our 5th year of reading the Jotham's Journey Advent books.....this year was our second time through Bartholomew's Passage.  We also did our Noel Calendar......despite that my girls are older now, it has become a beloved tradition.

CHRISTmas Eve service is my favorite church event, and this year was no different.  DD13 was honored to play Mary during our church's CHRISTmas Eve service.  She brought tears to my eyes.

We're slowly getting back into the school routine.  We finished Mara, Daughter of the Nile during our CHRISTmas break.  DD13 loved the entire book (she continually begged me to read more!), and both were kept on the edge of the their seats as I finished it.

As the year is winding down, I naturally find myself looking ahead to the coming year....2011...wow.  Seems like just yesterday it was turning to the new millennium an90Daysd here, we've completed an entire decade of it!   I don't make New Year's resolutions, as I just break them anyway (often before I truly even get started!), but this year I have decided I am going to read through the entire Bible--something I have never done.   So, I purchased the 90 Day Bible, as I like the idea that the reading will be during my less busy months of winter.  To read the Bible in 90 days, I need to read 12 pages of the 90 Day Bible each day.  Definitely doable, requiring about an hour each day.  Anybody want to join me in reading through the Bible?

A very blessed New Year to all my family, friends, and readers!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Catching up....

Wow, where did the time go?

We've been plugging along with school, though not getting as much done as I would like.  We've just been so busy.  I purchased some apples from our neighbors (in public school) and it took them a week before they could catch us at home to deliver them!



We've all been involved with church events....special musical events, funeral dinners, and the like.  The library ministry (which I'm involved in) and the youth ministry worked together to host a public showing of the Veggie Tale's It's a Meaningful Life.  We held a coloring contest and made a ton of different kinds of popcorn,,,we had almost 100 people show up for it!  It was a great family night.  The girls are in the puppet ministry, which performed before the movie started.

The girls were aPuppetslso scheduled to do a Christmas program with the puppet ministry for special needs kids at a local Rotary event.  DD10 ended up with an ear infection at the last minute and was not able to perform!  We had packed up the theatre and all the paraphernalia that goes with puppets (and you wouldn't believe me how much there is!!!) and set up the day before.  About an hour before were were to leave, she complained that her ear hurt.  Bad mom that I am, I figured--since this was the first she had complained of it--that she could get through the performance and then we'd have it checked out the next day.   Well, we no longer got through the door for the event when she has tears in her eyes at the pain and I had to call dh to come get her and take her to stat care.  YPuppetsep, a pretty  bad ear infection and a round of antibiotics.  And guess who had a crash course in running sound and doing the backgrounds for the puppets????  Yours truly.   Wow, do I have a new appreciation now for what puppeteers have to do!!!!!!  It's a crazy scramble behind the scenes of each performance!  Fortunately we had a forgiving audience who enjoyed the show despite all my mistakes!




Let's see what else has been going on??    Oh yeah, it's Advent time, so we are in our fifth year of the Jotham's Journey trilogy......which means we're doing Batholomew's Passage this year.  This has become a favorite Christmas tradition.  Even though this is the second time through the trilogy, the girls continue to beg me to read more of the story each night!  (I was excited to announce to the girls that I have pre-ordered the long-awaited Easter story of Jotham's son.......Amon's Adventure!!!  We cannot wait for it!)

What else.......oh yeah, it's bitter cold and snowy and icy here in Ohio.  One day last week I quite suddenly found myself on the ground at the base of the deck.....having somehow missed the four steps from the deck to the ground!  Ugh.  Yeah, I'm still feeling that one.  The chiropractor is slowly getting me back in shape.....praise God nothing was broken!  \o/

And, just in time for the single digit temperatures.....the thermostat on the van is on the blink.  Brrr.....

Another reason I've not been on the computer as much is that it just plain hurts to type these days.  As my flare (dermatomyositis) gets worse, my muscles have weakened greatly.  I think I hurt the wrist of my right hand trying to lift something and have caused a tendon to become inflamed......either that or I have developed carpal tunnel.   Whatever the case, all I can is OUCH and I pray it heals soon!

And of course, as with so  many, we are getting ready for CHRISTmas.  Our tree is up and most of the presents have been purchased.  Still need to make some cookies. We are looking forward to a theatrical performance of A Miracle on 34th Street later this week.

Well, I guess that's about it.  Hope y'all have a very blessed CHRISTmas!

Oh, a PS......a bit of good news that I almost forgot......dh has become our Deacon of the Sound Ministry at church!  I love our church and am so happy we are involved!  We have an awesome minister, wonderful music, and a lot of great folks there!