Giving Thanks

Last night we had our annual Pilgrim Feast.  We headed down to the basement with our friends Floyd & Peggy so that we could sit in the coldest, darkest part of our house--our pantry.  We cuddled in blankets and pretended we were in the cramped quarters of the Mayflower.  As the sound of ocean waves came from the CD player, we sang Oh God Our Help in Ages Past, read psalms and portions from Pilgrim Stories, The Landing of the Pilgrims and Of Plymouth Plantation by candlelight.  We ate soda crackers (which subbed for hard tack) and salami (after years of eating dried canned beef on this night, we decided to go for the more edible Italian dry cured meat).

Once our worship was complete, we convened upstairs to eat fish chowder around our dining room table. After dinner, Floyd's enthusiastic readings of Brer Rabbit and Richard Scarry's Mother Goose entertained the little boys.  The girls and I chatted with Peggy.  I think Floyd & Peggy are beginning to get used to the loud volume of our household.  It was a nice, relaxed evening (aside from a few minor little boy squabbles).

This morning we attended the Thanksgiving service at our church.  It was a time set aside from the busyness of meal preparations in order that we might give thanks to the Lord and the abundant provision He has bestowed upon us.  As my Uncle Keith said to me this morning, "It would have been enough."

Late this afternoon we will head over to Matt's parents' house for the big feast.  Seventeen of the nineteen grandchildren will be there.  We'll have more food than we can eat, even with all those people. We are blessed beyond measure. 

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!  Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.  Psalm 107:21-22

Leaves

Fest at Home, Round Two

I've already written about how we had our German Festival at home this year.  As nice as that Fest was, it just wasn't the same without family.  So last Saturday we invited my parents and Uncle Keith & Aunt Leanna to our house for a German feast.  Again, the menu was cabbage rolls, kartoffel und kloss and sausage (thanks, Uncle Keith!).  We also had a very rare plum strudel, instead of the usual apple, which my aunt & uncle also provided.  Grace made my German Great Grandmother Katherine's rolls.  Uncle Keith was in heaven.  Great food and great company.  Es ist gut!

Jude's Request

Friday at our house is not the most longed-for day of the week by any stretch of the imagination.  Fridays are chore day here.  Last Friday, Jude came to me and asked, "Mommy, could we please get a robot to clean our room?  Please?"  No, son, your name is not Elroy, it's Jude and you'll need to pick up your room every Friday for the next two decades, give or take.

A Good Day

Yesterday was a good day.  I got to the dollar store in time to buy the advance edition of the Sunday paper.  I buy a few papers every week for the coupons, but the competition around here is tough.  If I'm not there early, I miss out.  However, yesterday I made it in time, plus I had a chance to squeeze in a walk and shower before I left for the store.  So the day started off well.

After I got home, the kids and I sat down and made good progress on our BSF lessons.  Lydia told her older siblings how to spell, "Tigris River."  I had a nice conversation with my mom on the phone.  She was excited because it was snowing where she & Dad live.  She always gets to enjoy snow before I do.

It's getting cold here.  Matt and the boys drove out to the country to pick up a cord of firewood yesterday morning.  He got back to the house in time to sell his 1994 Subaru Legacy.  It had only been on Craigslist for a few hours.  Matt bought the car used ten years ago and drove it to work and back every day.  He bought it when it had 115,00 miles on it and then put another 90,000 miles on it.   

Grace worked hard outside all day, cleaning the chicken coop and the shed, putting away the patio furniture and the bikes for the winter.  Liz helped her with the shed and she also helped me get some work done at church.  Matt and Paul sorted and stacked the firewood.

Early in the evening, Matt got a good fire going in the fireplace and I made chicken noodle soup for dinner.  Grace made two loaves of challah bread.  We celebrated Shabbot last night, something we haven't done for a long time.  For dessert, we ate apple pie that I had made from the Granny Smith apples we picked a few weeks ago.

After dinner, Grace and I got the kitchen cleaned up and got breakfast going for this morning.  Daddy gave the boys haircuts (Isaac is nearly bald! oh well, it'll grow) and they all got baths. Jude put on his heavy fleece pajamas.  I finally gave him permission to wear them as it was cold enough here that I knew he wouldn't wake up in the middle of night because he was too hot.  He was one tickled little boy--he's been dying to wear those p.jers.

Matt stoked the fire one last time before we headed to bed and aside from a low battery alarm from one of Matt's electronic devices (we finally figured out where the noise was coming from), we had a restful night's sleep.

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Elle!

Autumn

Moola & The Mustache

This little mustachioed boy has cost us a lot of money this past month.  Breaking glass has become his new found talent.

A few weeks ago, he broke the back window of the van.  As in shattered into a thousand pieces broke.  He was mad at his big brother, threw a rock and missed his intended target.  I called every junk yard near & far looking for a replacement window.  It would have been easy to find had the glass not been heated.  My mechanic brother-in-law did an out-of-state search on the computer and couldn't find anything either.  Since we have no garage and the van must be parked outside, Matt and I decided the heated glass was a non-negotiable.  So we had the window replaced with a brand spanking new one.  Cha-ching!

This past Monday evening, Joel broke another piece of glass--the microwave turn table.  He was trying to help me by heating up my bean bag (a nightly ritual which provides sore muscle relief in my back).  When he dragged the bean bag out of the microwave, the glass tray came with it.  Once again, a thousand pieces.  We've been making due with a dinner plate, but that's not a long term solution.  I often put 9" X 13" pans in our microwave and a larger surface area is needed.  Matt ordered another turn table from Amazon.  They're certainly not giving those things away.

The microwave glass was truly an accident.  However, the van window was a result of Joel losing his temper, a problem we have been working on with him.  So Joel did have to do some extra chores for that one.  These certainly aren't the first problems we've had with boys and glass, and I'm sure they won't be the last.  Someday I'll look back and wish I still had a little boy around the house.  The truth is, I do love this guy to bits and mourn when I see how fast he is growing.  But I sure do hope his glass breaking talent will not be developed any further.  After all, shouldn't he allow his younger brothers a chance to hone their glass shattering skills?

Reformation Party 2012

Matt & I weren't so sure we wanted to go through with our family's annual Reformation Party this year.  Matt had a major work project coming to completion and our party would be smack dab in the middle of it.  We seriously considered bagging the whole thing.  However, we thought we could make a go of it and we're glad we did.
Matt decided this year's theme would be "The Saints."  A saint is any believer in Jesus Christ.  Matt gave Grace & I the names of five saints from history and we set to work designing games and activities to teach the kids about those folks.  The five saints were: Dorcas from the Bible, Alfred the Great, James Clerk Maxwell, John Knox and George Mueller.
We had a nice turn out for our party--12 adults and 13 kids, plus our own family.  We started with dinner and fellowship, then moved into a worship time and then onto the craft and games.  This was the first year that we had a different "track" for the older kids to follow.  They're getting too old for kiddie games, so Matt designed a scavenger hunt for them to do outside.  The kids used their flash lights to look for clues all over our property.  The trail of clues followed the travels of John Knox.
We ended the evening with worship.  The kids seemed like they were engaged and really listening this year.  Hopefully some of what they learned will stick in their little brains and go deep into their hearts.  Once again, God was gracious to provide our family with the time and energy to pull together another Reformation Party.

 

 

 

I would be remiss if I didn't thank Matt's folks for their help before and during the party.  Thanks go to Brian for constructing a French Galley boat (on very short notice, too!) and to Julie for helping the little kids with the craft.  Also, Tamara took pictures to record the evening as Grace was too busy to be holding a camera.