Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Nora's Third Birthday!

Happy birthday, precious Nora! You are loved and treasured and delighted in. May your third year be a year of joy as you grow.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Kids' Favorites

We love (Jacob especially, he memorizes so much better when facts are set to music) Scripture memory cds, and we have several. Hide 'Em In Your Heart, Hidden in My Heart, and G.T. and the Halo Express (a favorite from when I was a kid). But we recently discovered Slugs and Bugs cds and my kids adore them. At first listen, I'm like "what is this" but after a listen or two the kids are singing along to the sacred and the silly. Two thumbs up from our house!

Also, Annie's grandparents gave her a coloring Bible for Christmas that she is really enjoying. She colors along with whatever verses our pastor is teaching on during the sermon. Another two thumbs up!

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Friday, January 19, 2018

"I can trust God with this." Good reminders for a Friday.

Good reminders here: Six Words to Say Through Tears

This was a paragraph my Mom shared from her Bible Study Fellowship notes on Romans 5:1-11:
"Where do you find lasting peace? Where do you find your security? When does suffering make any sense? In our fallen world, these questions are unanswerable. We are mired in a worldly search for these unattainable goals. Yet, from heaven, God gives us the answer through His Son. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to Him, given security in Him, and we mature through the suffering we encounter in this world. Christians' lives are not glorious because there are never dark days or difficult circumstances. Christians' lives are glorious because we live with Christ. Through faith, we boast: God holds no hostility toward us; we live in peace with Him; He secures our lives forever; He is always doing what is best for all His children. Are you resting from worry, chaos, fear and pain by enjoying God's perfect peace?"

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Podcasts

I still haven't gotten to those Christmas pictures. We've been getting our house ready for the market instead (almost ready to list!) Praying for the right buyer! So, no pictures today. Instead I'm going to share my latest make-the-best-use-of-my-time tool. Podcasts! I know I'm late to the party on this, but last summer when I started back to working out after David's birth, I was so tired of the same news that plays over and over at the gym. I thought, why don't I try this podcast thing my friends are talking about? Now I'm hooked. :) What a great way to add value to my time! I listen to podcasts while exercising, making dinner, and getting chores done during naptime. My favorites are The World and Everything In It and Listening In. Sometimes I find good stuff on the ERLC podcast, and the God-Centered Mom. I also subscribe to sermons from a couple of pastors from our former churches. Do you have a favorite podcast? Hurray for another time-efficiency trick!

Friday, January 12, 2018

Reading List 2017

*There will be more Christmas picture posts...I am just behind on pictures. Today you get my reading list from last year, including the chapter books I read aloud to the munchkins.

Reading List 2017
1. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
2. Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit, Joel Chandler Harris
3. Centerburg Tales, Robert McCloskey
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
5. Flat Stanley, Jeff Brown
6. The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
7. The Magnolia Story, Chip and Joanna Gaines
8. The Happy Prince and Other Tales, Oscar Wilde
9. O Pioneers, Willa Cather
10. Trixie Belden: The Indian Burial Ground Mystery, Kathryn Kenny
11. When God Doesn’t Fix It, Laura Story
12. Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
13. Holding on to Hope, Nancy Guthrie
14. Messy Grace, Caleb Kaltenbach
15. Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Galloping Ghost, Kathryn Kenny
16. Getting to Know the Church Fathers, Bryan Litfin
17. Rescuing the Gospel, Erwin Lutzer
18. Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie
19. My Brother’s Keeper, Rod Gragg
20. The Courage of Sarah Noble, Alice Dalgliesh
21. The History of the Renaissance World, Susan Wise Bauer
22. Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow, Nancy Guthrie
23. Turn My Mourning into Dancing, Henri Nouwen
24. Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson
25. Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers
26. Benjamin Franklin, Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire
27. Genealogical History of the Halliburton Family
28. My Southern Journey, Rick Bragg
29. Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse, Ursula Moray Williams
30. Beauty and the Beast, Charles Lamb
31. Some Writer, Melissa Sweet
32. The Givenness of Things, Marilynne Robinson
33. Ralph S. Mouse, Beverly Cleary
34. The Triumph of Christianity, Rodney Stark
35. Secrets in the Dark, Frederick Buechner
36. Dear Mr. Knightley, Katherine Reay
37. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
38. A Portrait of Emily Price, Katherine Reay
39. Lizzy and Jane, Katherine Reay
40. The Bronte Plot, Katherine Reay
41. Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus, Jean Fritz
42. Hank the Cowdog, John Erickson
43. NYC Travel Guide, DK
44. David’s Sling, Victoria Gardner Coates
45. Give them Grace, Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson
46. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
47. The Lost Airman, Seth Meyerowitz
48. The Key to the Treasure, Peggy Parrish
49. No Children, No Pets, Marion Holland
50. North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
51. Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Richard and Florence Atwater
52. The Apple and the Arrow, Conrad Buff
53. As Kingfisher’s Catch Fire, Eugene Peterson
54. Lark Rise to Candleford, Flora Thompson
55. The Elephant’s Friend, Marcia Williams
56. Clues in the Woods, Peggy Parish
57. The Adventures of Spider, Joyce Cooper Arkhurst
58. Haunted House, Peggy Parish
59. Beezuz and Ramona, Beverly Cleary
60. The Winds of War, Herman Wouk
61. War and Remembrance, Herman Wouk
62. The Heart Mender, Andy Andrews
63. Tears of the Giraffe, Alexander McCall Smith
64. Amazing Truths, Michael Guillen
65. Pirate Island Adventure, Peggy Parish
66. Morality for Beautiful Girls, Alexander McCall Smith
67. The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Alexander McCall Smith
68. The Full Cupboard of Life, Alexander McCall Smith
69. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Alexander McCall Smith
70. Blue Shoes and Happiness, Alexander McCall Smith
71. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, Alexander McCall Smith
72. Doctor Doolittle, Hugh Lofting
73. Black Ships Before Troy, Rosemary Sutcliff
74. Ramona the Pest, Beverly Cleary
75. The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Alexander McCall Smith
76. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, Alexander McCall Smith
77. Hermit Dan, Peggy Parish
78. Roman Myths, Geraldine McCaughrean
79. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson
80. The Double Comfort Safari Club, Alexander McCall Smith
81. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, Alexander McCall Smith
82. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, Alexander McCall Smith
83. In Search of Troy, Piero Ventura and Gian Paolo Ceserani
84. From Dependence to Dignity, Brian Fikkert and Russell Mask
85. The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp
86. The One Year Book of Hope, Nancy Guthrie
87. Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, Ace Collins
88. Joyful Noise, Paul Fleischman
89. The Handsome Man’s De Luxe CafĂ©, Alexander McCall Smith
90. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, Alexander McCall Smith
91. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, Alexander McCall Smith

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Christmas Eve 2017

Finally getting around to sorting out photos. Here are some from Christmas Eve. We went to church with Nana, Honey, and Poppa, and then everyone came back to our house for a party, stockings from Honey, and a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas. Then we settled in to wait for Annie to fall asleep so Santa Claus could come. ;)