Art's Chili Pepper

Come Worship With Us

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

No church home to visit today? Stuck at home sick? Wondering what it is those Christians do, anyway? Join us in worship via live stream. Follow the steps to check it out.

Sunday January 29, 2012

10:00 AM

No Evening Service This Week

1. Go here and click on the Live Stream tab.
3. Click on the play arrow in the middle of the video box. They usually have the live streaming up a few minutes before service starts. If it isn't up when you open the page click on the arrow in a few more minutes.
4. You can click the 4 arrows in the bottom right hand corner of the viewing window to make the picture full screen. To return to the viewing box size, tap your computers ESCAPE key.

If you would like to learn more about VBC you can visit our website here and Facebook page here.

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What Will Others Write About You?

2012-01-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

I rarely read the newspaper. I have found, even our local small town newspaper is more about sensationalizing tragic events to boost circulation and less about reporting the facts people need to know. I found it sad and distressing. Each morning the kids would collect the newspaper on their morning rounds to take out trash and feed the animals. When I came out it would be laying neatly on the coffee table waiting to be read. I would scan the headlines, knowing it was unlikely I would find time to read it cover to cover like I did in my single days. I noticed the headlines were becoming more and more sordid. I tend to internalize what is going on in the lives of others and in world events and found myself becoming more and more discouraged after reading the paper. Then, when I saw Aedan reading the paper one morning, I started thinking about our young children seeing that first thing each day. If it was overwhelming to me, I can't imagine what effect it would have on our six year old readers.

That is when we decided not to renew our subscription to the newspaper. Allen reads all the news on the internet and I figure if there is something I need to know about, he will fill me in. This system has worked out well for me and our family.

Once in a while, I still come across a newspaper when staying in a hotel or we might pick one up if there is some important event we want to read about. I skim the headlines quickly. But what I really like to read are the obituaries. You might think that is morbid but it is quite the opposite.

A well written obituary is the celebration of a life well lived. Notice I say well-written. I find it pathetic when I see the obituary of someone who lived to be 90 years old and all the obituary said is how Mary liked to play Bingo and listen to country music. And then there is a long list of all her children and grandchildren. Now seriously, when I see one such as that, I stop and wonder how sad that she had so many years on the earth and she had no impact at all. Alternately, one wonders how sad Mary could raise so many offspring and they can't put a little more effort into reporting on her life. Because in the long run, who cares about Country music and Bingo?

But sometimes you come across a beautifully written obituary that encourages me to reflect on my life and evaluate what I am doing to impact the world. Once in a while, I read an obituary that challenges me to take a good look and make changes. To stop and smell the roses. In short to make the most of every moment in this life on earth.

We had a darling friend who lived to be well into her 90's. She had a large family. After one of her great-great grandchildren was born I asked her how many she had all together now. She said, "Kathleen, you know I don't know. But I have been working on writing my obituary so I anticipate I will be able to count them all up once I've written all their names down. Grandma, that's what everyone called her, went home to be with Jesus shortly after. We celebrated at her funeral. Hers was a life well lived.

On Monday the father of our friend passed into eternity. We had the opportunity to meet this gentleman and had been the recipient of his kindness many years ago. We had also been blessed by the gift he passed on to his children and grandchildren who also exhibit a heart for serving others, even if those others are perfect strangers.

I was awestruck the first year we lived here and one son and his children came and spent an entire Saturday helping us split and stack firewood for the winter. Allen and I had never met them before they showed up at our door. An hour from their home to boot. We had the three girls and baby Nathaniel at the time. I was Allen's official helper when it came to the job. Since I was pregnant with Aedan, I couldn't do much to help out.

This man not only lived a life worth reporting about, he created a legacy that will go on by the example he set. I was exhorted and encouraged by what my girlfriend's husband, this man's son-in-law, had to say in his email regarding Mr. Frederickson.

*As I do with many emails or letters I share here, I have corrected typos and spelling errors.*

All,
Yesterday morning (1/23/2012), Jeannette's father passed away at his home in Gaithersburg, MD after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's Disease. G. Merritt Frederickson was 74 years old. He was a loyal husband to my mother-in-law for 54 years, a great father to Jeannette, a fine father-in-law to me, and a caring grandfather to our children.
Many of you met him when he and I my mother-in-law would come for Cantatas and piano recitals. He was a strong supporter of his grandchildren, visiting often and attending activities.
He was well-known for setting aside his agenda on short-notice and helping anyone that needed it, whether it was for car-repair, playset-building, wood-splitting, helping people move, offering temporary housing in his home, or even helping to build a house.
He attended church all of his life, even meeting his wife-to-be there at the age of eight years. He enjoyed being active, involved, and assisting others. He will be missed greatly by his family, friends, and church,

Larry

My dear readers what will your obituary say?

Taco Soup

2012-01-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe from Laura at Goose Hill Farms. It is such a fabulous recipe. I was sending it to my girl friend last night and thought I should share it here. Something this good and this easy should not be kept to oneself. I've altered the recipe a little with my own notes.

For the vegetarians out there, this is great without the meat, too. I have used different types of beans depending on what I have in the pantry.

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans navy beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can chicken broth
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 pkg taco seasoning

Brown meat and onion, drain. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for approximately 3-4 hours.You can put this in the crock pot and cook all day. When we were in a hurry we put it on the stove and cooked it til it was heated through and it was good, too.

We serve it with cheese and sour cream on top. At the table we pass tortilla chips for dipping. We also pass hot sauce and jalapenos.

Laura, thanks for this great recipe!

Pizza Soup

2012-01-26T13:01:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine gave me this recipe years ago. I was sharing this recipe with a friend yesterday and thought I should just pop it up here. It is such an easy recipe and oh so delicious.

~1 jar (14 oz) of pizza sauce, pasta sauce, or tomato sauce
~1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
~1/2 red onion, chopped
~1 cup sliced mushrooms
~ 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
~ 1 pound cooked Italian sausage, crumbled
~1 cup sliced pepperoni, cut in quarters
~8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1/2 T dried)
~1 T dried oregano
~1 package pasta, cooked and set aside... I like acini di pepe for this but any small pasta will work.
~shredded mozzarella cheese for serving

Put all ingredients except pasta and cheese in crock pot. You may need to add some water or stock if it is not soupy enough. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. This is really already cooked, so you are just blending the flavors. What does that mean? If you need it sooner, it can be served anytime it is heated through. This can also be done on the stove top.

To serve: put pasta in the bottom of soup bowls. Ladle soup over top. Sprinkle with cheese.

Make a lot. Your family will be looking for more.

You've Got to Do Better Than That!

2012-01-25T15:49:00.001-05:00

Rowenta Inc.

2199 Eden Rd

Millville, NJ 08332

To Whom It May Concern:

In January of 2010 we purchased a Rowenta DG5030 PressureIron and Steamer from Amazon.com. Knowing Rowenta’s outstanding reputation forquality, we did not think twice about spending $159.00 for it. This was a replacement for my Rowenta traditional iron, which had seen me through ten years of service. We chose this particular model because it was the top pick of Consumer Reports. When it arriveda few days latter we were very impressed by both the efficiency and qualityperformance. The time spent ironing for our family of nine was reduced dramatically by this new appliance.

We started experiencing issues with the steam chamber a fewmonths later. As it was still under a one year warranty, we contacted yourcustomer service unit; who, after many calls back and forth, agreed to send it to an authorized Rowenta repair center. Four months later, we still had not received the iron back. We contacted the company who was doing therepairs. They informed us they were still waiting on parts and it would be twomore weeks until it was repaired. We received it two months later.

It was still not working properly. Not wanting to go through the long repair process again and be without it foran unknown amount of months, we opted to just use it as it was.

Last week the lid of the steam chamber blew off while it was in use. This is anobvious breach of safety as it could have very easily hit and injured the user, who happened to be my twelve year old daughter. If the flying lid was not dangerous enough, there is the concern of burns that could have been caused by the releaseof the pressurized steam. Thinking we had not done a sufficient job placing thecap on, we took special care putting it on a second time. The same thing happened again, leading us to believe it is a manufacturer’s error.

We contacted the customer service line again, who informed us that product was out of warranty and we were out of luck. (Note it had spent six months in the repair center and yet no exception was made to the warranty time period.)

We debated whether to purchase a standard iron to replace it. However, because it did such a good job, when it was working, and was still the top pick of Consumer Reports, we decided to invest in another Rowenta Steam Generating Iron. At Amazon.com I spent another $159.

One month later, water started running out of the steam chamber. I called the customer service line again and was informed that your company is aware of the defect in this product. And if I send it to the authorized repair center it will be fixed and sent back to me. I have several reservations to this response. #1 I do not want to be without the iron for another six months. #2 The authorized repair center doesn't seem to know how to fix the problem. #3 For more than $300, I don't think I should have one that is "repaired" I think a brand new item or a refund would be a more adequate response. #4 I am highly disturbed that a name seamstresses have come to trust should continue to sell an item that you KNOW is defective and could be a danger to the user. I could get that kind of cheap junk out of China for much less.

Come on, you have got to do better than that!

Regards,

Kathleen Wachter

Football is a Family Affair

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Our family are huge football fans. We root for three basic teams. St. Louis, the Redskins and the Ravens.

We all arrived at our respective teams in different ways. I was raised in Redskins territory when the good folk of Maryland were still stinging at the Colts abandoning Baltimore for greener pastures. While the other girls were hanging out at the mall, my girl friend and I from grade school would spend Sunday afternoon in her basement watching the Skins while doing homework.

Allen became a die hard Rams fan when he was five years old and popped a quarter into the chicken machine at the grocery store. Do you know what I mean? Those vending machines by the front of the store where you can get prizes and candy? When we were kids the market in town, where everyone did their shopping, had one with a chicken that would spin and bawk. Out popped an egg looking thing with a prize. Allen happened to get a helmet with the LA Rams on it. He has never looked back. He is one loyal fan. He had to wait until he was more than 30 years old and they had moved to St. Louis before he ever saw the team have a winning season. And it has been down hill since. Yet, he faithfully watches the games when they are aired locally and he follows every detail of the team on the internet.

He started when the boys were young to make them devoted fans, too. When Nathaniel was just a few weeks old he sat on Allen's lap watching the Rams lose the Super Bowl to the Patriots. (It later came out that the Patriots cheated at this game. They were fined but the title was not revoked. Yes, as a St. Louis household we are still bitter about that.) The boys wore Allen's John Cappelleti jersey from when he was a boy until they could no longer squeeze into it. Elisabeth wears that now. I am sure Carmella will have it on before too long.

When Brianna was a preschooler and we were riding high on the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" and their star quarter back, Kurt Warner, Brianna decided she needed a team. Her favorite color was purple so she narrowed it down to the Vikings or the, then new, Baltimore team. She chose the Ravens. Which was a good choice because it is much easier to get Ravens stuff than it is Rams paraphernalia.

Which is no small matter around here. That Christmas Allen gave Brianna a Shannon Sharp shirt. It only came in men's sizes, but she has proudly worn it game after game for more than ten years now.

A few years ago, Brianna was trying to win someone, anyone, over to the Ravens side. Samuel told her he had to be a Rams fan because he only had a Rams shirt. She decided she was going to change all that. For Christmas she gave each of the kids Ravens Jerseys. Her evil ploy worked. Samuel, who adores his big sister, became a Ravens fan. Although, he still happily wears his Rams shirt, too, he calls himself a Ravens fan.

And so the Jersey wars began. Allen keeps everyone stocked in Rams goods and Brianna makes sure there is a good balance of purple. While St. Louis stuff is hard to come by, this challenge has its benefits. A few years ago, we were shopping on eBay to get Nathaniel a Christmas gift. Through that purchase I met a darling lady in St. Louis, named Shirley. Not only was I able to buy some shirts for Nathaniel from her for Christmas, on Christmas Eve of that year what should arrive in the mail? A St. Louis Rams helmet.

Nathaniel was so excited and we were touched by the generosity and kindness of someone we had never met. It seems, while Rams fans may be few and far between, it is a brotherhood in which the bonds run strong. Over the years, Shirley and I have exchanged a few emails from time to time and even a Christmas card once in a while. This Christmas the boys received a package of Rams clothing from this St. Louis angel.

And if you think that is something... Have you ever been out in public and somehow got to talking to someone and it turns out you have both been to the same school or church or something??? You know what I am talking about. Well, listen to this.

Allen has a Rams cap that he wears pretty much any where he goes that isn't work or church. And periodically someone will note that he is a Rams fan. And they get really excited and ask, "Where in St. Louis do you live?" Allen will tell them he doesn't live in St. Louis. Then they say something like, "When did you move?" He replies with a negative that he never lived in St. Louis. Then they will inquire as to whether he lived in LA. When he explains that he never lived in LA, either, they ask, "Well, how did you become a Rams fan?" Because it seems, while the good folk of St. Louis love their Rams, it is unheard of for anyone else to follow them. We were sitting on a bench at Disney World last fall waiting for our table for lunch when a family of four sitting across from us starting nudging each other and whispering while pointing and staring at us. I suspected it was the usual, "Look-how-many- kids-they-have.-Can-you-believe-they-don't- know-how-to-stop-that?" kind of talk. But, no. Finally, the dad works up the nerve to just ask outright. "You are Rams fans?" He said this while waving to the hats Allen and the boys were wearing. They were in shock to see St. Louis fans outside of the city they were named for. And happy. Yes, they seemed genuinely happy that the world at large was being evangelized by this lone missionary of the Rams. And yes, we will convert anyone. And we try to start them early. Good girl Ella, my friend!

Like the bugs that pass around a large family, it seems football is contagious, too. Emma has a friend who is a twelve year old only child. She has spent many a day and night in the Wachter home. Gracie becomes enthusiastic about many things that interest our children. When they were all making Narnia costumes to enter in the fair, Garcie saved up money to buy fabric and sew a Narnian gown. And last winter she gathered up her birthday money to invest in a Ravens jersey to match the girls. Tuesdays, when Gracie comes to visit, is often Jersey Day around here. Not like the state, but the day when everyone wears their football jerseys... Ravens, Rams or otherwise.

But just because we all like football... And just because we all like to root for our teams... well, that doesn't mean everyone knows what is going on. Some people, like Elisabeth, just come for the junk food and opportunity to shout inside. Even though she has no idea what she is shouting for. Her view of football cracks me up. The other week while the family was watching the Steelers vs. Denver, I was upstairs wrapping Nathaniel's birthday gift. Ellie came upstairs and said, "The bad team is yellow. They need to get saved because they steal!" It took about ten minutes for me to figure out what she meant by that because my mind was stuck in the steel mills.

And then there is Kaitlin. She is our remedial student. No matter that she has been watching football since she was a baby. No matter that her Pa and brothers and sister live, eat and breath the sport during the season. No matter that she loves to lounge about in her team shirt. She hasn't a clue what the sport is about. But we are not giving up on her. She sits in on the games and asks a lot of questions. As an investment in her marital future, Allen gave her the book "Football for Dummies" a few years ago. She has read it cover to cover, but I am not sure it helped. We appreciate that she is a good sport, and we trust that some day there will be just the right fellow to appreciate it, too.

Getting tickets to the local teams is just about impossible, and expensive, too. But not so with the Rams. Allen has found it is cheaper get tickets, a rental car, a plane ticket and a hotel for the weekend in St. Louis. Periodically, he will take one of the kids for a special time and they will fly west for a game and tour of the Arch. I've never been, myself. But I understand there is not a whole lot of anything else to see in St. Louis. But they have fun just doing something special one on one with their Pa. One time, Allen was even able to take Brianna to St. Louis for a game in which they watched the Ravens and Rams duke it out.

Now, you might think with such a variety of teams, we would have some conflict around here. But not so. We do tease each other. But teasing must be done with kind words and a good-natured heart. And when someone's team is playing, we all root for them. It is just a little way we like to show the kids that a family supports one another and takes an interest in what is important to the others.

So, when the Ravens made it to the playoffs, we were all tickled... purple. Yesterday, the kids decorated the house and Brianna put together a menu of football food with Cowboy Caviar, Pa's famous nachos and of course, wings. Martha made her mark on the day with these oh so cute cookies.

By the way, TJ, I think Kenna got a bad wrap with those cookies. I am not really sure she ate three. As we were cleaning up, look what we found.

Can you see that?

And what about that?

I think this is conclusive evidence that she didn't eat three cookies. Just the heads off of three.

We were excited our friends were able to join us for the little party. Even if some people happened to be rooting for the Patriots. (Remember how we feel about them?)

Even though the game didn't turn out as we would have liked. It was an exciting game. And we scored a few touchdowns when it comes to family bonding and tying heart strings. Because, supporting each other means rooting for their team as well as giving comfort when their team looses.

And after all, there is always next year.

What about you? What is it that your family enjoys doing together? What hobbies or activities interest your family members that can become family bonding moments?

Monday

2012-01-23T11:08:00.000-05:00

I have a love and hate relationship with Monday.

On one hand, everyone is tired and sluggish after a busy Sunday and being up late with church on Sunday night. No one wants to get out of bed. When they finally get up, it seems to take forever for the kids to get ready for the day and do their chores. On the other hand, I like to realize that we are worn out from a day well spent with the Lord.

On one hand, it drives me nuts that everything is a mess and the house is not in top form because we have neglected everything all weekend for play and worship. We come and go on Sunday leaving things where they may fall. We don't do chores unless absolutely necessary, so the trash cans may be near overflowing, the floors are in need of a vacuum and sweep and the laundry is always spilling out of the hampers. Then Monday morning, we must face the music. But on the other hand, I love spending extra time moving about the house putting things in order. Looking around after a round of chores and tidying is so rewarding!

On one hand, I am sad at the end of another laid back weekend with the family. But, on the other hand, I love looking forward to a week with a clean slate full of promise and days ahead to get back to the routine of everyday life and home school.

On one hand, I dread knowing that I have class and will be away from the family on Monday night. There is nothing I enjoy more than a quiet evening at home with the whole family in attendance. On the other hand, I look forward to getting to FBI and visiting with my classmates, hearing the word of God, and digging into my studies... and a date with my sweetheart, of course.

What about you? Do you love or hate Mondays?

PS... Please let me know if you stopped by to Live Stream Worship. Tell me what you thought. If you would like me to make it a regular post on this blog or if you think there is something else that would be a more beneficial Sunday feature.

Worship With Us

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

No church home to visit today? Stuck at home sick? Wondering what it is those Christians do, anyway? Join us in worship via live stream. Follow the steps to check it out.

Sunday January 23, 2012

10:30 AM

5:00 PM

Redirected

2012-01-21T15:53:00.000-05:00

Instead of the post I was going to put up today, I would like to redirect you to Julianne's blog at Between the Lines. Julianne is a talented writer who loves the Lord and shares His word and her heart with poetic beauty. Today my friend shares a message that everyone needs to hear. I particularly hope that all those young women who read my blog will take time to read this. But don't stop there. Her message will serve every one who reads it and takes it to heart.

Hugs,

Kat

And if you would like more reading on this topic... after I published this post, I popped over to my dashboard and read this post at Lynette's blog, Dancing Again. It fit so well with the message Julianne was trying to share, I was flabbergasted. It is hard to believe these two ladies didn't plan it. I don't think they have ever met. In fact, I don't even think they read each other's blogs. But there you have it. When the Lord speaks, He wants to be heard.

Rapunzel Party

2012-01-20T22:11:00.000-05:00

It's late in posting but I just can't have loose ends. The week before Elisabeth's birthday I was trying to decide what kind of cake to bake her. So, Martha and her cohorts say, "We have an idea." They disappeared for most of the afternoon (never mind I was trying to finish my grocery list ☺) and came back with a whole can of trouble.

The next thing I knew we were planning a Rapunzel party. Everything stopped in our house for the next few days while they went about planning and shopping and crafting to recreate Rapunzel's market place.

And an 18 foot garland of golden hair

There was a scrumptious menu in the works

with all the foods seen in the movie

and these great little Jello boats

some delicious gourmet cheese, breads

and of course, hazelnut soup

We decided to invite a few of the children Elisabeth enjoys spending time with to join us for the evening.

We ended up having to cancel because of wide spread sickness. One of the great benefits of having a lot of brothers and sisters is that even when your birthday party is cancelled, you still have a nice crowd for a party. So even though our friends couldn't make it. And even though Samuel had spent the day in bed sick... the party went on.

Of course, Elisabeth dressed in her costume. As did Princess Carmella. That was no surprise. But when I saw Elisabeth come walking up the stairs wielding a frying pan, I about dropped to the floor laughing.

Samuel got out of bed and dressed as Flynn to join us for dinner. He brought Rapunzel a hairbrush as a gift. Wasn't that so clever?

The girls arranged fun activities, like making Pascal party horns.

... and coloring ....

... and you must have guessed, pin the frying pan on Flynn. The girls also found lanterns to launch when it got dark, except it was raining and too windy so we had to abandon those plans. We are waiting for a nice spring evening to pull them out again.

Oh, and the tower cake that started the whole affair. Isn't it fabulous?

The moral of the story is, watch what you ask. And sometimes things don't go as planned, but light the candles anyway, because you never know what smile might be waiting behind that cake.

Encouragement

2012-01-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

Monday we received word that a brother and sister in Christ, who have been facing a difficult financial situation, would have to leave their home of twenty, and more, years.

Our friends know this is the Lord's will. And they know that the best place to be is in His will. Even if it isn't where you would have chosen to be. They have a beautiful spirit about the whole situation. Which is testimony to the goodness of the Lord. Anyone who does not walk with God, would be panicking and sick right about now.

We faced a difficult situation ten years ago, just 6 weeks after we sunk all our savings into the down payment on this house. And just 4 weeks after our fourth child was born. And just 3 weeks after we bought our Suburban. (We no longer had enough seat belts in the family Cherokee to strap all the car seats in.) Allen was laid off. We had friends in similar fields who had been out of work for months and even up to a year already. Following the economic downturn the resulted from the 9/11 disaster, it didn't look hopeful that anyone in Allen's line of work might find a job any time soon.

But instead of being a time of discouragement, it was an amazing time of seeing the Lord work. I'll talk more about that at another time, because this story isn't about us. In the years that have passed, we have seen many friends in tight financial corners. And while we are sympathetic and empathetic to their situation, what I really like to convey is how we need to face these times with an attitude of excitement and anticipation. The Lord brings about these times to grow us, change us and bring opportunities we might never see otherwise.

In our case, it was to bring Allen to a job he NEVER would have taken, if it wasn't the only job available in those days. A job that he has loved every minute of. A job that has allowed him many wonderful opportunities. A job that has grown his area of expertise. And a job that has stretched him personally and spiritually time and again.

So, while I don't know what God is going to do in our friends' lives, I know it will be exciting and wonderful and fabulous! And I tried to convey that.

Because really, the ladies who told me how sorry they were or cried for us, didn't help us or encourage us when Allen was out of work. It was the lady who said she learned to love peanut butter and jelly when her husband was laid off for nearly a year. That sister encouraged me. And I want to be an encourage-r and up-lifter to my sisters.

So, after I said what I thought I could say, I shared the news with my family at dinner. We prayed for this family and talked about ways we could encourage them. And when I had my prayer time before going to sleep that night, I asked the Lord to show me how to hold their arms up.

And the Lord is so good! The very next morning He gave me this wonderful example which was an answer to two prayers.

But first you must have a little background.

We have a special friend. And he lives in a town in South Carolina that is the unemployment capital of the United States. This city has the highest unemployment rate of the entire country. More than three years ago, Charles was part of a huge reduction in work force. His beloved wife was dying at the time. You might imagine then the expense of medical care and the impact of losing his income and medical coverage at the same time would have on this family. Oh, and they were raising their grand daughter, who is a year older than Brianna. Despite excellent credentials, this hard working dedicated man has had not one job offer. In that time, he has lost his wife and become care taker to a grandson, the younger brother of the grand daughter who was already living with them.

Because of the special needs of these children, our friend did not feel it would be in their best interests to relocate in order to find work. And in their town he was running out of places to even apply. He took up volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, as well as a women's shelter in their area and working with the boy scouts. He has been grateful, that because he is not employed, he was at home each day when the grand children got home from school so he could be the anchor in their lives they desperately needed and wouldn't otherwise have.

We have felt helpless. So we prayed. And even though he did not have a job offer for three years, we have received many encouraging answers to our intercession, not the least being the success of these two children who were previously on the road to being statistics.

And then Tuesday morning the Lord sent us such a wonderful blessing and answer to prayer. No, our friend didn't have a job. But the Lord gave him something even better. Something he never would have sought out otherwise. Something he could not have done had he been employed.

An opportunity came up for Charles to open a restaurant. Something none of us would have expected, probably least of all Mr. H. But there you have it. Not only does he have something to fill his time, and a way to make his livelihood, it is doing something he will enjoy, and something that his whole family can be a part of.

I spent all day Tuesday shaking my head at how perfect the Lord's timing is. Just when I needed a way to encourage someone else through a trial, He brings this report we have waited more than three years for. I mean really, the very morning after I prayed for it! How amazing is our God?!

God works in ways that we least expect to provide answers to our prayers. And He works in ways that seem strange to bring us to a place we wouldn't go otherwise. And it is only by being steadfast through times which may seem like a trial that we can find out exactly where that place or what those answers may be.

For all those out there who are facing trials, and if your emails are any indication there are lots of you, take comfort in knowing the Lord is using this to mold you, to grow you, to do something wonderful that He will show you when it is His perfect timing.

And until then, I will keep the prayers coming.

Kat

An Ongoing Chat and an Invitation

2012-01-18T18:50:00.000-05:00

A lot of random things are hanging around in the blog housekeeping department.

For those who have been following along with the post on Eating Well for You and Baby dealing with healthy eating for everyone ( no not just pregnant women) but of special interest to expecting moms and those with diabetes or those at risk for diabetes, you may want to click over to the comments for lots of discussion and more information than you ever cared to have.

Something that has been on my mind for some time, but that I never could figure out what... it was my desire to do something special here on Sundays. It finally hit me, like a stroke of lightening, last Sunday. Elisabeth was burning up with fever, again. So, wile the family went off to worship, she and I were curled up on the couch watching our church's service via live streaming. I was thinking what a blessing that has been to me this last year. With our family traveling so much, missing services when Carmella was born and the streak of sickness that has gone through our family repeatedly since the beginning of November. I have been absent from more services than I care to count. Yet, I don't feel like I missed anything, because I have been able to join my church family every Sunday morning and evening that I couldn't make it to the building.

As my mind wanders... did you ever notice that???? I started thinking about those who don't have a church family. I truly can not understand how any Christian can make it in this dark world without a good church family. But then again, maybe you don't miss what you never had? And then I thought, "How can I reach out to those people?" There truly is no replacement for having a real life church family. And, by the way, we are commanded, in scripture, to be an active part of a local New Testament church. And if you don't know what this is, drop me a comment or email and I will share with you what the Lord has to say about it.

But at any rate, there are those who are new Christians and perhaps haven't found a church home yet. Or maybe you aren't a Christian but you would like to know what it is all about but don't want to step into a service to find out. And there are those who live in an area where there is no good church home to be found. (Although, be careful you aren't using this as an excuse. I've known people who traveled hours each Sunday with young children to be part of a good church family.) And then there are those who, either for short term or long term, may not be able to get to their own church home due to illness, travel, car trouble... who knows. And perhaps their church doesn't offer this modern blessing.

So, I thought, here's what I am going to do. Each Sunday I am going to put up a post with a link and instructions as to how our church's worship and evening Bible study services can be viewed via live streaming. And if you fall into one of those groups and would like to hear some great preaching you can just pop in.

Most Sundays, except on days when we have special services, our morning worship starts at 10:30 am EST. The evening Bible study service begins at 5:00 PM EST. I will have the link up by midnight Saturday/Sunday along with the times for that Sunday's services.

So what do you all think?

Maybe you might leave me a comment or send me an email and let me know you will be joining or that you have joined us.

" And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,..." Acts 2:46

Is Martha In The House?

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

We have a nickname for Brianna. Oh, I know that really surprises you, eh? If you don't understand what is so funny about that, click over to this post to read about how a nick name is born.

Every once in a while, like once a week or so, Brianna gets a look in her eye. And we always know what that look means. We will be doing something tedious, that will take way longer than she tells us and it will cost a lot of money. That's when we know Martha is in the house.

This look of hers appeared about the same time we gave her a subscription to Martha Stewart Living for Christmas last year. I thought it was an odd publication for a fifteen year old to adore, but we are not complaining. There is always something special in the works around here, now that she reads Martha each month. We've had a brunch where the centerpiece was brie with caramel sauce (made from scratch not the jarred business), Italian ice, delightful baked goods, gourmet dinners and a plethora of neat home grown projects to make life a little sweeter for everyone.

For Mother's Day she pulled out all the stops. A movie night, complete with ticket stubs, pop corn with 3 kinds of topping, Italian sodas, tissue paper flowers and Swedish fish, my all time favorite movie candy. For my aching pregnant feet, a rose petal and milk soak.

Then there was the Father's Day Grill Table Project.

Let us not forget the Thanksgiving place card turkeys that took all night to put together.

And for Christmas there was an entire week spent making gourmet bark and special packaging to wrap it in for our friends and neighbors. Oh and the truffles, 400 in all.

And you've seen some of her recent birthday parties perhaps? Okay, I know I have yet to post the amazing Rapunzel party she did for Elisabeth in December, but it will get up there eventually! But you did see Nathaniel's and Allen's most recent birthdays right?

And so, you surely understand, why we call Brianna Martha Stewart.

Now, while I must admit many of her ideas are nifty, I do have a problem with someone who, by their very existence, gives the rest of us a complex about our lack of creativity and inability to be perfect. Especially, in light of our smaller income. Not to mention, it just seems wrong for someone to own a house in every state and to have stables nicer than most of our homes. But that is just my own little Martha Stewart pet peeve.

We are Wachters and as such we support each other in what excites them. It may be rooting for someone else's football team. It may be playing a game that bores us to tears. Or it may mean spending a whole week printing, cutting and folding little boxes for fancy bark. Whatever the case, because we are family, we all inevitably become part of what everyone else is doing.

In addition to expensive and time consuming, we can pretty much guarantee, if Martha is in the house, whatever we get drafted into will be very messy. When she cooks, one would swear there was a man in the house. Every pot, pan, bowl and spoon in the kitchen will be dirty. And if you don't watch, she will move on to the next project and completely forget about the disaster. Before you know it, it's time to make dinner and you can't find the counter tops.

So, when I gave in to the idea of a party for my upcoming birthday, I had no doubt it would be special. I mean, really. Before I even agreed to it, Brianna and Kaitlin had already spent an entire afternoon researching ideas for invitations.

Now, I didn't go to kindergarten. And, as I always tell my kids, that's why I can't paste or cut straight. Really, I lack any sort of creativity when it comes to that sort of stuff. I can follow directions and come up with something reasonable, but I am definitely not the object of perfection when it comes to such things. Give me a sewing machine or put me in the kitchen and it is a whole different ball game. But, when you are talking invitations, I order them.

But not Martha and her cohorts.

They designed the sweetest shabby-chic invites one could imagine.

Martha set out to find just the right paper for just the best price. (Which, by the way, never seems like such a good price.)

And searched etsy stores for just the right twine.

Yeah, I am not kidding.

Do you see what I am up against?

Who researches twine?

And what's worse?

By the time she was done, I was excited about this home dyed and home spun pink confection that we used to call STRING!

I am definitely way out of my league, folks.

So we set aside the weekend to cut, paste and tie seventy invitations.

I got nothing done all day Saturday. And by the time I quit to go to bed around 11 Saturday night, we had exactly 1. You read that right. ONE!

But, gee, aren't they sweet?

Can you guess what we did for Art today? 20 glue sticks and 8 lattes later, it is done. Truly, when we got in the groove with all of us ladies working, it only took about 2 hours to do the remaining forty or so. Because, after all, we are team Wachter.

And I even think it might have been fun. ☺

Eating Well For You and Baby

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

My friend, Jen T. over at Many Blessings, Busy Life requested some information on how I manage my diabetes and pregnancy. It has taken me far too long to get to it. But here it is.

My Story

When I was diagnosed with diabetes, at a very young age, I was caught quite off guard. I knew I was at risk because of my family history. However, I was well below the average age of the typical person who develops diabetes. I exercised faithfully. I ate well. I maintained a healthy weight. My doctor and I agreed I was one of the healthiest people we knew. But here it was.

Being diagnosed so much earlier, was both a blessing and a curse. The longer one has diabetes, the more likely you are to develop side effects. However, on the positive side, because I was diagnosed early, I had a lot of opportunity to control the outcome.

I learned everything I could about the disease and decided, if you have to have something, this was a good thing to have. Unlike many chronic illnesses, diseases and disorders, we can have a lot of control over diabetes. Exercise and diet have a huge impact on the rise and fall of high levels of blood glucose that can cause the harmful effects of diabetes. I like knowing that I can do something.

My studying really paid off. Except during pregnancy, when I am insulin dependent, I have been able to completely control my blood sugar drug free for more than six years. And it really isn't very difficult. Nor do I ever feel I have been deprived of something.

What is that you say? You aren't diabetic. Well before you stop reading, let me share what I learned in my training classes. If all Americans stuck to a diabetic diet we would see much less obesity and sickness. That's right. A diabetic lifestyle is good for everyone and it is your best prevention for developing the disease to begin with.

I am going to focus mostly on pregnancy and blood glucose control because Jen is looking to control her weight and keep baby a healthy size for a safer delivery. However, once again, there is very little difference in what is healthy for expecting mamas and the rest of us.

Exercise, An Important Role

I would like to talk just briefly about exercise because while it plays a vital role, it really is quite a simple thing to understand. We all need to get up and get moving. But it doesn't need to be a big ordeal. It doesn't need to be complicated. We don't even need to put on exercise clothes. While I have been an avid exerciser for most of my life, in conjunction with diabetes I found a simple 10 minute walk following each meal was all it took to reduce my blood sugar to safe levels and therefor reduce the amount of medication and injections needed. I can not over stress this enough. Just get up from the table and take a ten minute stroll. Or if you prefer, pop in a video. Pull out the old weights and do a few curls. Or hop on a bike, stationary or the good old fashioned kind. Or the tread mill. Put in a CD and dance with the kids for 3 or 4 songs. The weather is no good? No room for exercise equipment? Walk up and the down the stairs for ten minutes. The impact just ten minutes of moving has on your blood glucose and energy levels is phenomenal. If I can fit three ten minute sessions in my day, anyone can, so you have no excuse not to do it. And you will be shocked at the difference it makes. Commit to it for just one week and then email me and tell me how much better you feel. If you are going for blood glucose control it is important that this follow your three meals.

Keys to a Good Diet

An important key to keeping blood glucose in check is protein. This was initially very hard for me not being someone who regularly ate meat.

Another key (to prevent hypoglycemia and to make sure baby is getting enough nutrition) is eating every three hours throughout the day (and often during the night, too.) I don't typically eat so often or so much during the day so I literally have to set a timer to go off every three hours to remind me to eat. The large increase in calories means big gains at the scale (about 60 pounds a pregnancy) which is tough and frustrating because I know I will have to work it back off. However, I have had 3 successful pregnancies and deliveries since I was diagnosed with diabetes so I will gladly do it all. Most people would not need to stick to the every three hours but you will likely find you feel better if you do.

One more important key is to know how to count carbohydrate servings and balancing your meals accordingly. Each carb serving is made up of 15 carbohydrates. Each meal and snack should contain 2 carbohydrate servings for a total of 30 carbs. For example, an apple is 15 carbs or 1 carb serving. A slice of whole grain bread is 15 carbs or one carb serving. Add some peanut butter and you have a great breakfast with 30 carbs and some protein.

Many people have no idea what a carb is so let me simplify it. Milk, grains (oatmeal, grits, wheat, pasta, bread, cous cous...) fruit and starchy veggies (winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes) dry beans and legumes, sugars (including honey, molasses, syrup) and of course ice cream, sodas, other sweetened drinks (sweet tea, lemonade, energy drinks) desserts and other sweets.

I am allergic to milk so it is not part of my meal plan. However, if you are a milk drinker, you could add it to your meal plan in exchange for another carbohydrate serving. 8 ounces of milk is 15 carbs or 1 carb serving. Learning to read the packages is the way to go so you can plan your meals accordingly.

I rarely consume simple sugars and when I am pregnant it is even rarer. It is just too hard on me and baby. However, there is no reason you can not eat anything you desire, as long as you count the carbs and stick to the carb limit.

Resources

A good set of measuring cups and spoons and an electronic scale will go a long way in helping you to do this.

I like the website Calorie King to look up carb counts to help plan my meals at home. I find it helpful to plan ahead when we will be dining out. Calorie King has a huge database of restaurant meals.

I also keep the exchange list for diabetics) in my kitchen. This is also available at Amazon. It is only a few dollars but a great investment if you are working towards better health.

When I calculate a recipe I write down the carb count and serving size for 30 carbs right on the recipe card or in my cook book so I have it readily available next time. It is quite simple to calculate the carbs in your favorite recipe and you might be surprised at what you come up with. This is an excellent exercise for those home school moms out there.

One cook book I really like is Fix-it and Forget-it diabetic cookbook. I find I prefer to eat what I like and limit the serving to my carb intake. I truly am never hungry and when I stick to my carb limit I feel fabulous.

Most Americans eat too much food in general and specifically too many carbs for their health sake. I do not in any way advocate a low carb or carb free diet. These are unhealthy and down right dangerous. But the enormous amount of carbs consumed by the average American is killing them. And looking around at the amount of illness caused by poor eating and obesity, I am sure you don't need me to tell you that.

My Meal Plan

To give you an idea of how my meal plan works, here is my simple pregnancy meals.

The biggest change from my regular meal plan is breakfast. As a general rule I typically eat fruit for breakfast. But when I am pregnant my sugar can not handle it. Keep in mind that these are just suggestions from what I like to eat. You can easily mix and match from any meal. The key is to keep to those 30 carbs/6 times a day/every 3 hours or if you aren't pregnant and would prefer you can divide 180 carbs over 3 meals.

Breakfast is typically one of the following:oatmeal with nuts, a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread, 2 slices of whole wheat toast with butter, 2 Whole grain waffles with butter, a whole wheat english muffin, half a whole grain bagel with cream cheese, 1/3 cup home made granola (30 carbs worth). If I am not having another source of protein (peanut butter and nuts) I also include an egg white that has been hard boiled or fried. I am allergic to the yolk but it is a good source of fat if you desire to eat it.

For my 9 am snack I typically have 30 carbs of fruit with a spoonful of peanut butter or a handful of nuts for the protein to stabilize my glucose. Alternately, I would have anything from the list above.

At lunch, I am a big fan of tuna salad on two slices of rye bread and will eat it almost every day when I am expecting. I like to have a pile of raw veggies or a nice big salad with this.

My 3 pm snack is usually 30 carbs of fruit with an ounce of cheese or some peanut butter. I love to slice a granny smith apple thin and slice some cheese and use the apple in place of crackers.

At 6 I eat dinner from whatever I prepared for the family with lots of veggies or a nice salad.

At 9 pm I have a tuna sandwich, peanut butter sandwich or 30 carbs of fruit with a big spoon of peanut butter.

Jen, as I said in my email, I am sorry this took so long to get to you. I hope it is helpful to you, yet. I appreciate you spurring me on to do it. This has been on my mind to blog about for a long while but somehow something else always comes up. Wishing you and baby the best for these last few weeks. We can hardly wait to meet your new blessing.

Hugs,

Kat

Bible Study

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

When the Christmas Tree is up, I like to sit by it before the sun comes up with no other lights on and do my Bible study. The last week or so, Elisabeth has been getting up and curling up there with me. She brings her Bible and notebook and turns to a page and then "reads" some verses she has memorized and then jots something in her notebook.

Here is one of the pictures from her Bible study.

The other morning, she was "reading" Luke 2.

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."

During the Cantata we said many times over how it was such a shame that Elisabeth was too young to be in the choir because she had memorized all the music. Apparently, she had memorized a bit more than just the songs.

She looked at her Bible and continued, "Miss Leslie, is this where I pick up the baby Jesus?"

Goose Hill Farm Etsy Giveaway

2012-01-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

My girls are up to something... so I was banned from my blog yesterday. Thus the late posting for the Goose Hill Farm Etsy giveaway.

The winner is Mikki at The Not So Perfect Housewife. Congratulations, friend. Send me your address and let me know which item you would like so I can get your prize to you.

If you haven't been over to Laura's store, take a peek. She has some really unique gift ideas.

Thanks to all those who entered. If you didn't get a chance to enter or entered and didn't win, stay tuned for another gift away to celebrate my three year anniversary of blogging, coming to a blog near you in February.

In The Mail

2012-01-13T14:03:00.002-05:00

Dear Aunt Dawn,

What excitement your package caused today. And just in time for lunch, too. The boys oohed and ahhed as I pulled the Disney Cars and the Bible Animal books out of the box. I can bet you know who tried every chap stick when we got to the bottom of the box. Don't worry. After she sampled each one, she passed them around the table for everyone else to try. The girls all thought the watch was beautiful and have decided to share it. Of course, you must have known that we were in need of more pot holders. ☺ The candles are quite a timely gift since the birthday season is upon Wachter World.

Allen's card and shirt were the best by far. You are so clever, my friend. What a great laugh and a sweet reminder of our time at the beach.

Emma was crazy for her new penguin hat.

And what boy would not love the set of Cars? It made all three of ours squeal with delight.

Winnie loved her new hat, too!

And undoubtedly, Elisabeth loved the pink dress. She started changing right there at the table. The ribbon detail at the neckline was delightful.

Oh, and she loved her new hat, too!

Thanks for thinking of us and the Happy Birthday remembrances. (That's a lot of band aids... even for us!) Wish you were here. We are counting down the days until we will be able to see you again.

Love,

Kat and the gang

42

2012-01-11T15:55:00.000-05:00

The answer to life, the universe and everything=42

Which happens to be how old their Pa is today. And being real fans of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, our girls were not going to let this birthday pass without making as much of a fuss out of it as possible.

If you haven't read the books, listen to the BBC radio drama or watched the movie, this post will make no sense to you at all. But for those who are fans, keep reading.

Attire for the day included bathrobes.

The dining room was reinvented by our birthday crew

The theme for the day is Don't Panic

The Heart of Gold

The windows were covered with blue foil with stars cut out so everyone would feel like we were moving through space.

And napkin rings with witty sayings like, "So long and thanks for all the fish." "Oh no, not again!" and "I'm so depressed"

Of course, no one left their towel behind.

And you know there had to be dolphins

Seven times six is forty-two

Tonight we will feast on red velvet cake, filled with dark chocolate and my mother-in-laws super amazing icing. (Which, incidentally, is really the only thing I like about red velvet cake.)

And Pan Garlactic Gargle Blaster to drink (lemonade)

The boys dressed up like space creatures

Sam had the coolest tin foil head... can you see his ears sticking out?

So Ellie said she was going to dress up as Mrs. Space. No one can outdo her in the dress up department, after all.

And Nathaniel was Arthur Dent.

Another amazingly fun birthday celebration in Wachter World. But, of course, no birthday is complete without praises and blessings for the man of the hour. Happy birthday to the love of my life.

On his forty-second birthday we'd like to share with you a few thoughts about the man we call hubby, friend and Pa.

My hubby hates his birthday even more than I hate mine. But I am grateful for this day to honor someone whose impact on my life is second only to the Lord Jesus. He has been an amazing friend since the day we met when I was 16 years old. I am so blessed to call him my husband and the father to my children. He roots me and constantly reminds me of where I need to focus... even if I don't always like hearing it. My Allen is the hardest and most dedicated worker I know. He is talented at so many things and has the ability to master anything he sets his mind to. I think I speak for the world at large when I say we are all richer because on January 11th 1970 our Lord decided he would be born into this world.

Kaitlin is grateful that he is a man of wisdom and godliness and a standard for what men should be.

Brianna appreciates the way he is always willing to give or help out.

Emma notes his diligence and hard work to provide for his families needs and the desires of our hearts.

Than thanks his father for being a good teacher.

Aedan appreciates Pa's help when he needs it.

Samuel praises his constant cheerfulness.

As for the little girls, they adore their Pa and we all pray for the Lord to send men just like him to become their husbands one day.

Many happy returns of the day!

Old Spice

2012-01-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

When we were shopping for Allen's Christmas gift, Elisabeth fell in love with a shaving kit full of Old Spice. She brought it home and wrapped it up and has had it under her bed ever since. Today was the big day and she dug out her offering for Pa's birthday. Oh my goodness! She was so excited, she was tearing the paper off for him.

Then she pulled each item out of the kit and explained to him what it was all about. First there was body wash with palm trees on the front. She explained it was for him to take to the beach. Next, she demonstrated what the proper use of antiperspirant.

Lastly, she pulled out a bottle of spray cologne and said, "That's to keep the bugs off of you."

Nathaniel's Tenth Birthday

2012-01-10T15:56:00.003-05:00

Despite the fact that we all stayed up way too late to watch Tim Tebow whoop up on the Steelers Sunday night (We recorded the game so we could watch it after we got home from church Sunday night... for those of you who are wondering why the game was so late for us), we still managed to get up before Nathaniel on Monday morning and give him a good old fashioned Wachter Birthday Wake Up call. I am not going to say it didn't hurt, though.

Our kids love the spy business. You can check out this post, if you don't know how what I mean. The girls put together a top secret spy birthday for their brother.

Complete with a top secret brief case

and bombs for breakfast.

There were fingerprints on everything... including some of the presents. But then again... fingerprints on everything is not all that unusual around here.

For his birthday, Than asked if we could go visiting. Our family has a ministry running a Bible correspondence course. We have spent the last year since we took over the program trying to increase our number of students and finding ways to improve the program. One way we have done this is visiting in neighborhoods to invite people to take the course. We were able to hand out almost 300 registration cards on Monday.

Allen treated the family to lunch at Chick-fil-A, where the owner, who has become a bit of a friend to our family over the years, treated all the kids to ice cream sundaes in honor of Nathaniel's birthday.

Nathaniel has become a huge fan of the Hardy Boys. In keeping with the mystery theme, all the kids gave him some vintage editions Brianna found on eBay.

One of the ladies we know who works there asked to take our picture, so here we are.

Brianna organized a spy game for the kids. They had to locate the missing person. She left clues, like this trench coat around the house to give them leads. It is my understanding their mission was successful, even though they missed several important clues.

Our handsome little man. Wasn't he just a little squirming blue bundle in my arms? Ten seems so big. Nine, not so much, but TEN!!!! Why by Bible standards, just 2 more years and he will be a man! Yikes. He has had a year of growth, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It has been a blessing for his family to witness what the Lord is doing in his life.

Dinner you say? Greek salad, baked potatoes and ribs. There was supposed to be my mushroom soup, and even though I bought all the ingredients, I completely forgot to make it. We will have it for dinner tonight with some good bread and a salad instead.

My brother knew nothing about the theme for Than's birthday, so we were all amazed when he showed up with this gift for Than.

The boys had fun working some of the mysteries with Uncle Frank.

Dessert was lemon cake with strawberry filling and Hershey's chocolate frosting. I tried a little something different and made candied lemons for garnish. If you are a lemon person, these are delicious in themselves.

And of course there are blessings and praises for the birthday boy.

I am so blessed by your desire to be a man of God. You work hard at developing the character qualities befitting a gentleman and looks for opportunities to practice them at home and in public. You have a tender heart that truly desires to please those the Lord has made your authority. You also reach out to your peers and those younger than you. I have seen the Lord working on your heart as He lead you to salvation and as you have grow spiritually this year. My pray for this upcoming year, is that as you continue to follow in the footsteps of your earthly and your heavenly father. I pray that you would never lose your desire to be the best possible at everything you do. For your life, I claim the promise from Proverbs 9:1 "Forsake the foolish, and live and go in the way of understanding."

Emma notes that he is willing to learn.

Aedan praises Nathaniel's ability to encourage people to do what is right.

Kaitlin prays for him to continue his rapid spiritual growth.

Brianna is proud of the changes he has made in the last year.

Sam and Ellie are grateful for his sharing spirit.

Pa says, I praise you for the commitments and dedications you have made to the Lord during this past year. I have seen real growth in your life and praise you for this effort. May God give you the wisdom, discernment and strength to carry through with your commitments. I pray that God will show Himself strong to you during this next year to encourage you and strengthen your faith.

Happy Birthday to one amazing agent.

Don't Forget

2012-01-09T03:00:00.000-05:00

There is just one day left to get your entry in for my 1000th post giveaway. Pop over to this post to read all about it and get your name in the drawing on January 12th.

Six Months, Already?

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

January 2nd, our sweet little Carmella was six months old!

I feel like a broken record, but where does the time go?

Weren't we just waiting for her to arrive?

It was a very cold day, (actually one of the few seasonal days we have had all winter) but we still bundled her up to sneak outside for a few pictures.

Once she got used to the cold, we had some fun.

Winnie continues to be the delight of her family.

She is such a pleasant and easy going baby. She cried one night while we were eating dinner. Everyone was in shock because it is such an unusual thing to hear her fuss.

Her great accomplishment right now is learning to blow raspberries. Which is utterly hilarious to hear. When I was pregnant Ellie would walk up to me and blow raspberries on my tummy. One of the first things she did when meeting her baby sister was to find her belly button and give her a huge old raspberry. Who knew Winnie would catch on so quickly? After a week or so of all of us thinking Carmella blowing raspberries was so adorable, Allen pointed out that we never allowed the other kids to spit like that.

Oops. You win some, you lose some. Isn't that how it goes?

Kids and Family... Reader Mail

2012-01-05T17:43:00.002-05:00

Just as I was sitting down for my Bible study this morning, I received this email from a dear reader.

I have emailed you before and got an honest answer. I am hoping for another one.

First I want to reiterate again how much I love your blog. I check it every morning without fail.

You see, we just had our fifth child in October. And we love him to pieces and are so glad he is here. He was very much unplanned as I had my tubes tied after our fourth was born. I had many complications with or fourth, even almost dying and it was advised I not have any more. I too had many complications with our fifth but thankfully we are both here and healthy.

Our oldest is eleven, then nine, six, almost three and three months. I love my kids dearly. However life in this house has gotten sad and awful.

The oldest hides in her room listening to music, doing homework and is only occasionally friendly to her siblings. The second oldest just goes with the flow but tends to argue with the six year old. The six year old argues with everyone but especially the two year old.

After school is a nightmare, they start getting home at three. I am cooking dinner, trying to keep the two year old occupied and out of the line of fire. And helping with home work for the six year old and occasionally the nine year old. When my husband gets home at 6:30, half the kids are in trouble, or I am yelling, or they are crying.

I don't blame the oldest for hiding, some days I would like to hide to.

How did you do Disney with kids of all ages? Do you ever get frustrated? I am struggling to find the time to spend quality time with each one.

And I go back to work two days a week in just a week, grandma will be with them those days.

I would love to hear what you have to say.

Many thanks,

First, let me congratulate you on the birth of your little blessing. Even though you didn't have it planned, it seems God had a different idea in mind. I believe every child is a blessing from the Lord. Did you get that? He wants to give you a blessing in your life and this little son is His way of doing it. "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." Psalm 127:3 The Lord has also promised us He will give us strength for every trial and temptation He allows in our life. Notice what the Bible says here in 1 Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

I so appreciate your honesty and your desire to rise above this difficult situation to make the most of your family. My heart broke as I read your letter. I have been in homes such as you describe and I know just a short time in the chaos and conflict is overwhelming to me. I can not imagine living in it 24/7. I would feel so much better if I could be in your home and talk to you one on one as situations arise. But knowing where you live and where I live, that is just not going to happen anytime soon. I will be available as much as possible via email and if you would like to speak in person drop me an email and I will send my phone number so we can text or speak as need be.

Your words have been on my heart all day and I have prayed repeatedly for the Lord to give me wisdom and His words to reply. I am constantly amazed at what the Lord has done here at Art's Chili Pepper. I certainly never planned for it to be such a meeting of the hearts and minds. I was just going to keep up with some loved ones. But here we are and I am blessed by the way He has used this blog to strengthen families, lead souls to Him and to bless me and my family many times over.

I can't stress enough how much I am touched by every letter I receive from readers and how much I pray over each question before I reply. There was such an urgency in your letter that waiting was not something which was going to come easily, so I was grateful the Lord immediately started giving me answers. As I was teaching the children this morning, I had a notepad beside me jotting down all the things that came to mind for fear I would forget something.

My friend, there are so many issues to be addressed in your letter. I don't know if one post can cover it all but let's dig in and get started and see what we, with the Lord's help, can do.

Let me summarize for my own sake and those who are reading along who might be seeking help in this area. Your children are ages 11, 9, 6, 3 and 3 months. You also work part time outside the home. And it appears your husband gets home later in the evening so you are handling most of the work load alone.

Dearest, in our correspondence you have never mentioned whether or not you are a Christian. I would like to know that, because, quite frankly, I believe it has everything to do with the way you live your life and run your family. Not knowing, since you read my blog, I am going to assume you are. I believe one hundred percent that the key to having a happy family life is centering each moment of every day on God. So often people ask me how I do it. The answer is, I don't. I trust the Lord to guide us and ask Him for strength to follow His will for me and my family. It is when I try to do it, that things don't work out and I become frustrated.

As I said, there are so many things that need to happen in your family to bring you back to a place of happiness and joy in each other. Right now, though, you are in an emergency situation and it sounds like your whole family is in survival mode. This is evidenced by your 11 year old's need to escape into herself and your own admission that you would like to do the same. I think it would be best just to start putting out some of those fires and then build up from there.

I was sorry to hear that you will be returning to work because more time away from the children is only going to make your situation harder to overcome. But assuming this isn't something you can change we will work with what we can at this time.

I am going to start with a few action items. These are things that I would like for you to incorporate in your day, starting yesterday.

~ Set your alarm for 15 or 30 minutes before you have to get up. Before you do anything else, open your Bible and read Psalm 1. Read a new Psalm each day. Then spend a few minutes communing with God and ask Him to give you strength to make it through the day, courage to change what needs to be changed, wisdom to know what that is, resolve to stick with it and the love to do it with the right countenance. If you don't have a Bible, click over to Bible Gateway. com and get started. Close down everything else on your computer so you will not get distracted from this task by anything else that might pop up. This may seem like such a small thing, but I assure you my worst days are always those that don't start with a date with God. And my best days, even though everything may go wrong, are those in which I first spend time alone with the Lord.

~Next, I am assuming, since things are currently so out of control, the baby is not on a schedule and the little ones have not really been properly trained in obedience. Since the older children are in school all day, this gives you and excellent opportunity to begin training the baby and 3 year old. Forget laundry and housework and errands and whatever else is on your plate right now. Cancel your appointments and commit to staying at home and focusing solely on training these little ones for a week, which includes getting the baby on a good schedule. I have shared on this topic before so I will not use our precious time going over the details. What I really would like you to do is invest in two books that explain my position and methods of child training. Start with Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo. This is available at Amazon.com and on eBay. His books deal with specific age groups and your little ones fall into several. I would suggest starting with On Becoming Babywise, On Becoming Babywise II and On Becoming Toddlerwise. These will give you a good foundation for child training philosophy. I assure you, you will be amazed at the difference just a week of really applying child training (versus reacting to the situations as they arise) will make in your home. As a matter of fact, email me your address and I will send you a gift of On Becoming Babywise to get you started on your way.

~I would also like you to get a copy of E.S.P. Character Training. This is an excellent book I recently read, but not had time to write the review. The author has put together a tremendous manual of character training across the ages. Mrs. Doebler has collected all in one place information I had to gather from many different sources when I was seeking out God's best for raising my family. This is the book I would write if I had time. Kim's book is only available through her website. Often our children act the way they do, in ways we would prefer they not, because we haven't shown them how we want them to act. Kim's premise is that if we Explain, show and practice what we want they will do it. While I didn't have such a clever name for it, I have definitely found this to be the case in training my children and building a happy home life.

~I know you are wondering when you are supposed to find time to do that housework you put aside and to do all this reading and never mind character training. I am going to tell you. Your baby should be taking a two hour nap in the morning at this age. You will spend that 2 hours working with your three year old. First, working on specific character training exercises and then incorporating what he is learning as he goes about with you doing your house work. He will wipe cupboards with a sponge as you work in the kitchen, wipe a rag along the baseboards as you work in the bedrooms, empty the trash can and add a new bag in the bathroom, match sock and fold washcloths in the laundry room. You get the idea. You can reward his hard work with a game or a story. When the baby wakes up, he will play quietly on the floor beside you while you feed baby. Or if baby is cooperative you could do a board puzzle or read a story to the preschooler during feeding time. Now you have already incorporated some great quality time with your 3 year old and it isn't even lunch time!

~Both the little ones should be having a two hour nap time in the afternoon. You must make good use of this time. First, take 30 minutes for you. Do whatever makes you feel refreshed. Nap, take a bath, read a book, send an email, write a letter, check out a magazine, call your hubby and tell him how very much you adore him. It might seem frivolous to take time for your self when there are so many things that need to happen, but Mama sets the spirit of the home and if you aren't in the right mind, no one else will be either. Recharge those batteries and you will earn huge dividends.

~Spend the next 30 minutes or an hour reading and studying and making a game plan. Pull out those child training books and pencil and paper and get busy. Choose just one thing to start with and figure out how you will incorporate it into your life.

~Use the remaining time to prepare dinner so that it is done and out of the way before the children get home. (Please note, that ideally, I would have you and the children work on this together but that is down the road.) Make peanut butter and jelly on paper plates if need be or something you can warm up in the microwave but make sure you don't need to cook after the kids start coming home from school. Their having your full attention is going to go a long way in reinstating peace in your home.

~Create an environment conducive to peace and harmony. Put on some quiet music. Handel's Water Music is one of my favorites. You would be surprised at the effect some calming music can have on the attitude of your children. If the kitchen table is covered with stuff, push it into a box and stuff it in the closet until a time down the road when you can deal with it. When the children get home from school, I recommend having a light snack on the table... nothing too heavy because dinner will be early for the time being. Have some quiet activities ready for your three year old to do at the table. Leggos, play dough, coloring and small puzzles are a big hit in our home.

~When the children arrive home, greet each one with a hug and a smile. Don't discuss any problems or issues at this time. Just let them know you are happy to have them home with you. Set them down at the table for their snack and make it a requirement that all the children stay together at the table. Strategic seating will be helpful to keep the peace. Until the 6 year old is trained to get along with his siblings you might keep him to one side of you and the 3 year old on the other side. No electronics at all are permitted during this family time. End of story. If you need to, throw them in the trash. It sounds severe, but consider what is most important to you. By the way, this means you. Turn off your cell phone. Turn off the land line. Turn off the computer. Shut it all down until after the kids go to bed.

~Now talk. Outline and enforce the rules of polite conversation. No one is to talk when someone else is speaking. No one is to speak in a rude or hateful way, etc... Trouble finding something to talk about? Ask about their day. What was the best thing they learned in school? The worst? What was the funniest thing they saw that day? What was their favorite thing they did? What do they wish they had done differently? Allow each person a chance to talk. My kids call this the question game and they love to take turns asking questions. One recent round was Christmas themed and went something like this: What is your favorite Christmas movie? Song? Cookie? Your favorite ornament on our tree and why? Now, dear reader, you have just spent an hour of top notch quality time with your kids.

~My baby has a four o'clock feeding. I am not sure what feeding schedule your baby is on but I am going to say, for the sake of argument, that is it is the same. (I nurse at 8, 12, 4, and 8ish) During feeding time, sit at the table with the kids and have them all pull out their home work. This means the 11 year old, too. The three year old will keep his attention span if you change his activities every 30 to 60 minutes.

~At five o'clock serve that dinner you prepared earlier. Have the children work with you to clear up the school work, set the table and warm up the meal if necessary. As a rule, I think family meal time is a very important part of the day. But right now you are putting out fires so you can focus on that later. You will have to decide if you want to eat with the children or have a snack and dine with your husband when he gets home from work. This is an excellent time to read the Proverb of the day aloud with the children.

~After dinner, again work together at clearing up the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. There is always a job for everyone. This would be a good time for your 11 year old to have a few special minutes holding the baby and reading him a story or two before he goes down for his evening nap. (I am going on the assumption his evening nap is around 6 pm.) Have the children set a place for their father to eat when he gets home later.

~Now, it should be bath time. While baby naps is a good time so that you can be there to oversee things and make sure there is no quarreling. Because you already cooked, fed the children and cleaned up and because the baby is napping you can give all your attention to the other children. If the 11 year old has more school work, this would be a good time for her to do it. If not, it would be a good time for her to do a chore or two such as putting away her laundry or cleaning her room. Make sure they are ready for bed and have their clothes and school things ready for the next day by the time daddy gets home.

~Instruct the children that when daddy gets home you will be spending 15 minutes with him, uninterrupted. This may seem silly but it is very important for you, for your husband, for your marriage and for your children. Give the 11 year old a story book or two and send them all to a bedroom to read together. You must be firm about this. No interruptions. If they are fighting and screaming and it sounds as if they are killing each other, ignore it! If they come to you to settle squabbles, remind them that it is daddy's time and you will talk to them later. This will build their ability to work through their own issues without you. If it becomes completely impossible, set the 6 and 9 year old on their beds with a book or two and send the 11 year old to the 3 year old's bed to read to him. Then you can work your way into having them spend this time together reading or playing a quiet game. During your 15 minutes you may only talk about good things in your day. It will make you both start the evening with a good attitude which will make for a better night, a better sleep and a better tomorrow. You could spend this time at the table eating dinner or chatting while hubby eats his dinner. Or if you prefer just catch up for a few minutes and have a romantic dinner together after the kids go to bed. We call this a home date and it is one of our favorite ways to spend an evening together.

~At seven, the family should spend some time piled together near the three year old's bed reading together before bedtime. Because this is not a habit you have developed, your 11 year old will most likely resist, but don't make it an option. In no time at all, you will find she loves it, even if she doesn't want to admit it.

~At 7:30 I would have prayer time and say goodnight to the 3, 6 and 9 year old with strict rules about not getting out of bed again until morning. Our kids like to have some soft music or an audio book playing when they go to sleep. However, no talking or playing should be the unbend-able rule.

~Now you and hubby have just gained an hour to spend with your 11 year old one on one. Help her with her homework. Play a game together. Talk about what's on her heart. Study the Bible together. Watch a video. Bake some cookies. Help her with a special project or ask her to help you with one. Periodically, you or hubby could take turns taking her out for a special date... a drink at Starbucks, some french fries or a movie. You could even get manicures at one of those cheap places. Use your imagination.

~At 8:30 I would send her off for her shower and to bed to listen to music or read until lights out at 9:00.

~ Again, I don't know how your baby's feeding schedule goes. This is when I get Carmella up for her last feeding of the day. She is ready to go right back down afterwards but we usually keep up to cuddle and play with her one on one since it is often the only time Allen has with her each day. So you have options from here. You could feed baby and put him right back to bed so you and hubby could spend some time together or take some quiet time alone. Or you could keep him up to see daddy. Or you could pop a video in and all hang out together. Not knowing your family personally, I can only tell you how we like to spend our time. And quite frankly, now that we have grown children, more often than not, this is the time of day when they come and flop down with us and we all hang out together chit chatting or watching a video or playing a game.

~Lastly, don't stay up too late. You need to have a good night sleep in order to have a good tomorrow.

Dear Friend. This seems so simplistic but these little changes are going to go a long way in bringing that peace you are looking for. Obviously, I can not anticipate every scenario that will come up. Nor can I imagine the little nuances that exist in your home. But I will gladly accept emails and/or text messages, to help you trouble shoot them.

Most of all, know that I am with you in spirit and will be asking the Lord to be with you.

Since Grandma will be coming to stay with the children, you are going to have to carefully enlist her help to keep your schedule and new rules in tact. Consistency is so important to harmony at home! I can not over stress that.

To answer your question, Do I ever get frustrated? Yes, for sure. When I lose sight of the Lord, everything goes out the window in a heartbeat. Then, as I said mother sets the tone for the whole family, everyone gets frustrated.

To answer your other question, How did I do Disney with so many kids of so many ages? It is quite simply this... we are a family. From day one we have made it a point that it is an honor and privilege to be together. Going it alone was never an option. We therefor enjoy each other's company. We have also made it a point that all our children know life is not about them. It is about each other, the family and the Lord. Therefor they desire to meet the needs and desires of each other instead of expecting others to cater to them. While Dumbo may not in itself be fun to our 8 year old and up, they had a blast standing in line for thirty minutes to ride because 1-we were together doing it and 2-they knew it would bring joy to their younger siblings. This is not something you will accomplish overnight but with a lot of prayer, tying heartstrings and dedication you will reach that point of sheer maternal bliss-to see your family rejoicing in each other.

Easy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

2012-01-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it is that time of year again when I try to clean up the freezer and use up all the odd bits of stuff floating around. Allen wants to replace our upright freezer shortly so I have extra incentive to get the job done. Each morning the chores start with chippng something out of the ice in there and figuring out how I can use it to make a meal with what I have on hand. This annual challenge is great on the grocery budget, too. This week we have had Cavatille, Vegetable Beef Stew, Hashbrown Casserole with fried eggs and tonight's dinner was the easiest broccoli and cheddar soup I have ever made.

Actually, I didn't even make it. Allen offered to cook so I could finish the reader mail post I was working on. So, I perched at the counter and talked him through it. Now that is easy. All he did was this.

1. Put frozen broccoli in microwave and cook til hot. We used 4 quarts for our family.
2. While broccoli cooked he put 4 cans cream of mushroom soup in a soup pot. Then stirred in 6 cups milk. That cooked on medium heat, covered, while he prepared a loaf of bread Emma had baked earlier in the day and set the table.
3. When the broccoli was hot it was added to the soup and stirred well. Some nice sized handfuls of grated cheddar were stirred in and the heat turned off. The lid went back on so the cheese could melt while the kids gathered at the table.

We passed croutons and bacon crumbles for garnish.

It was a quick, easy, warm and satisfying meal for a busy and cold winter day.

Missing...

2012-01-03T17:35:00.000-05:00

... one blanket. We can't seem to find Winnie's pink silky blanket. It was last seen when you were wearing it, Mr. Rutter. And we have pictures to prove it.

We knew you should have been frisked at the door. If you return it right away, there will be no questions asked.

Happy New Year, My 1000th Post and a Giveaway

2012-01-02T15:46:00.000-05:00

I noticed when I opened my dashboard, this post will be my 1000th post. Now that is exciting.

To celebrate I have decided to sponsor a give away from my friend, Laura's, Etsy store, Goose Hill Farm. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what is your favorite post at Art's Chili Pepper and why. Then click over to Laura's store and let me know which item you would like to have. The deadline is January 11th at 11:59 PM. On January 12th all entries will be put in the Chili Pepper bowl and the winner will be drawn.

February will mark my third year in blog world. And what a fun ride it has been. But more about that in a few weeks.

For the time being, a quick recap of our New Year celebration. We actually departed from our tradition of making fondue and finger foods while we played games and watch videos. Allen requested a formal dinner with a tropical theme. I found a great website full of Hawaiian recipes and put together the following menu.

Crab Wontons

Seafood Bisque

Baby Greens with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Shrimp and Scallops served over Saffron Rice

Hawaiian Wedding Cake

Sangria

Brianna put together this beautiful table. We all pulled out some clothes reminiscent of the tropics and Kaitlin made flowers for the ladies to wear in our hair.

We spent the evening talking about our blessings and accomplishments in 2011 and our goals for 2012.

Allen always does fireworks for the kids. We were out late the previous evening visiting with friends and decided not to wait until midnight for fireworks this year.

It was so warm, the kids were out in their pajamas and didn't even put coats on.

The girls did some decorating in the family room, too. A lot of confetti, some tropical themed videos, hula skirts and pineapple lights.

Carmella heard about all the fun and joined us to watch the Muppets video and ball dropping in Times Square.

Everyone got their kiss at Midnight.

Sunday morning, our church had a praise and prayer meeting, followed by brunch before we met for our worship and preaching service.

Love this picture of our precious friend and Carmella loving up on each other.

And the girls gabbing while they load up on carbs.

Two special friends. Aren't they gorgeous. And if you don't know them... their hearts are even more beautiful.

We are truly blessed by an amazing church family. These two engineers always end up swapping war stories at fellowship.

Nathaniel and Nathan were born just 20 days apart and have been friends almost since the cradle.

Carmella finally opened her present on New Year's Day.

Well, she didn't exactly open it. She wore the bow and chewed on the ribbon...

... and then she chewed on the paper...

... until the kids couldn't take the suspense anymore and Samuel asked if he could help open it.

And then she tried to chew on the piggy bank, too.

So we showed her what it was really for. Which by the way, isn't that the cutest bank you ever saw? I love that it is almost as big as Winnie.

The kids exchanged their Christmas gifts with each other.

I love that they are always so excited to give gifts to each other. They never have asked me for any gift but instead they are always asking, "Can I give my gifts first????"

It might never be anything big, but each gift is special. Stickers from Ellie and an Atlas for Nathaniel.

Oh, and wrapping is half the fun. Samuel spent almost an entire day wrapping his gifts and couldn't resist adding five bows to Elisabeth's package.

We always have a special cake for Christmas. This year we wrapped up our New Year's Day celebration with the first place cake. (Not my recipe...) Gingerbread-Toffee Cake with Ganache Filling and a whipped Cream icing. Oh so delicious.

In the News

2012-01-01T15:31:00.000-05:00

Wow! How can it be 2012 already? It seems like just yesterday we were kids sitting around talking about what it would be like in the new millennium and here I sit the year 2000 has come and gone by 12 years!

We were going to be so much more advanced in technology. We were going to know so much more. We were going to be so much better off. Yet, as we kick off 2012 I have to shake my head at a few headlines which make it clear we aren't really making any progress in the intelligence realm of things.

Did you know that as of January 1st, it is now illegal to import 100 watt light bulbs? Not kidding here, folks. With all the life changing events our government should be focusing on, we are spending tax dollars and congressional time regulating the use of LIGHT BULBS! We know good hard working men who have been unemployed or underemployed for YEARS as they struggle to provide for their families in this failing economy and our government has nothing better to spend their time on than light bulbs? Really?????

Did you know it is now legal to eat horse? Don't get me wrong. I have no desire to eat a horse. But once again, one does wonder why this issue has taken on so much emotion. A horse is an animal. God gave animals for man's pleasure and yes, even to eat. Should you choose not to consume meat, good for you. But, on the other hand, if someone desires to, who are we to argue? I don't think you should go off and eat someone's pet. But really folks. The argument against eating horse meat was based primarily on how regal horses are. Whose to say a horse is any more special or regal than a cow? In fact, in some religions cows are considered sacred. Should we then lock up the cattle ranchers? In other countries horse meat has long since been in the butcher's case and in other countries dog meat is a staple. (Just for the record, I do not want to eat dog meat, either.)

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times. Just in case you missed it, I will say it again. How can we, as a society, spend so much time fighting for legislation that makes it legal to kill babies while putting just as much energy into legislation to protect animals?

This just seems to be one more bit of evidence that Charles Darwin seemed to miss the mark. How can anyone expect us to believe this is a society ever evolving into something better than where we started out? In case you've forgotten that was a nation whose government was started on Biblical principles that valued human life above all else and a nation who understood that where we put our resources is where our heart is also.

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

That was a nation started by Christians on the basis of religious freedom. However, today it seems everyone has religious freedom except Christians. Just the other day a friend was sharing how his daughters have both been sent out of preschool because the teachers heard them talking about Jesus. If she had mentioned the name Allah and the teacher took her from the class room, it would have been called discrimination and the school would have had a lawsuit on their hands. But mention the name of Christ and it is offensive to the other five year old children. Come on folks! We are taking things too far.

Is it any wonder we are reduced to a nation that relies on drugs, alcohol and antidepressants to make it through the day? Is it any wonder that our families are falling apart? Is it any wonder kids are carrying guns? Is it any wonder our jails are bursting at the seams but crime is still on the rise?

Look where our priorities as a nation rest, protecting animals, regulating light bulbs and keeping a child from speaking the name of her God. We put our treasure there, and our children have followed likewise with their hearts.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

For Your Reading Pleasure

2011-12-31T15:52:00.000-05:00

We change the format from time to time, but the goal is to at least one time each year to read every word of the Bible together as a family. In 2011 we started our reading an old testament passage at breakfast, Psalms and Proverbs at lunchtime and a New Testament passage at dinner. That took us through the Old Testament once, Psalms twice, Proverbs 12 times, and the New Testament twice.

As of Christmas, several Kindles have joined our Bible reading time, which has several advantages and disadvantages. One being instant access to Strong's Concordance, Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary and the Matthew Henry Commentary. There are some negatives, too. Not the least being the absence of a good old fashioned leather and paper Bible.

When you finish a book on your Kindle a window pops up asking you to rate it. We finished Revelation again on New Year's Eve. Everyone rated the Bible with five stars.

After you rate a book, the Kindle gives you another window with recommendations for future reading based on your preferences. We all got a chuckle out of this heading: "More books by God."

Blessings for a New Year of growing closer to our wondrous creator as we commune with Him daily in the Word.

Hugs,

Kat

A Christmas of Giving

2011-12-29T16:26:00.003-05:00

Each year, even before Thanksgiving our family starts talking and planning for one of our favorite Christmas traditions... putting aside the shopping and self indulgence that marks many holiday celebrations and instead looking to how we can reach others during the Christmas season, when many hearts are open and yet many more are hurting.

We were so excited when our Pastor sent an email saying he was going to call this A Christmas of Giving.

When I was a little girl I remember the fellows my dad worked with would all come together to make a Christmas for a family who would otherwise have none. This usually involved gifts and a meal. I never knew who those faces were we wrapped packages for but I have never forgotten how my heart was blessed at the idea of helping someone else.

Another thing I remember from when I was a young girl was the giving tree. This would appear in the foyer of our church each year around Thanksgiving. The tree was decorated with little tags which said boy or girl and included an age. Sometimes, it seems, there was also a notation about what this child might need and what size or color it should be. Church members would choose a child and then leave the wrapped package under the tree with the tag attached so they could be distributed.

The joy of doing for others was far greater than that of opening presents on Christmas morning. I wanted my children to know the blessing of giving from the heart with no other reward than knowing we had given in the name of Jesus. So when the girls were little, we started looking for ways to do just that. Over the years we put together gift boxes for the victims of Hurricanes and other natural disasters. We have sent donations to the food bank. Helped provide for Christmas dinner at a mission where our cousin lived. One year we wrapped bedtime stories and pajamas for homeless children. Another year it was sending boxes to an orphanage in Haiti. While we were doing this we always made a point to pray for the unknown recipients.

We also tried to do something for a family or families we know personally who are in need. It has always been a blessing to see who the Lord will lay on our hearts and how we can bless them without them finding out who was doing the giving.

As a parent you always hope what you are doing isn't getting lost in the translation. We were moved a number of years ago when our children came to us and said, "Who are we going to give to this year?" Thank you dear Jesus for helping us reach their hearts! Thank you for letting them understand this season, this life and this world is not about us.

Do you all read Voice of the Martyrs? Maybe if you do, you saw the issue with the lady who had been severely disfigured on the cover? The woman's story so touched Elisabeth. She has prayed for her many times over the last few months. Sometimes she would come to our little girl's memory and we would drop whatever we were doing so we could pray for her. That's why we decided to contribute to the mission work of Voice of the Martyrs this Christmas season.

When we asked the children how we would fund it, they spent an hour tossing around ideas. They each wanted to fund a child themselves. They asked if we would forgo their gift and contribute money to the cause instead. Again, I was both humbled and overjoyed at their dedication to doing something for someone other than themselves. The older girls had babysitting money to contribute. Samuel had saved some money from his birthday to fund a child in Africa. Our big boys asked Pa for an advance on the Christmas gift money Pappy and Granny send each year. It is the little moments like those that encourage me as a mother. When their gift envelope from Granny and Pappy were opened each cheerfully handed over their money. But there was one more special gift to come. When Samuel opened his envelope he asked what he should do with his money. I suggested he put it in his piggy bank. But that wasn't good enough for him, though. He asked if he could send it to the children in Africa.

And the Lord blessed their giving. Last night on the cover of the new Voice of the Martyrs what did we see? A picture of that beautiful woman who first touched Elisabeth's heart. Inside we found an update of her story.

Long ago the founding pastor of our little church, who has since gone home to the Lord, decided he would not pass an offering plate. That tradition has been held to at least as many years as we have been at this church, since 1998. However, I have always been moved by the giving spirit of those I have the privilege of knowing as my brothers and sisters in Christ. We were all excited the week before Christmas when our Pastor announced he would be passing the offering plate on Christmas Day to fund Bibles for a missionary we have long supported in Mexico.

With the piggy banks and billfolds emptied for VOM it was an act of prayer and faith to see how the Lord would fund this project we all wanted to be a part of. Christmas Eve before he tucked them in bed, Allen helped the children put their envelopes together. They were so excited they couldn't even sleep. Not because of what they would get on Christmas Day, but because they wanted to know how many Bibles we would be able to send. Samuel must have asked me at least ten times during the music service on Christmas morning when he would be able to put his envelope in. I mean he was literally bouncing up and down in his seat the whole time. I was so grateful Pastor took up the offering before the sermon. I don't know how he would have made it another 45 minutes or an hour. We were blessed to hear the total was over $3000 to go to Brother Martin. Praise God for the way He provides for the work of His people. That was just about all the kids talked about on their way to the car and during the ride home. When I tucked them in bed on Christmas night they all deemed that their favorite thing about Christmas.

Dear Jesus, in this season when we celebrate the gift you gave us in that manger, and remember the salvation you gave to us on the cross, I am so blessed by the way you continue to give to us by allowing us to continue your ministry here on earth. We are not worthy of that blessing and yet you have given us the joy of helping others to know you. Lord, never let us forget to look for ways to help the persecuted church, those brothers and sisters who are struggling physically, financially and emotionally among us and most importantly the lost and dying world who need to hear.

Precious Savior, never let us forget who it is really all about.

Some Minds Are So Easily Amused

2011-12-28T15:13:00.000-05:00

I was photocopying the box of grits this afternoon. And my hubby thought it was so amusing... never mind that he was supposed to be working... that he took this picture and emailed it to me with the caption, "Why is this woman copying a box of grits?"

I copy things all the time. Now surely you girls know why! Don't you?

The Twelve Photos of Christmas

2011-12-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

... and a few more. I started with the Twelve photos of Christmas. Which is pretty good considering the hundreds we took between the 23rd and the 25th. In reality I could only narrow it down to 16 of our top memories from this year's celebration. And as we've discussed before... this is my blog, after all, so I can break the rules.

400 Truffles

Gifts of Praise

Waiting for sunset so Christmas can begin

Carmella's first Christmas

A surprise guest

Dancing after dinner

New Pajamas

A practical joke

The soft glow

Did you really just drop and ice cube down my back?

All that fuss for a sweater?

Oh, and a kindle!

Loving my girl

A caroling party

Christmas looks best in sepia

It sure is a Wonderful Life!

Hoping you all had the merriest of Christmas surrounded by the warmth and love of kith and kin. For us Christmas started in the midst of baking and wrapping when we got a surprise visit from Aunt Dawn. It continued on with all the magic and merriment that only Christmas can bring. Great food, great fun, great friends.

May the spirit of the season follow you through the new year until our dear old friend comes again.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T16:14:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...and happy new year too!Hugs,CP

Packages

2011-12-20T13:31:00.003-05:00

At the risk of sounding like a broken record can I say, "I hate to shop!" And in this busy day and age, who has time to go to five stores to find what you are looking for? Not me for sure. If I do have extra time (who am I kidding?) I have a million better ways to spend it... like cuddling up with a few kids and a good book. Still there are times when the whole ordeal is unavoidable. And for that, there is Amazon Prime.

I have found their prices can compete with all the big box stores, I can shop in my pajamas, and with free two day shipping for members, why not? I get everything from clothes, books and batteries to coffee, wipes, diapers and syrup. There are boxes on our doorstep a few days a week.

Yes, we are on a first name basis with our UPS man. We have even recently had the pleasure of meeting his beautiful wife and sweet children. I must admit, I do wonder if this soft spoken fellow is ever intimidated by all our kids charging for his truck when he comes around the corner. And I bet he looks forward to the lighter workload in September and October when we are traveling. It's okay, Jodie, we don't take it personally. Especially, since you need the time to rest up before the Christmas shopping season begins.

With nine people shopping throughout the month of December, it is not uncommon to get five or more packages a day. Which is always exciting, right boys? The only catch is sometimes we run into a sticky situation because we don't always know which box can be opened by who without ruining a gift.

Take the other day, for example. Seven boxes. Now I know what I ordered for Allen and the kids. He knows what he has ordered for me. But no one knows what is in which box. So we pinch and shake and try to guess which are safe to open.

We finally got this shipment down to two unidentified boxes, which I suspected were Allen's gifts.

But you never know until you just open the box. It is a bit like trying to deactivate a time bomb.

And in the end.... it was just a gift for my girlfriend....

and the Hanukkah candles.

Oh, I know, we could change the name on the shipping label. That would make it a lot easier. But truth be known, I love that super fast one-click button too much. So all our boxes are addressed to Allen R. Wachter. Besides, this way is just so much fun.

My witty husband did create a new shipping label. It reads like this, "Allen R. -not for Kat- Wachter." Except he forgot to apply it to some packages. So we keep playing the shake-rattle-and-roll.

When we are really wanting to keep a secret, we just have it delivered to our neighbors house. Did you get that girlies? No sense in looking because your gifts are at an undisclosed location and guarded by attack dogs.

meet Joey and Wally

Ready Or Not Ellie's Four!

2011-12-13T09:34:00.000-05:00

This week our little Princess turned four! It seems yesterday, she was only Winnie's size. But the calendar doesn't lie. Most certainly, we started the day with pink balloons.

Samuel was so excited for her to see the bracelet and necklace he designed, that he didn't even wait for her to get out of bed before she had to open the package.

Ellie wanted to dress up as Rapunzel for the day. Our gift to her were these flowers I found in the Wedding section at Michael's so she could have flowers in her braids like her favorite princess.

Samuel dressed up as Flynn. The dragon on his shoulder is Pascal, in case you didn't know.

Emma's nickname for Ellie is Coco Chanel, because she is so fashionable. Emma found her a tiny bottle of Chanel No. 5.

When we asked what she wanted to do for her birthday the Google girl said she wanted to go to Chuckee Cheese

And Chick-fil-A

And Target

So she could get Winnie a Rapunzel costume. (The smallest this comes in is a 4T but that didn't deter Ellie from her mission of dressing Carmella up to match. The kids were calling the baby Pascal after that because apparently there is a part in the movie when Rapunzel dresses Pascal up in her dress and it is huge.)

For dinner, Elisabeth requested cheese fries. I threw in the broccoli so the day wouldn't be completely void of nutrition.

And for dessert

there was cake, of course...

and pink tarts.

What Wachter birthday would be complete without blessings and praises?

The kids noted Elisabeth's willingness to share, cheerfulness and the way she tries to put others before herself. We also praised her for the joy and passion she brings to life. We are blessed by her love for her siblings and the way she desires to look out for them, especially Winnie girl. Her honesty (she always says things just as they are) passion for life, and adoration for her Pa (may she transfer that to her Father in Heaven) bring honor to our family and home.

Happy Birthday, Elisabeth! Many Happy Returns of the day.

Come As A Child

2011-12-11T15:16:00.000-05:00

The Cantata last Sunday night was truly blessed by the Lord.

After a really scary rehearsal on Saturday morning, Allen said he didn't think prayer was enough and maybe we should fast. With all sorts of sickness going through the cast and choir, we truly were bathing the whole experience in prayer. A few days before, I could barely speak. We notified the director that I may not be able to do it and did he want to line up a back up. That night, I was told, at the weekly prayer meeting, the church brought the whole affair to the Lord. Would you know, the next day it was almost as if I had never been sick.

We were amazed at the turn out, too. No one knows exactly how many we had, but we do know there were at least 225 in attendance. From my experience that is the largest turn out I ever remember. And everyone gave rave reviews over the children's work and the dinner following.

The girls made lots of delicious desserts to follow the meal. I am all over these chocolate and peppermint covered marshmallows.

And look how adorable these reindeer cookies came out. You can't get the best shot, but those are pumpkin whoopie pies in the background. Oh, so delicious!

We were so busy, our family didn't really have time to eat so when we got home we made some popcorn and flopped down in the living room. The kids must have been exhausted. Three of them fell asleep right where they were sitting.

We were so busy, I didn't get even one photograph. The young people in our Cyberlight group put together a video. I hope you all enjoy it and are as blessed as we were by the whole event.

Thanks to our hard working directors and choir director for once again bringing this fabulous Christmas tradition to our church.

This text will be replaced

Christmas Lights

2011-12-09T15:50:00.000-05:00

My girlfriend sent this to me. My girls are really into Christmas lights this year. (Post to follow someday). Because of their new passion, we all thought this was a real hoot.

Hi Sweetheart,

I am sorry about getting into an argument about putting up the Christmas lights.

I guess that sometimes I feel like you are pushing me too hard when you want something.

I realize that I was wrong and I am apologizing for being such a hard-headed guy.

All I want is for you to be happy and be able to enjoy the holiday season.

Nothing brightens the Christmas spirit like Christmas lights!

I took the time to hang the lights for you today and now I will be off to go bowling.

Again, I am very sorry for the way I acted yesterday.

I'll be home later.

Love you......

Babysitting... It's A Christmas Tradition

2011-12-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

The last few years the girls have watched these special friends while their folks go to the company Christmas dinner. This isn't the only time they stay with us throughout the year but it has become something our family looks forward to during the holiday season. As we were planning our calendar for December we had to call their Mama and find out what day they would be coming this year. Isn't it funny how a little bit of something becomes a tradition?

The girls always like to do crafts. They really like to do crafts with the little ones. On babysitting night they made snowmen ornaments, from a Martha Stewart book, of course.

Suzanna is just such a sweetie. She is such a perfectionist. It is darling to watch her focus so hard to make everything just right.

And they made, and ate, sugar cookies.

And then a viewing of the Muppets Christmas Carol.

Everyone was sick, so the girls had no trouble getting everyone (even the four rambunctious boys) to go to sleep right on time. As I look at these pictures, I wonder if this gang of little friends will one day look back and remember it as fondly as the girls and I do?

The Muppets

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

We did it! Last week we took a date for Christmas Shopping. But first, we went to see the new Muppets movie. This made our teenagers crazy. They have grown up loving The Muppets and were tickled when they heard a new movie would be in theaters. And truth be known, I felt a bit guilty going without them. After all, we are the ones who got them hooked. But Amazon sent us a coupon to get one ticket free. Tickets are normally $11.50 at our local theater. So what were we to do?

I grew up watching The Muppets Show every Saturday night at 7:30. Waldorf and Stadler were a household name and anyone who was anyone was no one until they were a guest star on The Muppet Show. This movie did not disappoint. It had all the fun and charm of the original Jim Henson production.

Allen and I laughed out loud for 90 minutes. We tapped our feet as Jason Segel and Amy Adams broke out in song and dance on the streets of Hollywood. We cheered as Walter made his debut in the Muppet theater. And when Kermit and Miss Piggy reunited and sang The Rainbow Connection, I almost cried.

Oh, and the popcorn was great, too.

It's been a long time since I have seen a movie that was this much fun. It was a great way to start off an evening of Christmas shopping. If you see only one movie this season, go see The Muppets. Then tell me how much you loved it.

Five Months

2011-12-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

Winnie is now officially five months old. Her personality has really come alive in the last few weeks. We love to hear her laugh and giggle, which she does almost all the time she is awake. She also chit chats and is really taken with studying the world around her. Sunday morning I put her down for a nap and heard her going on about something.

A quick peep into her nursery and I discovered she had flipped herself over and was talking to the butterfly mobile Elisabeth hung in there when she was born.

She spent all of her morning and afternoon naptime on Sunday talking to the butterflies.

And then Sunday afternoon Carmella was playing on Brianna's bed while we were dressing for church. We all had to chuckle when we looked in to see her laying there studying (and then drooling on) Brianna's magazine.

It looks as though we have another Martha Stewart Living fan in training.

Can't believe she has already been with us for five fabulous months. Can't believe there was ever a time she wasn't here with us. Thank you Jesus for this amazing blessing we call our Carmella.

Search For the Christ Child, Jonathan Sperry, A Holiday Party and the Christmas Cantata

2011-12-05T10:53:00.002-05:00

Friday night our church library hosted a movie night. They showed the Secrets of Jonathan Sperry. I had heard of this movie but never seen it. I wasn't feeling well, and several kids were still under the weather so I was tempted not to go. But after a very productive week and Pa still away we decided to attend. I was glad we went. It was a great movie with a good message and a few laughs along the way. The kids also loved the cider, doughnuts and popcorn.

And Pa happened to get home just as the movie ended and we were heading to our car.

Saturday, a local church was hosting their long standing Christmas program, Search For the Christ Child. I happened to see a flyer in Starbucks, so we decided to pop in and check it out. Wow! It was a fabulous program. The youth group recreated the story of the nativity, death and resurrection with a progressive walking program throughout their church and school building.

Among tables decorated with candles as instrumental Christmas music played quietly in the background, groups waited for their turn in the church basement.

There were tons of crafts stations set up for children of all ages. Everything was centered on Christ, and with Christmas being so commercialized, I liked that. My kids had a blast doing these. And even though we were there for quite some time, they still didn't run out of activities.

There were also refreshments, door prizes, some tables with fair trade goods for sale and lots of people to chit chat with.

As a matter of fact, Allen was laughing when I met up with him after a while. Kaitlin had been holding Carmella when a lady approached and asked her if she was a member of the church that was hosting the event. She said no. Then the lady explained that she was in charge of a nursing home ministry and was speaking on Christmas morning. Old people love babies she said and she was hoping Kaitlin would consent for them to borrow her baby for a visual. After Kaitlin explained that Carmella was her little sister she suggested that the lady see her Pa.

Lest you think she was joking. She wasn't. She was completely serious and did approach Allen. She said she knew it was a long shot but she thought she would ask. We laughed at this one a long time. Eventually, I asked Allen what he said to her. He explained that we were kind of partial to our kids and that we would like her to be with us when we go to worship on Christmas morning. Ha, how do you like that one. I thought I had really heard it all but that was a new one to even me.

The program itself was fabulous. They did such a good job of recreating various scenes, especially the market place of Bible days where they were selling a wide variety of critters for sacrifices and the stable where Jesus was found, which looked and smelled like a barn.

I liked that they didn't end with the stable but went to the cross, the empty tomb and ended with an invitation to meet Jesus. Each group was given a Bible as they left with a note to pass it on to someone else if you already had your own Bible.

They gave us two since we are so many. Elisabeth was tickled. Emma reads Bible with her each morning when they wake up. She said now they could match for their Bible study.

We all agreed we would like this to be part of our annual Christmas celebration and one we would like to invite others to.

Saturday evening Allen and I were attending a Christmas party. The girls were giving Allen advice on the stylish way to dress for such things these days.

I often wonder, how did we make it this far in life without teenagers?

Allen added the hat for our hostess who teasingly suggested he come in a Santa suit. He looks kinda cute, don't you think?

Still feeling pretty lousy, Sunday we managed through our second to last Cantata practice. Neither of us are actors so this is quite a stretch for us to begin with. Even though, I had all my lines down, I managed to blow just about all of them last night. You know you are pathetic when a five year old is reminding you of your lines. We have it all figured out, though. We have to be just good enough to not embarrass ourselves, and yet bad enough that they won't ask us again.

Just teasing, our annual Cantata and Christmas dinner is such a fun and festive event, we look forward to it all year and are blessed by those who give of their talents and time to make it happen.

Pink Goes With Anything

2011-12-03T12:50:00.002-05:00

Even Ellie's red plaid dress.

When Elisabeth came to school yesterday

she was all dressed up in the Christmas dress Aunt Dawn brought her

I commented on how very pretty and festive she looked

And when I saw the tights I made the mistake of asking, "Do you think the tights match okay?"

To which she replied, as she twirled away, "Yeah, I like pink."

As my dad used to say, "If you ask a stupid question..."

Pink Goes With Anything

2011-12-03T12:49:00.000-05:00

Even Ellie's red plaid dress.

When Elisabeth came to school yesterday

she was all dressed up in the Christmas dress Aunt Dawn brought her

I commented on how very pretty and festive she looked

And when I saw the tights I made the mistake of asking, "Do you think the tights match okay?"

To which she replied, "Yeah, I like pink."

As my dad used to say, "If you ask a stupid question..."

Tabitha's Travels

2011-12-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

Our family has once again pulled out Tabitha's Travels by Arnold Ytreeide to read through Advent. This adventure intertwines history, Biblical truths and lots of excitement to keep the family learning and focused on what the season is about. The thing that most impressed me about his writing is how much I learned about Jewish life in Bible times.

At the end of each day's reading passage you will find a short family devotion to tie in what has happened with some character building lesson or to help you grow in your relationship with Christ and others.

This book is the third in a series but they need not be read in order. Even though there is a different main character in each book, all the characters are tied together by Jotham, the hero from the first story.

This, and all the books by Arnold Ytreeide, are available on Amazon.com If you love what you read, be sure to check out his Easter devotional Amon's Adventure.

Peppermint

2011-12-01T11:55:00.000-05:00

Samuel adopted this little guy and loves to carry him around and snuggle with him from time to time. He calls him peppermint because when he first arrived at Wachter World he smelled like peppermint. After several washings, he has lost his scent but the name stuck. Peppermint was intended to be a dog toy and has one of those squeaky thingies in his tummy.

Two weeks ago he stopped squeaking. I didn't think this was such a big deal. But Sam did. He asked me to fix the squeaker. I was instantly stumped. But not my girls. I was blessed by the compassion they showed toward their brother. They kissed him goodnight and took the fuzzy yellow guy away promising to do all they could to make him as good as new.

Now, I must admit, I was a little worried when they took out a steak knife. But they explained they thought they could get a clean cut along the seam that way. They quickly retrieved the squeaker and fixed it. But a few squeaks later and it again stopped making noise.

I listened as they deliberated a few minutes before they struck brilliance. Amazon.com. Sure enough, right there for less than five dollars was a beautiful set of 4. (Two day free delivery for Prime members... just in case you have a need). They felt seeing his friend cut open for a few days might be a bit traumatic so he was bandaged and returned to Sam.

The physicians explained, he would need a transplant and they expected the new organ to arrive within two days. Then they promised he would be good as new.

Sure enough, they put in the new squeaker and stitched him up and no one is the wiser. But a little brother is blessed to know that there are three sisters who love him enough to take time and effort to invest in the things that important to him, even if they seem like not such a big deal to the rest of us. Those kind of heart strings are one of the most valuable investments we can make in our families.

And that makes for one priceless chew toy.

Jesse Tree

2011-12-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

Today we will begin our annual study of the Jesse tree. Starting with this verse we study the how God prepared the world for the arrival of the Messiah. Each ornament has a reminder of the selected stories we will read about. We did this when I was growing up. Years ago, I started this tradition with my own children. Each day in the month of December adding one ornament to the tree which reminds us that we want to focus on what God has, is and will do for us.

I found this book on Amazon.com last summer.

Last Christmas we made a Jesse Tree out of felt using the patterns in this book. My incredibly crafty friend, known here as Aunt Dawn, brought with her a beautiful gift when she arrived for Thanksgiving. A hand painted set of ornaments for our Jesse Tree.

We are all looking forward to starting our study and remembering our dear Auntie as we add each ornament to our tree.

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:1-9

Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

2011-11-30T14:40:00.000-05:00

With my last final out of the way, I am now free to enjoy the Christmas celebrations and catch up on lots of things that have fallen to the back burner. Like blogging about Thanksgiving, all the fun holiday happenings and maybe even the last of our trip to Disney World.

I often wonder how incredibly overwhelming it must be for friends to come in our door and be instantly surrounded by 8 kids all talking at once and hugging and kissing and sharing all the news of whatever happens to be the exciting thing of the moment.

No matter what she must think, our Aunt Dawn always manages to handle it without batting an eyelash. Do you think that comes from her 20 years in the Navy?

Regardless, she made it for Thanksgiving and that gave us lots more to be thankful for.

Winnie was thankful that Aunt Dawn gets holding rights which means she gets a break from the loving embraces of brothers and sisters.

Elisabeth was grateful for her red party dress and someone to cuddle with while watching the Macy's parade.

I was grateful for someone to stir the gravy for a while.

As always, there were lots of laughs and a few tears.

And of course turkey sandwiches.

On Friday, we shifted to Christmas mode since it doesn't look like we will be able to spend the holiday together this year. Aunt Dawn did her part to give Winnie a complex or two.

But she let her know, that she still loves her and will hold her teething ring as long as there is a need.

After the girls had spent the day hanging lights outdoors, Aunt Dawn took Carmella out for her first sight of the musical holiday spectacular. (There will EVENTUALLY be a post with pictures of this endeavor.)

We spent some time singing carols by the tree. With sore throats all around, Dawn and Kaitlin serenaded us for a while. Their best, by far, was an enthusiastic rendition of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

They even attempted a go around of Last Christmas just for Brianna. One might think she didn't like it.

Dawn took advantage of dressing Winnie up. A favorite pass time around here. Some days she might have four different outfits on.

Voila! She got everything in the right place. Not a bad job since she said this is the first time she has dressed a baby since Brianna was Winnie's age. Which, I can not imagine how on earth you got away with that hanging around here all the time.

We also made the fruitcake. Oh, so delicious. If you have not had this chocolate cherry fruitcake you must check out the recipe in this post. And if you want to read about our family fruit cake tradition you can check this post. I highly recommend it if you need a good laugh this Christmas season or if you want to know a family that is wackier than yours.

What is a Christmas celebration without cookies? While the girls tried to shut down the grid by hanging a million twinkle lights we made cranberry orange cookies... and a lot of others.

And after day two of the light hanging project we were again called on to see the handiwork of our little elves.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this photo. They both look so content and peaceful in each others arms.

I roped Dawn into putting together the Advent wreath. She is super creative and crafty... which can often mean you get a lot of work around here.

And certainly, there had to be presents.

This book is such a wonderful keepsake. Dawn recorded herself reading Luke's Christmas story to the children. They listen to this a billion times a day.

Nathaniel gave Dawn a piano lesson. I seriously think you should take up the instrument, my friend. You caught on so quick!

Brianna taught us how to make Moravian Stars. To tell you how complicated these things are, even Dawn stumbled on them. And we got it in our head that it would be a great idea to make one for everyone at church on Christmas Day. We are going to have to get a little faster at it!

Aunt Dawn, the pin was a huge hit. Elisabeth loves her princess coat now.

And I probably shouldn't tease her about this, because she was so upset by it. But it was so funny... as a matter of fact we are still laughing about it... so I am going to anyway. Allen convinced Dawn that she needed a new football team and she should be a St. Louis Rams fan. Anyone who follows football knows that the Rams are pretty pathetic this year. So Allen decided he was going to encourage her by sending her Rams stuff. For Christmas he found an ornament. She opened it and they volleyed insults back and forth for a while and then she was joking about breaking it. So she tapping on it and we are all laughing and then it really does break. Oh, my word! We laughed so hard. We are still laughing several weeks later. Because that is funny stuff!

Oh, and don't worry. We found one that is shatter proof to replace it.

And before we knew it, Sunday morning was here, we were all crying and it was time to say goodbye, again.

Dearest, friend. The only bad thing I can think of when it comes to our visits, is that you always have to go home again. This Thanksgiving and each day of the year, we thank God for the gift of your friendship, salvation through Jesus that makes us brothers and sisters, and the blessing of the time you share with us.

Ginger Glazed Spaghetti Squash

2011-11-29T10:46:00.000-05:00

Whenever I serve this elegant looking, but oh so easy side dish, ladies request the recipe.

4 pounds spaghetti squash

1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon chicken base or bouillon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon corn starch

1. Cook squash. If I already have the oven going I just poke some holes in the skin with a fork and toss it in. You can also cook it in the microwave by poking the skin with a fork several times and cooking on high for 15 minutes or so. When cool enough to handle, cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Use a fork to scrap out the squash. It will look like spaghetti strands.
2. Make glaze. Mix remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Serve over squash.
3. To make ahead, put finished squash in microwave safe dish and store covered until ready to serve. Reheat in microwave.

A 4 pound squash yields 10 1/2 cups servings. Each serving= 9 g carbs

6,000 Twinkle Lights

2011-11-28T17:17:00.000-05:00

One of the most common emails I get is how do I get my kids to do something that doesn't involve a screen? Here's a little tip. This Christmas season give them some Christmas lights and see what they can create.

After seeing this...

at Hollywood Studios in Disney World...

My girls decided they wanted to recreate the magic in our front yard. Who would think a trio of girls would get so tickled about exterior illumination? But there you have it. The day after Thanksgiving it was off to Home Depot, where they bought a lot of lights.

And then they spent three days stringing them. Allen thought he would save money by switching to all LED lights this year but judging by the number of trips to Home Depot for more lights and extension cords, I don"t think he gained any ground.

When Brianna ran out of places the little ones could reach, she told them to stand on the hill and shout Merry Christmas to the cars passing by. Which they did... for hours. I was inside baking cookies, but I knew by they were working hard by the number of car horns I heard.

They had to call Pa in for technical support on the synchronized music.

But eventually they had it all up and going.

We were called outdoors several times to check the progress. One time we had some egg nog to toast the holiday season. Notice the bare feet. It was really warm Thanksgiving weekend.

When they ran out of places to put lights on the house, they turned to the train.

Which looks fabulous covered in colored lights.

I knew they were putting up a lot of lights. And I saw the finished product. But I must tell you, the full impact hit me when I came home from class the night after they finished the job. I sat in the driveway chuckling to myself for ten minutes. It was really something special.

I love my girls festive spirit.

I love their enthusiasm for what brings joy to others. I got such a kick out of watching them run to the window to watch cars slow down or stop in front of our house to check out the fruit of their labors.

And I love knowing that at least in some way they have captured the lesson I have been trying to teach their whole lives... "If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right."

All in all, not quite 5 million dancing lights, but 6,000 is nothing to sneeze at. And after all you need to have something to look forward to next year, right?

It's Not Quite Rustic

2011-11-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

As much as I love tradition and as much as I love a live Christmas Tree, sadly we have too many allergies to have one in our house.

On Thanksgiving Day, Allen announced he would be going shopping on Black Friday because he thought we should get a new Christmas Tree. As much as I hate shopping and even more so on Black Friday, what was I to say when he asked me to go along and pick out a tree?

I suggested that if we were going to pick out a tree, we might as well make it a family affair. So we all piled into the four wheel drive sleigh and headed to... Home Depot.

While Pa perused the selection of LED prelit trees, the rest of us played around checking out decorations. Samuel thought this Eeyore was so cute, he asked me to take their picture together.

And then Aunt Dawn decided to see how much Emma really loves her.

And everyone else thought that was so cool, they had to find some funny hats to put on.

And then she decided it is never to early to start scaring Carmella.

As I wandered behind this gang headed to the car, I couldn't help but giggle. What a sight... Allen, eight kids, 1 microwave, an ash can, a million outdoor lights, ten poinsettias and a Christmas tree.

We found another use for the vacation trailer.

It's almost the same as hiking out into the woods and cutting one down but instead we get to eat lunch while the men do the work.

Does this look like complete chaos? Well, it is. We have so many ornaments it is always a complete disaster when we decorate the tree.

Yet somehow, we manage to get it all up.

How many Wachters does it take to put the angel on top? Three. Pa to lift the little girlie. Elisabeth to hold the angel and Mama to hold the tree.

Ah, sweet success.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T22:53:00.003-05:00

Ideally, I would have liked to put this post up before we got started on our Christmas posts, but with a final and Allen away, and a bunch of sick people around, we do what we can, when we can.

We just love Thanksgiving. It has got to be my favorite holiday... or at least tied with Christmas.

I love all of us in the kitchen cooking together. Teaching the kids how to prepare our favorite recipes. Aedan made Aunt Helen's Holiday Mashed Potatoes last year and requested to make them again this year. He really gave her a run for her money.

I love the decorations. Brianna decided to make these name cards she found in Martha Stewart Living. Wednesday night she roped the girls and Aunt Dawn into helping her with the project. Aren't they adorable?

I love the centerpieces... like this one with Azalea cuttings.

I love pulling out the linens, china, crystal and silver to set a beautiful table.

Oh, and the gravy. I love the mushroom gravy. I don't love that it takes an hour of stirring to make it, but it is so worth it. Especially, when everyone takes a turn stirring.

I love the company. The family, the friends, the noise of merry making.

I love neighbors dropping by for dessert and a little baby fix.

I love that Katherine, who happens to be an elementary school teacher, got us all making turkey crafts.

I love that she said mine looked great, even if it looked nothing like a turkey.

I love never knowing which friends will join us for dinner and meeting the new people they bring with them.

I love the late night leftover turkey-dressing-gravy-cranberry sauce sandwiches on rye bread... whether you are still stuffed from dinner or not.

In case I forgot to mention it, I love the food, family and friends that make this Thankful Day something extra to be thankful for.

Thankful

2011-11-24T00:01:00.009-05:00

Two lovely young ladies have asked me to guest post for them today. This is what I will be sharing at He Designs My Life and Living On Literary Lane.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The food, friends and family are all reasons why this sticks out as an amazing day. But mostly I love it because I have so much to be thankful for. In a parable Jesus explained that those who had the most to gain or lose are the ones who are most grateful for the gifts He has given.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. Luke 7:41-43

In the parable our Lord was speaking of the gift of salvation, but I think this applies to many different situations. Once someone asked me what is the one thing I wish I could forget. And the truth is, although my life has been filled with heartache and even though I have made many mistakes along the way, I wouldn't change a thing. Because remembering my sorrows and miss steps reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for today. As our Savior said, those whose lives have always gone according to plan, and those who have always had it easy, and those who have never made a mistake may not fully appreciate the gifts of forgiveness, mercy and salvation.

My home life growing up was anything but ideal. Our lives were driven by my parents horrible marriage, violent fights, alcoholism, abuse and neglect. Even on what should have been the most joyous occasions, we knew no joy. If both our parents were living at home and there was not already a brawl going on, we were all anxiously holding our breath waiting for a screaming match to break out. I would have given anything to live in one of the happy households I witnessed when visiting my school mates homes.

Because I have known the other side of the story, I am daily grateful for the happiness I share with my husband and children. Even in our trials, we have much to rejoice about in the family He has blessed us with. How many people run from day to day taking for granted the family they have because it has always been within their grasp?

Growing up, we went to church every weekend and on the holy days. We observed the times of fasting and were careful to partake of all the sacraments. My brother, sister and I attended Catholic school where we were taught the doctrine of the church. It was unthinkable to lapse in any of these things. “What a nice family,” people would say. “What good children.” We were called Christians and believed we had earned the name. However, at home, we did not live as those who have claimed His name should. We were working so hard to have salvation but all our works were in vain. We could never do enough or be religious enough to have a right relationship with the righteous God of Heaven. Today, because I have known the emptiness of a religious life, I am thankful for the free and effortless gift of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ.

Even at a young age, I was always trying to figure things out, asking questions and getting frustrated that no one I knew could answer my “whys” to my satisfaction. I would read something or hear something in church or in our religion classes and it just didn’t work for me. Instead it just gave me more questions. The day a teacher told us we must all be baptized or we can’t get to Heaven particularly sticks out in my mind. The toddler daughter of our friend had just dropped dead on the play ground so this children and Heaven thing was very fresh in my mind. When I asked the teacher about the babies who die before they are baptized she said, "Well they have to be baptized!" She went on to explain if they are very sick and a priest can’t come to baptize them, anyone can do it. My mind wondered what would happen if there was no one who knew how to baptize properly. Would God really not allow this child into heaven? The teacher's answer was to tell us the steps to properly baptize someone should we ever find ourselves in that situation. But no one had an answer for those who never had the opportunity to get baptized before death.

We loved to sing when I was growing up. My mom sang us hymns and taught us hymns. We often would sing in the car on our way to and from school. One of the songs we sang was based on the scripture John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” One day Mom and I were working on something in the kitchen and singing this song when I realized, “Wow, this Jesus is pretty amazing.”

One spring, as Easter approached, and we fasted our way through the Lenten season I was particularly stirred by the teachings at church and in school about Jesus death on the cross. I had heard it plenty and been told that Jesus died so we could get to heaven, but it had never been so real to me before. This brought about so many more “whys”. If Jesus died so we could go to heaven, why do babies have to be baptized? Why do we have to go to church? Why do we have to take the sacraments? It was all so confusing. I talked to my mom. I spoke with my teachers. I questioned the priests. But every answer they gave only created more questions for me. And after a while it was made clear that my questions were impertinent.

So I did what I was told. Went to church. Took the sacraments. Volunteered. Tried to be a good enough person to make it to heaven one day. But never knowing for sure if I would ever get there.

Today I have all the answers at my fingertips. I have the Bible. The infallible word of the God who created me, judged me and saved me. In His book, He has given me the answers to every question I will ever need to know the answers to on this earth. In our country we are so blessed to have this in our hands. A Bible can be had by anyone in the USA who desires it. Yet, if you ask most Christians they could not tell you the last time they opened their Bible and read it on a daily basis. In fact, many people tell me they have never read their Bibles through even one time! Sadly, this comes from ladies who have had the blessing of being in church their whole lives. Today, because I have lived many years with the confusion and sleepless nights of unanswered questions, I am grateful for the undeserved gift of God's word. I love to read it. I love to study it. I look forward to going to church and hearing it preached. My girls asked me once how many times I've read the Bible through since I gave my life to Jesus. The answer is, "I don't know." However, this year I have read it through three times. Today, I am grateful that, in His word, the Lord tells us that we can know for sure if we will spend eternity in Heaven.

By the time I was in Junior High school my father had moved out. We scarcely saw him. My mom, while she was at home, really had very little to do with us. She drank more and more as time went on and spent most of her time watching television. It was a very lonely time for me. I worked very hard at school, at my job, and around the house in an effort to win approval from my parents that never came my way.

One night my mother announced she was done with raising kids. She packed her bag and left. We didn't even know where my father was living at the time. After school the next day we called dad at work. He said he would come home. As I look back I don't think it was because he was really interested in being home with his children, but rather because he wanted the house and its contents. I used to think he did as good a job as a father could in such a situation. But now that I look back, I see his heart wasn't in it. He was rarely home so we were left to care for ourselves, tend to the household chores and care for our brother who was 6 years younger than me. In my teen years, I desperately wanted and needed a relationship with him. But he was not interested in such things. My brother who was 18 months older than me, had been coming and going for some time. And at the age of sixteen, after an argument with my dad, he picked me up, set me on the porch and told me I was no longer welcome in his house.

Since then, I have always worked to secure this elusive relationship with my father. Over the years I have seen it wax and wane. As he loses interest and goes silent from time to time, even for years at a time, I always suffer great heartache and spend time beating myself up and wondering what I did to be so unlovable to my own father. It has been a year and a half since I last heard from him. Yet today I rejoice for my Abba Father God, who no matter that I don't deserve it, and no matter what mistake I make, He loves me and promises to remain with me welcoming me with His forgiving arms and not just for a time but for all eternity.

I spent the next two years trying to finish my high school studies while working to support myself and dealing with ongoing health issues. During this time I moved from one temporary living situation to another. I stayed night to night in the homes of various friends. I slept in my car. After my car was totaled, I slept wherever I happened to be at the end of the day. The stairwell of an apartment building, an empty house that was for sale, someone's front porch and on a particularly dismal night beside a pinball machine in a 7-11.

Today, because I have known homelessness, I am grateful for our happy little house the Lord has provided. To most people, our home is too small or too simple to be worthy of a second glance, but to me it is a palace and I wouldn't want to be any other place. What's more? Today I live with the promise of a future in Heaven where my brother Jesus has gone to prepare a mansion for me.

Eventually, I came to live with a woman who offered me housing in exchange for taking care of her children. I was there just a short time before I realized she slept with men in exchange for drugs. Her children and I got along well and it provided me with a roof while I tried to finish school. So I stayed.

That December, when I was 16, a fellow I had known who was in the Navy, came home on leave. We dated throughout the month he was in town and committed to an exclusive relationship when he left in January to return to his duty station. When he permanently returned home, a few months later, we were serious about each other.

In the meantime, my living situation became quite precarious. My roommate was involved with her ex-husband again and now we all were living together under the same roof. My room mate, her ex-husband, his girlfriend, their four children and me. All three of them were heavy into drug use and alcohol. The whole situation was so absurd. However, in exchange for watching the children and doing the laundry I had a place to live while finishing my junior year of high school. The husband B, lost his job with the post office when he failed a random drug test. He became increasingly more abusive to his wife, the girl friend and the children. It was not uncommon for either or both of the women to have a black eye. However, he was always cordial to me. Until one day, during yet another argument with the women, he cornered me in my bedroom. That's when I started running and never looked back.

I have two cousins who grew up in a good home with a mother who loved them and our dear grandmother. They went to a nice private school and had all their needs provided for. Yet, both of these brothers gave their lives over to heroine addiction and all the horrors that go with it. The older eventually lost his life in his early 20's and the other has spent most of the last 6 years in jail on various charges related to his drug addiction. I often look back on all I was exposed to in the nine months I was living in that situation. It would have been easy for me to fall into such a life. Even though I did not know the Lord, I am certain that He was guiding me all the time. I don't know why God chose to protect me, but I often look back on where I could be today and praise the Lord for where His goodness has brought me instead. Because of what He did for me I am grateful for the opportunity to live this life for Him. It is not the hindrance or duty that some see but rather my honor to do whatever is in my power to glorify one who has done so much for me.

With no other options for my future, I married J. shortly after turning 18. The month of my 19th birthday I found out we had a baby on the way. All the charm my husband had exhibited seemed to disappear overnight. He started drinking heavily and started getting high with old buddies. Then he was stealing from his family, from my family and even from his employers to support his habits. He was fired from one job after another. With a very troubled pregnancy, no income, and a husband who was becoming increasingly abusive, life was bleak. But things would get far worse before they got better. I know now that it was all part of God's plan for me.

One night, when my Kaitlin was 18 months old, J. took what money we had, our car and left to be with a girl he had been having an affair with. I found out later that she was not his only indiscretion. In those initial days, I was devastated. However, in God's goodness it wasn't long before I came to see this as the best thing he ever did for me. Although, this man was no good and I feared for our daughter's safety, I don't believe I would have ever left him. And our divorce was the first of the very important steps to me finding Jesus, which was the turning point of my life.

The Bible tells us this kind of man, who does not care for or provide for his family, is no better than an infidel. In wisdom would I have chosen this sort of husband and lifestyle? No, but I am grateful for those years and those painful memories. They cause me to daily thank the Lord for the many ways He provides for all my needs and even the desires of my heart. Because of these experiences I am daily thankful for the good husband God has given me and for our commitment to our marriage and raising our family to the glory and honor of God.

My life and heart were so troubled with financial, personal and spiritual questions after his leaving, that I ceased to sleep at all. Every night was the same. I would tuck Kaitlin in bed and then crawl into bed myself completely exhausted and my mind would start spinning. What am I going to do about this? What about that? How can I this? And so it went until the sun came up. I was so completely exhausted, I would doze off sitting up and even while driving. I couldn't focus and my memory was suffering terribly. Of course at night, when I fell back into bed, the questions just started again. But never did I arrive at an answer. What I now know, is that I couldn't ever find an answer to those questions because I was looking in the wrong place. In my surroundings, in finding the right job, in whatever I would do. But the true solution was not within me but by turning to the God who controls all.

Do you take advantage of your ability to meet with the God who controls our every breath? I remember acutely the long and sleepless nights without Him. Today, I am thankful that God allows me to walk in fellowship with Him. What an honor that I can speak to Him in prayer at every moment of the day or night. It is with joy and gratitude I remember how He was so good to provide the solution I needed in the dark hour.

In 1994, my brother invited me to attend a Bible study with him. As we sat and listened to the preacher talk about the Lord’s word, retelling the stories of the Old Testament saints, I was in shock at the passion he had. His overwhelming belief in the truth he was sharing and the faith of those he was teaching about. The unquestionable fact that this was truth, written just as it happened, to be understood and interpreted just as the Bible said. And here it was, in the Bible for all of us, everyone, to understand and KNOW for ourselves. That was such an amazing new revelation for me. Up to that point in my life, whenever I saw a conflict in what man said and what the Bible said, I was told that it was because I wasn't capable of understanding it. But here, for the first time, I knew that if there was a conflict, it wasn't my understanding that was lacking, but rather it was the understanding of the world being added to what God said. The bottom line? I could believe, without a doubt, every word God has given to us. That was when I knew if I could understand Moses literally called on God’s power to open the red sea and lead the Israelites across, than the other things written in His word were literally true, also. When the word said Jesus died to free all men who believe on His death as the full payment of their sins, then my sins had already been paid for.

I didn't know the lingo or even the steps to soul winning we teach others, but I will never forget the hot evening in 1994 when the Lord opened my eyes and heart to this truth. I gave up my sin, worries and ultimately turned my life over to Him. It felt as though my heart burst open and immediately there was a freedom and peace which had eluded me all my life.

Today I am thankful for the trials to show us His perfect peace which passes all understanding. When I look back I realize I could have been the prostitute, the woman at the well, a drug addict, a battered wife, the homeless woman on the street or even worse things I can't imagine. And that is when my heart swells and I am fully grateful for what Jesus did in sparing me, a worthless, imperfect, undeserving sinner. Without the difficulties I have faced I could not see the awesome ways my God has worked throughout my every breath. Without dark moments, I would not be able to see the light of my Lord Jesus Christ shining to brighten each of my steps in this dark world.

And because of the many challenges He has given me along the way I am able to minister in so many areas of life. My husband often tells me how much wisdom I have. Any wisdom I might have is not mine to claim but because of the experiences He has brought me through. If I had never walked this winding journey I would not be able to embrace the joy of reaching out to so many different girls, young ladies and women. I am thankful God has given me a heart especially to reach young ladies. Today I am thankful I was given the opportunity to share my journey with you. I thank you for taking a few minutes to remember it with me. It is my prayer that what He has done in my life will impact your life to make you a better servant for His kingdom.

Thankfully Yours,

Kat

My name is Kathleen Wachter and I blog about all I am Thankful for over at Art's Chili Pepper

I Need the Hug, Too

2011-11-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

After 10 days at Disney World, you might wonder what could still cause such a look of amazement and wonder.

It really is breathtaking, isn't it?

It used to be guests could go up to the castle forefront any time you pleased and walking through the castle was standard Disney fare. But now there are many shows going on there throughout the day so it is not often you can actually go inside the castle. Ellie kept asking what was in the castle and could we go inside and we kept saying, it isn't opened today.

But one morning, we were walking down Main Street USA when Allen stopped, turned to me and said,

"KATHLEEN!"

While I was trying to figure out if my head was on backwards, he took off at a much faster pace than Allen typically moves and ordered everyone to follow him.

Into the castle. What a time of wonder it was for Elisabeth. I had forgotten how splendid and intricate the mosaic murals telling the story of Cinderella really are.

Next stop, was Pixie Dust. The ladies who work in the boutique at Fantasy Land will give any gal a little shimmer if you just ask. And what better way could there be to start a day of magic in the Magic Kingdom than with a little bling?

We visited this Scottish cast member on more than one occasion. Ellie has a little wand and will walk around the house waving it over your head and repeating the words:

"It takes a little faith, a little trust, and just a bit of Pixie Dust to make all your dreams come true."

Katrina, this is the dress I told you about in the Princess boutique.

Everywhere we went Elisabeth would make friends with other little girls. She would just be standing in line and say, "There is a girl my age." Then she would proceed to approach the princess in question and say, "I'm Elisabeth. What's your name?" Then she would continue to have an entire conversation with the child, her parents and any other companions who happened to be in hearing range.

One of the most hilarious things is the way she would crouch down to talk to the little girls. You know how sometimes you bend down closer to a child to talk to them so you are at the same height? Well, that's what she did... even if the child was the same height as her. As Elisabeth bent down to talk to this little girl, she too bent down. So there they both stood for twenty minutes, all bent over carrying on a conversation about Disney World, how to dress like a princess and eating with Cinderella.

Five trips to Disney introducing 6 other kids to the magic for the first time and I have always managed to avoid standing in line to ride Dumbo's flying Elephants. But not this time. All it took was for Elisabeth to say, "Can we ride the elephant? (No, she has never seen Dumbo) " And all the kids were asking if we could wait in line so Ellie could ride Dumbo. It was the longest wait we had the whole time. Despite being surrounded by whiny kids and grumpy parents, it was such a pleasure to do something that brought my kids joy, simply because it brought a smile to their little sister's face.

And that is how I ended up waiting in line forever to spend two minutes flying through the air in a brightly painted elephant.

It was fun to catch a glimpse over the fence of the renovations taking place in Toon Town.

This is an odd one. A photo of all of us together. I can't remember right off hand but this may be the only one the whole trip.

While we were eating lunch that day, Elisabeth looked at her Pa and said, "Pa, thank you for taking me to Disney World." Well, as if that didn't melt my heart enough, she looked at him and said,

"Pa, I need the hug, too."

And just so this post is not completely about Elisabeth, here is a photo I love of my KK and the big boys on the Small World ride.

Ten Signs You May Have Been At Disney World Too Long

2011-11-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

One day, after Allen and I took many trips through the Finding Nemo ride with Elisabeth and Carmella, I caught him singing the big blue world song at the end. It got me to thinking that maybe we stayed in Disney World a little bit too long. On the ride home we started talking about things that might point to this hypothesis.

10. The kids are asking if there is a fast pass line for holding Winnie.

9. You turn on the camera and get a message that says, "I'm on vacation."

8. You start directing other guests to the nearest restroom.

7. You recognize the cast members.

6. The kids think the hamburger condiments are salad.

5. Canned green beans also count as a vegetable.

4. You pay $6.89 for a hot dog and think you got a good deal.

3. You wake up, look in the mirror and tell yourself to, "Have a magical day."

2. You have to look at your parking pass to know the date.

1. While the kids are getting in the car you tell them to load from the left and exit to the driver's right. Then proceed through a list of safety instructions which include keep your hands in the vehicle at all times and for the safety of our cast members and enjoyment of other guests there is absolutely no flash photography permitted on this ride.

Delighted at Epcot

2011-11-14T15:13:00.000-05:00

Still working on recording memories from our trip to Disney World. Our last day at Epcot was a sheer delight.

When we took him to Disney World in 2008 Samuel told us his favorite thing in all of Disney was Test Track. The funny thing is he was too short and he was never allowed to ride it. He was delighted to at last buckle up and take a spin.

We were all delighted to watch Carmella as she discovered the delights of sucking her thumb. It hasn't left her mouth since.

I was delighted to see my girls having fun together.

One of our favorite things in Epcot are the street performers. The kids were all delighted with the story of King Arthur in the United Kingdom. I expect this will be added to their repertoire very shortly. And we will be delighted to be in the audience.

Nathaniel was delighted to play with the Mime in Italy for a time.

And we were all delighted to watch shy Emma dance around with the Macaroni Sisters.

Than was delighted to check out his favorite spot in Germany, the model trains. I remember taking him to see those trains when he first went to Disney World. He was not yet two years old.

Samuel and Elisabeth were delighted to play in the model cars in the Test Track showroom.

And Elisabeth was absolutely delighted when she discovered....

the side walk that lights up when you step on it.

After a long day of delightful discovery, Winnie was delighted to go home for a snuggle with Elisabeth and Charlotte.

Christmas Around the World

2011-11-13T23:59:00.063-05:00

I am still working on vacation pictures. You might wonder how I could have so many but then many people wonder how I could have so many kids. ☺ Not only do I take a lot but there are 8 other people taking a bunch, too. I have never actually blogged about vacation because by the time I get home I have so much catching up to do that I don't get around to it. Brianna and I made a pact that we would blog this vacation. So I am going to press on.

As I mentioned before, Ellie toured Epcot by checking out the hats. Allen eats his way around. I enjoyed seeing what I came to Disney World for, the Christmas decorations from around the world.

This enormous tree was in the Colonial America village.

The Epcot tree is covered with huge balls and flags to represent the countries in World Showcase.

This pretty little tree can be found in the England pavilion.

Where else would you find this fabulous bling tree but France?

This one comes from a restaurant in Italy.

From a store in Germany

I can't seem to find my other camera card from this trip, so for now I can only show you the ones I uploaded before we left Florida. However, as I was looking through these, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of system Disney uses to keep track of all these ornaments and trees and the swags and what not. Can you imagine that wear house? I mean our Christmas decorations are a job to handle and pack up and keep organized. Can you fathom keeping track of four parks and then the different themes for each park? Wow! That would be such a fun job! Maybe when I retire I will have to apply for the Christmas decorating job at Disney World. As long as I don't have to be the one to take all the lights off of those trees, that is.

Hats Around Epcot

2011-11-13T23:59:00.004-05:00

Those who have been to Epcot World Showcase, know there are lots of ways to tour the various countries represented there. some Each time we go, we seem to find a new way to enjoy it. Our little fashionista made her way around the world trying on hats. She started in Norway with some viking garb.

And on to China

Africa

Germany

Good old US of A

And just for fun

Morroco

England

Canada, eh?

Well, because you just have to!

The boys in on the fun

Yes, this will scar her for life.

France

Not exactly head wear, but this was as close as Japan came.

Ellie doing her Italian grandma impersonation in Italy

We couldn't decide which we liked best in Mexico. The little Winnie sized one

...or the Pa sized one.

My little fellows liked these ones, though.

No matter which one you like best, we got it all covered in the World Showcase.

It Didn't Rain

2011-11-13T23:30:00.009-05:00

Sunday morning I found Elisabeth like this. While everyone went about their devotions and chores she took it upon herself to help with the work. Ellie informed me she had taken all the clean clothes out of the dryer, "...because they were done. Don't worry I sorted it." She said. "That pile (on the floor by door) is clean. And this pile (pointing to the pile to right of the door) I am putting in the dryer because they are dirty." Oh, I love this little girl! So what if she is drying the dirty clothes. I gather her confusion came from the fact that we have a front loading washing machine at home which also happens to the right side of the dryer.

After we joined our home church for worship, via livestreaming, we made our way to Epcot for the afternoon. Where we had a little home school lesson on growing and harvesting cranberries.

And Kaitlin and Samuel stopped for a picture in Germany.

And Carmella took up sucking her thumb.

And Brianna and Nathaniel took a rest in Italy.

Pa had a little mustard with his bratwurst in Germany.

Emma and Aedan checked out the bathhouse in Morroco.

And someone took our picture.

Allen and Kaitlin clowing around in France.

And the girls...

...had a little fun...

... in England.

Later we made our way to Future World where we visited a few attractions and had some homeschool lessons on scientific creationism.

And Winnie said, "Oh, no! Not, again."

And we introduced...

...Elisabeth to her first root beer float.

At 9:00, Carmella decided staying up past her bedtime was worth it...

... in order to see Illuminations.

She is going to so love Christmas. Look at how her beautiful face lit up when her buggy pulled up next to the enormous tree.

And we marked our first day at Epcot when it didn't rain.

Lazy Day

2011-11-12T17:45:00.031-05:00

After such a fun doing nothing Friday, one might wonder what we would find to do on Saturday. But somehow the day came full of good times and before we knew it we were tucking kids into bed saying what a special day it was.

Over morning coffee I played a million games of tic-tac-toe with the boys. They are getting too good at it... I only won one game.

Ellie came and asked for a bucket of water because she said the baseboards were filthy and needed to be washed. She was right and she did. I don't mind telling you I adore having someone besides me sees something that needs cleaning and does it.

We went to do some Christmas shopping. Nana and the girls.

Afterwards, Pa and I had a little date with the big boys over some Starbucks.

Than took this picture of Allen and I. I thought he did a good job.

Then we found a pet store to buy some crickets for the Lizard Samuel caught.

While we were waiting in the car for Allen and Sammy I flipped through the radio until I found a station that was playing Christmas music.

We spent the afternoon putting together puzzles... one of our favorite vacation down time activities.

We never drink soda but when we saw this old fashioned bottles at Target like we used to get when we were kids Allen and I couldn't resist. They may look like the old thing but they are made with high fructose corn syrup and didn't taste nearly as yummy as we remember. The kids loved it, though. We talked about how it was more special because it is not something they have everyday.

The boys set the table and cooked dinner for the girls. Which consisted of Cars soup and Cars Mac and Cheese.

Because Allen and I were going out for a date night.... which started with this beautiful bouquet of roses. All these years and he still makes me feel like his young bride.

And just for fun, a picture of this oh so delicious crab and shrimp and avocado appetizer with mango salsa.

Yes, a restful and satisfying day indeed.

Creativity

2011-11-11T16:06:00.002-05:00

I think parents who tell me their kids are always bored, perhaps haven't given their kids a chance to explore their creativity. Now trust me, my kids did not get their creativity from me, but they sure have plenty of it.

Friday and Saturday were designated as home days since crowds were predicted to be heavy. I went to put my makeup on and came back to find the kids hard at work. Samuel was sorting confetti from Kaitlin's birthday by color and design.

Kaitlin and Emma were weeding through an enormous pile of travel brochures.

Which really came in handy for Briaana's project... making Christmas decorations out of Disney World guide maps and brochures.

Meanwhile, Sam and Ellie found a glue stick, some scrap paper scissors and a box of crayons and spent the morning making a school book foe Elisabeth.

Before too long Brianna had everyone in on the fun and our tree was quickly transformed.

Emma used her travel sewing kit to string a bag of microwave popcorn and craisins leftover from salad.

Kaitlin cut up some of those travel brochures to make a paper garland.

All the kids helped to make snowflakes

And, of course, Brianna's Moravian stars

We found a Hypericom bush and cut some berries to tuck in for color.

In lieu of a star... and voila!

With the Christmas music still playing,

and hot cocoa in hand,

...we retired to the pool for the afternoon. Which is quite something in November for those of us from cooler climates.

Not to be left out of the fun, Winnie wowed everyone with her new trick... grasping a spoon in each hand.

Let The Memories Continue

2011-11-10T23:00:00.002-05:00

What could be more magical than the first morning you walk down Main Street USA? Except of course, the Magic Kingdom at night.

To prevent total exhaustion and burn out we typically try not to spend any full day at the Disney parks. We like to go in the morning and leave by mid afternoon or go later in the day and stay until closing. Then we take the next day off for swimming. On days when the parks are open later we go in the morning then come home for lunch and naps and return after dinner. With the Christmas party in full swing now, there were not many nights when you can see the parade and fireworks so we took advantage of an evening when all the nighttime events were happening.

Waiting for the parade to start.

I am so glad they brought this one back. We have always liked this one and now with the Share a Dream Come True Parade being made over it is now our favorite.

Carmella was so tired after so many naps disturbed. She had been dozing on Pa's shoulder but once the parade started she was completed fixed on the lights and music coming from the floats. In between floats when they had other acts performing she would put her head down and start to doze off again. But as soon as the next float came near, up popped her head again.

After the parade we found a great spot to watch Wishes. As far as Elisabeth was concerned that was THE reason for coming to Disney World. The girls told her Tinkerbell would start the fireworks over the castle and she was so excited she could hardly sit still. Yes, I did cry when Tinkerbell came flying out and Elisabeth was bouncing up and down with joy.

Love this fireworks show... what's not to love?

Winnie loved It's a Small World when we took her for a ride earlier in the day so when we woke her up from her nap we promised we would take her again. Even though, she was sleepy, look how wide open her eyes are!

A minute for a photograph with my number three princess. Boy this brings back memories of the first time Emma Rose saw the castle and met Cinderella. Why do they have to grow up so blasted fast????

And the whole gang. Because I love coming here with them.

What better way to spend the few minutes before the park closes than a spin on Buzz Lightyear?

At Disney World you never know what might be around the next corner. As we were waiting for the ferry the kids were delighted by the parade across the dark water.

Ellie and I were walking out of the park together and singing the Christmas songs and talking about what an exciting day it had been, when we stopped for a minute to turn around and get another look at the castle. People rushed for the gates pushing and shoving and kids whining and parents yelling at them. I picked my girl up and she hugged me and I hugged her and I knew I would remember that minute for the rest of my life.

As we made our way to the gate, I had my tired little girl climb in the buggy and she was asleep before we made it to the exit. The next morning we asked her if she remembered us brushing her teeth and tucking her in bed. No, she didn't. Did you remember the ferry boat ride. No, she didn't. Did she remember the tram? The water parade? No. No. No.

The last thing she could tell us about was looking at the castle with Mama. What a great moment to end our magical day.