Happy Birthday, Nancy Drew!

My understanding is that today is Nancy Drew's 84th Birthday. She has been a friend of mine for quite a few years.  Nancy, Bess, George, kindly Hannah Gruen and Carson Drew all kept me and countless other young ladies company with wonderful mysteries that always ended well. Nancy and her entourage were the creation of Edward Stratemeyer--he had previously established the Hardy Boys mystery series. Given their success, he pursued a similar series for girls. Stratemeyer employed a series of "ghost writers" to develop the stories.  The first of these to write under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene was Mildred Wirt. 

 Within the original series, Nancy's look has changed quite a bit. I am no expert on Nancy, but I read that in 1959, the stories underwent revisions to make Nancy a little more modern. She became a bit more feminine and a little less assertive, but by no means did she change into a helpless wallflower. Another key feature of the revisions was the removal of "racial stereotypes." A few years ago, the original Nancy Drew stories were released, and they did seem a bit awkward to this reader. I grew up with the Nancy you see on the covers above.

Sweet Thoughts

Our daughter has displayed remarkable self-discipline in losing a few pounds to fit into her Spring Formal dress. She was and is absolutely lovely. (I will post some pictures ASAP)  Now, she is enjoying indulging in some sweet treats she has passed up the last few weeks. She has especially missed the sweet tea we have at supper every night. I will have a big glass for her at the table tonight.

Here is the Answer to Laundry Fatigue

Hmm . . . Classic television comes through for me once again.  As many of you know, laundry never gets caught up!  If we wash everything we own, before it is all put away, another 15  new loads are ready for the washer!  If I could put hubby, pets and children in the Lost In Space freezing tubes, I could get caught up once and for all. When the last pair of socks is matched and put in the drawer, then I could defrost the family.  I bet June Robinson figured this one out, too. 

Here We GO!

At last, I have all the Lion's Brand Heartland colors. Each color commemorates a National Park. I have been gathering these colors for some time. Every time I thought I had them all, I would discover there was still a missing member of the color family. This collection includes some new colors. Virginia is starting the foundation row for me--we are doubling the pattern length as it is written in the Vanna White pattern book. It should be wide and long enough to make a nice coverlet for DS 1's bed. His birthday is in later May, but I don't think I will get it done--maybe for Christmas.

Floss Storage

Years ago, I used this little bag system to keep the floss organized. I went back to it for this project, and I can tell a difference already. This provides an easy way of keeping your stray strands. I like the little floss holder boxes, too, but they are sometimes difficult to keep in order. How do you organize your crafting materials?

WIP

I am not moving very fast, but I am moving along steadily.  The colors are just wonderful, and I are easy for me to work with. 

He is Not There!

A Wonderful Day at Home and a Family Favorite

The next few weeks promise to be the busiest of the year. There are so many things going on and coming up--activities and responsibilities will be popping up like popcorn. I asked hubby if we couldn't stay at home this weekend as much as possible--getting ready for  Easter morning and the rest of the week.  We agreed we would be ready to sit down at supper at 6:00 and watch our favorite movie, The Ten Commandments. We watched it on the DVD player, but I think it was on television as well. We had our traditional Saturday favorites--hamburgers, hotdogs, (frozen) french fries and baked beans.(Our version of this meal really isn't as unhealthy as it seems) We watched the movie in its entirety. I loved seeing the boys sitting on the edge of their seats at the dramatic scenes. I was able to sit and cross stitch through the movie, but I had to put it all down at certain points, too.

There are many stressful situations swirling around our family at this time--we needed the respite from the difficulties of the past week and those facing us next week. The Lord has not only been with us this past week, but has reminded us repeatedly that we are in His care. Our oldest son stated last Sunday that Holy week is a time of great Spiritual battles.  For him to make such a statement was unusual, and he said it to the Church during our morning service. He was certainly correct, and he himself faced a very difficult scenario during the course of the week.. I am proud of how he handled it, but there promises to be more fallout to come. None of these situations are traumatic, but they are perplexing.  We have all found ourselves to be angry and frustrated through the week, and have unfortunately, taken it out on each other here and there with fussing and snapping at one another. These are not complaints, and I can see that what our son said is correct--they are symptoms of Spiritual warfare. As I was getting our lunch in the crockpot just a few minutes ago, I could not help but think of the blessings that have come to us this week. How many things have I taken for granted that have gone our way this week?

The Lord is with us, and He is with you. He loves us all and has His eyes upon us.  He died for our sins, but didn't stop there--the Father sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to live inside our hearts and to guide us through  the maze of life.  Jesus promised an abundant life --not one free of difficulties or tears this side of heaven--but one full of His love, compassion and wisdom. Whatever you are facing this week, remember that you are not alone--He is with you and is concerned about you, and has the power to overcome the most difficult of situations you may be facing.

A Laugh for Today

This is just so funny.  I couldn't help but post it  this morning. 

Hope you're having a great day.

This Little Light of Mine [Live]

A Great Night At Home Together

Our oldest is house sitting this week, and we are deprived of his company quite a bit.  He is coming home for supper in the evenings. I celebrated with a fancy meal tonight--I will post the recipe later--complete with baked Italian chicken dish, a fabulous tossed salad, garlic bread and yellow rice (no respectable Floridian forgets the yellow rice). The tea glasses and blue bowls belonged to my Mom. She had those glasses for so many years. There just so happened to be 5 of them!  One of the greatest gifts our Lord gives us is love for one another --cherished around the table!

UPDATE:  Our friends who needed JT to house sit called to tell us they had a student who needed a place to stay.  This student could take over dog- and house sitting duties. I am so happy to have my boy back with us for this upcoming week off. I think he is a little disappointed, but we made it up to him with apple pie (Mrs. Smith made it for us) and two episodes of Gilligan's Island. I told them (the kids) that since everyone is home safe and sound, we would have oatmeal for supper tomorrow night. Haha.

Coloring Fun . . . .

There are few things I enjoy more than coloring, and there is nothing better than being with the family. God is so good to have given us patient teenagers who still like to color with Mom!  Haha!  Our oldest will be house sitting for some friends all next week while we are on the Easter break.  I asked him if we could have a "coloring party" tonight.  We all had so much fun. He wanted to listen to Adventures in Odyssey so I went on the Odyssey web site. They have a special promotion on the club membership--1 month for $5.  This membership allows access to all of the episodes.  We have been listening for almost 20 years, but they all got excited (even Dad) about this opportunity. We signed up and listened to two episodes. I am sure everyone will be listening to more as we go to bed.  What a great night!  Thank You, Lord.

BBN Bible Institute

 Just wanted to provide a little information about a program I have participated in for some time that is provided by BBN Radio.  They have compiled a tremendous amount of sermons and Bible lessons and organized them into courses for study.  All you need  (in addition to your computer) is your Bible, perhaps a notebook on which to take notes and pens, pencils and maybe a hi-lighter.  With each lesson is online test that you may take as you are listening or afterwards. This is a great way to supplement your understanding of Scripture and Doctrine. 

For more information, just log on to 

www.bbnradio.org

Getting Ready . . .

Our daughter will be attending her first formal dance this month, and we had to find a dress for the occasion. We set aside yesterday to go to "the big city" to look around for something she would like within the budget. She found a dress at a consignment shop for formal wear. The shop itself was very interesting and the staff were extremely helpful and pleasant. DD picked out a dress and tried it on, and then we went across the street to look at a department store to compare costs and style. She came away feeling even better about the dress she had selected.

Everyone else in the family had a great time "doing their thing" as well.  Our oldest spent the weekend with his friends on campus. They play chess and computer games and eat massive quantities of chicken nuggets.
Our youngest son went with us to the Big City to participate in a Board Game event at a game shop. He had the added blessing of hot dogs and Dr. Pepper for the participants there at the store. Dad was able to find a seat in the Food Court at the mall and read.  He is happiest when he has his books and notes all spread out in his own little corner of the world. So, we all had a great day and accomplished some tasks on our lists.

We all arrived home about the same time, and that was the best moment of the day! I think the rest of the week is going to be pretty hectic, particularly with school work--tests, grading, etc.  Our little excursion was a nice little get-away.  Today, we will be with our Church family together--hope you will, too!

That;s us, for sure. We loved getting to go, but loved coming home even more!

Just Trying to Get Through the Week

Ginger has a difficult daily schedule.  She spends some time outside watching things in the neighborhood; she spends time each day foraging for food in her bowl in the kitchen.  She even has to squeeze in time for personal grooming. The result is complete exhaustion as you can see from the photo above.  I am sure that she gets no more than 22 hours of sleep a day!

This cat enjoys her sleep more than any I have ever seen. She is so photogenic, particularly when she is sleeping. She is particularly attached to our oldest son. She likes to go in his room when I call him in the morning. He is not particularly a morning person, but he will wake up enough to call her--she bounds up on his bed and they have a love fest. You can hear her purring all over the house.

Typically, Ginger likes to find a very quiet place to sleep. In this picture, she went to Virginia's room. There were no barking dogs or playful felines to disturb her beauty sleep. She always makes me feel more relaxed just looking at her. Sleep tight, Ginger!

Such Wonderful News!

As you can see, BBN Radio  www.bbnradio.org  will be adding to their programming the wonderful Elisabeth Elliot. BBN featured Gateway to Joy for many years until Elisabeth retired from broadcasting. Many of us have been hoping and praying that the old programs would be turned over to BBN for replay.

At long last, they have returned to us. I can't tell you how much you will enjoy listening to her.

Years ago, when Virginia was on the way, I had accepted a very challenging teaching assignment. I had morning sickness EVERY DAY and taught for the Community College in three locations. In fact, I administered a final exam the night before she was born and graded papers holding her in the hospital. I could not have come through that so well had it not been for the Lord.  He spoke to me every day through this tremendous program.  I would listen to Elisabeth as I drove between two of the teaching sites. I cried almost every day as her gentle teaching touched my heart.  As I type this, those tears are welling up again--not unhappy, just joyful memories of how the Lord sustained me.  In every broadcast Elisabeth said,

"You are loved with an Everlasting Love, 

and underneath are the Everlasting Arms . . ."

Please tune in to hear here beginning on April 14.  If you don't have a local BBN station, you can access the station on the internet. Wishing each of you a wonderful day . . . . . .