Writing Challenge--'Thoughtful Thursday'

About a month ago, a friend of mine, who is involved with the local homeschool group, asked me if I would contribute to a panel discussion. This panel, which they do every year, is made up of homeschool graduates and parents who homeschool.

This friend of mine said it and the book fair are the two most anticipated events of the year.

Parents who are interested in homeschooling can hear from the homeschool graduates themselves about the pro's and con's of homeschooling. (of the latter there are few)

Parents who already homeschool gain insight and encouragement as they listen to the experiences of the graduates.

I really enjoyed being able to be a part of that. Helping to encourage people to do something which I think, and experience has shown, is so beneficial to their children, is something I love to do.

I'm sure I didn't say all I had wanted to in the way I had wanted to say it. That takes talent and/or practice, of which I had neither, but I spoke of my experience and what it has meant to me. I pray God let the main point come across: "Teach your own."

One question asked of me was: What would you change about your homeschooling experience? First I said, "A more structured schedule would've been nice, but our life just didn't work that way, especially with having a disabled brother. Instead I learned how to do school in various waiting rooms, driving down the road, sitting at a horse farm where my brother had hippotherapy and even up at the hospital. I learned how to be flexible. That's a lesson you don't learn from a text book and which is so very important for real life."

Second, I simply said, "I now wish I had been pushed to write more."

I don't know about other people, but for me, I get my thoughts best straightened out on a piece of paper. When one writes I think it helps one better learn how to express one's self. It helps your opinions take shape. You can feel a certain way about something, but until you express those feelings with words, they're just feelings.

This past year for his schooling, my brother has been required to write something everyday.

It could be about any topic and the length is only limited by how short, at least a paragraph.

It has been astonishing to see what he comes out with. Some have been like research papers, others like mini-sermons. But it's because of the daily writing assignment that any of those have been committed to paper.

So, all that said to say this, I'm challenging myself to a writing assignment. My aim is to write whenever I can. Everyday if possible. They will be about any topic and I will try to make them thoughtful. I always have the tendency of just reporting about events. I want to strive to share my thoughts. 

I won't be posting everyday on my blog. In fact, I plan to post one of my writings every Thursday. I think I'll call it "Thoughtful Thursday". Any other time during the week I can post pictures and talk about things going on.

So, stay tuned...this may be entertaining...it might even be enlightening.

She's home!

I called at 1pm to give the Vet's office our cell number, in case they needed to call about something, and while I was talking to the receptionist she told me that Misty was out of surgery, she was awake and everything went fine.

Wow! I was so relieved to hear that!

Went to choir rehearsal and then off to pick her up.

It ends up she needed to have two teeth removed and there's a third that's loose. But, now I know that it's not a big deal and to get it taken care of sooner than later. Also, the cost was less than they even told me this morning. We love this Vet's office. It's in Weaverville and the name is Fox Run Veterinary clinic. You can tell the Vet loves her job and they don't charge an arm and a leg.

Now, Misty is sleeping and she looks so much better sans the rotten tooth hanging out of her mouth.

I know she's just a dog, but she's my little dog.

The trials of being a pet owner

Today (sigh) I dropped my baby off. Left her there at a strange place all by herself. 

My Chihuahua, Misty, has had a bad tooth for a while. I thought it would take care of itself eventually, but something happened yesterday and I decided it was time to get it taken care of.

Nathan's dog, Adrian, was wanting to play with Misty and got a little too rough. He ran over to her and next thing I know, she's screaming, running out of the room, and pawing at her mouth. We figured her tooth got bumped. I was hoping it got knocked out and we'd be done with it. But it was still there.

We loaded up and took her to see the Vet. He looked at it and agreed it needed to come out. "You'll need to just leave her here. Maybe I can get to her today." That's what he said. "Leave her, now?" I thought. I asked if there was any way I could bring her back the next day, seeing as how she had calmed down. The receptionist said I could. I was so relieved. I didn't want to leave her for possibly 24 hours.

So, they gave me some anti-biotics to give her and we came home. She acted fine all day and even ate all of her spaghetti, her favorite meal. I gave her the medication and she slept well. Bringing her home also gave me a chance to prepare for leaving her and letting them perform surgery on her.

And so, I took her this morning. She was fine, I was fine. I handed her over to a kind lady and took a deep breath. I get to pick her up around 3 today and that nasty old tooth will be gone : )

I said I felt funny asking people to pray for a dog, but someone said, "If it's important to you, it's important to God." I guess I believe that. His Word says to cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for us. And I cast this care on Him. It's simply another way to trust Him. To acknowledge that all things are in His hands.

My Birthday Cake

In the last post, I shared a couple of pictures of what I wanted  my cake to look like. I knew that mine wouldn't look very  much like those, but I loved the idea of them. I'm all into the brown on blue scrolls 

 : )

So here's how my cake turned out:

I just recently had bought a square pan (for the marshmallows) and thought, "It would be neat to do a square cake with scrolls on it." So an additional square pan was part of my birthday present.

Mom found some candles that matched just perfectly. You can't plan that kind of coordination. And the roses...I just love the palest roses with the faintest pink glow in the center. Mom wanted to get some for my birthday, but you know roses are a little pricey. She saw these, and noticed one was past it's prime. She asked the woman in the flower department about maybe getting them a little discounted. Well, the woman agreed they weren't in prime condition and gave them to mom for a dollar! : )

I was so glad to celebrate with my two sweet siblings. (Natalie looks like one of us, doesn't she?!)

And, boy, was it delicious! The combo of the rich chocolate and the cool, sweet peppermint buttercream is perfect for a January birthday.

I had a very nice birthday and even got a present. I was given my favorite shampoo, some lavender lotion and a Willy Wonka chocolate bar. : )

I want to write about turning 26 in another post. I need to gather my thoughts, first...

I've been busy

So far this winter, either it's been too cold to go out for long or it's been snowing. So, I've had a little extra time to work on some projects that I had been planning to do.

I came across a recipe for home-made Marshmallows a while back, but didn't do it because I didn't have gelatin and I wan't sure if my large saucepan would work. Finally I got some gelatin, so I decided to go ahead and try it. 

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. 

I though it would be scary because it involves boiling sugar until it reaches 250 degrees, then pouring it into the mixer bowl. No problem and it resulted in this fluffy, sweet, preservative-free treat. We put them in our hot chocolate and my favorite way to eat them was to put them on a graham cracker and put them under the broiler. S'mores without the mess!

Just used up the last three tonight...I'll be making s'more ; ) 

And yes, it has been really cold, but on the third of January, 

it was warm enough to hang out my laundry! 

The last time I remember using a clothesline was when I was tiny, back in Florida. Since then we've only used a dryer. But, some families in our church were telling us just how much they were saving on their utilities and we really liked how that sounded. And it also appealed to us because we want to do what we can, in any small way, to help the environment.

So, Daddy put up this beautiful clothesline (with some help from his assistant)

Mom and I cannot wait until Spring, when the sun is shining and the weather is nice and warm...

Even on January 3rd, my sheets dried and once I made up my bed, my whole room smelled like 

sun-dried linens. Nice.

I guess it's the cold weather that's turned me into a knitting fool! It has gotten so that I need a project going all the time...so, I've made Natalie a matching set of a hat, scarf, and mittens.

I also wanted to make a sweater from a pattern for my little chihuahua. I had made two for her already, but I just made them up and they weren't that cute. So I went online and found this gem:

 It's called the Ruffled A-line sweater dress. Designed with 3 pound chihuahuas in mind.

Just getting started with my hot chocolate close by.

Here she is modeling the basic sweater, pre-trim.

And here it is complete with hand-dyed(by me!) mauve/pink mohair trim.

Spoiled princess? Maybe. She's just so cute!

We all have been getting a little stir-crazy with all the snow, especially miss ants-in-the-pants. I try to come up with projects to do with her, but they all involve paper and sitting down. I love it, and she does for a while, but she needs to move!

So mom suggested we bring in the little rebounder we have off the front porch. It was a hit! She went straight to it and started jumping- and jumping- and jumping- and jumping. For a good amount of time. We put some lively kid music on and as long as she had an audience, she was great. Gave me a chance to read my book some ; )

My birthday is fast approaching and last year mom did a Gooney Bird Pie for me but I've decided to make myself a cake this time. 

I love the flavor combination of chocolate and mint. So, my plan is to make a decadent chocolate layer cake and fill and ice it with mint buttercream. Yum! 

For decorating, I love the look of blue and brown. I pulled these pics off the internet for inspiration:

I'll use chocolate buttercream to make all of the beautiful scrolls.

Of course my cake won't be tiered like these, but I do plan on making a square cake.

We'll see how it turns out : )

This is how my dad measures the amount of snow we've gotten so far ; )

And it's still falling as I type!

This is a gorgeous shot off our front porch that my dad got one morning. Looks good enough for a jigsaw puzzle. I love the 5 trees lined up in the center. Click on it to see the full-sized image.

Lovely sunrise. And the sun will be rising again; sooner than I'd like.

Goodnight.

Some snow pictures...

Before anyone can tell me "You said you didn't care if it never snowed this winter", I will just say, it's the cold and the inconvenience of snow I don't like. 

I think snow is beautiful!

Flashlights and sundials

"In the darkness, men can shine flashlights on a sundial and make it tell any time they want. But only the sun tells the true time. The flashlights are the changing and fleeting opinions of men. The sun is the eternal Word of God. Only God makes truth. Men either discover it or fail to discover it. They either interpret it rightly or interpret it wrongly. But they have no power to make truth or change it. For truth is no man's servant. Ultimately, the truth must become each person's friend or his enemy, his master or his judge." From Deadline by Randy Alcorn.

Are you shining your flashlight on the sundial of truth? Or letting the Son tell you what truth is?

Billy Graham Library trip

The Billy Graham Training Center organized a few trips to the Billy Graham library for the employees of the BGTC. I guess it was kind of our Christmas gift from them. Usually we have some sort of potluck dinner for Christmas, but someone always has to work it, so I think we all liked this option better.

I signed up for the same day as most of the hostesses I work with on a regular basis. Nevada, Gloria, Glenda, and Shirley had signed up for November 18th. We didn't know who else had. Turns out, Linda and Kory, a couple who works the buffet line, and Linda's son, Scott, had signed up. So it was just us dining room people.

We got there at 7:45 to make sure we didn't get left. The bus was leaving at 8:00 sharp.

Turns out we had to wait just a while. And while we did, this flock of turkeys came waltzing through the parking lot!

We counted 17 total.

Here's Nevada, Gloria, Glenda and Shirley. We had a fun time on the trip over.

There's the goofballs in the back.

And here it is. The beautiful Billy Graham Library.

And here's the Graham Family Homeplace. They moved it here from where it once stood since the 20's.

It's a nice little home.

This is the front sitting room.

And here's the office off the living room. Love the color scheme throughout the place.

A bright little kitchen. Notice the built in ironing board. I could use one of those.

And now we are in the Library. This is Bessie the cow giving us our introduction. Talking about "Billy Frank" coming to milk them at 5 in the morning with icy cold hands, and practicing his sermons while he milked them.

Here's a replica of the fireplace at their home in Montreat.

And this is Ruth Graham's wedding dress. What a beautiful bride she was.

Here's the ring Billy offered Ruth.

And I thought this was so cute. Click the picture so you can read the telegrams. Priceless.

Ruth grew up in a missionary family in China.

'Poor you'

Billy Graham had all sorts of things given him, including this motorcycle.

The simple, but central, message of the cross.

Outside, there's a beautiful garden. And in it, they have Ruth's burial plot. This is also where Billy Graham will be laid to rest.

Love it: "End of construction. Thank you for your patience."

A beautiful blossom.

The first wife of Cliff Barrows is also buried there.

The group admiring the peaceful location.

Love this picture.

A letter to Billy Graham from a Jesus Freak : )

It was a really fun trip, getting to just enjoy the people I work with. Also it was a great reminder of who it is we are working for, both Billy Graham and God.

It's really amazing what God has done through Billy Graham.  All the people that have heard the gospel because if his willingness to be a mouthpiece for the Lord. And I know you can't trust the statistics about the people who have made 'decisions' for the Lord. To some, they say the prayer, and they've got their ticket, never to think twice about living for God. But to others, when they hear the gospel, the Holy Spirit convicts them, changes their hearts and they repent and turn to Christ.
It causes tears to well up in my eyes!
I really am thankful to be a part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, even if it's a small part.