What's in a Name?

Ecstasy (n)- 2. Excessive joy; rapture; a degree of delight that arrests the whole mind; joy may rise to ecstasy. (Websters 1828 Dictionary)
Doldrums (n)- A sate of inactivity or stagnation.(Dictionary.com)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas!



Praying that you all will receive abundant blessings from the Lord and always keep in mind the sacrifices He made in humbling Himself, coming to earth as a baby and dying for our sins on the cross, then conquering death to bring us new life!

Merry Christmas!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Our Family Vacation

There's nothing like a vacation! We usually get just one a year with perhaps a short visit with friends or family. This past year we had a vacation (of sorts) every month, due to Dad's furlough. Praise God that won't be happening anymore! Not because I didn't enjoy the time with my Dad, but for financial reasons...
This September we vacated for the third time to Dunn's Camp on Hogan Pond.
Our cabin was in a more private section of the camp and we were able to spend some time just as a family, doing some restful things that we don't tend to have time for at home.
Such as puzzle construction- this one became the bane of my week for 'twas missing several pieces!!
Duck-watching. Bottoms up!

Dad is the master domino stacker!


We had wonderful company- Em, John and Stephen came over for a day and then we had game night with Josiah, Kayla and the boys. The Dennys came over for to dine and we had a few larks with a pencil, quarter and some cards. And to top it all off, the Johnsons surprised us with a visit!! (although it wasn't just to see us!)
Marshall's reaction to our faces while playing Catch Phrase!

Two Cutie-Patooties!

"Eww! Smoochie Poochie!"








Love this one!
I was so impressed with Ethan- he got out there and rowed that boat all by himself!



Papa and Marshall making music and dancin.'

Argh! This buchaneer found a perch!



Praise God for time of busyness and fruitfulness, but also times of rest and refreshment!

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
~1 Peter 5:7~

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Just Words and Just Things

I know most of you don't enjoy reading blog posts with mere words on them, so feel free to skip this whole post- I won't know, so I won't be offended! haha!

Do you ever get the feeling that the Lord is trying to say something to you? I've been wondering this lately, due to the loss of a mass amount of electronics in our house.

It all started this summer when our television developed a line across the middle making people look like dwarfs with XL heads! Along with that, our remotes decided to quit on us. hmmmm.... This fall several things went awry: my laptop went kaputs (and is now no more) and my digital camera fell into the sea. Then there was my sewing machine which now needs some sort of mechanical work. Dad's car died. Our cell phone died. Our telephone randomly doesn't work at all. And to top it off, one day I bumped the ironing board and the iron fell and cracked, thus rendering it unable to use!

So with all of these things breaking on us, I've come to the realization that it's all just stuff! God gives us what He wants us to have and He can take it away at His own, omniscient pleasure. I've been learning to look toward heavenly treasures instead of leaning on earthly goods. I'd much rather have eternal rewards!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Silly Electronics

On Saturday, without any obvious reason, my Mac decided to take a holiday. I am quite disappointed and disillusioned by Macs at the moment. Hopefully that will change quickly- thanks to Samuel!

While spending a wonderful day at the sea with church family, yet another electronical disaster occurred. Tash, Amanda and I were standing at the edge of the water- it was barely covering the tops of our feet and all of a sudden a wave that came above the knee hit. Tash was smart- she ran away from said wave, but Amanda and I didn't react quite quickly enough. I looked over to find Audrey running toward us, soaked, and started after her only to feel something leave my person and make a plop sound in the water. Alas! 'Twas my camera. And no amount of airing it out has been able to awaken it.

So, as I am without camera or computer, blogging will not be nearly as frequent. I'm sure you all have much better things to do anyway, but I thought I'd just give you an f.y.i.

Until my computer is fixed..... au revior!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Monday Musings: The Great Cheese Challenge


Hmmm....

In speaking of cheese, which I do often, I recently had a crazy idea! How much fun would it be to sample all of the cheeses that have ever been created!! So, googled "varieties of cheese" on google and stumbled upon a massive list of world renowned cheeses. Bummer. I suppose I shall have to modify this idea. Whereupon I decided that it would be just as delicious an experience to try all of the British cheeses. Pardon me as I pause to savor this mouth-watering thought....

Since the moment I saw the ritz cracker commercials with the moon as a big blob of cheese I have very much enjoyed the dairy delight. Wallace and Grommit have also contributed to my desire to taste of Britain's fromage. Whenever I meet someone who dislikes cheese I think of Wallace saying to Wendolene, after hearing that she can't stand cheese, "not even Wensleydale?" with such complete disappointment (to all my friends who don't like cheese, I still love you!). I have been fueled in my palate for cheese by friends like Ali and TT (The former goes to Lori's and the boys automatically know that she wants cheese; the later taught Ethan how to say cheese as on of his first words!!) These two I would dub my fellow cheesies (as in a more specific category of "foodies") and I think will gladly take part in my tasty goal! Others like Mom, Angela and Ruthie also share a fondness for cheese.

There's not much else like a nice hunk of sharp cheddar cheese on Carr's crackers.

Anyway, just a thought.....

This week's question: Do you like cheese or are you a Wendolene? If so what kind? If not, what is your foodie favorite??

Monday, September 6, 2010

Monday Musings: Blah

Hmmm...

Have you ever felt blank? Like there was just not one ounce of creative energy left in you? Well, that is how I feel right now. Musing isn't something I feel like doing at all! I spent all day in the kitchen with the squash and the cabbage and a mindful of music and artsy sorts of things and I think I must have simply expelled all creative energies there and then. *sigh*

I even thought I would try to look up "blah" in the thesaurus and find a great word to fit after the colons in the title, but I just couldn't seem to find anything that worked.

The Quesiont of the week: Have you ever had a moment when you just had no creativity left in your brain? What caused this? How do we pull ourselves out of this slump?

Anyway, just a thought....

Friday, September 3, 2010

Generation Me: In Summation


I've realized that my recent novellas on Generation Me are probably a little overwhelming to people. When we go to read a blog post, we don't expect it to take us a half an hour to read!! So, I do apologize for this and have decided to conclude my little posts on GenMe by summing them up into one last essay.

As a result of Generation Me's focus on self and individualism, much of what was expected of young people in the forms of marriage, children and gender roles have been skewed and cast aside.

Because of the drive of individual goals or dreams, marriages today are typically one of two things: divorced quickly or belated. Married couples expect too much of each other before they unite- I expect my mate to meet all of my needs, while I continue to selfishly pursue my agendas. Husbands and wives live separate lives under the same roof. No wonder there is divorce! And many people are delaying marriage as long as they can so that they can "fulfill their own personal dreams and goals" before being "tied down" to marriage.

The purpose of marriage isn't getting your needs met by another human or having some big Barbie wedding, it is to bring glory to God. Marriage expresses the gospel to the world. Christ, the Bridegroom, gives His life for His bride, the Church and in return she seeks to serve Him all of her days. Marriage is about the gospel and about giving and sacrificing, not about getting. When we look at it this way, it gives us great and new perspective and motivation for getting married early (if it's possible and part of God's plan) and sticking it out to the end!
Generation Me is part of the "I am woman, hear me roar" mentality. I remember growing up submerged in the boy bashing, girl power that pervades the heart and minds of every tween and teen girl and grows into a masculine, control-oriented woman. (Pardon me, by true femininity is one of my hobby horses, so to speak.) Setting all of that selfish, me me me, don't trample my rights mentality aside, we can simply view femininity as an opportunity to serve. After all, we are all called to serve one another as followers of Christ, so why should serving men be viewed as any different. And when it comes down to it, Jesus served us to the point of death. Do we somehow thing we are above that?
The last issue in this GenSelf movement is the delaying or even absence of children. Couples get married and decide to wait to have children or even decide they don't want children. Instead they by a big house with fifty rooms in it and fill it with.... stuff. Okay, that's another hobby horse of mine. I understand that some physically can't have children, and I am not talking about them when I refer to the lack of children. I'm referring to the couples who purposefully don't have children because they want to have "freedom" to pursue their own lives and not to be "tied down" to the nursery in such mediocre pursuits. As if fostering creativity, godliness and productive passion in the lives of another human being, via motherhood, is a mediocre pursuit! Ha!

So, as all things in life, it comes down to choice: will we feed on the desires of self-gratification and self-glorification, or will we humble ourselves, as our Lord and Savior did, and seek to meet the needs of others?  Youth, use your life now to further the cause of Christ, be it in the small, unnoticeable ways or on a grand scale! I wish I had dedicated more of my time as a teenager to the things of God, rather than vain investments. But, it is NEVER too late to commit your works to the Lord.

A man's heart plans his way, 
But the Lord directs his steps.
~Proverbs 16:9~

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Fried Green Tomatoes, Anyone??


Now, I'm no Southern Belle, but this Yankee Girl does enjoy some southern food every once and awhile. In fact, one of the tastiest treats of the summer are fried green tomatoes!!
If you like salty and sour together, you'll like these. On the outside is a scrumptious fried breading, enclosing a tangy, soft green tomato. 
Jess demonstrates the "before" and "just before."
So, here's the recipe:
  • 4 large green tomatoes
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions

  1. Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.
  2. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.
  3. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.
Mom and John-boy both approve!

You really ought to try these!
Bon Apetite!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Monday Musings


Hmmm...
 I have found that it is a dangerous thing to have time to use that sound. I do a lot of that- on long car rides, while working in the garden, doing laundry or dishes or even when Ethan is on a non-stop talking streak about something of which I haven't the fondest clue (yes, I know it is wrong. I can be a bad sister more often than I wish to). 

Sometimes these thoughts are productive and help in sorting things out. Other times they are just downright silly and wasteful. My goal in having a weekly post of this sort is to share some thoughts (ones that may be helpful or entertaining) and to ask for feedback from you. Sort of an interactive blog experience, if you catch my drift.

I love to listen to people's thoughts (most of the time, and as long as they are willing to answer my questions if I don't understand something). I have a couple of friends who think and process things outloud and it is so engaging! My desire in this is that people would be uplifted and encouraged concerning the simple things in life- no world problems solving, you hear!

So, with that said here is the question for the week:
How do you process things? Out loud, on paper, in your head??

Anyway, just a thought.....

Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Many Faces of Marshall










And my all-time favorite....