A Quick Thought

Hi Everybody! Sorry I couldn't write sooner:) Okay, this is a passage in Scripture that, especially the first section, a lot of people are quite familiar with. But I don't know if ya'll have really looked at the second section.
Jeremiah 29:11-
"For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive........."
Here is yet another place in the Bible where God is making a promise to his people. The second part of this passage had never really caught my attention until recently. Well, that's it, and I hope that this was an encouragement today!!!
I'll try to write something more interesting soon!
-Sarah

In Which I Nanny a Calf and Sing to a Captive Audience ;)

Hello to Everyone out there whose hands are as cold as mine right now! (And even those of you who are warm! :) Do any of you people have New Year's Eve plans? We are going to have a family over and they shall most probably stay till midnight! Daniel and I just got back from buying feed. I sound very important. Go ahead and grin all you Alexanders and Wilsons and Graham Donahue when I tell you all that we made the trip for a solitary bag of layer pellets for our hens! On the way Daniel and I stopped to try to herd a calf back into a fence area as it was out and near the road a bit. We didn't want to "pull an Anne Shirley" as Abigail stated, so Daniel went to the house down the road to alert the people, and I stood there: the sole object of interest to 30 big black cows. The calf ignored me entirely, though it was a bit nervous it seemed. As the beasties moved ever nearer the fence,I started singing a song half to myself, half to the cows if they were listening, all the while musing whether they would charge the fence. All the tales of stampedes and gorings I ever heard knocked on the door of my mind but I didn't let them in! So like I said I began singing since I didn't have anything better to do! I assure you, after standing in the cold air for 15 minutes with an enraptured audience listening to my renditions of "Cockles And Mussels", "Danny Boy" and "Scarborough Fair", (and yes, in the cold air, trying to keep from shivering, my voice cracked on a high note in case you were wondering!) I was ready to get back in the warm car. While singing I hoped no hunters were hidden in the woods listening to me standing there with only a shawl to keep me warm, my hands clasped behind my back, rocking back and forth on my toes while I sang to cows.... I think they'd have labled me "eccentric". Daniel told me that the poeple weren't home in either of the houses to which the calf might belong, and the woman in the third house said the cows didn't belong to those people anyhow, so she called the guy who it really belongs to. We continued onto the feed store.
So now we are home and I am writing this to entertain you all. I really need a way to have a reliable income of money so Mama has challenged me to make a business plan. Please pray that I would have inspiration in my business endeavors! Have a very happy new year everyone! Oooo! I realized that if I keep saying "two thousand and ten" as I have been practicing, it will sound every bit as old-fashioned as the people who used to say, "eighteen-hundred and sixty-four"!! Isn't that cool? I hope I don't offend anyone by stating that I think "20-ten" falls in the category with "dude", "Sweet", "Yo!" and every other manner of slang. I abhor it! ;)
Almost in the year of our Lord two-thousand and ten!
-Rachel

Projects and Pretending

Hey guys! Over this holiday week every year we have projects to do. Yesterday Sarah cleaned out the sewing room, I cleaned out the corners of my room,and I spear-headed Anna and Leah and I cleaning and organizing our attic! It looks really good now! We made the chore much more enjoyable by pretending, by Anna's suggestion, that we were orphans who lived with our cruel uncle in a manor-house and he was making us live in the garret, so we were cleaning it out. I am still quite a little girl in that I love pretending. We have grand plans to form an acting society and put on plays up there! And we are already planning to move our G.G. headquarters to the attic! There are a bunch of cabinets up there that we can use to store teacups and other necessities. Also a rocking chair with three of the back bars missing that I shall occupy as the President of the Girls' Gazette Society. The other girls have to make do with chairs borrowed from the other end of the attic that belong to the Strothers. Anna said they said we could use them. Today we are supposed to be passing out fliers for the business, and tomorrow we have a cousin's birthday party. Uncle Lon and Aunt Heather are coming down! Daniel is running for president of our Generation Joshua club. Soon I'll put a link to his website, but I'm not sure what the address is so I can't yet. For better or for worse my Vision Forum stories are sent in! By Feb. 1 I'll know whether I'm a thousand dollars richer or not! :)
-Rachel

p.s. Thanks to Ashley for becoming a follower!:) -Sarah

Barefoot On The Battlefield

Here is something I have been wanting to post about for awhile, and since Dad read this passage today in church, now is as good as ever!
Okay. Picture this: You wake up another morning on the battlefield. All is quiet for now. The hush of dawn slowly gives place to the faint sounds of a bird singing. All seems peaceful enough. Yet you know that the enemy is camped just on the other side of that hill, and you surely will pitch battle against him today. You get out of your cot and go out into the morning. You are mentally prepared, knowing that you will be in a battle today. But you don't want to take the time to put on your breastplate and helmet and take a sword with you. In fact, you don't even have your boots on! You are ill-equipped in every way. Most people, including your family, and your friends and anyone with a spark of common sense would tell you that you were being foolish, crazy, and they might even cart you off to an insane asylum. That is pure ridiculous folly to go into battle unarmed. But, that is really what we do if we don't start our day with spending time with God. So many times I have seen this pattern in my life: I wake up and spend time with God, my day is easier. I wake up and do my own thing, I am stuck in a rut of doing the things I wouldn't, and not doing the things I would. God's word tells us that there is spiritual warfare all the time! We are essentially being fools if we don't prepare against that.
Eph. 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
So we even have a warning. And we have been supplied with a complete combat uniform that is eternally, and always undefeatable!
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;...." (Eph. 6:13-17)
Isn't this a beautifully victorious passage?! With this spiritual armor, which only takes a few quiet, prayerful, and reflective moments to put on, we are able to quench ALL THE FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED ONE!!! Doesn 't that make you excited? It is so inspiring to me, because so many times I come into battle unprepared, and feel beat up the whole rest of the day. And another thing, we have constant contact with our Captain. No matter where I am He is there, and is always watching and protecting me. That is an amazing thought.
So I just thought that I'd do a post to encourage all of us, (myself included) to take the time to properly equip ourselves for such an important job. That of being beacons of God's light, of carrying His "colors" through territories that the Enemy has deceived, and "having done all, to stand." That is an invigorating picture!
-Rachel

In The Wake of Christmastide

Merry Christmas! We have spent a nice, leisurely day here at home! The Walkers are in Penn. so Grandmama and Grandaddy came over for the day, and the delicious smells are wafting through the house as we all prepare a lovely feast! The sometimes disagreeable job of bread-making seems always to fall to the eldest daughter! I sometimes like making bread, but it is rather like having a toddler to watch, because you must baby-sit the bread dough and that can be tiresome. But in the end it is worth it! For some strange and unknown reason we girls avoid making bread and cutting lettuce for a salad like the plague! We haven't figured out why! We didn't wake up this morning till 6:52 which is an hour and a half later than usual Christmas mornings! Then we had to do a bunch of various tasks like eat breakfast, set up cameras, marinate a venison roast, wrap a couple presents and things of that sort before we really could get going! We did a lovely advent time before opening gifts! And Daniel read us the Christmas story as usual before we opened our stockings. I love the tradition of putting Christ's birth first before anything else! From Dad and Mama I (Rachel) got a stamp and sealing wax sticks, a new wallet, an herbal set-up, (complete with the shot glasses I asked for to mix up tinctures in. I found during our bout with illness recently that they would be ideal for dosing people!) and a cameo pendant. Then Daniel gave me the new Susan Boyle c.d.
(a Scottish woman with an amazing voice. But they do a strange thing. On several songs they mix her voice with an African-American choir I believe, and it just seems strange since her voice is so classically opera. But it is really pretty.)
Sarah made me a hopechest book like Alaina did for Morgan's graduation. Leah gave me a volume of four Jane Austen books, Anna made me jewelry, Benj. gave me a box of tea, Abby made me soap, and Gracie gave me a kiss. :) Then Grandmama gave me such a great gift! When I put this on my list I hadn't the foggiest idea that she would do it! She made me an absolutely beautiful cloak and muff to match my Civil War dress, and she is working on a bonnet to go with it! The cloak is of a sort of black velvet with red trim and lined with red silk. Then the collar is a woolly white sort of thing to match the muff! I am so excited! I would take pictures, but our camera doesn't do that sort of thing well at all! (I don't mean to boast about my gifts at all! It is just that in a large family, you get more presents since everyone else wants to bless each member of the family! Count- that's seven extra gifts!)
I also had alot of fun watching people open the presents I gave them! Daniel had winkled his gift out! (Shame on him! :) and Sarah loved her's. I wrote her a story called "A Tale of Fairfax and Cloves". Which is about two middle-aged sisters who run a general store. Their names are Dolly and Cecelia Fairfax. Anyhoo! We love giving hints to our presents. And really random hints at that. Leah's hint for the Austen books was "Chicken". Because on a little kid's show there is a chicken named Jane, and Jane Austen wrote the books. Then Daniel's hint for me was "tiger-pits". Now keep in mind that the gift was a c.d. The explanation? When a very small girl Sarah had a dream about tiger-pits, and on the c.d. there is a track titled, "I Dreamed a Dream."
But I got him back by telling him that his hint from me was "Dragon". (I made him Welsh cakes) The explanation for that? The Walkers have a bumper-sticker that says," The Welsh never die, they just drag-on" and it has a picture of a dragon. Touche! ;)
We are rather strange sometimes! :) My hint for Sarah was "Spice cabinet". Anyway, I'm sure you are tired of hearing about our Christmas! We are looking forward to delivering gifts to some friends tomorrow! And hosting church on Sunday! Well, I must go hie away and check on that dependent little lump of bread dough! It can do nothing for itself! :) -Rachel

Christmas Gift For Grandmama

Okay ya'll! I know this is twice today, but I have to wrap this present, and I know I won't be posting tomorow! (So forgive me. This doesn't count as a post. It is an image with a note attatched. I painted this from a photo for Grandmama. (And I hope she doesn't see this! If she does... I hope you like it! :) -Rachel

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas Eve-Eve! :)

Hello to everyone this day: Christmas Eve Eve! (As Eloise would say) Wow! We have had such a busy December! Daniel and I, after working, stayed out Christmas shopping until 10:30! He did all the buying, including dinner (well, Dad payed for dinner) All my shopping is done. Actually, I made almost everything. The point is, even if it wasn't all done I haven't a dime to my name. I am in debt to Daniel for his birthday present! Isn't that awful!?! So I enjoyed just tagging along and giving advice, counseling Daniel as he went about with a 'craft store" headache, (he automatically gets one if we go into any crowded store full of smells.) and generally making myself useful. But I must confess- I felt terribly naughty. Pra'aps Santa might mark me off his list;) because when we were in Best Buy, I took advantage of their model computers with the super fast internet, and looked at the blogs and all the videos on them that our computer lately won't show. If I had really been looking for a computer to buy it I wouldn't have felt so bad. But anyhow, when a store lady was glancing my way, I hurried to finish posting a comment on Abigail's blog, and that is why it is all misspelled! :)
I was rather a mess last night. I almost stepped on a man who was crouched on the floor behind me looking at something on a low shelf. I really would have squashed him if he hadn't said, "Watch out! I crept up on you hon!" (I really can't stand it when people who have no clue who I am called me "hon". It creeps me out!)
But we got home and stayed up too late talking with Mama and Sarah. (Dad was still out shopping.) I have two random things now. The first is a question I posed to Daniel while in the car yesterday. Because I am already 17, would I say I am in my eighteenth year of life? And the next is, all the ladies I know but one who have been pregnant this year have delivered at least 3 weeks early! -Rachel

Birthday Wishes

Hello Everyone! Just wanted to thank Brooke and Bethany for following our blog! We hope you'll enjoy reading all our anecdotes and musings!:) I don't know about ya'll but I think we need to check the pulse of the blogging world(just kidding, but we haven't seen a lot of action on the blogs:) So today is my brother Benjamin's 8th birthday and we're having a party this evening for him. Here is a picture of the John Deer cake Mama and Rachel made for him! (Mama did most of it but Rachel supplied a pair of hands for icing it, and ideas of how to make it look less like Tin Lizzie! :)
Happy Birthday Benjamin!!!!!!


Ta ta for now!
-Sarah

Musings of a Merry Christmas

Due to some sickness around church, and the fact that no other families are prepared to host church, there is just going to be no church today! That means this will be a nice, relaxing sort of day. Perfect for working on Christmas presents. Only the last two presents I must make are for Dad and Daniel, and they will be home. So nix that idea! Last night we decorated our tree finally! It seems so strange to put it up only 6 days from Christmas, but I'm really glad we still have one! Okay! It has been a long time since I've done a post of any substance, so I thought I'd do one that was a bit deeper than "Ho-hum, I hate chia pets!" ;)
So saying.... Merry Christmas! (And yes, I meant Merry Christmas. Not Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings!) when I put all the Christmas presents I had made for people under the tree, I was so excited, thinking about when each person opened the one I had made especially for them. I think homemade presents are the best kind, because since you spend even hours making the gift for someone, you are thinking about them the whole time. And since you must work for the present, there is a whole process of thinking what this person delights in, what they like doing, etc. Anyhow, I was getting excited over several (I love when gifts turn out!) and then a thought crossed mind, that I am sure was God speaking to me, "This is how God must have felt sending us his son Jesus1" Can't you imagine Him smiling happily each time a person stopped to admire His handiwork? Don't you think He was thrilled when a person realized who this baby really was? This tiny child was the way that God had planned before time to save us all. Can you imagine the excitement that must have been God's as he watched Jesus's life unfold? He knew the whole time that this was His present to all of the world, and He was so joyful at the thought of the wonder we would be filled with when we hear of such a plan!
But you know, have you ever given somebody a gift that you can tell they didn't like? Or they didn't even bother to open the card that you carefully watercolored yourself? Such disappointment the Lord must have felt when His children threw his Gift in the dust, stepped on Him, spit on Him, and complained that God had "forgotten them on their birthday and didn't care enough about them to give them a gift." Here was a beautiful Savior for the world living in their midst, telling them God's plan, yet all we could do was pitch a fit because this Gift was not wrapped in shiny paper with a big silver bow. No. God's gift to us on that Christmas morning, and for all time was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Not under a Christmas tree. Let's please try to remember in the excitement of giving to others, the pleasure it must give God when we praise Him for His gift. Because I'm telling you straight up. If you don't recognize that Jesus was the ultimate gift that anyone could ever give, than your priorities are askew! Merry Christmas!
-Rachel

We've All Become Popsicles! :)

Shall I describe to you the scene of severe cold in our home? Yesterday Sarah and I were home by our "lonesome" with the little ones while Mama was shopping for birthdays, Christmas, and a party we are catering today. Dad likes to keep the thermostat as low as he can until as late as he can, using the woodstove for heat. The only problem is.... Sarah and I are not about to run a woodstove when there is no adult home. (Another thing I am slightly scared of is a fire :) So there we were, two faithful daughters keeping a lid on the children at home, while our noses and fingers froze. You see, the thermostat was set at 67. We were not wearing exceedingly warm clothes, (our fault) and we were not wearing socks. (our fault again. I always, without fail walk smack through a puddle of water on the kitchen floor or something and so I don't like wearing socks inside.) Rather than become properly attired for an artic expedition like we experienced, we.... well, we just stayed in our regular clothes. Sarah had to stop playing the piano because her fingers were too cold. I had to sit on my bed in a ball to get warm enough to read comfortably. I rejoiced when I had to make 50 biscuits because it meant running the oven. I jumped on every chance to go in the laundry room because the dryer vent has not been cut outside, so it blows warm, albeit wet air into the room and makes it toasty. The one thing that kept us from freezing altogether was the perpetual cups of tea. During the winter we keep up a shocking intake of the liquid. So there you have it. We are lost without our woodstove, and must either freeze or wear layers of clothing. (I eventually put on shoes) And last night, we set the temperature down to 63! Brrrrr!!!!! Okay. Enough about our coldness. I am sure we shall be regaled with tales of the thirty degree temperatures Abigail T. must suffer and the frostbite she got on her nose when her sister kicked the blanket off her. ;) Okay. Sarah wants to write about our first snow.....????
Hello! We got our first "snow" last night while we were at a Christmas party and it started to snow!! It was the wet kind (perfect for snowballs) and a few of us adventurous ones ran out and had a quick snowball fight(more like slush balls- I came in soaking wet from 3 snowballs thrown in my face) so that was really fun. And the bigger surprise was when we got home our house had gotten about an 1/2" on the cars, although everywhere else the rain had melted it away. But still it was our First Snow of this winter and I'm glad that even if we don't have a White Christmas, we got snow before!
That's All For Now, Folks!(from Looney Tunes:)
-Rachel and Sarah

Answers to Sarah's Master of Me Contest!

And the winners are: Maddie and Katie!! *Woot Woot!* :)
So here are the scores of everybody:

Katie and Maddie-2 wrong (ya'll know me well!)

Matthew-3 wrong(And he's me own cousin! SHOCKING!;)

Elisa-5 wrong (And You did very well considering that you've only seen me one week of my entire life! and the rest of 'em have known me all my life!:)

So there you go and if You 2 winners want a prize, help Morgan decide on our next poll!:)

-Sarah aka. Reepicheep, aka Louisa Joy Popplewell, Aka Noodle Blond, aka, Lesslie Kehn, etc...
Oh yeah! And make sure you look at the post underneath this!

Gracious! I've been tagged!

Hey Guys! I've been tagged by Abigail, so here I go!

Three ways I'm still a kid: Ummm... well, obviously, I'm only 17, I still get so excited about Christmas that I wake up before 5, I squeal when I'm really excited, I like to cuddle with Mama.

Three ways I'm already old: I don't like tons of confusing noise unless I'm the one making it, I get cold feet easily, I like using quotes

Three things I want to do: Go to Scotland on my honeymoon, serve God whole-heartedly and humbly, get married before I'm an old maid.

Three ways I'm a stereotypical boy: (I am so different than a boy that this is a shock-ing question!) I am not afraid of snakes, I like sword fighting, and I like camping

Three ways I'm a stereotypical girl: I blush, I love babies, I love dressing up pretty

Three things I want to do in the next 12 months: publish one of my books and illustrate someone elses *smiles back*, spend more time memorizing scripture, finish my school.

Three things I like about myself: I have severe astigmastism (I'm kidding, I just had an eye doctor's appointment and wowed them once again with the football-ness shape of my eyeball) I smile alot, I laugh alot, I can write fairly well.

Three things I hate about myself: (well, I don't hate myself, but things I strongly dislike?) The fact that I and everyone else sins, my lackadaisical approach to finishing algebra, and my inability to dive for a volleyball. (Well, I could but I don't like to)

Three things that scare you: rabid animals, plagues, people choking

Three everyday essentials: laughter, prayer, being creative about something somewhere

Three physical things about the opposite gender that appeal to you?
The ability to reach far enough to open the door for a lady, to stoop low enough to pick up a crying child to comfort them, and to kneel in prayer often enough to wear out the knees of his jeans. :)

Three non-physical things about the opposite gender that appeal to you? A man after God's own heart, a Warrior, a Gentleman

Three things you just can't do: run a marathon, finish Middlemarch, keep a straight face

Three careers you're considering: mother, wife, keeper-at-home/helpmeet

I skip the ten things one. I don't have time right now. Well, I'll pick two: "I feel bad for the host of the blog that got a guest-post-gone-wrong" and "I can't wait till tomorrow night!"

Seven places you feel at home: writing a story, sitting near the woodstove, at the Thompson's, in my home, at the Wilsons, in a flower garden, and I'm sure in Scotland if I ever make it there! ;)

Eight ways to win your heart: be a gentleman, love Jesus passionately, (Hey, these don't have to be for young men specifically soooo) make me laugh, write me letters (girls only) pick me flowers, love children and my Gracie especially, like history and enjoy talking about it, and be a light-hearted, goodnatured, jolly, yet sober-in-the-right-ways person!

Four things that you do before you fall asleep: laugh with Mama, TGFV, and Sarah, put my awful, yet irresistable cat in the laundry room so she can't knock borrowed heirloom punch bowls off the counter, take out my contacts, read my Bible and pray.

Five things that cross my mind alot: movie quotes, favorite (and irritating sometimes) songs, ideas for more stories, funny situations, and my own quirky observations such as, "Did you ever notice that when a man shaves his head, yet wears a full beard, he looks like his head is on upside down?" (those are the sort of things I am well-known for thinking about! :)

Three songs that mean something to you: In Christ Alone, It is Well With My Soul, Revelation Song

Two confessions: I am sometimes guilty of being at a concert and observing everyone else and not listening to the music, making Sarah laugh in the middle of devotion and prayertime at breakfast

One thing I'm thinking about right now: hurrying to finish this and go see what Mama needed me for before advent! :)

Thanks Abigail, this was fun! :) -Rachel

Sarah's "Master of Me" post

Hello Ladies and Gents! Here's my "Master of Me" contest.

1. Which kind of food have I never ever tried before?
A. Sushi
B. Octopus
C. Turkish Delight

2. What kind of instrument do I want to play?

A. Banjo or Fiddle
B. Piano or Hand-Drums
C. Flute or Guitar

3. What 3 things would I be most likely to do on a cold day?

A. Blogging, playing a long game of chess with Daniel, and making cookies
B. Catch up on writing people back, work on Christmas presents, and practice piano
C. Watch a 2-hour long movie, read a book, and make a funny movie

4. What are 2 of my favorite characters in movies?
A. Pippin the Hobbit and Dug(from UP)
B. Marty(Love Comes Softly) and Lucy(Narnia)
C. Maria von Trapp and Donald Duck

5. If I had to do a disagreeable house chore which would I pick?
A. Clean the toilet
B. Mop the Kitchen floor
C. Clean out our coat closet

6. What's my favorite kind of tea?
A. Earl Grey
B. English Breakfast
C. Mandarin Orange

Okay, there you are! Just leave a comment with your answers! Oh! Don't forget to check out the post right under this with Rachel's answers.
-Sarah

And The Winner Is....!

Hey Everybody! Wow! Ya'll did a great job guessing about me since many of you have only met me a couple times! As I predicted, Miss Morgan did a wonderful job and guessed every swingin' question correctly! (clap, clap, clap) I am glad you didn't fail in this test of our 17 year long friendship! ;) Hannah and Melissa came in close second, each only missing one question! The rest of you did a wonderful job! I only frown upon Katie, Elliott, and Abigail who thought I would stoop low enough to paint a chia pet! (I shudder at the mention of those strange and unworldly things. Terra Cotta gives me the shivers when I touch it! :) So, Morgan, what should we do a poll about? Okay! Here are the real answers!

1. "What is my favorite kind of tootsie pop?
Answer: raspberry

2. "What is my method to memorizing scripture?"

Answer: reading it over and over again until it is familiar and easily called up.

3. "Do I like rainy days?"

Answer: depending on the day (usually I like them)

4. "If I could pick one group of three things to do on a December Saturday I would..."

Answer: Write a letter to Mrs. Foster or another friend, laugh with Daniel, Sarah, and Mama late at night, and read an enthralling book that captures my imagination like Duncan's War or Little Women. (The first dozen times I read it)

5. "Yesterday my creative accomplishment was?"

Answer: writing 4 new poems in a short time span

6. "If I could order my first wee bairn (s) as a baby it would be:"

Answer: A pair of red headed twins (a lad and a lass) that are chubby and rosy and laugh alot and have blue eyes


So there you have it! Morgan is the Master of Me, and by the way to answer Kelsey's questions, I NEVER make prank calls (I blush to answer the phone when anyone from church calls much less call a perfect STRANGER! No one believes me when I say I am shy when I meet someone new.) And, yes, the mud did come out of my Civil War skirt nicely.
The nursing home singing went well! The people really liked Gracie! All the elderly ladies wanted her on their lap! Then we went to sing at two other houses. Yay! Sarah will do her questions tomorrow! :) Oh! And thank you Mr. Donahue (everything rhymes with your name! Sorry!) for following our blog! -Rachel

A Guessing Game

Today I helped Leanna make her Civil War skirt for a ball she's going to New Year's day. It is a lovely purply plum color. The other girls helped make treats for several different things we're doing this week including cookies for a nursing home we're singing at tomorrow! I'm excited! I only hope we don't have to do "Go Tell It On The Mountain". (I still lack the proper "ooo's" to do it nicely!) Okay. Here is something I will do just for the fun of it. I will make 6 questions to see who thinks they can guess some things about me. (They are multiple choice.) You just leave a comment with your guesses, and we'll see who is the knowledge champion of... Me! (And you may not play Mr. TGFV. I'm anticipating Morgan will win!) If you win, you may tell me what we should do our next poll about. (Whoever gets the most answers right wins.) And please play even if you are taking a wild guess! :)

1. What is my favorite kind of tootsie pop?

a. raspberry
b. chocolate
c. cherry

2. What is my method to memorizing scripture?

a. sitting down and memorizing it thoroughly
b. reading it over and over until it is familiar and easily called up
c. or cramming it in my head and forgetting it tomorrow!

3. Do I like rainy days?

A. yes
B. no
C. depending on the day

4. If I could pick one group of three things to do on a December Saturday they would be...?

A. play a competitive game of pool, eat olives, and try to pick out a song on the piano
B. write a letter to Mrs. Foster or another friend, laugh with Daniel and Sarah and Mama late at night, and read an enthralling book that captures my imagination like Duncan's War, or Little Women (The first dozen times I read it.)
C. make prank phone calls, draw a picture of a 50's poodle lady, and wash the mud out of my Civil War dress.

(Way too easy!)

5. Yesterday my creative accomplishment was?

A. Writing a new Bramblewood Hedge Book
B. Writing 4 new poems in short time span
C. Painting a terra cotta Chia pet to look like the donkey I'd hug and kiss and call George! :)

6. If I could order my first wee bairn(s) as a baby (big hint) it would be...?
a. a boy with brown hair and dimples
b. a girl with big eyes and blond curls
c. a pair of red-headed twins (a lad and lass) all chubby and rosy, and that laugh a lot and have blue eyes.

Okay! Off ye go! See how well you know me! And if this works we'll do one on Sarah if she wants! -Rachel

Blind As A Bat! ;)

Hello People! I am Rachel, and right now I am, loosely speaking, blind as a bat. You see, I wear contacts. So it has not seemed important to own a pair of glasses. Up till now when I am in my second month of a one-month pair of contacts that is my last and "onliest" pair till we order more. (Which we shall hopefully do today!) This morning when I woke up I tried to put one in my left eye, and it immediately started stinging and my eye started turning red. Uh-Oh. Then I couldn't get it out! All the stories of contacts suctioning to the eyeball that my friends have so readily cheered me with flooded my mind, and I became more and more clumsy trying to take the contact out. (And it is no easy thing since eyes and your last, worn, pair of contacts are very precious and delicate things indeed!) When the five-minute mark had almost passed, I finally said aloud, "Oh Lord, help me!" and soon after out blinked that ferlie contact. I love knowing that I can pray at any time, about anything even so small as a contact and He will listen! So just pray for me that these contacts last until the new ones are ordered and come. This is a new experience. Typing out a blog post and squinting at it trying to make sure everything makes since and is spelled right. Yay! I did it! Huzzah! Oh! And I actually left a comment on a blog and typed the "handicap" word correctly! Goodie!

Entreprenuerial Ideas From Us Two

Sarah and I are full of ideas. We have never started a business of our own, but we have had so many ideas! Our first idea when we were little was a lemonade stand. (Our marketing campaign manager [a neighborhood kid] suggested we raise the price to 100 dollars a cup. We almost agreed) That didn't work out so well! :) Recently, we have come up with some more ideas. Mr. Don and Mrs. Mickey Solomon have a vision to build a bed-and-breakfast called Solomon's Porch on their land. We have grand plans for stocking the gift-shop there. Sarah loves goats. So we have decided that she can have goats, raise them, and make soap out of their milk. I will paint the goats and other animals and make notecards to sell, also illustrate them in children's books. (That is also why I desperately want a donkey. I have plans for a Christmas book :) Then, I can grow herbs in a garden and make bags of loose leaf tea to sell. I can also sell my other books (maybe?) and things of that sort. Yes, we've had ideas. None of them except the lemonade one has been put to good use. I had a thought earlier this year of planting a garden full of heirloom flowers and selling them at a roadside stand. Ummm... that was good and well till my poor garden was washed away, shrivelled up, and neglected in lieu of our vegetable garden. The fault of those pickles. :(
We have thought of making a dog-biscuit business, a few years back, and had even made up a name (which I don't like now) for it. But we never did get very far (we bought cookie cutters shaped dog-like, and we made some treats for our customers that had dogs.)
I've thought of selling cordial cherries to the local tea parlor, and places like that, and just last month figured out the price of such a thing, but it was too late in the season to approach anyone.
There is something really funny about our ideas. No sooner have we had the idea and laid it aside for a bit, then someone else starts a wave of businesses like our idea! The dog treat thing has become huge, and we'd never really heard anything about it till we got the idea ourselves. And the flowers? The newspaper has been filled with articles about flower-farming people! And the herbal thing? I have been interested in that for years, but suddenly everyone and their brothers are taking herbal classes and selling herbal products. But that doesn't stop us from thinking up ideas! Now all we must do is begin! (something- we don't know what!) Well, anyway! That's all for now! -Rachel

My Vision Forum Story: Version One

Hi! Just in case anyone wanted to read this, here is the story I was going to put into the Vision Forum contest, but decided not to since Mama said it was too commonplace. I still think it a good fairytale story though! -Rachel

"The Rescue of Dalriaden"

By Rachel Heffington

Once upon a time a far age ago there was a kingdom called Dalriaden. The people of Dalriaden were ruled by a wise and faithful king. Such a happy land was this! Noblemen and peasants lived peaceably together and worked the fruitful soil. But one day a shadow fell across Dalriaden's purple moor. Distant murmurings entered the mouths of the people, and vague thoughts of fear and discontent crowded the gentry's mind. One by one they were blinded, until the evil had consumed everything up to the very gates of King Undell's palace. News of a dragon who darkened the people's mind with his venomous breath and presence filtered through the dales and into the village. The king watched in consternation as this dreaded evil gripped the hearts of his countrymen. It seemed the dragon was fast approaching and his influence had already damaged the minds of the Dalriadens. But King Undell was too wise to act hastily and without thought. Instead, the king waited, consulting his only daughter as to what the best course of action could be. King Undell had bestowed a gift upon this maiden when she was yet a babe in arms. He had named her Minetta, which means "faithful defender" and from a very early age she had been her father's most loyal supporter, upholding his name wherever she went. Now, in the day of trouble this same Princess Minetta and her father stayed in the castle to plan how to defend the kingdom of Dalriaden. The two spent their days praying for wisdom and valor, that they might be strong and loyal to light and truth in this age of evil.

Finally, the day dawned when not a ray of sunlight could penetrate the clouds of smoke and poisonous gasses that choked the sky. For the monster that was the cause of this terror and calamity was drawing ever closer-Groth- a hideously scaled dragon who hated light from any source but his own fiery breath, and who sought to destroy any good that clung to the land of Dalriaden. King Undell sent his last faithful footman to scour the deserted city for anyone, man or boy, who would raise a sword against the creature. The page returned with a single young man, a peasant, who had not yet succumbed to Groth's evil designs. This lad, Oberon, offered King Undell his service, and if it came to such a measure, his life. The king and Princess Minetta rejoiced to see one man untouched by the evil of Groth, and together the king, the footman, and Oberon guarded the castle walls. As evening closed upon Dalriaden, nothing could be seen save a glow, as of some great furnace, where Groth slept. Oberon entered the great castle hall and bowed to Princess Minetta and her father. "Your majesty!" he began, "The great monster Groth sleeps at your gate this night. Long have you waited for such a time as this. With your permission I will slay the beast!"

The king pondered Oberon's offer. "I cannot allow you to attempt such a dangerous task alone! I shall accompany you to the place where Groth slumbers!"

And so saying, King Undell took up his sword and followed Oberon from the hall with a last kiss for his daughter.

An ordinary maiden would have wept at this point, but, Princess Minetta, faithful defender that she was, fell on her knees in supplication to the Father above, and remained there through the night.

Meanwhile….

King Undell and Oberon scaled the wall of the palace grounds and slipped unnoticed through the shadows. Rounding the final corner of the wall, they came upon the dragon Groth. He lay stretched full length upon the cobblestones. His back and tail were plated with shining scales so bright, that each of his fiery breaths dazzled in them, echoed back a thousand times brighter. But Groth was not asleep. Such a dastardly creature as he was too cunning for such a foolish measure.

As King Undell raised his sword to slay the monster, Groth turned and thrashed his spear-like tail, pinning the king against the wall. He hissed menacingly and his snake-like tongue fluttered with poisonous breath over shining needles of teeth. As Groth raised his horned head in preparation to eat his prey, Oberon leapt from the darkness and thrust his sword through Groth's unprotected throat. With a last furious and flaming breath, the monster's life ebbed away and he slipped into the land of darkness.

A week later a grand celebration was being held. With the dragon Groth's death, Dalriaden had been loosed from the blinding evil and the people were once again free.

This afternoon they congregated by the lake to witness a memorable ceremony:

King Undell, clad in his royal garments led Princess Minetta to the lakeside. How beautiful she looked with a wreath of rosebuds in her golden hair and a smile upon her lips! Then, King Undell summoned Oberon to his side. Taking the Sword that had slain the Dragon he touched each of the lad's broad shoulders and proclaimed in a strong voice, "I dub you Lord Oberon, Prince of Dalriaden!" Then, beckoning to the blushing princess he gave her hand to Oberon in marriage saying, "I bestow upon you, beloved daughter, the title of Lady Minetta Oberon, faithful defender of your father's, and now your husband's honor!"

As he said this, the king placed a golden crown upon each of their heads and the two sealed their union with a kiss.

So from that time on, they ruled together, and Dalriaden was henceforth a kingdom of light and truth.

The End

Chris Tomlin Concert

Hey guys! (Man, I wish I could find a better opening than that to all these posts!) Anyhow, for Daniel's birthday, Sarah and I took him to a Chris Tomlin "Glory In the Highest" concert. A few other good friends and Matthew tagged along, and it was alot of fun! When we got to the church where the concert was held, a man from our homechurch, Mr. Jack, and Justin Wright were helping set up. So Mr. Jack asked us if we wanted good seats, and we were like... "Sure!" and he said, "It may be a little loud, and you'll have to sit on the floor!" so after a vote, we decided to take up his offer, and he proceeded to lead us down to the very front.. not the very front row, but literally seated on the floor with our feet touching the stage! We had such a great view! If we had had a camera, the pictures would have been just as good as those posted by Oliver about Third Day! Thanks Mr. Jack!
Of course, it was a little loud, and I was going to move, but then by the time Louis Giglio spoke and the second half of the music had begun, it was alot quieter and more worshipful, so I stayed.
After the concert we stayed around talking, and got to chat with the bass player. He had a really funny story to tell us: apparently, when they came onstage all was pitch black, but they could see us 8 or ten people sitting right near the stage. Since most of us were girls, he saw the vague outline of hair, and then one girl was holding a white coat. Then Mr. Jack was standing behind us with his white hair, and the bass player said, "I was getting really worried I thought Oh NO! They're doing a Nay-tivity!" He then said, "I was thinking, what are we gonna' do? Ummm... thanks for the nativity, now.... scoot! And when the lights finally turned on I was so glad ya'll weren't dressed up as Biblical characters!"
Ha-Ha-ha! So we hae succeeded in causing a moment of uneasiness to a famous person's band member! :) It was such a blessed evening, and I really enjoyed it! -Rachel

Now You'll Think I'm Crazy! :(

Today Daniel and I were in "the Beach" doing a pruning job. When Daniel has the trimmer going highspeed, and we are both wearing ear protection, there is not much room for talking. So what did I do today? Well, I sang the new words I made up to "the highbutton shoe song", (which you'll get to hear soon I hope!) "Lyda Rose", "Sweet and Low", and "Goodnight My Someone" all from the Music Man, a few old songs from K-love, "Silver Stars" and "Gonna' Build a Big Fence around Texas" both from Roy Rogers too, and several other songs that I hummed since I didn't know all the words. Then when I got tired of singing and there were still beds full of leaves to rake once Daniel trimmed, I proceeded to have a fake interview with myself about one of my books. (I was pretending I was someone else interviewing myself.) That went on for a good while, and then I made up some other sort of thing talking with myself. And when I was tired of that, I went back to singing. (I think I also thought about how irritating Legolas is in The Two Towers book because he is always, without fail the right one about anything!) :[
Anyway, while all this sounds really weird, I can assure you that I am not some nut who mutters to themselves about everything, am I Sarah?
*She shakes her head emphatically*
I can also assure you that I thought about a great many other productive things such as helping Dad grow plants for the business next year, what a blessing Daughters of Destiny was, about my article in TETCM, and when the first issue will be out, what I am giving people for Christmas, and why those particular customers had a game of Scrabble on their table, and were the parents playing it or did they have an unusually smart 5 year old? :) (And I was not being a Peeping-Thomasina. They have a huge picture window in their dining room that you can't help seeing into!)
So anyway, this was a really pointless post that I shall be ashamed of tomorrow, but I just thought that I'd write about what I thought about today while raking clippings! -Rachel

A Thought

Okay! This is the long lost person who's supposed to be writing in this blog, but hasn't recently, otherwise known as: Sarah!
Today we're getting hi-speed Internet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *woot, woot* (as Abigail would say)
Yeah, so I'm pretty excited about that- we'll be able to see all those blog videos that we haven't seen, Dad can watch the weather online, we can post pictures on our blog, and there are endless other possibilities! We've been trying to get hi-speed for some time, but Verizon doesn't have a line this far out in the country, I guess, the only other possible situation was Dish, and our server doesn't have hi-speed so we hadn't got it. But on Monday Dad was calling around and Ntelos had a really good deal so we got hooked up and I think we received the modem thing today in the mail! So now that that's settled I was going to talk about something that I came across this week.

This week while working with Dad and Daniel, I was reading "Christie, the King's Servant" by O.F. Walton and came across a section which made me think. (The book is set in a fishing village in Yorkshire, England and the town has just had a festival of games, including Tug of War. This segment is the next Sunday when the preacher's talking)
"The Tug of War is our subject to-day, dear friends," he began, " and a very suitable subject, I think, after what we have witnessed on this green during the past week. We have seen, have we not, a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull together, as yon heavy crab-boat was dragged up from the beach? How well she came, what progress she made! with each yodel we brought her farther from the sea. We all of us gave a helping hand; fishermen, wives,visitors,friends,all laid hold, and all pulled, and the work, hard as it seemed, was soon accomplished.Why? Because we were all united. It was a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together. And now let me bring back to your memory another event during this past week. The place is the same, our village green, the same rope is used, and those who pull are the very same men, strong, brawny,powerful fishermen. Yes, you pulled your very hardest; if possible you put forth more strength than when the crab-boat was drawn up, and yet, strange to say, there was no result, the rope did not move an inch. What were you pulling? What was the mighty weight that you had to move? What was it that, for such a long time, baffled the strength of the strongest among you? The weight you could not move was not a heavy boat, but a light handkerchief! What was there this difference? Why was the handkerchief harder to move than the boat? The answer to that question was to be found at the other end of the green. There were other pullers at the rope that day, pulling with all their might in an exactly opposite direction. It was not a united pull, and therefore for a long time there was not result, and we watched on, until a length one side was proved the stronger, and the handkerchief was drawn by them triumphantly across the line. To-day, dear friends, I speak to you of yet another tug of war. The place is the same, Runswick Bay, and our village green, but the weight to be drawn is not a boat, not a handkerchief; the weight is a human soul. It is your soul, my friend, your immortal soul; you are the one who is being drawn. And who are the pullers? Oh, how many they are! I myself have my hands on the rope. God only knows how hard I am pulling, striving with all my might, if possible to draw you, my friend , to Christ. But there are other hands on the rope besides mine. Your conscience pulls, your little child pulls, your Christian mate pulls; each sermon you hear, each Bible class you attend, each hymn you sing, each prayer uttered in your presence, each striving of the Spirit, each God-given yearning after better things, each storm you come through, each danger you escape, each sickness in your family, each death in your home, each deliverance granted you, gives you a pull God-ward, Christ-ward, heaven-ward.
Yet, oh, my dear friend, you know, as clearly as you know that you are sitting there, that, so far, Christ's pullers are drawing in vain. You have never yet, you know it, crossed the line which divides the saved from the unsaved. Why is this? Why, oh, why are you so hard to move? Oh, my friend, do you ask why? Surely you know the reason! Is it not because there are other hands on the rope, other pullers drawing in an exactly opposite direction? For Satan has many an agent, many a servant, and he sends forth a great army of soul-pullers. Each wordly friend, each desire of your evil nature, each temptation to sin, each longing after wealth, each sinful suggestion, gives you a pull, and a pull the wrong way, away from safety, away from Christ, away from God, away from heaven, away from Home. And towards what? Oh, dear friend, towards what? What are the depths, the fearful depths, towards which you are being drawn?

Alright, so I know that was sort of an old-fashioned sermon(all those "dear friends!") But the point he was making is very important. Now I know a lot of us are Christians and this is talking about the pull for your soul for Christ, but if you think about it, everyone, every day is making different choices and decisions that are either drawing them closer to God or separating them from him. We know that "We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Our sin separates us from God and it's "When we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So I just think that we all need to be conscious all throughout our day of where our choices are taking us: away from the Lord or Drawing us to Him.

So that's that, but also I wanted to tell everyone that Rachel did end up writing a story that she's very pleased with and was exactly on the word limit for the contest!!!! Yay!!! I really like the story too.
That's all for now! -Sarah

Bemoanings of an Authoress

Greetings all you fair followers! I am here to bemoan my lot- actually, to tell you something that is sort of exciting and quite a pain. I am entering a story in the Vision Forum contest. In this contest you must tell the "true" story of the cover of the magazine. It has a princess, a king, a knight, and a dragon on it. When I saw this, I thought, "Wow! This should be easy!" because I am constantly writing things, and this shouldn't be any big deal. Well, I have just recently discovered that I am a long-winded creative person. It is painful for me to try to cram a story into no more than 1200 words! Ahhhhhhh!!! So I wrote the story and it was well told. Until Mama pointed out quite gently but pointedly, that my story-line was very unoriginal. It was, in fact, precisely what you would expect seeing the picture. She's right. And my creative streak has been stunted by the late nights and crazy schedule recently. I haven't a scrap of courage large enough to try to rewrite the story right now. Or at least keep it short and sweet. Thinking that the bracing cold air would freshen my perspective, I paced up and down outside for a half-hour at least, but to no avail. I had ideas, but they would all take far more than 1200 words. What's more, they were all traditionally fairy-tale-ish, or else improbable. By the end of the time out there, I had only succeeded in discouraging myself and scaring Daisy Sofia (the goat) out of her wits by coming up and saying in a flat monotone: "Hello goat." (And perhaps it was also scared by my white shawl or something.)
Anyway, I am determined to rewrite this to Mama's (and my own) satisfaction, but I'll just hope and pray for that all-illusive inspiration that I am sorely lacking. After all, when a 1000 $ prize is at stake, I had better listen to wise council. So there you have it- Aren't authors known for being moody? (I despise moodiness in myself so I am determined that this fit shan't last! :) Well, wish me well!
-Rachel

Like Everyone Else I Suppose!

Okay guys! Everyone else seems to be doing a sales pitch for their blog in Oliver's contest. Okay. I know we don't have any music, but that isn't my fault, our internet is too slow! Then, I know we don't have any fancy header for Christmas, but just think white like snow ;) And I know some of the other blogs have things like that, but you know, could someone at least vote for us out of pity? :) And while we may not have the best background or something, we post alot about Christmas in general! And it's the Christmas spirit that is important right? For that matter, our brother Daniel could win the contest if he had entered with his posts about Advent! I think content matters as much as the background! So "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly" and all that is great, and I don't think we'll get any votes (since we are being good sports and not voting for ourselves) So pwetty pwease someone take pity on us poor dial-up creatures! If you want to vote go to Meredith's blog and go ahead and vote for us! -Rachel

(I'm counting on each of you Ozees! :)

Daniel's Graduation

Hey Everybody! First I wanted to thank Miss Zara and Melissa Ozee for joining our blog! Yay! Now if we can only get one more person we will be at 20! (I strongly dislike odd numbers! :)
Okay! Thanks to all you guys for coming! It was so much fun to host a big function like that in this house! We've always felt that God means to use this big house for ministry, and fellowship with other believers! It is so neat that we also have the opportunity this winter to host church here every week! Anyway! So thanks to all the serving people like Morgan, Katie, Maddie, and several others who wish to remain nameless! Thanks Alaina for watching kids while we got things ready! And thanks to Aunt Christy, Mrs. Mickey, and Mrs. Alison for setting up food and decorating and all that! Also to everyone who washed dishes and cleaned up so we didn't have to do that! And to the Wrights who generously cleaned up the study which was covered a foot deep in board games that the little kids had pulled off the shelves! :) Oh! and Mr. Jack for lending us the tent! We don't have any pictures yet since we asked other people to take photos for us since our camera is so bad, but hopefully soon Daniel will post some on his blog or something. First off we greeted everyone, and then went into the tent for the ceremony. It was COLD out there! And the wind really kicked up and almost blew the tent down! But besides the leg of my chair sinking deep into the mud beneath, there were no mishaps! After the ceremony, we all went inside and ate a delicious dinner! (And the rest of the macaroni had turned out nicely) Mrs. Mickey had been really smart and divided dinner and desserts into three courses. So we had dinner, and then desserts, and then after the hayride, we had a third course with all the "fancy" food like buck-eyes, shrimp, cordial cherries, crackers and cheese, 7-layer dip and chips, and punch! (Though we did have to do an i.d. check to make sure everyone was 21.) (just kidding by the way! :)
Now Sarah is going to write!
Alrighty!
So as Rachel explained, all that happened and then we went out by the bonfire and sang Christmas carols. A few people had brought out guitars so that was nice. After that Dad got together a hay ride (which was last minute because we didn't know what the weather would be like) with hay from inside the tent so it was all dry. That was really fun and thankfully Dad decided to go along the road and not the field, so we didn't have the risk of getting stuck!
Oliver and Hannah Wilson were having a video footage war the whole evening trying to video tape eachother (No clue why.) Anyway when we finally got inside the 3rd course was out so that warmed us all up. We talked for awhile and by around 11:00 or so, the "crowd" was dwindling. (there were like 165 people-some of the families that had RSVP'd didn't show up) We got a game of catch-phrase organized, and played one round of that. Around 12:30 the last guests left and I mentioned to Rachel that church was in 10 hours, AT OUR HOUSE! But, several of the ladies and the Wrights had cleaned up really nicely so we all sat around and watched Daniel open cards and gifts. We got to bed at around 1:30 (after looking through our stores of left-overs:) and woke up around 9:00 to scramble around finishing cleaning up, and eating breakfast, and setting up for church by 10:00. It was Alot Of Fun, thanks everybody for celebrating with our family!

The Wery Last Day! :)

Hi Everybody! This is the last day before Daniel's graduation! Yay! We stayed up too late last night for several reasons, and so it was after midnight and we were thinking of going to bed. Then I said, "Daniel's graduation is tomorrow!" I made Mama and Sarah groan at the thought. We have lots to do: finish decorating, take the food we already made out of the freezer so it can thaw, ice sugar cookies, string lights up, plate food, set the big tent back up and put sides on it, finalize our outfits and make sure we all have something to wear, put the big wreath on the front of the house, keep on picking up the Christmas trees on the porch that keep falling down from the wind, and the list goes on.
But it's really exciting! We cleaned all day yesterday while Mama and Anna were shopping. I think we got through a whole dry-erase board full of tasks! Our house was so bad before (since we have been cooking and decorating and planning all week) that it finally took a whole day to be respectable! And all over the office stacked in stacks under and on top of other stacks are sheets of yellow legal pad paper that Mama calls her "brain". (Which to date she has just lost half of- the most important half) Well, Daniel is waiting to cram in his advent post, (which he has done a great job on) and I must go help Mama now! Oh! Mrs. Mickey and the same Wrights that help the Wilsons are coming to help us along with Mr. Jack who owns the said tent. Oh- Sarah wants to write something!
Hi, I was just going to tag something on to what Rachel was writing about. As most of you know Daniel's graduation is a pretty big deal and we invited I think about 200 people or so! It's really cool because a lot of our friends from way back are going to be able to make it out here-they haven't seen our house or even Gracie before! So anyways, I think tomorrow will be busy, but Really Fun! So I guess we'll see most of ya'll tomorrow!!
-Sarah

A Lament

This is a lament.

The house was lovely,

The tree was nice,

There were no crumbs left

For the wand'ring mice,

The lights were strung

And the fat punch-bowl

was borrowed,

We stuffed the freezer full

Of things to eat

For Saturday

The family was vexed

When they heard Rachel say,

"I haven't a blasted thing to wear"

She scrabbled through a pile

Of clothes and tore her brownish hair.

Moaning all the while.

And Mama raised her eyes to the roof

And Sarah sat and sighed,

For she hadn't anything either then,

And together they both cried:

"We'll have to wear a gown of rags

We'll have to wear green shoes!

We'll have to wear a baseball cap!

For we haven't a choice to choose!"

This is my lament, for after searching through my clothes I have found that I have a skirt, but no top, (unless I want to wear purple which is very unfestive) and shoes, but no stockings that haven't a rip in them. Sarah has neither shoes nor an outfit, (though she has just been bequeathed a really pretty shirt of mine) and is in even a worse pickle than I am. You large-family people know how it is. We never can see a week before that we need clothes. No. We wait till two days before a huge party with nearly 200 people before we tell Mama that we don't have anything to wear. It also doesn't help that we never go anywhere fancy, so I only had one good outfit. We don't have time to go to a thriftstore between now and then, and so I believe it shall be the good old purple sweater for me... goodness! I made that sound ugly! I guess I should be grateful for having a pretty sweater made of such soft stuff with pretty beading, but I'm not even sure if that fits me since I bought it several years ago! Oh well! We have these little clothing crises all the time and I always manage to come out on the top of them without anything worse than a purple sweater! I'd say that I'm blessed.

My Thoughts on College For Me

Whenever I go out to do lawns with Dad, there is ample time while mowing to think about many things. Yesterday one of the many things I thought about, (alongside publishing one of my books, singing "You're never fully dressed without a smile" to make Matthew laugh, and gathering leftover Christmas Tree clippings for Mama to decorate with) was why I don't think college is the best place for me to go when I graduate. Now, I realize that Meredith has done many posts on this sort of thing, and since she has had much more experience in this area, each will probably eclipse what I will write. Nevertheless, this is more for myself to remind me why I am looking forward to something different.
First off, I want to clear something up. It is the misunderstood fact that "Schooling" is not necessarily "Education". Since that is stated, I find it funny that people refer to college as "Higher Education". Dad has told me many stories that leave me with the impression that many kids at college are not there to be "educated". They are there to get more "schooling" with education as a hopeful by-product, but that is where it ends. (Though there are some who go with the best intentions and get something out of it I'm sure.) My idea of "Higher Education" is that we should never stop learning. When we think we have learned all there is to learn in life, then we had better review some things awfully quick, because that would be puffed up pride.

Now, I am not saying that everyone who goes to college is disobeying God. He works in all our lives differently, but for me, I must look at the vision God has given me for my life.
My idea of the most fulfilling "career" I could have as a woman is that of being a helpmeet, homemaker, and mother. That is what I hope and pray the Lord has called me to. And that is what all the training I have had so far is leading me up to. In fact, you can say that I am way ahead of all these public schooled kids in the fact that I am getting my career-training while I am doing "school". This is in fact, my 17 year of being trained to be a homemaker! :) Okay. That being said, what business have I to go train at some college away from home to be a lawyer? How will I use that in my future life? To diplomatically break up fights between my children? Okay, how about training to be a brain surgeon? Ummm.... sorry to disappoint you, but I think that unless all my children had awful and unusual brain problems (which is very unlikely) that would be something I would shelf pretty quickly.
Understand, I don't think that taking classes in a particular area is bad. Once I graduate I am looking at taking an online class to become a Certified Family Herbalist. Which will be really useful in my future home. But the best education I can get for my "career" is where I am right now. In my home, operating a household with my mother, caring for my elderly grandmother, learning to be helpmeet by practicing on Dad in our business.... and the list goes on.
When someone wants to learn a language the most efficient way, they go to that country, and immerse themselves in the culture so that they are forced to speak the language to survive! That is what I see I am doing right now. I am living in my future workplace. I have the advantage of watching and helping Mama care for sick children, and learning what is okay, and what needs to be watched or rushed to the emergency room! ;) That is something that no amount of college could supply for me. I couldn't read about it in a doctor class and be good at discerning how sick a child really was until I had a sick child.
I am learning how to run a household, and how to keep a home tidy and cheerful. I know many housekeeping things that make a home peaceful, like playing music quietly in the background when your Dad comes home, and always using a tablecloth and dinnertime. These are things that I would not come accross while eating cafeteria food at college! So anyway, I guess all this is to say that I don't think God would think it good stewardship for me, at least, to go to college and train for something that I will put away later, when I could have been using those years to continue in hands-on practice at what I will most likely be when I grow up.
(And anyone who wonders "What if she doesn't get married and needs to work?" my answer is first that I will trust God to have a wonderful plan and support me through it whatever it is, and then secondly, this is why I never stop learning and practicing with my talents. There are many, many things I could do at home and make profit even if I didn't marry!) -Rachel

Hallo-Bonjour-ummm.... Hi?

Howdy Do to You and You! It's Me it's Me it's Ernest T.! (I couldn't resist ;)

No. Actually, it is Rachel. This post will be interesting because it ought to be something grand and glorious for the first post in this awe-inspiring month. But then, I think all the grand and gloriousness in our family has gone to Daniel who is doing a great job with the Advent posts.
In the first place, it took me awhile to figure out that it really was December. (I had to use that little rhyme that I've known since forever: 30 days hath September, April, June, and November, all the rest has 31, `cepting February alone, which has 28 rain or shine, and in leap-year 29!) Okay! So anyhow, our lovely December has started off perfectly (for this area) with a heavy frost! I love frost! It transforms the plainest thing into a thing of beauty! One of the prettiest sights I've seen is a blackberry vine and leave covered in frost. I would have frosted things like that all over my wedding cake if I could! (And if I was married in the fall!) You could probably do the same thing but with sugar instead of real frost. I think I heard of someone who wants to be married in the winter so that they can run outside after the ceremony, and have a snow-ball fight in their wedding dress! But I don't know why I went off on a wedding tangent! :)
December is probably my favorite month of the year in the sense of all that we do!
Advent has already been raptured over and you'd get tired of hearing me do that, so I think I will talk about a couple of our Christmas traditions maybe!?
Okay, but this has gotta be quick because I am working with Dad today and he wants to get out earlyish.
I start making and collecting presents early, as does Sarah, so the moment after the Christmas tree is put up, she and I have a mad dash to see who can wrap a present and have the dignity of putting the first present under the treee! (psst! Don't tell her but I'll prewrap mine this year and then get a head start! ;) Anyway, it is rather fun! Another cool tradition (At least to me) is that we set up our manger scene as a family. We kids and Dad bought her the Willow Tree set a couple years ago, so that has taken the presedence over a traditional set that she had had since she got married. (I am now asking for the old one for my hopechest for Christmas! :)
Mama sits on the couch and hands us the figures one at a time. We then carefully position them around a little creche that Daniel made for her. The Three Kings always are put the farthest they can be away from the creche, but I don't think it would take them 2 years to cross the table-top! The youngest of us, whoever that may have been that year, gets to put Baby Jesus up there. I always wanted to put the pretty angel with the blond hair and crimson dress up. Mary wasn't quite as pretty! ;) I had a weather eye for pretty things back then and still do! :) But I like Mary just the same!
Okay! Here's how it goes around her Christmas morning! We girls all wake up at around 4:30 or 5:00, too excited to go back to sleep, and since we haven't any cows to milk, we lay around hushing eachother until 5:45 or 6:00. Then we wake Daniel up and cart him out of his room. He lays on our bedroom floor blinking like a mole in the bright light while we all impatiently wait to open our stockings. So after his eyes are adjusted, he brings out his Bible, and reads us the Christmas story from Luke 2. Then we open our stocking and revel over them. But by and by we decide that we need to wake Mama and Dad up so that we can go downstairs to open gifts from under the tree. Well, it's a good thing we wake them up that early, because we must make their coffee, set up camera tripods, sort the presents into individual piles, and then we do the last day of Advent :( Last year Mama made us eat breakfast before presents! (I couldn't manage it!)
When it is finally time we go around, usually youngest to oldest, and we each open a present, one at a time. Doing this, this time can stretch to a couple hours! It's alot of fun though to watch others open your gifts you made or bought for them! Well, I better go get dressed for work! Hope this was fun! Do ya'll think we should temporarily switch over to a Christmas background?

"Tomorrow is a New Day With No Mistakes in it" (Yet! :)

Hi Everybody! I guess it would be no use to post about Advent since Daniel is doing such a good job! So anyway, today the younger ones are still down with what we are affectionately calling The Black Plague. But never fear! We are learned in the art of bleaching everything anyone could touch. I think I have wiped down the entire downstairs and upstairs in the space of about 15 minutes after people leave, or after we have had sickness! That is one area in the many undiscovered talents of our family! (Oh! The Black Plague I'm talking about is a cough/cold sort of thing. Thankfully it is not a stomach bug! :)
Anyway, today we were supposed to have that cooking day that I described and was in charge of planning! Well, anyone that would have come to help was sick too, or else busy! (Like the Walkers who are showing a house today- actually almost this very minute!) How did it go Matthew?
Anyway, Sarah made Norwegian crunch! Yum! And I was in charge of making Mrs. Chandra Christmas's really good macaroni. At least, um.... her's was really good. Here's what happened:
Among the many other things I had on my mind, was making the macaroni, which has a saucy sort of thing that must be made on the stove.
Well, I think we were using every burner- one was occupied by a tea kettle, the other by a makeshift double-boiler that was holding a strange-smelling garlic and olive-oil tincture we were brewing for Daniel's sinus infection he has. Then one pot was boiling my noodles, and the other one I was gleefully stirring while Sarah read Pride and Prejudice to me.
Believe what you will, but I was not that absorbed in Mr. Darcy's letter to Elizabeth, but I was listening, and saw that my noodles were boiling over. So I stopped stirring the macaroni brew, and dumped the noodles in a colander, only to come back and find that my mixture had started sticking a little. It kind of smelled funny, but as I had never made this recipe before, I hoped against hope that it was just me, and I proceeded with the recipe. Despite my cold I could smell it, but I finished baking some in the oven and let Mama taste it. Whereupon she informed me that it was scorched. I wished I could have sunk into the floor- wasting perfectly good ingredients?!? Now, I pride myself on knowing how to cook and being good at it. I am confident that I shall be a wife that her husband is proud of when she brings a meal to the table, so this scorching of a project, (especially since it was scorching two huge pans full of macaroni) was unacceptable to me. Mama was not worried about it, but still, I couldn't watch as she scraped the bad-smelling mixture into the trashcan. (Why did we have to go and butcher our pigs before this incident? I would have felt better feeding it to an animal) I despise wasting almost perfectly good food, and nearly had Mama convinced that we could bring it to the Wilsons and tell them what had happened, and since most of them have the Black Plague too, they could eat one pan, and we could eat the other. No one would notice the odd flavor since they all have stuffed-up noses! But we tossed that idea and I started over. Boo-hoo-hoo. Oh well. I'll chalk that one up as the first mistake in the graduation-preparations. Please pray for Mama and Dad that they keep healthy as we all get well, because I know they don't need a head-cold on top of plans! -Rachel (Now it is the long-lost-Sarah's turn!)

Hello to All Our Faithful Followers!!!!
This is me, Sarah who hasn't written for 4 whole days!!! (Oh,la!) Sorry I haven't posted much recently, but I've been sick, busy, and I think it's a little much for a blog to have 2 new posts in one day, and since Rachel's been posting almost daily, I haven't.
Anyhow, today, as was mentioned above, we were cooking some. The Norwegian crunch turned out well, although the insides of the Heath bars didn't melt so I had to remove them and chop them up. But, Hey!:) We've gotten the boxes of Christmas decorations down from the attic already and probably tomorrow or something, we'll decorate. We're waiting to put up our tree til after "The Graduation" so we can have as much room as we can inside. Our Christmas tree isn't what some might call traditional, in one sense, but I have and always will admire it for it's warmth and cheeriness! We don't put tinsel on ours and we usually use colored lights, along with a mixture of handmade ornaments or special ones that we've had for a long time. I enjoy reminiscing every Christmas season as we decorate the tree and see familiar ornaments that we've known since we were little! Last night was the first night of Advent and with Mom reading the story by the candle's light you would think it a pretty picture, but sadly I was busied in trying to unclog our vacuum's tube and changing overflowing filters,etc. while all this was going on! Hopefully tonight we'll all be able to keep a fine tune while we sing carols, as last night only a few of us could, due to our stuffy noses or tickley throats!!
I'll look forward to posting something more soonish, but for now I must bid you adieu!
-Sarah

"Enter Bo-Peep!"

Okay! I know Sarah hasn't written since Thanksgiving and I have, but I'm sure she'll trump this later today. The problem is, she likes to sleep in sometimes, and I don't as much so I have more time. We are sick so we're not going to go to church today. Neither are the Wilsons. 7 of `em down with the same thing. :(

But I thought I'd tell about a present I am making for someone for Christmas. I am not sure who it will be for though... probably Gracie, though I want to send it to the Fuhrmann kids. I love writing stories and sending them to children! I have a little line of books I make for Abby called the Bramblewood Hedge tales. (Little did I know when I began that there was already a published series called "Brambly Hedge". I assure you, the name was my own entirely!)

Anyway, they are about various and sundry small animals, and usually are based off of something I saw and wanted to make a story about. I love assigning them quaint names like the cardinal "Admiral Popepeak" or the mockingbird "Col. Matthew Mockah" and then the red squirrel named "Rumpleton Derrydock" and then the quail named "Mistress Quakergarb"! It is loads of fun!

I admit. I've read too much Beatrix Potter and Old Mother West Wind in my day, and this week:) Anyhow, we accidently brought home one of the Wilson's cats in the load of hay Dad bought! I'm so glad that it didn't jump out on the way! The younger girls discovered her when they got home! Last winter we had a stray cat that we affectionately called "Miss Muffet". So it stands to reason that for the little while we are in possession of this kitty, she needs a name too. Since Sarah was reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time and couldn't be bothered with other literary things, I took it upon myself to name this lovely pussy. If I were any sort of a bloggie person I would have a picture of her, but it is cold, our camera is tempermental, and I don't feel like leaving this spot to go find her and make her pose. Nevertheless, please meet Little Bo-Peep! She is a very elegant puss and doesn't seem extremely shy.

So immediately after putting Abby to bed last night, I decided that Bo-Peep needed a story of her own. I wrote one about her life before she came here, and her ride over, and how she met Miss Cricket, (my black cat) and all that is left to be done is to nicely illustrate it. I haven't the time for watercolor paintings for it like I did for "The Twinkletoes' Harvest" so I have decided that I shall slide by with pen and ink drawings for now. (The only thing is that Bo-Peep has such a lovely tumbleweed-tabby coat and a white bib that it would look so very sweet done as a watercolor.) But with Daniel's big shebang in 6 days and me wanting to keep progress on the book, I will just do the quickest route.

By the way, "The Twinkletoes' Harvest" is a Bramblewood Hedge story about a family of meadow-mice that I did for Abby last year. Here is an illustration from it! -Rachel

A Very Quick Lesson I Learned

Warning: This will be a rambling sort of thing that I hope someone else relates to!

We have had a cough-cold-feverish sort of thing this past week going around the house. I finally caught it despite choking down echinacea tincture, elderberry syrup, and all a manner of other things to prevent it. So this morning I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes and grumbling to myself in my mind. "I am out of humor with the whole world in general and no one in particular. Why are there so many blasted dishes? Why do we have to declutter today!"
and on and on I went in my mind until I was cross as two sticks and wallowing in self-pity. Then the Lord's soft voice entered my mind countering every sour thought I had. "You have so many dishes because you had a fun time last night with your friends at Daniel's birthday party."
He said.
"But they are Sarah's dishes from last night!" I complained inwardly.
"You didn't do your chores last night. What is more, your mother kept house all day while you and Sarah were out with Daniel. She also took care of sick children and set up for a party and made dinner which was your responsibility."
The more I thought up something to gripe about the more He gently reminded me of all the blessings I had. And finally, when I weakly ended with a self-pitying, "Well, I have a cold!"
He reminded me of what I always tell everyone else and what I told Leah a couple days ago, "A merry heart doeth good like medicine".
So I decided that it was perfectly ridiculous to try to be morose on a day like today which is perfectly lovely and seasonably cold, and I am now trying to be cheerful I say with a stuffy nose,
"A berry heart doeth good like bedicine!" :) -Rachel

We're Wanted!

It all began this fall. When the leaves began to change and the nuts began to ripen, then They awoke. With stealthy feet and masks of innocence they sent their spies into our woods. Four-legged creatures that bayed and ran across our fields and sent terror into the very soul of our dog Licorice. But Dad was staunch and refused Them what They wanted. We are now on Their "wanted" list. They enjoy free reign over all the land on either side, and wait with greedy eyes until we are caught off guard to grab our land from us. We are safe nowhere. At the gas station their minions are found. Everywhere we go They know us. Alright, maybe the fact that we drive a beaten up blue 15-passenger, and that we have so many girls and we all wear skirts helps distinguish us, but it is scary. Yesterday we were walking down the road and one of Them asked, "Ya'll those people in the big house down Garrison?"
What could we answer but a meek, "Yes."?
Last week They gave us a venison ham and tenderloin. Although the picture of neighborliness was perfect, we were not fooled. Their spies were swarming through our woods yesterday: along the edge and deep inside, their howls rising to terrorize the prey They are after. And last night, They tried a most desperate measure: In the middle of our Thanksgiving dinner They dropped off two deer's worth of meat for us! Now I am no longer sure if They just want our land. Perhaps they are after something more- our dog, our hens? Maybe even a bride? ;) (I was totally kidding about the latter)
Maybe I'm just nervous because of all Their gunfire. Maybe I don't like venison? Maybe They are in reality just being kind? I don't know, but I have a feeling that until They have persuaded Dad to let Them run their spies across our land, it won't get any better.

(Dramatized by Rachel)

Today's Thanksgiving!

Hello!

We all know that today is Thanksgiving. I just wanted to give you a quick reminder of the history and all that was behind the making of this holiday.

The group of English Separatists had for years been trying to find a place where they would have religious freedom. They'd just left Holland after deciding that they wanted their children to grow up with their parents beliefs, standards, etc. So North America was chosen for the place the Separatists wanted to live; where everyone obeyed God and the land was beautiful. On September 6, 1620 they set sail. After many days on the sea, the whole group (The Saints(Separatists) or Strangers, all together they were called pilgrims) arrived in North America! Now I know I wouldn't think a long voyage across the ocean particularly comfortable and pleasant! But the joy they must have had when finally reaching land and after scouting around find a whole deserted Indian village already set up that they could inhabit must have been really encouraging! But when the winter came, and the pilgrims were working hard at building log cabins for the whole colony, there was a lot of sickness going around. Fever, Scurvy, and also starvation were sometimes taking 3 people's lives a day! So everyone knows how that winter was. But the nearby Indian tribe, the Wamponaogs, were willing to be civil and their chief, Massasoit, even let a warrior named Squanto, help and guide the pilgrims the first year they had come. He taught them a lot of tips and tools for agriculture and the pilgrims had a bountiful harvest in the autumn of 1621. So in gratitude of the Wamponoag tribe and all the help they'd been, the pilgrims hosted a feast. Their were 91 Indians present and some of the foods they ate were clams, venison, fish, berries, and lobster. Yum! The Pilgrims were very thankful to the Lord for getting them through their first year in the new land and their wonderful harvest that He had given them!

We should all be thankful to him for His works in our lives and His love for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good.

His love endures forever

Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

who made the great lights-

His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

the moon and the stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel out from among them

His love endures forever.

with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;

His love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea asunder

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel through the midst of it,

His love endures forever.

but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;

His love endures forever.

to him who led his people through the desert,

His love endures forever.

who struck down great kings,

His love endures forever.

and killed mighty kings-

His love endures forever.

Sihon king of the Amorites

His love endures forever.

And Og king of Bashan-

His love endures forever.

and gave their land as an inheritance,

His love endures forever.

an inheritance to his servant Israel;

His love endures forever.

to the One who remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies,

His love endures forever.

and who gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Sarah