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?