Mother's Day.....way too late. :D

So, I know it has been a long time since Mother's Day, but I thought I'd share some of what we did for Mama. We designed a treasure hunt for her at a nearby historic park with plenty of wildness and interesting places to hide things....and an excellent wall for walking on. :) Then Daniel, Sarah, and I went early and hid everything, making up a rhyming map for her with clues

Our Gentleman goofing off...

He looks mentally disturbed in this picture! :D

Me, rather fuzzy-haired and hot, holding the envelope we had scrawled the clues on...I look a tad deranged...courtesy of the High Society English Dinner Preparation preying on my home-maker's mind. ;) I was the faithful poem composer and I always got left behind scribbling while Daniel and Sarah ran ahead. No wonder my mind was mixed up enough to wish two guys "Happy Mother's Day!" :P

Abby looking on as Mama opens the first of her presents...

The Mother we love best...

She sent a "monkey" up and down the spots that would be hard for a pregnant woman to get to...guess we should have taken her maternal condition into consideration when we hid everything... ;) (Anna climbing up the steep hill-side)

All of us kids lined up on the wall. :) I have always loved walking on walls, ever since I was little and would pretend I was Leisl from The Sound of Music and Daniel was Fritz, in the "I am 16" scene... ;) Left to Right: Gracie, Abby, Benji, Anna, Leah, Sarah, Me, Daniel....And from the other direction...Gracie, Abby, Benji, Anna, Leah, Sarah, Me, Daniel
Too bad it's all in the shade...we need to take a family photo-shoot. :)

Sarah....I don't know what was up with this, but there is a superfluity of pictures of her in our "Mother's Day" folder.... ;)Leah and Sarah...And one more of My Gentleman....I think he might have been attempting to hitch-hike. ;)

I think I must have gotten stuck with the camera, because that one with the envelope is the only time I made my appearance in close-up pictures.... :D Have fun looking at them! :) (Even though they are terribly late.) ~Rachel

The Saturday Morning Daybook. :)

Hello Everyone! :) I thought I'd do this weekly post hosted by Miss Jo March at Scraps today. :)

Date... July 2nd! :)

Starting time... 11:22 A.M. (thus, it's still the morning! :P)

Mood... Pretty good. Very hot. But excited about going to a Corn Roast later on!

Outside my window... the garden plot that we spent 3 hours weeding the sweet potato patch in this morning.

I'm thinking... Do I really have the energy to do all the weekend chores without Mom or Rachel here?! ;)

I'm currently reading... A Tale of Two Cities =) I really like it so far!

I'm listening to... ahem...Benj and Abby having a "heightened discussion" ;\

I'm wearing... My well-loved jeans skirt and my VA t-shirt! :)

I'm looking forward to... This entire weekend!! First the above mentioned Corn Roast at a friend's house this evening, then church, and then Independence Day and the free Picnic and fireworks our town holds every year! :)

I'm hoping... That in the next week or so Matthew and I can finally get together and do our photo-shoot!

Yesterday, I... Spent all day (7:15 in the garden, to 11:30 P.m. printing out flyers) working and preparing for today's market.

I'm hungry for... LUNCH! (I had a bowl of cereal at 7:45...but all that hoeing got me hungry!)

The song stuck inside my head is... None are quite stuck, but if any, "You are Being Loved" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I love... Anticipation!! (in the good way (not the anxious, nervous kind)....that's what makes anything exciting! :)

I loathe... Having constant dry and dusty feet.... :P

This week, my goal is... to get through my wisdom teeth surgery well....and not be in too much pain...and not to worry too much about it! :P Also I wanna take more garden pictures...I haven't had the time to recently, and I really need to.

Did I meet last week's goal?... N/A

Ending time...11:32

(I'll take Miss Jo's idea and do a "Quote of the Week" :)

Quote(s) of the week..... "I feel like I'm drinking Grandmomma!" =D

"Roses are red, Sunflowers are yellow,

If you'll be my girl, I'll be your fellow!" ;)

(After a LONG, hard day of preparing for market ....) "These signs just fealed my sate." :D

Okay! Hope that was diverting! :) And all you guys have a blessed 4th of July weekend!!

-Sarah

We Found Out What This Baby Is....

Okay everyone! It's a very long story that I won't go into detail to tell, except to say that Jesus protected our baby from what could have been a nasty condition because of Mama's blood-type, (Mama's blood cells see the baby as a germ or disease they need to fight and kill toward the last few weeks of her pregnancy if she doesn't have a shot, and she didn't get the shot in time) but they got an ultra-sound and the condition is not there! Praise the Lord! :) And we ended up knowing what the baby is! We are having a little boy! :D I am *SO* excited! We haven't had a boy in nine-and-a-half years!!! :) And he may be born a couple days after my birthday! :) So here's a picture of our wee lad! :) (this is a profile view of him. He's turned sideways with his face turned upwards. :) Doesn't he look like he's giving a kiss? ~Rachel

Oh yes! And please don't forget to enter our Society: Blunders and Brilliancy Movie Quote Quiz! I simply *had* to post about this, though I generally don't do two posts a day! :)

Society: Blunders and Brilliancy Movie Quote Contest

Okay everyone! It's that time again...I know it is a bit of a silly habit, but around our house, we like to quote movies. We try not to quote them excessively, but script-writers are witty people and when personal wit is lacking and there is a quote that absolutely, perfectly fits a situation.....they just..."Pop out!" to quote Miss Steele from Sense and Sensibility. ;) So yes, to make a long post short, welcome to the O.F.V.F.U.T. (Our Family View From Us Two) Movie Quote contest! :) I am debating what I ought to theme this quote contest....mayhap I ought to theme it Society: Blunders and Brilliancy...yes. I like that. So changing the name of this contest to Society: Blunders and Brilliancy Movie Quote Contest, we move on!

As always, your job is to leave a comment telling us what movie the quote is from, and, if possible, who said it. :) You get one point for each correct answer, and an extra point for telling us who said the quote. :) We'll tally up at the end and the winner will be announced! :) Without further ado, we begin:

1. "It's just this new small-talk: You do it so well!" "Well, if I did it properly, then what was you sniggering at?"

2. "Yes, the library is fine. I wish I read more....I prefer being out of doors....of course, I can read...and I'm not suggesting one can't read out of doors..."

3. "It's not.....so bad...." "Are you blind?! You look like a circus clown!"

4. "You must give us either one thing clever, or three things very dull indeed."
"Three things very dull indeed...well, that will just do for me."
"Oh, but there may be a difficulty. You must limit it to only to three at once."

5. "Dancing is the ornament of every polished society."
"And every unpolished society--every savage can dance."

6. *Gun shot* "Boring conversation anyway. Luke! We're gonna have company!"

7. "Oh hey! What are you doin' here? I mean, it is your house but...."

8. "Cynthia. If you must have the last word, please don't let it be a truism."

9. "You may, like us, admire her hair from a distance without taking the liberty of touching it."

10. "I can hardly believe my ears!"
"*We* can hardly believe your mouth!"

11. "More at home here, than in Vienna? In all your glittering salons, gossiping gaily with bores I detest, soaking myself in champagne...."

12. "No light propitious shone..."
"Edward, you have no passion. Read it like this: "No LIGHT propitious shone!"

There you go! Have fun guessing! ~Rachel and Sarah

Upward I look and see Him there...

I have been thinking this afternoon on the very great love Jesus has for me. It sounds so....trite to say it, because I feel it is a hackneyed phrase. Everyone speaks about Jesus' love, and yet we can never understand the depth and fullness of it. But today I am feeling, more than ever, the vastness of His love. To know that no matter what I do, He still looks at me with love, and even when I sin and virtually spit in His dear face, Jesus holds out his arms to me with a tender smile and begs me to follow Him.

Such knowledge is too vast for me. It makes me feel minuscule.

Since I always sing when I'm happy, snatches of songs have flittered through my mind, illustrating the point:

"When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My guilty soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me..."

And yet another song:

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of Hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
till He returns, or calls me home,
Here is the love of Christ, I stand."

Beautiful promises, and ones that I find infinitely dearer when I have sinned and feel His forgiveness. It might seem a strange thought, but I have often thought that there might be a special sweetness in coming to know Christ at an older age, since you would have experienced life without Christ, and then beauty of His holiness and forgiveness afterward.
(Not that I would trade in knowing Jesus from a young age for that, however inspiring the sensation would be.)
To know that I am in His keeping, and that He loves me and wishes to know me intimately is an everlasting comfort. When I feel lonely, I realize He is waiting for me ask Him to be my companion. When I am worrying, He asks that I give all my cares to Him.
My Jesus is amazing. But I can't describe Him at all. He is, after all, indescribable. But here is a video that brushes the surface and expresses what my heart is thrilling with. It is a description of my Lord that a preacher, S. M. Lockridge recited in the mid 70's , and humbles me each and every time I listen to it. :) ~Rachel