Sunday, November 28, 2010

-Isms As You Wait



I have been really bad and not posted anything about Thanksgiving or Kevin's birthday or Christmas decorating, largely because our digital camera has gone on strike and I'm reliant on getting the photos from family members and Kevin's iPhone!  And I really want to post photos -- they make every post better, right?

So, until then, I thought I'd post some sayings, some Ryleigh- and Zander-isms, to brighten your day or night.


  • Zander to his dad:  "I'm AstraZeneca, and you're Evil Dr. Pork Chop, and you're going to capture me, and I'm going to say, 'Let me go!' and you're going to say, 'Never!!'"
  • Ryleigh:  "I want mushrooms in my cereal."  She means marshmallows.
  • Ryleigh and Zander:  "Oh, no!  The tomato picked up her house and put it in Mushkin land."  Said while watching The Wizard of Oz.  A "tomato" is a tornado.  After watching a little while, Ryleigh scathingly said, "All the people in this movie are missing body parts."
  • Ryleigh, singing an impromptu song to God:  "You are glorier than anything and joy is in Your hands.  I'm good at art, but you're better than me."  There was a lot more than this, but this stanza made me laugh (while she wasn't looking, of course -- she was in a serious mood during this song).  By the way, Kevin was videoing her while she was singing this, and right in the middle of her five minute song, Zander came streaking through the living room without a stitch of clothing on!  He thought this was totally hilarious.
  • Zander:  "I like that song about baby Moses in the manger."  Er...I need to clear up some things about the story of the incarnation.
  • I'd add some Lily-isms, but she pretty much only says "no" right now to just about everything!  :)
Have a great day!

Sundi

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

My Childhood Thanksgivings



My childhood Thanksgiving's make me feel stuffed just thinking about them!

Mom rousted us all out of bed very early in the morning (easy for her, hard on us) to begin helping with the meal preparations.  Every year my biggest job was set the table, getting out the special dishes kept in the bottom of the hutch -- I still do this job every year!  I also helped with various jobs around the kitchen.  We always had a pretty formal sit-down meal, with nice dishes and glasses and everything loaded elegantly on our dining room table.

We always had turkey, chicken and dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, rolls, fruit salad, some kind of other veggie, and dessert.  Dessert was usually something different year to year, as Mom tried out some awesome new recipes, but it usually also included pecan pie.  Dad always made the mashed potatoes and fruit salad.

We would all sit down, pig out (but in a refined sort of way), and then roll ourselves out of the dining room to either nap, watch Cowboys football, laze around, or some combination of all three.  Some years I remember going for a walk, but I don't think we were that healthy most years!  :)

Some years we went to my grandparents in the country.  We had much of the same meal, except we didn't have turkey because my grandpa didn't like it.  He had too much of it during World War II, and didn't like to eat it anymore.  I always thought that was fascinating, like my grandpa had some secret mysterious past.  More pigging out and napping and so on....

I always loved Thanksgiving!  A day of thankfulness, lots of food, and time spent together relaxing is definitely my cup of tea!

Sundi

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Belated Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Dress Up Day!  Lily was being a bit camera shy, but thank goodness for Bob-Bob!

Unexpected Interruptions...

Well, I had planned on having already written several posts on Thanksgiving and traditions, but other things have held my attention over the last few days.

First, we are still battling illness!  It's of the minor kind, not the I'm-dying-kill-me-now type, but it still has kept us at home and away from those we're afraid to spread it to.  And it's been one of us at a time, which has really spread things out!  I have never dealt with such a long bout of illnesses, but fortunately it's nothing serious and I thank God for that.

Second, a very, very dear friend of ours was rushed to the hospital after she passed out and woke back up having seizures.  There is still not a definitive diagnosis at this point.  I went and saw her last night and have been praying, praying.  She is totally lucid, but obviously deeply concerned about why this is happening.  To be totally honest, I am frustrated as one of her closest friends to not be able to go see her and give her comfort today, but I need to stay with the kids, and I know she is completely safe in the Lord's hands.  Hopefully I can see her tomorrow at some point....  If you're reading this around the date I've posted, please pray for her!

So all this to say, I will get to those posts soon.  And a special post on the challenge of switching children's rooms, sleeping arrangements, and furniture all in one night....while they're asleep!  :)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Stomach Bugs and Christmas Plans...

Well, our household has been overrun with two separate bouts of a stomach bug in the last thirty days or so, and I'm exhausted!

The first bout was much more virulent and laid us all out, even putting Kevin in the hospital as it severely messed with his blood sugars.  That night was insane -- I was sick, Lily was sick, and my husband was severely sick.  My parents came over and took the kids (praise God for His providence in this!), and so when it became apparent that Kevin was very ill, I was able to follow the ambulance right out to the hospital.  After a brief stint in the ICU, Kevin recovered, we all recovered, and I was feeling a sense of relief that we got that little virus out of the way for the rest of the season.

But early this week it started again...duh duh duh duh (ominous music).  Thankfully, it is much less severe!  Today Lily is the sick one.  I've missed a lot of church and social events, but am grateful it seems this next bout is almost over.  I'm a little bit leery now to think it might not come back, but I'm praying we have seen the last of tummy sickness for a long while!

On a more cheery note, the last couple of weeks I've been preparing for the upcoming holiday season.  I love the holidays!  I love the smells, sounds, cooler weather, sparkling lights, yummy food, fellowship with family and friends, and most of all, the sense of utter gratitude I have towards my God for the many gifts and blessings he has chosen to bestow on me.  The most important of these is His Son!

I'm hoping to write more over the next couple of weeks about how we have celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in the past and how we are celebrating it this year, and about our various traditions and holiday memories.  If you'll be reading, I would love you to join in with your own experiences, traditions, plans, and remembrances!

Sundi

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Backyard Super Hero

Backyard Super Hero!  (From earlier this summer) I love his noble gaze off to the horizon!

Monday, November 8, 2010

My Favorite Soup: Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup


Yesterday, Zander was sick so I made him some of my favorite soup!  This soup is incredible and really has the amazing ability to make me feel better.  :)  It tastes a lot like a favorite dish of mine growing up -- Huntington Chicken.  Here's the recipe:

Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup

  • 2 quarts water
  • 8 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
  • 6-1/2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
  • 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
  • 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
  • Minced fresh parsley

Directions

  • In a large saucepan, bring water and bouillon to a boil. Add noodles; cook, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Do not drain. Add soup and chicken; heat through.
  • Remove from the heat; stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle with minced parsley. Yield: 10-12 servings (about 2-1/2 quarts).

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Normal Saturday...

Today was a pretty run-of-the-mill Saturday spent wrangling children, laundry, dishes, and the iron while Kevin prepped his sermon for tomorrow in our back room.

Ry and Z shockingly played outside most of the day.  This is shocking because they normally loll around with no interest whatsoever in going outside, and there have been times where I have ordered them outside and locked the door so they can't run back in.  Then I watch them wander aimlessly around the backyard.  No matter how many lessons on tag, soccer, and the like -- sometimes the outdoors doesn't do it for them, or so I thought.

But now I realize that the temperature needs to be in the 60's or lower for them to enjoy playing outside.  Maybe my kids were designed to live farther north!  Now that I think of it -- no sunburns, sweating, or bugs.  My kids are no dummies.  :)

Also, I got them some rocking rain boots on clearance at Walmart!  Playing is so much more fun in the right footwear.  The rules are the pants must be tucked into the boots and the boots must always be taken off in the garage before they come in the house.  After that, the backyard's their oyster!  (I need to take pictures of their "play" outfits -- usually weird, strangely fitting clothing that only qualifies for muddy outdoor play, complete with the pants tucked into their boots -- cute!)

Now on to the Saturday night routine -- baths, family devotions, kids to bed, more ironing, and a wee bit of down time before bed!

Good night all!

Sundi

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Prayer


Today the Lord has really been reminding me of the importance of prayer.  I will admit that this is an area that I frequently don't give enough priority to in my time, despite the fact that I know it is a powerful and life-changing practice in a Christian life.  I need to make more time for prayer! 

Colossians 4:2 says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."   Romans 12:12 says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  James 5:16 -- "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

The Lord commands me to pray, and why would I not?  The rewards for my own life are immense!  He blesses me through prayer.  He sanctifies me through it.  He reveals the mysteries and riches of His word through it.  He listens to me, comforts me, encourages me. He admonishes, corrects, and convicts me to live a life more conformed to His will.  He answers my prayers, sometimes in ways I could not have imagined, and yet -- praise the Lord! -- He shows His love to me by answering in the way that is best for me, despite what I asked for!

Spurgeon says:
"Prayer is never futile.  True prayer is true power.  You may not always get what you ask, but you will always have your true needs supplied.  When God does not answer His children according to the letter, He does so according to the Spirit.  If you ask for coarse grain, will you be angry because He gives you the finest flour?" 

 Love that!

More than anything, I want to pray to bring all glory to my God.  I want my prayers to be like the prayers of Isaiah -- "I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses."  

I want to extol His many amazing attributes, His power, His mightiness, His loving spirit, His amazing providence.  I want to thank Him for His visible hand in my life and the lives of my loved ones.  I want to thank Him for His atoning sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ, and the salvation afforded to me, a sinner, a salvation that completely and utterly changed my life and my hope.  How great is my God!!!

I want to leave a legacy of prayer for my children.  Fern Nichols says, "Every day we are developing through our words and actions a legacy for our children."  Do my children see me pray?  Do they know the power of prayer through my words actions?  Do they see God answering prayers in the life of our family?  The amazing workings of God through prayer in my life will be displayed before them -- how can I not leave that testimony to God's power?

There is so much more I could say -- prayer is deep and fathomless, as so many things of God are!  Suffice it to say, I plan to pray more!  One more quote from Spurgeon:

"[God] puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there will be a precious fragrance springing up from it."

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Halloween/Reformation Day Activities

Hanging around our household this last weekend was an interesting set of personalities:


Spiderman, who realized that it's hard to be a super hero when you have to wear glasses over or under your mask;


Pocahontas -- the red-headed, fair-skinned, freckled Pocahontas;

A tiny leopard baby, who had the disturbing habit of trying to rip off her ears;

And, rarely, a gentle benevolent monk who morphed into something inadvertently terrifying when he pulled up his hood.


And me, as myself.


The night before Halloween/Reformation Day, we took our ragtag crew to the Boo Bash in our town.  If you can ignore the feeling of claustrophobia you might get being crushed by too many people in a small place, you would think it was fun!  The kids got lots of candy, got to bounce in bounce house, slide down a giant slide, and hang out with a bunch of other sugar-crazed kiddos.


The next day (in our secret non-superhero identities), we went to church for an awesome day at church, followed by a Reformation Day Picnic.  Kevin got to participate in feats of strength, and won the one where you had to bend a piece of rebar into a knot.  Woo hoo!  We all ran around and generally exhausted ourselves.


Then we threw the kids' costumes back on and went to my niece's 5th birthday party!  She's exactly 7 months younger than Ry and 6 months older than Zander -- right in between.  She had a very fun, very pink, very girl party! We gorged ourselves on even more candy and cake and cupcakes, and by this time are starting to feel a wee bit fall-down tired.


We crashed our friends Darla and Michael's house for an impromptu trick-or-treat, and then headed home to eat dinner like zombies and then fall into bed.  But we thank God for the blessings of friends, family, costumes, and candy to wear ourselves out on!  It was a fun weekend, and who knows who will visit our house next year?


Sundi



Friday, October 29, 2010

New Fall Tradition -- Football!

Tonight we went to support a friend in our Care Group who is an assistant band director at an area high school by attending the football game her band was playing at.  Weirdly, it happened to take place at the football stadium of the school I went to and the opponent was the school my husband went to!  It was perfect football weather -- unseasonably crisp and chilly for Texas.

Ryleigh and Zander were very excited about going and Ryleigh kept asking "if there would be cheerleaders there", which I didn't even know that she cared about.  :)  Zander and Lily "danced" on the bleachers during the portions when the band played and all the kids seemed to have a grand time.

I myself had flashbacks to going to my own high school games -- of never knowing the score or what was going on with actual game play most of the time; of how uncomfortable the hard, ice-cold bleachers felt; of how unusually yummy the concession food was even though I might not have even touched it elsewhere; of the admiration I always felt for the marching band; of the fun of talking to friends and feeling a buoyant allegiance to my school.

We had to leave at half time to get home before the kids passed out from sleepiness, but we all had a great time and I'm thinking that we need to make a high school football game one of our fall traditions!

Sundi

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Dinosaur World!

A few weeks ago, we used a Groupon and visited Dinosaur World in Glen Rose, Texas.  My son adores dinosaurs to the point that I think he wishes he were one!  We headed out and had a blast!

Dinosaur World largely consists of walking around a paved trail looking at life-size dinosaur replicas and learning about each different type.  There is also a fun fossil dig that occurs several times a day.  Here are some pics of us having fun!







Hope you enjoyed these!

Sundi

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

I Won Something!

It's a red letter day!

In my efforts to find ways to provide for Christmas without bankrupting us or misusing the money God has granted us, I occasionally enter mommy blog giveaways for items I like.  Sometimes I enter for items I have no idea what I'll do with them, but I'll figure it out later.  Today I found out I won one of the no-idea-what-I'll-do-with-it prizes!

I won $25 to an etsy shop that sells handmade clothing in vintage style (think pioneer or civil war woman). I nixed the idea to buy myself a bib apron or civil war era nightie -- I don't even like imagining what I would look like in these!  Fortunately, there was also kids clothing for sale.  After some deliberation, I decided to get Lily a pinafore, pantaloon, and ruffled cap set.  She will look so cute!  Too bad it won't come by this weekend -- I could get her a red yarn wig and dress her up as Raggedy Ann!

I promise pictures will be forthcoming of her in said get-up.

Now a preview of tomorrow's post....

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Inaugural Post (cue the pompous music)

Here it is.  The first post.

Though I have written blogs before, this one is going to be different.  A journal, a diary, an honest chronicle of the events of my day, the life of my family, and the thoughts of my heart.  I want it to be filled with pictures, which means I need to dust off the 'ole digital camera and get to snapping!  And I want it to be something our whole family can look at to remember and to praise God for His working in our lives.

I will be happy if it's totally eclectic and unfocused as long as it's from the heart!  Maybe someday a journal entry, someday just a bunch of pictures, one day a great recipe, one day an exposition on something I feel strongly about.  I want it to be fun and honest and ultimately God glorifying!

Hopefully, it can be all these things.  We'll see....

(you can turn off the music now)