Dec 5th through 10th

So the 5th was David's Christmas party for work.......spent the day getting prepared for that since I had just found out the day before that it was dressy! :)

The 6th I had a ladies tea at my church from 11a.m - 2pm then it was home to listen to the game with David and work away on the dress ...........finally put it up around 10pm ;) 

7th..... church, lunch and naps, church again :)

8th..... mom came over to help with some trouble spots on the dress. Suprisingly it's coming along pretty well!

9th Therapy for Micah all morning.

10th Voice and piano lessons then baking for the party along with finishing touches on the dress :)

This is the mess we had to make on the counter to do the dough for new years cookies (recipe from colonial times) and the rose cakes (also a cookie from colonial times)
Finished products :)


The start of the batter for the queen cakes. 
And the ginger cakes :)

Can you see a pattern here as to why it's been awhile since I've posted???

And Dec 4th....

Brianna and I attended our monthy keepers meeting. This month we did an outreach to a local nursing home where the girls each performed a talent for the elderly. They ranged in talent from singing, dancing, playing an instrument, to homeade crafts made for the residents. The finalle was the song "The 12 days of Christmas" where the girls each acted out a "days" part. It was neat to learn about some of the meaning behind this song.

12 Days of Christmas - The Real Meaning

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled us. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? Well we found out. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

1) The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
2) Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
3) Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
4) The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
5) The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
6) The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
7) Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
8) The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
9) Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
10) The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
11) The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
12) The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

This knowledge was shared with us and we found it interesting and enlightening and now we know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

From there we headed to another mom's home to share our scrapbooks (the girls previous months skill), get pinned, play some games, and decorate cookies! The night was so much fun but ended up being VERY late as most of the group got help up by a train issue from the  nursing home to the other mom's house ............so we got home about midnight!! It really was worth it though. 

Brianna showing the girls her pages. 

Getting pinned. 
Beginning to decorate cookies. 
One down, 2 to go!

And Dec 3rd.......

So one Wed Dec 3rd while my mom and Brianna were at piano lessons the boys and I headed to the craft store to get some supplies for Brianna's colonial themed birthday party the next week. Well, brilliant me got so inspired by it all and knew my daughter would LOVE a colonial dress.........so I bought a pattern :) Logical right........well not when you've never sewn!! LOL So we headed over to my mom's after naptime so she could show me how to cut out the pattern and get started :)

After inquiring with several people I found out I got myselft into something that was DEFINATELY not a beginners project! LOL ...........how will it turn out???

Dec 2nd ......an attempt at some christmas pics :)

This was the best shot.....doctored with photoshop because the filing cabinet was in the background and it looked bad ;)
And of course gotta love that brotherly love :)
I thought these turned out pretty cute too!!

He was supposed to be surprised that there were no presents.......instead he thought he should be a monster. LOL 


Here are the kids attempting to sing jingle bells together :)


And in my opinion the funnest one of all......

And one more of Brianna alone.....

Dec 1st......fun with friends

We started this busy month reconnecting with old friends :) Myself and 2 ladies I was in a playgroup with when Brianna and Ethan were little.........now between the 3 of us we have.......12 kids!!! The kids had a blast though and not a moment was quiet, although it got close when they were eating their snack! LOL 


Obviously a few kiddos were missing in the pic ;)

Oh, and I was reminded that during the process of this visit we had a minor emergency. Our female goat got stuck in the iron fence!! Kinda freaked out and also cold, all three of us moms were working to get her unstuck. Finally after 2 coats of vegetable oil and some team work we finally got her out..........I was about in tears so NO, I didn't get a picture although it was pointed out by one friend DURING this that we should get the camera what with two blogging moms involved here! LOL 

God vs. Science..... (author unknown)

This one will keep your attention to the end.......It really makes you think........

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students,
"Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist
professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new
students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment.
"Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can
cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could.
Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does
he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to
Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a
glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

"Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Er...yes," the student says.

"Is Satan good?"

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From God"

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in
this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"

"Yes."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything,
then God created evil, since evil exists, and ac cording to the principle
that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student h as no answer.

"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things,
do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question.

"Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks
away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

"Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus
Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your
Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God
for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol,
science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has
with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His
own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room
suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can have
lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white
heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We
can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no
heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as
cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."

"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits
energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.
Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is
only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold.
Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy Cold is not the
opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding
like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't
darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of
something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing
light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called
darkness, isn't it?

That's the meaning we use to define the word. "In reality, darkness isn't.
If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This w ill be
a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start
with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's f ace cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you
explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You
argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God.
You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can
measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."

"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully
understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be
ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a
monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes,
of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where
the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot
even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching
your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has
subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me
give you an example of what I mean."

The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has
ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the
professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to
have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable,
demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due
respect, sir."

"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face
unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll
have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,"
the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it e
everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in
the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These
manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does
not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like
darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of
God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man
does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes
when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

So much to give thanks for!

I think I have the greatest husband!! First of all, he worked so hard to build me a great rabbit hutch (will post pics in another post later) and get it done before the weather got to cold. He finished it this last weekend! Then this morning he went to the store for me to get the oven bags I forgot to buy for the turkey........and came home with these :)
So I began arranging my table around them as a beautiful center piece ...


 and I realized I didn't even have a full matching set of silverware :( So I told him to add that to my Christmas wish list and he said, "Why wait till Christmas, I'll go to the store right now and get you some. " Now is that not just an awesome husband or what? So I'll have to come back and add some pics when he gets back ;) 

He emailed it to me from the store to make sure I like it :)