Getting ready for the big drama

Well, at least the drama isn't in our house!  The drama is at our church.  No, not the whining kind of drama, but a play.    Our church is doing a production of the "Living Last Supper".  Of the 13 men (Jesus and 12 disciples), 3 of my sons are in the drama.  We have jokingly said that in a few years, I could have 7 of my sons in the drama.  So, Josh, the oldest is Jesus.  Josiah, 2nd oldest is Judas, and Daniel (14) is John.  My husband jokes saying, "Should I be concerned, one son is Jesus and the other is Judas?"

I did take pictures today, but we are missing some of the men.  The funny thing is, we haven't had 1 practice in all these weeks, with ALL the men present!!!!  Today we had 10.  We are praying for the health of the men, as there are some awful sicknesses going around.  We really feel this is going to be a wonderful outreach.  So much work has gone into the production, the men learning the lines, my parents in the directing of the play, the people working on the background, furnishing the table pieces to make it authentic, making the tables and benches, making of the costumes, etc.  The list goes on and on.

This morning, during the worship service, I got to hold Claire.  It was so pleasant. I do think she got a bit hot, and so I put her in her car seat, and she started smiling, and laughing.  I so wanted to take a picture, but I didn't think it was appropriate during the service.  She'll have to smile at me another time.  :)

I should go and put in some more recipes.  So many recipes. . .  If you have any you want to share--send me an email!  Would love a new one.  :)

"Same Kind of Different as Me" book review

"Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.   It was a very intriguing true story, about a modern day slave, or perhaps a sharecropper, who meets up with an upscale couple, and turns his life around. 

I was very surprised to hear, that even though slavery was abolished all those years ago, that in essence, there were still slaves in our day and age.  Denver was born on a plantation, raised by his grandmother, and worked in the cotton fields, so that he could purchase from the plantation owner's store.  How convenient, huh?  No matter how much cotton Denver would pick, the plantation owner would always say it was the same amount. Even though Denver never went to school, and never learned how to read, there were some heart warming stories of how he got a brand new bike.

Later on, he caught a ride on a train, and headed west.  He then became homeless. 

Enter Ron and Debbie Hall.  Debbie has dreams of a poor man, who was wise, and by his wisdom, he saved the city.  This man is Denver.  Ron is an international art dealer, who has done very well in his trade.  Debbie, his wife, encourages Ron to join her serving at a local mission.  They befriend Denver, and so starts the story.

Each chapter takes turns with Ron and Denver sharing their side of what happened, and it is entertaining.

I enjoyed Denver's bits of wisdom, where, one time, Ron laid his keys on the table, and Denver asks Ron, "Do you own somethin that each one of them keys fits?" Ron said he did.  Denver then says, "Are you sure you own them, or does they own you?"

I also found it thought provoking, that Denver would just be happy that "he woke up" that morning, how each of us should be grateful to God, for another day allowed.

Denver gets to preach in a church, and Ron introduces him.  Ron wanted to tell a bit of Denver's story, and Denver says, "Just tell em I'm a nobody that's tryin to tell everbody 'bout Somebody that can save anybody."  And he later goes on to say that everybody is different, "the same kind of different as me."

At the end of the book, it has questions to get you to think about subjects the book brought out, such as homelessness, prejudice, forgiveness, etc.  It also had a conversation with the authors, on where they are now.  I really enjoyed the pictures, to be able to put a face to the story.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

So, what does a mom of many do??

I just love it when people ask that!  I've been pretty busy, doing--NOTHING!  Ha, ha!

A little over a week ago, I broke a toe.  I know--I am clumsy!  I was excited, as my dh was going to take me out for a date.  So, I was hurrying to wash the table.  I was quickly going around the table, when a mean old metal chair got me between the toes.  Doubled me right over.  Dh asked what was wrong.  By the look of green on my face, he knew I was in pain.  We BOTH thought my toe was dislocated, as it was laying right over the top of the little toe.  So, for our date, we spent it in the Urgent Care.  :-( 

So, I have been sitting with my foot up, and ice on it--for the most part.  :)  How does a busy mom stay down??

The very next day, we took my parents to IKEA.  Mom and Dad had never been there.  It was great!!  I wasn't planning on buying anything!  ;-)  I didn't purchase much.  I got a laptop lap holder, to keep it cooler; a little desk light that is very bright (I think I'll use that near my sewing machine, and anyplace else I can think of); and 10 new cups--they were way cheaper than the dollar store, or even a thrift store.  They got me a wheel chair, so I wouldn't have to walk that huge store.  There is no way I could have walked the store, but my dad--who just had back surgery, and has knee problems--walked the store just fine!!  We are so proud of him.

I have been doing some reading.  I love my iPad!!  But, my problem is--when I download a book from the library, they only give you 1 week to read it in.  And, it was a busy week, so I didn't get the book read.  The book was, "Life Without Limits", by Nick Vujikik.  Would I love to meet his parents!!

On Monday, I took my Mom out shopping!  We went to the Mennonite Bulk Store, and I spent way too much!  But, it is all stuff we need/use.  Then, we did some fun shopping.  Went to the 2nd hand stores.  Mom got a sofa!  I got 4 new dresses!  Rick and my Dad had to come with the trailer.  While we were waiting for them to arrive, we told them we would keep on shopping, so we could fill up the trailer. 

Then, we had to get the sofa in their house!  What a job!  But, thankfully, their neighbor saw us struggling, and came over and helped us get the patio doors off, and we got it right in.

We will be very busy, the next two weeks!  Tuesday is GKGW.  Then, we have the Living Last Supper, from Wednesday night through Saturday night.  Sunday is Easter.  Then, we have to get ready for the annual business meeting on May 1st, of which, I still need to do my report.  Yikes!  Then, later in the day on May 1st, we will take off to go to District meetings.  It will be relaxing for the children and I, but my hubby has to work it.  Then, we are talking about taking a few days off.

I have also been working on a new program I bought.  It is called "Cook 'N" by DVO.  Wonderful program!!!!  It should make my menu planning MUCH easier!  So, for now, I am putting in my recipes. 

Last night, we had a fun time.  Grilled out steaks, even though it was snowing!  Then, I made Black Forest Brownies.  Watched an episode of Good Luck, Charlie, and then played "Monkey See, Monkey Do" on the Kinect.  Fun!!

"The Final Summit" by Andy Andrews book review

“The Final Summit” by Andy Andrews was the first book I have ever read by this author.  “The Final Summit” is the sequel to “The Traveler’s Gift”, and even though I did not read the first book, I was able to keep up in this book, and it could be read as a stand alone book.  I am not a big fan of time travel, or sci-fi, but with that said, I did enjoy the book.  He brought to life historical characters, such as, Winston Churchill, Anne Frank, Abraham Lincoln, Eric Erickson (whom I had never heard of) just to name a few.  It has a fictional character, David Ponder, who is grieving the loss of his wife. 

Gabriel comes to David Ponder, and takes him to the final summit, where they have a set amount of time, to give the correct two word answer to the question, “What does humanity need to do, individually, and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?”  It kept me wondering what the correct two word answer would be, throughout the book.  

At the end of the book, it gives a web address where you can unlock an exclusive video of Andy sharing behind the scenes stories.  That was interesting, as well.  Another noteworthy feature, that I found appealing as a home educating mom, was that they offered downloadable companion curriculum to go along with the book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this as an ebook free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”