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.”

Busy days

I had a little free time last night.  Rick and the boys all went to see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".  The 2nd one.  So, I did some recovering of  a stool.  That was on my project list for over a year.  Yikes!!  But, I got it done!!  Also, I put some plastic covering over my 3 new stools.  They had a suede on the seat cushion, and I was worried about spills, so I bought some plastic, and covered the suede.  It was nice to get some projects accomplished.  I still have some MAJOR projects left to do.  I ordered the book, "Managers of their Chores", and I need to read it, and put it into practice.  Then, I also need to get my recipes put into my new program.

On Monday, we celebrated Rick's 50th birthday!  We had my parents, Josh & Brittany, Siah & Sarah and Jeremiah and Claire, and Ben all over for a meal of baked parmesan chicken, baked potatoes, and cashew green beans.  He got some funny gifts from Josh & Brittany!  One was a camel back, that was filled with Mountain Dew, and they said it was his IV bag!!  He also got a daily divided pill keeper, filled with Skittles.  Clever!!  He also got an Iced Tea Maker, a Wii fishing game with a fishing pole, some shirts, chocolate covered peanuts, and Vanilla Coke.  No coffee!   I gave him a digital frame, with all sorts of scanned pictures of his childhood up to the current!  I also gave him an ereader.

We had beautiful weather up until this last Monday.  It was in the 50's, and snow was melting.  Then, we started to get rain on Tuesday, and lots of it.  By Tuesday night, we had freezing rain.  If I had known we were going to get the freezing rain, we would have canceled the Growing Kids God's Way on Tuesday evening.  We got home at 9, and it was still raining.  An hour and a half later, we looked out, and we had 5 inches of new snow!  Then, it started to thunder and lightening.  If that happens during the winter, know that you are going to get hit with a bad storm.  We even had to cancel the Wednesday night services.  All totaled, I guess we got 13 inches of new snow!!  That has now broken the record for the most snowfall in a year. 

We bought an X Box 360, and Kinect on Thursday.  We have been having fun playing with it. Last night, while the menfolk were all gone, Becca & I played some games on it. The funny thing is--when you are done playing against each other, at the end--it will show you video clips of you while you are playing, and everyone looks like a total geek!!  It's actually pretty funny to watch.

Last night, I made egg rolls for supper, and invited Ben over.  I thought he might enjoy a nice meal.  :)

Today, we have to go to the airport and pick up the special speaker for our revival services.  His name is Ron Rhoads, and he is flying in from Texas.  I'm guessing he won't be ready for our cold and snow.  

I am hoping to go to the thrift store, before we go to the airport, as there are some things I need.  I am looking for a huge platter bowl.  I had one, and it got dropped on the floor.  It was wonderful for making a huge meal of Fettucine Alfredo, and the like.  Also, I need to find a nice dress for the celebration where they are honoring us for 20 years of service here.

My time is counting down, as I really need to start scanning in photos of our 20 years here, to put into a presentation!  I have 8 days left!!!!  I need to get moving on that.

I've been rough on myself!  Last week, I was tired, and not paying attention to what I was doing, and while I was ironing, I put the iron on my left hand.  Nice burn.  It did get me out of dishes for most of the week, however.  Was it worth it?  No.  Then, for Rick's party, Matthew was helping me cut the green beans, and he cut his finger.  So, I put a band aid on it, and took over for him.  I was talking to Brittany, when I sliced right through my thumb.  Brittany then took over for me.  Hmm, maybe that is why I had green beans left over, huh??  The word passed quickly!

Well, I need to get going.

Ben is home!

We got Ben back from Madison.  It is so nice to have him back in this area!  We picked up a U Haul trailer on Monday, but had some troubles with lights, and getting it tight.  You name it.  They won't let you leave until it is all working.  Finally, at 10:15, we were able to get on the road.  Got down to Madison, loaded him up, cleaned out his apartment, and came back home.  He moved into Josh & Brittany's house.  It will work out nicely for them all, I'm sure.

I got my hair done today!!  We will see how I like it.  Sam isn't sure he likes it.  Jon came home from work, and talked and talked to me--never even noticed!  I sat there with a big old smile on my face.  Finally, he looks at me, and says, "You got your hair cut."  Yes, I did--took off about 8 inches.  It is also colored, and high-lighted.  It is now about shoulder length, and cut in layers.

I have been scanning in pictures for the 20 year celebration for us, here at the church.  So many pictures. . .

I am bushed tonight, so I think I will head to bed.

Busy, busy days

Here we are into March already!  Where does the time go??  We have been celebrating birthdays around here, as we have 3 birthdays in March.  Becca turned 17 on the 5th, Ben turned 23 on the 10th, and my hubby will be 50!!!  on the 21st!!

So, I read this ladies food blog every day.  She makes a lot of home made pudding.  It's been years since I made homemade pudding!  So, she tells on there how at the end, she has to strain her pudding to get the bits of cooked egg out of the pudding.  Yes--she says--bits of cooked egg in the pudding.  Hmm--she adds the hot mixture to the egg yolks way too fast, as I have never had bits of cooked egg in there.  So--I had to try for myself, if I could still make pudding, without bits of cooked eggs in it.  Oh, yeah!!!  I am still good!!  Happy dance!  So, I made butterscotch pudding.  It was so good!!  I made a huge batch of it, as I was hoping it would last a couple days, as Sam loves to eat pudding before bed.  He eats 2 of those containers.  His favorite is chocolate, and I tried to get a big can of chocolate at Sam's club, but they just didn't have any.

We got a new to us car on Thursday.  We got a 2009 Chevy Imapala.  That will be nice for my hubby to take around on church work, and a lot easier on the gas!

Tomorrow, the Mannon Family Movers are in full force, again!  We head down to Madison to move Ben back up here.  He will be moving in with Josh & Brittany, but we need to get his furniture all back up here.  Not sure where it will all fit, but we did clear out some space in the garage, in case he needs to store some stuff.

Yesterday, I was pretty busy.  Helped clear the garage, gave 5 hair cuts, made the pudding, and various other odd jobs.

One of these days, I want to take my parents to Ikea, as they have never been to one!  I thought they would enjoy that.

I ordered some things to help me out.  I will soon get, "Managers of their Chores", as I need help in planning the children's chore lists.  That gets to be burdensome.  And, I am also getting the book, "Cutting your Grocery Bills in Half."   I would love to coupon, but who has the time??