Our Advent Branch

And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth...

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox...

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious. from Isa. 11:1-10

So I saw a neat idea of using the days leading up to Christmas to teach a Bible lesson everyday, and make a little symbol to represent it to hang on a Jesse tree or branch. 

Today we made salt dough and molded little symbols and painted them. We hung the first couple and I told them the stories to go with them. They look forward expectantly to putting up the rest day by day.

Seven Years Today

It's been exactly seven years today since I walked the isle with my love and vowed to be his til death do us part. It's been a wonderful seven years, not without their growing pains, but together we have grown - I believe, more like HIM we both love. I have learned to see that our strengths and weaknesses compliment each other. Together we can learn to be more like the Master than we could alone. And I am thankful for my man, thankful for his constant caring commitment and strength of character, thankful for the ways he stretches me, thankful for the home we are building together. May it be a house of praise where God the Almighty reigns - a home where God is enthroned and his name proclaimed!

And just a little out of the mouth of babes quote for you - Remember the athiest sales man that I wrote about? When he was here John turned on some hymn worship music and said to him "Do you know why I like to listen to that? Because we love Jesus in this house."

We do. And it makes such a difference.

Puzzle Pieces

Ever heard Mr. Gungar speak about the difference between men's brains and women's? He said men have boxes and only pull one out at a time. If they are thinking about one thing and need to change to another, they must first switch boxes... Well, I'm like that with life. I do so want to be perfect, but it's hard to focus on more than one area at a time. There's marriage, raising children, keeping house... And I want to do them all right, but I find myself focusing on one box at a time and feeling like a failure in all. I was challenged by a book I was reading today to see it more like a puzzle that I am fitting together piece by piece to make a beautiful whole. I want to be a good wife - so I choose today to greet my husband at the door with a kiss; to raise my children intentionally, so I will giggle with them and hug them today, and say yes because I can instead of "not right now" because it is easy and mindless; to keep home - so I will take the time to wipe those sticky spots from the cupboard door, and start that extra load of wash; to keep Him first, so I will live to Him in this moment and glorify him by a moment by moment life of praise to God.

 

The faces of our days :)

Holiday Fun with the Children

Make a glittery mess with this the morning that the Kirby salesman visited. He asked us if we had had a glitter party. Well, sort of. I let the children brush the pinecones with glue themselves, and then sprinkle on the glitter. They've been begging to do it again.

Another day we did this with gluten free gingerbread dough. They each got a bag with the tip cut off to squeeze on their own icing. So sticky and fun!

 Yummy holiday treats!

Gingerbread popcorn! Pretty tastey!

Change of plans today

So today started out like any other day. I had laundry and housework to do, but around 10 am I got a knock at my door, and before I knew it, I had a Kirby sales man in my living room. My day took a rapid turn. For the next hour+ I listened and watched as he demoed the machine.  The amazing thing can pick up a lot of junk even from a brand new carpet! But that's beside the point. I couldn't afford it's $3900 price tag, or the $2000 one with today's special discount. Well an extra special deal just for me would actually let me have it at $1200 and finally, just the machine without any warranties at $750, but even that I turned down. The young man demoing it finally finished and called his boss to pick him up, but was told it would be a minute. That minute stretched out to over an hour and a half. During which time I learned that the kid sales man (18) who shares my son's name and birthday is a self proclaimed atheist. A hurting young man whose dad left his 14 year old mom when he was just a baby. He's already spent time in jail as well as living in his car. Pray for John. He's been turned off by the only Christians he ever knew, but deep inside I think he still doubts his conclusion that there's no God.

Immune-boosting Elderberry Gummies and other stuff from our home

Our little cutie is growing like a weed, and generally so very good natured and sweet.  Usually, if he's crying he's either wet, or hungry or tired. Fix that and he's back to smiling and talking.

Starting first grade with this young man!

 

She's growing up too.

 So a couple more before and afters of this place. Here's a view from the kitchen before paint and carpet(after ripping out the old.

Here's the same view, as wide as a 50 mm will let me take it.

from our bedroom door(the blurred edge to the right is the door jam.) Like my "new" couch? :) $30 dollars at the Restore around the block from here!

 Next some pictures of this evening's project
With cold and flu season here, I'm doing immune boosting gummies and "flu" tea, not flu shots. My dear mumsie sent us the cutest little silicon gummy bear mold. We made our first batch of gummies tonight and the children loved them.

Elderberry Gummies
1/2 cup fruit juice
1/3 cup elderberry syrup
1 Tb honey
3 Tb gelatin
Soak the gelatin in the fruit juice and then add the rest of the ingredients and heat on low till dissolved. Pour into mold and cool in fridge(or freezer if you have a small mold like me and want to do multiple batches in a hurry before your stuff sets up in the pan)

Here's what was left of my batch after we had all tried them :)

Here's some information on why elderberry - source

Photo Credit elderberries image by Alison Bowden

 

Elderberries have a long history as a folk cure for a variety of ailments. Currently, scientific studies are being conducted to test the accuracy of these health claims. While some uses haven't been proven yet, elderberries in the form of elderberry syrup have been shown to boost immunity, decrease mucous production during colds and fight 

the flu.

Boosts the Immune System

Help your body fight disease. Elderberries are a rich source of vitamins A and C, which are crucial in helping the body maintain optimal health. Plus, the bioflavonoids in elderberry syrup boost the body's immune system by increasing antioxidant levels and viruses that damage cell walls. A daily dose can assist you in preventing both acute and chronic disease.

Treats Upper Respiratory Infections

Fight your cold symptoms. Elderberry syrup makes colds and other upper respiratory symptoms more tolerable by reducing mucous secretions. Also, elderberries may fight swelling of the respiratory passages, which means less discomfort and trouble breathing and soothe a cough.

Improves Flu Symptoms

Decrease the length and severity of your flu symptoms. Common flu symptoms like fever, chills, sore throat, muscle aches and fatigue may go away faster if you take elderberry syrup as recommended on the bottle. According to a study in the Journal of International Medical Research, patients given elderberry syrup recovered an average of 4 days faster from the flu than those not taking the supplement. Elderberries have even been shown in the labs to help prevent swine and avian flu strains.

Today at our House

It's nap time at our house and here are the threesome getting ready for bed.

 

Sir Edward who happens to share his birthday with the little prince doesn't have a special canopy for his bed like his two siblings :)

Behold the princess! :)

My little Indian in his wigwam