Finally.  The first snow of the season has arrived.  The sky cleared off this morning and left behind a beautiful blue sky, brilliant, crisp and powdery snow.  Right now the sky is a dusky pink and yellow with tinges of orange, and light blue on top.  Its a beautiful time of year to be able to watch sunrise and sunset with no effort

Since it is the first snow of the year, to day is a snow day for us.  We caught plenty of snow last night to make snow ice cream after lunch.  They had two hours of outside play, and shoveling the driveway.  And of course, no school means I can get caught up on the laundry that didn’t get done over the weekend.  I love that homeschooling gives us this flexibility, to celebrate the change of seasons at the time of the change!

From my very VERY slowly growing gratitude list…

96. Fresh Snow Ice cream

98. Sky turning colors at 3:30

104. scissors in 2 yr old’s hand, cutting her pacifier…. pacifier in garbage… someone had to end her love affair with it at some point, and it is good that it was her. Although, the last two days have been rather fitful with sleeping and napping.

Shand is quite the pill at the moment.  all tears and whining and independence.

But I’m thankful anyway… because I can see a pattern… rough week, beautiful weeks following… she’s growing and maturing, is loving and sweet with Talia, has a great sense of humor and knows how to sweet talk and charm (even if it ends in tears when she doesn’t get her way), and blessed me last night when she danced her way through praising Jesus during our worship gathering.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… I tried.  Bryan did an AWESOME job with the nunchucks!!   A friend lent us this cheerleader outfit… she took to those pom poms quite naturally!!

the happy and cold trick or treater

this one is not so excited about all the squash on ou r window sill.. the orange of the season… so far all food has produced this lovely gag reflex…

and just like that, November has arrived…

See the picture on my header?  That’s just the first of three squash shopping excursions… We have this need to eat squash at the moment, it seems… I don’t even LIKE squash.  Its ok.  I want to like it.  I know it’s good for me…

We had had regular baked squash, stuffed squash (like stuffed green peppers kind of, but squash), a new pumpking soup which was REALLY yummy, pumpkin blondies (not that great but the frosting?   oh my!! maple cream cheese), great pumpkin cookies… which weren’t great.  Here’s the stuffed squash:

I have another 15 or so recipes I am hoping to try!   So far we have eaten a small jack-o-lantern pumpkin that we stuffed (will try a different kind next time!), a blue kuri squash, a sweet mama, and another I forget…

Here’s an updated picture of the kitchen sill… check out the cool turban squash on the left… its multi colored and… turban shaped

In other news… Bryan cleaned the outside of my windows.  Yes. It is news-worthy!! We’ve talked about it for a long time, he inherited the monster ladder from Big Grandpa, and I feel thoroughly loved, besides my days being literally brighter!

The garage is cleaned out and I am now parking inside… which is fabulous as it was 18 degrees this morning.  Its so brown and dreary, and we are READY for some snow to brighten up the landscape!!! Anytime now!!

Yesterday,  Bryan got called in to take an ‘on-call’ day.  Which worked out great since Talia doesn’t sleep anymore since she has been sick… so I slept in. YEAH!  Then after a late coffee, we played Farkle (basically Zilch, or Krunch… depending on what you called the dice game you grew up with).  Had an early lunch since, somehow we forgot to feed the kids breakfast. (could be because they didn’t get up til NINE!! ?!?)  oops! LOL.  and then Bryan and the boys made nunchuks after lunch while the girls and I napped and did laundry.  What a wonderful, wonderful day!  I love home schooling!!

We tied up our series in Souljourn on the Lord’s Prayer this last week with a big review and… time of prayer!!  Imagine that.  Here is our order of service… I’ll try to explain a little how what we did.  The flow was beautiful and one thing naturally flowed into another.  On the left hand side are the phrases of the prayer, read by MJ (pastor) and on the right is what we said, sang, watched, etc…

AUDIO 2 Chronicles 7: 13-14 (read from biblica.com)

MJ Prayer:                                          Prayer for the churches in Anchorage

SONG                                                         Pray

*Our Father in the heavens              (FATHER’s Love Letter – youtube with Scriptures list)

SONG                                                         He Knows My Name

*Hallowed be thy Name Renee: (lead church through listening prayer, Ps 139 verse, hand positions of surrender)

*Thy Kingdom come … (songs)

SONG                                                           Let Your Kingdom Come

SONG                                                             Lead Me to the Cross

MJ: (at some point during song invite people to cross which is in center of room today)

*Give us our daily bread at the cross for communion

*Forgive us our sins… MJ: stay @ cross and write out sins of others & self, tack up onto cross

SONG                                              Lead Me to the Cross,  bridge and chorus

SONG                                              Freedom Reigns

SONG                                              Taste and See

*Lead us not into temptation… MJ (laying on of hands for HS empowering)(CD music)

*For Thine is the Kingdom… (Six people reading six sentences relating the following statement back to each of the previous portions of the Lord’s Prayer… “Because the Kingdom, Power and Glory belong to You, we can….”  while music begins)

SONG                                     Yours Is the Kingdom

SONG                                     Salvation Belongs to Our God

SONG                                    Our God Reigns – (forever His Kingdom Reigns)

SONG                                   Salvation Belongs to Our God (chorus)

Sign up sheet for a week of 24/7 prayer…

It was a beautiful time of bringing the series together and taking the ‘rote’ out of the Lord’s Prayer.

Am I really back?  I’m not sure why I blog anyway, to be honest.    I suppose it is a record of sorts.

After 11 days of fevers, Talia was finally better, and Thad came down with ‘it’.  I suppose they were both swine flu.  Thad ended up with a monster ear infection by the 4th day, but his fevers are now done, and it looks like no one else is getting sick.  I am looking forward to no more sickness and improved sleeping habits by the youngest.  I think her tummy has settled from the antibiotics and her yeast levels are back to normal, so I believe we’ll be starting solids this week! I think we’ll start with one of the 15 squash sitting on our kitchen window sill!   Here are the first lot before Bryan went to the store and brought home another 7!   I don’t even like squash, to be honest, but I am surely going to be eating it!!

Talia is rolling all around the floor now, impressing us and herself.  She is smiley and beautiful and an absolute joy.  Now and then she has a real temper.  I heard her in a huge upset and came in worriedly, and Bryan was standing there laughing at her on the floor, screaming mad because he took a book away from her!   wow.  She may be like me in more ways than one…

Tonight is the conclusion of our study on the Lord’s Prayer.  The whole service will be ‘the prayer’… I’ll make a post of it tomorrow so you can see kind of how we did it.  It will be followed by a week of the prayer room in Eagle River being open 24/7.  I am praying God continues to change us as we seek Him, and that the vision for a 24/7 prayer room in Anchorage will realized sooner than we can deem possible.

  A great and busy month with my sister and her family.  Followed with even LESS sleep as Talia (the 6month) came down with what they thought was the swine flu, or whatever it is they are calling it now.

9 days into the fever they changed that to a UTI – poor baby…

Next day, as her temp spikes at 103.8 under the arm, and she vomits and diahrrea’s for the umpteenth time that day out of her dipaer and clothers, I panic, take her in again.

This time they say, UTI and the swine flu.

but she is vastly improved today, as we finish up the 3rd day of antibiotics, so I am very encouraged and thrilled that my dear cousin-by-marriage is going to take the kids tomorrow afternoon so I can sleep with Talia.  Sleep.  blessed sleep.  elusive sleep… I’m off to try for some of that!

Here’s a few grace’s from my list that is still officially short, but unofficially very LONG

81. reorganized school / sun room and fresh vacuumed floor

83. scattered bits of fall color still clinging to bare branches

84. Nourishing Traditions book

85. two head, double shower and conversation with husband

86. showering next to my 2yr old – conversation a little different

89. birthday flowers still blooming two weeks 11 days later

90. one lone star peeking through cloudy skies

91. Cate. taking my kiddos for an afternoon so I can sleep

93. hot showers at 2am (luke warm for baby, followed by my hot one)

95. Shand sharing everything with the baby… including cherished chocolate chips

some of the list…

31. husband praying over me in bed before he leaves for work.

34. late evening walk in rain from the library with the 4 children

35. i-pod for worship

36. a nap with fussy baby

39. 2 yr old sharing baking spoon with dog… sweet even if gross

40. an email from a friend, having just read Peace Child, reminding me of my upbringing in New Guinea.

41. golden sunshine

44. let-down, nourishing goodness for baby

45. late night cuddles in bed with eldest

46. flowers from a friend’s garden

48. warm sun on bare skin while nursing

49. 2nd boy riding bike with no training wheels

50.  baby blowing raspberries

52. clean and rearranged bedroom space

53. smell of home made bread 54. 2 yr old sweet phrases “wa sa ma’er mom?”

55. late night sweet treats… hurrah for sweetened condensed milk!

56. buddy passes for the fair making it almost affordable

57. brothers teaming up tol help each other on the scary rides.

58. eldest miracle baby… tall enough for the big boy rides!!

21. A washing machine inside our home

22. Shand (2yr) in swing, pure joy

23. making butter… and being thankful we can buy it at the store!

24. blackbeans and cumin

25. Bryan’s dad, helping to replace the motor on the boiler

26. husband suggesting a road trip to Hope for lunch. (yes, even though it is 1 1/2 drive there!)

27. in-laws tag along and take boys in their car. a relatively quiet 3 hours total of OUR time

28. amazing chicken / black bean / spanish rice wrap that I didn’t make

29. fierce wind buffeting kit, boys trying to control it, marveling…

30. dinner at the church… my clean kitchen!

Shand, hands on hips, unimpressed by the dead fish littering the beach. ( it’s  a salmon thing)

11. Cinnamon rolls. even the nasty kind from Fred Meyers. I’m glad my family likes mine better… but glad we can buy them sometimes too.

12. fresh rain

13. my church family – Souljourn

14. children wanting to worship

15. Jesus desiring me

16. friends to get free advice from regarding our boiler.

17. fresh new baby fingers

18. patient husband

19. 20 minutes of sunshine to break the monotony

20. lying on the floor ‘wasting time’ with the boys

1. sunshine again… the promise of the end of summer warmth… even in Anchorage

2. a vehicle to drive to a little lake with ducks… fresh air & comical birds

3. good friends just a phone call away although there are miles between us

4. GOD’S grace, abundant enough to cover my laziness and frustration and depression. abundant enough to turn it around.

5. a good book to escape with… nap time (A TREE GROW IN BROOKLYN)

6. Fresh Coffee

7. My VanGogh mugs

8. A daddy who is SO involved with his children – he took the boys to Supercharged Science all day last Saturday.

9. my 2 yr olds new display of manners- spontaneous thank-yous.

10. warm sunshine in the sun room… HAVING a sun room, whether it is picked up and clean or not!