December 30, 2010

Sorry to tell you, but....

I blog just for me. I know some of you bloggers out there blog for other reasons. But I do it just for me (and my little blessings of course). It's time for me to print my 2010 blog. At the end of each year, I use a great site called Blog 2 Print to turn my blog in a book complete with all the photos, links, etc that I have posted that year. Check it out. http://blog2print.sharedbook.com It's a great way to turn your blog into a journal and then into a "scrapbook."

December 27, 2010

Peaceful?

♦ Christians were targeted by radical Muslims in Nigeria over the
Christmas holiday. A group of 30 armed attackers dragged the pastor
out of the Victory Baptist Church and shot him to death and killed
young men from the choir rehearsing for a late-night carol service.
They left after setting the church and the pastor's house on fire.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/christmas-weekend-muslim-radicals-kill-dozens-of-nigerian-christians/

December 25, 2010

Christmas Day 2010

Sunset on Christmas DayAt 4 AM on Christmas morning, I was up nursing Rachel- No Snow. But by 8 AM that morning, we had a gorgeous covering. One problem- Eddie had a difficult time getting the 4-wheel drive tractor down the hill to feed the cattle. We began to consider that maybe we would not be able to make it to Granny's house for lunch. Needless to say, I have spent every Christmas Day of my life at Granny's house... everything is always the same!
I don't like change and I didn't want to do things differently this year
just because of some snow!

Eddie did a great job getting us down the hill without too much slipping, sliding, or scares. Rachel was lovely in her new red velvet dress. And met her Great Uncle Dan.


And of course Isaac's favorite- Granny's chocolate pie with Bradley.

Rachel also met her Great Aunt Linda.

December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's house... Brody and Jonathan...

The guys.... I think they were waiting for Nana to cut the stack cake.

Isaac thanking Poppy for his new coat... and Daddy helping Rachel open her gift from Aunt DD. Now she has an O-Ball too!


Not the greatest photo, I know... but it did capture Jonathan's excitement. Not just because he had a package- but with Toy Story paper!! It just doesn't get any better!
Eating with Nana- in the refinished high chair that we all have used- all the way from me down to Jonathan!

December 23, 2010

Christmas Attire

Rachel just had to have a red velvet dress just like mom use to dress us in. Nana found a shirt that was large enough for us to turn into a dress- complete with white tights. Plus she found a couple of other cute Christmas outfits for the young lady of the house. Rachel loved looking at the red. If she could only get it in her mouth.

December 22, 2010

Fashion Show

No one at house has been much into "fashion." As long as we have had something clean and decent, we've been content. Until.... along comes Jonathan. He's a fashion bug. Aunt Sherry took this photo at Thanksgiving of Jonathan "showing off" his puppy sweater (that he picked out BTW). Little did he know that was his cousins' sweater before it became his.
And here are some more of his selections. Don't you just love the scholar look? In his PJ's of course. Do all homeschoolers do school in their pjs or is it just us?



December 21, 2010

3 Months


Rachel and Aunt DD

December 20, 2010

Feel Good Stuff


I did two things that felt really good this morning!
One, I cancelled Jonathan's follow up appointment with the Pediatric Neurologist. Now that felt awesome! http://kimiskorner.blogspot.com/2010/08/our-testimony.html

And secondly, I made a fresh batch of Rise and Shine Tea. You can order it at the banner on my blog or here's Ms. Debi's recipe. Enjoy!

1 part bilberry leaf
1 part ginkgo leaf
1 part green tea
1 part peppermint leaf
1/4 part whole cloves and
1/4 part ginger root

December 19, 2010

Christmas Lights

From the time we left the driveway, we were laughing at these nuts!I thought we were surprising Eddie when we loaded up for an "adventure." Someone (we won't mention his name...) had already told his dad where we were taking him. To see this...
Complete with synchronized music.

Jonathan was wild! His bowl of grapes ended up- well, you can imagine! We were all getting a bit impatient when the vehicle in front of us would not leave and allow the line to advance. But even Miss Rachel enjoyed seeing all the lights.

December 18, 2010

DTC's Banquet

Ah.... Ms. Judy knows how much I like Red Velvet Cake. It has become a Dooley Christmas tradition. She found me the largest piece available!

Steve and Kathy with Bill
Larry and Judy (is that a halo, Ms. Judy?)
Melissa does a great job with our dinner. We have just about the same thing every year. But it's so yummy!



I don't think Isaac gets as excited about the banquet as he use to. Now he explores the hotel... and finds cool stuff like balconies!

December 13, 2010

‘Tis the Season
‘Tis the season to be jolly, glutinous, wasteful, and covetous, while maxing out your credit cards. According to statistics, suicides will be at their highest in the next two months, more children will be molested in back rooms while parents visit, depression will be the default mood, and accidents from drunken driving and drug use will peak. Church attendance will drop off, and baby Jesus will share the stage with Santa Claus. Angels, who were sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation, will become nothing more than decorations on a Nimrod tree.
No, I haven’t lost my joy or become cynical. Just the facts Ma’am, just the facts. Now, the question is, how can we enjoy this unholy holiday and glorify God in the process? The answer is simple, “Walk after the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”
As you shop for gifts, choose those things that the person for whom you are shopping would have purchased anyhow. My mother-in-law, who is now dead, always bought my sons and me new flannel shirts for Christmas. She would wrap them in paper without any box. You could feel the buttons through the wrapping paper. But we would always shake it and listen to it not rattle as if we were trying to discern the content. We knew it was a plaid, flannel, lumber jack shirt, and of course she knew that we knew, but it was part of the family fun that time of year. Just this past week, Nathan was visiting, wearing a worn flannel shirt. I said, “Hey, what are you doing with my shirt?” He pointed to one just like it lying on the furniture, and protested, “There’s yours; this one is mine; Nanny gave it to me.” Indeed she did. In fact, most of the old work shirts I have were gifts from Nanny.
Each year, year after year, when we opened the packages in front of Nanny and tried on our new plaid shirts, I had no idea those shirts would become such a part of the fabric of our lives. But they still speak of Nanny years later.
So when you give this season, make it a gift without vanity and waste. There are enough junk items in yard sales and useless items stored in boxes in the attic or garage. If you choose to participate in this competition of gift exchange, do it in a way that blesses people rather than causing them to lie as they hold it up and enthusiastically exclaim, “Oh, it’s… just… what I needed.” And you say, “You’ve got it upside down; here, let me show you what it does.”
Do not spend money you do not have, and don’t spend money on these nonessentials that will strain your regular budget. The holiday season has its own rules that will sweep you along or make you feel like a scrooge if you don’t cooperate. Don’t be a victim of tradition.
We solved this problem before our children were born by just basically ignoring the entire holiday. We didn’t try to “keep Christ in Christmas.” That would be like trying to keep the US constitution in the United Nations. Never was there and doesn’t fit.
But I urge you to not become a campaigner against the holiday. Don’t waste God’s time bashing other people’s good cheer. Live your Christian life every day and let him be the center of all your conversation and activities.
— Michael Pearl


Used with permission from No Greater Joy Ministries
http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/

December 8, 2010

Hanukkah Week

Hard to believe our 8 days of celebrating Hanukkah has come to a close. How do the days go by so quickly? Guess it is because we are having so much fun. It didn't Jonathan long to figure out the packages each night were to open! Funny thing was that the comic paper I used to wrap some of the gifts didn't rip very easily. One of the few nights that Rachel was awake for our devotion time. She usually missed out on everything from the lighting of the candles to opening packages. Not next year!

Mmmm.... now how did Jonathan know that the gelt for playing dreidel was chocolate? That kid loves chocolate!!

Rachel's favorite activity...

Each night we have a package to open after Dad read to us from a book or from scripture. On one night we received a large gift, other nights we would all receive the same thing: books, Cd's, candy, or freebies.
I'm so thankful for our time of Hanukkah this year and the wonderful way it teaches our children of the Light of the World.


I have come into the world as a light,
so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. John 12:46

December 3, 2010

Latkes

One of Isaac's favorite Hanukkah traditions is... drum roll please...Latkes- which are a traditional Jewish Hanukkah dish. Down south, we just call 'em fried tators. Because the oil miraculously burned for eight days in the temple, oil is an important part of the Hanukkah celebration. For us as believers in Jesus Christ, oil is also important because in scritpure it represents the Holy Spirit. How miraculous to me that Jesus left us with the Holy Spirit who comforts, empowers and fills us as believers. What an awesome gift!

December 2, 2010

Happy Hanukkah

We get so excited with the approaching days of Hanukkah. This year, I let the boys "count down" the days till the first night of Hanukkah by having a piece of chocolate every day. Little did I realize that Jonathan would still want his daily chocolate fix even after the first candle was lit. He uses pitiful looks of begging along with pleads of please in sign language for "choc." Did I mention how excited he was to learn he gets to open a package every evening after we read our scripture and light a candle? I am having a blast! And we've only begun!