All By Myself

Well, not really by myself, just by myself with 5 kids! No, Jay has not flown away to some great destination, he is not "out with the boys", he is just working. A LOT! By the time the end of Saturday rolls around, he will have put in close to 80 hours this week! That's 2 weeks worth of work, people, in 6 days! Needless to say, I hardly see him and the kids don't see him at all. He leaves around 6 or 6:30 in the morning and comes home around 10 or 11 at night. We talk until about midnight and then fall asleep just to start all over the next day. I know, this is normal for some people. For you ladies out there that have truckers for husbands, I tip my hat to you. This "single parenting" stuff is tiring! And for single moms out there, wow! That is all I have to say! You really do this all day, every day! Day in and day out! So, what is Jay busy with? Working at the hog barn in the mornings (that's after doing the chicken chores very first thing in the morning), some field work if the soil is dry, then catching chickens (it is REALLY good money and with house building coming up, a nice monetary boost) in the afternoons/evenings/nights. While he is gone, I still teach school, take the kids to their sports, built a bat house, planted some garden (potatoes & corn), make food, do laundry, paperwork, all those fun things. I miss my hubby! So, each day I pray for grace and kindness and loving words for my children and strength and energy for my hubby. This past week, I realize how overwhelmed I am with love for my children. I am totally head-over-heels in love with my family. I love the sparkle in their eyes. I love the way they look. The way they move. I am greatly and exceedingly blessed to call them mine! Thank you, Jesus, for surpassing all expectations and bestowing greater blessings on me than I ever deserved. Now, please bring hubby home safely. I sure look forward to Sunday when we can all be together. And, if the weather changes drastically and doesn't rain for the next 4 days like it says it will, we will go to the zoo together on Sunday and just be together. As a family. For family day. Yeah, I cannot wait!

♥♥♥ My encouragement for the day! ♥♥♥

I'm Dreaming of a Dark Chocolate Cheesecake!

Only 25 hours and 47 minutes, people! Do you have any idea how long I have waited for this moment? I do! I have waited 524, 113 minutes! Yup, in only 25 hours and 46 minutes (time is a ticking!) I CAN HAVE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!! And I am just a wee bit excited! And the first bite of sweets to cross my lips and tickle my tastebuds? I've done a lot of thinking and cheesecake it is. Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake drizzled with Raspberry Coulis and garnished with a hint of whipped cream! Oh, I think I shall die, it will be sooooo good. A little dramatic, yes, but you try going an ENTIRE YEAR without sweets and then see how much you look forward to that first delicious bite! Jay was smart enough to buy my favorite chocolates for my stocking - Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, M&M's, Chunky Kitkat, Ferrero Rocher, other dark chocolate goodness (actually only the Reese's were actually in the stocking, the rest I am supposed to pretend I don't know about but I was right there when he bought it!). Oh, I am drooling with excitement! Gotta go pull out the cream cheese from the freezer so I can make the cheesecake first thing in the morning to give it time to chill before MIDNIGHT! I have never looked forward to January 1 with as much anticipation as I am right now (and I am now down to 24 hours, 38 minutes)! What does January 1 hold for you?

I am Participating in Operation Christmas Child - Are You?

For the past 5 years (approx.), I have looked forward to packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a very worthwhile project run by Samaritan's Purse.  The time and effort it takes to pack a box of goodies is so minimal yet the value to the child, her family and her community is so great, it really is unmeasurable.  My pastor and his wife had the opportunity to help distribute some of these boxes to Mexican children a couple of years ago and they shared some of their experiences with me.  Some of these children walk down the sides of mountains for miles carrying their siblings in a sling just so they can have these precious gifts of shoe boxes.  The message of Jesus Christ is shared with each and every child, a message of hope and a message of love as demonstrated with these boxes and these children are touched and changed forever.  Unlike the children in my world who have far too many toys littering their floors, these kids don't have toys.  They may not own a single one.  They only own three sets of clothes.  They have so little it is no wonder they are thrilled with a simple lined notebook.  A baby doll is as precious as a diamond.  The absolute joy and wonder that fills their face as they open these boxes of treasures is a sight compared to little else.  And they know in that moment that someone cares.  That they are loved with an eternal love.  I cannot help but want to be a part of that.  So, each year we take the kids and go shopping, filling plastic shoe boxes with treasures and praying for the little boys and little girls that will receive our boxes.  I pray that the t-shirts fit their little bodies, that the little cars will be just their thing, that the baby doll will be a treasure.  Most of all, I pray they will know the Saviour of the world, the Saviour of you and I, loves them with an immense and unfathomable love.  Won't you take the time to pack a shoe box for a little boy or a little girl who needs so desperately to hear about the love of Jesus?

It really is so very simple.  Grab a red and green shoebox from a participating Operation Christmas Child depot (it may be a church in your area, maybe a local grocery store) or a small plastic shoebox (of good quality plastic) or you can use a shoebox you already have.  Decide who you are filling the box for. 

Check out this link to see the age categories and to print a tag.  We usually pick the same ages as our kids.  Since they are always short of boxes for boys, we did 2 boy boxes this year (age 5-9) and one girl box (age 2-4).  Fill it with items such as a bar of soap, a washcloth, a toothbrush, toys, dolls, notebooks, pencils and pencil sharpener, crayons or pencil crayons, hard candy, a comb or a brush, pretties for a little girl's hair, play jewelry, games like Jacks, a t-shirt, socks . . .  the options are plenty.  Make sure the items are fun and safe and won't get wrecked if broken or frozen or melted.  For a better idea of what you should and should not pack, check out this helpful link.  Be sure to put the soap, the crayons and the candy into their own resealable bag.  Once your box is full, fill out an "About Me" page that you can print from here if you live in Canada, enclose a $7 donation to help the box get to where it needs to go, close the box and apply the label you printed out.  Put an elastic band around the whole box and drop it off at a collection center this week as the deadline is the 21st..  Can't find a center?  Check this link for locations.  Don't forget to pray for the child!  Finally, thank you for taking the time to change the life of a child!  I hope it fills you with as much joy as it fills me!

I Am In Love With a Pencil Sharpener

Have you ever tried sharpening a pencil with a standard little stick-the-pencil-in-the-handheld-sharpener-and-turn-forever thing until you think the pencil is sharp only to find it has broken off? So, you try again and it breaks again and you try again and it breaks again and before you know you, you have sharpened the pencil down to a stub and it is STILL BROKEN??!!! That has happened to me maybe a time or two or two hundred. I was getting tired of a sore wrist and disappointed children and a waste of time. So, I went on a hunt. No more $2-$4 sharpeners for me. I was determined to find something that worked even if it cost $20. And it did. Cost a bit more than $20. Let me introduce you to the X-ACTO Helix 1900 Electic Pencil Sharpener available at Staples for $21.90. A little pricey but, oh, the sheer bliss of perfectly pointed pencils. I went through the entire pencil and pencil crayon collection and sharpened every. single. one. They now all sport perfectly pointed tips with little effort from me. Sure, I did overheat the motor in this electric sharpener a time or two. Comes from sharpening 500 pencils at a time (that is just a rough estimate, according to hubby!). But, let me tell you, all other sharpeners are a thing of the past. This baby, this beauty, this amazing little device is my newest love! So, if you are ever in the area and need a pencil (or 30) sharpened, you know where to find me (and my sharpener!!).