Precious Gifts

Do you enjoy Scrabble?  When I was a kid, we played Junior Scrabble a lot!

A couple of years ago, I learned about Speed Scrabble.  You can read the rules here.  It really is fun!

I was at a craft fair one year where the vendor was selling scrabble tiles and the wooden trays.  Who would have thought of using Scrabble tiles for decorating your home?  Here's what I did for Christmas.

When the kids were here over Christmas, they began to play around with the tiles.

Too funny!

Eli had made wood burning coasters for us, so I took this picture and sent him a "thank you".

In January, I did this wording.

And now, in February, this:

If God were to make up tile words for us, it could be this.  He calls me His child.  He is my Abba, my Father, Daddy.  My prayer is that one day, all of our family (and so many others I pray for!) will call Him their Father.  All you have to do is ask!!

"I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."  2 Corinthians 6:18

THAT is a precious gift, to be called His own!!

January

 January went by rather quickly!  It was not so long ago that the kids all left.  Here we were doing "silly waves" when the first family left.

Silly waves started years ago when the grandkids would cry when they left.  We did these goodbyes to make leaving funny.

Tenley "driving" home!

After they all left, there was a mountain of laundry to do!  Not complaining!!

And, of course, cleaning.  I'm not sure why I keep finding candy wrappers in the oddest places.  Not sure why the grandkids don't just throw them away in the trash?  Ha!  I'm thinking it is one particular grandchild??  Emeri, per chance????  This could have been Eli as it was in his bedroom.

We took down the Christmas tree and decorated with a winter theme.

I put our Christmas cards in a basket.  Each week I will pick one out and pray for that family for the week.

We had our pastor's family over for dinner.  Should have gotten a picture of the whole family!  The younger ones were busy in the playhouse under the stairs!

Church activities started back up....Cubbies, young mom's Bible study and my older women's studies (that I lovingly call my "old ladies" Bible study).  I love studying and teaching God's Word!!

We had Legacy, an intergenerational women's meal with a speaker.

I met my friends from Japan for lunch.  We tried a new place called The Traveling Bowl.  AWESOME!  

I tried the Cream cheese chicken bacon rice bowl.

Goodness- GOOD!

We watched the most exciting game I think I've ever seen!  We were sad to see the Packers and Chiefs both lose.  Not going to the Super Bowl.  😞

I began a "book" for my kids about the stuff we have.  

"While recognizing that all we own belongs to the Lord and the things, the "stuff", we have are temporary and will burn one day, I think it is still somewhat beneficial to know the background to the things we have in our home.  I am sentimental; others are not and easily throw things away.  What you do with these are for you to determine.  I've enjoyed these things; many that have been passed on to me by our ancestors.  This is a record for you to know about some of these "treasures" in my home."  Mom, Nana

I took pictures of things around the house and wrote something about these things.  Like this wall hanging, made by my grandfather.

Crazy quilt made by my Great-Aunt Lydia, 1906.  

You can see the date she embroidered on one of the pieces.

The kids may someday pull up a big blue container and dump all the things I love in it to throw it away.  Who knows.  For now, I get to enJOY.  In heaven, we won't care about all this.  

I went to a conference with my friend.  Terrific!! 

It just makes me wonder why our country is so divided and misinformed.  Both sides claim that!  But what I do know is that ultimately, God is King; He is on the throne.  "The world is not falling apart, it is falling into place."

"You steer the stars and turn the pages of history!"  Robert Morgan

For dinner, we found a new hole in the wall close to the conference called Picasso's Pizza.  Amazing pizza!  Sold by the slice.   HUMONGOUOS slices!!

I found out that an old trail goes right under our property!  It is called the Black Beaver/Col. W.H. Emory trail.   We should do some archeological digging!! 

Continued working on my mother's geneology.

I did some prayer walking.  Some indoors at church, but we had quite a few really nice days in January (50s and 60s) and I was able to walk around our lake.

There were several amazing sunrises and sunsets in January!

God's paintings in the sky!

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."  Ephesians 5:15-17

Food and games when the kids come

When the kids come, we always like to go get donuts, but alas, our local donut shop was closed for the holidays.  Claire still wanted a picture.

We also like going to Norms Coffee shop!

Claire enjoyed her cocoa bomb!  And Hannah had a yellow-themed meal one day!

Al and I are used to just eating for two, so when there are 14 for several days, it can seem overwhelming to prepare meals.  The kids are always willing to help!  They even offered.  In the past, they have each fixed a meal.  However, this year, I prepared much of my food ahead of time and just threw it together last minute when it was time to eat.  It made it much less stressful!

Besides food, this family enjoys playing games!  Murder in the dark - 

Quibic

Spicy Uno

Jill had new rules for it.  

0 = swap hands with person of your choice

6= everyone slap pile (like slap jack).  Last person to slap draws 2 cards

7= silence.  Anyone who talks has to draw 1 card per sentence.  The next 7 played undoes the silence.

Draw 2 or Draw 4 = can be added to by the next person with ANY draw 2 or draw 4 (does not have to match).  The person who can't add to it has to draw as many as it all adds up to.

If you get skipped, you have to sing instead of speak until someone else gets skipped (then they have to sing)

If an 8 is played, everyone must speak in a British accent.  If you do not, you draw 1 card.  Another 8 or a 7 undoes an 8.

Everything else in the game remains the same.

Telestratrions - this is one of my favorites!  Everybody writes a phrase.  Like "Do you want to build a snowman" or "going fishing with grandpa".  Whatever.  Pass the stack and you draw a picture of that phrases.  Pass the stack.  Person writes what they think was drawn.  When it ends up back to start, it can be pretty funny!  Kind of like "telephone game".

Ping pong

Eli has become quite the player!  We turned our dining table into a pingpong table.

Eli put his Christmas gift together

Battleship

We got a Newtonopoly!  Does your town have a Monopoly named after your town?

Whoever made it had "traffic jam".  Um, we are too small a town for that.

But we have many, many, many trains (maybe up to 28 a day?) that back up traffic, I guess.  So Hannah drew train tracks for us.

"Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethern to dwell together in unity."  Psalm 133:1  We used to sing this verse.  Do you know it?

"How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!" 

 The Message