Normally when our family gets into the car we pray for protection on the road as we travel. Jonathon almost always is willing to pray and James occasionally chimes in with, "Dear Jesus, help us have a good time." I suppose that is also a valid request. Anyway, today, for a change to our normal stay at home for Sabbath, Grandpa A. and Auntie J. and I took the kids to the Children's Museum in Portland, ME. As usual, we prayed on the way there for God's protection in our travels. I think Jonathon and James both prayed- but the important part is that today, more than other days I noticed God's blessing in this area.
This afternoon it was predicted 1-3 inches of snow starting around 3pm, but when we left the museum at noon, it was already coming down. I think it's about 41 miles from the museum back to the house, but it took us almost 2 hours because of the driving conditions. We kept track of how many cars we saw that had accidents or had run off the road into the ditch- way into the ditch, or were in the emergency lane going the wrong way from having spun out. I will say I only saw one of the ones just turned around, all the rest were either wrecks or in the ditch far enough that they couldn't get out and we passed 14 of them on our way home! Every time we went by, my thoughts were, "Thank you Lord for protection." It's not every day that it is so clearly obvious to me that he is watching over us, but I know it to be true. You could argue that those were just dumb drivers or people who were inexperienced in the snow and that might be the case, but I bet some of those people were just run into by others and actually had almost no part to play in their unfortunate circumstances. So, while I felt we had an excellent driver behind the wheel- Grandpa, I was also very aware of an excellent God watching over us.
And as a side note, I was glad to see that of all the accidents we saw, not one of them appeared to be fatal. Which I will also give God credit for. So, as you leave your house today, maybe it isn't snowing in your neck of the woods, but He is still there and can guard your vehicle too. Be sure to give Him the opportunity!
That's my sermon for the day.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
12 Days of Christmas
You must all now sing for my pleasure:
(Ahem..disclaimer: while most of the gifts were received, it is not necessarily the "true love's" fault)
OK, now SING:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
-a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me
-two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
-three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids. (Haha)
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- "FIVE bowls of mushy cereal, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- nine dolls called "Baby", eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- ten thousand castle pieces, nine dolls called "baby", eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
-eleven stinky dishrags, ten thousand castle pieces, nine dolls called "baby" eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
ON THE TWELVETH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME......
-(deap breath here) twelve different battery operated toys playing at the same time, eleven stinky dishrags, ten thousand castle pieces, nine dolls called "baby", eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, ,four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, AND A WEEK OF CLEANING HOUSE WITHOUT THE KIDS!
Whew! Now wasn't that fun!?!
(Ahem..disclaimer: while most of the gifts were received, it is not necessarily the "true love's" fault)
OK, now SING:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
-a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me
-two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
-three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids. (Haha)
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- "FIVE bowls of mushy cereal, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- nine dolls called "Baby", eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
- ten thousand castle pieces, nine dolls called "baby", eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
-eleven stinky dishrags, ten thousand castle pieces, nine dolls called "baby" eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, and a week of cleaning house without the kids.
ON THE TWELVETH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME......
-(deap breath here) twelve different battery operated toys playing at the same time, eleven stinky dishrags, ten thousand castle pieces, nine dolls called "baby", eight broken train parts, seven wakes from snoring, six runny noses, FIVE BOWLS OF MUSHY CEREAL, ,four tangled slinkies, three fussy boys, two stuffy nostrils, AND A WEEK OF CLEANING HOUSE WITHOUT THE KIDS!
Whew! Now wasn't that fun!?!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Picture Updates
Here are the recent events in the Aldrich house according to pictures:
First we have the birthday of Jeff last Friday. Once again the Strawberry Pudding Cake came out and it was gobbled up.
Second, we have the castle and the friends over to play. The castle was the big gift from the relatives this year and the boys are still having a blast with it. They got it on the first morning of Hannakah. (It took their mother about 3 hours to put together. The instructions said 2 hours, but I watched a movie too.)
Third, Jeff and Rachel enjoying cookie swap cookies on the floor in the kitchen.
Last, Jonathon and James with their gingerbread houses that they made in Ms. Randall's class! We had tons of fun and the houses are still intact right now, though the drool ratio in this place is multiplying by leaps and bounds.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Cooking Madness
I think that while I am usually VERY fond of cooking...this week I've had just about enough. Actually, I think that I might enjoy being a caterer in another life or something, but with the amount of things that I have worked on lately, I think my creative juices for the kitchen are at an all time low.
For the dessert banquet I had a great time making all sorts of things:
Apricot Nectar Cake (an old family recipe that is absolutely delicious)
Baklava (a middle eastern dessert full of nuts, honey, and flaky crust layers)
Almond Sugar Cookies (the best sugar cookie recipe I've found so far)
Mini Peanut Butter Pies (creamy peanut butter filling in minature phyllo dough crusts)
Chevre Grapes (round globe grapes, seeded, dipped in pistachios and stuffed with goat cheese)
Lemon Chicken Salad in Poppyseed Tartlets (just about what it says)
Ye Olde Christmas Cheese Ball (a mixture of cream cheese and smoked gouda rolled in toasted pecans)
Crudites (basic veggies and dip- a fresh dill and cream cheese dip, and a dip of beet juice and cream cheese)
I was going to make something else, but I didn't really have time and it had asparagus in it and mine went bad before I could use it as well as I forgot I had to thaw out my pastry for 2 hours before I started on it, thus I nixed that one.
THEN...we had the funeral for Mr. Page- an elderly man who lived here at Fairwood and passed away last week. So I opted to make the dessert for the reception- Coconut Cake.
It went great. At first. A friend came over in the morning to help me make the cakes because we needed 3, 3-layered cakes and we had the cakes baked by noon. Then I began working on the icing in the afternoon. It was an old family recipe once again, but one that was not clear on some of the instructions and I basically spent the rest of the day Wednesday working on that icing- until around 7:15pm. But I finally got it to work and the cakes were beautiful before I went to bed that night.
Yesterday I just recovered the house somewhat in addition to it being the day of the funeral and the last day before Christmas break for the students, so they had a party in the evening that we attended.
Today is Jeff's 3rd birthday which involves...you guessed it...a cake. I"m making one of my favorites- I'm not sure what the official name of it is, but we call it Strawberry Pudding Cake and it is super easy and super yummy. A recipe from my mother. It's a layer of cake, yellow, white, or something similar, topped with juicy strawberries and juice that soaks into the warm cake, then a layer of vanilla pudding spread across and finally a layer of Cool Whip sprinkled with nuts. Mmmmm! Jeff likes it, so that works.
I'm also making Chicken Casserole for dinner since that seems to be a family favorite around here.
Tomorrow I will prepare another cheese ball for Sunday refreshments since that's the day of our church party and then Sunday night I'm hoping to make some cookies for the Cookie Swap on Monday night. I think I've settled on an Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie that has a creamy peanut butter filling and looks somewhat like a little sandwich.
Then I will run away from the kitchen and not look at it until...breakfast the next morning I suppose.
So that's what I've been doing lately- cooking tons!
Of course this next week is suppose to be cleaning week here in our house. Brandon is keeping the children each day for a while so I can "spring clean" the different rooms of the house- one room each day. Today I have tackled the boys' room and I'm thrilled with the results. I couldn't believe how much dust and dirt was in there, but it's gone now. I think the dirtiest spot was the toy box. I don't think I've vacuumed it out since Jonathon was born- it's always had his blocks in it, but today it is clean. The other bad spot was the fan. Of course I am allergic to dust, so I wore a dust mask and thus I am having virtually no reactions to all my cleaning so far. I hope I can have the same results next week when I do 5 rooms in 5 days.
Ok, better run get the cake out of the oven and feed the kids lunch. Have a great Sabbath one and all and as we will begin celebrating Hannakah this evening, Happy Hannakah to all!
For the dessert banquet I had a great time making all sorts of things:
Apricot Nectar Cake (an old family recipe that is absolutely delicious)
Baklava (a middle eastern dessert full of nuts, honey, and flaky crust layers)
Almond Sugar Cookies (the best sugar cookie recipe I've found so far)
Mini Peanut Butter Pies (creamy peanut butter filling in minature phyllo dough crusts)
Chevre Grapes (round globe grapes, seeded, dipped in pistachios and stuffed with goat cheese)
Lemon Chicken Salad in Poppyseed Tartlets (just about what it says)
Ye Olde Christmas Cheese Ball (a mixture of cream cheese and smoked gouda rolled in toasted pecans)
Crudites (basic veggies and dip- a fresh dill and cream cheese dip, and a dip of beet juice and cream cheese)
I was going to make something else, but I didn't really have time and it had asparagus in it and mine went bad before I could use it as well as I forgot I had to thaw out my pastry for 2 hours before I started on it, thus I nixed that one.
THEN...we had the funeral for Mr. Page- an elderly man who lived here at Fairwood and passed away last week. So I opted to make the dessert for the reception- Coconut Cake.
It went great. At first. A friend came over in the morning to help me make the cakes because we needed 3, 3-layered cakes and we had the cakes baked by noon. Then I began working on the icing in the afternoon. It was an old family recipe once again, but one that was not clear on some of the instructions and I basically spent the rest of the day Wednesday working on that icing- until around 7:15pm. But I finally got it to work and the cakes were beautiful before I went to bed that night.
Yesterday I just recovered the house somewhat in addition to it being the day of the funeral and the last day before Christmas break for the students, so they had a party in the evening that we attended.
Today is Jeff's 3rd birthday which involves...you guessed it...a cake. I"m making one of my favorites- I'm not sure what the official name of it is, but we call it Strawberry Pudding Cake and it is super easy and super yummy. A recipe from my mother. It's a layer of cake, yellow, white, or something similar, topped with juicy strawberries and juice that soaks into the warm cake, then a layer of vanilla pudding spread across and finally a layer of Cool Whip sprinkled with nuts. Mmmmm! Jeff likes it, so that works.
I'm also making Chicken Casserole for dinner since that seems to be a family favorite around here.
Tomorrow I will prepare another cheese ball for Sunday refreshments since that's the day of our church party and then Sunday night I'm hoping to make some cookies for the Cookie Swap on Monday night. I think I've settled on an Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie that has a creamy peanut butter filling and looks somewhat like a little sandwich.
Then I will run away from the kitchen and not look at it until...breakfast the next morning I suppose.
So that's what I've been doing lately- cooking tons!
Of course this next week is suppose to be cleaning week here in our house. Brandon is keeping the children each day for a while so I can "spring clean" the different rooms of the house- one room each day. Today I have tackled the boys' room and I'm thrilled with the results. I couldn't believe how much dust and dirt was in there, but it's gone now. I think the dirtiest spot was the toy box. I don't think I've vacuumed it out since Jonathon was born- it's always had his blocks in it, but today it is clean. The other bad spot was the fan. Of course I am allergic to dust, so I wore a dust mask and thus I am having virtually no reactions to all my cleaning so far. I hope I can have the same results next week when I do 5 rooms in 5 days.
Ok, better run get the cake out of the oven and feed the kids lunch. Have a great Sabbath one and all and as we will begin celebrating Hannakah this evening, Happy Hannakah to all!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Exciting things for this week
Just thought I would share the top 10 most exciting things this week in our house- that I could think of right this second, that is... We've been on duty and preparing for the dessert banquet, so things are super busy. Oh that Sunday would come!
10. We're on duty this week for the Bible School and nothing scary has happened.
9. The Bible School girls and I decorated the dining hall Monday and Tuesday- a first for me to be running the operation, but they had great attitudes and worked hard.
8. I've had plenty of "opportunities" to walk this week since that is the fastest way to get my blood sugar to come down. It seems to be getting more sensitive as the months of pregnancy drag on.
7. Rachel went to the doctor on Wednesday for a rash around her mouth, but the doctor thinks it's just dry skin and irritation to saliva. Hmmm...ok....
6. I went shopping yesterday and hit a record 8 stores, with a child in tow before coming home, all in the name of picking up items for the dessert banquet.
5. Rachel likes shopping.
4. After going to bed close to midnight for several nights, last night I made it in bed by 8pm and was asleep less than 30 min. later. I think I need to do this for a week.
3. "Cars" is a full 2 hours long and that means I can almost clean the entire house without being disturbed! I'm looking forward to that this afternoon.
2. I've decided that while I usually think of cooking as my hobby, this week I think it's more the idea of cooking is the hobby. Somehow the cooking isn't quite as appealing, but I haven't really started yet, so maybe I'll change my mind.
1. Jonathon poked James in the face with a tomato cage- the pointy end. Thankfully, he missed his eye by a 1/4 inch and the wound seems to be healing well.
Hope your week has gone just as well, if not better than ours. See ya!
10. We're on duty this week for the Bible School and nothing scary has happened.
9. The Bible School girls and I decorated the dining hall Monday and Tuesday- a first for me to be running the operation, but they had great attitudes and worked hard.
8. I've had plenty of "opportunities" to walk this week since that is the fastest way to get my blood sugar to come down. It seems to be getting more sensitive as the months of pregnancy drag on.
7. Rachel went to the doctor on Wednesday for a rash around her mouth, but the doctor thinks it's just dry skin and irritation to saliva. Hmmm...ok....
6. I went shopping yesterday and hit a record 8 stores, with a child in tow before coming home, all in the name of picking up items for the dessert banquet.
5. Rachel likes shopping.
4. After going to bed close to midnight for several nights, last night I made it in bed by 8pm and was asleep less than 30 min. later. I think I need to do this for a week.
3. "Cars" is a full 2 hours long and that means I can almost clean the entire house without being disturbed! I'm looking forward to that this afternoon.
2. I've decided that while I usually think of cooking as my hobby, this week I think it's more the idea of cooking is the hobby. Somehow the cooking isn't quite as appealing, but I haven't really started yet, so maybe I'll change my mind.
1. Jonathon poked James in the face with a tomato cage- the pointy end. Thankfully, he missed his eye by a 1/4 inch and the wound seems to be healing well.
Hope your week has gone just as well, if not better than ours. See ya!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)