multitude monday-my cup overflows

110. For the hands of precious DILS and grandchildren who did the bulk of the cooking--

111. For the hands of precious grandchildren that create beautiful center pieces--

112. For the hands of precious grandchildren that create beautiful place cards--

113. For grandchildren who love green frogs and red rudolph noses

114. For cousins who love one another

115. For old Christmas ornaments--these crocheted ornaments are over 30 years old.

116. For tryptophan (is that how you spell it?--boy, it did its job at my house, what about yours?) And they wanted to know why we couldn't wait until AFTER we ate to take the family picture. LOL

117. For Dil's hands that soothe the tummy of a grandchild who ate too much.

118. For a beautiful day on the deck to play Scattergories. Several years ago Michael and Traci got into the worst fight of their marriage over Scattergories. Our family is very competitive--if you hadn't guessed already. Yea, our family is very mature like that.

119. And for miniature nativity sets that signify the start of the beautiful holiday season of Christmas--the time to celebrate the birth of our Savior.




Posted in thanksgiving with the Gratitude Community at:

ashton, our ballerina

Ashton dances around the Christmas tree!

























Merry Christmas!
Dianne

happy thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours. Michael and Traci are on the left with their three daughters, Katelyn, Caroline and Kennedy directly in front of them. Jeff is in the middle in blue and has his arm around his wife, Kim. His children are the two older teenagers on the right front, Kailey and Kendall. Chris and Andrea are standing between Jeff and my husband, Larry. Their children are Ashton, the blonde on the right and Noelle, who is sitting on Kailey's lap.

I had to set the tripod up so far away and run to get in the picture before it snapped. I think the big smiles from the sons are due to making fun of their mom running. I'm sure it wasn't a pretty site.

Also, my son Chris, (you can read about this tradition in the column to the left and follow its link) thinks he really got me by changing the word "Noel" on the mantle to "Leon" right before the picture was taken.

I'll get him back!!

memorization and Thanksgiving Psalm

First of all I want to show you my memorization progress for the week. I am in the process of memorizing the 10th chapter of Romans. I really have to swallow my pride to include this video of me but I want so much for you to be inspired to either start memorizing or to memorize more than you ever have before. I just started memorizing week before last. If I can do it, I know that you can also.

My goal is to memorize a chapter a week. I know that there will be many weeks that I will not be able to accomplish that. This is one of them. It is a very busy week for us with our son and his wife from Oklahoma here visiting but it is also a very precious time--one that I would not trade for anything.

Anyway, I look horrible in the video--did not sleep last night--was so excited that my kids were here but I think it is even a form of pride that I am apologizing for the way I look. So what you see is what you get today. I hope that you will concentrate on the scripture. It really is an awesome passage.

I show at the end of the video how I am doing this. It is using the first letter of each word. After you do this enough times, you finally have the whole chapter memorized. It is an incredible way of memorizing. This is the website for transposing the scripture from words to first letter words.

This is the website address. However, I found it worked best for me to write the first letter in my own handwriting.

You will need to go to the sidebar and pause the music--sorry.

http://www.productivity501.com/how-to-memorize-verbatim-text/294/

Romans10 from Dianne Hogue on Vimeo.

And here is my Psalm of thanksgiving--a little tongue in cheek.

Gen 1:1 - Ps 85:1

How lovely are my grandchildren, their faces are radiant with love!

2 My soul yearns, even faints,for a hug from any one or all of them; my heart and my flesh cry out for their presence around my table.

3 Even the older ones still thrill my heart, and the younger ones, I love them so much, but may their parents take complete responsibility for their caretaking.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in my house; even if it is only for a few days.

5 Blessed are those whose strength helps with the cooking, the gift wrapping and the Christmas decorating, who have set their hearts on T.V. watching, texting, or Facebooking but instead give of their talents to their grandparents when their arms are only slightly twisted.

6 As they pass through my galley kitchen, they grab whatever is in sight; please help me to remember to hide the desserts for Thanksgiving Day.

7 They go from treat to treat,till each vanishes from my sight.

8 Do not be downcast oh my soul even though there may not be any food left for Thursday.

9 Look upon my hiding place with favor; Please do not reveal its hidden riches.

10 Better is one day in my kitchen than a thousand elsewhere; They would rather be a doorkeeper at the entry to my pantry than eat at McDonald's any day.

11 For my family is a source of strength and joy; on me they bestow humor, and long ago stories that they've never admitted before; I find for the first time that my three precious angels were not blameless.

12 So much thrills my heart during this season--the scurrying, the shopping, the decorating, the LIGHT--but none so much as the tailLIGHTS of my son's car as they drive out of town.

Okay, precious kids, that is a joke--that last verse--you can stay forever if you like--and by the way, I do not take credit for the thought in that verse. I think I read something similar in an Erma Bombeck column many years ago.




Posted in community with the other sojourners at:

I've been dreaming of a white christmas

B
ut I never dreamed it would come true to the extent that it did. Now if I were Boomama, I could write this story so that I would win some kind of comedy award, but since I'm not, maybe you will be at least somewhat amused.

First of all, I played hookey from church this morning. I have a few health issues, not the least of which is a newly-acquired bum hip, most likely the results of "A" taking its toll. I don't want to say the whole name and give it any more credence than necessary but it is a disease that often times affects bones and joints in the more mature. (ahem)

Anyway, I decided to get in the jetted tub while my husband was worshiping and see if that would help. It most likely has been at least a year since I have been in this tub and the same bubble bath bottle from "no telling when" was still sitting there. I truly did not think that I was putting too much although I did give it a little extra squirt.

Thinking I would get the water really hot and then get in when it had cooled down to the temperature I liked, I filled the tub with water straight out of the hot water tank (no cold water). Maybe that extremely hot water was the reason. Maybe the OLD bubble bath had evaporated and was stronger. Who knows? But this is what transpired. Bubbles about a foot above the top of the tub--yep, believe it or not! I should have taken pictures at first but did not think to do so.

I tried everything I could think of. I tried splashing glasses of cold water on it. I did not have a sprayer in there or I would have used that. I scooped handfuls of it out and placed it in the two lavatories. I couldn't even get that to go away by splashing it with cold water.

Finally, I got desperate and thought, "I've got to get rid of this evidence before my husband gets home." He was gracious enough to volunteer to go buy groceries after church--we have family coming in tomorrow to stay for the better part of a week and I did not want to put any extra pressure on him.

We have a window right beside our tub so I went to the kitchen to get a big "scooping pan." I opened the window (after almost busting a gut--they are wooden windows and swell and well you know) and proceeded to scoop out into the back yard many, many cookie sheetfuls of the most beautiful suds you have ever seen.

When I got it down low, I decided to turn the jets back on--bad idea! and try the whirlpool once again. Same thing! Raise window back up--(it doesn't raise any easier) More scooping.

When I got it down low, I decided to turn the jets back on--real bad idea! and try the whirlpool once again. Same thing! Raise window back up--(it doesn't raise any easier) More scooping.

When I got it down low, I decided to turn the jets back on--really, really bad idea! and try the whirlpool once again. Same thing! Raise window back up--(it doesn't raise any easier) More scooping.

On the fifth bathtubful (is that a word?), I decided that I was NOT going to be denied my soak, although by now I had worked every crook and glitch out of every muscle. But soak I did for all of 3 minutes as I watched the suds flowing and flowing over the side of the tub and coming up around my chin. (and I was sitting up not lying back--very relaxing I might add)

While all of this was going on, I was getting more and more amused and laughing harder with each tubful of suds. The first bathtubful was just a little smile and grin. The second--a little chuckle, the third--more laughter, the fourth--serious laughter and the fifth--tear-producing laughter.

An hour later, I am exhausted, put on my robe, and leave the mess for my big, handsome sweetheart of a husband to clean up.

"Ring. Ring."

He just called me on the way to the grocery store. He said, "It is beautiful outside. Have you been out on the deck?"

I replied, "Yes, but not because I wanted to but to take pictures for my blog." That took some explaining. He laughed really hard. He said he had to go so he could call all the kids and tell them. I told him to let them read it here because there were pictures to prove it. Surely no one would believe this Gracie Allen antic.

He said, "Did you ever think just to drain the tub and start all over?"

I didn't have the nerve to tell him that I had used all the hot water straight from the hot water tank and I couldn't start all over and refill it--there would have been no hot water. Of course, as it was, it did me no good anyway.

The following pictures will tell the story better than I can.