Ah...The season begins...

Zachary was nowhere to be found, but this cute little fella, Sockery knocked our socks off!



And Madeline twirled and whirled in front of the newly decorated tree.




The room was glowing by the end of the evening, and we were basking in the warmth of this season.



Such a great season of anticipation....We pray that our children will learn to live with anticipation at  the second coming of Christ even as we celebrate His first coming.

Official Keri–On sized Keri-on to Keri-on about

We were taking a crazy trip….we left at 5:45am Sunday 14 November, drove 10 hours, attended 50^th birthday party for Gregg’s sister, checked out the Golden Gate Bridge, back to Grandma Nancy’s to sleep, woke to a 70 degree morning, visited the cemetery where Gregg’s father is buried, visited w/ Aunt Susanna for 30 minutes, hopped back in the car, drove for 10 hours, met Sarah and company at the car rental place and were back home by 10pm on Monday evening. It was a crazy and amazing thing to do! Wouldn’t have missed it!

And, by my side,.............

I took along my first official Keri-On sized Keri-On….I love this satchel because it was so very much fun to make! You know, the result of me spending lots of time doing something I really enjoy! – and most likely NOT doing what I should have been doing!


I will take you for a tour,

It can hold two M&M's,
one at a time......

The lining is not in yet,…probably won’t be until after Christmas!

But it is ready to be packed and wisked off on another advernture!

Pixie Slippers and a Sweet Imagination...

My children need new slippers. So, I looked up a cute crochet pattern on the internet, and began making a pair for Madeline. Little did I know how much she would appreciate them. The pattern was so simple....crochet a square and then stitch up two adjacent sides and around the corner for a couple of inches. They look like little elf slippers. Madeline immediately put them on and began dancing around.  She danced for quite a while. Finally, she announced, "This is how the fairy closes up to sleep", and gracefully lowered herself to the ground and into a little ball - her expression perfectly sincere and serious. We don't play or story-tell much in the fairy department, but I really love that her little imagination could think of what a "flower person" would look like and do.....flowers are so beautiful, and if you could personify them......I think Maddie has the right idea of what their characteristics would be. Who'd a thunk a couple of wash cloths could be so enjoyed by a 5 year old! (Pictures of the pixie in her slippers to follow!)

May Flowers Bring.....

“He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what the LORD doth require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?“ Micah 6:8

Whereas

Sarah Jayne Coder

Has not only mastered a body of knowledge pursuant to a secondary education, but has also demonstrated Godly wisdom and personal maturity based upon faith in Jesus Christ, we are pleased to announce her graduation from high school.

She has fulfilled all requirements for graduation and we are confident that she is equipped, by the grace of God, to meet the challenges of life as an adult.

Bathed in Grace

Last Sunday I had the privilege of receiving copious quantities of grace. It was very beautiful. I’m not certain words could adequately describe the feeling, however, I won’t let that hinder my attempt at sharing it.



I was not feeling tip top, and Gregg suggested I leave a bit early from church and head straight for a relaxing bath. I dutifully got home, ran upstairs, and started the bathwater. I then had the brilliant idea to run downstairs and get the chicken started for lunch...



The pan I needed hadn’t been washed after breakfast, so I cleaned it up quickly, and, having aroused Schnitzel, “tended” to him. Returning inside, I grabbed the jug of oil and notice that it had been leaking…..quite a puddle actually. I began wiping it up, only to discover that it had dripped under the wall….having no trim on the wall leaves a rather wide gap. So I began trying to mop the oil out from under the wall, swishing out large amounts of said liquid with each swipe. I began to panic, ”Oh no! This is going to wreck the walls…the MDF board on the other side…..Yikes!” I continued wiping until the oil stopped coming up in such large quantities (1/4 cups..or at least several tablespoons w/ each swipe!) Finally, there wasn’t as much, so I got a rag stuffed under the wall hoping it would serve as a wick. I was frustrated. Deciding I would skip the bath, I headed upstairs to finish changing clothes. As I got to the top of the stairs, I heard water running. ”OH NO! I COMPLETELY FORGOT THAT I HAD TURNED THE BATH ON!” I ran to the bathroom – now containing a 6 ft. wide waterfall flowing smoothly over the edge of the tub – I waded in, opened the drain, and began the mop up job…..crying..…..

As it turned out….the ceiling is now off of a pretty good portion of the great room. We are relatively dried out…and life is continuing.



My wonderful husband has had nothing but good to say about the incident! He says, “Oh look, Keri, we can put some lights into that area now!”, “This will be great, Keri, now I’ll get a sheet rocker out here to do this little job and the ceiling…I would’ve put it off for a LONG time if we didn’t have the ceiling to repair and the house will look so much nicer with this little trim job done.” He also declared that there would be no bathtub jokes for a week – that had to be hard!



My children were also VERY gracious! I would’ve NOT been gracious had they done the same thing! Well, now maybe I would!



We had some people over that very evening….they were only helpful and gracious…I was in tears.

Humility? Yea…I have been humbled a bit. But mostly I am overwhelmed by the graciousness of my husband and family! How indescribable is the feeling of such grace extended to me…….And to imagine this is over an overflowed bathtub…..

How does one grasp the grace of God???….Words are completely inadequate!

Muffatees

My favorite sweatshirt has “thumb holes”. I love it because when I’m out walking or hiking, I can stick my thumbs in the holes that have formed between the cuff and the sleeve of the shirt and keep the sleeves pulled snuggly down onto my hands. I prefer this to gloves or mittens because my hands get too hot w/ those options and I can actually do more things w/out having to remove my gloves. So, imagine my happy surprise when these funny looking “fingerless gloves” arrived on the scene! (Well, actually, Sarah and James were both given pairs as part of their Ft. Vancouver costumes – so perhaps it is better stated REarrived on the scene! But, I digress…..) So, for Christmas, I crocheted pairs of sweet little muffatees for all of my girls! Rachel was even able to play her cello w/ them on! If you're wondering, I did make two little purple muffatees.....They are quick to make (and apparently to lose as well!) and I think they are rather pretty!  Perhaps you’ll find some in your stocking some day!