HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This is the prayer we said communally at our congregation's Thanksgiving service on Tuesday evening. It spoke to my heart and I wanted to share it with you all.

O come, let us workshop and bow down, let us kneel before God our Maker.
We come in humility, opening ourselves to God's wisdom and strength.
We are the people of God's pasture and the sheep of God's hand.
We come with expectation, that in God's presence we may know ourselves and one another, and be truly at home in the world.
So this evening we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts that have been showered upon us.
We offer thanks not only for the bounty and abundance we have, but also for troubles that shape and sharpen our patience, for doubts that let faith moments shine, and for confusion that keeps our lives from being rigid.
We offer thanks for sufferings that help us share another's grief, for fears that mark real terror in the world, and for pains that open our eyes to joy.
For sorrows that join our hands to hope and for loneliness that leads us to the heart of God.
For all those gifts by which we have become more human, we give thanks.
Now may our thanks reach out and embrace the daily small ingratitudes of our lives.
Oh, come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before God and Maker.

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

We have a winner!

First place in the category of TALLEST cake goes go H-Bomb and Special K for their cake creation "The Heart of the Woods"!

Touch up work before judging!


You can see how much the beat out the others for TALLEST!




CONGRATS BOY!!!!

Why I Love My Family

As you may know, H-Bomb is a cub scout. Well, he's a Webelo now actually. He loves scouting and he loves doing projects with his awesome crafty Daddy.

Tomorrow is the annual "Dad and Lad Cake Bake" contest for the scout pack. H-Bomb and Special K have done well in the past, though they have not won the overall prize yet. I know they want it bad!

This year's theme was announced: "Into the woods." They have both been thinking about it for a couple of days.

Special K came up with an idea for the cake today (during church mind you, but I'm not scolding) and he pitched it to the boy after we got home. His idea is to make what looks like a hollow log--using all edible materials of course--and to put inside the log, visible through a hole, a pretty little cupcake. It's witty, right? Into the woods!

So he sketched it showed the idea to H-Bomb. The boy thought it was exciting but he kept suggesting additions that sounded weird to his dad. "So this is the tree her mom is in and we maybe could see her inside this log, right? Or is this like the tall thing Repunzel is in"?

What?? Dad had a weird look on his face trying to process this.

Then the boy said, "Oh! Wait! I thought you meant the musical, Into the Woods!"

This is why I love my family! Thank God!

God Bless America

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."
President-Elect Barack Obama

TIME

Thank your Daylight Savings Time! I have NEVER in my LIFE been so happy to have an extra hour show up for the weekend. I tend to have overly busy days lately, and it is a source of much meditation. I would like to simplify my personal schedule as part of my overall movement towards LESS. I would like LESS time stress. I am not the only person out there who has super hectic days all too often--I know what some of your lives are like!!! But I have to say this was a doozey of a weekend for me and my family. I would like to share so that you can appreciate how much we loved that extra hour.....

Friday
6:00 pm Take Henry Trick-or-Treating
6:30 pm Take Henry in costume to visit Grammie
7:00 pm Go to football game at Midway High School
10:30 pm See Midway beat Waco High 26-14
11:00 pm Pick Gracie up from the Band hall and head home
12:00 am BED

Saturday
7:30 am Drop Henry off downtown in full Webelo Scout uniform for start of Homecoming Parade
8:30 am Drop Gracie off at High School to leave for out of town band competition
9:00 am Park on Baylor campus and find a spot to watch the parade (Penny the Boxer gets to come along, too!)
11:00 am Pick Henry up at end of the parade and go to West for a celebratory kolache!
12:oo pm Go home and do week's laundry plus all the housework I can fit in three hours.
3:00 pm Prepare car and candy for "Trunk or Treat"
4:00 pm Head to Church with Henry to set up the car for "Trunk or Treat"
4:30 pm Hand out candy to neighborhood kids and congregation families in our church
parking lot.
6:30 pm Clean up and pack up from "Trunk or Treat"
7:00 pm Stop at grocery store for dinner supplies.
7:45 pm Eat dinner--Kemper's delicious Tofu Piccata with home made pasta...mmm!
8:30 pm Put Henry to bed.
9:00 pm Grade papers.
10:00 pm Watch TV with Kemper
1:00 am Wait while Kemper goes to pick up Gracie from the High School (just back from that out of town competition!)
1:30 am BED

Sunday
9:00 am Out the door for church
9:15 am Meeting at church
10:00 am Ran away before worship (Sorry, Jesus! Love you!) to head off to see dear friend!!!
12:00 pm Arrived in Granbury, TX after two hour drive. Get to see Terence who is in from Northern Ireland! Hurray! (Thanks, Jesus!)
5:00 pm Leave Granbury and head back to Woodway
7:00 pm Arrive back home and eat dinner.
8:30 pm Put Henry to bed.
8:45 pm Write this note and put it on blog.


Whew! I am a TIRED mama now! And I still need to fold clothes and do some more grading. But I'd say this is nothing compared to how tired Gracie is! She went to school all day Friday, performed Friday night, traveled from 8:30 am -2:30 am Saturday/Sunday, and then came along with the family to Granbury today. Sleepy girl!!