Congratulations Clay!

My brother Clay's scout troop has been selling coupon cards (actually, I think scout troops nationwide have been selling them).  Whoever sold 1000 cards would win an ipad 2.  So, Clay decided that he was going to sell 1000 cards.  It took a lot of work and effort, but he just sold his 1010 card!  I am soooo proud of him, so I'd thought I'd brag a little about him here. 

If you want to check out Clay's blog here is a link to it:

http://scouttoeagle.blogspot.com/

Kittens!

A few weeks ago our cat Heidi had four kittens, and we are having so much fun with them!  My brother and I are working through the Lord of the Rings series, so we named the kittens from the four hobbits in the books :)

This is Merry

 Here is Sam attacking his blanket :)

This is Peregrin (or Pippin).  Isn't he the cutest?

And last is Frodo (he wouldn't stand still, so I couldn't get a picture of his face)

The only sad thing about having all of these cute kittens is that we are going to have to give them away soon.  So, if you know me and want a kitten, just tell me.  (P.S. Pippin and Sam are actually females, but we just ignore that :) 

My Dream House

Alright, so I have been thinking for awhile about my dream house, my little corner of the world when I grow up, so...out came the computer and the google searching for pictures began!  I thought I would show a few of them (or all of them!) to you, and if you like them, let me know!

Where I'd like to live...

 Or here!

At places like these.

And bedrooms like these (extremely sorry about the second bedroom's fuzziness)

And every house needs a kitchen! (or three...I liked them all)

Some more pictures...

Every country house needs a barn...

                                                             

And sheep,

Horses,

A kitten :),

Cows,

And a Border Collie!

And...of course!

Many, many children!


Again, I'm sorry about the fuzzy pictures!  I got these on multiple websites, and some of them are not of the best quality.

When the Worlds Were Made

 Long before you or I were born, before the world was made, there was darkness.  Darkness so deep and vast, that if you were there, you would forget everything.  Forget sandy beaches, laughing children, tigers sleeping in the tall grasses.  Nothing would seem real to you except the cold, looming stillness; swallowing you.  You stand there unconscious of time until a voice, warming you to the inmost of your very soul, booms out from the darkness.  A voice so powerful and strong that it terrifies you, but so sweet, that you linger to taste its sweet drops.  A faint flicker of hope stirs within you and then grows until you are bursting with joy, for the once blackened sky, was now crowded with light, blinding light.  The voice still continues, and suddenly you hear a whip-like cracking, and then watch the waters, unnoticeable before, separate leaving a luxurious blue blanket stretching through the air.  Then the waters below begin to give way, as peasants bow before a king, revealing land with not even a trace of the waters that had just presided upon it.  And the world begins.

    Standing in a valley, you wonder how things could get any better.  But they do.  Soft, springy, grass grows quickly beneath your bare feet.  You fall flat of your back, sinking into the dark green carpet.  Biting off a piece, you discover that the sweetest thing you had ever tasted was nothing in comparison to this.  You notice how hungry you are.  Turning your head to the left, you notice a paradise of fruit trees, which blended with the cold waters making then look warm and inviting.  You pull an orange from a branch.  An orange at the perfect peak of ripeness, splitting between your fingers and filling you instantly.   There never was a juicer orange than that.  The sky begins to darken, but you are not alarmed, for no one is ever afraid or unhappy in this blissful garden. It is dark now, but only for a moment, for, standing there, you watch one, then another, then another bright ball of fire appear in the heavens. Afterwards, you watch a bigger ball, but with a paler light, come into existence. Lying under a Weeping Willow, on the grass with sweet smelling roses all around you, you count the many constellations in the night time sky.

     You open one eye, and then another. You shut them. Rolling over, you realize that you had been asleep.  A song in tree above you distracts you.  Speedily climbing up it, you spy a robin, pouring out a sweet melody, as if just awakened from a deep slumber.  The whole world suddenly becomes alive with the chorus of a thousand birds.  You listen steadily to the music, until a cold splash of water interrupts your thoughts. It is a fish.  The water is teeming with them.  There are big ones, little ones, dolphins, and sharks.  There are fish with stripes and even one with wings.  Every fish living in perfect harmony together, all eating the plants of the ocean.  And then you hear it.  A roar.  Looking to the trees, you watch every animal you could name, and more, appear.  As soon as each kind of animal was formed, they went to doing what they liked best.  The lions suntaning themselves on a large mossy rock.  Dogs splashing into the water trying to eat the waves.  But then you notice the most wondrous thing of all.  Man and woman come out from behind the bushes.  The voice ceases, and you catch a glimpse of the Maker of all creation, issuing orders to the man.  “It is very good.” God whispered.  It certainly was. 


Autie

What to Eat for Sunday Breakfast

Sausage Egg Casserole

This is great for Sunday because it can be made the night before and refrigerated overnight to save more time for the getting ready for church. (In our family that takes quite a while)

Ingredients:

3/4 pound ground pork sausage

1 tablespoon butter

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

10 eggs, beaten

1 (16 ounce) container low-fat cottage cheese

1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers, drained

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Melt butter in skillet, and cook and stir the green onions and mushrooms until tender.
2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and chiles. Stir in the sausage, green onions, and mushrooms. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
5. Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This link to this recipe is http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sausage-egg-casserole/detail.aspx 


Autie

Raising Homemakers

Head over to RaisingHomemakers.com and check it out!  They have LOTS of good advice for mothers and young ladies, plus, they host a homemaking link up every Wednesday with so many valueble tips from cleaning, to cooking, to beauty and modesty.

Go on and see for yourself what a great website it is!

Autie

Why I wear skirts

A few months ago, I was sitting alone with the computer on a weekend night, so I thought I would look into a subject that I had pondered about off and on for a while, the subject of whether Christian young ladies should wear pants or not.  For years I had worn skirts mostly, liking the style (I am more of an old-fashioned dresser) but until that night I hadn't really considered always wearing them.  I read a lot of great articles by Christian girls and women that encouraged me in my decision, and these are some of the points that they brought up:

1. Skirts are more feminine than pants.

Look at these two pictures.  Can you tell which is the woman and which is the man?  It's easy.  If the lady wasn't wearing a bracelet and high heels and had a shirt on just like the guy's in the picture, would you be able to tell that she was a girl?  Of course, because of her pretty, feminine-looking skirt.  Now look at these two pictures:

Now can you tell which is the woman and which is the man?  Harder, right?  If she was wearing a men's shirt and shoes, could you tell if she was a boy or girl? 

     Now I'm not saying that when you wear pants, you automatically look masculine and everyone will think that you are a guy.  My point in showing you these pictures is that you will look much more feminine wearing a skirt  and that is what women of Christ should achieve to be, as feminine as possible.

2. Skirts are more modest than pants

Skirts draw less attention to your body.  I think that when when young ladies wear pants, they are really  pulling a skin tight layer over their bodies.  You may say, "Well I don't wear skinny jeans", but is it really that different?  If you don't think that your pants are all that bad, try this.  Put on a pair of jeans and stand right in front of a mirror and bend down slowly looking into the mirror the whole time.  Now, I'm not by the mirror with you, so I can't tell if your pants are immodest or not, but just think, "This is what people see when I bend over."  If you are not satisfied with what you see, put a dress on, and I think you will find that it helps.    Remember that we are responsible for dressing modestly for our brothers in Christ.  When they think impure thoughts it is mostly our fault, not theirs.  How can you keep your brothers safe?  If you are ever unsure about a piece of clothing, ask one of the guys in your family or your dad if it is modest.  It's very likely that they would know.  Also, be cautious when picking out your skirts.  Not all are modest, many are not, but I am talking about the longer (at least knee-length) skirts without the high slits when I say that they are more modest than pants.

3. Skirts were meant for girls

The world has over gone some pretty drastic changes over the last 200 years or so, but one of the biggest changes is the idea of woman's rights, or feminism.  "The world makes me appear as if I am not special.  All I can do is stay at home.  I want to be out in the fast lane.  He can do it, why can't I.  I deserve to have a better life because I can do anything he can!"  These are some of the ideas that this movement has started, along with the idea of women wearing pants.  I was running with one of my best friends once and talking to her about this subject when she answered me, "Yes, but men used to wear dresses."  That required a lot of thought but it occurred to me.  Men never wore women's dresses, they wore men's "dresses".  Go to google.com and search for "early Roman clothing for men".  Then put women instead of men and compare.  Do the same thing with Greek clothing, Jewish clothing, and others.  Men and women had different clothing for centuries, and just recently have we bridged that gap.  But if men could just start wearing pants, why can't women?  Because, to tell the truth, women weren't meant for them.  Pants are not the right kind of clothing that are meant for a women's job, which is picking up toys, cleaning toilets, carrying children; stuff that a person needs to be wearing flexible and comfortable clothing for.  Also, did you notice the time period that I asked you to look up?  That was a long time ago!  As you can see, men have been wearing pants for quite some time now; they are men's clothes!


4. Skirts cause you to care more about the way you dress and act

Have you ever seen a lady in a beautiful flowing skirt with a baggy T-shirt and running shoes?  Have you ever seen a lady in a pair of jeans with a baggy T-shirt and running shoes?  The first outfit is one I have never seen, while the second I see regularly.  Why is that?  Skirts encourage you to dress nicer and in a prettier way.  It's OK to wear a dressy shirt!  Save the T-shirts for sleeping, working, and playing, not for going out to the mall; and boots or some pretty flats or flip-flops look so much more stylish than sneakers!  Skirts can also affect the way that you act.  They can cause you to be more sophisticated and graceful and even sometimes more gentle.  All these things are essential to being a lady.  (I'm still working on the sophisticated part :)


I hope that this throws out some information to you and that you will deeply consider wearing skirts as an alternative to pants.  There are some CUTE skirts out there, you can find a lot at thrift stores, and, if you don't want to appear much different from everybody else, you can wear them just as if you were experimenting on different styles!  Try them with wacky leggings or cute scarfs for belts.  You can do so many different pretty things!  Oh, one more thing.  Many people think that when they start wearing skirts, their list of activities must diminish.  Not at all!  Although you might have to be careful with a few activities, you can do endless things with a skirt (except running, you have to wear shorts for that, just be modest and change afterward).  I was running around the back yard with an airsoft gun yesterday, and jumping my brother's bike ramp a few days ago (I'm still working on the sophisticated part) all in a skirt.

 Thank you so much for spending your time reading this.  I hope it was worth it and that I have given you something to think about.

A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 22:5


Autie