My hostess for the weekend had two dogs- they like socks. That sock you see there in the picture is MINE!Monday, August 27, 2007
The Dog
My hostess for the weekend had two dogs- they like socks. That sock you see there in the picture is MINE!
Shrimp
I had shrimp over the weekend, which is cheaper here than in NE- two pounds for a bit less than eight dollars- and so I also learned how to cook it and pull off the skins. Eeeeeeeew!
Hey all!
Sorry, I haven't been posting.
I am back at my new home after being away for the weekend. My hostess was very accommodating and I had a very relaxing time away from children, and just a relaxing time in general.
On Sunday I went with my hostess to a Chapel here on base that markets itself as "Contemporary and Casual". It wasn't as bad as it sounds! I am glad that I can listen to the Church sermons from home on the Internet. My Church options here are Church A, which puts you to sleep with its songs and sermons, but has good Sunday school, or Church B, which has more joy in worship but is theologically incorrect! Maybe I should alternate?
Last night I called home and we had a sort of family conference about some big decisions in our lives right now. I'm not sure if Mom and Dad want to make it public news right now but some of you will all learn soon enough. It was good to talk, but it made me homesick.
This morning Mrs. O told me that two soldiers had been killed; she didn't tell me exactly but I believe they were from her husband's area. I can see how stressful it is for her to deal with the news. Please pray for her, and the other wives, that they could have peace and grace at this time.
Also, the children are not obeying me and I am hoping to talk to Mrs. O about it at the right moment sometime soon. You could pray that we would be able to work this issue out so that things would work more smoothly!
So all that is kind of what is on my mind today; or at least it was, until the youngest of my charges got hit in the lip with a water gun which left him with an open gash that bled as head wounds so often do, and now there is blood on the carpet, the chair, and my dress, and Mrs. O is at the emergency room getting a stitch or two put in. The little boy will be fine, and I'm too used to this sort of thing to get upset, so all is well.
I am back at my new home after being away for the weekend. My hostess was very accommodating and I had a very relaxing time away from children, and just a relaxing time in general.
On Sunday I went with my hostess to a Chapel here on base that markets itself as "Contemporary and Casual". It wasn't as bad as it sounds! I am glad that I can listen to the Church sermons from home on the Internet. My Church options here are Church A, which puts you to sleep with its songs and sermons, but has good Sunday school, or Church B, which has more joy in worship but is theologically incorrect! Maybe I should alternate?
Last night I called home and we had a sort of family conference about some big decisions in our lives right now. I'm not sure if Mom and Dad want to make it public news right now but some of you will all learn soon enough. It was good to talk, but it made me homesick.
This morning Mrs. O told me that two soldiers had been killed; she didn't tell me exactly but I believe they were from her husband's area. I can see how stressful it is for her to deal with the news. Please pray for her, and the other wives, that they could have peace and grace at this time.
Also, the children are not obeying me and I am hoping to talk to Mrs. O about it at the right moment sometime soon. You could pray that we would be able to work this issue out so that things would work more smoothly!
So all that is kind of what is on my mind today; or at least it was, until the youngest of my charges got hit in the lip with a water gun which left him with an open gash that bled as head wounds so often do, and now there is blood on the carpet, the chair, and my dress, and Mrs. O is at the emergency room getting a stitch or two put in. The little boy will be fine, and I'm too used to this sort of thing to get upset, so all is well.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Exciting times
We went to the library yesterday. You never know who you will meet at the library. It actually turned out that there was a Star Wars costume contest. I got my picture taken with Darth Vader! This is one of the kids I am helping with, not me, in the photo.Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Back online
Our Internet service was out for awhile there. Thankfully we are now back online, connected with the outside world. And life goes on.
Other than Church on Sunday, I haven't been out of the house so far this week. I've been babysitting the kids as their mother shops and arranges various upcoming activities, now that school is starting up again, such as ballet and violin.
Church was intimidating because I had to meet so many new people. You don't need to tell me that it's good for me, my family tells me that often enough. I survived, though I really can't remember many of the names of the people I met.
I also had grits for the first time ever, and I guess I liked them alright. It's basically like oatmeal or rice, only different texture and less flavoring!
Other than Church on Sunday, I haven't been out of the house so far this week. I've been babysitting the kids as their mother shops and arranges various upcoming activities, now that school is starting up again, such as ballet and violin.
Church was intimidating because I had to meet so many new people. You don't need to tell me that it's good for me, my family tells me that often enough. I survived, though I really can't remember many of the names of the people I met.
I also had grits for the first time ever, and I guess I liked them alright. It's basically like oatmeal or rice, only different texture and less flavoring!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Correction:
The guinea pig's name is "Guinea."
The collie's name is "Bucky"
The fish's name is "Stanley".
The collie's name is "Bucky"
The fish's name is "Stanley".
Friday, August 17, 2007
My venture
Here I am, finally getting the time to post while sitting next to a fat guinea pig in the laundry room. The guinea pig's name is Bucky, and I am going to stay away from him as much as possible in the next two months! I don't much like pets. This family also has a energetic collie and a fish.
I have been here at Ft. Bragg for four days and am still learning the rhythm of the family routine and what I can do to help. I caught a cold yesterday so that slowed me down a bit. I have not seen much of Ft. Bragg or met many other military families so far. Mostly I've been taking over some of the housework and distracting the younger kids so Mom can do school with the older ones.
I have read two books:
Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson, which was very thoughtful and good, except it made me want to get married right away,
And:
Operation Homecoming edited by Andrew Carroll, which was also good but I don't think I'll put it on my list of favorite books, simply because the stories can be so depressing, foul, and strange when not written from a Christian viewpoint. Most of the stories were fine as far as content , though. I don't mean to give this book a harsh review.
I have been here at Ft. Bragg for four days and am still learning the rhythm of the family routine and what I can do to help. I caught a cold yesterday so that slowed me down a bit. I have not seen much of Ft. Bragg or met many other military families so far. Mostly I've been taking over some of the housework and distracting the younger kids so Mom can do school with the older ones.
I have read two books:
Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson, which was very thoughtful and good, except it made me want to get married right away,
And:
Operation Homecoming edited by Andrew Carroll, which was also good but I don't think I'll put it on my list of favorite books, simply because the stories can be so depressing, foul, and strange when not written from a Christian viewpoint. Most of the stories were fine as far as content , though. I don't mean to give this book a harsh review.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Guests and hosts
As I mentioned, we had twenty-five people over for lunch yesterday. Twenty of those were students, three were American guides, and two were just guests. These students were from France, England, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands. We had lunch and dinner with them.
These students were arrogant, self-centered, demanding, spoiled, and not open to discussion.
Granted, not all of them were so rude; some of them were friendly and nicer than the others. And I know that all humans are selfish and sinful. We are not used to such a high concentration of obvious arrogance, I think. So after spending more than five hours with these students, we were all a bit frustrated. And Dad puts up with them every day! If these are the future leaders of Europe, we are in trouble.
Sorry to be so negative! That's the way it was. I really hope we were good witnesses.
These students were arrogant, self-centered, demanding, spoiled, and not open to discussion.
Granted, not all of them were so rude; some of them were friendly and nicer than the others. And I know that all humans are selfish and sinful. We are not used to such a high concentration of obvious arrogance, I think. So after spending more than five hours with these students, we were all a bit frustrated. And Dad puts up with them every day! If these are the future leaders of Europe, we are in trouble.
Sorry to be so negative! That's the way it was. I really hope we were good witnesses.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Students visit
We had twenty-six people over for lunch today. I know you are all passionately interested in domestic things, so here's the menu of our meal which we spent several hours slaving over:
- 6 pounds of Spaghetti noodles
- I'm guessing somewhere around two gallons of spaghetti sauce(That's just a rough guess), divided into two crock-pots, one pot being meatless and the other with hamburger.
- eleven loaves of garlic bread, no we did not make the bread, we just bought frozen garlic bread.
- Four packages of store-bought cookies, eighteen homemade cupcakes, and one cake that didn't bake in the middle and I don't know why so we didn't eat it. I feel ashamed that with all my years experience in baking that this cake didn't turn out, but we all need to be humbled now and then, right?
- Several ice cream buckets of lettuce salad and two jars of home-made ranch dressing
- A gallon of lemonade and a gallon of mint tea
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
I'm still here
My trip to Ft. Bragg is rapidly approaching. I am getting nervous about leaving my family; I know I will really miss them all. Here's a happy thought for you: to make my airplane flight, I will have to leave home at 3:30 in the morning.
We are having twenty-six people over for lunch this weekend. Most of them are University students from Europe who are in the U.S. for five weeks, studying English and having fun sightseeing. It should be interesting to talk with people from so many different countries, such as England, France, the Netherlands, etc. Many of these students parents immigrated to Europe from muslim countries such as Morocco, and even Iran. Muslims want to benefit from western technology and opportunities that they can't have in their own oppressed lands. The students in the group that are muslims are not strict muslims, and the only religious rule that they seem to follow is the one about not eating pork. We aren't too fond of pork ourselves, just now. The last group of muslims we had over for lunch were also very worldly, but they were very touchy about "discrimination" and "prejudice", towards a religion that they hardly understand. Anyway, it will be interesting.
You will never guess what we girls saw last night: a praying mantis. It was big, about as long as my hand, and it looked mean. All I remember about praying mantis's from elementary grade science is that the females eat their husbands. And I've never seen a praying mantis in Nebraska before. We were out late last night because we went to Iowa to hear Presidential Candidate Ron Paul speak. I've posted a little about him before, and if I have time before I leave I'll post my thoughts about his speech. It seems like every sentence I say nowadays ends with the words "before I leave". Scary!
We are having twenty-six people over for lunch this weekend. Most of them are University students from Europe who are in the U.S. for five weeks, studying English and having fun sightseeing. It should be interesting to talk with people from so many different countries, such as England, France, the Netherlands, etc. Many of these students parents immigrated to Europe from muslim countries such as Morocco, and even Iran. Muslims want to benefit from western technology and opportunities that they can't have in their own oppressed lands. The students in the group that are muslims are not strict muslims, and the only religious rule that they seem to follow is the one about not eating pork. We aren't too fond of pork ourselves, just now. The last group of muslims we had over for lunch were also very worldly, but they were very touchy about "discrimination" and "prejudice", towards a religion that they hardly understand. Anyway, it will be interesting.
You will never guess what we girls saw last night: a praying mantis. It was big, about as long as my hand, and it looked mean. All I remember about praying mantis's from elementary grade science is that the females eat their husbands. And I've never seen a praying mantis in Nebraska before. We were out late last night because we went to Iowa to hear Presidential Candidate Ron Paul speak. I've posted a little about him before, and if I have time before I leave I'll post my thoughts about his speech. It seems like every sentence I say nowadays ends with the words "before I leave". Scary!
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