New Year's Day~2015

Time for New Year's Cookies!

Eck sach den Shornsteen Roacke.
Eck visst voll vaut ye moacke.
Ye backte Niejoash Koake.
Yave ye me eane
Dann bliev eck stoane
Yave ye me twea
Dann fang eck aun to goane
Yave ye me drea, fea, feef toaglick
Donn vensch eck you daut gaunse Himmelrick.

English Translation:
I saw your chimney smoking.
I knew what you were making.
You were baking New Year's Cookies.
Give me one -- I stand still.
Give me two -- I start walking.
Give me three, four, five at once,
Then I wish you the Kingdom of Heaven.

Tea Party for Miss Lili--7 years old

 Such sweet little girls!

Dolly fashion show:

My tea set that I got for Christmas when I was Lili's age:

My Mom's tea set from when she was little:

Dessert shooters

Peppernuts

"The March of the Elephants"

https://vimeo.com/111410413  March of the Elephants by their teacher, Mrs. DeKalb

This video does not showcase the girls' talent.  I uploaded it so you could see how lovely they looked in their dresses I gave them.  As you can see the girls were little show stoppers today!  I love hearing them play their solos.  KT got a good one of Sophie so I will upload it and add it here soon.

I think you will need the password to watch it:  Psalm23

Here is the video of Sophie--same password. (Hunter's Chorus, C.M. von Weber)

https://vimeo.com/111416423

Annual Fall Parade~Maize

 Little Girl trying to whistle:

 Mason in the middle school band~next year he will be in the high school band!

 Waiting for candy

Lili's legs

This girl ran her little legs off playing soccer tonight!  She scored 2 goals!  What a delightful child~so blessed to have her in our family.

"May God bless you and keep you in love."

Danish Pastry Apple Bars from Loretta Wiebe

Pastry:
2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 t. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
1 egg yolk
(milk)

8-10 apples, peeled & sliced
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

1 egg white, beaten until frothy

Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
3-4 t. milk

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening & butter. Beat egg yolk in measuring cup and add milk to make 2/3 c. liquid. Mix well and stir into flour mixture. Roll half the dough into a 7"x12" rectangle. Fit into 1"x15 1/2"x10 1/2" baking pan. Sprinkle 1/3 c. sugar on dough. Top with apples. Combine remaining 2/3 c. sugar and cinnamon and cover apples.
Roll out remaining dough and place over top. Seal edges and cut slits in dough.
Beat egg white until frothy, brush on top of crust.
Bake at 375* for 50 minutes.
Make frosting and drizzle it on top of the pie.

Three Graces by Melanie-Pearl

In Loving Memory of Penny (2003-2014)

by:

Lilian's Baptism~Easter 2014

Lili was so excited to receive her first communion!

Love that look on her face

Sophie & Lili in the dresses I made them

Beautiful Sophie

"At God's Table" by Cheryl Lawrie

it would not have been god's table

On their own, the bread and wine are nothing.
To become a foretaste and a promise
of love made real and a world made whole,
they need a story and a blessing
and a people who believe…

It would not have been God’s table
if they hadn’t all been gathered around it:
the betrayer and the friend
the power-hungry and the justice seeker
the faithful and the fickle.

When Jesus poured the wine, and the bread was broken;
when everyone could eat -
the outcast and the beloved
the arrogant and the gracious
the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by -
the table became a foretaste
of love made real
and of a world made whole.

Your company at the table
will include the betrayer and the beloved
the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by.

It would not be God’s table without them.

And the promise is
that when you are together,
when you tell the story and give the blessing
when you break the bread and pour the wine
you will discover a foretaste
of love made real
and of a world made whole.

~~Cheryl Lawrie
http://holdthisspace.org.au/it-would-not-have-been-gods-table/

The Bible Story That I Have Always Hated

Those of you who have ever been in a Bible study with me, gone to church with me, and those of you who know me well, know that I have always had a problem with the story of Abraham and Isaac.  I know, I know that Old Testament days were different than New Testament times.  I have had numerous people try to explain this story to me.  I even refused to teach the story in a pre-school Bible School one time, so I was fired from that volunteer position.

Yesterday I read Rob Bell's post on this story.  Finally someone who said it:
Thank you, Rob Bell!

"What kind of God would ask a man to sacrifice his son?

Now, an answer: Not this one.

The other gods may demand your firstborn, but not this God."

Read the rest here:

http://tmblr.co/Z8QMAt_DADp7

Scholastic Art Awards~Chloe receives scholarship, gold key, silver keys, etc.

(I like how she kept turning around to smile at all of us--what a sweet girl--I can still picture her at 3 years old--looking just like this!)

(Chloe with her gold key)

(Chloe & Brandon)

Mason's 7th grade band concert~March 4, 2014

Miles' Happy Dance

Miles' Happy Dance from Julie Thiessen on Vimeo.
Password:  Psalm23
Miles' footwork was the funniest part of this dance.  If he agrees to do it again, we will film his feet--was hilarious.  His feet were moving so fast.  Lili tried to do it and she was totally amazed at how fast he could move!

Farewell to Betty

I have a friend who was preparing to leave on a trip to Arizona on Christmas Eve.  She fell down the steps to the basement of her home and never regained consciousness.  They turned off life support and she died at noon.

Betty was an elegant woman--69 years old.  She was an interior decorator.  What a beautiful home she and Daryl have!  Betty was a devout Catholic and was eager to teach me all she could about her faith.  She taught me about holy water and told me that she used it every time she entered her home and every time she left her home.  She would gladly answer all my questions.  I took a 6 week Lenten class with her at the Spiritual Life Center and then went to the outdoor Stations of the Cross walk with her on Good Friday.

There were 7 priests who officiated at her funeral mass--they had all benefited from the kindness of Betty Dirks and were happy to have a part in the service.  The vigil on Sunday evening and the funeral mass on Monday morning were perfect tributes to her life.  Her children placed a white pall with a tapestry cross on her casket before it was taken into the sanctuary.  When she left that beautiful room for the last time, we all sang to her as she was taken down that long aisle.  It was a long song--lots of verses.  What a meaningful way to say good-bye.

ON EAGLES' WINGS

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord
Who abide in His shadow for life
Say to the Lord
"My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!"

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

The snare of the fowler will never capture you
And famine will bring you no fear
Under His wings your refuge
His faithfulness your shield.

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

You need not fear the terror of the night
Nor the arrow that flies by day
Though thousands fall about you
Near you it shall not come.

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways
Upon their hands they will bear you up
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand...