Well, we are a few days behind….we were supposed to do these next 2 lessons on Wed. and Thursday, but we have a good (I think) excuse for waiting till today!! I’ll tell about it at the end.

 So today the kids each did 2 lessons in Math, since we are going to go spend the day on Monday with a friend in Tallahassee.  Then we did our history/Bible, learning about the next of the 10 plagues that God sent on Pharoah and the Egyptians. Danny was glad when I read that God protected the Israelites from these plagues. He just didn’t think that sounded fair if they had to experience the plagues too….then he wondered if Moses and Aaron were also spared from the plagues. I didn’t read that anywhere, but I am guessing they were??

A plague of flies has hit the Henry kids….and the love seat!! At least they weren’t buzzing and crawling all over us!

  

Pharoah asked for Moses to go and make a sacrafice to his God and have these flies be gone. {You’d think he would have learned his lesson after dealing with gnats the day before….ugh!}
 Can you imagine (at least those of us who live in the gnatty south) if all the grains of dust turned into gnats?? We think we have it bad some days!! They’d be all up in your nose, in your ears, crawling over your eyes….and lets not think how many would get in your mouth!!  (By the way, the gnats were the first plague that the Egyptian magicians were not able to copy!!)

 So, God takes away the flies….it said not a one was left! BUT, Pharoah STILL had a hard heart. The next day……

The Egyptians woke up and fed their animals like every morning before….

but imagine their horror when they found them sick and dead!!

I’ve often wondered how the Egyptians felt about all this….were they getting mad at the Pharoah for not letting these Israelites go?? Or were they just as wicked? Hmmm….

 More to come next week……

Oh, and the reason we skipped a few days. On Wed. we had a lady coming to look at our mattress we were trying to sell. She wanted to come right over the time when we usually have history. I really didn’t want her to show up and see flies stuck all over the kids!   Ended up, she never showed, but another lady came an hour later and till then it was time to be getting supper ready, so we decided to just push it off till Thursday since we have a very light work load in history this week.

 Well, the second lady paid for the mattress and boxspring and said she’d come pick it up later that night. Then in the evening she called and changed her mind and said they would come between 2 and 2:30 on Thursday. Again, I didn’t want the same thing to happen….I was going to make the kids keep the flies on from History time till their Dad got home, just so he could see them. So we figured we’d wait till she comes and then proceed. Well, it ended up being 4:00 till she ever showed! So, Today was the day!!  And I did not make them keep the flies on! They said it felt weird and Dan won’t be home till late tonight, since he went to a conference today.

 

*******************************************************

 

Last evening the kids and I went to my friend Jill’s house to show her and her blogging daughters how to change the background on their Xanga sites….in exchange for Jill teaching me how to make a “messy bum bun”. Time went by too fast!! But we had success on both ends! 

 Leah and her “messy bun” Haha!! She was just being silly!! 

 I am going to add the video that Leah took of Jill doing my hair….I just need to do it on another computer. My desktop has been acting wonky with video’s!! 

 

 In a few minutes I need to run to the P.O. to ship some Ebay stuff and then go pick up a flat of strawberries [from South FL] and make some JELLY!!  Mmmm, Mmmm!! I think we we may have to have some ice cream with strawberries as a late snack when Dan gets home tonight!  

Today in History/Bible we are learning about the 10 plagues in Egypt, brought on by Pharoah’s hardened heart.

 The first plague God sent was having the water turned to blood.

I didn’t think it necessary to draw blood from anyone, so we settled for food coloring! 

 Danny didn’t think it looked to appetizing (I thought it looked like Kool Aid! )

I cannot imagine going out to bathe in the morning only to find the water replaced with blood…..or taking my bucket out to the well, only to draw up a bucket full of blood. I think that would be enough to make me repent right then and there….a good sign my heart is still partly soft.

The blood supposedly stank…I can just imagine!

Tamara got brave enough to take a taste….

How interesting that the magicians were also able to make this happen. :O

The second plague was the FROGS! Frogs, frogs everywhere!! In their houses, in their hair, in their food and underwear! I don’t mind frogs too much, but having them all over my house would be disgusting, not to mention in the food!! And I’m sure they stepped on them (a fear of mine) since they were all over the place!! Gross!! What was wrong with this Pharoah guy?? Just let the people go already!!

We made 96 frogs and hid them all over the house…..

 

In the cup cupboard…..(some are in cups, too)

 

…on the stove top….

in the fridge….

by the light switches….

in our shoes….

under the toilet lid…..

hiding IN the rolls of TP (can’t wait to see who finds this one!! )

in our clean clothes…..

found these on my desk chair when I came to sit at the computer!

There are even some in our beds and under our pillows. 

It’s soon time to leave for sign language class, so we’ll see where all we discover frogs tonight and get them cleaned up by bedtime!  IF we can find Moses and Aaron to lift the plague!!

 More plague news tomorrow….. (ewww! A frog just jumped into my lap!!!!   )

 

 

 

So I am taking a break from facebook. It didn’t really bother me till I had an empty Sunday afternoon. I so badly wanted to see what was going on and I even went so far as to click on my facebook tab, but quickly closed it down before anything came up!!

 I just need to know that I can do this….I don’t want to be addicted to opening facebook every couple hours everyday. It’s been 4 days so far!  I haven’t really set a time….maybe a week, maybe 10 days, maybe less!??

 So we’ve been having the most beautiful weather this past week and it looks like it will continue into the coming week as well. It’s so hard to want to get into indoor projects when it’s so nice out, but I don’t want my break from facebook to be wasted! I want to get some things organized in here! On Saturday the guys worked outside. Dan did some string trimming and also trimmed 2 shrubs that needed it yet. Then they put down more pine straw. We are getting unlimited pine straw from a friend from church, which is so nice. I think the guys went 4 times already and loaded the back of Dan’s Jeep! We don’t have much left to do….but things are looking much better around here!

 Tonight the Penner Family from Canada will be singing at church…this is not a normal church night, but since they were going to be in the area, we are having them! I am looking forward to hearing them, since we never have before….sounds like they have a great ministry to widows and others as well.

I am searching and planning and searching and hoping! In July we will be married 15 years. Stepping back….when we were about to be married 10 years, we thought we’d do something special to mark our 10 year anniversary. But, we had just moved to FL and were in full time volunteer ministry. Money was scarce and it just was not an option. So we thought we would try for our 15 year anniversary. While things aren’t a whole lot different financially, we do have some $$ put aside and as long as nothing else big comes up that we need that $$ for, we might be able to pull it off this time. (I hope!!) I want to go to St. Augustine, FL for a weekend. So I am researching to see what motels cost, what kind of attraction there are and in general how much it is going to cost.  And I am hoping…and praying that this will work out. It’s not real extreme, like a cruise (which I would LOVE to do) and it’s not real far from home….but it would be so welcomed!  We shall see!

Have any of you been to St. Augustine? Any recommendations?

 This week we will be learning about the 10 plagues in Bible/History….hope to have lots of fun and get some good pics! We will be having our second to last American Sign Language class as well. Other than that, our week is empty for a change…well, maybe! We may spend part of a day with floridayankees and swap my knowledge of Xanga with her knowledge of doing messy buns!  

 I was so thrilled to find a skirt for the upcoming Ladies Tea Fundraiser in March. The theme is “The Nature of God’s Love” and the colors are going to be hot pink and zebra print.

I also got an outfit for Tamara but I think the shirt is a little tight. I got her a woman’s small….thinking maybe I should try medium. (Is my daughter growing or what?? )I may try to find something else….I’d also like to add hot pink accents somehow. Maybe a headband, flower, ribbon…something!

Last night we went to see the Strength Team at the local High School. We had seen them 2 years ago and this time there were only 2 guys instead of 4, so they didn’t do quite as much, but it was still good!! They have a great ministry to young people! It’s amazing how strong they are!!

Getting ready to smash 10 concrete slabs in half….

…success!

Bending a metal rod over his head….made it into a fish shape!

 Have a great week, whether you are experiencing spring or getting another blast of winter! God is good!!

 

A young man in our homeschool group was studying about the origin of the Olympics and decided he would like to Host a Homeschool Olympics! His talented mom went about planning and making it happen! So yesterday we met at a local park for the 1st Annual RHE (Riverbend Home Educators) Olympic Games! 

Welcome….

Dylan, the one who planned the day’s events, along with his mother!

This was the “Red Team”.

And the “Green Team”

We had a total of 32 kids participating!

The first event of the day was the Javelin Throw. 

 Charlie had the best throw of the day!  But, we didn’t go by individual people. Each team’s measurements were added together to figure out which team won. 

Next was the Standing Jump.

Matthew and Caleb….

Danny and Timothy…

The Discus Throw (ball in sock, in this case )

Tamara lets it fly…

Danny’s turn…

3 Legged Race…

Victoria & Bailee

This group was going to try a 5 legged race, but someone got a knot and till they got it straightened out (with Ms. Amy’s help), the next group was waiting. 

Tamara and Tabitha….

Baton Relay….Each team had players on either side of the field….they had to run the baton across the field to the next teammate who ran it back to the next teammate on the other side and so on, till their team was done!

Bailee just handed the baton to Danny….

Lunch consisted of Hungry Howie’s pizza (Provided by Kay), salads, snacks, desserts (provided by the other Mom’s) and a Birthday cake for Dylan who’s 12th birthday was the day before.

Happy Birthday Dylan!!

Then the kids spent a couple more hours just playing….

Tamara and Anna playing in the shady sand. It was a beautiful, warm day!!

Cute lil Joshua~

What a fun day! We all agreed this needs to be a yearly event….  Oh, by the way, the Green Team won the Gold Medal and the Red Team won the Silver! 

 The sun was so bright and this smart Mom didn’t put any sunscreen on, so I am dealing with my first sunburn of the year. We were out there for a good 6 hours! But at least it’s only my arms, neck and face….not my back! I think this will def. be a highlight of the year!

 We are having a week of Revivals at church. Denny Eicher from OH is here along with his wife Marie. We had just come away from a week of having overnight guests and I was ready for things to slow down a bit, so the thought of getting ready for church every night was not a welcome idea. I was thinking I might just skip a few nights so life wouldn’t be so busy. In fact, the first night (Friday) I didn’t think Dan was going because he was trying to finish up school work for the week. So I was figuring on staying home. Well, when he got home from work, he said he was planning to go to church, so I wasn’t going to stay home and have him go by himself for no good reason!  *sigh*

 So we went…..and I was so blessed!! And we went again on Saturday, Sunday, Sunday night and Monday night……and each time I was encouraged, convicted, and strengthened! Now why would I want to miss that?? I really am looking forward to going the next two nights even though I’ll be gone most of the day today! I think the older I’m getting, the more I am realizing how much we do to please our flesh….and how little we do to please God! And I want to change that in me…and in my family!

 Sunday we had Denny & Marie and Eric & Desirae Martin here for lunch. I am really starting to enjoy having company…we can learn so much from each other and be encouraged! And I think I am starting to enjoy “the Mennonite game” as it’s called….it’s amazing who knows who!!  And the more people I learn to know, the more everyone fits together!  Heehee!!

 But maybe now I need to learn how to set an attractive table!!  How dull is this??

Meatball Sub casserole, corn and coleslaw salad were the main course…we had Double Fudge cake and raspberry cool whip jello for dessert. Mmmmm!!

Today is our homeschool groups Valentine party followed by the 3rd week of American Sign Language. Hopefully I’ll get some good pictures to share!

 Have a blessed day!!

Last Friday, January 28, our friends Trulan & Darlene Martin from PA arrived! They had been in Alabama at the We Care crusade and came to spend a few days with us before heading up to SC for the Gospel Express crusade. 

 We had some lovely warm weather while they were here. So much, that we decided to go to St. George Island on Saturday and take a picnic supper and watch the sunset.  This warm was a welcome reprieve for all of us. North FL has had a very cold winter this year and we were not seeing many warm days for almost 2 months!

 We all rode in Trulan’s motorhome, so we could all go together and this way we had a place to change sandy clothes and eat supper inside if it got too cold.

 Crossing the bridge to St. George Island……

Tamara, Callie and Emily playing in the back bed while we traveled….

 A pretty kite flying on the beach….

Darlene and Laurie testing the water. It was COLD!!

Sara~

Callie building a sand castle…

Dan & Trulan chatting…

 The children got brave enough to get in the water a little. I think it was too cold!! But they had fun! 

Darlene keeping Laurie warm…. 

The small sand castle I attempted to build….

Loved the way the sand was rippled from the water flowing through….

Tamara and Emily digging trenches for the water to flow in…

Danny sitting IN that cold water…what he didn’t know is that Mom didn’t pack dry undershorts, just dry pants!!  Oops!!

Taking a stroll….

The new lighthouse!

My thanks to Dan for taking these next 3 pics as the sun was setting!

 

Playing Apples to Aplpes Jr. with the kids Sunday night. One of Danny’s green cards read Slim and he chose Sparklers…..

That reminded me that I still had a few boxes left over from July, so we got them out after the game…

 Sara was brave enough to try some….

Emily, too!

Sweet lil Laurie…the girls spent a lot of time playing in Tamara’s room!

Trulan’s left Tuesday morning. Monday afternoon, Trulan’s Dad Cleason showed up. He taught a “God’s Original Design” (put together by himself) seminar at Gulf CI Tuesday and Wednesday. He left this morning and headed up to SC, too.

We really enjoyed all our company the last 3 weeks!!

 The week before Trulan’s came, we hosted John & Jane Sullivan, from Gone Fishing ministry and Dan Utz from Clearwater Ministries as well as Sam Byler for a few days while they did some seminars at Gulf CI as well!! All our company was easy to have and lots of fun!! But I am kind of glad for things to slow down a bit…I hope!

 

Last night I made baked potatoes for supper and Danny found this one in the bottom of the bag. So he gave it a face! 

And then ate it for supper!! 

 So today we are doing the normal….school! The exterminator came this morning, so now I can put stuff back in place. I like to clear away everything from the walls, so he can just walk right through and not have to move anything….of course I don’t move the BIG furniture! But now, I’m thinking I should do some good cleaning while I am putting stuff back! I hope to get some stuff posted on Ebay while they are offering a Free listing fee!

 Tomorrow night revivals start…and go till next Wed. I don’t even know who the speaker is!?? Not like that makes a difference, though!

 

Well, there’s my post…maybe I can keep after a little better in the future!??  I can’t believe it’s been a month! January flew by!

 My life has been so busy the past month and I haven’t taken ANY time to blog AT ALL!!  I haven’t been on the computer much over the last week since we had company, but now most of our company left and I am getting caught up with laundry, etc. so I hope to do a post this afternoon.

 Life has been good and I am feeling blessed!! Be back soon!