The Spark Blog
{spark – a trace of life or vitality}
Weekly Update: 3/6/10
Mar 9th
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were spent in the company of a sick little boy. Luke had a high fever, chills, and a sore throat. Poor guy was truly miserable! I was able to escape a bit on Tuesday so I could get to class and go to the dentist. I decided to try a dentist close to home. I’ve heard good things about her and her office and I was not disappointed in the least: a paper-less office, state-of-the-art technology, massage-rs in the exam chair. Heaven (well, as heavenly as a dentist gets). And she’s a Christian, to boot.
Friday was when the real fun began. My sweet hubby arranged for my sister to spend the night with the kids while he whisked me away to the Beall Mansion, in Alton, IL, to celebrate my 30th birthday! The owner answered wearing a tuxedo and poured us some champagne to enjoy while he gave us the tour. Personally, I don’t like the fussiness of antiques, but I LOVE history so I really enjoyed learning about the mansion and the furnishings. After dropping our things off in our room, we drove downtown to find dinner. The first place we went to was shoddy. It was a martini bar, but looked like a cafe you’d find in a bowling alley. We went across the street to another martini bar that was much nicer, and the food (and martinis) were great.
We skipped dessert and instead headed back to the Beall where an all-you-can-eat chocolate bar was waiting for us. We took a little bit of everything and enjoyed it in our room. The next morning we were served breakfast in bed: french toast in a praline sauce, danish, hard-boiled eggs, juice, coffee, crackers with a wonderful seafood spread, delicious fruit, a bit of sweet wine, and three perfect chocolate truffles. Mmmmhmmmm. After eating, we packed up, drove around to look at houses, and then we headed home.
Back home we hung out with the boys and then Ben took me to Powell Hall to see the St. Louis Symphony perform Ligeti and Holst. We had a great time! It was a wonderful weekend and the perfect way to celebrate my birthday! I can’t wait to see what he has in store for my 40th!
Walk On The Water
Feb 28th
Walk On The Water by Britt Nicole
You look around and staring back at you
Another wave of doubt
Will it pull you under
You wonder
What if i’m overtaken
What if i never make it
What if no one’s there
Will you hear my prayer?
When you take that first step
Into the unknown
You know that he won’t let you go(Chorus)So what are you waiting for
What do you have to lose
Your insecurities
They try to hold to you
But you know you’re made for more
So don’t be afraid to move
Your faith is all it takes
And you can walk on the water tooSo get out and let your fear fall to the ground
No time to waste, don’t wait
And don’t you turn around, and miss out on
Everything you were made for
Gotta be, I know you’re not sure, more
So you play it safe, you try to run away
If you take that first step
Into the unknown
He won’t let you go(Chorus)
Step out, even when it’s storming
Step out, even when you’re broken
Step out, even when your heart is telling you,
telling you to give up
Step out, when your hope is stolen
Step out, you can’t see where you’re going
You don’t have to be afraid
So what are waiting, what are you waiting for(Chorus)
Weekly Update: 2/27/10
Feb 27th
Monday, our catch-up day, was pretty routine. Luke is doing well in his studies and will soon need a new math book and a new reading book! I’m so excited about his progress. It’s cool to watch your kids learn. I founds some Magic Schoolbus books at the thrift store and we love them! I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the rest of the series. We did several of the experiments in the book and I came up with the idea to collect all the equipment and pack it in a box. As soon as we’re done with it I’ll add the book, label it, and then pass it around to other homeschoolers who are interested. I’d much rather share resources than have the book just collect dust.
Tuesday was class, as usual. We are working on word problems which are so challenging for me!
On Wednesday, I had a doctor’s appointment. I’ve been searching for a more natural doctor and got a good recommendation. And they take our insurance, which is always a plus. They don’t push vaxes so I’ll be taking the kids there from now on. Just wish they were closer.
Thursday was busy with class, grocery shopping, a lunch play date and then Life Group. We discussed baptism, which is what last Sunday’s sermon was on. Our church is currently focused on the core values of our church, which is a great series to go through every now and again.
I was pretty lazy on Friday. I browsed the thrift store (found a great frame that just needs to be painted) and then read and entire book. The boys were so content to play nicely together yesterday. It was bliss.
Paper Bag Scrapbooks
Feb 23rd
A couple of years ago my sweet friend, Erin, showed me how to make a paper bag scrapbook. I happened to have some small paper bags and I had a ton of pictures of Ben and I. We had just passed our 10-year anniversary so I made an album all about our first 10 years. I’ve since made two more and love how they look and how quickly they come together! The paper they’re made of isn’t archival safe, though, so be sure to use scraps and doubles.
Here are a few (poor quality) pictures of my scrapbook – which is a great conversation starter, by the way!
Scrapbook Front
Inside the Scrapbook
Sunday Musings: 2/21/10
Feb 21st
As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us. Mercy Son of David!” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!” Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?” They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!” Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession. Mathew 20 The Message
I’ve been reading through Matthew and I’ve noticed a couple of stories similar to this. People who are crying out to Jesus, or who ask for his help, and he responds like he did in this verse, “What do you want from me?”. At first that response took me back. That doesn’t sound like the Jesus I know. Maybe because I’m trying to make Jesus look like me: “What do YOU want (now)!?” But the more I read over these stories, the more I started to see his question in a different light. Obviously, he already knows what they want, what they need. Reading these stories, I don’t get the sense that Jesus wants (or needs) them to state their request out loud. He’s not asking because he doesn’t know. He’s not asking them because he wants to put them in their place, to hear them beg. He’s asking them if they believe. When I read this I hear him saying, “What do you want from me?” What can I, a poor carpenter, a penniless nobody, do for you? And their response says it all, “Master”, and “Son of David” and “we want to see”. How bold, how sure they are of themselves. How sure they are of him. Do we ask things of people who we know aren’t capable of giving us what we want? Not if we’re smart. We ask of those who ARE capable and are willing. The text says that Jesus was “deeply moved” and healed them. I believe he was deeply moved because of their faith. Because of their belief. They believed he was who he said he was and they believed he had the power to heal them.
Do we have this same belief? When we need something, do we wring our hands and fret and cry? Do we nag or crab or whine or pout? Do we try to fix our situation through our own strength?
Or do we get on our knees and call out to Jesus? “Master, Son of David, have mercy on us. Hear our cries.”
Weekly Update: 2/21/10
Feb 21st
Monday and Tuesday, were pretty much the usual around here. Monday is always my day to catch up from the weekend and work on Algebra homework.
Wednesday was a lot of fun, we had a play-date here with four mommies and eight kiddos! One friend brought some chocolate-covered red velvet cake balls to tempt us with. They were so good!
Life Group was on Thursday. One couple brought their five-year-old twins so the boys had a blast. Two play-dates in two days!
We had a great time at a trivia night with friends on Friday night! Oh, the junk food. We didn’t even come close to winning, but we had a good time anyway!
Saturday turned out to be a family day, kind of. One brother and his girlfriend met up with us and another brother for lunch at India’s Kitchen on Manchester. They have a buffet for lunch, which is the best way to enjoy Indian food, in my opinion, because you have to try it all. Mmmmm, so good. Then we all came back to our house and played Settlers of Catan. We finished up the evening by watching Couple’s Retreat (note: it’s rated PG-13 but so not kid/teen friendly, I could barely stand it at times).
Today, I finally typed up some emails to get the word out about my other blog, Just1.thecrashpad.com. I’ve been working on this for a while and needed to take the next step and get the word out, but haven’t had time until today. Head on over and check it out!
I Tried It And I Liked It: Costas French Market Doughnuts
Feb 17th
I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com and had to try it. Wednesday night is family night and we go all out with some kind of yummy treat. We’ve been wanting to try these for a while now and I’m glad we did! We coated some in powdered sugar, some in cinnamon-sugar, and cut a few open and put a little scoop of jelly inside. All good! The dough makes a TON of doughnuts so serve these when you have a crowd. I’m going to make some homemade whipping cream tomorrow and see how they are filled with that! My guess; yummy!
Weekly Update 2/13/10
Feb 13th
Monday, I spent the day stressing over my first Algebra test. ’nuff said.
I was thrilled when Tuesday was declared a snow day and I had more time to study! I declared a homeschooling snow day as well and the boys and I played in the snow, made hot cocoa from scratch, did a craft, and read by the fire.
By Wednesday we were back to normal and we resumed homeschooling and Algebra cramming. Wednesdays have become our Family Night. Ben ended up having to work really late, but the boys and I had fun making pretzels from scratch.
Thursday was the big test. I scored a 100% AND extra credit for correctly answering a question we hadn’t covered in class yet. Big sigh of relief! Life Group was good. We are done with Dave Ramsey for now, but had a good discussion about church and what role church plays in our lives.
Friday was the busy day! We attended a homeschoolers Valentine’s Day party which was so much fun! Then we came home to find the batteries were low in one of the smoke detectors and it kept beeping every two minutes. The boys were freaked out so we camped out in the van until Ben could get home and figure it all out. I was less than thrilled, but the boys had a blast. Then we attended a bowling birthday party for one of Luke’s little friends. We had a nice time – Luke’s never been bowling before.
Today, Saturday, I had a ladies breakfast while Ben took the boys out for a morning treat. When I got home I found a chocolate bar and a homemade valentine on my desk! We then headed out to a friend’s 40th birthday party, which was a nice way to spend the day!
I Tried It And I Like It: My In-Home Accessories Store!
Feb 10th
I was inspired by this post on younghouselove and decided to follow their lead. The idea is to find a space to keep all of your decorative accessories so that you can find them when you want them and easily swap things out. I cleared out a cabinet in my kitchen and quickly filled it with all of my candles, tea lights, decorative plates, potpourri, vases, etc. The only things I couldn’t fit were all of my large picture frames and large platters, but everything else is there and is easy to get to!
My Little Storehouse