Tough Turkeys

It's been one of those days.  Occasional moments of peace...broken up by intense spells of defiance and disobedience...and discipline.  MomE is exhausted...and crying out to God for new strength for the afternoon.  Why am I tired?  I'm trying to obey God myself!

Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.  Proverbs 13:24

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.  Proverbs 22:15

Don't fail to discipline your children. They won't die if you spank them.  

Proverbs 22:13

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.  

Proverbs 12:1

Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.  

Proverbs 19:18

Man-o-lantern! A tradition is born!

 Our friends came over the other night...him (electrician) to fix our light and her (mommy) to talk to me and get black-eyed susans for landscaping.  We had planned to carve pumpkins...so hauled them out...the guys really got into it...

 ...yes, power tools were employed....

 ...and we thought...this is too funny...it should be an annual event...a tradition...

 ...thus, MAN-O-LANTERN was born!  Next year, we will have the husband's pick the patterns...and work in secret (other room)...the wives will judge (not knowing their husband's design)...part of it will be based on how many tools are used!  HAHAHA!

 Trick-or-treat was on Sunday night...so the kids went when they got home from church.  It was cold...and dark...sorry the princess-ballerina-fairy and dragon picture didn't turn out so well!

FYI--cherry tootsie rolls have egg and whey and milk products in them...made Lubby very sick...had to employ the Benedryl...and he threw up everywhere.  Funtimes!  Er, NOT!  Scares MomE...very!

Great Sources of Entertainment!

 We are blessed...oh so very VERY blessed....

 ...to have yearly free autumnal entertainment....

...and get all our leaves sucked up when we rake them to the curb.  YEAH!  No bagging here!  LOVE IT!!!!  *little happy dance*

A...B...C...Gorey Style!

Halloween is the perfect time to share with you the brilliant and somewhat dark works of Edward Gorey. He has a special brand of kiddie macabre that is filled with twisted humor. No worries...he himself is quoted as saying, “To take my work seriously would be the height of folly.”

The following is from his alphabet book The Gashlycrumb Tinies first published in 1963.

By Edward Gorey

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.

C is for Clara who wasted away.
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.
E is for Ernest who choked on a peach.

G is for George smothered under a rug.
H is for Hector done in by a thug.
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake.
J is for James who took lye by mistake.
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks.
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea.

O is for Olive run through with an awl.
P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl.
Q is for Quentin who sank in a mire.
R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire.
S is for Sue who perished of fits.
T is for Titus who flew into bits.

V is for Victor squished under a train.
W is for Winnie embedded in ice.
X is for Xerxes devoured by mice.
Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in.

Coming Soon to a Christmas Tree near You!

 We had a jolly time painting acorns and hot gluing.  They are little carolers.  It reminds me of the noodle angels my Mom made one year.  One of my favorite ornaments of all time.  I like the chubby pinecone boy...just his eyes are showing!  Hehehe!

Preach it, sister!

Emmer-bean has been "preaching it" lately.  She loves to carry her little green Gideon Bible around...and use it to boss her brother. *ahem*

Yesterday, while I was raking leaves I overheard her saying, "Now Calub, you see right here *pointing*...it says YOU SHOULD HELP MOME WITH THE RAKING."

"But I don't wanna wake the weaves!!" says Calubby

She sighs..."Oh, well...*sigh* then I guess you just aren't doing what the Bible says...and Calub...this is GOD'S WORD!"

I did have a good talk with her later....that it is important to do what the Bible tells us...and it's good to tell people what the Bible says...
BUT we need to make sure that we know what the Bible really says.  It is God's Word and we don't want to tell someone something about it that isn't true.

And, raking isn't in the Bible.  It does say,

"Children obey your parents, for this is right." *point* HERE....Eph. 6:1

and it does say, "Be kind one to another."  *point* HERE...Eph. 4:32

I had to stick with the New Testament...that's all that's in her little green Bible.

Leaf Waxing OR House Smokin'?

 It would seem that each year I forget...LOW heat....LOW LOW LOW...patience is a virtue that I really need to work on developing...

It smelled like burnt crayons...but at least it was warm enough to open the windows for a bit and air out!  Cool picture, eh?

 You'll need a large, deep skillet...a few chunks of paraffin wax (usually by the canning supplies at grocery), a stirring spoon...and a test leaf...notice this leaf has been cooked and shriveled on the end...yup, TOO HOT!

 When wax is barely warm...and leaves don't sizzle on contact...slowly dip into wax...

 lift up and allow to drip briefly....

 move to parchment paper to allow drying.   Then put them around your house for a festive touch!

NOW....we have a bowl FULL of acorns...the kids kind of got carried away with gathering a few...so...stay tuned...we'll come up with something cute to do with them!