County Fair Results........

You just won't believe this...my little story about adoption won Grand Champion in our county fair! I was sooooo surprised. I'm trying to decide if I want to send it in to have a Christian magazine to look at it. It's kinda scary to put yourself "out there"....
I entered a basket in the "Gifts from the Kitchen" section and got a Champion ribbon. (Actually, it was 3rd or 4th out of all the others...with Grand Champion and Reserve Champion placing higher than me.) It was a lot of fun to do and they usually auction the baskets off to raise money for the Extension Homemakers.
I got a blue ribbon on my oatmeal cookies and on my painted gourd. It was so much fun to just participate in our county fair. LOTS and LOTS of ladies from our little church also entered things. It's neat to be part of a little farming community!

Becca entered her little painting of a bird and received a Reserve Champion ribbon in the open show. She got two blue ribbons on her photos in the Homemakers Junior division.

She got all Blue placings on her projects and an Honor with a Blue Ribbon on one of her photos in the regular 4H fair. Gideon got two blue ribbons on his two projects.

All in all, they were happy with what they got...Becca tends to be hard on herself and works for that "Champion or Reserve or Grand Champion Ribbon." This is the first year she hasn't won one of those enviable ribbons. But she wasn't able to work on them as hard as she has in the past so I'm happy with her efforts.

Roger and I have our big class reunions this year. Since I went to school with Roger for three years, freshman through junior years, I know everyone he graduated with. That reunion is this weekend. I guess most people are apprehensive about those big reunions...I wish I had lost lots more weight......
I don't think I'm going to the class reunion where I actually graduated. I only went there one year and mostly, it's a year that I didn't really enjoy a whole lot...first experience in public high school.............which is why I really am pro homeschool!!

We are also baking another wedding cake...this time for Roger's older brother and his wedding is the same day as our reunion. His sister and her family are coming in first thing tomorrow morning. Busy busy week!!

Have a lovely day...stay cool....if you can!!
Blessings,
Beth

Do You Remember.....

Oh how LOVELY February was?? It is the beginning of 4H fair week here in our county and it is once again HOT!!!!!!! So, with that in mind, I thought it would be nice to remember what it was just five short months ago here in Indiana......

(Pretty picture, isn't it? I didn't take it, daughter Jennie did it!)

Ice on the side of the house....

Snow up past the windows of our old little church...on Missions Conference weekend.

I actually like the winter time as long as I don't have to drive in the bad conditions, or if my husband and children and loved ones don't have to drive in it...which is rare...especially now that Danny is a policeman and has to be out in it all the time!!!

But those lovely, cozy days of curling up with a wonderful Jane Austen book or movie, or scrapbooking, or sewing, or even tidying up my house seem so wonderful to me right now! A nice cup of "Breakfast" or Lady Grey tea in a beautiful tea cup, a yummy scented candle burning, even the lingering scent of the fabric softener in the laundry room seems nice to me right now...summer is very busy around our house and I really miss the slightly less active time of the winter. The wintertime just seems so very cozy to me when I am at home...KEEPING home. The yellowish light in the window welcoming my husband home to a hot home cooked meal helps create a delightful mood in our home. I am really looking forward to the first real winter we will spend in our new/old house. It is really quite snug. (I have been promising myself that I will never complain about anything in the much more affordable house...but I would REALLY love to have a clothes closet for Roger and myself! I'm trying to talk him into building one soon...very soon, please, oh please????????? Roger Honey.....do you ever read this stuff I write????)

My mother was very very sick this week and continues to feel bad...although better. She was taken to the hospital Saturday night with pneumonia in both lungs and sepsis. She is better now and is home. I was really afraid on Saturday that we would lose her. Becca sat at my feet and just sobbed. However, as I said, she is much improved and even called me and joked around with me. (she overheard another phone conversation I had on the cellphone with my hubby, telling him I loved him, etc....She told me that we were "sick." Yeah, maybe...at least our teenagers think we are!! hehe!!) I am thanking the Lord for His provision for her!

4H is about to start full swing this weekend. Almost all the projects have been turned in with the exception of Becca's Food Preparation. She is making quiche' and it needs to be ready Thursday morning...bright and early! Becca and Gideon both received blue ribbons on their craft projects, blue ribbons on their photography projects, Becca got a blue on a painting, and her "salon" photography was just judged this morning. She got a "Blue" ribbon on a picture of chocolate kisses...with a possible consideration for the honors group...and a blue ribbon with honors on a picture of the woods behind our house with the farmer's yard tractor in the picture. It will be competing for champion, reserve or grand champion. (Not bad, I think!) I LOVE that picture!

I hope that they are learning a lot from 4H and that is isn't all about just winning a ribbon. (I know that that is a big part to them...they each would love to get a champion ribbon but not many kids get to have that. ) I want them to work hard and compete NICELY...not mean spirited. I think that it can easily become that way if we don't watch it. I am also a little bit afraid that PRIDE will get in the way and get ugly.

Becca and Gideon ARE learning about time scheduling, doing your best, talking with judges and explaining their projects. We are really reaping the benefit of Becca learning so much about cooking! She knows much much much more at 14 than I did when I got married!

Well, have a lovely day, try to stay cool...if possible.

Blessings!

Beth

Observations....

My hubby and I went out for a lunch date the other day to Einstein Bagels. Roger loves the Tasty Turkey! Anyway, as I was sitting with him, I noticed an elderly lady and what I assumed to be her preteen or early teen grandson. She was struggling and struggling to open the door to the restaurant. The boy just stood there, waiting for the old lady to open the door. They then proceeded to the counter and placed their order. The boy took his glass and walked to the soda machines and filled his drink up. The old lady joined him a few minutes later with her own glass and filled hers up. Then they sat down to eat.

I don't know why that struck me as significant...I'm sure that kind of thing happens all the time...when a person is completely oblivious to the needs of others. When it happens in MY home, however, it is a little bit different.

When one of my children (or step children) goes in the door in front of me and lets it go without holding it open or in some way being courteous to me, I just stand there on the front porch until he realizes what he did.

It doesn't take long for him to figure out that if Mom (or step mom) doesn't get in the house, food will not be cooked, laundry won't be done and life as he knows it will not go on for long.

When my children were little, I taught them to LOOK for service opportunities. When they were only about three or so, I taught them to hold the door for other people and to pick something up if someone dropped it. Those little fellas just ate that kind of stuff up! It was so cute to see them trying to lean against a big door going into a store just to be polite to someone else!

Becca's homeschooling group is pretty awesome when it comes to service opportunities. Once a month they pick something to do to aid others. It is really nice to see those same junior high and high school students holding the door for people, calling us by Mr. and Mrs., and just simply being polite to people as we come and go in the church building where their classes are held. There are now over 180 students involved in this group and there are a LOT of opportunities to serve! The older ones have been responsible to totally clean the classrooms and the restrooms after their one day a week "school day" is over. I was really impressed when Becca started there last year! Now that she is starting high school (oh dear, where has the time gone??) she will be attending 2 days a week...with LOTS of mom's involvement! Thankfully, she will have an actual teacher to help her with Algebra and Spanish! (not my strengths....)

Two weeks ago, Becca and Gideon's youth group from church went to "The Wilds" in North Carolina for church camp. I guess it was pretty fun! Becca rededicated her life and surrendered to missions if that is what the Lord asks her to do. (or anything else He wants for her life.) Gideon did the same thing with an idea of working with youth. I know that they are young and that may not be what the Lord asks them to do, but it is nice to see that their hearts are open to Him.

The 4H fair is starting up again soon! This has been a pretty hard year with us moving and getting our bigger house ready to sell. It hasn't been easy with my Roger being so sick. The kids weren't able to go to very many workshops and hopefully they will be able to do those things more next year! They each have a few projects, though, and I hope they do well.

Well, we've got to get to the craft store now and then back for their final 4H meeting before the fair. Both Gideon and Becca are officers so they need to be there. (I just want to take a nap...)

By the way, our homestudy is completely done and I talked to the adoption agency on Friday. We need to forward things to them from the other adoption agency. Guess what? We have been approved to adopt 1 or 2 little ones! Wouldn't that be great? Two precious souls? One would be fine with us but two would be an additional blessing. The country that we are adopting from only places siblings and not two unrelated children. I am going to leave that in God's hands.

Since adoption is so near and dear to my heart, I tend to talk about it a lot. I think that it touches people's hearts to hear that people are doing this kind of thing. I try to make it all about the Lord but I also don't want to sound self righteous. Some of you might remember a post that I wrote back in December about walking in the snow and thinking about our little girl waiting for us in Africa. I added to it a little bit to bring in more about Christ's salvation and I entered it today in the open division in our county fair. I told my hubby that at least one or two people will be forced to read it since they are judging it so....who knows if they have ever really heard about God's Adoption of us?
Well, have a lovely day! It is really HOT here in Indiana!
Blessings, Beth