If my daughter ever compliments your outfit...

...DON'T believe her!!!

I came downstairs awhile ago dressed in an old jumper loaded with stains topped with an equally old sweatshirt with even more stains; I am hoping to do some painting today.  Anyway, when Jolene saw me she immediately said "Oh, that's cute!"  

Jolene's birthday is on Wednesday and this little mother is going to be 6 years old.  She loves playing mommy with her babies and since we have been wanting to finish under the stairs a little playroom complete with a door, I thought now would be a good time to get busy.  I plan to paint it all white so it will reflect the light Chad is planning to hang for them.  He also plans to hang a bar so Jolene can hang up all her doll clothes.  I bought her a small plastic three drawer cart for her non-hangables and some hangers so she doesn't use all of mine.  She won't receive these till Wednesday morning so if you happen to talk to her, please, don't spill the beans!  

She had asked for a new skirt and top, so I had planned to work on one today but she must have overheard Chad on the phone with me when she was outside and he said go ahead and sew and paint later, it wasn't long and she was inside asking me if I was going to sew.  Sooo!!!  Now what to do!!!  How do I secretly make a skirt for her when she is back inside wanting to know everything I am doing???

Jolene is improving rapidly in her reading.  Yesterday when it was time to do her Phonics worksheet instead of saying "how many do I have to do today" which I have often heard from the male students under my tutilage, she said "how many worksheets do I get to do?"  She only had time for 2 but would have done more if time permited.  :)

Jonas is in bed for his nap and the rest of the children are outside with Chad.  We had a pretty good week and I am hoping to do as well or even better next week.  It makes all the difference in the world when your beginning readers are getting it and you see the results of all your efforts.

Jared is soooo ready to read.  It is down to attitude now.  We give our children a nice Bible with their name on it when they learn to read, I have had Jared's ready for him for months.  I told him Thursday if he continues to do this well and is dilligent with his school all next week that he will get his Bible after school on Friday.  If he will just decide to TRY to start reading things he sees on his own, he will be up and going in no time!

I guess that is enough for now!  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Whew!

Sigh of relief!

I spent the day cleaning out and reorganizing three major clutter / storage areas.  The summer kitchen, upper pantry, and hall closet upstairs.  It feels soooo GOOD! :)

So... my house is clean, tomorrow's supper is thawing on the counter and waiting to be put in the crockpot before church and I look forward to a restful Lord's Day as I don't have to look around and think of all that needs to be done!  I can rest in peace! :)

Our USB port on our laptop is not recognizing any USB's at the moment, so I am unable to upload pictures to share.  I could if I wanted to mess with the school computer, but if I sit down for a break I want to be all cozy on my couch!!!  I Love my laptop. :)

Lately the children have been enjoying being outside in the mud!!!  Chad is working on our driveway and has dug up a spot where we plan to put a better gravel base down to deter water puddles.  Well, right now it is causing a small lake and the children love it.  They have been making home-made boats and floating them in the muddy water, sometimes pushing them around with sticks, sometimes wading right in and splashing a bigger mess all over their clothes!  Our entry gets swept on a daily basis right now; there is a reason we purchased flooring that has variagated colors of brown!!!  I see absolutely no point wasting time mopping when it will only last a few hours anyway and it would drive me crazy if we had flooring that showed how dirty it really is.

The boys recently got the idea to make themselves laptops with some scrap lumber, a few nails, and a permanent marker.  They have made such a favorable impression that now each child has his/her own laptop and they actually get used!!!  I haven't gotten any pictures yet, but then I couldn't post them anyway!

The girls play babies on a daily basis and Jolene is often trying to convince Jonas to be her baby.  She has even gotten into the drawers in his room to get out a pacifier (which he NEVER took) to give to him, which of course, he is now pleased to accept.  She can't wait to have a real baby to help with.  Ummm, I'm not sure who I will be more concerned with, Jonas or Jolene!

That's the short but sweet update on life at the Plattners.  I hope you have a great Sunday!

Challenged

We receive the Voice of the Martyrs, a magazine focused on the persecution of Christians around the World.  As I was praying for the persecuted Christians and that they would have the courage to remain true to the Lord and also have the courage to share their faith with non-Christians, it really challenged me.  I have a great desire to tell others about Jesus love and the Bible, but so often I fear what they will think or say, or for myself being afraid I will say the wrong thing.  If I don't speak now, do I think I will be bold in a time of persecution?

Do we really love our neighbors enough to recognize that if they don't choose to serve the Lord Jesus Christ they will spend eternity in hell?  Do we care enough to pray for opportunity to share the Gospel with them?  Would we face death in order that others might be saved?

When was the last time you shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a neighbor, co-worker, or someone you met when you were out and about?

How do You determine OLD?

I grew  up going to nursing homes with my school to sing.  I was used to the old people slobbering on themselves and staring at you when you said hi.  I remember one certain old lady that held onto a girls hand and just would not let go till a nurse intervened because we needed to go back to school.

I also grew up with parents that played ball in the yard with us, went on bike rides and took us to amusement parks and wouldn't think of letting us go on a ride without them to share in the fun.  

One time I took a friend with me and shortly after arriving at the park she asked when we would ditch my parents!  I was appalled, I couldn't believe anyone would think you could have more fun without my parents.  I guess she didn't know that my parents would race us to get back in line for the next ride!  Or, that they had the cash for the refreshments! :)

My point is, my parents were active in our lives and so I never considered them old.  Still don't, although as my parents are in their 60's now it does sober me up a little to think that 70's and 80's is a common time for people to go down hill in health and often die.  I've been out of high school going on 19 years now and that time has flown by, I sure don't want to miss any opportunities we have with our parents.  We have also been recently reminded how quickly someone can be taken from us in what we would consider too young an age so I have learned more than ever to enjoy every moment.

I digress!!!  I have never thought of someone as old, and still don't, until they are stuck in a nursing home slobering all over themselves and staring at you when you try to say hi!  

So now I would like to redirect you to my mom's blog or my sister - in - law Andrea's blog (just look to the right of my blog for favorite blogs and click on Mom Riley or Andrea Riley) to see a picture of my 85 year old Grandmother and 60 something Mom snow tubing!  Yes, you heard it, my 85 year old Grandma went snow tubing with my Mom!  Now: How old Is OLD?

Prayer and Praise

Prayer - I could definitely use prayer today.  Yesterday while I was resting (attempting a nap), someone came to my bedroom door and I rolled my top half of my body and immediately felt light headed till I rolled back.  During the night I woke up and when I flipped to the other side I immediately felt like the room was spinning at a fast pace.  I felt dizzy until I was able to get back to sleep awhile later.  Today I have not been feeling well, partly because I didn't sleep well, partly because I have been somewhat light headed.  A little while ago my ears felt funny, so I don't know if I have an inner ear thing going on or if my blood sugar is off again.  Chad and I have a date tonight so I am hoping that eating a healthy lunch will help.

Praise - first to God who has given us healthy minds with the ability to learn and the variety in personalities and abilities that makes life interesting (and often challenging).  Also for His daily help in the tasks He has set before us.

              Second, a pat on the back to Jared!  His reading has improved tremendously over the past month and especially in the past days.   Even though we know God has created children to learn at different paces, especially some boys, it is still added stress trying to teach because it is often hard to discern between lack of ability and laziness and continuing to put in the effort to help them learn without being too hard on them.  Well, all the hard work has paid off!  There is still a long way to go, but when they really start to read it is a big encouragement to them and they seem to try harder.  It is still somewhat discouraging because he is reading what he calls "baby books" but I have tried to encourage him that he will soon improve with practice and those "baby books" he will be able to read to his younger siblings AND before too long he will be reading more exciting books his own age.