New Christmas Favorites!

I've had these as favorites for a few years now but here is updated post on what I keep wanting more of.

Amy Grant's "I Need a Silent Night"  if you haven't heard this one, click here. 
The Florin Street Band "My Favourite Time of Year" (click song)
Faith Hill's "A Baby Changes Everything" (I sung this one Christmas Eve and it's been a favorite for a few years now.)
Becky Kelley's "Where's the Line to See Jesus"

Sugarland's Gold and Green CD is truly one of my favorites.  I love the original songs and my 17 year old daughter and I have claimed "I'm Coming Home" as our song for when she leaves for college next fall.  It's so us!  The whole album is wonderful and I go to it often.

"Winter Snow" is right up my alley.  Audrey Assad's voice reminds me of Norah Jones and Sarah Mclachlan; which I can listen to most any day!  Chris Tomlin does not disappoint as a worship CD and I was thrilled when DH dowloaded it for me so it could be added to my 100+ Christmas songs on my iPod!

Christmas music and the carols from long ago bring joy to my heart.  It's my most favorite time of year! 

Tomorrow is the first of December and that, my friends, brings on the December calendar of traditions - old and new - that I can't wait to celebrate with my family all month long!

Gifts That Make a Difference

My four year old son loves this Christmas brochure.  He asks me to read everything on the page to him.  He loves hearing how we could help someone else out.  Will you join me in buying one less gift from the many we buy for our children and make a life changing gift; if not from the catalog above then maybe from here:

Cow - $100 (chicken picture)

Pig - $45 (red picture)
Goat - $35 (red picture)
Chicken - $16 (chicken picture)
Garden Seeds - $10 (chicken picture)
Blankets - $5 (red picture)
Bibles in native language - $5 (chicken picture)

Safe Water for Life - $55 (chicken picture)

Every day over 4,000 children die of water-related diseases such as cholera and typhoid that are easily preventable. Compassion’s Water of Life treatment system and education can change that for an entire lifetime. Your gift will provide a safe water system for a child and his or her family. Each system, which is based on kidney dialysis technology, can provide over 1 million gallons of safe water.


Please take a minute and look through the above catalogs.  I am not paid by EFM or Compassion.  My heart hurts for the abundance we have and the means to make a HUGE difference for less than what we spend getting coffee from a little hut with a DUTCH windmill... or whatever your favorite coffee shop is - it's all expensive in terms of a $5 blanket which could save someone's life.
 
Please let me know if you do some of your shopping through a relief agency.  The amount is not significant to me, just if you do something different.  Maybe start a new tradition?
 
BLESSINGS to you.

Advent Conspiracy 2011

I'll be sharing more of how we are making this our tradition in the coming week.

Trimming the Tree

~ 2007 ~ 
(click the year for post)

~ 2008 ~

(click the year for post)

~ 2009 ~

The last year we had Troy and Brady here decorating the tree:

~ 2010 ~
Our first year with Porscha joining us!

~ 2011 ~

It was so special having our granddaughter here for her first tree decorating time.  One son wasn't here and we sure do miss him!  My nephew who has decorated many a tree with us wasn't able to make it either. 

We ended the evening with new Christmas mugs and homeade hot cocoa!  The boys got new jammies to wear this month - aren't they cute?!  Miss M (granddaughter) got a new little outfit and I can't wait to see her in it. 

I love December.  Can't wait for Thursday!!!

Simple Gifts

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am a Pacifist

I'm glad I am a Quaker.  A Friend.  A pacifist.  I'm glad that I belong to a collective body of Friends who, for the whole, believes this statement:

Respect for Human Life: We reject the unchristian preempting of God’s authority over human life. Because we trust God as the righteous and final judge before whom we spend our lives in probation, we oppose capital punishment. Because we believe in the sacredness of human life, we oppose abortion for personal convenience.

I am sick that 17 years ago Keith Eugene Wells was executed in my home state of Idaho.  17 years later, with a daughter the same age as I was at Wells' execution will experience the first execution by the State of Idaho in her lifetime. 

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin's obituary highlighted his writings on "the seamless garment of life," in which he argued that one can't be simultaneously anti-abortion and pro-euthanasia, a big issue at the time of his death.  It was along these thought lines that I wrote Governor Otter and asked him to truly back his Pro-Life stance.  Life is life.  We as sinful humans shouldn't decide who live and who dies.  God does. 

I am a pacifist and I value all life.

CLOROX, the "Parent Company"

In case you've ever wondered what brands Clorox owns, here is a list.  If  you haven't ever wondered, well, you might find yourself surprised.    

Additional Clorox Company products include: Agua Jane®, American Heritage®, Arco Iris®, Arela®, Astra®, Bluebell®, Bon Bril®, Brimax®, Clorinda®, Emperatriz®, Gumption®, Handi-Wipes®, Handy Andy®, Kitchen Bouquet®, La Negrita®, Lemon Tok®, Lestoil®, Límpido®, Los Conejos®, Luminosa®, Lustrillo®, Mono®, Mortimer®, Nevex®, OSO®, Oxi Magic®, Pal®, Pinoluz®, Prestone®, Primor®, Rota®, Sani Pine®, Selton®, Trenet®, TruBlu®, Ultra Power Yuhanrox®, Wash’n Dri® and XLO®.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World! and have your heart touched reading Kelly's post.

All who are thirstyAll who are weak

Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy
As deep cries out to deep
(We sing)
Come Lord Jesus come
Holy Spirit, come
(Brown and Robertson's "All Who Are Thirsty")

I'll be praying for those who will be on this group trip to Ecuador.  This isn't my time but I can't help but think what it would be like if I had $3,000 to spend on just me (not selfish, just not hurting our family financially).  Someday, it may be possible.  I think it's possible that I'd just cry tears the whole time.  Tears of joy from meeting Roosbell face to face and tears of sorrow for the pain I'd be exposed to.

Reminded of Hope and M.A.D.

Each morning as the kids leave for school I tell them, "GO MAD!"  MAD means "make a difference."  I need to tell myself this each day, too.  To live these words each day so my children can see that we should never stop GOING MAD!

Baby Bangs is blogging from Ecuador for Compassion International.

So are Kelly, Sophie (where you can cry and laugh as you read Jonathan's story), Ann and Melanie (where I couldn't help be a tad carsick with her as I read of her experience!)

These five blogging women are on tour with Compassion in Ecuador.  I've been stalking their blogs since they've left and have been so moved and ministered to at the same time. 

In 2008, I asked you to join me in making a difference in a child's life.  Since that post, we have sponsored Roosbell each month. 

May I be honest and say I really didn't know how much our letters meant?

When he shows us his bedroom, there are no photos of his father on the wall. Or mother or brother. Just a trio of smiles— a photo of a family, a long haired girl, a cluster of kids. It’s good to find smiling here. We brush at wet cheeks and smile too and ask who are these beautiful friends of yours, Jonathan?

I look towards our translator. She asks Jonathan and she turns to us —
“These are his Compassion sponsors.” The the only family he knows, right there, hanging over his bed, the only things hanging on the walls of this hut. Love is always our only art.
“These are the letters they write me.” A smile flickers. The scrawling script under the Compassion logo talks of snow and dogs and school. “I love Mr. Andrew and his family very much.”
He whispers it.
Love is always our only hope.

I honestly don't know that I'll ever get to meet him face-to-face like this; but if God wills it, I AM THERE!!!  In the meantime, I am LOVING the new online letter writing tools that allows me to load pictures and backgrounds to make it more personal.  We are going to be more faithful in writing Roosbell.  That is a something we can do to M.A.D.

Made in the U.S.A.

I found the best gift resource this morning! I've been looking for an easy site with various price options and found it this morning!

REI -Outlet has a whole section to MADE in the U.S.A.!

I am willing to pay a little more when I know it's made right here on American soil but sometimes can't or choose not to depending on the item.  I was floored today when I found American made items for LESS than their over-sea counterparts!

Check out these socks!  REI Merino Wool Light Hiker Crew Socks - Kids' - 2011 Seconds for only $3.93!  Yes, they are kids' socks but how about these for us adults?  At a whopping $4.93 I can't help but get excited!

This sled, made right here is only $28.93 and I have to tell you, we've bought cheaply made sleds and paid this much money only to have them crack and break after a few runs down the mountain.  Grrr! 

Prison Blues. The original, authentic, prison-constructed blue jean brand. Manufactured by inmates at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, Oregon U.S.A.

Made on the Inside to be worn on the Outside© to read their story and see how you can purchase American made jeans from American grown cotton!!!

When we went into the Prison Blue store in Pendleton last weekend, I was certain the prices would be sky high; especially when the employee told me that the cotton was from Georgia...  $35 folks!!!  We're talking the good quality of jeans that my Daddy use to get from the farm store that were sturdy and the color that "new jeans" should be!  To find a retailer that sells these, just click here and you can enter your zip code or see online retailers; as well. 

Do you have a "go-to" place for American made products?  I'd love to hear about it.

Modesty

The Duggar Family - Modesty

Here is an eight minute video that I think was very well done on the topic of modesty. We did a series last fall that discussed modesty and I while I showed others that got the job done, this one does the job well.

More From The Working Girls Hotel

Here's our suite looking West toward the bathroom.

This little sitting room is between the bedroom and the bathroom - all open doorways. The little lamps are beautiful and you can see the furniture is unique and antique. Check out the old radio!

There are windows above the DOORS! With cool old openers... so neat!

The dining room chairs have ELBOW rests!

We're really enjoying our stay and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a unique experience from the chain hotels. I don't know how the experience would be if we were sharing the space with others but would give it a whirl. For tonight, it's perfect just the way it is!

The Prodigal Son

Our "where to eat contest" has the following rules:
1.) Locally owned - NO CHAINS!
2.) A unique experience
3.) we each bring ONE place to the table and try to convince the other to eat at our pick.
4.) Haven't eaten there before.



I mentiond that DH "won" which means he convinced me to try his place and not the other way around. Mind you, I didn't try very hard to convince him so I didn't feel like a "loser."



We ate at The Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub, blocks from our hotel so we walked. It was drizzling rain but comfortable and we enjoyed window shopping with some picks to go back to tomorrow.

DH got the Pit Boss burger; which is what he saw to make him want to go here in the first place.

He feels the 30 minute way to get our food was worth it once he tasted this juicy spicy burger:

I got the Rueben and did NOT feel the wait was worth it. The bread was soggy, they didn't have regular yellow mustard (how can a pub not have yellow mustard?), A1 sauce (one of the two ways i prefer steak fries, the other is yellow mustard and ketchup mixed) nor did they have honey for my hot water, lemon & honey drink. Besides the fact that the rueben left much to be desired - and I love ruebens!

What else was wrong? I guess since we were not partaking in their beverage of choice (thus the name brewery and pub) we had to ask for water refills each of the three times we were empty. The steak fries were horrible! I ate a few and even DH had several left on his plate and agreed they were "less than desirable." (He's so much nicer than I am!!!)

I would not go back nor would I recommend it. Boo Hoo.

DH, however, might go back just for the burger.

The Working Girls Hotel

DH and I are staying in a former bordello tonight in Pendleton, Oregon. The Working Girls Hotel is part of the Pendleton Underground Tours and it's an amazing hotel. We're the only people staying here tonight so we have the whole place to ourselves. Here is DH in the dining room firing up his laptop for our "where to eat contest."
Here I am posing with the authentic Pendleton wool blanket (MOM, you have one just like this!!!)

DH and his new cowboy friends (the old brick walls are so cool!):

Totally fell in love with the calendar art from 1924!

So did DH...

I'll share more pictures when I can edit them better... the lighting is hard for me to work with but I can't wait to show you the coolest chairs ever! And our room - wow. We booked the suite and it is so nice.

DH won the "where to eat" contest so we're off to The Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub for a mouth watering burger! (No worries, friends...)