A FUNNY MOMENT

by Robin

Sunday night, we were driving home and Andrew says to me, "Mom, I still remember the day I was in your tomb. I opened my eyes up for a minute and saw pink. I kicked you a couple times. That's all I remember."

Honestly, I wasn't sure where to begin so I said what every parent says at these times. "Really? Wow!" And that was good enough for him.

I let the entire tomb/womb thing go. He'll get that eventually. I didn't want to spoil the moment of the message.

POST-THANKSGIVING pics

by Robin




It really was a lovely & restful holiday other than having two kids down with colds. I did enjoy the extra time to hang around the house & declutter. Of course, my office/school room was the only room not to get purged and it is the room I desperately needed it in. Oh well.....

Gee, I'm getting rather slack on holiday pictures this year. I think it has to do with bad batteries in the good camera. I ordered a new set which should be here any day now. (www.eneloop.com)

I can't ever explain what "moves" me to photograph sometimes. It either has to be humorous, beautiful, artsy or delicious. For me, these asparagus fell under artsy & delicious.



My entire Thanksgiving meal could have been this entire pan of asparagus and I would have been happy. They were more than delicious. Pencil-thin, drizzled w/ EVOO, salt & pepper. Left to sweat overnight. Pan-"fried" with some Smart Balance. Half a lemon's worth of juice at the very end. Melt in your mouth & drool over your keyboard GOODNESS.



This one, is much harder to explain. Things were still coming off the stove. I had a good representation of every color on the table eventually. But for me, I rather liked these earthy colors at the moment of the pre-dinner rush. Those sweet potatoes were also delicious. Jack made lemon-pepper chicken because Turkey & Ham aren't on the menu here for various reasons. I looked for individual Cornish Game hens but couldn't find any the night before T-day. My bad. For me, my eye still goes to the little praying boy & girl who are giving thanks for their meal. Sometimes I want to leave these out all year long. They give me the warm & fuzzy feelings of what the holidays are about. I should always approach the table with a thankful heart and remember those who aren't so fortunate to have such bounty.

I didn't get a single picture of us humans or the full spread of food. We stayed in our pjs, so nobody wanted their pictures taken. Captain was the only one to let me photograph him in his full splendor of a full-belly and deep in sleep during the Deal or No-Deal marathon.

Simon Peter wanted to weigh himself before and after eating to see if he gained weight. He tried to challenge us, but I said, "No thanks sweetie. That's not my idea of fun, but you go ahead if you want to." Kids are so funny.

Well, back to the grind tomorrow.

You Wouldn't Cry

At 5 am, a friend of mine went to be with the LORD. I was searching for some music this morning to give me comfort. I'm sad yet I'm also happy for Fredericka. She spent at least 3 yrs, bound by a stroke that took her memory, her voice, her mobility, her independance in every way. I'm not sure she recognized me when we visited but she enjoyed music. She lived in a hospital bed for THREE YEARS! Before that, she lived in a wheelchair for years, as diabetes has taken both her legs. She'd show up to church each week, dressed beautifully. She always sat in the front. Always had a smile. I would always seek her out for a kiss and hug.

I picked out this video because the title caught my eye, but the story stole my heart. It is a story of a death of a newborn. I never suffered a miscarriage or loss of a child, but it still was worth every minute of my time to watch the testimony and hence, the birth of Mandisa's new song, "You Wouldn't Cry." It is written from the perspective of your loved one in heaven.

Entire story at length (32 min) - song starts at 29 min.

THANKSGIVING

by Robin

I want to wish each and every one of you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday together with your families.

I am so very thankful for so many things. Maybe too many to list........ but let me try a few anyhow.

I'm so thankful God sought me.
I'm so thankful that He continued seeking me & my stubborn heart.
I'm so thankful for that moment of repentance, on the bed, and my life changed FOREVER.
I'm so thankful for that special man He brought into my life who also sought me, married me and wouldn't give up on me.
I'm so thankful for patience & compassion God gave me so that I didn't give up on him either.
I'm so thankful for the bundles of testosterone joy that now stand practically shoulder to shoulder with me each day.
I'm so thankful to be a homeschool mom, inspite of its challenges.
I'm so thankful that God gave me a new heart to be a homemaker (that was a miracle!).
I'm so thankful for this wonderful home we have, reliable transportation, private backyard, great neighbors and a big boat so we can fish as a family hobby.
I'm so thankful for the many people God has brought into my life to help shape me, mentor me and love on me.
I'm so thankful for my parents still being alive and that we have a wonderful relationship.
I'm so thankful for my sisters & their families. I love a big, close family.
I'm so thankful for the money that bought this holiday meal and how Jack had to work so hard to get it.
I'm so thankful for his job and the miracle of surviving numerous lay-offs and furloughs this year.
I'm so thankful for the convenience of running at 4pm into a busy grocery store and getting all our holiday meal food in less than an hour.
I'm so thankful for my life and how blessed I am. For giving me a voice that moves people close to God, not running for the door. For each Scripture that spoke something new to me each day. For good pastors who preached like their life depended on people's souls needing Jesus.
I'm so thankful for a risen Savior, who didn't have to die for my sins, yet He loved me enough to do it anyhow.

God bless and Much love!
Robin

LEGO LEAGUE - Tourney #1

by Robin

Our Thunderbricks are back at it again. Another season of competitions.


I couldn't be more proud of our guys & their coaches.


They did extremely well with dominating the performance runs...


..... which landed them a 1st place trophy for Robot Performance.


They also qualified for the Regional/District competition. And then, they displayed high marks in achievements in all areas and they embodied what FIRST Lego League stands for, so they were awarded the Champion's Award.



Again, I'm so proud of them. While they weren't awarded for their community research, I do believe at some point, it will be recognized & rewarded. They will most likely be recognized by our local newspaper, so I will link to that when it happens. I won't spoil the surprise yet.

If you ever have a chance to be part of a FIRST Lego League team or competition, do so. The kids are bright, polite and gracious. They do stress teamwork, good sportsmanship and striving to be the best you can be in your life, community and world.

FYI - a got a note today saying that Florida was picked in a lottery to be one of the states that can compete at the World Festival. I think that is probably the goal of our guys to compete at the World level. Oh my......... I hope it is in the US.

Lessons

by Robin

This video is a month old already, but I forgot to share it w/ you all. You should hear how Simon Peter flies on this song now.

Untitled from Robins Reports on Vimeo.

What is it about cold weather....

...that makes us so sleepy?? (Ignore all the shorts & short sleeves. It's below 70 deg.)



Mystery of History (Thank you Auntie Renee!)




Civics - The Constitution is so exciting.

Mama to 5 boys

by Robin

While there are many distinguishing differences in my babies, I will have to admit that they all require me to give them equal love time & attention. I really can appreciate you moms that have large families.

(Tiki is giving me the tongue)


It has been very difficult to blend Troy into our family, especially during the time of my painful back experience. He's different. He has to learn to trust us and to communicate. Right now, Troy is still silent. He's confused as to why so many people are paying attention to him. That makes him nervous - sort of. And yet, it is what he craves. He wants to be part of a family.



But, it really helps to have good days like this to allow for the bonding to occur. There are lots of wrestling moments.



Keep away game. (Tiki is behind Troy, but you can only see his feet.)


Chase. (It does my heart good to see him run after seeing his knee give him grief.)


I'm so thankful for lots of love in my life. I'm thankful for this beautiful Friday.

TRUNK-OR-TREAT

by Robin

A little late in coming but here they are.........

Two days of building a Lego Pumpkin


The pumpkin head rotated around with somebody passed the motion detector. Then it would say "Hello" as you got the candy and "Have a nice day" as it turned back around for the next person. I'm very proud of Simon Peter for having such an inventive trunk!! Little Tiki sat with us for the night and enjoyed all the kisses he got from the girls.


Shame on me for having a dirty lens, but here is a picture of the group of trunks in a circle. The moon is just above the trees. The people next to me had a campfire going for S'mores being their Trunk-or-Treat idea. They won 1st place. It was fantastic having the fire, plenty of chocolate and a beautiful night filled with happy kids.


I just realized that I only took 1 picture of my boys and I didn't even downsize it for the blog. Shame on me. Oh well. One was a cowboy and the other was a futuristic nerf gun warrior. LOL.

Count your blessings, name them one by one!!

GARDEN REPORT - November mini-Harvest

by Robin

I have not been a faithful blogger lately. I've been in the bed & at the hospital with terrible back pain. However, God is good and I'm back up....... if not slow at my chores. I thought you'd like to see what is going on in the garden as the cooler weather creeps in.

Garden #1 - pre-treatment for some critter that were eating up my tomatoes on the right.


Happy bug-free toms are starting to grow this week.


Baby Canteloupe started from kitchen scraps composted outside. It has already turned orangy and looks like it may be dying inspite of watering.


My 3 yr old Gal still producing yellow Sweet Bells.


One of my Okra babies is on steroids. Lots of blooms.


As of this week, I have 2 okra growing on her.


Peppers & Chocolate Peppermint in pot - pre-bug treatment. The Roma tomatoes are also kitchen scraps that were growing but getting eaten by bugs.


Happier post-bug treatment. Organic is my goal but once in a while, I do have to bring in the big guns or lose my efforts.


Bunching onions coming along nicely for the spring.


Garden #2 is more sandy, so I thought I'd try my lettuce & carrots over there for the winter. I lost a lot of my red lettuce when we went on vacation & we had some drought. When I feel up to it, I will shop for more Meschun (sp?) seeds.


Here is a small harvest that Andrew picked for me yesterday. Not much but it will do for a nice addition to a salad.

Thanks to the winds of Hurrican Ida, we have some early grapefruit that have fallen in the yard as well as veggies.


Those are my first cherry tomatoes off a fall seedling. Yeah! My winter salads are coming soon.