Whistle while you work...

As many of you know, Matt loves to cut wood.  He is very proud of his wood pile and the "quality" of wood that he cuts.  This spring and summer he cut 10 cords of wood -- 6 more than we need for the winter in our own home.  He sells it and we use the money to pay on bills or to buy something for the family.  Today he received a phone call from a friend of a friend who didn't have any wood, so he went out to the wood pile and loaded up his truck and took it to the man and his family.  Now we have money to pay for his new found love of steelhead fishing (ha ha ha). 

Celebratory Cupcakes

 

All the girls received "celebratory cupcakes" at Mori's final game.  Each of them created their own way of wearing their frosting.  Nora's wasn't on purpose but Lily and Mori's were.  Isn't it interesting how putting a little frosting on our faces will make everything funny?

Mori's Final Basketball Tournament

If you look very closely, you can see that Mori has her tongue sticking out -- hence her basketball nickname M.J. or Mori Jordan.  We watched Mori's team play in their final tournament today; three games total and they came out in third place.  We thought that was pretty good.  She was very happy with it as well.  They won their first game 17-16 (8 of the other team's points came from our team fouling them).  It was a very close game (16-17) that they lost that put them in the consolation bracket.  It was a brutal last minute where Mori got punched in the stomach and another girl got hit in the face and no fouls were called.  They were very discouraged...but they pulled through and won their last game 18-16.  It was a nice ending to a fun season.  Mori is already talking about softball season (coming up very soon) and next year's basketball season.  She is a very determined sports fanatic!  

A thought to ponder

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.  During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives.  Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.  The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate.  In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.  What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups.  And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this:  Life is the hot chocolate.   Your job, money and position in society are the cups.  They are just tools to hold and contain life.  The cup you have does not define or change the quality of life you have.  Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us.  God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.  The happiest people don't have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything that they have. 

Live simply.  Love generously.  Care deeply.  Speak kindly.  Enjoy your hot chocolate.

Another snowfall

We finally got a bit more snow.  It snowed about 2 inches over the past 24 hours and it is VERY cold.  The girls wanted to go out and play in it.  Mori started out with shorts, snow boots and a coat.  Once Lily and Nora joined her, she ran inside to put on her long johns and some warmer clothes.  Lily and Mori could stay outside all day -- even if suffering from severe frostbite.  Nora on the other hand is cold blooded, as she freezes within minutes of being outside in 15 degree weather -- it could have to do with her lack of chub.  As the forecast calls for highs in the lower 20s and lows around 5 degrees, I don't think the

snow will leave us.  We will see if the girls will venture out in the icy weather again before it goes away.

Making Taco Pockets

We didn't have school today (MLK Jr. Day) so we decided to make taco pockets.  It is a four hour activity because we have to let the bread double in size, cut, fill and let double again before we bake them.  It is quite cold here (a high of 18 degreese today) so the bread took a bit longer to raise.  Lily left in the middle to play with a friend, so Mori, Nora and I finished up the project.  We love to put taco meat and cheddar cheese in some and ham and mozzarella in the others.  They make great lunches and dinners.  Wejust thaw them out in the fridge and warm up in the microwave.  It is a fun family project that we enjoy doing together.  The best part really is eating them after.  You should try it out!

Matt's a Fishin' Machine

Matt, in search of a new hobby for the winter, has taken up steelhead fishing with his friends.  He has gone out 5 times now.  He caught a 32 inch native his very first day and was hooked (of course he did not have a camera, so we have to just take his word for it.....) and has gone out every chance he has had since.  This morning, we did not have school because of MLK Jr. Day, so he left around 7 a.m. in freezing cold temperatures of 15 degrees to catch a fish.  After his line had frozen and his bobber wasn't working correctly, he decided to move up river to one more hole before calling it a morning.  On his second cast, he hooked into a beautiful 27 inch native (which means he can't keep it -- they can only keep hatchery fish around here) and landed it.  Thanks to his friend Brad, we actually have proof of capture (because even though Matt got a new camera for his birthday, he forgot it, yet again).  He is HOOKED and will be going out as soon as he can.  Someday we may even get to see one for ourselves.