Busy Week and Inspirational Email

We got back from a weekend trip to the middle of Wisconsin where mom got to be a beverage vendor at the Sally Fallon Seminar in Arkansaw, WI. We camped in the skoolie, at the home of my friend's mom. They live on an incredibly lovely and secluded 40 acres. The kids and dads hung out all day at grandma's while my friend and I attended the seminar.

We got home this morning at 2 am and awoke early to get to church, where dd Hannah (age 10) was baptized today. Afterward, we went to a swimming pool with friends because our realtor was running an open house and we couldn't go home until after 3 pm.

We have made an offer on a house and it has been accepted, but I am going to save the details until it's a sure thing. There are lots of goings-on in the process and we still need to have a well test done. During the inspection, it was discovered that they were putting bleach into the water source. Hmmmm..... Tall cold glass of ice water, anyone? It won't hurt you, really....

Tomorrow we leave for a family trip... we are accompanying dad during his work week and will be spending time in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. While dad is working, we will explore places that we have never visited before. Can't wait for the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum in Mansfield, MO! I (mom) have wanted to see it ever since I was a child. We also have tickets to the Titanic museum in Branson, MO.

I got this email today and wanted to share it.

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, "You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it." Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet."

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change."

The driver, with a smile, replied, "Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday."

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, "Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter."

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us to the test! Always be on guard and remember that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself "Christian."

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Answers to Monday's quiz

Okay I knew it... four days have passed and I had forgotton all about it until the impatient man of the house who wanted answers reminded me. :)

Answers To Quiz
(If you haven't taken the quiz, see previous post first)

1. boxing

2. Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. asparagus andrhubarb (personally I always thought it was a fruit)

4. strawberry

5. It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)

6. dwarf, dwell, dwindle

7. period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, bracket, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. lettuce.

9. shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, and stilts.

Pop Quiz

Life has been really busy here at the Hen House, which is why I haven't posted in awhile. We are in the process of buying a new house, and I will share the details when things come together more.

I got this quiz via e-mail today. I actually did pretty well on the questions. I will post the answers tomorrow (or in about three weeks if I forget).

These are not trick questions! They are straight questions with straight answers.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw" and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S."

Moving Day for the Chicks

Today the chicks are three weeks old, and dad says they stink too much in the house. So yesterday, we prepared their shelter and fenced in an area for them to live. Today they moved in. There is a heat lamp in the playhouse to keep them warm when it's chilly or rainy out.

They LOVE their new home! It was so much fun watching them scratch for bugs the way a chicken is supposed to! They have seven more weeks to enjoy themselves (and entertain us in the meantime).

My Baby Turns 7!

Today is Zach's 7th birthday. Where have the years gone? He loved his new blanket that mom crocheted for him (in Steelers colors) but his favorite gift was the Peyton Manning Super Bowl XLI jersey.











Tonight some friends came over for cake and ice cream. One of these friends shares a birthday with Zach so we celebrated with him, too. Here they are at opposite ends of the table, blowing out their candles.

One of my favorite jokes...

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"
Northern Conservative†Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.

Summer science project

We just received five baby chicks from a friend, and we are raising them as meat birds. This is somewhat difficult when you live in town, but we have a spot all figured out for them in the yard.

They will live indoors with us until they are three weeks old, and then they will be moving to their chicken yard, which is tucked into a corner where the house and deck meet. We are getting a Little Tikes playhouse which will shelter them at night.

Their names are:

KFC

Extra Crispy

FLG (Finger Lickin' Good)

Fricasee

Cacciatore

You get the picture. This is so we don't get too attatched to them!