All posts by KME

Disappearing blogs

I did post a blog last night. Really, I did. Some of you even got a nice little e-mail notification. Sorry about that. Is there such a thing as blogging false alarms? The gal who cried “Blog!” Thankfully it wasn’t a very brilliant or witty, or even mildly amusing, post. The pictures, often a redeeming factor in the blog, were only average. So actually, you should be thanking me for sparring you the annoyance of a sub par blog.

What happened is I posted the blog to our old server whereas Tim has moved everything to the new server. It all seems a bit science fiction-y to me but I listen attentively and murmur words of encouragement as needed. I’m sure that I am a big help.

It has definitely been a big job to move everything over to this new server. I still don’t understand why the hosting company isn’t more helpful. Let’s see, I pay you MORE money each month and then I do all the work myself? Of course! Silly me.

david's tortured look

David is VERY upset about all of the website trouble we’ve been having. Look at that agony, the boy is suffering.

To add insult to injury, I left my camera at our pastor’s house last night when we were over for dinner. Boy, getting it back from him is probably going to be costly.

“Sure, Kathy, you can have your camera. Which class would you like to teach for VBS? Oh, sorry Kathy, I left your camera at home. You can have it tomorrow, maybe, but first let’s talk about the need we have for nursery workers.”

Shew. Holding a camera for ransom seems low, even for a pastor.

rachel's hat

What would I do without these self-portraits of some of my favorite children?

Of course, being an overachiever in the Project 365 department, I do have a few other pictures to choose from for the odd blog (odd being the number, not content or state of the blogger). On Sunday we had lunch with Tim’s family. During our conversation it came out that Rebecca (15 yrs. next month) has some sensory “issues.” She even went so far as to call my beloved orange chair (Orange Crush) “almost evil.” I guess the pseudo velour fabric isn’t to her liking. So, of course, before she left we had to tie her up and make her sit in it.

That’s the kind of loving family we are.

rebecca is tortured

How can you NOT like this chair? Some people have no taste.

Tim’s brother insists that these kind of odd quirks and eccentricities always accompany a true genius so we’re trying not to be overly concerned about Rebecca.

Of course, when I’m not tying up nieces and nephews and forcing them to face their fears, I occasionally torture them with family pictures.

“You’ll thank me later,” I tell them but so far no one has. Blogging has created a photo monster in me, what can I say. I’ve heard scrapbookers talk about how, after years of scrapping, they begin to compose pictures to fit in their oval and circle cropping stencils. Some even dress their family members in clothing matches their scrapbook paper. By comparison, I’m almost normal. Almost.

three generations

Three generations!

We aren’t wearing matching shirts or even perfectly coordinated colors but I think it works.

the ladies

We needed Tim’s sister and her family to complete the photo shoot.

I apologize for any any e-mail troubles you’ve had with our account or wild blogging goose chases you might have experienced this week. Tim is slowly working through all the steps to ensure everything is working smoothly.

Kathy
Project 365 – Day 203

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We’re Working On It

I was advised to blog WITHOUT pictures this evening. What? Horrors! Is such a thing even allowed on this blog??? Truly I am a bit concerned. The last time I tried a wee little tiny blog without pictures there were serious consequences. It wasn’t pretty. Experiences like that are enough to scar a girl.

And yet.
And yet.

A post with some content is better than a blank page or even a dreaded ERROR message!!

Ahem, our website is in a bit of disarray, as Tim works to move things on to the new, virtual server. Having never done this before, he’s hitting a nice learning curve along the way. Oh, yes, and he has a few other things on his plate these days (not asparagus pancakes although those are always tasty) like work, children, church responsibilities, mine and Sarah’s birthdays to celebrate (July isn’t over yet!), important stuff like that.

I don’t know why I continue linking to old blogs since all of the pictures are temporarily (I surely hope!!!) gone. Too bad, as those asparagus topped pancakes were really something.

It’s funny to think of how we become dependent on technology and, in this case, pour so much of ourselves into something that can easily be wiped away. I guess that’s true for most anything. A gorgeous scrapbook could be lost or destroyed just as effortlessly. A quilt stained or ripped. A painting scratched. Even people are vulnerable to injury and death. In comparison a blog seems so transient and ephemeral, there’s nothing to hold or touch.

I apologize for the disruption in the normal blogging schedule. It is my hope (and prayer) that Tim will not have any undue difficulty in completing the process and restoring the rest of the blog (including those precious pictures).

Thank you for your patience,
Kathy

Who did take some Project 365 pictures today even if they aren’t ever posted on the blog

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Bloggy Give Away

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

A fellow blogger, Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer, is hosting a blog giveaway this week. Click on the blue link to check out her blog — Give Away. Bloggers from far and wide have stopped in at Shannon’s blog to list their giveaways. At this point there are over 300 people offering fun treats of all sizes and shapes. What a great idea to spice things up in the middle of the July!

Most of the contests are randomly drawn so everyone has a chance to win. Enjoy the fun! If you have a blog and want to offer a giveaway, be sure to add yourself to the list. There are instructions on Shannon’s site.

Kathy – off to sign up and WIN something!! :)

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Walking On the Word of God

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

On Saturday Rachel and I stopped by to visit some friends. They are just completing the building of their new home and we have been privileged to watch, with excitement and wonder, the different stages of development over the past year. Tim and his brother Mark, along with the older boys, helped move the piano into the study on Saturday afternoon. The finishing touches are slowly and steadily being completed. It’s truly amazing to look around this beautiful home and know that Pam and Jay have done almost all of the work themselves.

zachary

Zachary is excited to move into the new house.

I heard that the carpeting was to be installed on Monday, covering the plywood floors of the upstairs, and thought that offered a unique opportunity. Treasuring and pondering the words in Hebrews about the LIVING Word of God, I asked if I could come over and write some verses on the bare floors. Receiving permission, Rachel and I brought our bag of Sharpie markers, grabbed two Bibles and set about to work.

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

This family has been dear friends to us for many years and their love for the Lord is sincere and true. I was overwhelmed with a desire to bless and anoint the house with God’s Word in any way I could. I kept thinking about the power of walking in and on and through the living and breathing Word.

emily's closet

Emily works on the floor of her closet.

My Bible reading the night before led me to a verse for the boys’ bedroom which in turn brought me to a passage for the girls’ room. Suddenly I was eager to find verses for each of the upstairs rooms. A song of praise for the Lord in a room where music will be practiced, a reminder about physical training and godliness on the floor of the exercise area, verses about love and respect and marriage in the master suite, the passage from Philippians about thinking on that which is noble and pure and lovely and right for the library, the Bible treasure hunt was on.

the armor of God

After just a few minutes, Rachel and I were joined by Pam, Zachary and Emily, Bibles and Sharpies in hand. For close to an hour we copied Bible verses onto the bare, rough wooden floors of the upstairs. Pam found verses about clothing yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience and wrote them in the closet. Zachary wrote down his favorite verse, John 3:16. Emily copied parts of Proverbs 31.

zach's verse

emily

It was a precious, sweet time, as we worked all the while amidst hammering and nailing as Jay put up the trim and the little ones played. Zachary told me he wished he could copy the whole Bible on the floor of his room so he could easily turn to just the right verse. There is power in God’s Word. It is ALIVE. It is HOLY. It is the power to change and transform our lives.

For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. (Hebrews 3:4)

May our hearts and homes be built on the solid foundation that is only found in Jesus Christ!!

Kathy

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The party isn’t over yet

My theory is: as long as there is another present to be opened, then it’s still your birthday. My brother Thom’s birthday is on the 31st of July, so growing up there was a very definite end to my birthday celebrations. He did his best to arrive on the scene at the very end of July, but still, he was constantly encroaching on my birthday. These days, with Thom safely miles away, I am free to claim the entire month of July for my birthday.

Of course, I share one or two days with Sarah.

After all, I’m not greedy.

pmge's

Timothy, Elizabeth and Mark are obviously also very excited about my birthday.

In all fairness, Sarah was the one who had a whole basket full of presents left to open. The week of camp was busy and wet, wet, wet. Did I already mention how it rained and rained every day but one? I don’t want to complain, but the middle of July is NOT the time it should be raining. Even in western Washington. Aren’t there rules about this sort of thing? Something about rain and birthdays and standards of summer weather? Somehow there wasn’t ever time to open the rest of the birthday presents. No doubt it was because of the rain.

Today we all gathered for one last party celebration. Yes, it was raining. Sarah and I did our best to ignore the lousy weather and concentrate on more important things, like presents and being spoiled rotten.

look at that birthday girl

On Tuesday, the day after her birthday, Sarah told me, “I miss being four.”

When we got home this evening, there was a huge box on the porch addressed to me. More presents? See how a birthday can be stretched out to last and last.

And there are still cards to open on the mantle.

Life is good.

Now if it would just stop raining.

Kathy
Project 365 – Day 202

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