The Unexpected (Uninvited) Guest

'Twas a Sunday morning like any other; I got up, showered, dressed, got the dinner things together, started the cinnamon rolls to baking - nothing unusual about that.
But this was Easter Sunday.
So, of course I wanted it to be a good day, a special day for the kids.
I got the kids up, put the little one in his highchair and gave his breakfast, started dressing the big sister...so far, so good.

And then, it happened.
I went toward our bedroom, across the kitchen, going after a pair of sock for the little gal.........
And just as I passed the table, about to step into the bedroom, there, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move.
Ok, so this is Louisiana. There is a great abundance of wildlife here. Bugs thrive. Lizards thrive-possibly due to the aforesaid bugs. Our house, much to my dismay, is inhabited by many different species of bug; lizards and frogs are not uncommon; the mice are trying to take over. I'm considering buying stock in a pest control company.
So, anyway, back to the wiggle.
It took a minute to register (by which time I had passed into the bedroom), but it dawned on me that THAT was not your ordinary wiggle.
So I went back for another look.
Sure enough. This little wiggler that had come to crawl - oops, I mean CALL, was not any of the previously mentioned wildlife.

THERE WAS A SNAKE IN MY HOUSE!!!!!!!

Well, it just so happened, my kiddos had drug a glass canning jar out of the cabinet tio play with, and it was still laying on the floor where they had left it. The little snakey dude had found it and crawled inside to check it out - so I grabbed the dustpan and attempted to cover to top of the jar and lock him in.
So far, so good, right?

NOT!
He escaped, and headed under the fish tank. At this point, I decided to alert the man of the house to our visitor.
So, armed with broom and mop, we poked around under the fish tanks, and, sure enough, out he came - headed staight for the bedroom; I cut him off at the pass, so he tried for the kitchen. The boss-man wonked him on the head the his handy-dandy mop, so he turned and headed for the back door. GREAT!
Unfortunately, as it happens in most trailers, to get to the back door you have to first pass through the laundry room.
Folks, my laundry room is also my pantry, and the room where everything in thehouse that doesn't have a permanant home goes to die.
Mr. Snakey-poo was well hidden.
I poked around for a bit, but no reptile.
Finally, the hubby, now armed to the teeth with shovel and garden rake began an assault on said laundry room.
And, after much digging and tossing, unearthed our friendly guest.
Oh, the whacking and pounding that did ensue.
To make a long story short, Mr. Snake ended up snake soup. Only the rake and one jar of apple butter were broken in the process! :)
And miracle of all miracles, Ju never did figure out what all the banging was about!!!!

And, we made it to Sunday School with 3 minutes to spare!

So, What has Gillian been up to?

What have I been up to?
Oh, nothing much....

Just this:

See the first five from the left? Yup, that's what I was doing in February and March!

(Congratulations, Josh & Melissa! The wedding was beautiful - minus the bridesmade dresses, of course!)

And this:

(Just the jacket, not the dress)

And This:

Oh, yeah, and the jacket I'm wearing in the header picture. Plus, a few other things.
My sewing machine says it is tired of blue. My sewing maching says it is tired. Period.
My husband is tired of blue fuzz sticking to everything in the house. My children are tired of me sewing.

For some reason, they want to play outside.
I think I'll let them.
Bye-bye, sewing machine! ('til next week or so, at least...)


Sometime, remind me to tell you about our Easter Sunday visitor...the uninvited, unwelcome one.

Hope you all had a happy Easter (and Valentines' Day, and Christmas...)!!!! :-)

Happy Easter!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

We had a Program Sunday morning with singing and scripture readings, and so on; it turned out really nice - at least from the piano bench it seemed nice! :-) We even had a few visitors show up, including a new family that had never been before!

Sunday afternoon we had a church potluck, and Bro. and Sis. Miller graciously invited us all to their house. They have a beautiful home and all the food was wonderful (or 'berry delicious' as Juju would say!)

I couldn't get any really good pics of Juliana before she managed to go and get strawberries on her pretty new dress. (But the good news is that I washed it and it all came out!)

Here she is with our friends Kenny and Heather Adamson. (she matched them, too!)

Of course she sat and smiled prettily with them...we try to get her picture with us and she wiggles and wriggles, and pulls her dress up, etc.

Just some random pictures:

Terrorizing the cat
Gardening (which soon became a form of terrorizing the cat, when she started whacking him with her gardening tools!)

Her first skinned knee - received from running too fast in the driveway. (please ignore the tragically yucky pants her father is wearing. Pants make wonderful things to wipe your painty or tarry hands on!)

What A Savior!

As we are approaching Easter, this week I've been reading over the various account of the crucifixion. One thing that has stood out to me like never before, was reading about the veil in the temple being torn.
You see, that veil had a purpose; it was there to keep people out, to shield the Holy from the unholy. It was in that room where God came down to meet with man, and not just anyone could enter. Only the very holiest man, the high priest, could go in, and had to spend much time in preparation for that moment when he would push aside the curtain and enter the Presence of God Almighty.
Those preparations could not be taken lightly; he had to cleanse himself - clean his body, put on special, pure garments that were only for this purpose - but most importantly, he could not enter with sin in his life.
The priest entered that room, the Holy place, with much fear and trembling. He knew if he entered and was found wanting, if his garments weren't clean, his life sinless, He wouldn't leave that room alive. And if he died, they couldn't even come in to remove the body - a rope was placed about his ankle before he entered, just in case.
It seems a little harsh to us, these stringent rules, but God cannot look on sin, and in those days, God actually came down to commune with them and tell them what to do. And so, the general population never knew the presence of God as we know it. The only way for them to receive forgiveness of sin was through the priest, and their sacrifice. Yes, they could pray and talk to him, but not like we can.
From the beginning of time, when man first sinned, God knew there had to be another plan. The sacrifices wouldn't suffice forever. There must be a better way! What if someone died in between sacrifices? What if they didn't have the means to bring a lamb or a dove?
So, He sent his Son.
His perfect Son.
His ONLY Son.
Because God knew the only was to make redemption available to everyone was to provide the sacrifice for them.
I cannot imagine the pain it must have caused Him to look down and watch His only child as He was beaten, spit on, laughed at, mocked, and brutally crucified; to see Him as He hung there in agony, blood running from the gashes in his skin - or what was left of His skin after they literally beat Him 'til His body was shredded - mutilated to the point where if she hadn't been there and known it was Him, His own mother might not have recognized Him.; and then, just when it seemed that Jesus needed His father the most, as God turned His back and left Him hanging there.
As a mother, at times I worry the my child might fall, or somehow hurt herself, and it causes me pain to think that she might be injured in any way, but to watch her suffer? I'd be right there in the middle of it doing everything I could to ease her pain! And if someone deliberately hurt her, I probably just about hurt them back. But God, knowing that there was no other way, seeing the need for a Savior, turned His back as Jesus took the sins of the world, and made the last blood sacrifice that would ever be needed - with His own life.
And just as the the last breath left His body, miles away in the city of Jerusalem, the veil, that thing that had protected the Holy place from the corruption without, the thing that had kept the people from entering the presence of God, was torn apart by unseen hands.
Why? Because the sacrifice had been made for once and for all. From that moment until the end of time, "whosoever" could enter the presence of God Almighty, and not with fear for their lives!: God's word says to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
We can approach the Father with out fear that our sacrifice will not be accepted, because the sacrifice has been made for us! And Jesus said in John 6:37 "...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
How can you help but thank Him, and give Him your life? After all, He gave His life for you!

Man of Sorrows! What a name

For the Son of God, who came

Ruined sinners to reclaim.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

In my place condemned He stood;

Sealed my pardon with His blood.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Guilty, vile, and helpless we;

Spotless Lamb of God was He;

Full atonement! Can it be?

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;

It is finished! Was His cry;

Now in Heav'n exalted high.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!
When He comes, our glorious King,

All His ransomed home to bring,

Then anew His song we'll sing:

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

(P.P. Bliss, 1875)

(Artwork by John Bell copyright 1998-2007 (www.jrbell.com) used with permission)

Easter, Spring, And Anything Else That Comes To Mind

Here's Juliana taking a little time out to get ready for Easter:
(She's reading the Easter edition of 'Ideals')

Spring hasn't decided whether it is coming or going. It actually snowed on Easter! You had to be looking pretty hard to see it, but it was snow. It's been pretty cool all week, but it's supposed to get almost to 70 tomorrow - Let it be, dear Lord, let it be! I case you haven't gathered by now, I don't like cold, wet weather!





Easter has come and gone. When we got to church Easter Sunday, we discovered that Emily Boardman and Juliana were wearing the same dress in different colors, so we had to get a picture!














And this is proof that there really is an Easter Bunny! :-0












I decided this week to try making a starter for sourdough bread! I normally make bread just using yeast (like most people), but I wanted to try something different, thus the starter. I went to do some research in the internet (I use http://www.allrecipes.com/ most of the time when I'm looking for recipes and such) and discovered some interesting things about bread starters.

1. At one time, starters were passed down from generation to generation, and if you were in
one of those families, our starter could have originated centuries before!
2. Starters and just like pets, you have to feed them and keep them warm-and clean up the mess
if they get too carried away!
3. If you have surplus of starter, you can either a.) pass it on to friends and family, b.) freeze it
(just thaw and use when you're ready), or c.) you can pour it out on a pan, let it dry, then
break it into pieces and place in an airtight bag. When you need it, just reconstitute it by
pouring some water over and letting it set (and stirring) until liquid again!


Ok, now you all probably think I'm crazy! Sometimes, I wonder about myself. I have made one loaf of bread with my pet starter, and it tasted pretty good, but was a little bit heavy. I'll have to experiment with it and see what I can do to improve it! I'll let you know what happens-if I remember!