Company Girl Coffee

Good morning Company Girls.  It is good to be back and talk with you.  Due to life, life always seems to get in the way of, well, life, I've been absent from the Company Girl circle, for awhile.

This is only a quick stop, as I will need to leave soon.  Yesterday, I (finally) was called to sub at the kid's school, as library clerk, which is a half day gig.  At the end of the day they asked me to return today.  It is not a bad way to spend your afternoon, checking in and returning books to the shelves.  It is fun to be around the kids, many I already know since they have been in the same classes as my children.

The school year has passed it's half-way mark, and I am looking around the house wondering "have I accomplished anything this year"?  See, this is the first year all 3 kids are in school, full time, and my goal was to finish painting (haven't done it), clean out closets (a few), and job hunt (where do you begin?).

I need some motivation, and maybe give up Facebook for Lent.  Ideas, help, words of encouragements, oh, and job offers, I'll also take those;)

Well ladies, it is time for me to head out.  Thanks for your help, I always enjoy hearing from you.  Later today, I hope to make it around to everyone else's blogs, it is always so much fun to sit and read about all the other Company Girls.

Now, when you leave, head back to Rachel Anne's for more Company Girl Coffee time.  Also, as she requested, I'm adding this link for the blog hop.  OK, I confess, I'm not sure what I'm doing here, so I will link it as told, and see what happens.

Happy weekend everyone.

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Theological Questions, According to the Kids

Good morning Company Girls. The past few weeks have been a little crazy; with cleaning, activities, guests, and baking; all this means, is that what I'm posting today is a follow-up from a post three weeks ago.

So, three Fridays ago, I asked about your church story. How did you grow up, and where are you now? What wonderful replies. The common theme was non-denominational. Though our church histories all differed, that doesn't matter. The bottom line is that there is a common belief; God, Christ, and the Bible. Or, as Lea, from Cici's Corner, commented "But, there's only one God and that's where 'the rubber meets the road' as my Dad would say."

That Friday night, after posting the question, JT (our 9-year-old) asked what make churches different? OK, I'm no theologian, but I am a historian, which tends to drive my kids crazy, because I give WAY to much information when trying to answer such questions.

With a question like this, where do you start? Early Church? Roman Orthodoxy? Reformation? Luther? Calvin? Menno Simons? Counter-Reformation? Great Awakening?

Like I said WAY TO MUCH information.

So, let us keep it simple: Yes, churches are different in service style, and in some beliefs. However, Christian churches have one basic belief, that Jesus Christ died on the cross, for our sins. From there, we had a discussion on how our church, a Mennonite Church, differs in other beliefs.

Where do they come up with these questions? When they start asking deep theological questions, I figure we are doing something right. But seriously! I'm almost wishing they would ask "the question", I have a script for that.

Well Company Girls, as we all know, life goes on, and I hear the washing machine winding down. Time to tend to the laundry. Stay as long as you like, feel free to poke around. When you are done, head back over to Home Sanctuary, for more coffee with the Company Girls.

A Little Bit of This and That

Hello Company Girls. Long time, no visit. All my fault, I'm sorry. Life keeps moving, and sometimes I can't keep up.

The kids have now been in school for several weeks, and I am finding my groove as a stay-at-home mom, with no kids at home. Last week I was a professional volunteer at the kid's school. This week has been about cleaning. Next week? We shall see what happens.

The last time I visited, for some coffee, was right before our vacation to Canada. We travel to a camp, north of Toronto (Marie, I waived as we drove through Toronto.) It is beautiful up there. We love the family time, the peacefulness, and the relative isolation of the area. (Though still a short distance from a Tim Horton's, Walmart, and a windshield replacement shop. You can read more about that here.)

The kids run free (and wild), and the parents can talk to other adults. Ah, the luxury.



Here, the air truly is fresh country air; not what we call fresh country air at home, in our farming community, when the manure tractors are out.

The camp is run by the Anglican Church, and many who attend the camp grew up in the Anglican Church, and may have remained, or have moved on.

It always comes up in discussions. Hubby and I, being Mennonite, and from the US, tend to raise a couple eyebrows, and several questions. Hubby grew up in the Mennonite Church. I grew up Church of God, General Conference; which most people have never heard of so I clarify that it is close to Baptist. Sprinkle in some visits to a Catholic Church with my cousins, and other churches heavy on the usage of litany, and I feel right at home during the camp's prayer time and services.

Hearing people's church story; how they grew up, church wise, and where they find themselves now always fascinate me. (I didn't say "faith" story, but they are also interesting, and very much intertwined with one's search for a church/denomination.)

So, my question is, who are you? Maybe you grew up in the church, and have since left, or vice versa. Maybe you grew up in one denomination, or even faith, and have moved to a different one. Maybe you are where you have always been. What is your story?

Family Traditions ... Revisited

Last week I shared some of the parental sayings we us around our house, and some we may have heard growing up.

And, thank you to everyone who shared your family favorites.

Well, this past week I added one more to my list:

"Life is not this hard."

First, the kids were whining, because I wouldn't let them watch TV.

Studies say children should not watch more then 2 hours of TV/computer/video games. Yes, at one point this week, I quoted the above to the children.

Then, JT was whining about the lack of snack options (or that I wouldn't allow him to pull out the reserves, saved for vacation, from the pantry.) So, he began to open, and stare in, all the cupboards, the fridge, digging through the baking cupboard.

It is a snack. You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit.

A new phrase was born: "Life is not this hard."

I used this phrase again, the next day, when they were whining about being bored, no toys, blah, blah, blah.

(OK, my kids are sounding really whinny. Sorry about that.)

Then I said it. I said that phrase, we as children, hated hearing. The phrase, as parents, we tell ourselves we will never use:

"There are children in this world without toys!"

:::sigh:::

Yes, we are coming to the end of summer vacation. One more month, which includes a much needed vacation, for everyone.

The new statement also got me thinking, am I making life too difficult?

If JT wants to dig through the baking cupboard, and bake something, shouldn't I allow him? And, before leaving the kitchen (for the sake of my blood pressure) inform him that any mess will be HIS to clean up.

I should note that he didn't want to bake anything. He wanted to make a chocolate smoothie. I should have sent him to the computer to find a chocolate smoothie recipe. Oh wait, he had completed his 2 hours of media time.

Where is the line? When do I let the kids go, let them bake, or let them ride their bike around the neighborhood. Essentially, give them more freedoms, for their development maturity, and for my sanity.

Parents of older children, please pass along your wisdom to the rest of us. My children are no longer toddlers and preschoolers. They need more responsibilities and room to move, I need my sanity, will I find it by giving them more freedom?

And, after leaving a comment, head over to Home Sanctuary for more Company Girl Coffee.

Family Traditions

Welcome Company Girls,

Would you like something hot or cold to drink? The heat has returned to our neck of the woods, but I'm still drinking the hot coffee.

Parenting, in general, is uncharted territory; everyone's experience is different. However, there are a few common experiences we all understand, are embarrassed by, and laugh at ... like repeating the sayings our parents used on us.

I think all of us have heard at least one of these, growing up, and in turn used it on our children:

If I wanted to yell, I would have. I asked you to go TELL your sibling dinner is ready, not yell from here.

If all your friends jumped off the bridge, would you?

This will hurt me, more then it hurts you.
What does that mean?

Because I said so!

It's not the same thing.
My Mom's favorite argument ending comment, when there was no other explanation to give.

Then, there are the ones you may have invented, just for your family. These are some of my favorites:

I'm just mean that way.

Because I'm Mom.

And, that is why they call me Mom.
My personal favorite to end arguments, even with Hubby, when I have no better argument, other then I'm being irrational. If we can't pull the "mom card" then what is the use?

What are your favorite "parenting" sayings? Are they passed down, through the generations, or new, specifically designed for your family?

After leaving a comment, head back over to Home Sanctuary and enjoy some more coffee (hot or cold) with Rachel Anne and the other Company Girls.

What is Your Seating Personality Type?

Welcome Company Girls, and guests. Would you like some coffee, lemonade, along with some fresh fruit. One of my favorite parts of summer is the available fresh fruit.

So, before I explain the title of this posting, I have a confession. I have not been following along with the Small Things. And, now that summer has officially arrived, and the kids are out of school, I fear not much cleaning, nor organizing, is happening around here. And, I am at peace with that (a big step for a Type A personality to accept.)

At the end of this summer, all three children will be in school, full time, and my first few acts as an empty nester, per se, will be to clean out closets and deep clean the house. Oh, and painting. Otherwise known as stalling the job hunt.

Now, to my question. If you are part of a church, does your church have adult Sunday school classes? And if they do, and if you are a part of a Sunday school class, how does your class sit, in a circle or in rows?

Crazy questions, I know.

While sitting in a building committee meeting at our church (we are needing to renovate an old building which is now used for adult SS classes and an after-school child care program) it was noted that most of our SS classes sit in circles, lending to a more discussion type class, and therefore the classrooms needed to be larger in size to accommodate a circle of chairs. Except for, maybe, one class, where most participants are retired pastors, they sit in rows. We seem to be the church where retired seminarians come to worship, at least enough of them and their spouses to create their own SS class.

We are Mennonite, so I wondered if sitting in a circle was more of a Mennonite "thing." My only reference is my parent's SS class which sits in rows, and they are Church of God, General Conference.

Then again, it may be a generational thing.

Another observation was made, that mainly Mennonite churches are the only churches allocating space for adult Sunday school classes. Many other churches are moving towards a small group model for adults, and holding children's Sunday school during church.

Crazy questions, but the whole discussion got me thinking about other denominations. Maybe, it is a blogger thing, every little comment makes the gears churn, thinking of how to make this into a post. Kind of like taking pictures. When you blog you suddenly take pictures of EVERYTHING!

Thanks for stopping for Company Girl Coffee. For more Company Girl chatter head over to Rachel Anne's at Home Sanctuary.

Minus One

Hello Company Girls. Come in, have a seat. Do you want something to drink, and maybe a left over muffin from last weekend's camping trip?

This week kicked off our first full week of summer vacation, and we did it right. We did next to nothing. I talk a lot about our summer schedule, but this week we had no schedule. Well, next to no schedule. I still made it to the gym. The kids had a playdate. We made it to swim practice.

Oh, and then there was the nasty scene on our front porch Wednesday morning. I was cleaning the porch, and was making the kids help me. There was water involved, how could they complain? But, complain they did as they accused me of treating them like Miss Hanagan treats the orphans in Annie. Breaking out in a round of "It's a Hard Knock Life" did not help lighten moods.

And, JT enjoyed a week at Grandpa Camp.

It has been rather quiet around the house, minus one child.

However, I still can't make it out of the house on time. Hey, we didn't have a schedule this week so that doesn't matter.

Guess what the original plan was for this week? Can you guess?

Paint!
You are correct, I still haven't finished my bedroom and bathroom. Please don't mention anything to Hubby. We are beginning to see the 8 ft ladder in our room as a clothing rack.

With JT out of the house for a week I figured it would be the best time to paint his room.

Would have been the best time if I had chosen the paint color before he left. And, prepped his walls before he left. Well, really did any of the preliminary work before he left.

The good news is that, I think we have picked a color. And the walls in both boy's rooms are cleared of decorations, and the walls almost prepped. (Meaning, I've puttied ... is that a word?... the holes, but now need to sand them down.)

So, no painting was completed, but that doesn't matter. The boys still have 2 and a half weeks of camp left, between them, it will be completed. Eventually. As will our bedroom. One of these months days.

There is always the fall, when ALL three kids return to school.

That is the plan for the fall; finish painting, clean out closets, find a job.

Any job suggestions? I think we can forget house painting.

Has your summer kicked off yet? Any special plans, or projects, around the house or far away?

Thanks for stopping by for some Company Girl Coffee. Head over to Home Sanctuary for more girlfriend chats.

Birthday Tradtions

Greetings Company Girls and all other guests.

Somewhere, during the week, my week disappeared, so all the other items on my to-do list are sitting in piles, here and there, around the house. And my Blog Post Box ... it has about 5 drafts just sitting and waiting for me to finish them.

I haven't been able to dedicate the time ... though I may have spent a tad bit too much time surfing around the Internet before turning my attention to the blog, at which about that time the school bus was pulling up to the front door.

There was one posting I was going to finish for today, but may save it for next Friday. If you are a Type A personality you will love the post, so turn in next Friday. If you are not, you may be sending me the name and number of therapists.

However, I just didn't have the time to finish it, and then something else happened that had Hubby and I doubled over with laughter in the cereal aisle at the local Walmart.

A cousin made a Facebook comment about a family birthday tradition, where on their birthday they could pick any cereal they wanted. They didn't eat sugar filled cereals on a regular basis, so this was considered a special treat.

Our regular cereal options are limited to what is on sale, what is available at the local crash & dent store, and where sugar tends to be the third, or more, ingredient listed.

This weekend we are celebrating JT's birthday. Being that we have already celebrated two, out of three, children's birthdays this year, we allowed all three kids to pick their own sugar induced cereal.

Upon announcing the plan JT's eyes grew real large, he understood the plan.

When we turned down the cereal aisle the kid's began looking down both sides of the aisle, and at all the shelves. They never had such free reign before in the grocery store, and they were taking full advantage of the situation.

EM picked Trix. JT picked chocolate Rice Krispies (which is funny, in the fact that he normally eats plain Rice Krispies every morning) but then changed to chocolate Pop Tarts.

ED, well he kept looking and finally picked Cheerios. Plain Cheerios, "because they lower your cholesterol." Seriously, that is what he said. We informed him that 1.) He is not going to like them, they are plain, no flavor, not like Honey Nut Cheerios. 2.) He is 7, he has no cholesterol. We then sent him back to pick something with sugar.

What is wrong with this picture? The parent's are telling their child to pick something filled with sugar.

He eventually picked something sugar filled, once I asked him what cereal he has always wanted to try.

So, tomorrow morning the kids will be enjoying their sugar laden breakfast, and then going outside to play ... all day. Though, we will let them inside the house for lunch, where we will enjoy JT's lunch pick, Pot Roast Turned Creamy Dreamy Enchiladas, and then ice cream cupcakes from Coldstone Creamery. At which point we will either send them back out to play, or send them to bed for an afternoon sugar crash nap.

Picking a meal to celebrate their birthday is a long standing tradition in our house. The kids used to pick pancakes or waffles for dinner, but have now moved into more complicated meals.

What birthday traditions do you celebrate in your house?
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And, to catch up with other Company Girls head over to Rachel Anne's at Home Sanctuary.

A Recap

Greetings!

I've been absent from Company Girl Coffee for the past couple months weeks. It has just been one of those weeks, for many weeks.

The chaos is not ending anytime soon, it is just that time of year with the end of school year activities, field trips, recitals, festivals, and other spring activities happening around town.

This weekend we have a dance recital, which is preceded by the dance recital rehearsal, a party or two, or three, a company picnic, and small group, and church, and sports, and ....

Someone stop this ride, I'm ready to get off.

I think the last time I shared I was headed out of town for a girlie weekend. Here is a snapshot from that weekend:


Enjoying a Saturday morning hike, up hill, both ways. At least we burned the calories from breakfast, and then felt less guilty about eating all we ate for lunch, during the afternoon, and then dinner.

Painting! Finally, here is a finished picture of my long talked painting project. Hopefully, you can see the stripes.


I opted to paint stripes, using the same paint color but with different sheens. It took several weeks, but at least the stripes are done.

Unfortunately, nothing more then the stripes have been completed.


There is still the trim to paint, the bathroom to paint, the pencil marks to erase, and touch ups. (Tip: When using painters tape on newly painted walls, you will want to use the blue tape for "Delicate Surfaces.")

As much as I would like this project completed, and the paint cans, ladders, and drop clothes out of my bedroom, there were (and still are) other projects to complete around the house. Other projects, like laundry, cleaning the house, and tending to the garden, and feeding children, and purchasing a new refrigerator.

Oh yes, when I returned from my girl's weekend we discovered that our refrigerator was on a fast track to non-working. Not the way I envisioned spending a large chuck of money, but I'm at least grateful we had the money to purchase another one.

Sorry, I digress. Back to painting.

The bathroom was started, but not finished. And, I'm not doing stripes.

Apparently, I also need to change a light bulb in the bathroom. Hubby has off today, so I'm hoping I can lock myself in our bedroom and finish the painting, or at least complete a large chunk of it.

At least that was the plan, but it won't be happening.

The first weekend of May Hubby and I participated in our local Relay for Life. It was a glorious night, one of the last warm, and dry ones, before the cold and rain moved in.



Last weekend was packed full. First we said goodbye to a couple in our Sunday school class. They are moving to Bolivia, (her home country) where they will adopt a young boy. We gathered Saturday evening to wish them God speed.


Sorry, not a picture of the couple. Instead I picked a generic picture of the kids playing. 1.) Because, if I had posted a generic picture of the adults someone would have said that was a bad picture of them. 2.) I wanted to point out that I'm not playing with the little kids. I'm not standing over there watching the little kids.

My kids are all too old for such supervision. My youngest was entertaining the even younger kids. In fact, half the evening I didn't even know where my older kids were. OK, I'm not sure that was the best example ... but parents who find themselves out of that young child stage know what I mean.


Ladies Tea:

Last week, into Sunday, was a whirlwind of activity as my committee and I organized our church's Ladies Tea.

The menu was strawberry shortcake, herb spread on bread, hot tea, and lemonade. The week before I was dreaming of crumbly shortcakes, rotten berries, melting whip topping, lost linens, and broken teapots.

(Goldenrod, the color of choice for churches of every denomination.)

None of those things happened. In fact, the only thing that went wrong was that I forgot to iron my skirt.

It seemed everyone enjoyed the afternoon.

And once it was over I was able to think again, think about anything and everything, other then strawberries and tea.

Well, there is a recap of the past few weeks in our house. Busy, busy, busy. But seriously, I'm not sure I would want it any other way.

Are you also finding this time of year on the crazy side of life? What is happening this weekend?

Thanks for stopping by and allowing me to share my pictures. For more Company Girl Coffee head over to Rachel Anne's at Home Sanctuary.

Company Girl Coffee

Welcome Company Girls.

Please have a seat, enjoy some coffee, and ... [checking for any spying kids] ... would you like any Easter candy? We have an abundance of Hershey Kisses.

This week has been relatively relaxing, and productive. I've put the painting project on hold, to spend time cleaning the house and work on a few other projects, and plan on returning to the paint, in force, next week.

Monday was spent just cleaning and unstacking piles around the house, along with setting up some new storage units in the kid's play room. I bought the cubes last week, but hadn't gotten around to setting them up till Monday.

Tuesday afternoon I met with my Primary Sunday school co-superintendent. Our girl's played and we talked, a little about Sunday school. It is a good afternoon when you can spend it talking with a friend.

Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending EM's field trip to the local grocery store. That afternoon EM had another friend over to play and I was able to catch up on our accounts and statement reconciling. I now know that I can spend no more money for the rest of the month of April. Who can relate?

Thursday was a day spent in prayer. A couple in our church are in the process of adopting from Russia. They had just returned from Russia, having met their son for the first time, when the news reported that Russia had suspended all adoptions to US parents. You could just imagine that Heaven heard the Hallelujahs when word was sent out that Russia had not suspended adoptions to US parents.

And today, Friday. I am packed and ready for a girlfriend weekend. We are headed to a nearby State Park, where we will spend a weekend of doing absolutely nothing. Well, not nothing, we will do a little bit of sleeping. A little bit of eating, a little bit of reading, watching movies and talking.

And I can totally relate to Rachel Anne's fear of running out of coffee. Though one friend is bringing, what should be plenty, coffee I'm packing some as well ... just in case. Trust me when I say we will be IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, not a Starbucks nor gas station in sight for miles. The last thing I want to do, on a fun weekend away, is detox from my caffeine addiction.

Though, my one child had to send me off in style. This morning he walked into our bedroom saying he had been sick. Let me tell you, carpet is highly overrated. I'm hoping this is a quick moving stomach bug, and the final attack for our family. However, I need to send out my apologies to parent's at the birthday party my children attended last night ... sorry.

What are you doing this weekend? Do you ever take a girlfriends weekend, and if so what do you do?

For more Company Girl Coffee head over to Rachel Anne @ Home Sanctuary.

Company Girl Coffee

Good morning Company Girls, sit down and enjoy some coffee. Please excuse the smell, I'm painting.

Yes ladies, I am (finally) painting our bedroom. Well, at least the ceiling; a task I was hoping to pass on to someone else ... however, Hubby doesn't paint due to a technicality (I won't allow him to paint) and though I've been trying to schedule my father to come paint, retirement has proven to be a busy time.

One of the reasons I didn't want to paint the ceiling is because it is textured, if we ever build a house we will not have textured ceilings. The texture turned out not to be as difficult to paint as I thought, however the fact that our ceiling is slanted has been the sore point ... in my neck. With the money I've saved, by doing this myself, I'm treating myself to a massage.

Hopefully, I'll start the walls next week, but it will be a slow project since next week is spring break and I'm painting tone on tone stripes. Basically, I'll paint the room in flat paint (two coats) and then measure out vertical stripes and paint with a semi-gloss or egg shell paint of the same color. Ask me in a couple weeks how my sanity is holding up.

Rachel Anne, is there any way I can entice you to Virginia?

Last night I sat on the sofa, starting this post, with 6 loads of washed and folded laundry surrounding me. That is a lot of laundry, in one day, while I painted the ceiling, and ran other errands.

Today, (almost) everything is either put away (the adult's clothes) or folded and sitting in baskets waiting for the kids to come home. We've charged the children to put away their own clothes, or in EM's case what she can reach, but this means the clothes don't always make it to the closet until the next Thursday, when they need to bring down their dirty clothes, in the basket holding their clean clothes.

Well, I need to head off and finish painting. Hubby is off today, so he graciously carried in the 8ft. ladder so I can finish the highest portion of the ceiling, and now he is gone so I'm not sure how much I will finish since the bed needs to also be moved. However, I need to get it done, because the sooner I'm finished painting the sooner I can go organize my scrapbook supplies for tomorrow's crop.

Enjoy your weekend, thank you for stopping by and head over to Home Sanctuary for more Company Girl Coffee and to see Rachel Anne's amazing art projects.

Company Girl Coffee

Welcome, come in and sit down. Would you like some coffee, tea? Strawberries? They aren't the best, but they were buy one get one free, and I couldn't resist. I'm ready for anything that tastes like spring.

Over at Home Sanctuary Rachel Anne showed us a beautiful sign she is working on, check it out, and then asked what is happening at our homes.

Today, right this very minute, I'm trying to conquer this ADD cycle I've been in the past few weeks. I've been unable to complete anything ... unless you count reading other's blogs and hanging out on Facebook. OK, maybe it isn't an ADD thing, but a time management thing.

Either way, my blog has suffered, I'm organizing our church's Ladies Tea and haven't contacted any of the ladies on my team because the whole idea of sitting down and trying to organize my thoughts have seemed overwhelming.

Last week I did share the inside of my mind, click at your own risk.

I haven't been motivated to clean the house. I haven't been motivated to complete the projects lying around. Several weeks ago I was suddenly motivated to start and finish painting our bed room, which included the ceiling, and I took everything off the walls and instructed Hubby to fix the ripped seams on the ceiling. I'm not sure where that motivation went, but the step ladder is still sitting in our room, books and pictures are sitting in our closet, and not a paint can has been opened.

All of this procrastination and lack of motivation is not helping me go into this weekend, which is a busy one. From the time school ends to way past every one's bedtime we have activities to attend. Tomorrow our one child and Hubby will be attending a glorified science fair, of sorts. I'll be holding down the fort and transporting the others to classes. The other kids and I may attend in the afternoon, if Hubby hasn't escaped from the madhouse at his first possible chance. There are a few other activities on the schedule tomorrow, but we shall see how we feel by tomorrow afternoon.

Sunday is a little slower, I'll even be in my own Sunday school for the first time in ... well, it has been awhile due to my commitment to the Primary Sunday school, snow, and holidays.

And, after I'm done typing this? I'll finish my coffee. Probably pick up a few piles lying around the kitchen; trying to spruce up the house before the weekend madness begins. Finish the laundry, iron, oh and squeeze a shower in there. Thankfully Hubby is home today, and I was able to workout this morning, that always puts me in a good mood (working out and Hubby being home.)

Leave a quick note about your weekend; and any tips you may have to combat time management ADD ... I like that name ... but don't think we will see that in the DSM any time soon.

Happy Company Girl Coffee.

Company Girl Coffee

Welcome, come in, shake off the snow... Yes, snow. We are being hit by the second large snowstorm this winter.

We live just south of the Mason Dixon line. We get just enough snow and cold weather during the winter to satisfy my love for snow and cold. However, TWO LARGE snow storms in one season? We are lucky to get two in a decade, this is crazy.

To add to the crazy the kids have been home all week, for much less snow then this; which means there may or may not be a little extra something in my coffee today.

With the amount of snow they are predicting it is nice to know our kitchen is stocked full of food. Yesterday I, and the kids, braved the crowds as we set out for a food shopping spree of massive proportions; not because of the snow but because friends were planning on staying with us this weekend.

Planning, but postponed due to snow.

We were hoping to all be snowed in together, and all the kids were excited to play in the snow, but that will all need to wait till later this month. Hopefully we will still have snow.

Instead, our little family of 5 is planning on a cozy weekend at home, with lots of food, craft projects, games and movies. At the moment the house is quiet with two napping children, one child working on a school project (no school, but school projects still need to be completed), one husband playing on his computer and I am typing a way on mine.

As soon as I've wrapped up this post I will be moving on to my "Snow Weekend To Do List", which will most likely include some baking, to give to neighbors as we ask them to borrow their snow blower.

I'm sure some of you, who live in an area used to large amounts of snow, are laughing at us. You know who you are, you live in an area that doesn't even plow the roads, you just drive over the snow and pack it down. And canceling school for snow, who heard of such a thing. Yes, well, we will be lucky if the kids return to school at all next week. :::sigh:::

Are you receiving snow this weekend? Maybe you are looking at a forecast of 80 degrees and sunny. Either way, what do you have planned this weekend?

For more Company Girl Coffee head over to Rachel Anne's at Home Sanctuary.

It Takes A Village

Good morning Company Girls. Enjoy a cup of coffee and sit down. We are once again bundling up; a new cold spell has moved into our area, and they are calling for snow this weekend.

Once again I bypassed the Small Things this week, busy trying to clean house, organize the basement and paint trim. YES! Yesterday I pulled out the paint cans and started in on the kitchen trim.

That means I have no pictures to share of little decorative changes made around the house. What I do have to share is a post I began writing at the beginning of the month. It seemed fitting to share this during a Company Girl Coffee.

And when you are done reading head over to Rachel Anne's at Home Sanctuary for more Company Girl Coffee.

In the past 6 months I have witnessed the hand of God on two family's who live in our area.

Being several times removed from both families I witnessed these traumas from afar, only imagining the pain I would feel if it was our family; and as a spectator their stories are not mine to tell.

What I also witnessed during these times was the strength of community, through the power of God, and that is the story I want to share.

The power of God runs deep and strong, and there is no force which can stop it. In fact, what has been demonstrated in our community is that when you allow in God, people can do amazing acts. When a community of God comes down on their knees amazing healing takes place that leaves one breathless.

Friends and family have come together, set aside their personal time and needs to support a person in need, whether it is staying all night, all day, all week, at the hospital. Watching children, making or fielding phone calls, making meals, updating blogs, or just bending down on their knees to pray.

The stories coming out of Haiti are another example of God's glory and power. Stories of now-homeless people coming together to form their own community; those with food sharing with those without, protecting the weaker and younger ones from danger, the outpouring of support from the world, and the stories continue.

All these are powerful stories, but we need to remember that a tragedy does not need to happen to serve God. We can serve God on a daily basis through small things, all we need to do is look beyond ourselves. A simple hello, an offer to babysit so a mom can go shopping, inviting someone over for a meal, or taking them a meal.

Leave a comment offering some simple ideas for how we can serve God by serving those around us.

Company Girl Coffee

Good morning Company Girls. Come in, sit down and enjoy a hot beverage.

We are enjoying a late start to the day. A pseudo-ice storm has hit our area, and though my older two had a scheduled day off my youngest did not have preschool due to the weather. Meaning that this morning has turned into a lazy one, and that is a good thing.

Soon we will be off to enjoy lunch at a friend's house. Plans we made before the storm hit, her children also have a scheduled day off, however we had to cancel our trip to the children's museum since the museum is also closed due to the pseudo-ice storm.

Well, Christmas has ended and my house was cleaned from top to bottom, trying to rid it of those stray pine needles and the massive dust bunnies that seem to collect during December. However, life continues to be busy and I am ashamed to admit I haven't even looked at the Small Things this week.

Last weekend I was away, enjoying a weekend of scrapbooking, food and friends. This week we enjoyed a full house as the kids hosted friends for several afternoons. I am always amazed how much I can complete when my house is full of children; but still, my to-do list is growing. In two weeks we will host friends for the weekend, which means the basement MUST be cleaned up ... dare I hope maybe even organized. To accomplish that I have a massive pile to be taken to the thrift store.

And maybe, just maybe I can work on finishing the trim in our kitchen.

LOL, yes I am not done painting. Let's see, last spring I painted the kitchen walls but haven't worked on the trim.

Well, this was a rather random posting. Not much has happened around here, but we are busy with everyday life. And, now it is time to get this day moving. Don't forget to head over to Rachel Anne's for more Company Girl Coffee.

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

Company Girl Coffee

Good morning fellow Company Girls, and visitors. Would you like a Pioneer Woman cinnamon roll to go with your coffee/tea/soda. I pulled them out of the freezer last night for this morning, but then school was canceled so I made pancakes instead. We will enjoy the rolls tomorrow morning.

So today, the older two kids are home (my preschooler still had school.) Let me tell you how much snow it took for school to be canceled, HALF an INCH. I don't even think there was 1/2 an inch on the ground. Yes, it was slick this morning, and a delay I could understand, but to cancel school for next to no snow. This northerner just shakes her head. I don't understand these southerners. When I told JT there was no school today, he looked outside to the lack of new snow on the ground and said "well, that is stupid." I laughed, and then told him to find a better word choice.

So this week we returned to our regular routine, after two weeks of vacation for everyone in the family. Monday morning EM walked into my bedroom, and asked where was Daddy. Monday was a little rough for everyone, but we survived.

The Christmas decorations are slowly coming down; it took me awhile to put them up in December, they are slowly coming down in January, LOL. Tomorrow the tree will be gone, and then I can deep clean my living room. After I post this I should brave the cold and take down the outside lights. And, while I'm out there maybe I will remember to throw these away. I may wait to take down the wreaths hanging on our windows. 14 degrees is a tad too cold to be opening the windows and messing with screens.

Rachel Anne's Small Things have also returned to my regular routine this week, during December I took a break. This week she has certainly lead us towards finding sanctuary in our homes.

Wednesday's Small Thing was my favorite, yes I am a messy perfectionist, and that day I was motivated to begin taking down the tree decorations. Granted, my living room floor is still cluttered with boxes and decorations, but it is a neat clutter, or messy piles, which ever way you look at it, we are slowly packing up, and like I said the tree will be gone tomorrow. Have you read today's Small Thing? Insightful and inspiring, thank you Rachel Anne for sharing these glimpses into your life.

Well, my coffee is gone and I want to take down those lights before we need to leave to pick up my youngest. Hope everyone has a good, and warm, weekend.

New Year!

Good morning, eh ... afternoon. We were all up till midnight, at a friends house, to ring in the new year, and watch a stunt guy jump some insane distance, over water, in a car.

All this means we awoke late this morning, ate a late breakfast, sort of skipped lunch, and are still in our PJ's. I say what a good way to start off the new year.

Resolutions! Isn't that what we talk about at the start of a new year? Other then the usual resolutions; you know save money, eat less, workout more, earn supermom award of the year, blah, blah, blah, I haven't made any new ones.

I forgot.

Some how the fact that 2010 has now arrived escaped me. No resolutions. No yearly plan. Just another day.

In years past I liked to create a theme to our year. Elizabeth George made this suggestion in her book A Woman After God's Own Heart. (I think it was this book, and this author.) With young children, our theme one year was the Year of Growth. 2009 was named the Year of Trying New Things (and then took the kid's to a local Ethiopian restaurant. We loved it, the kids not so much.)

Now let me point out a small fact, other then giving a year a theme we don't do much more with the idea.

So here is 2010, and I don't have a theme for the year (granted, I never seem to do anything with the theme. However, I like themes. Labels. They are fun, and a good excuse to do things like go out to eat.)

So, what can I call this year? The Year of Slowing Down. The Year I (finally) Organize the Basement. The Year We (finally) Finish Painting the House.

Since most of our events revolve around children, what about The Year of Still Growing Children. The Year We Exit the "Younger Years." (Our youngest will turn 5-years-old, no more infants, toddlers and preschoolers.) Oh, following that theme what about The Year I Grow Up and Decide What I Want to Do and Find a Job.

Do you have any resolutions or themes for the new year?

For more Christmas recaps and New Year resolutions head over to Home Sanctuary for more Coffee with the Company Girls.

Christmas Party Weekend

Welcome! Come in, sit down; coffee, tea, or maybe some of this mocha mix. EM and my Mother-in-Law mixed it together yesterday. My MIL watched EM so I could go into ED's classroom and help the kids make gingerbread houses. Let me tell you, it may sound like a frivolous activity, but it was interesting to watch the kids assemble not only their houses, but make trees out of gum drops, lamp posts out of candy canes, and so forth, all without any more instruction then "spread the icing on the graham cracker and place it on one side of the milk carton. There are some future engineers in that class.

I'm beginning to feel the stress of the season. This weekend, as you can see from my title, is our Christmas Party Weekend. (Last weekend was Christmas Program Weekend, and next weekend is Celebrate Christmas Weekend. What can I say, I like labels and themes.) Though we are hosting only one of the party's, I need to make something for the others. This wouldn't be so bad, if I had more time. This morning I was at EM's Christmas party, to kick off the weekend, which only gives me a few hours this afternoon to put our house in order and complete some baking before the babysitter arrives.

For tonight's party I'm making these: Curry Chicken Salad Crisps. Considering my current anxiety attack over time maybe these were not the best choice, but I've been dying to make them since first seeing the recipe.

From the sound of the weather report I may be baking tomorrow between sledding runs. The predicted snow amount keeps rising, but we shall see. One snow flake has yet to fall. I've seen this before, they call for apocalyptic amounts of snow are called for, the weekend is canceled, the milk and bread shelves are wiped clean, and no snow falls.

Well, it is time for me to go back to cleaning and cooking. Enjoy your hot drink and head over to Rachel Anne's at Home Sanctuary. Many Company Girls wrote about their favorite Christmas memories, I can't wait to read them.

Merry Christmas!

Company Girl Coffee

Welcome, have a seat. Would you like some coffee or tea? Sorry, there are no Christmas cookies yet to share, but I did bake some blueberry muffins last night, yummy.

Speaking of Christmas, at this point our house is half decorated for Christmas. I've reached a point where I'm questioning the need to do any more, since there are only 2 weeks left before Christmas. The only problem is the decorations not yet up are the big things, outdoor lights and the tree.

Yes, I know the tree. Last weekend's trip to the tree farm was postponed due to snow; and though that would have made for some awesome pictures, in order to cut down the tree one must lie on the ground, Hubby wasn't too keen on that idea. Plus, the farm is located at the bottom of a steep gravel road, lots of snow = not a lot of fun. So, we will go tomorrow, and remember to wear our long johns now that the arctic air has settled in our area. Every time we step outside I'm afraid one of the kids will blow away.

Once the tree is up, and decorated, we will commence cooking baking. I've been running to the store every other day picking up ingredients. I'm not sure what I will be baking, but the recipes will include LOTS of chocolate, sitting on my kitchen counter are THREE different kinds of Hershey Kisses. Oh, the will power I'm exhibiting by not tearing open those bags right now. How many calories do you burn with will power?

With all the Christmas hoopla, and snow, and Christmas related concerts and activities, and laundry, sweeping, cleaning, and life in general I've fallen off the Small Things wagon. It is sad, but true. Last month I did so well, I even competed every task. Well, there is always January.

Now, I'm off for some devotional time (another activity that is pushed to the side these days, unfortunately), then a little kitchen cleaning, a little emailing, a little laundry folding, dinner making, and then off to another Christmas event. (Tune in next week, I may have some recipes to share, we shall see how the baking goes.)

Falalalalala

Enjoy your coffee and head over to Home Sanctuary for more Company Girl Coffee.

The Recipe

Welcome to Company Girl Coffee. By now, because it is mid-afternoon, I'm trying to rehydrate by drinking water. Every day it happens, first thing in the morning I drink my coffee so I can function, and then a second cup around lunch time. By 1pm I realize I'm dragging due to dehydration, "oh that's why my tongue is sticking to the roof of my mouth."

I am looking forward to this weekend. Tonight we are getting together with friend. Tomorrow I'm off to a scrapbooking day, all day. Crossing my fingers to completing 2008 (slowly I'm catching up.)

However, until tonight I need to complete some delayed to-do list items, thanks to a little prodding by Rachel Anne. I've been monkeying around all day, including a little workout time with Hubby and completing a puzzle with EM. I've never been a puzzle fan, but my children are. I sat admiring my 4-year-old as she completed a 100 piece puzzle, long after I reached my frustration level.

So, several of you asked for the applesauce recipe my in-laws use. Now, remember what I said about this recipe, it is not written down, what I'm about to share is from my own observations. Every year I try to watch what they do, carefully watch, because there will come a day (far into the future) when the applesauce making will be passed on to us.

First, a little history as to why the choose the apples they did. My in-laws knew a guy who worked for an applesauce company, Motts or one of the other companies, and asked him what apples the company used, he replied with york and golden delicious, and so the recipe was born.

• Take equal york and golden delicious apples, cut them in quarters, and cut out the stems.
• Place the apples in a pot (keep them in separate pots), add some water (how much??????) and cook until ???? They are mushy????? The york will need to cook longer since they are harder then the golden delicious.
• When they are done cooking pour the apples, along with the water, into a grinder.
• Mix the Golden Delicious and York until you have the desired color, your choice.
• Add sugar and salt to taste. Why add salt? I don't know, but my in-laws do, and the end result tastes good. (That Monday, when I asked my Mother-in-Law how much salt she pours in she shook her arm in a zig zag design and said "about that much." Sooooo very helpful. Obviously, the sugar part is easy, add, mix and taste. Add, mix and taste. Add too much, and you have very sweet apple sauce, not necessarily a bad thing. Add too much salt in a go, or a zig zaggy shake, and ... well, salty apple sauce. Blagh!)

Live and learn. And, by the time we are responsible for the apple sauce making (in the very distant future) we will get it right, hopefully.

Thank you for asking for the recipe, now I have some sort of recipe recorded for future (far into the future) reference.

OK, it is time to drink some more water and then call the dentist to make appointments. Call the eye doctor and make appointments. And, reply to an email regarding some Pampered Chef pans which need replacing. They have needed to be replaced for a good year, plus, and I'm just getting around to it.

Leave a comment telling me about your procrastination story.

Happy Company Girl Coffee.

*****Edited to Add: Thank you Rachel Anne for reminding me, I forgot to tell you what we do with the applesauce after mixing it together (that is what happens when you type at 10 at night.) We scoop it into jars and my in-laws use a pressure cooker to can it. And, that is another thing we will need to work out when (in the very far off future) we begin to can applesauce. I don't use a pressure cooker, those things scare me. When I can food I can it in a "water bath", boiling water for a certain amount of time. It takes longer then pressure cookers, but there is no fear of blowing up the kitchen.

And, regarding the grinder. Sorry, I was lazy when writing the post and didn't look up the official name. However, when I have a chance I will, maybe even find a picture and post it.