Mom's Night Out - from Janet

(Click on the picture to enlarge.)

In September 1990, we started our homeschooling journey. We are finishing our 22nd year of homeschooling! We started out homeschooling Randy in Kindergarten. This year, we have only one student again: Emily in 8th grade. I never had all six of our children in school at the same time. By the time Emily started school, Randy had already graduated. But we did have several years with five students in our Country Acres Christian Academy.

From the start of our homeschooling adventure, we joined Home Educators Fellowship in Greeley. The support group meeting is called Moms' Night Out. I have attended MNO pretty faithfully, rarely missing a monthly meeting. It has been a big part of my social life and my sanity, some school years! For the past six or more years, I have been the treasurer for the group, which is not a huge job now, since we quit charging a membership fee.

After 22 years, I go for different reasons than the ones I had long ago. Now I go to be the "older" mother who encourages the new ones starting out. I want to be a blessing, to pass on the wisdom I gained from the older ones who were there for me. The ladies I meet with and have met with through the years are real friends; they prayed for me this past year when I went through cancer. We have shared prayers, requests, books, tips, encouragement, tears, and songs through the years. I'm glad I have four more years of teaching Emily, and I look forward to more Moms' Night Out blessings!

Beth made the cartoon above, in honor of the connections and fun I look forward to in MNO! (NoCO stands for Northern Colorado.) The rest is written by Janet.

"Want some nickels, Your Majesty?" - from Beth

Sometimes working in customer service can be a lot of fun. I have two stories from last week that I'll share here... the post title is a combination of the two.

I believe it was Thursday, that I had wrung up some things for a particular older gentleman. It was probably when he showed me his ID (for credit card use) that I said to him, "Thank you, sir." He, with a straight face said, "You don't need to call me 'sir'..." (now I was presuming he was going to finish his sentence with "...I work for a living," like others sometimes say, but he continued,) "...'Your Majesty' will be just fine." I smiled/laughed, and said, "Ok... Thank you, Your Majesty!" He smiled and his eye twinkled as he walked away. It's been too long; I've told the story a few times, and I just can't remember, but I believe he also said, "Now you remember that for next time!"

On Saturday I was busy checking out one customer and had one in line, waiting. Another, a lady, came through the door, and I glanced up to ask, "What can we help you find today?" The tall senior citizen stated matter-of-factly, "I need a box of nickels." At least, that's what I thought she said. Sometimes when people answer that greeting-question, they say, "a million dollars," and then you have to dash their hopes and say that they won't find it here. I decided to finish with that one customer and then ask the lady for an explanation... since she was standing there waiting for me anyway! Finished, I said, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean. You want a box of nickels?" I didn't let my face show my true feeling of incredulity. She, helpfully, leaned down under the counter (where our candy is) and pulled up a roll of these.

Of course, once I knew she wanted Necco candy rolls, and wasn't simply teasing me about money, I was thrilled to help her out (by having someone go get her "a box of Neccos").

- Beth

A New Cello for Jason?

Jason has been renting a cello for three years now. He is at the point of deciding whether to buy it, or use his "rental credit" toward buying a new one. The fellow at the music store allowed us to bring this cello home for him to try out and see if he wants to buy it or his rental cello. So far, he is loving this new one. He has loved the rental one too. We enjoy hearing him play either one.

Blue Moon Promise By Colleen Coble: Book Review

Lovely twenty-two year old Lucy agrees to marry (by proxy) a man she has never met in order to provide for and protect her young brother and sister. Her life seems to be in danger and she does not know why. The man she marries resents his father for choosing a wife for him without his permission or input. Because both of them are Christians and they fear for the father’s heart condition, they work to make a home together. It is a sweet story of how people can choose to honor marriage and learn to love each other, even if they are very different or don’t know each other at the start.

The themes of the story show the importance of not trying to control everything in everyone’s lives, and trusting God and those He puts in authority and protective roles in one’s life. Another theme was to accept oneself and not try to be like someone else to gain approval. I appreciated the value of these themes, as they are much needed in my life and many others’ lives.

Problems with the book: Passage of time was not kept track of very well. When Lucy had lived in Texas for two months, having come there in February, it should not have been June! Also, instead of there being four weeks between two consecutive full moons, there are at least six weeks! Weather wasn’t consistent either. There were six inches of snow on the ground, but an hour later, the children are noticing the red dirt on their shoes as they walk outside “across the scrubby yard.” Once when it was raining fiercely, the children are told to go play outside with no mention of the rain. On page 196, the word “not” was left out of a sentence, causing it to say the opposite of what was intended.

I read the book twice to be sure if these problems were really there. I think it needed a lot more editing to make it a concise, tightly cohesive book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Snow

We got snow last week. Around here, we got about 8 inches. The Denver area got a lot more snow than we did. When we got to Federal Heights Sunday afternoon for the children's service, we found that the good folk who use the church for morning service had cleared the parking area; but to be legal with the city, we needed to pitch in and clear the sidewalks. We had six shovels, so we made pretty quick work of the remaining pathways. We are thankful for the snow, as it is good moisture for the winter wheat crops around here, and ensures a good water supply for summertime.


Rowen, Jason, Emily, Tonya, Steve, and Stacy worked hard and fast to move the snow off the sidewalks!


Click on this picture to enlarge and see Stacy and Emily working. The church is a deep corner property, so it is a lot of sidewalk we are responsible to clear.

Another Albertson working at ACE Hardware, Johnstown

It has been our family's delight to have three of our children work at the Ace Hardware downtown. Jeffrey worked there for two years before leaving for God's Bible School last August. Jason started working there last March. Knowing Jeffrey was leaving in August, the boss wanted an Albertson trained to take his place. :) Jason is the lawn and garden manager.

In December, Beth started praying about a job. She babysits on Mondays and other times as needed, but realizes Lincoln is no longer a 13 month old, like he was when she started babysitting. He will be five this month, and will start Kindergarten this summer! She was serious about seeking God's will for this time of her life! One day, Rowen was in Ace, and the boss asked, "Would Beth be interested in a part-time job?" We prayed about it, and felt this was an answer to Beth's prayers. She started training December 26. She works as a cashier and is trying to learn everything she can about where things are in the store, to be a helpful Ace person! Her schedule at this time is working every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; she still has time for Lincoln on Mondays and her writing for God's Girls' Newsletters, and continues to be a helpful person at home. God has helped her learn a lot already and given her joy and contentment in a new setting!

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding (Recipe courtesy Paula Deen)

We were served this banana pudding at a church meal and given this recipe.  We've made it only a couple of times, but it is really yummy.

Ingredients
1 box [Nilla Waffers]
6-8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5 oz) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream.

Directions
Line the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch with most of the cookies and layer bananas on top. 
In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer.  Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth.  Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture.  Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, How Does Your Hair Grow?

My hair as I used to wear it. May 22, 2011

Its former length, at the same time.

Friday, June 3, 2011 we cut off the braid for Locks of Love, before my first chemo treatment.


It was this length for two weeks around my first treatment.

After my hair started falling out, we shaved my head on June 18th. This picture was taken Sunday, the next day.

In July, my head had painful sores on it.

Completely bald, late July.

Sunburned forehead from the holes of the straw hat I was wearing. Little prickle hairs.

September 22nd--last chemo chocolate cake celebration!

September 26th, still a baldy! Eyebrows and eye lashes pretty much gone at the end of treatments.

My hair started coming in very fine and gray. October 10th

October 10th, with Beth's freshly washed hair in comparison!

Thanksgiving week hairdo...


Side-by-side hair-growth comparison: November 12th, December 10th, January 11th, and January 24th. Also shows my eyebrows and eye lashes coming back in.

I am hoping the brown will "overpower" the gray sometime, but I'll be happy with whatever I get back!

Jeffrey's health

Hi,
I wanted to let people know who aren't on Facebook (Hi, Aunt Joyce!) what has been going on with Jeffrey the past few days. He's had a cold type thing that was hanging on, and then Friday and over the weekend, had not felt well at all: fever, chills, achy, nauseated, when he went up the four flights of stairs, his heart hurt; when he breathed deeply, his heart hurt. He went to the school nurse early Monday morning, and she was afraid maybe mono was returning, which he had in 2009 after his Haiti mission trip. She wanted him to see a doctor. When he called for appointment, the doctor was booked up until February, and the office personnel told him to go to the ER.

So one of the kind GBS people took him to the ER at Christ Hospital. He had a lot of blood work, UA, EKG, chest x-ray done and lots of waiting. He had an IV and was given medicine for nausea, which helped that, and allowed him to get some sleep. (He's been sleep deprived from too much studying.) They were particularly concerned about the heart pain, so did an echocardiogram and CT scan. Apparently they were considering a possibility of blood clot, but ruled that out and decided on pericarditis for the diagnosis. The pericardia is the sac around the heart; it was inflamed. He got IV steroid twice yesterday and was admitted late last night to the cardiac floor, with telemetry monitoring and IV fluids. He was feeling better already late last night.

Today he saw the cardiologist who confirmed the diagnosis. He was released from the hospital with prescriptions for non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs. One he will be on for 90 days, and the other for two weeks.

Several things we are thankful for: that he was properly diagnosed, that the nurse was concerned enough to send him for further help, for the various GBS staff who stayed with Jeffrey--someone was always with him, even overnight!, for the two "big" cousins who live in Cincinnati who are close family for Jeffrey since we can't be there, for all the people who prayed for him, for the fact that he is allowed to be on our insurance, for this not being something worse, that he didn't have to stay longer, and that God was there with him, even though we could not be!


Uncle Jeff and Micah Albertson at Christmas time 2011. Happy 3rd birthday to Micah this week!

Rowen's birthday January 21

We have the best husband, daddy, and grandpa in the world in Rowen. We are thankful for him and for another time to celebrate his life. Here are some recent pictures of him with his three grandchildren.
Rowen and Quil

Rowen and Micah

Rowen and Charissa


We went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate Rowen's birthday on January 18. A kind customer took this picture of us. The rest of us did get some food to eat a little later! :)

Hinkle Christmas Singing

This is old news, but it got neglected in the other holiday postings. On December 3, 2011, we participated in a fun, enjoyable Christmas gathering. Mathew and Nicole Hinkle, dear friends of ours, organized an evening of singing Christmas carols and playing string instruments at a church in Loveland. This is their family. Mathew plays the viola, Nicole the cello, and Phoebe the recorder. Ethan has not yet chosen his instrument! :)

Here is Emily playing her violin. Mathew was so kind to us to give us our caroling books early so Jason and Emily could practice their sight reading! The book Mathew compiled contains all the usual Christmas carols, but also many that are not as familiar.

This is Jason playing his cello.

We had finger foods to eat during a break in the music.

Emily and her violin. She is wearing a dress I made for myself when I was 23!

Part of the fun of the evening were the costumes some of the guests wore.

Picture of Emily all dressed up after the singing.

Jason and Emily

Jason--he cleans up well! :)

We enjoyed the fellowship with old and new friends, and the words and sounds of the songs of Christ's birth. We used the caroling books again on Christmas Day to sing and play together with all of our family.
Here is a video of one of the carols.

Awakening Book Review

Awakening: A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom
By Stovall Weems

I selected this book to review because I am interested in personal revival. Weems is the pastor of a large and growing church which encourages a 21 day Awakening--prayer and fasting season every January. Many have benefited from the concentrated time of surrendering to God, rediscovering passion for God, experiencing God’s goodness, and making room in their lives for God to fill.
This book is all about having Christ first place in our lives, and doing that through commitment to reading and obeying the Bible, fervently praying, and fasting. Fasting is explained; there are many ways to fast. Activities can also be fasted, besides food.
Most people are familiar with a reboot or reset action for their electronics, but never think of the need for reboot or reset in spiritual terms. This book will enlighten people to that need.
I cannot say that I agreed with every idea or belief mentioned in this book, (I am not a Charismatic), but I believe there is much good that can be absorbed. We all need to focus on God and make space in our lives for Him to be our number one priority.
This book contains The Awakening 21-Day Plan and a Small Group Study Guide.
I definitely recommend personal revival and this book could be used to start a person on that journey.
Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Busy, Fun Tuesday January 3, 2012

Sunrise on Tuesday, January 3 was spectacular! All of our windows and curtains were glowing with the light. This is how it looked from the window:

The next two pictures were taken from our deck, looking east, then south-west.

We had the special blessing of having Alia and Kara over for the morning to play and renew acquaintances. I babysat Alia from when she was about 15 months, and Kara from her infancy. Now they are 9.5 and almost 8. We haven't babysat them or hardly seen them for a couple of years, and wanted to have them over before they went back to school.

We had a tea party with them and their mom, Cindy, at lunch time. Beth got a tea set from Christmas we wanted to use, so we had a nice tea and visit.

Tuesday evening, Carmen, Mary, and Ephraim Cruz came over for supper and for games. We rarely have this opportunity with the girls being in Florida for school most of the time. So it was fun to get together before Mary went back to college. We played Things and Taboo.