~Merry Christmas!~

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

~Luke 2:11~

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We did! :-) Our family enjoyed visiting with relatives, reading the story of Jesus' birth and singing songs about it :-) , writing down our favorite Christmas memory, sharing helpful hints as well as a few dances! Some of the games we played were Apples to Apples, Catch-A-Phrase, Pass the Slipper and The Laughing Game (The last two games are Victorian Parlor Games, the instructions are below if you would like to learn them :-) ).

Pass the Slipper~ You take an object, the "slipper." Pick a person and put them in the center of the circle. They must close their eyes and say: "Cobbler, Cobbler, mend my shoe, have it done by half past two" three times in a row, while the "slipper" is passed from person to person behind their backs. When the center person opens his/her eyes, the passing immediately stops and he/she must make a guess as to who holds the "slipper." The person in the center has three chances to guess correctly. If he/she is correct, they trade places. If wrong, the eyes are closed and the passing begins again.

The Laughing Game~ All players sit in a circle. One player starts the game by saying "Ha". Then, going around the circle, the second player says "Ha Ha", third player says"Ha Ha Ha", and so on. All players must not laugh or smile, but must proceed with straight faces. Anyone who fails to do this is out of the game.

~Sunday~

On Sunday we got together with my dad's side of the family. :-)

Here are my younger brothers and cousins! :-)

And seated at this table are my other cousins, older brother and myself! :-)

~Monday~

On Monday evening we were delightfully surprised when our doorbell rang. A dear family we know had come singing Christmas carols and gifted us with a lovely plate of cookies!

Thank you B. Family! What a blessing!

~Thursday~

On Thursday we went to visit with relatives on my moms side of the family.

Here's some pictures of the many delicious foods that had been prepared. :-)

In this picture, my brothers and youngest cousin were enjoying some yummy sherbet Push'Um's. :-)

Well that's all for now. May each one of you have a very blessed day and a Happy New Year!

In Christ,
~Chloe~ :-)

~Daughters of Vision Scripture Memory Challenge~

Hello all!

Some sweet young ladies whom I've "met" through the "blogesphere", have begun a Scripture Memory Challenge on their blog, in which I am participating! :-) We are memorizing the whole chapter of Phil. 4 (there are 23 verses)! It has been lots of fun and a great encouragement, and it's not too late to sign up! We are only on the 4th verse and are memorizing one verse a day. So if you are interested in joining us in hiding God's Word in our hearts, you can sign up at Daughters of Vision .

Blessings!

~Chloe~

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

Psalm 119:11

~A Christmas Concert~

Today our choir had its annual Christmas concert!!! :-) We sang several songs which included:



Carol of the Bells
Glorious is Thy Name
Alleluia
Silent Night, Holy Night
O Come all Ye Faithful
Dona Nobis Pachem (a song in Latin)
Jazz Gloria
Alleluia (we sang this one twice) :-)

After the concert my Grandma, her husband and our family went to eat at a mexican restaurant, which was quite the treat! :-) We then drove around a park that had a very nice display of Christmas lights! :-) Next we went to Walmart to get some groceries and finish a little Christmas shopping. :-)

In other news, we have put up our Christmas decorations! :-)

We also recently received an order from Vision Forum! Three of the books were "A Little Princess", "Heidi" and "Black Beauty". I have started reading the book "Heidi" in the evenings as a read aloud. :-)

Here's a picture of our kittens! :-) Our cat Fluffy had six black and white kittens. Not long after, our other cat, Sweet Pea, had what we thought was six kittens, but we later discovered that she had seven! After putting an add in the paper about the kittens, we found a new home for one yesterday and have had several more calls from other people who would like to get one as well. :-)

Well that's all for now. :-)
Blessings,
~Chloe~ :-)

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,That shines brighter and brighter until the full day."

Proverbs 4:18

~Seven Gifts Which Do Not Cost a Cent~

Hello there! :-) The other day I was visiting a site that I recently discovered called "marie-madeline studio". There was a post about "Seven Gifts Which Do Not Cost a Cent" and our family thought it was kind of neat! Here's a list of the gifts. :-)

Seven Gifts Which Do Not Cost a Cent

1. The gift of listening... But you must really listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2. The gift of affection... With appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back, and handholds. These small actions demonstrate love in a powerful way.

3. The gift of laughter... Share amusing stories, humorous cartoons, and clippings from newspapers. Laughter establishes a bond between people and is one of the most effective medicines I know.

4. The gift of a handwritten note... Kind words change lives and last a lifetime.

5. The gift of a compliment... A simple kind and sincere remark can change how a person feels about himself.

6. The gift of a favor... Every week try to do at least one small act of kindness outside your family. (Acts of kindness are so hard to give away because they are almost always returned.)

7. The gift of a cheerful disposition... The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone. Look him in the eye and speak kindly from the heart with sincerity.


May you all have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
~Chloe~

"Every good and perfect gift is from above...."

James 1:17

~November Dance Practice! ~

Hello all! I hope your week is going well! :-)

Today we went to dance practice and learned three new dances! There were two new line dances one of which I can't remember its name at the moment, but one of them was called the "Flying Scotchman". Interesting name isn't it? :-) Both dances were quite fun! The other dance we learned was called the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and it was accompanied by "Miss Piggy" and her friends off of the show, "Sesame Street". Here's a video that has the song on it. :-)


The dance had different steps to do with each "day" in the song.

For example:
When you got to the part...

" On the 1st day of Christmas"

(The gentlemen and the lady would step to their right and then back to the left. Away from each other and then towards each other.)

"My true love sent to me"

(Next you and your partner turn, individually, around, in 4 steps, making a full circle. When completed you should be facing your partner again.)

(slowly) "5 golden rings."

(At this point the ladies courtesy and the gentlemen bow with a flourishing hand.)

This part can be kind of funny because everyone is trying to hold out their bow or courtesy until "Miss Piggy" is finished singing: "5 gooooolllddenn riinnnggsss!" :-) lol!

It was very enjoyable evening! :-)

Blessings to you all!

~Chloe~ :-)

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning

And Your faithfulness by night..."

Psalm 92:1,2

Hello everyone! I just discovered that the Vision Forum website has some free Thanksgiving recipes and crafts online! :-) Sometimes when we all get together with relatives for Thanksgiving, Easter etc. I like to pull together some sort of craft to do with the younger ones and the crafts on Vision Forum are some really great ideas! (The recipes look good too!) They are also having a sale on Thanksgiving books, costumes and more! So if you have time you might want to check them out!

With the evenings getting longer, I have started to think about some projects to work on. So far I have been sewing a 2-tiered denim skirt and I'm also crocheting an afghan that will match the colors in my room! Hopefully I'll come up with more ideas as we get closer to the winter season! If you have been working on some fun projects I would love to hear about or see them! If you would like to share, just leave me a comment at the end of this post. :-)


Blessings,
~Chloe~ :-)

"O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;For His lovingkindness is everlasting."

1 Chronicles 16:34

~Election Day!~ :-)

~Voter's Guide and more!~

With the presidential election coming up so quickly (Nov. 4), I wanted to share with you this wonderful voter's guide! You can click here to view it.

Also, my older brother has written an article on his blog about the current political situation in the United States. Below is an excerpt from his post. :-)

Politics

"Gag, wow, the Presidential election of 2008 is well underway and the informational intensity of the race is so high that you need a "news ticker" on your cell phone to sound informed. And who is on the sidelines, watching this race go by?

Little 'ol me.

Yup, the same guy who organized a group of over 100 ECU'ers for Huckabee during the primaries has little to do this election cycle. My heart just isn't in it. McCain has been a moderate FOREVER and has worked against conservative principles before and ispot.com/ likely to do so again. Obama is a much better communicator than McCain and frankly seems to know a lot more about the country and its problems than McCain. McCain despite his repeated professions of knowledge, just seems out of touch. Bush has not been the most stellar of conservative standard bearers, with his budget ballooning the national debt to greater highs then ever before, and more and more jobs are leaving us to go overseas. Bush has however, left a positive legacy in his ban of partial birth abortion, his updating of the American military to fight the conflicts of the future, and his conservative judicial appointments have also been admirable. The question now is, where will America go now? Bush has made his mark, now the time approaches for a new hand to take the national tiller."

You can click here to read more.


May the Lord grant us all wisdom in how to vote this year.
Blessings,
~Chloe~

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy."

James 3:17

~Historic Dance Practice :-) ~

Hello all! 

Yesterday we attended, once again, the Civil War dance practice. Yea!  :-D It was really fun! We learned a new quadrille called the "Prince Imperial Quadrille" with several figures and we also reviewed a line dance that some of our group had learned previously. :-)  In one of the  Prince Imperial Quadrille's figures, I believe one of the figure's was called  "whirlpool" (the name is very appropriate!), because you go around in lots and LOTS :-) of circles, so many in fact that some of us got a little dizzy! But not too dizzy! lol! :-)  

There was a really good turn out at yesterday's practice too! At one point I counted about 32 dancers! The group has really grown! :-)

Below is a video of a dance group I found on youtube that show another one of the figures that we learned. Enjoy!

Blessings,

~Chloe~ :-)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10

~Skillet Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas~

Hello all! :-) We tried out a new recipe this evening
for dinner....it's called "Skillet Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas". It was pretty good! :-) Here's the recipe!

Skillet Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
~5 Min. prep. ~ 10 Min. cook~ 4 servings~
Pam Original No-Stick cooking spray
1 dozen corn tortillas (6-inch),torn into bite-size pieces
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cooked chicken
1 can (20 ounces) Rosarlta Enchilada Sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

1. Spray large skillet with cooking spray.
2. Heat tortillas and chicken over medium-high heat 7 minutes, or until browned, stirring frequently.
3. Pour sauce over tortilla mixture; stir to blend. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; heat until sauce is hot and cheese is melted.

Note: The recipe said it made up 4 servings, however, we had some other foods on the side and we wound up having some leftovers. With the Enchiladas, we had brown rice with a veggie blend, refried beans topped with cheese and iced tea. Mmmm! :-)

Have a blessed day!
~Chloe~

"I delight to do Your will, O my God;

Your Law is within my heart."

Psalm 40:8

~The MacDonald Family Singers~

Not long ago, I discovered a website by a family who sings and play instruments together. :-D While on their site, I decided to click on "Music" and discovered that their family had two albums up for free download!
Our family has thoroughly enjoyed listening to their music and I thought you might enjoy hearing some as well! :-)

(To visit the MacDonald family's website click here. )

I also learned that one of their daughters yodels! She has a youtube video where she explains a little about how yodeling is done. (Here is a link to that video.) :-)

And if you would like to hear a little more yodeling, below is a video of an 11 year old girl named Taylor Ware who is very accomplished in the skill of yodeling......take a look. :-)



Well, that's all for now! Have a wonderful day!

In Christ,
~Chloe~ :-)

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
Psalm 100:1-5

FIREPROOF

Yesterday our family and a couple of friends, went to see the movie
"Fireproof" on opening day! :-) Wow! What a GREAT movie! It was written and directed by Alex Kendrick and Produced and Co-Written by Stephen Kendrick, (two brother's from Georgia). They have also made the movies "Flywheel" and "Facing the Giants"....two other wonderfully inspirational films!

Below is the story line of the movie along with some picture's and a movie trailer! Enjoy!

~The Story~

At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old fire fighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being "good enough" for her husband.

Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.
As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father's sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his parents' new found faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.
While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?"
When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And with God's help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.
But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart.
(Story review from http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/)

Note:

"The Love Dare" is a real book also written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick.

Has the movie "sparked" your interest yet ??? :-P

At the end of the film there was text that read "To God be the Glory!". I thought that was really neat to see on a large screen in a public theater! :-)

I would highly recommend you view this movie (as well as "Flywheel and "Facing the Giants, if you haven't seen those yet :-) )!

For more information, video clips etc. you can visit http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Have a blessed day!

~Chloe~ :-)

"Make me know Your ways, O LORD;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day."

Psalm 25:4,5

~Won't you join me for a cup of tea?~

Hello everyone! :-)

Today we hosted a Mother/daughter tea in our home! :-)

Here's a look at what we said in the invitation that we sent out to the guests!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please join us for a Mother Daughter Tea
at our Home
on Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12 o'clock in the afternoon.
Please bring a"dainty" (dessert) or hors d'oeuvre (appetizer)
along with your favorite tea cup.
If any mother-daughter or sister-sister team
would like to share their talents with us,
we would be thrilled. Solo presentations are welcome as well!
Poems, dramatic readings or recitations, song, instrumental, etc.
are all ideas for you to share.
We would also cherish a testimony (either spoken or read)
that anyone feels led to share.
Attire is period style clothing from late 1800's to
early 1900's ( "Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea" type clothing) or semi-formal
(tea party style) is welcome as well.
Feel free to don tea party hats, gloves, etc. if you wish!
Have fun with it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young gentlemen of the tea. :-)













We served three different kinds of tea...

Earl grey

Lady grey and

Irish breakfast tea.

One of the moms came up with this fun saying:

"The Earl took the Lady to Ireland" to help us keep our tea pots straight. :-)

We had many delicious foods with our afternoon tea..... cream puffs, cream cheese eclairs, scones (cut out in the shape of acorns and leaves), pimiento cheese on crackers, carrots and broccoli with dressing, hard boiled eggs, turkey and cheddar/swiss cheese on croissants, peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches (in acorn shapes) gold fish crackers, sesame seeds and chocolate chip muffins!





Having a delightful time! :-)













Enjoying food, tea and fellowship! :-)













After eating, we all gathered in the living room for a time of sharing. Piano pieces were played, and an inspirational poem and quote were read along with more grand visiting. :-)

We later took a turn around the yard. Our first stop was at the miniature roses. :-)







Well now it's time for clean up......













........and rest! :-)













So long for now!


In Christ,
~Chloe~ :-)

A note to the guests:
Thank you ladies for all your help with the tea! We greatly enjoyed having you all over! :-)





Some of the ideas for the tea were taken from the book, "Raising Maidens of Virtue" and and also from the Author's blogs: http://www.yoursacredcalling.blogspot.com
http://raisingmaidensofvirtue.blogspot.com

To order a copy of this book you can visit:
http://www.visionforum.com

"O taste and see that the LORD is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! "

Psalm 34:8

18!!!!!!!!! :-)

Wow! Another year has rolled around already!

:-) We have done a bit of a progressive birthday this year. :-) On Sunday we went by my grandma and grandads house and had a wonderful meal followed by vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting along with some sweet fellowship. :-) And then today we have done more birthday celebrating! :-)
















Before baking the cake.......













.......and after. :-)

For dinner, we had a wonderful poppy seed chicken casserole, carrots, sweet peas and hot rolls! Mmmm! Mom also baked a delicious fudge marble cake topped with chocolate frosting and we had vanilla ice cream on the side-a perfectly wonderful birthday dinner! Thanks, Mom! :-)



Oooo!












Ahhh! :-)














~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


We also decided to order this lovely tea set for my birthday! :-) We are planning to host a somewhat small, Mother/Daughter tea later this month, and so having had an eye on this tea set for a while now, we decided it would be a good time to go ahead and make the order. Yea! :-)

Blessings,

~Chloe~

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Galatians 5:22,23

~August Update~

Hello all! I hope your summer is going well!

Yesterday we went to historic dance practice, which was lots of fun! :-) We learned four new dances and a new dance step. Yea! :-) The new dance step was the polka. :-) My mom, brother's and I practiced on that step some today, accompanied by our civil war dancing CD by Spare Parts. Doing the polka is a great workout! :-)

We have also started school around here, this month. :-) The other day, as I was reading history, I ran onto a quote by Benjamin Franklin that I thought was kind of humorous. :-) It read:

"He that riseth late must trot all day." :-)

I'm also taking a sign language class this year as well as choir. :-) Those should be fun! :-)

And in other news, our local library has recently purchased some new books! :-) Pictured on the left are some of the books that we checked out and enjoyed reading! The series is about Priscilla Mullins, Nan Harper, Dolley Madison and Sacagawea and how God worked through these women's lives. If you would like to know more about this series or perhaps purchase a copy for your own "personal library" you can visit www.visionforum.com . Here are a couple of the book descriptions from the site. Enjoy!

A Light Kindled: The Story of Priscilla Mullins

"After the first winter in Plymouth, there were only four women alive in the tiny colony. One of them was Priscilla Mullins. She had traveled to Massachusetts with her father and mother but both had perished, leaving her alone in the new world. Undaunted, Priscilla chose to stay rather than return to the “safety” of England. Priscilla trusted completely in her Savior and lived a long and fruitful life with her pilgrim husband. Together they were blessed with 11 children and an estimated one million descendants!"

Unfading Beauty: The Story of Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison was the most popular and beloved of our American first ladies. Her Christian character and natural hospitality made her a popular hostess and the perfect helpmate for her husband, who was rather shy and had a difficult time talking to strangers. Dolley is still considered one of the greatest models for American girlhood today

Have a wonderful day!
~Chloe~

"He who gives attention to the word will find good,

And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. "

Proverbs 16:20