Thanksgiving- I am blessed ( Part 2 )

So for whatever reason the computer did not want me to add more pictures to the previous post so I am adding part 2 because I have more pictures from our great day spent with family. I am glad that I got as many pictures as I did- plus its easier to be able to share them with family on the blog.

Getting ready for the next song. Such concentration on my aunts face.

My Aunt Cheryl was there as well helping with the singing before she had to go to work.

Mikhaila trying her hand at some music.

All I can say is yuck! I need to dye my hair! I was giving Mikhaila a lesson on how she could hold the instrument.

Olivia with Dahlia- we brought the puppies up with us and the kids like playing with them.

Everyone is playing and singing along at this point.

After the music it was time for home made ice cream and dessert. Cards anyone??

Yummmmmmm- Mikhaila was enjoying herself. So was Uncle Rich.

Michelle and Olivia putting up the tree at Aunt Bonnie's

Micah and Grandma seeing what they can help with.

Putting the finishing touches on the beautiful tree.

Making sure all the things that they want are out.

So that was our trip up north to see the family. It was good to see all of them as I never get to really spend any time with any of them. It would be nice if we were closer and could see them regularly however that is not really an option. 
Thanks so much for spending some time with me and my family. I hope that each and every one of you had a great holiday no matter how you  spent it. Please remember to be thankful each and every day for everything that you have. Until we talk again.... be blessed abundantly!

Thanksgiving Day...I am blessed.

Good morning folks, please come in and have a cup of tea and tell me what you are thankful for? I am sure that you are in the midst of having a wonderful time with friends, family. Or maybe you just have time off from work and are able to be doing something that you like to do- quilting, sewing, reading. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday.
I am thankful for alot of things in my life right now...but I was really thankful this year that I had the actual day of Thanksgiving off and was able to go and spend time with family. Being I work with vulnerable adults I usually work the holidays and have not had them off in years!
So Mikhaila and I were able to go up north (Minnesota) and spend some time with the family and eat some wonderful food!! It was well worth the travel time to be able to be with family. 















Whenever we get together we have to play some music. There are some real musicians in the group that was there on Thursday but I am sad to say am not one of them. So most of us play G and C LOL!!! Its really about having a good time and spending time together, listening to some great music, laughing, signing the old songs like I'll Fly Away. Things my Great Grandma would have done, I can still hear her playing She'll be coming around the mountain- she would make that piano jump right off the floor!!

Roger is awesome on the mandolin. The Mandolin adds so much to the music, I can listen to it all day!!

Operation Christmas Child Boxes- getting donations

Hello there friends, please come in and sit down and have a cup of tea. How have you been? Things here have been alittle busy with getting things together for a ministry that we are so happy to support. We have had fun getting  things together for them.

Mikhaila decided that she was going to get more involved with Operation Christmas Child this year. So she went and got the word out to people that she was collecting donations for her boxes. She decided that she would go ahead and plan for 20 boxes to be done. After she had them collected and put together she would then have me drive her down to the Cities and we would drop them off at the KTIS radio station. We planned for November 19th so that we could drop them off and take a tour of the radio station as well. The radio station was broadcasting live as they took donations and put them in the long semi that was parked in the parking lot.

So that was the plan..... first she told a friend about collecting things for Operation Christmas Child. The friend  said she had some more items that were left  from putting her own  boxes together and that Mikhaila could have those for her boxes.

So here are the goodies that were donated by that great friend.Thanks so much!

 

Then Mikhaila talked to Angel Ministries, they sat down and had a meeting and decided that their ministry would pair up with Mikhaila and donate things for 20 child boxes. Mikhaila was pretty excited that they talked to her and took her mission seriously. She was also very excited that they would help her get 20 boxes put together.

Here is the great bin of goodies that they donated. Thanks to them and thanks to the person who donated the blue monkey ! We appreciate all the help!

This is the goodies laid out as she started putting the boxes together. As you can see the boxes in the background are starting to get things put in them.

Mikhaila also asked her youth to stretch themselves and come up with some things to put together for an additional box.They had one put together already and well they came through with some extra stuff..... Thanks guys!

Then it was time to put the boxes together..... but first we had to come up with some boxes and while we were at it we had to buy our  own goodies to throw into the pile. So off we went to the store.

The empty boxes waiting to be filled. We ended up buying all the boxes out at the store! We still did not have enough for all the boxes we ended up doing.

Some of the items that we purchased. The kids will love their bars of soap and their great wash clothes!Time to put it all together! This was the fun time, Mikhaila had two helpers, one a lady I work with- she supervised. She would let Mikhaila know if she thought there should be something extra in a box or if we forgot to put something in there. Then the other a fuzzy helper named Daisy.

Keeping records of what was donated, she needs to write thank you cards. Plus it will help with collecting things for next year!

Mikhaila's  friend Daisy who was helping us as well!

Putting the labels on the boxes so they know if they go to a boy or a girl  and what age.

All beautifully packaged and ready to go....

There ended up being 24 boxes!!! WOOT WOOT!! Way to go Team Lampert! It took others helping Mikhaila, they did great as a team! I am proud of all that helped with this ministry outreach. Thanks so much!

There were 8 boxes that we had no boxes for! So we bagged them up, put the paper inside so we would know if they are for boys or girls and tied them up and brought them with. When we got to the station they had 4 boxes that they had left, they took the other 4 in the bags and they will get a box when they go to the warehouse.

There are plenty of organizations that get things together for others during the holidays that otherwise might not have anything. Please remember to donate to a charity of your choice, donations of all sorts are needed and that does not always mean money and toys. There are alot of places that need volunteers and just some one who cares and will listen. Why not start a new tradition with your family? Have a family meeting and see how you can be a blessing to someone. I guarantee it will change the way  you look at the world around you. Have a wonderful night my friend.

Christmas Wreath blocks

Hey, there! So these past few days have been crazy busy with work, sewing, and the cold weather starting to set! But I am happy to say I've gotten the last three blocks done for my Christmas Wreath swap through Mary Jane's website!! That makes 12 blocks.
Here they are:

I am really happy with how they turned out, and both my daughter and I really like the penguin one! It was a fun fabric because the penguin bodies were silver and shimmery, almost like a gel pen.
 In other news, we had our first snow last week, and it has been freezing overnight. Not fun for the animals! My daughter wrapped the chicken coop with a weather-plastic to insulate it, and the geese and ducks were very happy! They talked to her the whole time she was there.

I have been working with some ladies I know to organize craft days and fun things to do as well.I think it'd be really great to get some events going during the winter, especially, that got people who enjoyed crafts and get-togethers out and about, instead of sitting home all winter. Quilting bees, knitting club, sewing days; all these are fun ways to make friends!
That's all for now folks! Stay warm with hot apple cider and cocoa!

First Snow!!

Good morning friends! Please come in and get warmed up, have a cup of tea and lets talk about what is going on around here. 

This morning we woke up here and the first thing we saw looking out the window was a white substance..... yup you guessed it SNOW!! My daughter of course had to inform me that it was actually frost. I think I know what snow looks like, it has not been that long since we saw it!! In my opinion  summer went way to quickly and of course winter will be way too long for me! I am happy to know it will not last long on the ground today!

So what does that mean for me today?? I have to get some stuff done outside- no the dahlias are still in the ground, so are the spuds and well all the garden stuff is not up by the house yet! I am so excited that  we have a Garden Club meeting tonight, we are going to make willow trivets I think this should be a whole lot of fun!! I also am excited to go to the Beginning Farm course that is being held over in Frederic. I took this course years ago and learned a lot. I do not feel like I used all the info to my advantage so I am going to retake it. This time around and well I am really going to focus on the info and put it into practice! I want to get some money back from this hobby farm, even if it is just food in MY freezer! 

So that is what is going on in our neck of the woods Have a wonderful day!

Surprised By Oxford by Carolyn Weber

   

  Surprised by Oxford was a very interesting book to read. At first I was intrigued with the thought of even going to Oxford and being surrounded by such history, such intellect, such dedication to academics. I was not disappointed as Weber shares with us her journey to Oxford and how she is immersed in her study  of Romantic Literature. I appreciate that she has included at the beginning of each chapter, and sprinkled throughout great quotes or parts of great literature that most of us either have not read or have not read in quite some time.

     I appreciate the fact that Weber was very honest with where she came from, what role she found her self playing in the family- especially when dealing with her father. She has hard conversations with both the academic people she is at University with as well as at home with her family. She really goes into Oxford as an intellect that relies on thinking things through, she does not see a need for God. However, she makes friends with people that challenge her, especially TDH. TDH poses hard questions that she as an intellect really has to think about, research and figure out for herself. By doing this deep inner study she is lead to actually read the Bible - front to back- a feat most folks Christian or Non-Christian have not done. While she does this she finds herself discovering  her real identity, having a different purpose in life then she originally thought she had and in the end having the one true relationship her life had been lacking. A relationship with God.

     I would really suggest reading this book, if you are from an academic point of view you will appreciate how Webers' mind works and  how she has to read, analyze and come to her own conclusion. If you are from a family that has challenges you will find you are not alone. I believe this book will challenge anyone that takes the time to read it.

     I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for supplying me with this book free of charge. In receiving this book the only thing that was asked of me was to write a review of the book with my  honest opinion.

To Have and To Hold By T.Peterson & J. Miller

 This was a great book to curl-up with as the nights around here are getting colder.
     Audrey Cunningham has had some challenges in life that we can all connect with whether it be alcoholism, moving unexpectedly, losing a loved one, or searching for that person to spend the rest of your life with. Audrey is a very real character as she struggles at times with what is going on in her life, having to move to the island her father was raised on , dealing with saving her ancestral home, losing people that are dear to her and then actually finding true love. She may question the reasons of why it is happening, or why it is happening to her. However she does not give up on her faith or God's ability to get her through it. Actually she grows stronger in her faith as she sees the other believers in her life deal with what has been dealt them in a positive way.
     The way the authors mix some history, romance, struggles, and life in general is very refreshing. This is a book a person can connect with as so many of us have or are currently going through similar situations.
     I would recommend this book for yourself as well as a good holiday gift for the readers in your life.
     I would like to thank Bethany House for the free copy. All I had to do was share my honest opinion of the book with others. Enjoy!

Scouting The Divine by Margaret Feinberg

I was so impressed with the creative story-telling and the creative ways that Feinberg came up with finding the people that she would pose her thought provoking questions too.
    I thought the book was well rounded with Feinberg talking to a Shepherdess, a Beekeeper, a Farmer, and a Vintner.These four occupations are addressed in the Bible, are used actually as teaching tools for both the past as well as for us today . To fully understand the teachings that God is trying to get across to us we need to fully understand what it truly means to be a sheep that hears the Shepherd's voice, to be a worker bee in the hive of God, to be a good steward of the land and to be patient enough to wait on God to grow us into producing vines. We need to work with God as a partner in all that we do and this book helped clarify a lot of the Whys that I personally have asked in my journey through the Bible.
As a generation that is removed from our agricultural background Feinberg poses questions that are thought provoking and when they are answered you have that "awe that is what it meant" moment! It deepens the meanings of the verses and the lessons that are peppered throughout the Bible.
     I would Highly recommend this book to both Believer and Non-Believer alike. The only suggestion I would say is to read an occupation and then meditate on it before going on to the next one. It will be hard, I wanted to keep reading the whole book once I started. However I think it really makes the book that much richer if you slowly digest the lessons that are so beautifully explained.
     I will definitely look for more books written by Margaret Feinberg in the future. I was given this book by Zondervan, free of charge for my honest review of the book.