Week After Week

This powerful article gives perspective to why those sermons are so important week after week, and why we must train ourselves and our children to pay attention.

Freeze-Framing

I'm often guilty of freeze-framing.

Myself.  My husband.  My children.  Others.

Here's a beautiful post by a mother of 15 who reminds us that we're all a work in progress.

Bible Time-Love Covers It All


Be encouraged,
Queen Mom

Expected Arrival~Summer 2010

That's right.

We're excited, humbled, and overwhelmed by God's mercy, and we're so delighted to announce that a new member of the Poff Clan is expected to arrive at the end of June.

I'm 12 weeks today, and so far, all is well.  After having three miscarriages, however, I'm very aware that I have no control over what tomorrow holds.  I can trust, however, the One who holds tomorrow. 

So, please rejoice with us and pray for us!

Love,
Queen Mom for the Clan



~graphics are from Gran Gran's Graphics

She's the Only One

Even though precous Peep is our seventh child, life is still full of surprises.  Amazingly, she's our only child to ever do this..........

sit quietly on a couch for 15 minutes.

Ella was actually sitting next to her, making sure she didn't fall.  But, Peep was just sitting quietly looking around the room.  Nope...we've never had a 9-1/2 month old do that.

She's also the only one at this age to sit and flip through board books for lengthy amounts of time, and she's the friendliest Poff baby, too.  She still tolerates enjoys being passed around at church....and I mean, there's a LOT of passing around goin' on!

What a treasure to see how all of our children can be so similar and yet so very different.

Weekly Rewind 11/29-12/05/09

All is pretty much routine in the Poff Household.  We're enjoying Christmas music and Advent readings, and I hear "When will Christmas be here?" at least a couple times a day.  (See, if I had just made my Upsized Advent Calendar this year, the Littles would have a great visual for the counting down.)

We have about two weeks left of our school schedule before we take a two week break.  One of the highlights of this time of year is that Daddy will be home for a bit starting Christmas Eve.  While we anticipate that, each day is plenty full and goes by so quickly.  Here are just a few glimpses of this past week.

~This past Saturday we enjoyed attending the baptism of the daughter of some very close friends of ours.  This precious little girl is an Emma, too. :)  Afterwards, our two families did what some would be terrified to do...........we ate together at Macaroni Grill.  Yes, four adults and 12 children!  It was great!  The children were so well behaved, a beautiful testimony to the blessing of children and the grace of God.

We were seated in the center of an area for all eyes to see.  We did have two couples compliment us on how well behaved the children were, and one of those couples were the parents of 8 children.  It's always wonderful to be encouraged, so if you ever see a family out with children who are behaving well, let them know!

 I remind our children whenever we go out that we're being a witness for the beauty of a large family, for the privilege of homeschooling, and most importantly, for the grace of God in our lives and for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~My skin cancer is back.  The place on my forehead was not completely removed with the biopsy, so I'm being told I'll need to have more surgery.  While at my appointment, the doctor also took a biopsy of my arm, which did come back positive.  Due to some disagreements about appropriate treatment at this time, surgery is on hold, and I'm considering getting another opinion and trying some natural remedies.  I would appreciate prayer for wisdom in knowing what to do as well as in choosing another doctor if that is necessary.

After doing a bit of research, I did come across some studies that show an increase in basal cell cancers in those who have Crohn's Disease.  My doctor hasn't made this connection, but I do find it quite interesting.  The increase is related to the suppressed immune system and medications related to treating this disease.

~We put up our ever-so-humble Christmas tree.  For a few years now, we've been alternating between artificial and real.  We'd love to have a real one each year, but doing this is a bit more budget-friendly.  This slim tree actually fits perfectly in our small living area.

~On a sadder note, even though it didn't happen last week, our dog Jessie, 11 years old, has been missing since yesterday afternoon.  We've gotten snow since then, and the older boys were out for over an hour in the dark and snow last night looking for her to no avail.  We know dogs often go away from home to die, and we're hoping that isn't the case.  We do pray God would allow us to be able to know what has happened to her.  She's a mutt, a german-shepherd/collie mix, and absolutely the best dog we've ever had.

Love,
Queen Mom

Quoteworthy~The Very Soul of Prayer

"In all your closet-duties God looks first and most to your hearts.  It is not a piece, it is not a corner of the heart, which will satisfy the Maker of the heart.  The very soul of prayer lies in the pouring out of the soul before God.  The heart is a treasure, a bed of spices, a royal throne wherein He delights.  God looks not at:
the elegance of your prayers, to see how refined they are; nor at
the geometry of your prayers, to see how long they are; nor at
the arithmetic of your prayers, to see how many they are; nor at
the music of your prayers; nor at
the sweetness of your voice;
nor at the logic of your prayers;
but at the sincerity of your prayers, how hearty they are.

The reason wy so many are so unsuccessful in their closet-duties and services, is because there is no more of their hearts in them.  No man can make sure work or happy work in prayer but he who makes heart work on it."

~Thomas Brooks
The Privy Key of Heaven

The Only Meat Loaf I'll Eat

So, is meat loaf one of those "love it or hate it foods"?  I don't know, but here's my favorite version...an Italian Meal Loaf.  The mozarella in the middle makes it extra yummy.

1-1/2 lbs ground meat
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. cracker crumbs
1/2 c. chopped onion (I always leave this out, but I'm sure it adds more flavor!)
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 c. grated mozarella cheese (or more if you like)
2/3 c. tomato sauce (I use a bit more than that)

Combine meat, egg, cracker crumbs, onion, the 1/3 c. tomato sauce, salt, oregano, pepper.  Shape into a 10x12 rectangle on waxed paper.  sprinkle with the cheese.  Roll up and press ends to seal.  Place in a shallow pan and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Pour the 2/3 c. of sauce over the top and bake another 15 minutes.
(from the VIP Cookbook Vol. 6)

If you need to double this, I've found it bakes best as two separate loaves instead of one big loaf.  I make two of these for our size family, and we still have a bit left over for lunch the next day.


Enjoy!
~Queen Mom

Sunset and Snow

Here are some beautiful pictures Little Big Man got last night of the snow and the sunset......

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth the work of His hands."

Psalm 19:1

Frozen Toes - Part 2

Well, here I be ta finnish dis yarn dat I begun...

~

Day 3 (Friday, November 13) - After slitherin' grudgingly outa our warm bedrolls, and gettin' a bite ta eat, we three mountaineers got down ta business. I straightened up camp a bit, and did some checkin' up on de gun bags ta make shur nothin' were missin'. Meanwhile, Dad an' Little Big Man - ferget it, he be LBM from now on - trudged up to tha shootin' range to make shur de latter's smokepole was flingin' lead where it was s'pposed to. We figurd it would be a mytie unfortunate thing fer LBM ta 'ncounter injuns an' find his sights wuz off.

When dey returned, Dad an' I disided ta have a go at de pistol trail walk. We didn't shoot squat started off jest dandy, but stopped because we knew we were jest wastin' powder figurd it'd be nice ta let de other shooters have a chance.

~

De big event of dat day wuz the de "One-Tie-All-Tie" shoot. It were scheduled 'bout 1:30 in de afternoon, so as that time rolled around, LBM, Dad, and I slung our gun bags over our shuldurs, grabbed our smokepoles, and joined the others assembling at de range. De shoot ran dis way: the target - an 8x12 inch plate of solid steel - was set up on de hillside in front of us. Then all de shooters, about eighteen in all, retired about eighty yards away, and de fun began as everybody had a go at makin' the steel target ring an' swing. Now, what makes dis shoot so fun is de yuneek rools dat ackumpny it: if, during a round, two people in the group both hit de target and tie, den the entire groop ties, and everybody moves farther back ta shoot anudder round. However, if only one person hits de steel during the course o' a round, den dat person be de winner, an' it be he dat walks away with de loot. Usually, a shoot o' dis kind only lasts an hour er so. But dis time, it continued fer three hours! And durin' de final round, all of us shooters wuz flingin' lead from close to three hundred yards away! Waugh!

LBM an' yer's truly with Dad before de "One-Tie-All-Tie"

Some o' de other shooters in de "One-Tie-All-Tie"

~

Day 4 (Saturday, November 14) - Well, havin' pretty much done all de shootin' dere wuz ta do, de three of us turned our attention to our belts . Er, rather what wuz ahangin' on de belts. Yesiree, we decided it wer time to pay de logs our respects. Therefore, with rezaloot hearts steel'd ta peril, we faced 'em, an' got down ta business. An' it got ugly, reel fast. Boy, doze devil's must o' had hearts of... oak. It were tough ta get anything ta stick in 'em at first. But, as we warmed to de fight, things began ta look up, and de ornery varmintz acknowledged our prowess with sharp things. But dat were jest de beginning. We had jest been practicin', doin' a bit o' warm up throwing. Now came de serious task. We had to face de logs once more, only this time, dere were other mountain men to compete with. (Drumroll, if'n ye please)

~

If de first battle with de logs wuz ugly, de second battle wuz uglier. Take my wurd fer it, dere be some good - an' I mean extreemly good - throwers ta compete with. Ta make things e'en more bizarre, we didn't jest do de regular shabang of throwin' from five paces away. We did distance throws, card throws, threw between rubber bands stretched across de face of de log, an' even threw standin' inside a small coil of rope on de ground (it's tougher den it sounds, trust me). It wuz certainly a challengin' ordeal, but then again it's usually doze kinda ordeals dat are de best. In de end, all three of us placed within de top four of our divisions, which be perty good after all, considerin' de talent we wuz up against.

   

LBM to Log: "Ready... set... draw!"

 

"Ha! Got ya! Now we'll see how knotheads bleed! Waugh!"

Keepin' score durin' de throw

Some o' our competetors

Ready ta stick it

~

Day 5 (Sunday, November 15) - Well, that be about all dere is to tell 'bout our adventures at de "Frozen Toes" rondy-voo. On the fifth day, we got up earlier dan usual, had a nice hot breakfast, an' then began takin' down camp and loadin' de mules. After dat wuz done, an' we had made absolutely, positively, undeniably shur dat we weren't leavin' anythin' behind, we said good-bye to our fellow mountaineers, shook hands all round, exchanged a joke er two, and den began de trek back home. By dat time, we wuz champin' at de bit ta to be reunited with de rest o' de family... an' get showers! Waugh!

~Scribe