Home-Made: Love...

From The Salvation Army Songbook

"O there's joy in every heart

When there's love at home;

There's a smile on every face

When there's love at home!

Voices have a kindly sound,

Happiness beams all around

Peace and gentleness abound

When there's love at home.

Chorus:

Love at home! Love at home!

There's an angel in the house

When there's love at home.

O there's sunshine on the hearth

When there's love at home,

And there's music in the air

When there's love at home!

We have an infestation of rats and mice on the back deck lately.  Daddy has his way of catching them (professional traps), the kids have their way (home-made) and I have my way- the BB gun.

Faces at the door are sweet,

Laughter echoes in the street,

Paths are smooth for little feet

When there's love at home.

Mary tries to give herself Brownie Points on our chart.

When I see my kids do something above and beyond the call of duty, I always would say "you get a brownie point" and make a tick mark in the air.  Kind of a term of endearment and "atta boy/girl".  That's always why they thought I made brownies.  Isn't that funny!

So anyway, several months ago, I decided to make a chart so that they can actually see their progress.  They are forbidden to ever ask for a brownie point- "and so receive their praise from man".  

I really want to train my children to go above and beyond

with how they treat others and how they approach learning and working. 

"Go the extra mile".

Ann plays this game a lot.  She is practicing for our Corps (church) talent show.

Don't even ask me how many times we've been hit with shoes in the head, I finally sent her outside because I was tired of hearing everyone yelling at her when they got clonked on the head.

Elijah and Hannah playing with his slime and Shreks from a Happy Meal.

When there's Jesus in the midst,

There is love at home;

He will teach you what to do

When there's love at home;

Sometimes...  Elijah ends up on the bottom of the pile.

Help you in life's busy mart;

Whisper softly in your heart

Of the bright and better part,

When there's love at home.

Home-made stuffed crust pizza. 

Hannah is ALWAYS the first one to the table, 

even if she has to sit there for half and hour all by herself.  

The girls have been "gardening" in these little pots.  They pick flowers and replant them and water, water, water.  When the wind picked up one  day and blew a couple of them down the street, the girls screamed and chased after them, and I screamed and chased after the girls.  Mary's head was flopping so much from my running with her on my hip that I gave up when the thought of "shaken baby syndrome" crossed my mind.

We planted carrots a few weeks ago, but Paul mowed over them and they won't resurrect.

Home-made laundry soap.

 

                                This is me.  Can you tell?  Ann is our little artist.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. 
It makes me feel good to be able to share my life in words and pictures,
which causes me to look square in the face at the things I am so very grateful for.
I'd like to tell the whole world how good Jehovah, Adonai,  is...........