Thursday, December 29, 2011

Here's a perspective ~ Bill Gates' 11 Rules

I found this while organizing my file cabinets.  We all enjoyed reading through these.





Rule 1:  Life is not fair -- get used to it!

Rule 2:  The world won't care about your self-esteem.  The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3:  You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.  You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4:  If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5:  Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.  Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.

Rule 6:  If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7:  Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.  They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you are.  So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8:  Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT.  In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer.  This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9:  Life is not divided into semesters.  You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.  Do that on your own time.

Rule 10:  Television is NOT real life.  In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11:  Be nice to nerds.  Chances are you'll end up working for one.




(pictures by David)

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

He Who Believes, Has


"He who believes, has"


.........But even as the forgiveness of sins takes away the glory which rested on these especially pious deeds, it opens our eyes, on the other hand, to the light which now falls so much more brilliantly on the everyday doings of our calling which had previously been despised and had sunk to the level of mere drudgery...............When the forgiveness of sins has again given him peace in his calling, it is not because he has let practical wisdom and common sense trim off his idealism, but because he has learned to depend entirely on the grace of God.  The ideal rather has grown, and now sees that of himself he will never be able to span the distance between it and reality.  But as he goes quietly about the duties of his calling, he does so in no spirit of resignation from every attempt to attain the ideal, but in faith that for the grace of God, which is new every morning, nothing is impossible...........
                                                                                                       
                                                       Our Calling, by Einar Billing

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Kid Logic Friday


~Molly Rose comments~




"If you get too much sun, you get a sunburn -  if you get too much moon you get a moonburn!"


*~~~~~~*



"Are you cooking Hermit Crabs for dinner?!"


Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Seattle Trip

This weekend found us in Seattle at the Pike Place Market and then up in the Space Needle in the evening.  It's been years since we've done anything like this, but Steve's relatives were up on vacation so this was a part of their trip we got to join them on.  


 I always enjoy walking around and seeing the many sites, hearing the different noises,


seeing the creations people have made and sell at the little shops and stands,


 seeing the many different kinds of people and the street musicians.


 The water is always beautiful . 


We walked past the first Starbucks.  It was incredibly busy so we didn't get the coffee I thought I needed for warming up my hands.  We went to a different place where the coffee wasn't nearly as good ; )


The day was dry, but very cold (if you stopped walking).  I don't think it got past 40 degrees that day, but as long as we were walking we didn't get too cold.



 David took this picture below.  I know it looks gross, but he took it because "this is what mom's plate always looks like!"  Meaning, his mom makes sure her children get enough to eat before she feeds herself-or something to that effect. Only one of those forks was mine.  And yes, everyone except for Molly did have their own plate.


We ate lunch and some people spent money to buy themselves desert.


Some people took a rest.


David, of course, took many pictures



After we had our fill of walking around, 


we then headed off to the Space Needle.






By the time we got up to the top it was dark out,





Sam took such good care of his little sister and helped her see through the telescope.


The weather was perfect, moon was full,




The view was beautiful!


This is a photo that they take of everyone just before the ride up to the top of the Space Needle.  We aren't quite sure what John saw that made him smile like that, but we were glad he was having such a good time.












Monday, December 12, 2011

Little Daily Ponderings


Note to self:
Give Molly a smaller sugar bowl when she is having a tea party with herself (since she will use all of it.)

Communication breakdown:  John has a license now and likes to do his own errands.  While he was out tonight, I had Amy call him and have him pick up a few tomatoes for our dinner.  He came home with two bags of bagels.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Our Amaryllis Tradition

Amaryllis are the plants you see around this time of year that are sold in a box with the seasonal items.  They grow very fast and get huge beautiful blooms.  The kids plant the bulb and mark the very bottom of any green leaf that is showing.


Then one week later the kids mark it again and measure how much it has grown.


It's really amazing to see just how fast they grow in one week.


You can see by the marks in this picture that they literally grow many inches in one week!


We have only had this particular Amaryllis for five weeks and it is already blooming.


It has four huge blooms that look similar to a lily.


This one bloomed so fast that I think I will buy another one and start all over.


Maybe each child can have their own and we can make a race out of it : )








Saturday, November 26, 2011

Kid Logic -



This weeks kid logic includes..........

Molly had hurt her leg when she fell while playing outside.  It took awhile to comfort her and she continued to complain about her injury off and on through out the day.  At some point she discovered mom's candy corn and candy pumpkin stash in her school bag and replied to mom, "I know what will make my leg stop hurting - one of those pumpkin candies!"

David's really wanted another pet again (as if a fish tank and two turtles for pets aren't enough!)  So for his birthday we got him a parakeet.  The bird is already adapting well to our loud family and will even sit on his finger already.  But what took the cake, was when I came home from shopping today. David had Mozart playing fairly loud in the livingroom.  When I asked him why he was listening to that he replied, "Because Mozart makes birdies smarter!"

Thursday, November 24, 2011


Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God ................ Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
                                2 Corinthians 9:10-11 & 15