Good Monday morning! It is such a bright and beautiful day. I hope that you all had a great weekend.

We worked around the house…we were thankful to enjoy some much needed time with Paul.

He also made great use of his time by repairing my washer and working on the dryer (let’s just say, in a family of 10…to have the washer and the dryer not working properly is a huge problem!)
The dryer has had some problems on and off through the summer which has not been too bad because we’ve been hanging clothes to dry all summer, but with the cooler air blowing in, they aren’t drying as quickly as they had been…it’s time to have the dryer back up and working properly.

This weekend, I worked on tatting, this time shuttle tatting. The main picture today is of a bookmark that I finished. I love tatting, though I’m not as efficient with it as my Great-Grandmother was…her hands would fly with a shuttle and thread. I’m still learning. Even so, it’s fun to learn a new skill…and hopefully one I can teach here at some point!

Today’s Prayer Requests

I feel very heavy hearted over this one. We were so enjoying the air show last week. We were saddened over the following news story:

“CALERA – A small plane crashed Saturday afternoon during an air show at the Shelby County Airport, killing two men and an 11-year-old boy on board.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen of Atlanta said the single-engine Beech Bonanza crashed into an airport fence about 1 p.m. during takeoff. There was no fire.

She said the plane was not involved in air-show stunts, but was giving air tours during the show. Shelby County Coroner Doug Ballard Jr. said two men, including the pilot, and an 11-year-old boy were killed. Their names were not immediately released.”

Source: The Gadsden News

Please pray for these families. I know that they must be devastated.

Pray for Paul who has a meeting at work and a possible job position change? Also for a meeting he has regarding one of our other businesses on Wednesday.

My Grandmother who seems to be doing O.K. in her new apartment.

Today I’m Thankful For

A wonderful weekend with my family.

Paul was able to fix the technical problem we were having with “leave a comment” last week!

I think that we FINALLY have the boy’s room organized (HUGE HURRAY!).

Finishing more Christmas gifts.

Finishing the master schedule for our family (this is not an hour by hour schedule…this is a daily, “big project” schedule that includes my hubby!)

Tracy’s Task

O.K.! Holiday Grand Plan time…we’re on to “Master Bathroom Week”.

This includes a total cleaning of the master bathroom and also:

*Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
*Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
*Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
*Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes
*Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
*Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
*Take toys and books that are outgrown, clean them up and prepare them for donation to toy drives.
*Make list of toys and books that children would enjoy and that would fit in their rooms and that would work with what they have. Keep it hand for telling family what they would like.
*Inventory clothing and have another list of clothing items needed. Measure the children and put measurements on this list.

Though I’ve asked my children for Christmas lists…I haven’t gotten all of them yet….(hint, hint)!

I am also really trying to figure out what good books I would like to purchase. We’re really trying to steer away from anything with magic…and I’m increasingly aware of bad attitudes and horrible language, in CHILDREN’s books. It’s making the selection process much more difficult! Does anyone have suggestions for good titles…especially for the “middler” age groups?

We’ve really enjoyed the Dear America and Royal Diary series….we’re looking for other books and series that he children might enjoy.

What I’m Learning

I don’t know what I did wrong. *SIGH* I mixed very little dish soap with water, which I had both read and been told made for a great pesticide if you didn’t want to use pesticides. This is the result.

I guess there is always next year. 🙁

Today’s Scripture Meditation

Still reading in James today…(I would love for this to be one of the books that we memorize over the year):

James 5:13-18
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
(NIV)

That we might have the prayers of the righteous,