Last but not least...

Well...my husband has succumbed to the dreaded stomach bug....answered prayer is that it waited until his days off....he won't be missing any pay. Poor guy! I think I'm going to try and get the kids away for some of the day....for their sakes, outside and his...so he has peace and quiet! ~Sue~

Another one bites the dust....

(now that Queen song will be stuck in my head all day!) Anyway...Little Miss Anna woke up around 1:20am and proceeded to be up and "pluking" until almost 5am....I really thought she already had this, but I guess hers was mucus from her cough....because this was different! She emptied her belly and just woke up a little while ago...as did I. (sigh....) I suppose my plans for the day will be shortened again....one of these days we'll all be back into a routine, the house and laundry will be caught up and we'll be HEALTHY again! Off for more Gatorade! Have a blessed day! ~Sue~

A "Cheering" beginning!

Just a quick update, as that is all I have the energy for! Just washing my hair and getting the knots out exhausted me! LOL

Everyone is feeling better, Praise God! Ron hasn't gotten it yet, and we're praying he doesn't or at least waits until his day off! No work...no pay!

The little ones are back to normal....they seemed to have bounced back the most quickly....Sara is well except for a residual headache. Meghan and I had the bodyaches/chills...and I had all the stomach as well....so we're still recuperating!

I loved the look of the cherry background...especially cheering and hopeful during these economically dark days. Reminds me of a retro look....red gingham, red and white polka dots and cherries always reminds me the "old days"! (take your pick of era's....)

The song "You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with mr in-between!" has been running thru my head for a while now. We consider it a major victory when we go to the thrift store and find what we're looking for....and we usually do! God is so good to us this way! I think all the kids are excited about how we can live like their great-grandparents did, and they're getting excited about using their creativity. Both older girls are entered into the history fair this year thru our homeschool
group. Both chose themes during hard times. Meghan is doing hers on 'Mgm Musicals'....hopeful diversions during hard times" and Sara is doing the frugality of quilting during hard times. Both are very interesting...so we've been reading up on those things during the Great Depression and WWII.

Even our meals have been "thrifted" a lot lately! LOL My family knows that I'll accept any bones and chicken/turkey carcasses they don't want, so the soup we're having tonight is from one of those turkeys, and the ham bone and leftover ham my sister gave us has stretched so far for many, many meals! We're very grateful as well as having fun to see how far we can stretch them!

Ok....I'm done in now....going to go hit the rocker again until dinner time. Thanks to all those who were praying for us....we feel that we are abundantly blessed! ~Sue~

I have been Tagged!!!!!

One of my best friends, Bekah, from Unworthy Maiden, tagged Sara and I here at My Simple Blessed Life! I believe this is the first time I've done a tag. Yay! :) There is a hockey night in our home tonight (Ronnie and Dad have Ronnie's hockey class) so I have a brief interlude before our dinner when they get home. :) I'm going to do it the way Bekah did it with slight alterations......because some of the questions don't apply. :) I have probably 300 songs on my laptop so I'll shuffle them all! It will be weird but I like a myriad of music and singers. :) I hope at least one song will be by Frank Sinatra!!!! :)

So here it goes:

First song:
Artist: Sovereign Grace Music
Title: The Lord Is
What is the very first lyric in the song? The depths of Your grace none can measure.
Is that lyric significant to you in any way? God's grace is innumerable as the stars!
What is the 4th line of the song? You lead me in Your righteousness and peace
Does that line make you think of a certain person? The Lord. :)
What is your favorite lyric in this song? You restore my weary soul, again and again.....

Second Song:
Artist: Doris Day
Title: Secret Love
What is the last lyric of the song? 'And now, my secret love, is no secret....anymore.'
Replace the 2nd word of that lyric with the word "potato": 'And potato....' LOL that's oddly funny.
What is the 9th line of the song? The chorus is sung only twice, so I'm going to include that...since the lyrics vary slightly at each chorus.....okay, the 9th line is: 'Even told, the golden daffodils...'
What if that lyric was the new theme song to Sesame Street? That would be very odd, I think. :)
What lyric in this song do you relate to the most or find to be the truest? Since I have no experience (LOL I'm only 15!) I don't really relate to the song......but it is from a hilarious movie called Calamity Jane that all our family loves. :)

Third Song:
Artist: Martina McBride
Title: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
What is the chorus of this song? 'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.' (how obvious was that?!)
If someone you like sang the chorus to you would it be romantic? Nope! I'd tell whoever was singing to be quiet because there is FINALLY good weather!!!!!!!
Replace the 10th word of the song with the word "beast": "Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is beast delightful..."
What movie soundtrack would this song be perfect for? A Christmas Story. :)
Pick one word in the title of this song that you could name a pet: Snow! For a white kitten. It would be short for Snowball. :)


Fourth Song:
Artist: Frank Sinatra (YES!!!!!!!)
Title: I Begged Her (from Anchors Aweigh)
What if your last name was included in the song title? Uh....wait, could it be my FIRST name? 'Cause then I would totally go for it. :-P
What is the 5th line in the song? 'I argued.'
Would that line be a good catch phrase for a commercial? I don't know. :)
What is your favorite lyric in the entire song? 'She finally got that kiss.' (Sung by Frank Sinatra, not Gene Kelly)
Why is that your favorite? Because who is singing it???!!! C'mon, it's Ole Blue Eyes! The king of the crooners!!!!!!!! NEED I SAY MORE!!!!!!!!????


Fifth Song:
Artist: Frank Sinatra/Gene Kelly (TWO ALREADY!?)
Title: Yes Indeedy
What is the funniest lyric in this song? 'Then she murmured that and this and I thought I'd try and kiss but she.....SLAPPED my face!'
What is the 8th line in this song? 'Yes indeed. Yes indeedy!'
What if there was a restaurant named from the 1st and 5th word of that lyric: Nope!
Is the word "heart" anywhere in the entire song? I don't think so......nope!


Sixth Song:
Artist: Gene Kelly
Title: Dig Dig Dig!
What is the chorus of this song? 'Dig dig dig! Dig for your dinner!'
What is the last lyric in the song? 'Dig....BROTHER. DIG!'
Is that the best lyric in the song? 'The early bird catches the worm....'


Seventh Song:
Artist: Amy Grant
Title: The Lucky One
What is the 12th line in this song? 'Baby I'm the lucky one....'
Do you even like that lyric at all? Eh, not really.
Do you know all the words to this song? Only some
What kind of mood does this song put you in? I don't know! Silly, dancing around my room....


Eighth Song:
Artist: Selah
Title: Ain't No Grave
Replace the 3rd word in the Title with the word "beaver": 'Ain't No Beaver.'
What is the 7th line in this song? 'Ain't no graaaave....that can hold this body down.'
Does that lyric bring up any memories? No.
Would this song be good in a fight scene in movie? Maybe.....a western dueling scene??
What is your favorite lyric in this song? 'When I hear the trumpet sound, I'm goin' to get up out of that ground cause there ain't no grave.


It is a darn good thing I didn't take a video of me counting on my fingers for the 'What's the ____ line/lyric of this song?' Yes, yes, laugh all you want. :) Sara was doing enough for both of us. :) Of course NOW in retrospect I realize I could've merely looked up the lyrics to all the songs and count the lines of words.....sheesh can I be silly or what sometimes?! :) LOL



*DISCLAIMER*: Some of my songs, (i.e: Celtic Woman, instrumental/classical and opera) are sung in a different language (like Gaelic or Latin/Italian) or no lyrics at all, so I may have had to skip them to other songs. :) But you have my word of honor I did not have this rigged! :) Even though there WERE two songs sung by...*SIGH* Frankie. :) Ahem, I repeat: I did not have this rigged! :)


I tag Ella and Dani and anyone else who wants to do it, whether on their blog or in a comment. (Morgs, I'm thinking you! Since you have a sweet Mp3!)


That's all folks! :)

Let Us Hope It Ends Soon!

I hate this sickness...

After Ronnie and Anna woke up, I got up with them so Meghan and Mum could sleep awhile. After watching The Incredibles, we played paper dolls and my mom came down. She was not feeling well at all, so she went back to bed while we watched The Ballad of Little Joe for a little sunday school lesson. It was so cute, with Anna and Ronnie commenting at different moments and playing 'Bolt'... we saw it a few weeks ago and they still enjoy playing the movie :)

After we played awhile, I made lunch while they watched The Game Plan on the couch. They were pretty good so far, and then my parents got up so I am typing this up then going to watch The Music Man w/ my mom and Ronnie. Adieu les amis, et priez pour nous!

A Follow-Up and an Apology...

Meghan here! So far so good. Still chilly, shaky and my head hurts. :( Because of this virus we have to miss church tomorrow but hopefully we will be okay to go to Maidens this coming Monday. We're wrapping up the study of the book Beautiful Girlhood and I believe we should be done with it at the May meeting. Then we will be reading and discussing Stepping Heavenward. I, myself, have never read it but I hear it is wonderful!

I have to extend an apology. The Modesty Week, held at the Stay at Home Missionary, ended....yesterday. And nary a word or thought from us here at My Simple Blessed Life. Woefully neglectful I've been about posting-especially through this past Modesty Week. As daily tasks, schoolwork, finishing a certain-something (finally!) sickness and activities crowded my time this past week I did not post a single thing about modesty. Rest assured that at least one of us will post about modesty in the future days-when life settles down a bit.

I will give you all three very dull things (indeed) before going to sleep:

First- I spent most of the day lounging, eating pretzels and drinking Gatorade to help settle my queasy stomach.

Second-I finally watched Dial M for Murder this afternoon while cuddled up under a big blanket. To be utterly frank, I wasn't very impressed with it. My opinion of Alfred Hitchcock movies might be a bit biased because I watched The Man Who Knew Too Much, first. Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings were phenomonal, I must say. And they look so adorable together, too! Ray Milland.....humph. I never did like him. Suffice it to say that I wasn't thrilled with how they explained almost every. single. little. detail through the character's dialogue. Though I suppose it went with the plot, somewhat. It wasn't overly suspenseful though there were moments of "What did he say that for?!" "He's giving his entire plan away!" I am excited about watching the movie Strangers on a Train (another Hitchcock film) sometime soon before I have to return it to the library.

Third and last-Because the above 'very dull thing indeed' was overly long, I will be brief..................GOOD NIGHT!

And so it goes....

Just a quick update...this nasty stomach bug has now hit Meghan and I... terribly queasy, headache, chills...we're praying it doesn't hit Ron...if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. Prayer would be appreciated! Thanks! ~Sue~

More...times of REST....

Well...after Anna was done with the stomach bug going around....it hit again last night with a vengeance! Around 4 am....a wiggly little boy climbed in bed with us, and snuggled around....couldn't get comfortable, and around 4:45am...we found out why....his stomach. While we were all lying there trying to get back to sleep, we heard some strange noises downstairs....well, having 2 cats who like to play at night, I didn't think a lot about it...I kept listening for Anna to wake up sick. Found out this morning...it was Sara. Both Sara and Ronnie have been sick since 4am...and are still sick. Right now they are both sleeping, so I thought I would post quickly.

Someone was "teasing" me recently about blogging. Asking me "why do you blog"...and" who cares to read about your life anyway?"...I know she was just teasing,but it got me thinking.

I've discovered that I love to write! My girls love to write! This has been a wonderful writing experience for both of them and has really expanded their writing skills. Also, someday....hopefully, my grandchildren will be able to read this...and have a good idea of what life was like now...from what we ate ( which is why I post our menus), what our daily life was like, who we spent time with and our thoughts on different subjects. I also keep a journal...hand written,very plain. I will admit, though, that since we started our blog my journal has been sadly neglected...and yet it is still important to me. It is record of our lives that technology cannot erase, ever. Writing by hand hurts me pretty badly due to the fibro...although, thank goodness, crochet and embroidery does not..and actually keeps my hands less stiff...as does typing. I can type much faster than I write and it does not hurt me.

This has been a winter of sickness here....first, Ronnie's surgery December 3rd....and it seems from the day after Christmas it's been one thing after another. As the pediatrician that I spoke with yesterday told me....it's been that way for most people. I try and look at these times as times of 'enforced' rest. Activities are curtailed, and even being busy around the house is cut back on as a little one wants me close by "just in case" they need me. Obviously, God knew each time before any of us caught a virus....so whatever He ordains is ok with me...I might not like it or choose it myself, but I accept it and try to see the positive things in it.

So....today, we'll be home...not running to a children's resale, not going to our youth group evening....and looks like I'll be the only one going to church tomorrow....and a quiet Sunday at home to look forward to.

The girls and I have a lot of ideas for posts about our experiences with modesty and clothing....as well as lots of thoughts about our journey living a 'creatively frugal, thrifty " life....and we're planning lots more.

May you all be blessed....even in times of 'enforced rest'! ~Sue~