Eating out of doors ~

This past week Dad and Mom were out of town. It was only for a few days, and we did not really have to be anywhere or anything, so it was not a big deal... However, one of the hardest parts of them being gone is definitely the two empty chairs at meal times. We miss having them there to recount our day and discuss the various events taking place...I knew that it was not just going to be hard on the younger ones, but on me too. :)

I am so thankful to have such an awesome Dad and Mom. I could type a novel on it. :) But, I really do not realize all they do for me until they are gone for a few days....



Anyway, on Tuesday afternoon, Tommy and Rosy were out in the backyard playing Indians. I was doing history when Tommy came running inside without a shirt on, sporting "facepaint" and asked me when we were going to have lunch. I am not totally sure whose idea it was, but we decided to have an "Indian Picnic Lunch."

Tommy asked us all to wear Indian clothes & used washable markers to add facepaint. He asked me for something Indian to be our food. I decided to tie in mexican and make tortillas filled with cheese, lettuce, sauces, and whatever else they wanted to add. :) We found the perfect big tree & stayed out under it for hours - I think it was near 5 when we came back inside! I brought some school out with me, and so while I studied the others played Bible Charades, drew self portraits (see below pictures), looked for wildlife, took silly pictures, played hide & seek tag & a number of other things... we usually ended the afternoon with a dip in the pool. And thus the tradition started! It was a fun time to make memories, and kept our mind off the fact meal times were lonely...

The next day we decided to go with a cowboy theme. :)


{One day we went with a "Roman" theme. The costumes and food started to get a little more challenging, but we decided on big white sheets and chicken salad... ;D}

Pretty much the first thing Tommy would say to me every morning was, "What time can we go start our picnic?"

It really was so fun. At times I was frustrated that I could not get more school done, but really the memories we made were worth it... ---

Mere Christianity is quickly becoming a favorite book. It was a required book for my world history, & I am so glad that it was!! Here are a few of my favorite quotes from within its pages ~

"It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with the Power - it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk."

"Of course I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort: it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: If you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth - only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair."

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And regarding pride: (conviction pierced my heart.)

"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and of course as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. That raises a terrible question. How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious: I am afraid it means they are worshipping an imaginary God. They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of this phantom God, but are really all the time imagining how He approves of them and thinks them far better than other people."

"Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord." - Proverbs 16:5

What is pride? It is probably different things for everyone. I know what I wrongfully take pride in. And it is an abomination to Jesus. The one who died for me. How can I go on taking pride in it?

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