Happy Hanukkah!

Hello my sweet friends. I see it's been a month again since last I posted.....oops. I'm sorry. And for those of you who sent me private emails, I'm SO sorry I worried you! Life has been incredibly busy and I'm a little behind the ball.....but it's going to get better! I have faith! Now, let's get on with this post!

 This Wednesday, we began the holiday of Hanukkah. For those who don't know what this holiday is, it's also known as the Festival of Lights or the Feast of Dedication. If you look in your B'rit Hadasha (New Covenant) in John 10:22, it mentions that Yeshua was at the Temple in Yerushalayim for the Feast of Dedication...This is not a Levitical feast, but it is a Hebrew feast. See way back during the Hasmonean Era in the land of Israel, there was a family named Macabbee. Matthithias was the father and was a righteous, priest of the line of Aaron. He had 5 sons who were also righteous men. Now the Seleucids were taking over the land of Israel and their king Antiochus IV had conquered Yerushalayim. Now as if that wasn't bad enough, this king also put an altar on top of Papa's altar, and slaughtered pigs on that altar! He totally trashed the Temple, the house of the Father! Then he proceeded to terrorize and murder the Israelites, ruled that the practice of their faith was unlawful, and tried to burn all the scrolls. Matthithias was furious and vowed to destroy the Seleucids. He did a pretty good job, but he was old and died before the war was finished. So his sons took over. The eldest was Y'huda (Judas) Maccabee also known as the Hammer. Well, Y'huda and his brothers followed YHWH's ways faithfully and were strong leaders. So they fought the Seleucids and eventually won freedom for the Israelites and the land of Israel. This is all told in the apocryphal book named appropriately 1st Maccabbees. There are 4  books of the Maccabbees, but they were taken out of our modern Bibles a long time ago, and put with the other apocryphal books. (some of those are really COOL books! You should read them sometime.) Back to our story. The Maccabbees ruled wisely for many years, but eventually greed, corruption and forgetting YHWH took place and the Hasmonean Era ended with all the Maccabbees gone....sigh. Oh, I forgot the best part!!! Silly me.

So after Y'huda Maccabbee and his army had wrested Yerushalayim from the Seleucids, they cleansed the Temple, rebuilt the altar according the Mosaic Law, and reinstalled the Golden Menorah. They could only find one flask of consecrated oil to light the Menorah with. And it takes 8 days to prepare fresh oil. So they lit the Menorah with the oil they had, then left the Temple to go help prepare a fresh batch to keep the Menorah lit all the time as commanded in Exodus. Well, when they arrived back 8 days later....fully expecting the Menorah to not be lit anymore due to lack of oil.......guess what! It was STILL burning!  Now normally, the priests had to fill the Menorah's branches twice a day to keep it burning. But this time, it burned for 8 days with only one filling!!! Hence the phrase, "A great miracle occurred there" ("here" if you live in Israel). So during Hanukkah, we light one candle a night until we have all 8 candles burning taking us to the end of the 8 days festival. For those of us who know Yeshua, He's there too.....see there's a 9th candle that is only used to light the other candles. It's called the Shamash or Servant Candle....Aha! Did you catch that??? The Shamash is the servant candle.....it represents Yeshua! Now, in our family, we exchange small gifts with each other each of the 8 nights with one night being a bigger gift. And we fry lots of foods to eat to represent the provision of the oil burning so long. If you've never experienced Hanukkah, it's LOADS of fun! There's latkes to eat, and sufnyiot (jelly donut like pastries), and chocolate gelt (like coins) and kugel (noodle dish to die for) and songs to sing, and dreidle to play....oh the fun!!!!!

So in among the other things going on....and there's a ton of them,(but that's for another post)....we've been having a blast celebrating Hanukkah. And as we're celebrating and reading the story of the Maccabees, we're also offering prayers that Papa would spread some of our joy into your lives, and bless you each with His Love. I'll try my best to post again soon....probably from Grandma's house at the end of the month and try to catch you up on all the other stuff. In the meantime, know I thank Papa for each of you my friends each day during my prayers and am SO blessed by having you in my life. Happy Hanukkah! Spitfire

What a busy month!

Hi friends. Hope ya'll had a wonderful month this past month. Ours was busy. Let me catch you up a bit. The first of October saw Dodi and I signing the papers to buy the franchise of H & R Block that I've worked for the last several years. Whew! Did I really do this????? Yep. I became a new business owner, in the midst of all the threats from our government to put us out of business. And while this could seem as a lack of sanity to some (and possibly to me in another couple of months...giggle) we prayed about it and asked Papa to direct our steps. When things kept falling into place, even when we botched paperwork! We felt this is what we're to do. So I am now the sole proprietorship owner of a franchise. Dodi is taking classes (80 hours worth!) to be able to help me with preparing the taxes for folks and I have two other dedicated employees. I've worked with one of them for 5 years and one year with the other. I spent this last week painting the office. I got half of it done and only have the other half to go....how's that for my math skills. LOL!

Last weekend, my sister found a rental to move into thus moving out of my parent's house. This is a blessing on several levels. It allows my parents to have their privacy and their own schedule back. Sister had moved in after Hurricane Ike destroyed her home. Her husband (who works for the State of Texas) stayed with his son down in Houston so he could report for work. Now, instead of coming up and living in a spare room at my folks, he and Sister have their own place to spend time in doing whatever they want when they want. So this is better for them also. Sister and husband were not good about letting Parents know their schedules or when they would even show up, so this is helpful for Parents too. Since Nana is blind, she no longer has to worry about extra critters in the house that she can't see, and often either stepped on or tripped over. It does mean Dodi, Little Critter and I go over even more often to check on them, help with several things, and visit with Pawpaw, but that's OK. We don't mind and it seems to be a blessing for all involved.

Also last weekend, dear cousin decided it was time for him to move on and find a new job. While we were sorry to see him leave, we're happy that he's settled in his new place. It is a couple of hours from here, so we can't be much help to him, but it's also in a much bigger town, so will be easier for him to find a new job. This is a blessing for him. It's not good for a man to have nothing meaningful to do with his days, and I'm sure it was depressing for him. Living in small town USA, is wonderful in some aspects, but if looking for a job, the prospects are limited. He won't have that problem now. We  pray for him daily that Papa will take care of him and bless him with a good job doing something he'll enjoy as well as healing some of his health issues.

This past weekend, we had our first Cub Scout/Webelos campout. It was an experience. But there were blessings here too. We got to spend a day and a half outside teaching little boys more about being young men. We had some fun. The boys  had fun (judging from their comments). We got to teach some parents how to let go of the controls a little and let the boys do things they could do themselves. There were some problems, but this was a first campout for many of the boys and some of the parents. We got to know some of the parents better and shared some of our faith with those that wanted to learn about a different way of doing things. Being the only Jewish family in the whole pack, was a little tricky. But as we did Havdalah service by our tent, several parents and children came and loved dipping their fingers in the grape juice. (Being we were camping on government property, we were not allowed to use wine....oh well.) I also brought the Challah I baked for Erev Shabbat and shared it Sunday morning for breakfast. Everyone ate it and said they wanted the recipe. I suppose now I'll have to figure out what I do to make it. (I don't have a written recipe, and don't use measuring utensils......oops!) I've made it so long, I just make it. Well, that's a worry for another day.....like sometime in June 3005. LOL!

So all in all, it's been a month of blessings, a few struggles, and plenty of fun. I hope you've had a great month and I hope things will ease up a little so I can blog more regularly!!!! I miss hearing from all my sweet friends. Please know that even when I seem so silent, that I lift each and everyone of you in my daily prayers. Papa has so much to tell you, I pray daily that you hear His voice and follow His directions. As this world gets scarier and darker, only His light and peace will keep us all safe. He sends us each daily love letters. I pray you see./hear them. Be blessed till next time. Shalom....Spitfire

PS Please don't forget to pray before you vote this Tuesday. Freedom is a privilege and voting is the responsibility of each of us. If we want to see this country return to it's blessed status, we must vote the Father's heart. There's LOTS of things that need to change to return us to even 50 years ago....please vote!

Sukkot 2010

Well, Sukkot is over so I figured I'd better get this post up.....This is a picture of our Sukkah. This shows the edge of the Sukkah itself, as well as the tents. You can sorta see Little Critter's small tent between the table and the large tent that Dodi and I slept in. We were supposed to have rain most the week, so that's why we put the cabana over the tents. Ours is waterproof, but Little Critter's isn't.
We had a blast! We ate out there and slept in the tents several nights. A couple of nights, it was SO hot and humid none of us could sleep so we moved inside...and one night, it got cold (down in the 50's!). Something in the air changed the night it got cold and Little Critter's allergies flared up badly. We had to move inside that night also....but we stayed out as much as possible. We had plenty of good food made from harvested veggies and even had friends come visit a couple of nights.

Some of our friends think we're nuts to do this, but they've never tried it. I heard someone give an incredible explanation of Sukkot that I'd like to share with you. Sukkot is one of the moedim or appointed times to spend with Papa. (Kinda like you have Dr. appointments.) Only this appointment is with the Creator of the Universe! And while you're sitting in your sukkah, the three walls represent the arms of the Father. So while sitting in your sukkah, you're wrapped in a hug from the Father! The ground below you is like His lap, the plant material on the roof (we use river cane) is like His beard tickling your head. And the whole feeling while following the commandment laid out in Leviticus 23 is that you really ARE sitting in His lap, getting a hug from Him. It's wonderful!!!!!

I hope each of you had a blessed week of Sukkot. We traveled to Dallas the end of Sukkot (which lasts 8 days) and shared Simchat Torah (the joy of Torah) with a lovely congregation there. Dancing around the building with the Torahs was a blast! Those who've never done such a thing can not begin to understand the wonder and joy it gives. And I have no words to describe it well for you.....We danced, we laughed, we danced some more, we praised Him for His gifts to us, and we met some really wonderful folks. Such a wonderful blessing for us. Our Papa is so good to us!!!

Well, as we start over on our Torah readings, I pray each of you will learn many new things from Papa. May He speak of His love for you, His expectations for your life and His promises to you. Be blessed. Shalom, Spitfire

Shana Tova

Today starts Rosh Hashanah. This is referred to in the Torah in Leviticus 23 as the feast of Trumpets. It is one of the Holy Convocations Abba commanded us to keep. It's fun! We lit our candles, said our prayers, and ate our food....lots of food! Then we joined a congregation about 3 hours away online. It was great!!!

Many of my non Jewish/Messianic friends will question why we do this? What's the big deal??? Let me explain. In Leviticus 23, it says that this is one of the feasts of YHVH. It's one of the times called a moedim, an appointed time. It begins the 10 days of awe...leading to Yom Kippur. Now some will quickly say we don't have to do this, Yeshua did away with this. After all, it's Old Testament. But I would say to you, please read the passage again....YHVH said it's to be an appointed time for all generations for all time. So then  you may say Yeshua did away with it. But Yeshua said Himself He didn't come to do away with the law, but to fullfill it. To take it to a higher level. The blowing of the shofars is to remind us to come back to the Father. It's to remind us that HE wants to meet with us. I know for myself, that if Abba said He wanted to meet with me, I'd want to be there!!!! It's a time in our busy,hectic lives when we get to stop, focus our hearts and thoughts on Him, on the marvelous things He's done for us through out history. It's a time we can come before Him and ask forgiveness for our sins (not that we can't on any other day, but this is a special time with Him), do some repentance (called Teshuva or turn things around) and know that we're forgiven, loved and special to Him.

On the first day of Rosh Hashana, there's a tradition of going to a body of moving water (a lake, a river, whatever) and throw pieces of bread on the water. It symbolizes our sins all being washed away. Now I realize that Yeshua did this for us with His blood. But if you've never tried it, I whole heartedly encourage you to try this. It's amazing!!! You stand on the side of the water, think about the things you did this past year that you'd really like to get rid of. Then take that bread, put those actions/words/activities/whatever figuratively on that piece of bread. Ask Father to forgive you for doing those things, and then (the best part!) throw them out on the water. Watch them for a minute or two and they'll usually sink to the bottom of the water. It's a physical picture of what happens when we pray for forgiveness. And I was amazed the first time we did this how freeing and releasing it is. I've know for many, many years that Papa would forgive me my sins if I asked Him. But seeing it happen, seeing them sinking to the bottom of the lake or river....whew!!! It's powerful. There's a verse that I can't find at the moment (of course) that says Papa takes our sins and places them at the bottom of the sea, as far as the east is from the west. This is just an example of that happening for our eyes and hearts to see. Try it.....you'll like it! ;-)

There's another tradition that says G-d opens three books on this day. Those that are tzaddik (righteous) are written into the book of the righteous. Those that are bad/evil are written into the book of the lost forever. (Don't want my name there!!!!) Those that are kinda on the fence, not really righteous but not really evil, are written in the third book and given 10 days to straighten up. Then on Yom Kippur the names are scribed to the book of the righteous for blessings and long life. Or to the book of the Evil and death both physical and spiritual is their reward. So many Jewish/Hebraic folks will greet each other with Shana Tova. This means may your name be written for good. So my wish for each of you my friends, is Shana Tova. May your names be written for good and may your new year be sweet. Shalom.

School Daze

Well, we started back to homeschooling this week. Dodi and I had decided that Little Critter and I both needed a break so we took the month of July off from formal teaching (not that informal teaching didn't still occur...but no books and such) and then took the first couple weeks of this month off while I was gathering up and finding all the things I'd need for this year. Little Critter will be doing mostly 5/6th grade work. Whew! Where did the time go?????Seems only two years ago we were learning letters and numbers!

He got to make his first salt map this week....we made a salt map of our state showing the different regions, rivers and escarpments. Oh, and mountains. He made the coolest looking mountains!!! Of course the local pizza place thought I was nuts when I called asking if I could have a large empty pizza box. But, lots of folks think I'm nuts around here. Grin. He drew our state in the bottom of the box, then we mixed the salt dough, colored different parts of it, and then he put it in the box following the drawing he'd made. He did a great job!!! (Ok, the state is a little wonky looking....but we don't live in a state that easy to draw! It's not square or rectangular but bounded on three sides by rivers/mountains/oceans) I'm proud of him!

We also started a study of rocks and minerals. He LOVES rocks...we have tons of them in the house and even more he's brought back from every and any where we've gone. He started collecting rocks at the tender age of 2 and I haven't been able to interest him in anything else....I reckon that means he'll be a rock hound most his life. Not sure yet if this is his bent, but wouldn't be surprised to see him become a geologist, archeologist or rock scientist of some kind. Could be interesting as we learn about other occupations......Grin.

Our Torah study today had the most wonderful phrases in it....I'd like to share. We were reading Isaiah 60:1-22. But the first verse there just grabbed me. It says "Arise! Shine! For your light has come, the glory of YHVH has risen over you!" Isn't that wonderful!?!?! Now, I realize Isaiah was speaking to Yerushalayim,, but those words today just pumped me up so wonderfully! We were sitting here under a cloudy sky (which did not last long nor did it drop one drop of rain on us....pooo)which rather quickly gave way to bright blue sunny skies. (with temps of 108 again!!!!) And as I hung laundry later and fed chickens I couldn't help but think that oh so bright (and hot) sun was His gaze on me. And the warmth of the sun didn't seem so incredibly hot although the thermometer said it was. It was more like the loving gaze of my Papa watching me work. It was comforting. Sometimes it feels like I'm alone. There's no homeschool group near us, most of my friends are not nearby, Dodi knows everyone in town but I'm more in the shadows. You know what I mean? I'm the (now ex)coach's wife....and Little Critter's mom......and my father's daughter....but there's not really anyone nearby I can confide in. Or talk to....or share things with. So that's where you come in...dear readers! I get to share with you the treasures Papa shows me. And it blesses my heart when you comment. I know we're all busy with our lives, but it brightens my day just like the sun today when you comment. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my scribbles here. I pray Papa will speak to you as He did to me this morning. Read His Love Letter to you....It's full of amazing things! Well, have a great week.. I'll try to post something less mundane next week. Shalom.

Month of Elul

Hi dear friends. Sorry to have been gone so long....it's been hectic. What can I say??? Well, today we began the month of Elul on the Hebrew Calendar. So you ask, what does that mean??? Let me explain...if I can. Elul is the end of the Hebrew Civil calendar. It is the 30 days before we greet Rosh Hashana (the Hebrew New Year for the Civil year)and typically is spent as a time of reflection. So, what do we reflect on, you might ask. We reflect on  our thoughts and our actions this past year. Were there things we aren't so proud of in the way we treated others? Were there ways we didn't shine the Father's love into other's world? Did we show any signs of growth in our attempts to be more like Him who created us? And on and on.....you get the idea.

I suppose in a way it's like the Catholic tradition of Lent....only instead of giving up things we reflect, repent for things not done according to Torah (that's called Tashuva)and make sure we're changing those things as best we can. Will we still mess up? Of course. But we try our best to become more and more like our Father by imitating His Son....Yeshua. See Yeshua came to show us that Torah COULD be followed. It really wasn't too hard for us, if we learned to fully rely on and listen to Abba. But in our hard headed, stiff necked ways, we don't like to listen to others or rely on someone else for the things we need/want. So each year, we spend these 30 days and the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (total 40 days....like Lent) to reflect, to do tashuva (which means more than just repent....we must also change our ways and make restitution if possible for our errors) and prepare our hearts for Father to join with us in celebrating Sukkot. (but more on that next month....grin)

So as I reflect this month, I will find many things I need to change,  and then look for His wisdom on how to do that. I have already realized that I will need to tashuva for my neglect of this blog! And of my sweet friends that visit and have their own blogs. I have been remiss about keeping up with my blog writing and reading. Please accept my apologies. I will attempt to do a better job this next year...I can see where this next year is going to  be quite full already, but I will do my best to do a better job and be a better friend to you. I see it as a form of respect for you, dear friends. How can I say I'm a friend if you seldom hear from me????Or if I seldom visit you in your places? I can't. I delight in reading your responses to my posts. I enjoy reading the things going on in your spots of the world. And am delighted to correspond with several of you outside the blogs. So I will rearrange my computer time so I can spend more time with you...

Well, we blow the shofar each morning (not too early!!! don't want to irritate the neighbors...)so I need to get a few things finished before I go to bed tonight. I pray each of you will have a blessed and wonderful week, that Papa will speak to your hearts as you reflect on what I've written here....and that your reflections will bring you closer to the One who loves you the most. Shalom

PS. To my Oriental friends, please translate your comments before leaving them.....I haven't figured out how to translate them and post them together yet. I'll keep working on that. And thank you for your comments.

Honoring others

This week's Torah portion dealt with Deut. 3:23-7:11. It has to do with the Shema (Hear, O Israel, the Lord is your G-d, Adonai is one....") but also with the 10 Words or Commandments. The fifth commandment is the one our commentary took up. For those who can't remember what the 5th commandment is, it says to "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you. (Deuteronomy 5:16)"

The commentary goes on to state the obvious....that today's society teaches our kids that it's more important to be 'cool' and disrespect your parents. I know that while I was still teaching in the public schools, I was horrified to see how many kids (even elementary kids!!!) would back talk and sass their parents. I was reprimanded more than once for stepping in and telling a student that it was disrespectful to talk to their parents that way! (Oh well, the parents were shocked, and grateful, but the principal felt I'd stepped over my 'bounds' while silently agreeing with me.)  As this world seems to be hurtling faster and faster to some kind of explosion or perhaps a glorious reappearing, it seems our children are getting worse and worse about not knowing how to honor their parents. It just breaks my heart to see the disrespect shown parents. Even by many in MY generation!!!!! (and we're older than dirt, let me tell ya!!!!!!) Which reminds me, that even though you're grown, does not mean you get a free pass on this one!!! Many times, showing respect for an aging or chronically ill parent is even more difficult, but we're called to do it! After all, without parents, we wouldn't be here.....think about that a minute. Ok, back to the gist of this......

But this does not have to be so. There's an easy fix. If parents will respect each other (I know that's tough in this world of instant divorce and step families, but it CAN be done!!!!) and show that respect in front of the children, it would go miles in teaching our kids how to act. I know Dodi is INCREDIBLE about not allowing Little Critter to diss me. And I in return will put a stop to disrespect towards Dodi in a heartbeat! Not that we 'jump and bash' Little Critter....but we will not allow disrespect. We also crack down on disrespect to any adult!!!! Several of his little friends were shocked when we wouldn't allow them to call us by our first names.
"Why ever not?!?!" , they asked us. We told them that it was a form of respect and that as they got older, and had to deal with bosses and co workers, it would stand them in good stead. These kinds of manners would help them get ahead, be treated better than others, and give them far more friends. They were surprised. Now, these are 9-11 year olds. Why were we having to teach this idea to them?????Because parents had not. Shame on those parents. We can no longer expect our kids to learn manners in school, or one hour of church. As parents, it's our responsibility and DUTY to teach our children. Can we demand honor and respect? Of course not. If we treat them like dirt, they of course will have no respect for us. But if we treat them as the amazing gift from YHVH that they are, teaching them to honor and respect us will be fairly easy. And if they can honor and respect us, it's easy to honor and respect others....and if that happens, well, the blessings WILL flow to them! YHVH promised. So let's be sure we're teaching our kids HOW to honor others...not just with words, but with actions. And while we're teaching our children, let's not forget all those children in our sphere of influence. If each of us teach our children, and 3 of their friends, we could easily make a major difference in the attitudes of this world. What an amazing idea! So as you contemplate my ideas here, and ask Papa to show you His truth, don't forget to look for the blessings He's given you. You'll find them gathered around your table, living in your house and taking flight from your nest. Be sure you thank Him for them.....they are truly an amazing blessing. Now teach them well. Shabbat Shalom, Spitfire

The power of our words......

This week's Torah portions contained several mentions on the power of our words. It talked about how the Israelites took the words of the 10 spies who didn't think YHVH was big enough to clear out the 'giants' in the Promised Land.(Deut. 1) And then in Isaiah, it talked about how YHVH was so angry with the children of Israel that He was turning His back on them. That they refused to "come now, let us talk this over together." (Isaiah 1:10a) These were both kinda sad commentaries on the children of Israel and their faith in their Papa. Then we read Acts 1-2, and there's further talking about talking....and the words people use, even speaking languages they don't know. And then it hit me!

We all tend to think of our words as no big deal. They're just little puffs of air that are gone as soon as we say them. But these words spoken so many years ago were written down and we get to read them now....several hundred years later!!! So perhaps our words are more important than we think. Well, I stewed on that idea for a bit, then got a book I'd ordered for us to read as a family. It's called Positive Word Power..The Torah's Wisdom on Human Interaction for daily study. As we read the first study in there, guess what it was about...you got it. The power of our words! So now I realized I was on the right track about the Torah portion for this past week....

Well, this book presented an idea I found fascinating and more than scary at  the same time. It proposed that since Adam was brought to live by the breathe of Yah, we all have a breathe of Yah in us. And each word we speak uses a little of that breath, sending His breathe out into the world around us. That means the words we speak have the power of either life or death in them. Whew! That's scary! So as Dodi and I tried to explain this  a little more to Little Critter, I came up with an analogy that helped he and I both understand it better. I told him it was like our words are bricks. Each time we speak to someone, we have to think....am I saying something that will bury that person under these bricks? Or will my words serve to build a protective wall for them to help stop the harsh, unthinking words of myself and others? And which words would you want to be known for? Does that make sense? It did to Little Critter. He understood what we were getting at. Now, I'm not saying Little Critter buries folks with his cruel, harsh words. But it's something we all need to work on. There's far more times than I want to even think about that I'm tired, not feeling well, or stressed that I'm sure I buried my loved ones under the bricks of my words...with their sharpness, or impatience, or out and out meanness. sigh..... But now, like the disciples in Acts 1 &2, I know the power of my words. I know now how much I need to lean on Papa for wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent. So I can attempt to unbury those I've hurt with my words, and attempt with His help to not make the same mistakes again. In this way, even I can help make the world a better place...one word at a time.

So as you think about what I've written, may my words be balm to your souls, healing to your wounds, and a path to help you on your journey through this life. Shalom.

Here I am!

Well, I did it again.....it's been about a month since I posted anything. I'm sorry dear friends. I have no real excuse....just didn't have much to say. Let me catch you up on things here. We took time to go to Grandma's house the middle of June. I hate the drive to Grandma's.....roughly 6 hours. But I love visiting my in-laws. They're wonderful folks. This time was a little harder than normal though. The girls that we had as foster girls for 1/2 a year were not there much (back with their mother) so Little Critter was lonely for them. Budget was tight so not much shopping for me to get to do....bummer! And that means there's not much to do but watch the grass grow and sit in front of the TV with Grandma. ARGGGGGG. Usually I take plenty of books, handwork and movies for us to watch, but silly me left the bag with all that stuff in it here at the house while we were there. And since my in-laws are not Torah observant, there was the usual difficulties with Shabbat and such. But we're used to that. All in all, it was a nice visit. We were there in time for Grandma's birthday, and one of the sisters-in-law had a big party for her at sister's house. There was food out the bazoo and we were at her private pond so it was beautiful. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera. ARGGGGH again!
Little Critter was great with his 4 yo cousin...he loaded her fishing pole with about eleventy million worms and 'helped' her fish for hours. It was so funny. He put the worm on the hook, hand her the pole, she'd hold it about three minutes then hand it back and run off. When he'd catch a fish, he'd yell "Gabby, you caught a fish!" She'd come running while he'd reel the fish up to the bank, and then hand her the pole to pull the fish onto the bank. She'd show everyone her fish, then hand it all back to Little Critter to take the fish off the hook and throw it back so they could repeat the process. They did this for about 3 hours!!!!!!! It was SO cute!!!!!

Fourth of July (a couple weeks later) we fixed burgers and dogs for Papa. We also took some home made ice cream that Little Critter made. (Fresh cherry! Yumm!!!!) While eating, we watched the movie 1776. I LOVE that show!!!!!  Then met Papa and Brother in law at the park for the city fireworks. Due to rain, there was no music this year which was disheartening. But the fireworks were spectacular!!!!!!  Then we went home and watched the DC fireworks with the Boston Pops on TV. The fireworks were great, but I was totally bummed when they didn't have the Boston Pops play the 1812 overture for the finale. They've always done that and it just makes your heart soar! This time they used inane PC music that really hurt my feelings. Sigh...all our wonderful traditions being changed....poop! The next morning the cub scout troop (both boys that are still active!!!) met and we cleaned up all the exploded fireworks mess. Little Critter even found several that still had the wicks in them with unexploded caps!!!!! We disarmed them of course. It was a lot of work for the two boys, but of course we helped and we got it done quickly. One of the major perks was we got to bring home all the used 1/2 lumber they'd used for the fireworks. So far, Little Critter (with a very little help from Dodi) built me a corner shelf to put out by our pool so we can listen to music while in the pool. He did a GREAT job on it!!!! Next, he's going to work on a chicken tractor for us. I'll try to get pics.

Then the week after the Fourth, I had to have oral surgery. YUCK! I'm allergic to local anesthetics so don't like dentists much to start with. But this time there was no avoiding it. One tooth had roots that had gotten tangled in the nerves that control my face....and the root was being strangled so was rotting. My whole face hurt most the time, I could hardly eat anything, and was starting to have trouble with paralysis/cramping in my face. Needless to say, with my allergy to locals, this was a trip to the oral surgeon. He put me out, told Dodi he used an anesthetic that wears off quickly so I'd have to have pain pills within 2 hours of surgery. Silly Dr. He didn't know me well......3 1/2 days later when I finally figured out which planet I was on and who I was I really didn't need any pain meds. Yes, I said 3 1/2 days later! Poor Dodi was trying to keep fluids in me, (all I could eat), feed himself and Little Critter and then explain to Little Critter why Mommy was so odd. Thank goodness Shabbat was not with our congregation that Friday!!!! I was still half dopey, so we ate really simply here at home. Dodi was beside himself trying to figure out how to make the challah....Little Critter was trying to help, but I don't have a recipe. At least it's not written down. And I don't usually measure things, so Little Critter was having a mell of a hess trying to explain amounts he'd seen me use to Dodi. I walked in, figured out what the problem was, and salvaged what they'd started. But I goofed too. I thought I'd picked up the flax seed, poured it in, then discovered it was Gluten!!!! I poured in about double the normal amount. oops. Did I mention those were GOOD drugs the surgeon used?!?!?! Anyway, the bread was extraordinarily light and only tasted a little bit strange. So there's proof YHVH loves me!!!!!! LOL!

So as you can see, we've been blessed. We got to share in Grandma's birthday party, still keep our traditions in a modified way, saw outstandingly beautiful fireworks twice, and even got to enjoy challah that had to be made by Yah Himself.....No one else could have straightened out the mess we were making of it!!!!! And I finally found my way back to the land of the living on the same planet with those I love. What a wonderful month it's been. So did you have a blessed month? I pray you each had blessings you couldn't begin to count. Yah willing I'll be back in a few days with pics and more to share. In the meantime, look around you. I"m sure Papa sends you love letters everyday....several a day in fact. Take the time to look for them. He loves you, you know. Be blessed. Shalom, Spitfire

Harvest time.

I realize it's been a couple weeks since I last posted, but I thought I'd share why.....This is Little Critter with two of our zucchini. And no, we didn't forget to go out and pick them.....they got this big in two days! One day they're just little teeny things, then the next day, they're ginormous!!!!!!(That's a contraction between gigantic and enormous...for those of you in Loma Linda.)

And lest you think it's just our zucchini, our crook neck squash, cucumbers, and green beans are about the same sizes. I've already put up 6 gallons of green beans....after we gave Rabbi 2 pints. (we first fruit the first of each of our fruits and veggies.....easier to do it as they come ready than to try to keep track of it at the end of the harvests.) Plus my dill, garlic, onions, and cucumbers are doing the same thing to us! So I've been up to my ears in canning, freezing, pickling, and cooking.

We kinda expected a larger than normal harvest since this is the sixth year we've planted. Biblically this means that we do NOT plant anything next year so the land can have it's Shabbat (Sabbath). So Torah tells us that means the sixth year we'd have a harvest big enough to last us until harvest time on the eighth year. It just never really dawned on me what that really meant....or how many veggies that would be!  But we'll get it all put up, eaten up or given away.

It's amazing how when we follow the instructions in Papa's love letter to us how much He blesses us. I pray dear readers, that you know how much He loves you and wants to bless you also. If you don't know Papa, I'd be honored to tell you about Him. I know He loves you enough that He died for you....So have a great week and until next time. Shalom.

A debt we can't repay......

 All across this land, there are hundreds of thousands of people who owe a debt they can not repay. Who would be those folks? It would be each of us who live in freedom and (at least) relative safety in the United States of America. Today, we remember all those brave men and women thru the years who gave all they had even including their lives to protect us and our country. Yeshua said "No greater love is this, that a man would give up his life for a friend." And over the years, there have been thousands and thousands of these brave service men and women who fought for us. They loved their country enough to write a blank check saying they'd give their all to protect this land. And they paid that check with their lives.

Three of our foster boys were in the military. I know the sacrifices they and their families make. I know what it's like to get phone calls in the middle of the night from a child who is half way around the globe from home and suddenly is so lonely, sick, or frightened they can't help themselves and call home knowing they'll be waking Mom and Dad up...but doing it anyway because they just HAD to hear those voices and comforting words. I know how it feels to just KNOW your child is in danger, and there's nothing you can do but pray for them and wait for that phone call that tells you they're OK. The panic when you realize a birthday or special holiday is only 2 weeks away and you haven't mailed the package overseas to your child. The pain of a hearing a child call and tell you how alone he feels so far from home or how he's struggling with doing those things he knows are right when he's surrounded by the wrong things to do.....and only being able to use words to comfort and support them. I can only imagine the loneliness of the wives who now have to do everything themselves for 6months or more...with no relief. (although that would be much like football season for me)or the pain of the children that will never know what a great Mom or Dad they had......

And I know there's NO way I can repay the debt I owe these families, men and women who have given up so much to protect my family and I. To protect this country even to the point of giving their lives for us. So I take this time to honor them, to thank them for their sacrifices and courage. And to ask Papa to bless the families left behind...Thank you Military people. You are a good portion of what makes this country great!!!And I'm proud of the example you've set for my still young son. You've taught him patriotism with your actions far better than I can ever do...I owe you a debt I can never repay. Thank you for your courage, your selflessness, and your love of your fellow man. May YHVH  bless your families. Shalom.

An award-how cool!

One of my homeschool friends gave me this award. Isn't that cool?! I love the flower on this award....I love orange flowers. They're unusual and always beautiful. Doesn't Papa do great work?! LOL!

Well, I suppose this means I should write something cheerful and sunny, eh? This past week has been kinda tough...although not really in a bad way. I put up 4 qts of green beans, (gave one to Rabbi for first fruits), 3 gallons of spinach, made up three trays of zucchini pizzas, found a new recipe and made scalloped zucchini, a huge batch of yellow squash sauteed with onions, garlic and butter, and still have 10 zucchini sitting on my counter waiting for me to put them up. We now need to repick green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, dill, parsley, onions and broccoli and cucumbers. Whew! So while it's been really tough, it's in a good way. This is our sixth year to plant, so we expected a large crop.....just didn't think it would all come ready at the same time! LOL! For those wondering what the sixth year has to do with it, let me explain. In Torah, it tells us that just as we are to have our weekly Shabbot, and our harvest Sabboths (at Pesach or Passover, Shavuot or Pentecost and Sukkot or Tabernacles) and our Jubliee years (every 50th year), the land is to have a Shabbot every 7th year. So you plant on the sixth year, do NOT plant on the 7th year and let the land rest, then plant again on the 8th year. And YHWH promised the land would produce enough on the sixth year to last until the harvest on the 8th year. So we expected a large crop of  veggies this year,  but whew!!!! I even have lettuce coming up from last year!!!! And our blackberries we planted in March are fruiting!!!!! Isn't Papa wonderful!?! Just as His Love Letter to us says, we're having a HUGE crop and if I can just figure out how to put everything up, we'll have veggies for the next year easily! I'm just blown away by His blessings to us. 

What was that? Where in Torah does it say that? Well, silly me. I'm sorry. You can find this commandment in Leviticus 25:1-7. Now I know many folks will say they are under grace and not law....that the "Old Testament" doesn't apply to them. But I would respectfully ask those who think this way to reread the Book of Leviticus. You'll find several places in there where it says "this is to be for all generations". I believe we're one of those "all generations." Also, while I agree that our sins are covered by the Grace of Yah, I don't know that I understand what you are using to do away with the "Old Testament". Yeshua said He didn't come to do away with the Law (poor translation, really said Torah which means instruction) but to bring it to fruition. He was a Jewish Rabbi.....don't you think it would be a really bad example if He didn't follow Torah?! Well, those are just my thoughts. Please feel free to respectfully explain your thoughts if you so desire. 

Now, if I understand this award, I need to pass it on to some of you! How cool is that?!?! So here goes, I joyfully pass this award on to:

1.Conservative Outrage-
Pops does a great job on his blog and is such a sweetie!
2.ahavah-Emunah
Ahavah has another blog that will lift your spirits and often make you giggle! 
3.hadassahthetraveler
Hasassah is such an inspiration! How this woman does all she does is amazing!!!!
4.ohboomoments
Nanc is a hoot and a half! If you don't giggle at her site, you need to check your giggler! She's a joy!!!!
5.Skippy
This friend of mine is kinda new at blogging, but is doing a great job. I'm proud of him as he searches his way to fulfilling YHWH's plan for his life.
6. Is It Only For Jews?
This is another friend who's a bit new to blogging, but is doing a great job! I'm impressed with his energy.

I have a couple of other folks I'd love to give an award to, but they haven't blogged for several weeks or months....so James, Chris, Malcontent, Gayle and Abouna....know you're winners in my book!!!

So I hope each of you have a great week, are blessed beyond belief and take the time to find those little Love Letters Papa sends each of us daily to remind us how much He loves us. Shalom.

A Time to Contemplate

This past weekend was the Dewberry Festival here in Small Town USA. It was a time to show off recipes using Dewberries (like a wild blackberry kinda) which was really silly since they don't ripen around here for another three weeks or so. But be that as it may, we had our Festival. There were vendors of all kinds trying to sell jewelry, knit goods, t shirts (many of which bordered on vulgar!), leather goods, more jewelry, makeup, yard art, you name it it was most likely out there. There was a car show going on and lots of visiting with folks from town that you maybe didn't get to see often. Oh, and can't forget the chili cookoff!!! That was going on on the other side of the pond. But at the pond. Now, let me tell you, there was some serious work going on. Every year at the Dewberry Festival, they have a kids fishing contest. The above pic is Little Critter doing his imitation of Huckleberry Finn. There were over 400 kids under the age of 16 out there at this one fairly small pond. All seriously trying to catch the biggest or the longest fish in their age category. All striving to win the coveted trophy saying they'd caught the biggest or longest fish for this year. What bragging rights!!!!!

Dodi and I were sitting there watching and helping several of the kids that didn't have parents nearby or whose parents were busy talking and didn't notice when Jr got his line all tangled up with 4 other kids' lines. We'd patiently walk over, show them how to easily uncross the lines and not have to cut everything off and leave a mess behind. We spent 4 hours doing this. It was hysterically funny at times. Those kids, especially the 8-10 yo boys, wanted so badly to know everything......and often didn't know anything. But as we'd try to explain or show them how to fix their problems, the little faces would glow with pride as they fixed it "all by themselves!" and the grins would stretch from ear to ear. It made me stop a couple times and wonder if that's how Papa feels sometimes. Here we are trying so hard to act like we know how to act, when in reality we don't often have a clue. Then He gently, patiently explains and shows us how we should/could/ought to do things and we feel so proud of ourselves because we figured it out 'all by ourselves!" I wonder if He often has a grin hidden behind pinched lips or a twinkle in His eye when we get so excited about the obvious. Does He also get a warm fuzzy feeling in His heart when we finally remember to thank Him for helping us out and for encouraging us to continue trying? I wonder.

One of the organizers of the whole affair told Dodi and I later that we'd been really good with those boys. (At one point we had 10 of the little wormy creatures all crowded around our chairs! All asking either Dodi to fix their bobbers or me to help them put the worms on the hooks. My least favorite thing to do of course. But I did it...while showing them how to do themselves!!!!! I certainly don't want to be known as the County Worm Lady!!!!!!LOL!) We were a little startled by the organizers comment. We'd only treated them all like they were our kids....isn't that what we're supposed to do? " Love one another, as I have loved you"  Wasn't that hard to do.....even if I did have to hook 6 cans of worms.....yuck! Something to contemplate as you go into the weekend.....how many ways DO you show you love Him? Do you love others as He's loved you? Do you love Him enough to follow His commandments? Think about it. I look forward to seeing what you think. Shabbat Shalom to all my Torah observant friends....and have a great weekend to those who aren't.

Spring 2010

Well, spring is finally in the air here in Central Texas. This is a pic of Little Critter hiding in the blue bonnets just west of town. Of course, I couldn't get the little worm to smile for me......"Mom, the grass itches." "Mom, cars are slowing down to watch us!!!" "Mom, I think there's an ant on my foot" "Mom, do I have to lie down in the grass?!" Sheesh!!!! It was so much easier when he was still little. Sigh.

We had a series of storms come thru the last few days that were a bit scary, but I'm glad to say we all survived. Although when we called Dragon Lady after the last storm hit this week, they were in the cellar waiting for the worst of the storm to finish passing them by. (She lives within 4 miles of our house.) We had some serious wind, but they got the hail. Oh boo. This could put a real cramp in our 'gleaning' of their wheat fields for Shavuot (Pentecost) in a few weeks. Double oh boo!!!! We'll just have to wait and see what YHWH has in store for us.

I hope each of you are having a wonderful spring. We've got fresh veggies growing in the garden, (will try to get a pic of that soon to post), the chicks are pretty much all laying eggs for us (fresh eggs, doesn't get much better than that!) and there's flowers in my pots on the porch. (Now if I can keep from killing them all, life will truly be great!!! LOL!)

Tax season officially ends next week, although I still have a couple overseas returns that automatically have a 90 day extension to work on and a couple of folks who filed extensions till Aug 15. But that will just give me things to do over the summer to stay out of trouble. We had the end of season dinner tonight at a local restaurant, and my boss made it official that this was his last end of the season dinner. Next year, it'll be me in charge. So, yes, later this year (contracts are signed in October) it looks like I'll join the ranks of the self employed. Boy that's a scary idea!!!! But Dodi and I both feel it's what we're called to do right now. So, if Papa wants me to run that tax office as owner instead of manager....who am I to say "No Way?!" We'll see how it goes. It's biting off a bit more than I really had intended for this time of my life, but I also know He knows far better than I what I should be doing so I'll follow His lead.

Well, sweet friends, I pray protection over each of you as we go thru the rest of the tornado season and head into the hurricane season....from one storm to another. But I know Who holds us in His hands, and know His presence is there for each of us to cling to in the midst of each storm. May He bless and keep each of you, make His face to shine on you and give you His shalom. Amen. Spitfire

Snow in Central Texas

This is a picture of Little Critter with the snow man he and Dodi built. Please notice his leek for a nose...we didn't have any large carrots, and that was all I could find to use for his nose. LOL! He has prunes for eyes and mouth and somehow I think the raisins for his buttons disappeared....most likely into Little Critter's mouth!  Oh, and the little snowball that appears to be floating in the air, is a snowball Little Critter put into the 'y' of Snowman's hand so it would look like Snowman was throwing a snowball at me. Here in Central Texas, we so seldom get enough snow to build snowmen that this was a HUGE deal around here. The schools closed early (at 2:00) and almost everything in town closed between noon and 3pm. By morning, it was all gone and life went back to almost normal...whatever that means. But for one delightful afternoon, we were in a winter wonderland.


Now, me being a lizard type person, I'm not a real fan of cold and snow and such. But this was a blast! We made snow angels, built several snow people, slid down the small hill in the yard, tried to track critters in the snow, threw snowballs at each other and just overall  had a blast. I almost hated to see it melt so quickly. (Yes, I said almost....remember, I hate being cold!!!!) Neighbors came by looking at and taking pictures of the snow people, everyone was laughing and having fun. There seemed to be no ugliness or rudeness or pettiness anywhere around. It made me think how wonderful it will be when Yeshua comes back and cleans all the ugliness and filth from this world. Whew! What a wonderful place this will be!!!!

So I thank Papa for this lovely glimpse into the delights that await. And now must get back to my quiet time with Him....lots to do tomorrow and better get my instructions first. May each of you be blessed. Shalom, Spitfire

Purim 2010

Well, I said I had several great pics to share and lots to catch up on....so let's start with Purim! For those who don't know about Purim, it's also called the Feast of Esther. It's found in the book of Esther in the Tanak (Bible). This was the first year we got to celebrate it with others, and it was a blast!!!! Notice the costumes? Well, I was so busy getting everyone else's pictures that I have none of myself....or Little Critter......or Dodi. Nanc, I think this qualifies as an Oh Boo moment, eh?! Little Critter wanted to dress as King Xerxes, Dodi went as Mordecai, and I was Esther. I sewed my little fingers raw getting new costumes for us, but it was SO worth it!!! We found curtains on sale at Pier I for the tunics for Dodi and I in fabulous colors and materials that cost us next to nothing. For Little Critter, we found some wonderfully regal cotton material at a local fabric store and I wove some cording in different colors for the boys' belts. (Mine was the same fabric as my tunic). I also found a beautiful sheer curtain at a dollar store to use for my veil and sewed little golden coins all along the bottom of it. It was incredible.

We were driving home from services the week before Purim when Little Critter popped off and told Dodi "Daddy, Mommy is my queen!" Of course my little mommy heart started to swell with pride. Dodi quickly said, "No, she's my queen because I'm married to her. She's your Mommy." I'm trying to shush Dodi, when Little Critter pops off again saying "But you're only Mordecai, I'm King Xerxes. That makes her my queen even if she is old!" I almost spit my coffee on the inside windshield. He had Dodi there......the little worm!!!!

OK, so we may have a bit of work to do on tact.....but he understands the story of Esther!!!! Well, I'll leave you with that grin on your face. (Don't deny it, I know you're grinning....it's OK. I laughed too after I finished chocking on my coffee.) In all fairness, Little Critter did (rather quickly I might add) admit he didn't mean that the way it sounded....after Dodi made a comment about no dessert for Little Critter. Giggle.

Have a great and blessed week  For my Torah observant friends, may your counting of the Omar be uplifting and enlightening. For my other friends, be blessed. I pray for all of you. Shalom, Spitfire

Scout Sabbath 2010

I realize I've been far too quite for far too long, but please allow me to indulge my Momma's heart here for a bit. The above picture was taken on Scout Sabbath....2-13-2010. That's a picture of our Rabbi presenting Little Critter with his Aleph pin in front of the whole congregation. (The big guy in the Tallit or prayer shawl is Dodi. Isn't he gorgeous!?! Giggle.) Anyway, it took Little Critter and I a little over a year for him to earn this pin for Cub Scouts. He worked really hard at it. (So did Mom....well, someone had to learn the Hebrew before I could teach it to Little Critter!!!!!) And I was SO proud of him as he stood in front of everyone, in his uniform (I just LOVE a man in uniform.......sigh) and received his pin and then quoted the Boy Scout promise. To earn this religion pin, Little Critter had to learn the Hebrew names of all seven of the Feasts found in Leviticus, draw pictures of menorah, lulavs, sukka, mezuzah, demonstrate the ability to read some Hebrew (I know Rabbi was gentle with him on that one! We learned to read Genesis 1:1...that was all we could handle!!!!) research and write about 3 different famous American Jews and learn two prayers in Hebrew. Whew! Did I mention he really worked hard at this?!

Well, I hope to have a couple more posts before too long. I've got some great pics to share, but right now it's late and I'm tired. Tax season is almost over, so it won't be too long before I'll be back to blogging more regularly. So many cool things to share and so many blogs to read. I keep trying to check on all your blogs as often as I can.....but it's not as regular as it was before tax season. Please forgive me my friends. I promise to do better after tax season ends. Well, I better get ready for bed....it's after 1am and I have to work again in the morning. I pray for each of you daily and think fondly of you each. Take care and Shalom. Spitfire

A New Year for Trees

Well, dear friends, I've made it thru the first three weeks of tax season and I'm still kicking! (Just barely some days, but kicking just the same. LOL!) Things will be more than hectic for a few more weeks and then they'll slow down to a more reasonable rate. So please hang in there with me.

This week we have Tu' B'Shuvat. That's Hebrew for "the fifteenth of Shuvat". This is the eleventh month of the Hebrew year and the 29th of this month (which is the 15th of Shuvat) is the day we start over on figuring out what we're to tithe from our trees produce for giving to YHWH. Now, since there isn't a Tabernacle in Jerusalem anymore, we really don't have to count out a tithe and send it to Yerushalyim. But it's also when we plant new trees. Dodi would like to get a couple olive trees, but I don't think they'll grow here in our area. Our second choice would be a pomegranate tree. Little Critter and I LOVE to eat pomegranate. So it'll be fun to search out a new tree for our yard. (not to mention figuring out where we have room to plant another tree!!!!)

For Shabbat this week, our congregation is planning all sorts of wonderful foods made from things from trees. I'm planning on making some old fashioned Kolaches with apricot and prune fillings, pear and pomegranate salad (it's wonderful!!!!) some date logs and possibly a walnut encrusted fish to go with our salad and barley soup. Oh, and I was asked to make cinnamon sticks for the congregation. So I have lots of cooking to do this week just for Shabbat. I wonder what I'll cook for our meals this week.....hmmm. Forgot to think that close to home....worried more about getting everything I'd need for Shabbat. Oh boo!

Our scouts will be having their car races. Little Critter has done a really good job on his car....in my humble opinion. And my little cubs all made some great looking cars. It'll be interesting to see who wins the races. I'll try to get a pic of Little Critter's car after the race and post it. He did it himself with Dodi only helping him put the tires on. And I helped him draw the letter Zayin on the trunk. It's also the number 7 which was the number he wanted his car to have but he wanted it in Hebrew. He even took one of the little Star of David's we used at Hanukkah that missed being put up and placed it on the front of his car. It really looks cool!

All other things are going well. Work is busy, but really going quite smoothly. Still a little trouble with our afternoon receptionist, but she's young (really young) and a bit immature. So I'll have to continue doing some retraining on how to deal with folks with her. But the rest of it's going well. Wow, I don't know what's going on outside, but that's the third set of sirens I've heard going nearby. I'd better get off here and start praying hard for the emergency personnel and whoever they're going after. Ya'll have a great week, be blessed and don't forget to thank Papa for the beautiful and varied trees He made for us. I'll try to post again before next week, but no promises. Shalom. Spitfire

Prayers for Haiti

By now everyone has heard about the earthquake in Haiti....even if you've been under a rock somewhere hibernating you've had to have heard about it! It will start to really get bad down there in the next few days if the aid workers can't get in there to start the rebuilding/rescuing. I'd ask all to pray for the victims and their families. I'd also like to ask all my dear readers to say a few extra prayers for Francios. He's an orphan down in Haiti that we supported for several years. We had to withdraw our support 3 years ago when we had the twins living with us but we've continued to pray for Francios. He lived in an orphanage just outside Port Au Prince. He's the same age as Little Critter....9. We've been able to find out from the website that the orphanage is in pretty good shape, but haven't been able to find anything out about Francios. He lived in the mountains at one the orphanage's other buildings....some of those collapsed. We're praying Francios is well and that Papa would keep the terrors away from him...and I ask that you join us in that prayer.

I've now made it through the first two weeks of tax season. It's been busy, but really pretty enjoyable! I love my job....both of them. Little Critter is having a little trouble adjusting to having to get up early and do his work more independently than normal, but he's adjusting. He's used to sitting at the kitchen table with me and he works on his work while I work on my work....usually working on future lesson plans, writing letters or sewing. Now, he has to sit in the back room and I'm up front usually with either a client at my desk, or a pile of paperwork to get done for the office. I miss getting to hear from everyone, but realize this is for a season....and it's a relatively short season! So now I'm thinking and praying for each of you and hoping things are going great for you. Let me know you're all OK if you have time. I try to check your blogs on the weekends....but sometimes don't say anything. So take care and I'll try to post as I can. Shalom, Spitfire

PS LM-thanks for the update. I was beginning to think we'd lost you! Grin. Looking forward to hearing more about your survival blog.

2010 begins....and a note to my friends

Sure hope everyone had a great holiday season. We had a great Hanukkah! Lots of food, fun and family time. We also had a great time with both families. Just returned from the hinterlands where we spent almost a week with the in-laws and Little Critter got spoiled rotten!!! (It'll take me weeks to unspoil him! Oy vey!) MIL was so sweet, she cooked for us several nights up there and kept asking if her menu was acceptable to us. Bless her heart, I know from experience, that trying to cook healthy food that's both Kosher AND on Dodi's diet is a trick!!! But she did a good job. Of course there were far too many carbs, but we adapted. We also got to see some snow! It was after dark, so hard to see, but I went out and played in big, wet, gloppy snowflakes until I was soaking wet and freezing cold. (Being a lizard by nature that didn't take long.....oh boo!)

Now we're home again and getting ready for school to restart, tax season to begin and all the great things Papa has planned for us for this year. I predict things will get more and more crazy in the world around us, the economy will most likely NOT get alot better for the time being, and there will be plenty of things to really make my blood boil if I let it. (I've read the back of the book....it could get downright scary for a bit! You should read it too....just know the 'good guys' win, the 'calvary' comes in just the right moment and things WILL get better....eventually) But I propose to remain as calm as my nature will allow as I let Papa handle things as only He can. I propose to do all I can to make my little space in this world as peaceful and loving as I possibly can....knowing Nana, dear sister and asundry others will make that as difficult as possible. LOL! But Papa calls me to love Him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength...and to love my neighbors as myself. So all I can do is my best to live up to that mitzvot (commandment).

My wish for all my readers, friends and family is that this year 2010, will see all of you so covered in Papa's love that you not only grow closer to Him with every breath you take, but are so covered in His blessings you can't hold them all and have to share them with others. May each one know His love, His word, His rest as you follow your journeys towards Him. And may His plans for each of us come to fruition so that we each become more and more the people He ordained us to be before the beginning of time. Shalom my friends.

OH, PS....I almost forgot. I need to warn you that my posts may continue to be rather sporadic for the next few months. I am not only the office manager, lead tax preparer but also owner in training of a tax office. And tax season has begun here in the US. So I'll be working horrible hours, while continuing to homeschool Little Critter, keep the house as best I can, and still take care of my folks and cousin. So my life will become hectic on steroids for a few months.. I love what I do (especially during the 'off season' which is after April 15th. LOL!), I'm good at it, and Dodi and I both feel this is where Papa wants us to be right now. So if I'm not here as often, don't fret....feel free to leave messages, and I'll answer as I can or email me. Again, it may take a couple days to hear back from me, but I WILL get back to you. I'll be praying for you daily as I always do and will post as I can. So enjoy these winter/spring months and I'll be back ASAP.
Pops, that means you take care of yourself!!!! Don't make me have to come fuss at you!!!!! There's still adventure out there for you Honey.. enjoy the adventure. I'll be checking on you....and praying for you.
Gayle, don't work so hard! Enjoy the life you have....it's a great life! Come see me, I miss you!!!
AOW, hug Mr. AOW for Little Critter and I and know we still pray for you both.
Abouna...do NOT let the turkeys get you down...you know what's coming and it will be good in the end!
Skippy, keep writing...you're doing a great job and don't worry about your needs. Papa WILL supply them!!!! Keep searching, looking and knocking. He'll answer you. If we can help, just call!
Nanc, darling girl, you keep being you and know I'll be here if you need me Sweetie. You are a jewel!!!
Ahava, I'll be checking on you....and fussing if necessary. You take care of yourself Sweetheart. You're precious...to me and to HIM!
Local Malcontent, I miss hearing from you dear friend. Hope you're well. I pray for you and Leti daily and know He'll take care of you both....and Dillon too!
Christopher, I haven't seen anything from you in months....I pray your health issues aren't preventing you from posting. You have wonderful things to share and there's tons of folks who need your wisdom. Be blessed.
Quiet Life, I pray things are easier for you now that husband is home and that you're having the time of your life! I enjoy your occasional posts and pray His blessings on you and your family. And thanks to your husband for keeping us safe and doing what he does! He's awesome and you're more awesome for being a military wife!!!!I know how hard that is, and the sacrifices you make on a daily basis. Thank you for being you.
If I missed anyone, please forgive me....I'm only on my second cup of coffee and not functioning well yet. Just know you're prayed for and wished all His best for you. Shalom