Just a head-up to all you procrastinators out there (please, oh please tell me I’m not alone!):
The CBD coupons for free shipping or 10% off are expiring soon.
See this post on my Shoelaces blog for codes, expiration dates, and the low-down on which one to use.

game is
Switch:is a very easy game, you and at least five other people run around the trampoline,
and the sixth person stands in midle shouting “switch”last person to fall wins.
Pancake:
Switch traffic jam:
Mother may I?:
Tricks and judge:
Fox and sheep:
Fox and geese:
Bowling ball:
King Kong tag:
Looney toon tag:
What’s the time Mr. Wolf?:
No way Jose:
Next time I post will tell about the next game

Maybe this isn’t of great interest to most of my readers, but I just have to tell y’all because I am so excited about it:
I learned over the weekend how to make my own template for the Geneva Bible Pages website. I had already hand-coded the entire site, but when I wanted to make a change to the pages I had to change each and every page separately.
I knew there had to be an easy way to make changes across all the pages at once and after spending way too much time looking for the answer, I found it! Yee haw!
Better yet, I was able to insitute it w/o a long hard learning curve. The time spent learning this was time well spent.
So if you are wondering why all the pages now end with .php, that’s why.
What, you didn’t even notice?

Keep the entries coming in our contest to win a free 400 year old Framed Geneva Bible Page! We’ll keep the contest open til midnight, Friday, December 8.

And look for our affiliate program soon!

And yet another praise to our Gracious Lord: the orders are coming in!

Can you stand to hear a resident of South Texas talk about the cold for yet another post?
We were too stingy when we left the water dripping last night, and woke to frozen pipes.
Yes, it does happen here, probably since we never expect it to happen and leave our pipes exposed.

We had just enough time to fuss and worry a bit and begin to formulate a plan. Then we had bad news from Megan that there was water spraying from the pressure tank, outside next to the well. Great. Broken pipe, too?
Hubby went out to investigate and found nothing but a pressure valve doing what it does best: letting off pressure, as the pipe on the well-side of the tank defrosted.
Praise God. Frozen pipes are far easier to deal with than frozen and bursting pipes. And now we had a water source – we could catch the water from the valve to fill buckets for the toilet, and maybe warm some on the stove to pour over the pipe that was still frozen.

But by 9:00 we were praising God again: in our 4th night of sub-freezing lows, this is the first time the pipes froze, and guess what? Today the weather warmed up far more quickly than the last several mornings!

We’re thankful today for running water. What are you thankful for?

Yesterday Hubby took the 4 biggest girls to work with him, leaving me with 4 children 6yo and under.
We had a peaceful day, puttering about and doing the chores of the absentees, working together on dishes and meals and laundry.
We had a “tea party” lunch complete with cinnamon toast quarters on a glass pedestal, almonds in a glass candy dish, cheese chunks, and warm spiced apple juice (with cider at $5/gallon, we’re using juice and our imaginations). British accents abounded.
Since it was Friday, we made pizza together. While the 3 youngest napped, 6yo Natalie was my tireless sidekick, stirring dough, browning sausage (her first time!), patting out pizza crust. We were excited: this week we planned to take our pizza to Mom and Dad’s house for a pizza potluck of sorts.
This is where my little story begins to have a point.
I chatted on the phone with my mother-in-law as we prepared to head out the door. I groused a bit about all the big girls being gone: it was cold out there, and I don’t like cold! I would have to get 4 small children (2 of whom needed carrying) and 4 large pizzas (all of which needed carrying) out the door, down the 12 steep steps, and into the car. With no help over 4′ tall.
This was going to take 3 or 4 trips in and out, up and down. And something or somebody was bound to be pretty cold by the time it was done.
My mother-in-law asked why I didn’t call a family member 1/2 mile away to come help, and I replied that there wasn’t really much point to that: it would take them 20 minutes to drive over, help and drive back. I could be done with the unpleasant part in 5 minutes. I just felt like complaining.
So we took the plunge: Hubby had taken the van to work and we had his little car. Several trips later, Hubby’s little car was packed with 4 large pizzas, 1 adult, 2 smallish children, 1 toddler, 1 baby, a carseat, and a few other odds and ends. The kids spotted Hubby’s special stash of Pecan Sandies between the seats and begged, but I said no. “Those are Dad’s cookies.”
I looked in the ignition and saw: No Key.
I checked the dashboard: No Key.
Between the seats, perchance? No Key.
Did I mention it was cold?
Did I mention that we currently have only one key to this car?
My heart sank, and trudged back up the steps to call Hubby.
He had just left work and was on his way home. My throat was a little tight, and I struggled not to be terse. “Please tell me you don’t have the key to the car.”
Technically, he didn’t have the key to the car. It was on his desk at work, with his other keys. Since he was driving the van with my keys, he forgot to grab his own keyring. He had to turn around and go back for it. I was cold and feeling less than sympathetic.
I called my dad for a ride, and went back down to the car so the children and I could freeze together as a family. I really didn’t want to haul everyone back up the steps and out again in 5 minutes.
Just for spite, we ate Hubby’s cookies.
Maybe I had been suffering from crabby blood sugar, because as we sat there I realized something: it wasn’t all that cold, especially inside the car. It was not nearly as cold as it had been the night before when Hubby locked his keys in the car in the Hobby Lobby parking lot. He was locked out. Last night, two hours after he had asked me to pray for him because he was so very weary from long hours and multiple errands this week, he was standing out in the Real Cold. He was also standing in Cold Wind and Darkness. He didn’t get home last night until after 10:00.
And I was whining about waiting in the car 5 minutes for someone to come pick me up. I gave myself a proverbial smack in the forehead.
[BTW, honey, sorry for eating your cookies. I left you 2 of them.]
I was suddenly very thankful for my circumstances: a car to sit inside, an evening warm enough that we weren’t suffering as I had expected, family members who were happy to hop in their van on a moment’s notice and pick us up, a husband who left cookies where I could find them in my moment of spite need.
It also occurred to me that we should be thankful that I had discovered the missing key when I did. Hubby had just left work, and needed to work the following day (today), and would have sorely needed that key (and the others with it) this morning. By God’s kind providence, my lack of a key reminded Hubby to go back for his keys.
So in the end, we arrived at my parents’ house and shared a pizza dinner with my parents and 6 or 8 of my sibs, my brother-in-law, and my chubby little niece who is 10 days younger than our baby. Hubby and the 4 bigger girls arrived a little after 8:00 and had their pizza. We visited through the haze of my dad’s cigarette smoke, laughing and talking and cooing over babies who cooed over each other.
Because the car was at home, we were all able to ride home together in the van.
And we all lived happily ever after.

Just using blogger space to upload some banners I’ve created. One will go in my sidebar. Feel free to grab one for yourself too – I’m only too happy to share.
I know they’re all pretty similar. Which one is your favorite? Or do you think I need more variety?