a sick day

When Joel came upstairs this morning, he told me that Luke had given him a cold :-( Joel is the least capable of handling sickness in this house, so a little cold to him is pretty horrible. I have to work really hard not to get sarcastic with him and his wimpiness. Anyway, with Luke and me sounding like we're sick (although we feel fine) and Joel coughing/whining, four of us stayed home from church today. Seth's cold is pretty much all gone, but he stayed home anyway.


Luke put on clean jammies for today's clothes:


Joel just wanted to sit and watch movies or play the wii most of the day.

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In honor of Third Day's winning the Grammy tonight for Best Rock Gospel album, today's song is "Revelation" :-) Most definitely THE greatest band EVER!

"Give me a revelation
Show me what to do"

a tea party :-)

Makenzie and her friend had a tea party today with two guests :-)


I wish there weren't perverts out there so that we could just put up pictures of whoever and not have to worry about something bad happening! But this is the world we live in, so Makenzie's pretty little friend has a box face in the tea party picture:


Today, Jason took Joel to get a real mattress. He has been sleeping on a bunk bed mattress for a long time -- those very thin little kid mattresses on a bunk bed with bars across the bottom. I never thought about it being uncomfortable for my growing boy, but he's good now with a super-soft twin-sized mattress. Now Luke's jealous.

And speaking of Luke, remember he was so excited to spend the night with his grandparents that he packed his bag several days in advance? He spent the entire day over there, got all ready for bed, and then wanted to come home. I asked him why he wanted to come home and the only answer I could get out of him was that he was homesick. Awwww, my Lukey Pookey needed Mom's hugs :-) I was starting to worry that he was really going to spend the night -- which really would've been ok I guess since he does need to grow up sometime. But he's only six years old! He has a long time before he really needs to grow up! For now, it's JUST FINE to be a momma's boy!

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today's song: "I Cry, You Care" by David Phelps

Lonely, lost and so afraid, but You are only just a tear away from rushing in once again to show me You're both God and Savior in spite of my behavior.

I cry, You care. I call, You're there. I fall and You pick me up and set me on my way. I fear, You dare. I need, You share. I reach and You hold me in Your arms forever.

trouble, girls, & two silly boys

Today was not exactly a great day for the Hofacker boys at ACS. Both of them got sent to the office for bad behavior :-( Joel had to decide his punishment -- no Nintendo DS for the entire weekend or no staying up reading at bedtime. I was pretty shocked that he chose no DS. I didn't realize that his reading time was so important to him. I'm wondering if he has another video game device hidden away in his room -- hmmmmmm. I might be doing some mother-sneaking when I'm finished here. Luke doesn't get choices. He got a spanking from Dad in the office and also doesn't get to play the wii all weekend. We're so mean!

Makenzie has been grounded for all of January so far for "screeching" at her brothers. Anyone who has heard Makenzie speak knows the potential for eardrum damage if she decides to "screech" (yell in a very angry, high pitched, loud voice). Her "grounding" was from friends coming over. Yesterday was the last day of being grounded, so she got to have a friend spend the night tonight. When I went downstairs, they were watching a Little Mermaid movie with a bowl of something between them. I asked them what they had in the bowl (the lights were out, so I couldn't see for myself), at least they were honest: candy :-) Oh great! That's JUST what they need! I reminded them to PLEASE brush their teeth when the movie was over and to be QUIET, being considerate of the boys just like they'll hope the boys are considerate of them in the morning :-) We'll see how that goes.

On Monday or Tuesday, Luke found out that he was invited to spend the night with his grandparents this Saturday. He went downstairs and was really quiet for a while, so I wondered what he was doing, but was enjoying the quiet too much to go ask. Eventually, he came back upstairs with his spend-the-night bag all packed, ready to go. He had his church clothes for Sunday and pajamas -- no underclothes, no toothbrush. He was only a little bit disappointed that we had to unpack the church clothes and wait a few days to leave :-)

Tonight, I put on my coat to go over to a friend's house warming party. When I turned around to tell Seth good-bye, he was standing there with his coat. SO CUTE!!!!! He wasn't too happy about being left at home while Mommy went outside of the house! He got over it when Dad put on a Scooby Doo movie, though :-)

Luke was teaching Seth his bad habit here:

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today's song: "Day by Day" by dc Talk

I live a simple life, take a day at a time.
I spend my mornings with God before I hit the grind.
The subtleties of darkness never cease to amaze,
As a physical world creates a spiritual haze.
Blinded by distractions,
Lost in matterless affairs,
Reaching through the darkness,
Trusting You will meet me there.
Day by day,
Oh dear Lord, three things I pray,
To see Thee more clearly,
To love Thee more dearly,
To follow Thee more nearly
Day by day.

semi-sick

I'm not sure if I've ever elaborated on my blog on the topic of "minerals." We take a liquid mineral supplement every morning, mixed in orange juice to cut down the yucky taste, cringing after we chug it down like a shot of hard liquor. Because we consistently take these minerals, we get sick FAR less often and FAR less severely than we used to and than other people all around us. Right now, Seth, Luke, and I have a cold. While other people we know are bed-ridden, missing work, feeling really horrible, we're functioning just fine with some cold meds now and then, some Vick's Baby Rub at night to sleep more comfortably. PRAISE GOD for these nasty-tasting, healthy-body-producing minerals!!!!

Seth has been been sleeping a lot to fight off this cold bug. Either he got on the couch himself when we got home from school today or Makenzie put him there and he decided to stay:

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today's song: "By Surprise" by Joy Williams (i love this song! and i love her shirt in this video!)

I’ve got a secret to tell
A midnight confession
I love the life that I lead
But it’s no obsession

Because I’m waiting, anticipating
Watching for Your return
You’ll come and get me
You know I’m ready
Enjoyed my stay, but You’ll steal me away

Like a thief in the night
Like a runaway train
Like a first class, lightning fast hurricane
I’ll keep my ear to the ground
And my eyes to the sky
I’m ready now but somehow
I know You’ll take me by surprise

funny hair night

Tonight was wacky hats and hair night, so my kids gladly participated. Seth doesn't go to Awana, but his hair has been pretty wacky all on its own lately :-)


Luke spiked his hair -- and the eyes here just fit his behavior lately! Pray for this child if you're a praying person :-)


Joel wore his hat with wrestling pins in it:


And Makenzie did some crazy pig-tail deals:

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today's song: "Praise the Lord" from Glory Revealed 2

He is the One who keeps every promise forever.
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God,
Even with my dying breath.

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today's verse: II Samuel 7:22
"You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You . . ."

homework & "Girls from Ames"

Joel decided that my bed would be a good place to do his homework :-)


I finished reading the book "The Girls from Ames" this morning. This is a book about eleven girls who grew up together as friends and kept their friendship into adulthood. The basic idea of the book was incredible: for eleven girls to stay best friends all through grade school, junior high, and high school is difficult. Then they stayed in touch after high school and have helped each other through many difficulties of life. I started getting a little tired of the liberal presentation of most of the information, but it was sometimes balanced with conservative views of some of the friends. I'm glad I read the book -- it was interesting and well-written. But when I read about the book, I was thinking it was going to be written like a story not like a news write-up.

The reason I got to finish that book is that Seth slept for FIFTEEN HOURS last night! He was so tired that I put him to bed at 6 p.m., and he was SOUND asleep by 6:30 and slept until 9:30 this morning! The poor little guy has a cold, and I guess it's really knocking him out. So while I waited for him to wake up, I finished that book. Now I can get back to the Lumby series :-)

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today's song: "No One Knows My Heart" by Susan Ashton

There's an agony in living
But there's a comfort in the truth
That no one knows my heart
Better than You!

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today's verse: Acts 2:28
"Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance."

Joel is ELEVEN!

Eleven years ago, God blessed me with my first child, a sweet angel baby boy (who I really thought looked like a little dinosaur -- but he looked better after the nurses cleaned him up and I had some more pain meds). Now he's growing into a young man with his own opinions and plans and ways of looking at life.

This morning, I got up almost right when my alarm went off so that I could get ready and go to Carrs for Joel's birthday doughnuts (and some Starbucks). After Seth's speech therapy, I took chocolate cupcakes to the school for Joel's class. Their favorite part was the giant pile of whipped cream I sprayed on each cupcake :-) Then I took Joel out of school to go birthday shopping. I thought I knew what gifts we were going to give him, but then changed my mind at the last second. He got a Nintendo DS (video game machine) yesterday, so we went shopping for the extras to go with it. He had some money left from Christmas and then got some money in the mail in birthday cards. So between his own money and gifts from us, he got two games, a memory card (to save his progress on the games), a stylus (similar to what we sign the credit card machines with in stores, except with some cartoon character on the top of it), and a case to hold his games. He was pretty happy with all his gifts!

These pictures are of my birthday boy when he first woke up this morning. He's not quite as smiley as Seth is in the mornings, but he's very pleasant and pretty talkative when he wakes up. I just love this kid!

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today's song: "We Live" by Superchic

We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
'Cause the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love.

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today's verse: II Samuel 22:31
God's way is perfect.
The word of the Lord has been tested and proved good, reliable, and trustworthy.
He is a shield of protection to all them that trust in Him.

joel's almost 11

Joel's family birthday party was today after church. We had lasagna -- which was delicious, even if I do say so myself.

Then Joel opened his gifts. Some of the things he got were a special wii remote,


tickets to the Star Wars exhibit,


a Star Wars shirt to wear to the Star Wars exhibit,


and a d.s. (love that face!).


Then it was birthday cake time. Joel had requested an ice cream cake from Basking Robbins. Next time, I'm making it myself, though. That way it's at least half the price and I'll be able to eat some, too. Everyone else said it was good.

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today's song: "One More Thing" by Sara Groves

There's always just one more thing
There's always another task

Love to me is when you put down that one more thing and say
I've got something better to do
And love to me is when you walk out on that one more thing and say
Nothing will come between me and you
Not even one more thing

birthday parties

Luke was invited to a birthday party today at Bouncin' Bears. Joel was still at camp, so he didn't get to enjoy the running and bouncing. But Luke, Makenzie, and Seth sure did!

Luke helped Seth several times:



This would've been a really cute picture of the boys sliding down together, Luke's arms around Seth -- so sweet. But this is a very realistic picture! While in this play place, the kids are just a blur :-)


Makenzie played with another first-grader's older sister most of the time. I was glad she had a playmate, too. She did bounce with Seth for a little while, too, though.


Now it's time to prepare for Joel's birthday parties :-) He'll be ELEVEN on Monday! Tomorrow is the entire family party, and then Monday will be our own family party. I'm really not ready for either one :-)

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today's song: "There Will be a Day" by Jeremy Camp

There will be a day
With no more tears
No more pain
And no more fears!

another day

I couldn't quite pull myself together today to get anything done correctly, so there's no picture today. Joel is at his first "camp" experience -- a winter retreat for 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-graders. Jason went as bus driver and counselor (I suggested that he might like to go -- a.k.a. told him he was going to be with Joel -- but he's glad to be there, I'm sure). Makenzie had an Awana party tonight at church, so Luke and I got to play some games all by ourselves for a little while.

Maybe the cold and darkness has me in "hibernation mode" or something, but I'm TIRED all of the time! I'm looking forward to the day when the kids can get themselves ready so that I don't have to get up so very early every morning! But I'm enjoying this stage of their lives, too -- they're so cute and funny. And it's nice to be necessary to people's lives. And I'm sure their hugs will get shorter and fewer the older they get. So now's a good time, with or without sleep :-)

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today's song: "Be Thou My Vision" by Eden's Bridge

This is one of favorite hymns by a Christian Celtic group. I know the Celts as a group were pagans, but I'm sure some of them became Christians. This group is definitely Christian, just singing their songs with Celtic style. Celtic music is BEAUTIFUL! The Celtic flute is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world! (little trivia note -- did you know that both "c's" in the word "celtic" are pronounced as "k's"? It's true. I'm not sure why the sports team decided to pronounce it differently.)

Luke and the dentist

My poor little Luke had to get a cavity filled today :-( He was a little nervous -- I know this, not because he said he was nervous, but because he asked me if I was nervous when I had to get my first filling. And then he asked me to go into the little room at the dentist's office with him. But he stayed completely still and didn't even make one sound the entire time the dentist was working in Luke's mouth! He's so tough! He had "happy gas," but no anesthesia in his mouth. The dentist and I were both very impressed! So for a reward, Luke didn't have to go back to school and got to go to Walmart instead to use his Christmas gift card from Grammy Ruth and Poppy Dale to buy legos :-) This is one of the best uses of money that Luke has ever made. Legos are very therapeutic for Luke and his shaky hands. He went to sign language class with me and AGAIN did not make a single sound. He sat in the desk next to me and did his homework and played with his new legos. He finished all of his homework AND put together one whole lego set during that classtime! I'm just amazed with this child today :-)

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today's song: "Wake Up, Oh Sleeper" Glory Revealed 2

I listen to my ipod at night when I'm falling asleep. I usually end up hearing one song at the most and then wake up a little later to turn it off and set my alarm (which is my ipod). Last night, I was listening to the Glory Revealed 2 album. I didn't really notice what song was on when I shut it off, but this morning's wake-up call was this song. Pretty amusing, even at 4:44 a.m.!

(p.s. -- I made this video and four others that I've linked on my blog in previous posts. I like to be able to go to youtube and find the song and the lyrics without any disturbing pictures such as a picture of Jesus bleeding on the cross. I know that that image is VERY important, and I am VERY grateful for what Jesus did for me; but I can't handle seeing it so graphically displayed. SO I started making my own simple youtube videos with the lyrics. Maybe someday I'll find an easy way to put interesting pictures on them instead of just the album cover. I'm usually going for fast and easy, though, so I'll probably end up just sticking with the album cover and lyrics. Just this week, I found out an easy way to make these videos. The first three took me days to complete. The one from yesterday and this one today only took me a couple hours each.)

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today's verse: I Samuel 16:7

". . . the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

it's Wednesday again!

Seth woke up WAY too early today! Wednesdays are late nights, and I wish he had slept in this morning or fallen asleep for a little bit this afternoon. But he didn't. He's going to be TIRED!

I "branched out" from my "usual" at City Diner today and caused a problem :-( "Our" waitress remembered to ask me "no bread?" but I forgot to say "and no onion rings." So the burger came out with onion rings on top -- and OH DID THEY LOOK DELICIOUS! But she had to pick them off and then ask the cook to put new cheese on top and melt it because the other cheese had onion ring crumbs in it and had to be thrown out. I was SO embarrassed! They didn't seem to mind at all, though. They're SO nice there!!!! And then we got bad news -- one of our friends who works there is moving from day shift to night shift :-( Well, maybe that should be a smiley face because now we'll HAVE to go at night sometimes, too, so that we can see her :-) I REALLY need to find a way to make some money so we can eat there more often!

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today's song: "Still Breathing" by Sarah Kelly
It's never too late
While we're still breathing.

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today's verses are from church tonight (I go to deaf church on Wednesday nights, so I don't understand much of what the teacher is saying, but I DO understand the Scripture passages that he writes on the whiteboard.)

I Peter 1:22 ". . . love each other deeply -- with all your heart."
Romans 12:9-10 "Your love must be real . . ."
Romans 12:14-16 "Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them . . . Live together in peace . . ."

Those verses seem impossible to obey. Surely these things can only be accomplished through the Holy Spirit changing my heart.

how do you spell "trouble"?

L - U - K - E!!!! This child is giving me gray hair!!! But he's so adorably cute, it's really hard to discipline him or stay mad at him. I took this picture while he was waiting in my room for a "don't hurt your sister" lecture (for the second or third time today):


Joel and Makenzie have no problem staying angry at him since they're usually the ones he's picking on.

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today's song: "Just the Same" by Kim Hill

If I did . . .
If I said . . .
Would You love me more than You do now?
Could you love me more?
No, You love me just the same.

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today's verses: John 3:16 & Romans 8:38-39

God loved the world so much that He gave His own Son.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

family fun day

Since today was a holiday, there was no school :-) The kids got to sleep in, play the wii, and get ready without hearing "hurry up" a million times. We had two super-fun activities: we went to see "Alvin & the Chipmunks" and then we spent over three hours at H2Oasis. We had some free tickets to both of these places or we wouldn't have gone to either place. We would've had family fun day at home with our own movies and maybe some board games.

After H2Oasis, I was SO exhausted and hungry! I don't think it affected the kids the same way, though. Today was my first experience with the "Master Blaster" -- the huge water slide. It was really fun, but I'm still not quite sure it was worth climbing 492 steep steps carrying an inflated innertube big enough for two people (yes, I'm exaggerating a little about how many steps, but NOT about the steepness).

I forgot my camera when we left the house, so here a couple funny pictures from the end of our day:

Joel got in trouble for being mean to someone downstairs, so he had to come upstairs and watch "Blue's Clues":


I think Seth might be getting tired of all the picture-taking:

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today's song: "How Happy is the Man" by Margaret Becker

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today's verse: I Samuel 7:3
"If you return to the Lord with all your hearts . . . and prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve Him only, He will deliver you . . ."

Sunday

Luke is very quickly outgrowing his clothes. I just got the size 7's washed and in his closet, and he's already grown to a 7/8! I made him wear this little suit today even though it's a tiny bit too small. He doesn't really care what he looks like as long as he's pretty comfortable. This picture is also a "commemorative moment" -- Joel and Luke are standing next to each other AND smiling! Actually, before and after I made them come take this picture, they were playing together NICELY!!!!

Seth did two really funny things this morning in the nursery, but I didn't get my camera out fast enough to catch them. He was sitting at the teacher's desk (the nursery is a pre-school room during the week). He looked SO cute with his little 4-year-old self in that gigantic chair and desk, especially with the huge "look at me, Mom" smile he had! Then he was lying on the floor on his tummy in front of a big mirror watching himself -- hilarious! But this was the best shot I got of Seth today:


This picture doesn't really show it very well, but Makenzie got new earrings and wore them today. Now that I look at the picture, I can see that it doesn't show her earrings at all, but she looks sweet anyway. I'll have to try another day for a better earring shot.


We had a guest speaker in church today: Randy Hogue. He has QUITE a testimony! He grew up in a family that did not ever go to church. His father was very abusive to him, his mom, and his two brothers. Randy got involved in drinking, doing all kinds of drugs, and eventually selling drugs to pay for the drugs he used. He was miserable and decided to commit suicide. He took enough pills to kill ten men, but someone found him and took him to the hospital. Somehow, some Christian teenagers found out that Randy was in the hospital in a coma, and they started praying for him. They stayed in their church (I think that's where they prayed) without sleeping or eating for about 30 hours (I think that's what he said) praying that God would heal Randy and save his soul from Hell. The doctors said there was no way Randy would ever wake up, and that even if he did wake up he would be brain damaged. But Randy did wake up, and there wasn't anything wrong with him. The end of the story is that Randy went to those praying kids' church and became a true Christian. (This, obviously, is a VERY brief version of his life story.) I was, of course, amazed at how God went to SUCH great lengths to reach out to this man. I'm thankful beyond words that I grew up in a church-going family with parents and relatives that loved me dearly and took care of me. I don't understand why God allows so many people to go through such torment in this life, while others like me live a relatively pain-free life. But I'm glad that God offers a home in Heaven (where there is NO pain) to EVERY person who loves Him and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

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today's song: "Rise Up" by Third Day

You've wrestled demons every day
And they've dragged you to your knees
But in your weakness you will learn to find
That I will always be your strength
. . .
Rise up, my friend
And live again.
. . .
Nothing can keep you from the love of God.

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today's verse: I Samuel 2:2
"No one is holy like the Lord,
For there is none besides You
Nor is there any rock like our God."

saturday's stuff

Saturdays are usually so off-schedule that I end up fighting a headache by the time breakfast is over. Today was really no different, but there were several good points.

Seth's occupational therapist is on vacation, so Seth went to the substitute today instead of Wednesday. Therapy is always fun for Seth no matter who the therapist is, and I got to read for an hour without hearing any crying or fighting.

Jason's friend found a website that calculates how many calories we can eat and still lose weight consistently. I put in all my statistics and found that I could eat barely enough to keep from hearing my stomach growl out loud if I want to lose weight. I guess I might be exaggerating just a little. I'm thankful that I get to eat every single day and that I really don't know true hunger.

Now that the kids are in school, we don't have a whole lot of time to play cards or board games. Even when they're home, they usually prefer to play video games. But today, Makenzie and I played "Mall Madness" (one of her Christmas gifts); Joel and I played several hands of cards; Luke and I played two board games; and then Joel and I played "Outburst" (one of my favorite games) for almost an hour. It was a GREAT day for games!

Seth almost fell asleep in his pizza tonight, so he went to bed before the older boys. Luke was too distracted to do his stretching correctly for more than a few seconds, I think:


Joel might be a huge almost-eleven-year-old boy, but he still likes to look at (I won't say "play with" since he's NOT a little kid anymore) his stuffed animals now and then:

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today's song "You Overwhelm Me" by Sarah Kelly
You overwhelm me -- Your goodness, Your kindness.
You overwhelm me -- Your faithfulness, Your mercy.
Even in the morning I'll praise You,
I will put my hop in You.

Fridays are FUNdays!

Today's been CRAZY busy!!! Mornings are crazy every school day, but this morning was a little more crazy because Seth woke up before the other three even came up to breakfast. Usually he sleeps until they leave for school, which is MUCH more convenient. It was fun for him to have breakfast with the family for once, though.

After all of the morning routine, we went to H2Oasis (water park) with Aunt Amanda, Gavin, and Makayla. Gavin's liking it there more every time we go, and Seth LOVES playing in the water. Today there was even another mom and toddler from church, which was nice since I'm supposed to be making this a monthly moms/toddlers church get-together. I haven't done a good job of advertising this event, so it's usually just the Hofackers and Nelsons. We have fun, though!

When we got home from swimming, I had about 45 minutes to get Seth and me both bathed, dressed, and fed before getting to my ASL class. WE MADE IT! I can hardly believe it. I wasn't even late! And we were both chlorine-free and pretty normal looking.

Joel didn't have wrestling practice today, so I got to have all four of my angels after school. After homework and dinner preparations, Joel and I played a few hands of cards. I was beating his socks off in our little ongoing tournament. He didn't like that too much, but he has gotten SO much better about being a good sport (at least when he's playing with just me).

We had fun food again (pizza rolls and nachos) with a movie for dinner. Then each child got to pick a game for all of us to play together. That never has quite worked out well for us yet. I'm hoping that someday we'll be able to actually enjoy family fun night instead of having to rename it family fight night.

Now Seth is in bed because he climbed up on my lap and said and signed "sleep."


Joel is eating popcorn while watching "Night at the Museum 2" . . .


with Luke . . .


and Makenzie (and Jason in a sleeping bag on the floor in front of Makenzie).


This is a three-day weekend, so we should have lots more family fun to share each night :-)

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today's song: "Carry You" by Amy Grant
Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, My child

I can walk on water and calm a restless sea
I've done a thousand things you've never done
I'm weary watchin' while you struggle on your own
Call My name, I'll come

Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, My child

I give vision to the blind; I can raise the dead
I've seen the darker side of Hell and I returned
I see those sleepless nights and I count every tear you cry
I know some lessons hurt to learn

Lay down your burden, I will carry you
I will carry you, My child

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today's verse: Ephesians 4:29
NewKingJamesVersion -- "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearer."
EasytoReadVersion -- "When you talk, don't say any bad things. But say things that people need -- things that will help other people become stronger. Then the things you say will help the people who listen to you."

(I know I put that same verse up yesterday, but I did not succeed at ALL in obeying it tonight when my kids were being rotten to each other, so I needed the reminder.)

70's boy & "13 Reasons Why"

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Seth loves getting into the drawer in the bathroom that is full of hair stuff. He cracks me up!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I finished reading the book "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher. My Aunt Linda suggested I read this book, so I drove out to the Eagle River library and got it last week. This is the kind of book that all at the same time I'm so glad I read but brings with it the awareness of a heavy responsibility. The book is about a teenage girl who committed suicide. Before she swallowed the pills, she recorded cassette tapes to be given to the 13 people whose words and actions led to her final decision. Some of the 13 did horrible things on purpose, but several of them didn't mean to hurt this girl at all. The "moral of the story," of course, is that we NEVER know how our words and actions are going to affect other people. Sometimes people aren't affected at all, but sometimes what we say and do can either encourage or destroy other people. I'm thankful that my aunt recommended this book because I needed the reminder to be positive and encouraging to every human being that I come in contact with and to pay attention to the people around me, looking for signs of need or even distress. There have been times of need and distress in my own life, times I really could have used some help or at least a word of encouragement. Sometimes I received that help or encouragement, but most of the time people are too busy to notice. There have even been a few times when people knew there was a need and chose to ignore it. Maybe the only reason I and many other people don't do what this teenage girl did is that God is preventing our destruction. The responsibility has always been on every person to notice and help, but reading this book makes us aware of that responsibility. I really don't believe in "coincidence" -- I believe that God has orchestrated situations, putting people in certain places at certain times for His certain purpose. I'm hoping that now I'll recognize that concept and succeed in my part in His plans.

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today's song: "Show me Your Glory" by Third Day

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today's verse: Ephesians 4:29
NewKingJamesVersion -- "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearer."
EasytoReadVersion -- "When you talk, don't say any bad things. But say things that people need -- things that will help other people become stronger. Then the things you say will help the people who listen to you."

after school

Would you like to know what the Hofacker family does after school each day? I'm not sure if you can handle this much excitement, but I guess I'll share:

Luke gets a snack before doing his homework.


Seth watches "Blue's Clues" on our giant tv that we are still all amazed by.


Makenzie occupies herself downstairs until dinner. Today, she's doing math word problems in a new workbook I got her.


Joel's at wrestling practice. This picture is so cute -- he was only five. He's twice the age and twice the size now, but still a cutie.

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today's song & verses: "Waters Gone By" by Shawn Lewis (Glory Revealed album) from Job 11:13 - 20

If you put away the sin in your hand
And allow no evil to dwell
If you devote your heart
And stretch out your hands to him,

You will lift up your face without shame
You will firmly stand with no fear inside
You will surely forget your troubles and pain
Recalling them only as waters gone by.

back to the lampshade

I've been working on my lampshade again while "watching" movies or "Gray's Anatomy." I don't get to work on it tonight, though, because I ran out of some of the beads. I'm going to restock tomorrow :-) I am 2/3 of the way finished now:

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today's song: "Keep my Mind" by Margaret Becker (if you watch the video that is linked to that title, please ignore the definite 90's - ish - ness and hear the message)

Keep my mind on higher things.
Keep my mind on You.

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today's verse: Hebrews 4:16
"Let us therefore [the verse before this one talks about how Jesus is our "high priest" and has been tempted just like we are tempted, but He never sinned] come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Christmas jewelry

I really have nothing worth blogging about today, so I'm sharing pictures of the jewelry I received for Christmas:

not a very good picture of the beautiful silver/amethyst earrings from Two Fish Galleries:


silver/abalone earrings also from Two Fish Galleries (to match my ring, necklace, bracelet, and watch):


multicolored bead necklace from Premier Jewelry:


and a hand-made (not by me, though) silver/bead bracelet:


I want to learn how to make that bracelet! I haven't sat down and examined it, although I have worn it several times. After I got this bracelet, I started copying the loop on the right side on my beadwork. I like it better than a silver o-ring. Riveting information in this last paragraph, I know :-)

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today's song: "The Words I Would Say" by Sidewalk Prophets

Be strong in the Lord
Never give up hope
You're gonna do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you,
So don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray.

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today's verse: John 3:16
God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish (go to Hell) but have eternal life (in Heaven).

day 10 of 2010

We had a GREAT day in church today! Jamey Ragle spoke both this morning and this evening, and he was both hilarious and challenging. This morning he reminded us all that Hell is real, it's forever, and it's horrible. We don't want to go there, and we don't want anyone else to go there, either. And no one HAS to go there. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God the Father raised Jesus (God the Son) from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). Every single human being has sinned (Romans 3:23), and the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Then tonight Jamey talked about choices and how some choices don't really matter, but some affect the rest of our lives -- so THINK before making choices, and examine the cost of choices. His funniest joke (in my opinion) was describing himself in a bathing suit as looking like a busted can of biscuits! I couldn't stop chuckling at that one.

This afternoon, Joel fixed a gift box that he got from Uncle Richard:


He wants me to find a place to keep it where it will be in a place of decoration for all the family to enjoy. I'm still looking :-)

I finished reading one of my Christmas gift books today: "The Lumby Lines" by Gail Fraser. It was quite interesting, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! It is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and outsiders are pretty much not welcome. Some outsiders moved to town and bought property, but were not welcomed until the husband helped save a teenager's life in a boating accident. The whole story and setting of the book is relaxing, interesting, nice. I asked for this series of books because they seemed to resemble the Mitford series, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and will definitely read again someday. While I wait for the second book in the series to arrive from Amazon.com, I'm reading a book from the library -- crazy, I know, when I have a whole stack of books to read right here in my house.

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today's song: "Take my Life" by Third Day

Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
To give it away to you, Jesus.

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today's verse: Judges 2:11 - 18
The nation of Israel kept forgetting that Yahweh is the only real God and what He had done for them. They kept getting involved with idol worship, which angered God. He allowed other nations to afflict the Israelites. "Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them . . . for the Lord was moved with pity by their groaning . . ."