A Monday Ramble

Monday came along and I was feeling a bit restless. Spring fever has descended and I wanted to be outside doing something. I had a lot of restless energy so I decided it was time for a ramble. I haven't been back in our woods for quite a while so that was the first place I headed.



On our property you never hike alone. Today Sweetie (the black Lab) and Betsy Ridley (the calico cat) decided to join me. They make pretty good pals except they scare away any wildlife that I "might" have seen. Oh well, the companionship was nice!



When I got back up to the house the chickens were under the steps for the kitchen porch waiting for a hand-out. Our flock has been whittled down over the last couple of years. The local fox population has benefited while our egg production has dwindled. This rooster announced my arrival to the children.



These are the last four puppies. They were so excited to see me! Or were they so excited to see Sweetie their mom? Hmmm... Surely it was me... Don't you think?



Well, my ramble wasn't quite over so instead of heading up those steps, I went to the front yard instead. I passed by the garden fence and noticed how cold this honeysuckle vine looked. Have you ever seen a cold honeysuckle vine? Well, in case you never noticed this is what it looks like. Makes you shiver, doesn't it?



As I passed the front steps and looked up I noticed that the Red Maple tree is starting to bloom. This isn't the best picture of the blossoms, but I think you can get a general idea. They are so beautiful. I will have Emily make a better photograph of them later. Have you visited her webpage yet? She is located at www.behindmylensphotography.com
Please pardon a mother for bragging, but I think that she is quite talented! She recently did a photo shoot for Dixie Hill, her teacher, and those pictures came out awesome! You can find those pictures on Dixie's myspace page.




Well, my ears were starting to hurt because the wind was so cold so I headed back to the house. Another group of chickens were waiting for me next to the front steps and this little rooster made his announcement of my arrival. This rooster's name is Little Bit. He was hatched right here on our farm. Believe it or not, his mama is a Buff Orpington hen.




In the front door I came and there were Emily and Lindsay playing kissey face. In case I haven't previously introduced her, the infant in the picture is Lindsay Jackson, Tyler's little sister. She is Troy and Audrey's baby girl born October 8, 2007. Lindsay has two brothers, Ethan and Tyler and one sister, Heather. She is a very sweet little baby girl who loves kisses and being talked to for hours. Fortunately for her, there is never a shortage of talking in this household! Hahaha!




Before I close this long, rambling post, I wanted to show you our newest great find. We purchased this table and two (2) lamps at Home Depot for about $50. I had looked at them previously when they were priced much higher and decided that I couldn't part with the cash. Jessie and I went to town on Saturday morning to get our taxes figured and ended up with extra time before he had to be at work. So, like usual we ended up at one of our local home improvement warehouses; today the choice was Home Depot. Boy am I gad it was! Isn't it a very pretty table and it goes so well with our sofa and ottoman. I love it when God blesses us with something we don't really need but definitely want! Thank you Lord! And a special thanks to all of you for reading all the way to the end of this rambling post.

Daniil the Triceratops

I am so excited to announce the publication of my newest book as you see above. I wrote this story several years ago as a Christmas gift for Parker-Daniil. Queen Homeschool Supply is the publisher of my books. Sandi Queen has written a corresponding study guide. I hope you will visit her site at Queenhomeschool.com

This is the blurb that Sandi has on her site about the "Daniil the Triceratops" and the companion study guide:

Daniil the Triceratops by Mary E. Woodis
The call has come...the call from the Creator...for some of every living creature to move to the east. What lies there? Why must they go? Why are only a few going?


Join the adventure of young Daniil, a Triceratops
youngster, and his dinosaur friends, as they are called by their Creator, God, to move eastward to an unknown destination - Noah's ark! Along the way, you'll learn simple lessons in faith, trust, obedience, and more through this lively tale from the author of "Oakie of the Oak Tree" and other titles. Through the study guide that corresponds with the book, your child will study various animals, plants, and dinosaurs, as well as doing an in-depth Bible study about Noah's ark and the flood. Suited towards elementary ages.
http://www.queenhomeschool.com/productpages/Daniil_Cover.jpg

Life Lessons

Sometimes the lessons that life brings along are very hard to bear. Recently our family experienced one of these lessons. On the morning of January 26th my dear husband's brother, Harry Woodis, was tragically killed in an automobile accident caused by black ice. This moment in time brought into our lives a series of learning experiences that I am sure our children will never forget.



Our family has experienced death in the past, but never like this. When an older person dies you are usually expecting it and can prepare yourself for the grief. But, when a younger person is killed suddenly and tragically, it is a bit like getting kicked in the stomach. It takes your breath away and leaves you with a pain that doesn't end quickly.

At the ages of 20, 17, and 12 our children are old enough to understand loss and really experience the range of emotions that grief brings. First there was the shock, denial and intense sobbing. Then came the anger and blame casting. Lastly came the acceptance and deep sadness. They also experienced the joy and peace through it all of the assurance that Uncle Harry is now waiting for them in heaven. As Christians we don't experience forever loss, we can look forward to a hope and a future. Instead of Uncle Harry being gone forever, we know that our family circle in heaven just got bigger.

Another lesson they learned was how to give and receive comfort and love during a crisis. This was the second most important lesson. The loving arms that folded us close and the promise of prayers were the most comforting things that we received. Another great help was the meals that were provided. Everything was so overwhelming during that first week that the simple task of planning a meal was just too much.

Many times we received phone calls from concerned people that wanted to help. The question of "What can I say, what can I do to help?" was uttered many times. When faced with such an intense loss most people are at a loss for words; you just don't know what to say. Indeed, there are no words that will alleviate your suffering, only time and the healing touch of the Holy Spirit of God can do that.

The most important lesson that we learned from this tragedy was to draw closer to our Dear Lord for healing and comfort. We learned to rely on Him. He alone can handle our raging, intense grief. Sometimes your heart cry can not find words, but the longing is heard by our Dear Lord. He knows your need before you can put it into words. In the dark of night, when you feel all alone, He is there. When your are at the bottom of the "valley of the shadow of death", He is there. He promised to never leave us and never forsake us and we found this to be true.

This was one of those lessons that you can't learn from a book. Filling in blanks in a work book won't teach this kind of lesson. Learning as a family to support one another and fill in the blanks in our lives that Uncle Harry has left, those are the lessons that we have learned.