The Parable

I saw this on a friends FB page and thought I would share it. :)


Dinner with the President, a parable.....

Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor.

I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner.

The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen.

"Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry."

"I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp.

"And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President.

I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite.

"Eric's children are also quite hungry."

With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room.

"And their grandmother can't stand for long."

I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President.

"Their grandfather doesn't like the cold."

I wanted to shout, 'That was my coat! " But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home.
Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him.

"Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a sub-prime mortgage. I told them they could have your home.. They need it more than you do."

My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops.

"By the way," He added, "I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business, I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars."

I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his Crème Brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me as I clung to the edge of the table as if it were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss.

I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us.

What had I done wrong?

As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands.

"You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said.



Writer unknown at this time

Well I have been busy lately so not much blogging has gone on here. :)
Here are pictures of what the garden currently looks like. I *never* expected it to do so well! In the past we have not had much luck with gardening. Seriously, I can barely even get in the garden any more, it has gotten so big and crowded. I just walk right over the watermelon plants but they don;t seem to mind.

Baby Dresses !

Hello everyone! This is what I have been up to lately.
I have been making little girls dresses to sell. I have made 8 so far.
I am now excepting custom orders, so let me know if you need something in particular.
There is also now a Miss Lady Ma'ams Closet Etsy shop ! You can see it Here

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Americana-Cutie SZ 12 months

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Classic Blue SZ 12 months



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Cotton-Candy Hand Embroidery



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American Flag with Ruffles

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Cotton-Candy with Pin tucks and Hand Embroidery SZ 12 months



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Burgundy and khaki ruffles

Apple Crisp

The only things I changed is the pan size and the nuts. I rolled the pecans in butter, cinnamon and sugar then toasted them in the oven for about 12 minutes.
Below is the recipe I used.

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds tart apples
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup rolled oats
* 4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation:
Peel, core and chop the apples; toss in a bowl with lemon juice. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; add to the apples and toss to combine.

In another bowl combine flour, sugar and oats. Cut butter into 8 small pieces, and cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly. Stir in the chopped nuts.

Butter a 9-inch square baking dish. Spread apple mixture in bottom of baking dish then sprinkle with flour mixture. Bake at 375° for 30 to 45 minutes, or until apples are tender and topping is lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream or a little heavy cream, if desired.

Sunflowers

How does your garden grow ?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

I have no clue what made me think of that, but I started saying that old rhyme as I was taking these pictures :)

I am getting excited thinking of all the recipes and food I will be able to make and store up. Being as I have over 20 tomato plants I will hopefully be making a lot of pasta sauce, Salsa, and stewed tomatoes for adding to recipes later.
If you have any recipes that use a lot of tomato I would love it if you would share! ;-)


These are yellow zucchini. I am really liking the way the plant looks. It's kinda got a white variegated pattern on the leaf.




Tomatoes


These are squash plants the mom bought and then gave to me.


Lemon Basil and marigolds to help keep out the bugs.



This is one of the red sunflowers. am still just thrilled to see what the blooms will look like.



Squash. As you can tell weeds don't really bother me all that much :)


Cucumbers. I just added the trellis thing for them to climb on today so they aren't looking their best in this picture.



More surprise sprout-lings ! I found them growing the the side of our yard. They are either watermelons or bird nest gourds. I am hoping for watermelons, we had gourds grow in our yard freewill several years ago and they took over a huge part of the yard. One good thing about them though is they would get the loveliest white blooms the size of your hand that would only bloom while it was dark. Big night hawk moths were all over the place.

Honey & Jam

Here is a really good cooking blog I found recently.
She takes lovely pictures and her recipes are to die for !

Honey & Jam

Here is her recipe for Oatmeal Cream Pies :) Soo good.


Enjoy !

Free Classic Audio books

I have been trying to find some affordable classic audio books for Collin and Ashley to listen to and I came across this site ! I was so excited :D

LibriVox

There are about 50 pages of titles but here are just a few ;-)


A Little Princess
The last of the Mohicans
The Red Badge of Courage
Robinson Crusoe
Bleak house
Don Quixote
Manalive
The hound of the Baskerville's
The Count of Monte Cristo
Captains courageous By Kipling
The Red House mystery
The tragedy of Macbeth
Crime and Punishment
The Black Arrow
Kidnapped
Twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Freckles
Sir Gawain and the green Knight



I did say just a few right ? Right.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I made these the other day and they were simply to die for ! I can't wait to make more and I think I might even change it up to be blueberry. But I loved the strawberry. So, I think I will have to make both. ;-)





2 cups all -purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 baking soda
6 tablespoons butter. Chilled , cut up
1 cup chopped strawberries
3/4 cup plus 2 table spoons buttermilk
1 egg
1 pkg. cream cheese cut into pieces

1. Heat oven to 400. Grease bottoms of of muffin tins. In a medium bowl stir together flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, baking powder and baking soda. With pastry blender or two knifes, cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in strawberry's.



2. In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg until blended.
Gently stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until combined.
Divide evenly among muffin tins. Dip cream cheese pieces in 2 tablespoons of sugar; place in the center of each muffin. Press cream cheese to be level with batter. (Do not cover cream cheese with batter) Sprinkle muffins with remaining sugar.





3. Bake 20 to 25 or until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in to the center comes out clean. ( Do not put tooth pick in cream cheese !) Cool on wire rack 10 min. Remove from pan ; serve warm or at room temp. Store in refrigerator.



Per Muffin :
235 calories
9.5 g protein
34 g Carbohydrates
40 mg cholesterol
155 mg sodium
1 g fiber

Tortilla Soup

I could probably live of this soup for a month ~ It is just soo good ! It has cilantro so that automatically means I love it. Oh and if you add lime juice... ;-)


------------Tortilla Soup--------------------------------
From the kitchen of: Tiffany Hebert

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 onion, chopped
3 jalapeno pepper, chopped, with or without seeds
1 bunch green onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 6lb, 6 oz can whole tomatoes, blended until no large pieces remain, with juice
4-5 cups cooked chicken, chopped
shredded cheese, to serve
sour cream, to serve
lime, to serve
avocado, diced, to serve

Directions: Heat oil in large pot; add bell pepper, onions, jalapeño, cilantro and garlic. Sauté until very soft. Meanwhile blend tomatoes in blender, or with stick blender, until no large pieces remain. Add tomatoes and spices to pot; bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 30 minutes. Serve hot.

$50 Rivers & Co. Gift certificate contest !

My Brother has started a new business making custom and pre-made jewelry.
He has been doing this for almost 3 years now and really enjoys it !

It's all high quality materials, he uses precious and semi-precious stones.

http://riversandco.blogspot.com/

He is giving away a $ 50 gift certificate to Rivers & Co. on June 1st.
I wanted to let you know so you can come enter to win !

The rules say 1 entry per person.
If you post about it on your blog you get to enter twice. ( Please include link)
If you twitter about it you can enter 3 times :)
(Please include user name)

A cheaper cup of Coffee

I thought this was just too funny !

Calves

Here are the two calf's we had born this week.



The red one is a boy and the dark one is a girl.
We named the boy "Profit" and the girl "Pansy" :)
I am so glad we got a girl this year, the last 4 have been boys !

P.S. You can tell she is a girl by her long eye lashes ;-)

Hope Chest find !

I found these plates at Ikea last night.



Best part ? They were 49 cents a piece ! When I got home I looked up the original price online and it was 2.99 a plate !
I bought 6 dinner plates and 4 salad plates.I was thrilled to get such a great deal. I need to remember more often to look for things to put in my hope chest now.

Two Videos

I found this first video astounding ! Although I have heard this before now the facts are just laid out so well in this video.



A sad recap of the last 100 days.

A watched pot won't boil

Nor will a watched garden grow. Okay, it still grows but it's just torture to wait! It's best to just distract yourself. I was not very good at that and I checked twice a day to see if anything had shown up yet. Yesterday after a whole 5 days :-0 things started sprouting.

The sunflowers were first.



Then the Cucumbers





Then this thing. I think it's a squash but it's in the wrong spot. So it will just have to be a surprise later on I guess :)

How *not* to dry clothing...

Apparently the answer to that question is not in the dryer. :-/
This is the second piece of clothing in two weeks that has shrunk in our dryer. Both had to be new to me of course.
Fortunately this last one is still wearable, but the first one is just about hopeless.

I think I have come to the conclusion that if not all, at least our dryer is out to get me. ( Simplest answer ) I already know that it eats socks !!! ;-)

So that is my current stand about how I feel about laundry at the moment. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and the dryer and I will forgive each other.

Cute Cupcakes !

I made Chocolate Cupcakes last night and this morning Ashley decorated a few of them with a cake decorating set she got a while back. Aren't they just too cute ?!?

Pretty Pink roses....



She did a really good job on these I think ! We learned how to make roses last year when Kate was working at a Bakery and I helped with Cooking classes. You first put a gumdrop on a tooth pick and then ice petals onto it. you then take the gumdrop and put it on the cake or whatever it is you are making. :)

Garden

I have finally decided that yes I am going to try and do a vegetable garden this year. I have not personally done a garden in a few years although Mom has done one almost every year.
It's roughly 10' by 15'so it's a small one. It is by our pond so it will get plenty on sun, the soil is also very sandy so I will need to make sure it doesn't dry out. I pulled out seeds today ( I am late I know ! )
to figure out what I want to plant and here are a few I decided on.

Yellow Squash
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Sunflowers
Cantaloupe

I might do a few flowers as well but I need to get the vegetable seeds in the ground first.

What Grandpa's are for

Last week when Jack was over he got to go on one of his first tractor rides.
He LOVES anything with a steering wheel ! So when Papa let him play on the tractor he was thrilled. You should have heard all the little boy noises that he was making! lol
Even better was Dad let him play with the lever that raises and lowers the bucket on the front of the tractor. The look in his eyes when Jack realized HE was making it move was just pure awe.

Dragonfly Wings

Here are some pictures that I took a few months back of a dragonfly that I found by our pond.
I was experimenting with the settings on y camera and these are some of the best that I came up with.
I mainly was playing with adjusting the exposure down a bit.

PETA is killing animals now ?

I couldn't believe it when I first heard about this. Not because I think that it is so wrong to put an animal down but because of the hypocrisy of PETA telling people they should not and then doing the exact same thing them selves.


http://consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/3859

God vs. Science

I found this on one of the blogs I read, Generation Cedar.
I thought it was so good I had to pass it on. :) It amazes me at times how people will doubt that god is good. This story is so simple and and makes a lot of sense !


GOD vs. Science

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "Let me explain the problem science has with religion."

The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."
The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you20answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Er...yes," the student says.
"Is Satan good?"
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From God."

"That's right.. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"

"Yes."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer.
"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Uglines s? All these terrible things, do they exist in this
world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."
"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

At the back of the room another student stands quietly for a moment before asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called
'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."

"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

"What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word."

"In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."

"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean."

The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir."

"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evi l. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

Timothy Seaman on the Hammered Dulcimer

Katie and I got to see Timothy Seaman play while we were on vacation in VA. It was amazing! I had never heard or seen a hammered dulcimer played before so it was a completely new experience. The friend we went with was also a musician and he talked to Mr. Seaman for a while. It was great to hear him tell about where he gets the inspiration and creativity for his songs.

http://www.timothyseaman.com/

This is one of my favorite songs he plays. He also does Scarborough fair which sounds wonderful. :)

Behemoth

Behemoth is a website done by Vision Forum. Best description of it I can think of would be to call it a Christian copy of iTunes. They have music, movies, sermons, teaching and Audio books.
Some times they will have a free item of the day. This week I was able to get " Ten P's in a pod : The million mile journey of the Pent family " I read the book last year and thought the other kids would enjoy it as well. Just thought I would share a good site. :) That and the name is just fun to say. :P

http://behemoth.com/

Photo Highlights

Here are some of the photo highlights from our trip to VA. Most of these are from Colonial Williamsburg.




This is in the entryway of the governors palace. There are well over a hundred arms in the entryway alone. There were several different kinds of swords done in different cross-over designs hanging on the wall.



This is at the spinner/ weaver/ dyers in CW. This woman was so much fun to listen to ! I learned a lot about the different colors, and the dyes used to get them. What color you wore would have been a sign of rank because some colors were much more expensive then others. She told us that purples fade within 2 years or so, dark blue was very expensive and how most of the dyes from that time came from South America. If you ever visit CW this shop is a must see !



This is my dream house ! Isn't it lovely ? The red shutters are just so pretty. :)
It's on a corner and there is a lamp post and a little stream in the side yard.
Every time I saw it I would take another picture :D





This was a well dressed couple we saw in front of the capitol. They were practicing for Revolutionary city. The mans coat was green to gold changeable silk, with gold braid and sparkly buttons. You could see him from quite a ways off ! lol



Myself posing on the back of the carriage. Funny story with this picture. I sat on the little seat/ bar they have for the footman to stand on. I sat down and took my feet off the ground right as the horses took a few steps backwards. It scared me so bad ! Tiffany and Katelyn were laughing so hard. We didn't even get a picture and I had to get on it again. :P



Katelyn managing to not fall off while getting her picture taken. :D



Snow around the glass covers in the garden in Colonial Williamsburg.



James B., Natalie and I posing with Mr. Jefferson. :)




This was in one of the gift shops and I thought it was just to funny !