A - Z of Me!

I saw this on Caroline's blog, The Joyful Keeper, and seeing as my own inspiration has gone AWOL, I thought I'd steal her idea.

This is the A - Z of Me!

A - Age: 46

B - Bed size: Actual: King Size. Preferred: Double giant King Henry VIII size. Yep, you guessed it ... I like space when I'm sleeping. 

C - Chore you hate: Just one? Oh, okay then. Cleaning the bathrooms.

D - Drink of choice: Tea. Plain ol' tea. With cake.

E - Essential start to your day item: The Builder comes to me every morning with a mug of hot water. That's what begins my day.

F - Favorite color: That's easy. Blue. And blue always looks especially good when joined by red and white.

G - Gold or Silver: Gold. My wedding and engagement rings are yellow gold, but I do like white gold too.

H - Height: You're having a laugh. My height simply is not. When one can't even put half an inch after five foot, then height is not something one talks of.

I - Instruments you play(ed): In my dreams, it's the piano.

J - Job: Job? Playing mum to four, wife to one. Oh, and mum to a mutt too.

K - Kids: Four. Y'all know them by now. I have:

Two boys. They're ten years apart, and having Calum is like living a replay of DR. They are so alike in so many ways.

And then I have two gorgeous girls. Do you know that both my daughters were born on Mother's Day? Who can claim to have ever been given better Mother's Day gifts than this?

Oh, okay. I also have Jackson, who takes up similar amounts of time and energy as the other four.

L - Living arrangements: In our home, built by the Builder, but provided by our God.

This was taken on a January morning last year. This year, so far, we haven't seen a flake of snow.

M - Mom’s name: Catherine.

N - Nicknames: Ummm, none, though the Builder has lots of names for me. I'd tell you some of them, but it may just ruin his reputation.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Until I had Calum, I'd never been in hospital other than one night when DR was born. After Calum was born, I spent three weeks in hospital.You can read of something of what I experienced the day Calum was born here.

P - Pet Peeve: Oh, I'm not the type of person to get annoyed at anything.

Did you believe that? Or did that last statement cause you to almost choke on your drink? 

I get seriously peeved with badly behaved kids whose parents do nothing to better their behaviour.

I get seriously peeved with our bloomin' politicians, who seem set on poking around blindly for answers to countless social ills, listening to every fad and fashion, instead of using the common sense they'd find in Scripture.

I get peeved when people moan about the weather.

You get the picture?

Q - Quote from a movie: "Mrs Bennet, life holds few distinctions, but I do believe that here we have three of the silliest girls in England.

Of course, in our frequent quoting of the above, we change the 'three' to 'two', and the 'England' to 'Scotland'.

Such fun!

R - Right or left handed: Right.

S - Siblings: One brother, who is older than I am, but looks years younger, and one sister, who is younger than I am, and who, well, looks it.

T - Time you wake up: Pass

U- Underwear: Erm ... what about it? All I can say is that they're bought in M&S. Always.

V - Vegetable you dislike: Courgette (across the Pond, they're called Zucchini). I often make courgette soup, which is nice, but courgette as a vegetable. Ooooh, they're so ... yeugh (I know - I mustn't say that for food, and that's two posts in a row in which I've done that. Bad, bad me. But really - for courgette, it's true).

W - What makes you run late: You mean there's another way to live?

X - X-rays you’ve had: None.

Y - Yummy food you make: Well, the Builder loves my Lemon Cake; I love the oatcakes; 

DR loves 

these, 

Catherine would go for Lamb Chops in any shape or form, 

and Katie makes my favourite: Victoria Sponge.

We do kinda like our food in this house.

Z - Zoo favorite: Oh, I haven't visited a zoo since I was a wee very young girl. DR and Catherine visited Toronto Zoo last summer and loved it.

Me just now to DR: "DR, what was your favourite animal in Toronto Zoo last year?"

DR: "Oh, that's a good question.... The Rhinos were pretty cool. The jaguars too. Oh ... the Lions, definitely the White Lions."


So there you go. Twenty-six useless pieces of information.

Bet y'all were dying to know these things.

Patrice and her Porch

I'm with Patrice again, on her porch. Head over to Everyday Ruralty and read some more from the chatting ladies. Here are Patrice's questions for this week:

1. Do you eat eggs? What is your favourite way to serve them?

Patrice, I do not like eggs at all. I mustn't use the word Bleugh for food, but really and truly.... Eggs = bleugh!

Egg Mayonnaise sandwiches - Seriously?!

Boiled eggs? Fried eggs? Nooooooo!

The only way I will eat eggs is when they're baked with flour and some other ingredients. If the eggs are part of 

Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies,

or

in the meringue of Baked Alaska, 

or

in Lemon Loaves.

Ohhhh yes, I'll eat eggs in these forms. But eggs as eggs? Nope. 

Thank you.

2. Do you have a favourite item that you really like having around? (a pillow, a chair, a sweater, a teddy bear etc)

Ummmm ... I don't think so. Mind you, our American friends gave me a blanket wrap for Christmas. It's the coziest thing I have ever used. When I go up to the Lounge at lunch time for my quiet time, I wrap it around me, and it truly feels like it's heated.

Thank you guys!


3. Is  most of the furniture in your home dark wood, light wood, painted, lacquered, or distressed?

In the Lounge, it's mostly  dark wood. Almost all of that furniture has either been in our home since we were married, or has been given to us by others.

You can't really see a lot of the furniture here, but the framed pictures on the wall give an idea of the colour of the furniture.

In the Family Room, though, the furniture is pine.

This is our slouchy room, where we kick of our shoes, put our feet up, 

and it's where Jackson loves to gaze out longingly at the world outside.

4. Please fill in the rest of this sentence. "I could write a book about ____________ "

I could probably write a book about beginning projects which remain unfinished. But of course, the book would be begun and not completed, so you'd never get to see it.

I could almost certainly write a book on the number of times I 'speak' to a person in my mind, but don't actually pick up the phone to call them.

But I'd probably be best at a book that was specifically designed to appeal to any who may wish to read the ramblings of a home-schooling, island-living, kid-loving, somewhat-disjointed mother of four blessings.


5. If money and calender/family obligations weren't an issue, would you prefer to spend next weekend at a Bed and Breakfast, a posh hotel, a cabin in the woods, or on a sailboat on a calm body of water? I guess the last thing - the sailboat - would have to be someplace warm :) (It's 30+ degrees here).

My choice would definitely be a cabin in the woods. Total peace and quite. A log fire (Are they safe in a log cabin in the woods? I have visions of something going awry, and realizing that that log fire would have a whole lot of fuel right on its doorstep. Oh, not a nice thought... But I'm still sticking with the cabin in the woods.)

You offering, Patrice?

Last Week's Facebook ... And Other Stuff

Over the past week, these are some of the photos and comments I've had on the Homeschool on the Croft Facebook Page. If you don't have Facebook, I don't want you to miss out, so I share some of them here.

I shared this from a link DR had put on his own Facebook page.

How many of you can relate to it?

*      *      *

I was so glad to see this on a number of Facebook Pages. Our children will be Godly only when God works in their hearts. Making them 'godly' is not our job. Thankfully.

Being the Godly parents this picture speaks of is our responsibility. 

Ouch. That truly convicts.

*      *      *

The Wee Guy found this hilarious, and has told everyone he's met this story.

*      *      *

This photo was from an older blog post, but I re-posted my recipe for Scottish Oatcakes on Tuesday.

*       *      *

I posted this on Friday. It may be slightly amusing, but it is true.

The Builder phoned me yesterday around lunch time.

Builder: "I am SO glad I married you ..."

Me: contented sigh

Builder: "You make an amazing Lemon Cake."

Aye, I suppose I have my uses then ...

*      *      *

On Saturday evening I posted this photo. There was a slight aurora, as you can see, but I really wished I could show you the awesomeness of the sky all around us. No wonder the psalmist said in Psalm 8, 'When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained ... What is man, that thou art mindful of him?'

Yes, David. That is just what makes me wonder when I, in awe, consider the vastness and beauty of the stars.

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: Amos 5: 8

*      *      *

And on Saturday, I posted this photo, taken (of course) from my Family Room window. The Wee Guy is in the bright yellow Hi-viz jacket, and himself, his cousin, his auntie and Big Brother are ... are ... erm ... "Calum! What were you doing on Saturday with the sheep?"

Calum: "We were piercing their ears..."

Oh. That seems reasonable. They're girls after all.

*      *      *

And now, the tone of this post is going to change. Big style. Do you know that since I began posting last Monday - that's a week ago, this has happened:

* each day, 125,000 unborn children have been taken from their mother's womb. In a week, that amounts 875,000 babies who will never have the opportunity to learn to count and to read, who will never sit with their siblings watching TV, who will never receive one hug or one kiss. 

Over three-quarters of a million babies will never have the opportunity to learn a trade, to marry or to have children of their own.

* of these 875,000 babies, over 20,000 of them would have grown up to be American. Twenty thousand ... just in one week. They will never sit round a campfire, or fly the flag, or play baseball.

The same thing has happened in my own nation over the past week too. And today, I wonder how I can live my own life, and barely give these children a thought.

I think it's because it's too much.

The numbers are too huge. It almost doesn't seem real. Like the figures in budget deficits, they seem incomprehensible. They are figures on a page. Surely they can't be representative of real, live human beings?

The sorrow is too great. I can't look at these numbers, accept the statistics, or read the facts without ending up in tears. I just cannot take it. It's agony for me. I have carried four of these precious bundles myself. I felt them move, learned of their different stages. I saw them on ultrasounds, and loved them before I ever met them. These are babies! Real, live children. And they are being torn from their mothers' wombs, and I can't bear it.

I want to put my arms around every one of these young mums who are making the decision to terminate the life of their child. I want to hug them and love them into changing their minds. I want it to stop. But I feel utterly helpless and hopeless. I want to tell them how much they will love this child once he or she is born. 

I wish I felt the same love towards our leaders who allow this to happen, but right now I feel anger towards them. I pray for a spirit of prayer for them. I do pray that God would have mercy on them, but I feel anger too. 

The problem seems too huge to be able to do anything of any worth. I pray. I weep. I try to talk to my kids, but I weep when I talk. I pray, weeping, that God would give them grace to DO what I haven't done.

And I don't even know what to do. But now, at this stage, all I know is that I must do something. I pray that God would show me what to do. I hardly know what to do. It seems easier to do nothing. I hardly know what to feel. It seems easier not to feel anything ... it's less painful.

And do you know that since you began reading this blog post, another seven hundred unborn children have lost their lives? It really is simply incomprehensible. 

Oh Lord, have mercy ...

Oatmeal

It is said that the 18th century writer, Samuel Johnson, disparagingly wrote of oatmeal that, 'In England it is used to feed the horses; but in Scotland it is used to feed the people'.

Apparently, the retort, 'Yes, and where do you find such fine horses ... and such fine men?' was given by Lord Elibank.

Well, I am happy to acknowledge the quality of the English horses, but I can give y'all full assurance that Scotland has the best of men.

Just sayin'.

I guess most people think of porridge when they think of oatmeal. My own fine Scottish man, aka the Builder, 

... that's him there, 

and here, 

and, er, here... has porridge every morning.

However, my preferred us for oatmeal is making oatcakes. For those of you who don't know what oatcakes are, they are really biscuits rather than cakes.   

Here they are made, and my favoured way to eat them is with butter (lots of it!) and cheese.

6 oz marg
2 oz light brown sugar
1 egg
10 oz oatmeal
6 oz self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda


Beat butter, sugar and egg.

Add flour, bicarbonate and salt along with the oatmeal. Mix.

Roll out on oatmeal.

Cut into rounds or squares and place on baking tray.

Bake at 170 C for 20 mins.

See, I roll it out on oatmeal, rather than on flour. I love the crunchiness this gives the oatcakes when they're baked.

They are so easy to make, and so delicious to eat. They also keep well in the freezer.

So, Mr Johnson, you Sasannaich may have fed your oats to your horses, but we made much better use of the grain.

Boxing Day Walk in Harris

Boxing Day is traditionally the day the Builder and his brothers, aka Big Brother and Baby Brother, go trekking in some part of the island. This year, one of his sisters and some of our combined offspring joined them on a walk in Harris - actually only two of the offspring went - Katie and Daniel. Aye, ye're a hardy pair!

Those of you who've seen some of my older posts, will know that the terrain in Harris is very different from the landscape in Lewis. 

The day was very misty, but the Builder and Katie said that had the day been sunny, the views would have been incredible.

With Harris, that's easy to believe.

They didn't have a lot of rain during their walk, but the previous week had seen a fair amount of precipitation. There were some amazing waterfalls, but our photographer took very few photos, it being such a hassle taking the camera out of inner pockets.

(I feel the same way when I go on my many, strenuous walks. That's why y'all seldom see photos from the aforementioned strenuous walks.)

Yeah. Whatever.

The first part of the walk had a path, making the journey a whole lot easier. Here, the troops have rallied to have a cuppa - see them sheltering in front of that rockface.

Even with heavy mist, I think Harris is stunning. 

More awesome than bonny. Stunning rather than pretty.

Does anyone else agree with me?

Here's Baby Brother helping Katie across the river. This was the point at which they pretty much gave up on keeping their feet dry.

(Laurie, do you recognize Katie's footwear?!)

Yep, great fun was had by all.

On Patrice's Porch, and on Luskentyre Beach

Well, I was in the process of writing a post on some of my favourite Scripture texts of 2012, when Patrice got her crowd together for her Porch Chat. I couldn't resist joining them, even though we're most certainly sitting inside, rather than out on the porch.

Here are Patrice's questions for today's chat:

1. Do you make New Year resolutions?

I'm not sure if you'd call them 'resolutions', but I do sit myself down and have an 'appraisal' of the previous year. Looking back at how my previous year has gone normally gives me the incentive to make 'resolutions' or at least to set new goals or think about new ways of doing things. 

Because I'm homeschooling, there are always areas to assess, to re-evaluate, and to change. This year is no different.


2. What do you hope to accomplish this year?

Oh, that's difficult to answer - maybe especially because going public on my aims makes me very accountable .... I'm not sure I could cope with that kind of pressure! 

I really do want to find some way of inspiring certain members of our family, so that they can make the most of the gifts and talents God has given them.... whilst at the same time, keeping myself inspired.

Phew! I'm exhausted just thinking about that!


3. Tell me about your favourite place to think, create or just relax.

I normally go and sit in our lounge when the kids are having their break after lunch. It is a very peaceful room, it is always tidy (shocking for our house!), and the kids know that they must not disturb me unless they are bleeding to death or the house is on fire....

I have my Quiet Time during this hour, and what I've learned over the past few months (when I missed this time often) is that I need this hour, not only for my soul, but for my mind too. 


4. Are you a fan of old movies? (Like the ones that were originally black and white)

I can't say I am, Patrice. You wont judge me, will you ;)


5. Tell me something that made you happy since our last porch visit. 

Oh, lots of things! Over Christmas, we had some American visitors staying. These were friends our own kids had made over the summer, when they visited Michigan. It was such a pleasure meeting these friends, and seeing the joy of our kids renewing friendships. Our two older children then went to London for a trip with these American kids (well, someone had to look after them ... ahem). They had an absolute ball! Their enjoyment made me so happy, but I have to be honest ... their return on New Year's Eve made me most happy! Oh the joy of having our whole family under one roof again. 

The day before Christmas, the troops took a drive down to Harris. These are some of the photos the took on Luskentyre Beach.

In the Cemetery

I'm not sure what it says about me that it was today's visit to the graveyard that inspired me to come back to blogging.

My grandmother, whose name I was given, is buried here. She was saved at nineteen. She passed into eternity when she was sixty-five. 

She is buried alongside her beloved husband, my grandfather. I spoke about him in this post. Go and have a read of it.

The verse, in Gaelic, reads:

"Aig Dia 's ro phrìseil bàs a naomh."

Taken from Psalm 116 verse 16, it translates, 'Precious in the sight of God is the death of his saints'.

You can also see on this gravestone that my grandparents lost a son, aged eleven weeks. My mum says that my grandmother never got over this loss. 

How could she? 

He died of pneumonia, a cause of death all too common in the days in which he was an infant. How blessed we are to live in the days of readily available antibiotics. 

Behind their headstone, you can see a grey slate one.

It reads:

"Arise my love, my fair one, and come with me."

These words, from Song of Solomon 2 v13, are the words of Christ, and He is speaking to His beloved people. 

The text of Scripture at the bottom says, "Oir tha fhios agam gu bheil m' fhear-saoraidh beò". 

"For I know that my Redeemer liveth" Job 19v25

And the name on it? Rev Jack Morrison - my grandmother's brother - who passed into glory only nine years ago, only months before his wife also passed to be with her Saviour.

One day, they will rise again. My grandmother will rise again, and just behind her grave, her brother will rise again. They will be resurrected right beside each other, but I believe they will have eyes only for Christ. He will come in all His glory. They will be in possession of their glorified bodies, and their eyes will turn upwards to behold their Beloved.

Oh, to be sure, they will have fellowship with each other in eternity. Surely they will speak of times when, on earth, they spoke of their precious Redeemer. But on that glorious day of the resurrection, I believe it will be 'Christ only'.

And this I found thought-provoking. The cow, oblivious to life and death, and joy and sadness, and beauty and wonder. She simply eats and drinks, and then she'll die.  No soul. No appreciation of the world around her. No praising for the beauty which surrounds her. No thanksgiving for the daily provision of food.

No soul. No Saviour. No need of a Saviour.

Unlike every person who reads this. Christ, the Redeemer, is the greatest need we have.

And He is the greatest joy and the greatest treasure we could ever possess.