Annual Wrapping Paper Tube Battle

Clint had been expecting them to sneak attack him all of December. I gave them the OK on Christmas Eve. The children got their tubes and waited quietly in the den. I innocently asked Clint "Honey, can you come in here and look at something for me?" He walked in, saw the children battle ready, said "UH OH!!" and took off running! Then he came in, gave a rebel yell and dove into the midst of them. He was immediately attacked and I handed him his two weapons in the midst of the already fierce battle. (I look out for him.) He survived the tube battle and will live to fight another year. Emily watched everything with amusement while I held her with her little tube.

Merry Christ-a-must!

This is just beautiful and was sent to us by our dear friend Denise.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christ-a-must to you and yours!

We love all of you and hope your Christmas is one of the best ever!

from The Asbell Family
Clint & Wendy
Brandon, Amanda, Joshua, Caleb, Bethany and Emily
and Nala too! (woof, woof)

As pictured: Brandon 15 holding Emily 5 months, Joshua 8 standing behind Caleb 6, Amanda 13 holding Bethany 4

How to Remove Wallpaper Border without Chemicals or Tools

I just finished doing this and it was so easy, I wanted to share. This wall boarder was installed on a semi-gloss painted wall about 4 years ago. You do not need the scoring tool or the chemicals. Here's what I did.

#1 Searched the internet for tips. Found many, discarded all and went with my own idea, which is usually how I do things.

#2 Peeled the vinyl layer off of the border by pulling evenly and gently. When I got a tear, I stopped and fixed it so I could pull it off together. Removing the vinyl will let the water get to the glue. This vinyl is what the scoring tool pricks holes in so you can get the chemical to the paper and glue layers. Several people and home decorating shows have said this tool is not effective.

#3 I got the paper very wet with hot water. Cold water would work, but might take longer to penetrate and soften the glue. The trick is to get it VERY wet to fully dissolve the glue. Have someone under you with a towel to catch drips. I didn't worry about it since we washed the wall afterwards.

#4 Peel slowly and evenly and it comes off almost whole. I washed over the wall to remove the glue residue. The entire room only took me 20 minutes from start to finish.

My Adonai

Our sermon on Sunday showed us how the scribes who copied the Bible revered God so much they would wash themselves and change their garments before they wrote His name. If they were in the midst of writing God's name, they would not allow anyone to interrupt them, not even the king!

The early Jews had such a reverence for God that they would not publicly pronounce Jehovah (Self-Existent One), the covenant name, for fear of being guilty of speaking it in vain. The Hebrew scribes wrote the name with the vowels excluded as a form of reverence for Him. We aren't even sure Jehovah is correct. The English translation of the Hebrew letters used are JHVH.

Since they would not even pronounce God's covenant name in worship, they used another, Adonai (my Lord, my Master) during Scripture reading. The scribes used the vowels from Adonai between JHVH, which is how Jehovah (aka Yahweh) appeared.

The deep respect the Jews had for the name of God should be a reminder to all of us to be careful how we say His name. In our culture, we hear His Name tossed around like it has no meaning to us. Often, it is used as a curse word in which the person using it is actually cursing God!! Clint often asks people who say this "Why do you want to curse God when He's the very One you will cry to when you desperately need help?"

Economical Large Family Entertainment #2

I found these sets at Walmart after Christmas one year. They are normally $9.96, but I got two for 50% off. I dump the pieces in a baking pan and set the puzzle up on a piece of 1/2" plywood. I start it and before I know it, the children take over. It's a great activity to build family togetherness because you get to TALK! During a television show or sporting event, the family isn't interacting like they will over a board game, puzzle or household project.

Economical Large Family Entertainment

I start working on a puzzle and they come one by one until they move me out of the way. I grabbed the camera and took a picture while they weren't looking.