McBenning School

Well my dear friends who visit me on my home school front...I am consolidating my blogs to another, one that incorporates all the avenues I have chosen...home schooling, living on less, being a Christian.

I have enjoyed blogging ever so much, and like a silly teen have written and written and written much for my own vanity. I so love to write and have almost a compulsion to use the words...so why not be a little more focused?

Thank you for stopping by, and if you wish here is my new blog Double Nickel Farm.

Merry Christmas to all! Oh and have a very blessed new year!
Jennifer

a Christmas meme

I found this on Diana's blog and liked how fun it was!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love the paper!!I know not to environmental!

2. Real tree or artificial? I love real trees and going as a family to get one, but when we got a wood stove I bought a tree...I was too afraid of the real tree getting too dry and burning.(I know paranoid)

3. When do you put up the tree? Except for this year(the move) I have always put the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. It has been very hard not to have the tree up yet. We are going to set it up tonight and decorate it tomorrow after church and the Dedication of the home.

4. When do you take the tree down? The day after Christmas...this year maybe a week later!!

5. Do you like eggnog?one glass a year.. then yuck!!!


6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Holly Hobbie Lunch pail

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes I have 3. One from my little sister in a glass ball, one traditional and one with verses on...I will try and take pictures.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Not really anyone

9. Easiest person to buy for? All

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? None, in fact even my first Christmas(unbeknownst to me my dear sweet Bill was born 4 states away!)

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Now I e-mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life!!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? This year 94% is home made...

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes...but carefully to another...that I thought would need.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sugar cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I love both and put white lights around the base and colored around the edges.

17. Favorite Christmas song?Joy to the world

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We always stay home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? dasher,dancer prancer and vixon, donner and comet and cupid and blitzen...rudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel picked out by my Second son when he was 5...he said that the tree needed something and we walked around the store and finally he picked the angel...when he marries I will give the angel to him...chokes me up how very important that this was to him...now to us all.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning...although Bill's family opened in the middle of night. I was pregnant and they didn't wake me that first year...so Bill and I have our own traditions..

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The chaos in the stores, like the stuff will not be available on the 26th!!!(translated into needless overspending and debt that is NOT what Christmas is about!

23. What I love most about Christmas? Well that it celebrates the birth of the Saviour. And also it is Bill's birthday...and I would be lost without him!(Lost without both...wow!)

I know that for the month of December that More of Him Mondays and Scripture Speaks are on hold, but I have a few moments today and thought that I would continue. I am sure that many of you during the month of December probably do what we do in my home. We read from the Old Testament all of the prophecies foretelling of Christ's birth, and then the prophecy fulfilled in the New Testament.

For today we started with Micah 5:2 that was fulfilled with Luke 2:4,5,7
then Daniel 9:25 that was fulfilled with Luke 2:1 and 2
and Isaiah 7:14 that was fulfilled by Luke 1:26,27, 30, 31.

I haven't written out the scriptures because what is speaking to me this month is that of wow! I mean wow, by this. I had to make a rule that mom and dad make NO promises because no matter how we try, sometimes we make mistakes, even on something that we may have thought we could do for the children for sure. How crazy, but I realized that we are just human and are fallible. God on the other hand is infallible. I am so surprised that a large portion of the world does not see Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.

God does not make mistakes and therefore as His Word said...was easy to fulfill. All of the avenues lead to Jesus. Every month should be a celebration that our Saviour has died and rose again for us! Praise God. Every day we should fall to our knees and thank God. He is the only way. We should put on our Jesus glasses before we view our lives. Not that I want to be disrespectful of Jesus Christ, but that before we do anything we should fill up with His word. Then with prayer and fasting to arm us for the day.

So even though we celebrate the birth of our Saviour this month, I have been thinking of such gratitude that He died for me, a simple wife and mother...nothing more nothing less...sinner born and bred. What a great comfort to see how His word...His scriptures speak so loud and clear to me.

Just my thoughts
Jennifer

This I suppose is a follow up or a continuation of the post I have written on Pen of Jen. I have been very busy but this is a subject that I have much to say on, so I am adding on to the other post. I really must confess that I am on a daily struggle not to color my hair.

But I am not going to, and here is why. The closest external thing I have to my Creator is my body. I have the design that He thought of, and I have the characteristics that come with my genetic background, that links me to my ancestors. Now due to the Fall, I am quite damaged, as sin is rampant in the world and one of the many results of sin, are visible in our bodies.

Now to my reasoning. God is our Father, He created us. As a parent I have seen my children and their innocence and the way they behave. I cherish the drawings and artwork they have created, even the scribbles when they first picked up a crayon. That is what I think God thinks of us, we are like children with our bodies. We originally had perfect bodies, but since the Fall have old tired, prematurely graying, balding, stout, leggy bodies. I see that He still cherishes us with ALL the flaws. I can't do better than what He expects and in the world I will never achieve the body that was originally planned for me, a woman.

When I try to paint and color and tape and texture my body, I am using man's solutions to God's creation. So the path I am on is to use God's solution for God's creation. Read the Bible, pray, and feed my soul with the Spirit. My body, no matter what I do, will continue to die...as a result of the Fall. So if I know that the body is dying and I know the destination, do I really need to put up the false front? How can I get over the self esteem issues of graying so fast? Well all of us know who Steve Martin is...embrace the gray.

So here's my test to determine what I need to do...
1)Am I desiring to be beautiful in the standards set in the US? Wow, thank goodness I was not born in Africa, where woman put rings on their necks and stretch it to the point to where if they take the rings off they will die(beauty) or in China where they used to bind the feet to where one could barely walk...
2) Am I truly seeking to be my husbands mate, or trying to draw all eyes towards me?
3)Is my entire self worth based on my external looks? If so I better bank on dying young, cause I will become a bitter old lady...looks don't last...sorry.


I need to shower daily, wash and maintain my face, hair etc. and be the woman God designed. I need to study the scriptures as I have a huge role that I am to fulfill as a woman. I am to be a good steward of the clothing I have, so that I can be clean and neat.

What I don't need to do...
Live by standards set to make money...yes...money
eyelashes were in now they are not'
blue eyeshadow was in and now it is not
long hair was in and now it is not
feathered hairstyles were in and now not
perms were in and now they are not
frosting hair is in or it is not
bell bottoms long skirts, slit skirts
scarves, sweaters, and all kinds of this and that..

all determined to keep you buying things...keep the styles changing to keep their incomes coming in...BRILLIANT strategy!

Consider what God wants me to be...let me remind all that the women in the Bible were pretty amazing. I will just ask all to ponder Ruth. She is the model woman for us all.(By the way for all of us blondies, whether natural or not...Ruth most definitely had dark hair)

Is my identity based on an image that I think that my husband desires? Because men are very very basic. And if you treat your husband with love and work each day to make his day easier, he will look to do so for you. He will not suggest Maybeline, I promise.

By the way I am writing this for me as well as a follow up. The woman who gave birth to my husbands children is an amazing woman. The first deep emboldened love that she received, based on nothing else but her, was the day she gave him a child. She was without makeup, very fat(prego) and still she saw a desirous love.

As I see Bill look at our teens and then glance over their heads to me I see the same look. It is a deep soul touching look, not of lust, but of lifelong, desirous, LOVE. And you bet even gray, and fuller, the electric jolts of marriage zip back and forth...all without societies requirements!

I guess I have a bit of a footnote to this post. My realization of what the American woman should look like came around 22. I am 5'0". So nothing is really made for me. I realized that the fashion industry was trying to compartmentalize me into something I could never be, so I have slowly been progressing to where I am the choice no one else. Remember the Covenant God made to Abraham was for a senior citizen to have a baby(Sarah was 90 ) how on earth at 40 can I permit gray hair to hold me back?

Just my thoughts.
I will zip around and catch up with blogs over the weekend. I have been thinking of you blogity world friends. Take Care
Jennifer

On my other blog I have a photo for the caption contest that I originally saved to write this post. But I thought it was so clever that I used it for the contest too. When I saw the photo I thought back to a time that we lived in Utah.

We lived in a duplex and had 2 wonderful trees in front. At first we had a hammock in the trees, but the first winter and the hammock was no more. But we hung a rope between the trees. The distance was around 51/2 feet. At first none of my kids could do anything with the rope. They would try and sit on it and swing and would fall.(kids were 8,5,4, and 2) We also were the "hub" for several neighborhood kids and everyone tried that swing.

But the kids did not give up and day after day they would huddle and grasp at the swing and finally one mastered it! Then a few more and then even my baby, Fourth. I was truly astounded at the way they played. Now we had tons of nonsense toys but those trees were the hang out spot.

As I think of the caption photo I am reminded of yesteryear with my kids and then even further of my youth. We are so creative when we are to think on our feet. When one is without one becomes challenged and actually does better. I know.

So in this season of buying gifts, if you are going to buy things consider challenging the creativity of the children. Consider things that bring out skills that will make your child's life. Not wasteful time consuming presents that end up broken in weeks.

Just my thoughts...

Your turn to share any yesteryear play items that you created.

We took a drive to see our oldest today. Just a short drive(70 miles to Las Cruces) but well worth the cloudy windy raining day, to see my firstborn. Every year I try and take a group photo for the wall. Every year it takes two different days and lots of luck. Some day I would like to put together the 100 or so photos that don't make the cut!! I think everyone would get a great laugh and would reflect on their own attempts at family photos. If we were sane we probably would go to a photographer! This visit was for the kids to get their antics out, as next weekend I hope to take the annual keeper photo(?)



Here is Fourth waking from the snooze. Yes she is festive for the Christmas season. If you enlarge the photo you can see the quilt that she sewed all by herself.


Here is the casual attempt. First is not so happy because he has a broken hand(hidden behind his back). It took 4 photos to get one that they all are looking forward

Bill and our oldest...

Kelli is hosting show and tell Friday so swing over and join in the fun. Here is my show and tell today.This is a post that I have on my other blog about the spending we do around Christmas. I hope that you like this pretty hand crafted doll.

I have written quite a bit about not spending money over the holidays. My reasons are many. Today I am going to explain another reason why it is so important not to spend on frivolous things, but to cherish those around you.

In 2000 my daughter was five years old. For Christmas that year she received a humbling gift. She received a home made doll. Here is the letter that came with the gift:

December 2000
This year would have been Catalina's 2nd Christmas. My plan for her Christmas present was to make her a doll. Heavenly Father decided that she was needed more with Him than here on earth, so I'll have to wait to make her that doll.
So for Christmas, I give to you the doll I would have given to her. I want you to know that each stitch was made by my hand with love. With each stitch, there is a memory of another in it. These memories I share with you along with the love from a cousin you'll not know in this life.
I want you to know that we have a Heavenly Father and that His Son Jesus was born and died for you, because He loved you so much.
Always remember that you have a special "angel" in heaven watching you. This gift is yours with love from your Aunt Melissa and your angel Catalina.

As you may have realized, precious Catalina died that year. She drowned on the day before Mother's Day 2000. She was a twin and the 3rd child. Oh was she such a love. So Melissa had to have her first Christmas without her daughter and she revealed to me that she was making this gift for Fourth. I cried a lot that year with Melissa, and still choke up. But Melissa taught me a huge lesson that year, and that is one of the main reasons that I try not to overspend (or this year spend any money) on Christmas.

The most precious gifts you can give to your family and friends is yourself. Share the love that you have, make presents for those you love and never count on any more time with those you love than you have in the moment. I promise you that you will love more, listen more, hug more and become the best mom, dad, wife, husband , friend and child that one could ask for.

Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. He gave us a gift that is priceless. Before it is too late receive Jesus as your Saviour, as it will make all the difference when it is your time.

Thank you Melissa for this, as Catalina is always dear to us.

I thank you for stopping by and reading this post today.I also posted this on Pen of Jen.
Jennifer

I saw this at Theresa's and thought I would try it.

Here are the rules:
*Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
*Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
*Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
I am not tagging anyone, but feel free to try this.

1) I can barely get through singing the national anthem, before I get choked up. Makes me very emotional.

2) I have a huge scar on my left calf. When I was a girl, I had a small TV that had the old antenna. The tip was broken of so it was jagged. My brother Pete was always scaring me, and one evening he climbed up on the porch and knocked on my bedroom window. I was laying on the bed watching TV. I jumped and the TV fell and then I scraped my leg on the antenna. I did not know I was cut for a few minutes. Nope I did not have a tetanus shot, and I seem somewhat fine?@?!

3) I play mind games when I drive. Not crazy mind games, but challenges to keep my mind thinking. When I lived in Nevada everything was a long drive so I began this then. I practice saying the books of the Bible in order, the presidents, the states, countries in the world, and the like. I have done this for nearly 20 years and it has been very creative for me.

4) I have swam in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie!

5) I took the letters from my sisters names, my name and my mothers name to create my daughter's name. Sadly you will only know her as Fourth!! But I was so shocked to actually have a girl. I had been told that she was a boy. Well what a delight it has been to have a girl!

6)I absolutely, wholeheartedly love being a mom. There is nothing else in the world(job) wise that I would have ever picked. I know in today's world Mom's are in the workforce and need an identity, but I love that I have stayed home and given my kids...me!

7) I am still head over heels in love with my husband. He is such a kind, charming, silly, sweet, loving, honorable, dedicated man, who loves the Saviour. What more could a woman want? Yes, he does take my breath away when I see him coming home from work. Yes, he is the first person I want to talk to in the morning and yes he is the last person I wish to speak to before I go to bed! Thanks Bill for the best years of my life!! I love you:)