I am sitting in a completely quiet house. The only noise is the very soft hum of the boiler heating up the radiators and my fingers tapping on the keyboard of my laptop. As I look out the window, I can see the birds beginning to rouse. They are talking to each other and will soon be at the feeder getting breakfast.

I have a cup hot coffee sitting next to me (the good stuff today – it?s the Sabbath!) and my bible and am hoping that Isaiah decides to sleep just a liiiiiiiiitle bit longer so that I can work on a bible study that I?ve been doing. Breakfast is in the oven – a coffee cake that Leonard likes especially so I try to make it a couple of Sabbath mornings a month. We change up the Sabbath breakfasts because it seems that everyone has their favs. The boys like Amish oatmeal, but they are the only ones who do so when I make that, the girls have to have something else to eat. Leonard prefers the coffee cake and everyone will tolerate that, so that?s a good one to make for everyone. The girls? favorite is cinnamon rolls and everyone likes that too, but I think they got tired of them b/c I made them every week for too long. So we are giving cinnamon rolls a rest right now. It is very difficult to please a family this size with ONE meal. That is a continuing challenge. I do NOT like to make multiple meals and usually just make the unhappy person(s) suck it up. I don?t run a restaurant, after all?; ).

Tomorrow we are having company to celebrate David?s birthday, so I need to do some cooking this evening. I already have some chicken in the crockpot cooking and I am going to let that cook this morning, then shred it for barbecued chicken. We?ll have that on rolls. Then all I have to do is make a potato salad and a cake and I will probably do that this evening. My mom is bringing some salads so that will round out the meal nicely.

Well – as I?ve been writing this, the birdies are now up and eating. There are three on the lower feeder and two on the top one. This is the first winter that we?ve put out feeders where we can really see them and everyone has really enjoyed watching them. We?ve even had a cardinal couple come!

OK – if I?m going to get to the bible study before I have company, I best scoot. Have a lovely day everyone!