tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12601592637839171432024-03-07T01:56:30.927-05:00A Joyful ChaosA Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.comBlogger1831125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-78575609172358996742024-02-28T08:51:00.003-05:002024-02-28T08:51:59.024-05:00Wednesday Hodgepodge 1. February is coming to a close. Give us a two-word phrase that tells us something about how yours went.Too fast2. If you had to describe how you're feeling right now as an amusement park ride, what ride are you on? Explain. I've never been to an amusement park, so I'm not familiar with the ride options other than a roller coaster which would work for this answer with all the ups A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-34748161194230706672024-02-09T09:50:00.002-05:002024-02-09T09:50:40.701-05:00When Sharing Goes Wrong Stocking the pantry with all the basics after we got married took a little while, and it was a few weeks before I had everything I needed to finally be able to bake something good. The cake had turned out beautifully and was waiting on the countertop to be enjoyed for dessert with supper. I heard the door open and the sound of LVs feet running A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-64479469170605993112024-01-29T19:41:00.003-05:002024-01-29T20:02:19.106-05:00CurrentlyReading ... I just finished reading Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich. Several months ago I read The Incredible Winston Browne by him as well and absolutely loved it. Kinfolk certainly felt like it was written by the same person, and I really liked it, but it was a bit heavier read. A book that probably should come with trigger warnings. Even so it gave me plenty of chuckles along the way, and the story A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-26669998494571486092023-10-12T10:41:00.006-04:002023-10-12T19:40:14.044-04:00CurrentlyReading ... I'm on an unfortunate string of duds right now. They're barely good enough to keep reading, but somehow I keep slogging on while I wish I had a great one to dive into. My list of requested books from the library has some promising ones on it. I'm picking them up tomorrow and look forward to a relaxing weekend that hopefully breaks this string of meh books. Writing ... is slow at A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-87838563311769803712023-08-02T12:19:00.002-04:002023-08-02T12:19:30.782-04:00Wednesday Hodgepodge 1. Hello August. What's one thing you're looking forward to this month? Our August appears to be packed to the brim. There are some short trips, a wedding, and more which makes it hard to narrow my choice down to only one thing, but I'm going with one of the short trips.2. What are you doing to beat the heat right now? If you live in the southern hemisphere are you enjoying cooler temps A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-28694135333903587472023-06-14T12:30:00.001-04:002023-06-14T13:03:30.108-04:00CurrentlyReading ... in the Bible I turned to Psalms 103 again this morning. It's one of my favorite Psalms. I've read it often enough you would think I would have it completely memorized by now, but I'm not there yet.In other books, I have two series here that I'm working my way through. One by Kel Kade, and the other by Ginny Aiken. They're about as different as could be, but I love reading and I have aA Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-8788984637357435202023-06-02T16:14:00.003-04:002023-06-02T16:55:40.293-04:00When Memories Hit I had a few errands to run today, the weather was absolutely beautiful, and I was enjoying myself to the fullest driving while singing along to the song that was playing. I glanced over to see what the temperature is and noted the date that was displayed. June 2nd. Hmm ... something seemed significant about it somehow, but why? And then it hit meA Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-59021205180449331862023-03-16T21:11:00.003-04:002023-03-17T07:32:10.180-04:00CurrentlyReading ... this weekend I read Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo, and Spare by Prince Harry. I had been looking forward to Jinger's book, even though I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I really liked how she was able to honor her parents, even while "disentangling" her faith from the erroneous teachings of Bill Gothard. Though I didn't grow up knowing about or following Bill A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-82999281824043119722023-01-26T14:33:00.006-05:002023-01-26T14:33:36.971-05:00The Mystery of the Cast Iron Skillet Almost two years ago one of my favorite cast iron skillets mysteriously disappeared. I searched high and low for it and was unable to locate it anywhere. Several months ago it equally as mysteriously reappeared next to the basement stairs, looking absolutely terrible. I'm not sure what it will take to restore it to its former condition. I'm sure it can be doneA Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-59759108520580808942022-12-31T19:47:00.003-05:002023-01-03T08:27:11.446-05:00CurrentlyReading ... In the Bible I'm reading Revelation, and tucking in some soothing Psalms as well. It seems I need a daily dose of Psalms no matter what book of the Bible I'm reading through.I recently read Unspeakable by Jessica Willis Fisher. It was one of the hardest things I've read in a long time, but it was really well written. Given the subject matter of the book it doesn't quite feel A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-45345546837707547312022-11-22T06:51:00.002-05:002022-11-22T06:51:46.976-05:00The Pudding of Thanksgiving Growing up my Mom used to make a layered pudding every year for Thanksgiving. The bottom layer was an orange jello with some crushed pineapple stirred in it. The middle layer was a fluffy one made with whipped cream and cream cheese. The top layer was a smooth and absolutely delicious pineapple pudding. The colors A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-11129220181036006272022-10-04T08:03:00.002-04:002022-10-04T08:03:26.181-04:00CurrentlyReading ... In the Bible I'm finishing up the book of John. In other books I have a lovely book filled with gorgeous illustrations and inspirational musings. It's called Gracelaced by Ruth Chou Simons.Back in 2019, Steven used to absolutely love the pigeon books by Mo Willems. I happened to see that there's a new one out called The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster, and on a A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-7246470687966868382022-09-12T10:43:00.005-04:002022-10-05T11:27:52.616-04:00When Grandma was Hurt I was almost two years old when my Grandma was in an accident where a car ran into the back of her buggy. I don't remember the extent of all her injuries, but I do remember that she had both of her legs broken. I remember going to the hospital to see her. It was all so strange. I didn't like it at all. Grandma was supposed to A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-23762477390064827482022-08-08T16:09:00.004-04:002022-08-08T16:09:54.725-04:00Melt my Heart On my list of favorite things, is the evenings when Kenneth, Paige, and their little guy come over. It's a little different since LV got hurt, and is confined to the couch, but that doesn't mean that quality grandpa/grandson time is on hold. Being on the couch with grandpa is apparently just as fun as all the other activities they used to enjoy before A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-22818624149455897642022-07-06T09:21:00.001-04:002022-07-06T09:21:34.357-04:00Wednesday Hodgepodge 1. July 6th is National Fried Chicken Day...are you a fan? Do you make your own or have a favorite place to buy from? Do you own chickens? If not chicken what's your favorite fried food?I don't make it often, but my recipe for fried chicken is one of my favorites. I don't buy fried chicken though. I've had KFC a few times in my life, the last time was over 15 years ago though. If memoryA Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-54600564347621854812022-06-23T16:47:00.003-04:002022-06-23T21:23:48.210-04:00Happenings Things have been somewhat of a comedy of errors around here since LV got hurt. There's over a dozen things I could write about, but I'm only choosing three, of varying degrees of oh-no! 1. I opened the door to one of our lazy susans and spotted fresh evidence of a furry trespasser. It's summer! Mice should be fat and happy outdoors, but A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-22532948381106180172022-06-02T14:57:00.002-04:002022-06-02T15:40:22.878-04:00This ~n~ That It's been a week now since I picked up the phone to LV telling me he's been hurt and is on the way to the hospital. He has a shattered heel as well as multiple fractures in his ankle bones. He's at home with orders to keep his leg elevated while we wait for swelling to go down enough that they can do surgery to try and piece everything back A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-20012407327278154162022-05-23T07:06:00.003-04:002022-05-23T13:12:59.759-04:00My Journey with Weight "Skinny mini fishy tail. Skinny mini fishy tail," the gleeful chant of the schoolboys sounded in the air as I cowered in the corner of the schoolroom. I looked desperately for an escape route but my last bit of fleeing had led me to this corner where I was now trapped. "Skinny mini fishy tail, Skinny mini fishy tail" the chant continued. "A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-69052026901179833072022-05-16T17:35:00.001-04:002022-05-16T17:35:14.742-04:00My Parents We are knocking on the one year anniversary of when our family changed forever. As most of you know, I have many fond memories of growing up Amish. There's one thing though that I wish I could change about it all, and that is photos. I would love to have stacks of photos to see, instead of only the slightly out of focus images in my head. A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-20950360674021901692022-05-02T11:24:00.002-04:002022-05-02T11:24:27.826-04:00CurrentlyReading ... in the Bible I'm in the middle of Luke. In other books I'm enjoying several different ones at the moment. Will the Circle be Unbroken by Sean Dietrich. I'm only at the very beginning of the book, but so far it's great and I have no doubt I will continue to love it. I don't remember when I first became aware of Sean Dietrich, but one of my friends shared something he A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-67157294296808948242022-04-28T16:30:00.042-04:002022-04-29T07:42:38.494-04:00X ~ eXcommunicate Knowing we would be excommunicated from the Amish church was not something we approached lightly when making the decision to leave. It has not been easy being cut off from family and friends. It has been humiliating, frustrating, irritating, and downright awful at times in the way we were treated, but not once did it make us feel like rejoining the A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-16219280569321262532022-04-27T16:29:00.100-04:002022-04-29T07:26:07.320-04:00W ~ Wish Lists For some reason, I enjoy reading other people's wish lists, and being someone who enjoys creating lists, I also have a variety of wish lists floating around. I don't have expectations of ever getting them fulfilled, and I'm okay with that, but I still enjoy adding things to them. I have quite a collection of cookbooks, and an even bigger wish list of cookbooks. I have A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-73916660049598160952022-04-26T16:29:00.019-04:002022-04-26T19:03:12.627-04:00V ~ Ventriloquist There are times I am convinced my phone is a ventriloquist. The alert sounds that I received a text. Though the phone is right next to me, it sounds as if the alert came from across the room. It happens every single time! Yesterday Steven and I went on a hike. I had my phone in my pocket when I received a text. It A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-37193333310586337042022-04-25T16:28:00.040-04:002022-04-29T15:35:30.426-04:00U ~ Ube I was first introduced to ube (pronounced ooh-beh) last year and I may have become slightly obsessed with it. Ube is a lovely purple yam from the Philippines that is especially lovely in desserts. The only problem is, they're extremely hard to find. Basically impossible in our area. When ever we go A Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1260159263783917143.post-73353218970964046502022-04-23T16:27:00.041-04:002022-04-29T06:49:56.256-04:00T ~ Tunnel Not too far from our home there's an old railroad that has been converted to a hiking/biking trail. We enjoy walking on it, even as it has become quite popular and filled with people. When we were growing up it had been only an old unused overgrown railroad that led into a dark tunnel that had water dripping from the ceiling and even spots where partsA Joyful Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647481484192797931noreply@blogger.com3