The stocking are stuffed (and hidden) the gifts are all wrapped and under the tree, we don't do Santa, I didn't grown up with him,(however, if you do I don't think your evil) it's just a choice. I've never said anything either way about him but Presbyboy seems to have gathered from a mix of Mickey Mouse clubhouse and the church nursery that there is a Santa that will bring him gifts, however since the mailman brings us boxes he seems to think that the postman will be bring him his gifts on Christmas Day and has mercifully left the gifts alone. He also knows that the mail man comes at noon and is usually waiting by the door for him...I will have some explaining to do on Christmas morning.

This is a busy week in clergy households but regular church work also goes on, people are dying, sick and often down. What is joy and wonder for children is often a reminder of the aged or lonely that they are alone again with no one to celebrate with. For the young couple who have been trying to have a baby for years , that again there is no third person in their family. Do you know someone who won't have a Christmas? Could you invite them to share yours? Christianity is a lot more then dropping off a gift in a collection box or throwing some coins in a kettle. It's almost always outside your comfort zone and it always has the highest rewards.

I have been so bad about blogging, I LOVE to read blogs but lately getting inspired to write anything has been hard. We are encased in the snow castle again, ahh the joys of living on the US/CANADA border.
All the Christmas gifts are under the tree or in boxes waiting to be mailed. Grandpa ended up sending me a check to buy all his gifts so there are a LOT more then usual. I was going between maybe taking a weekend trip with the money or buying gifts and decided to go with the gifts. Presbyboy is outgrowing all his clothes he's going into size 5T I buy all the children's clothes at yard sales unless I need something particular but it seems that most high quality boy's clothing stops at this size, little boys are in sizes longer at this age and are very hard on pants so Presbyboy is getting brand new clothes for Christmas., along with his usual Train beginnings. Presbybaby is hard to shop for, she's not into dolls but of course wants brother's trains, well I'm not buying a 17 month old girl trains! I made her a quilt that I started a long time ago...like before her birth and a few Melissa and Doug toys.

People keep asking me what I want and the truth is not a thing! That's the trouble when you grow up and can buy yourself stuff. I don't really need another Yankee candle, though they are very nice, what I'd like most is my house cleaned by a person that not me and meraciously organized so that I know where everything is but I wasn't the person who organised everything to start with. Not sure thats going to happen!

Good Deals

I have been looking for a small indoor trampoline, the size a 16 month old and an almost 4 year old could use during the winter, the Mc Donald's near us has one and they both love it, well,it was going to be their "big gift" I wanted one with a handle too, they all seemed to be $75-$150 plus shipping...sometimes "additional heavy item shipping" well I found one online at J.C.Penny for $29.99 that includes free shipping with the code JOY2UNME since I am spending at least $25!!! Sweet! At such a good price they may be getting more under the tree. It looks similar to this., (if you type in "trampoline" it shows up)

Sunday it started with Presbybaby running a fever...then Monday Presbyboy and I woke up sneezing. Today I sent my Mom into Walgreen's to get some Sudafed, the real kind of Sudafed that works and comes in the little red pill, she not only had to sign something but also give them her ID, all for some cold medicine, yes, I do realize that people can make bad things out of it....then I started to wonder If I had sent her in for the morning after pill (which is now legal without a prescription in my state) would they have made as much of a fuss?

Christmas Photo Time

(note: not a photo of ours)

Tomorrow is Christmas photo day, I got a flyer from the newest Photo taking place advertising a 9.99 package. I told them that I would most likely be buying just the package, they informed me that I need to bring 2 sets of clothes for each participant and plan on 1 1/2 hours....I again informed them that I will only be buying the advertised package and she said that they HAVE to take a certain amount of photos. I guess I will play along, usually one of the kids has a melt down and thus ends the photo trauma.

The Lilly of the Valley

A Pastor's wife is like a Lilly
Some churches will pour fertilizer on her,
encouraging her to reach her full potential
other churches will treat her as a weed,

dousing her with insecticide and

clipping her plumage till only her roots remain,

regardless of what church shes in

she must learn to bloom where God plants her.

-MrsReveredDr

Living for Eternity but not for Today

Things I have been pondering about lately...My Grandmas were both from HUGE families one from a family of 10 and one from a family of 16. Yet they both only had 2 children themselves. The Grandma I was closest to miscarried twins, she would often talk about getting to met them in heaven. She said that that experience had scared her and she was afraid to have anymore....in her 80's she often wished she had tried again. I think of my huge extended family and often wonder if birth control had been available and socially acceptable, would my Great Grannies have stopped at 2? I wouldn't be here, my Grandmas would have never been born etc. you get the idea.
Both my Great Grand parents were taken care of (into their 90's) by their children in their own homes, when you have 16 children the burden suddenly becomes a light load when there are so many to carry it. When you are a worn out young mother of many small children and you can call a sister or Grandma to help it makes a world of difference, most of the world today isn't set up in the "WALTONS" type of family dynamic. People are more isolated and have ALL of the responsibility on themselves, is this an improvement, were we meant to live within a large family structure? Are we better off then we were in the past?

Stop the World, I Wanna Get Off!

It seems that the busy times in ministry and motherhood aren't stopping anytime soon, well actually January and February are USUALLY pretty slow unless there are a lot of funerals that is. Working outside the home isn't going to be working for our family at the time, the dentist agreed to let us make payments, they first suggested that I take out a dental loan after reviewing the terms I would never pay 14% interest on it, our credit cards are less then that! However we have worked hard to pay those and not run them up is dental work an EMERGENCY? I explained what we believed as far as debt and they agreed to let me make 4 payments interest free! So little Presbyboy will be all taken care of.

I am a person that LOVES schedule, the ministry is anti schedule and based a lot on need and Emergency visits at least in an older congregation. I was looking at the calendar for the next two months and every weekend seems so filled, all summer was jam packed. I guess I am a homebody at heart. I have been thinking of starting some kind of Pastor's wife meeting for our Presbytery, I have a few ideas running around in my head, do any of you attend a ministers wives fellowship? Any good ideas would be appreciated.

Lots of Change

I haven't worked since DH and I got married, kids came pretty quickly and I could never earn enough to pay a baby sitter and make it worth my while plus I always wanted to be home anyway. However our church is unable to pay us more so either DH would have to get a second job as a chaplain etc. or I would...so I will be going back to the hotel where I worked 6 years ago,I called my old boss to see if I could list him as reference on my resume and he said he would hire me back. I will be working 2-12 hour shifts (his days off). which are DH's days off too hence why I won't need a baby sitter. If a funeral or something comes up Mom can watch them , but she really can't do it more then once in a awhile.

Presbyboy is in need of fillings, we don't have the denomination dental and even if we did they wouldn't pay for general anesthesia which all dentists seem to require in children younger then 5 years old, I never had a cavity till 21, but my brother had TONS and I think Presbyboy must have gotten that end of the gene pool. How much is general anesthesia for a 3 1/2 year old...1,000 yup! plus they have to give him a test to make sure he will tolerate it well, plus fillings. I hate to do all that for teeth that will fall out in a few years but if severe enough the cavities can go to the permanent teeth. I may not work forever but for this season I am.

A Beautiful Wedding on the Cheap- Part1

As a ministers wife in a sizable church I attend a lot of weddings. I also attend a lot of funerals but that's another post altogether. I've seen a lot of great money saving ideas and a lot of "why did they do that" things. Don't have money for a wedding planner talk to a minister's wife of a big church most likely she will have some great ideas.

Building-First of all a problem we run into a lot is a couple is a member of a small church that can't hold all their guests or the couple isn't members of any church, finding a location that's an actual church sanctuary in the traditional sense of stained glass windows and a long center isle is the "picture" a lot of brides have for their wedding day. If you go looking for this type of church you can expect to pay a rental price, this is in addition to the Pastor's honorarium, keep in mind someone has to play the piano , run the sound system and clean up the pews after your ceremony, most large sanctuaries aren't cooled or heated to a comfortable temperature except during regular times so that is also an expense. Those things also have to be done for your rehearsal so for those people involved they will be giving up their Friday night and Saturday.

Decoration- Our church actually has beautiful candelabras, an arch and white pew bows and greenery most people don't even know the church has these and you can use them free of charge so they buy their own if your talking a hundred pews that a considerable savings. If you are investing in fresh church flowers make sure someone will transport them to the reception so they do double duty.

If your church doesn't have these there are party and banquet supply companies that rent them.Don't waste your money!

In this day and age so many women have tattoos, I mean big ones, if you have bridesmaids with these, please don't pick a dress that will show them off, nothings more distracting the looking at the tattoo on a bridesmaids back through the whole ceremony trying to figure out what the Chinese characters say.

Find out what flowers are in season and work around those. I got married around Halloween but had Lilies and pink roses, not in season! I ended up ordering 12 dozen of each from Sam's Club and doing my own flowers, yes, I saved a lot but I sure was tired. I probably should have had Autumn colors.

Kids

It it stinking cold here! It's getting down to 43 tonight so I picked the end of the tomatoes and brought them in to ripen. Last night Presbyboy hit his head on the side of our stone fireplace and cut a nice gash, right in the middle of the back of the head he has never really had a bad cut before and we have only once taken him to the ER when he was 18 m and was having difficulty with breathing anyway...the cut was giving out an amazing amount of blood so we rushed him to the ER, after we were in the car he calmed down and was loving the attention, he didn't even cry when they cleaned his head and stapled him, yes my poor boy has a lovely staple in the back of his tiny, blond head! Hes such a sweet heart and was being extra adorable to the nurses. Poor Reverend Dr about had a heart attack at the sight of our bloody child be he too has recovered.

Bad, Bad Blogger

Ok, I realize its been more then a month since I posted, I can tell by all the comments wondering where I was that I was sorely missed. Life is busy as usual our Siamese cat was in the process of dying, hes had congestive heart failure for 4 years and he' only 5 1/2 I thought for sure he would be going under soon, well I tweaked some of his medicine and he has rallied!!! I guess you can't kill a good cat that easily. However he really doesn't want to be engaged in play as much as the Presbykids would like him to be and I am wondering is we should get another cat. (in addition to Calvin) I hate the smell of dog, yes, even a clean dog and in this area it gets too cold to keep
them in the garage. I like the *idea* of a dog as a companion to a little boy, but I have come to the conclusion I just don't like the amount of poop removal involved either, I am responsible for enough little kid poop at the moment.

This summer has gone by in a BLUR, there is so much going on and so much to do and attend my homebody nature is not adjusting well. The garden has taken on new dimensions I have a huge amount of yellow tomatoes and Roma tomatoes, the herbs are doing well and I will have enough red potatoes to feed the whole block. Presbyboy is still picking a few berries every day from the "ever bearing" strawberries. My squash is dead, not sure when or how it died but I went to water it day and it was withered! The broccoli right next too it was thriving so I am left to ponder...My glads are glorious too, I planted a bunch of different colors, however I seem to be getting a lot of colors that's I'm sure I didn't plant and vise versa.

I am already thinking about Christmas and more importantly planning the Presbytery meeting meal that will be held at our church in November. 150 attenders plus 25 helpers from our church for dinner. I have already decided on a turkey dinner, it will be cheap then and I know how to do it because that's the traditional funeral food, though most funerals aren't quiet as big as 175 people. Presbyboy isn't going to preschool this year he's 3 1/2 but thanks to a Christmas birthday can't go to kindergarten for 2 more school years, I was thinking of ordering some home school curriculum but I think hes doing pretty well with letter and numbers etc. I'm 30 and never went to preschool and I turned out just fine! Presbybaby is 13 months and so full of energy and climbing over the back of the sofa, they do play well together but the poor cat has taken to hiding from both of them most days.

Running Late for Christmas... in August

It's 90 degrees today but in a few short months we will again be in case in snow and ice, last year our city was #2 for snow fall , lets hope we don't make it to #1 this year. I love to shop but I hate to shop in overcrowded stores and Christmas (if it's nice enough to drive) is definitely not my cup of tea, also December is one of the busiest months for a Pastor's family,once upon a time I used to buy gifts all year and put them in a storage cabinet...the Presbyboy figured that out and now checks the cabinet every day! So then I moved them to under our bed, but one day the Presbyboy crawled under the skirt and thought he discovered a treasure chest! So here it is August and I only have two presents purchased for next year! I have decided that I am just getting the kids each one big thing and I'm going to order it by mail and leave it in the box till Christmas Eve, with church members and grandparents they get plenty (o, and Presbyboy's 4th birthday is 9 day's before Christmas). Presbyboy is getting a huge Thomas track layout for his train table and Presbybaby is getting a play kitchen.

Traditions

I recently read a book written by a former Methodist ministers daughter, even though she grew up in a parsonage a long time ago her words still ring true today. I especially liked the part about how her mother made each parsonage feel like "home" her father would often get moved every two years, but they had the same holiday traditions and in each house the same picture was hung above the same piano no matter where they went. They ate the same meals on each certain day of the week etc. it gave her that sense of security that I feel is especially important to each child (pastor's kid or not).

I was recently reviewing a list I had made at New Years on things I wanted to work on , one was having a family dinner around the table each night the ReverendDr. was able to be home with us. I am lucky if it gets done once or twice a week!

Potatoes

I have been so busy and not very good as posting! The summer of a Pastor's life is filled with weddings, rehearsals, VBS and sadly funerals. Last night after returning from VBS I stepped on a Thomas Train right in the arch of my foot and it still isn't very happy today, one of those little Take Along Thomas ones that die cast metal and OUCH!

My potato plants are HUGE and are done flowering, I am just waiting fo them to die so I can dig them up the anticipation is nearly killing me! A few little red potatoes were poking up through the top pf the soil so I covered them again. My "early girl" tomatoes are all done and dead, I don't think I will grow those again as they each only did about 2-3 tomatoes per vine. I have some "Roma" ripening and there are easily 20-30 green ones still on each plant. Strawberries did well but the birds or little boys beat me to them. One thing that did get eaten by the japanese beetles was the zucchini so I may gladly accept those form the friendly neighbors. Brussel sprouts and broccoli have been drown by all the rain so we shall see what develops.

Prayers

Could you all say a little prayer for my best friends Dad, he's only in his 50's and had a heart attack yesterday he is a transplant recipient so that further complicated things. Hes just a nice guy put three kids through Bible College and Christian school and was kind enough to me me a job in high school. His name is Larry

Menu Plan Monday

With Family reunions, wedding and so many parties groceries have been rotting in my fridge! My number one most hated household duty is cleaning the fridge mostly because I have to throw away so much waste and waste = money. The menus this week are a little heavy considering how hot is it but they will be using up what I have.

Monday- Hamburgers with oven fries and fruit

Tuesday- Quiche , here is the recipe though I will be using ham not bacon, most of the recipes on this site are very practical using what a normal person would have on hand, pretty basic stuff.

http://mamasfixins.blogspot.com/2008/07/zucchini-bacon-quiche.html

Wednesday- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff with egg noodles and green beans.

Thursday- Ham Biscuits except made with homemade rolls (can you tell I have a lot of ham in the freezer). My favorite salad which is a bed of greens, with julienned beets, feta cheese, bacon bits and orange slices with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Friday-I am pretty sure we have a wedding rehearsal.

Saturday- Going out with high school friends that will be in town.

Sunday - Presby Baby's first birthday, have no idea what I'm serving but the ham rolls may make another appearance.

"Pastor's Wife" book reviews

I have read a LOT of book geared toward ministers wives and honestly some give the impression of oppression or that ministers wife's should be so "professional" that she gives off the appearance of not being friendly or "touchable"whatsoever. Here are a few of my favorites.

"Life as Viewed from the Goldfish Bowl"- Beverly Hyles

This is actually my former Pastor's wife so I know she lives what she preaches. This has a lot of practical things in it.

"Married to a Pastor's Wife"- H.B. London Jr. & Neil Wiseman

This is of course written by men, it is also good a few things I disagree with, specifically when it talks about women being forced to work secular jobs to support a minister who's church can't afford to pay him, I have found this usually leads to a lot of resentment on the wife's part if it's on a permanent basis. Not bad, well written.

"First we have Coffee"- Margaret Jensen

This isn't written specifically about minister's wives but the author was a minister's daughter and shares wonderful stories and experiences on being part of a Pastor's family in "the good old days". This book always makes me cry, which is saying a lot because I am not easily moved by emotion.

What are some of your favorites?

I Need a Painting Genie

Have you ever been tempted to throw away all your possessions and start afresh? When we moved here O about 1 1/2 years ago I had plans of going through the house with a fine tooth comb and discarding a lot of stuff since I knew this house was going to be about 800 sq. feet less...then morning sickness kicked in and I didn't feel like doing anything for the next 4 months, we threw things in boxes and moved. I also had grand plans of painting the interior of the house before our actual possessions came since NONE of the colors matched my color scheme at the previous houses...of course someone who can't stand the smell of hamburger or throws up at the scent of toast doesn't do to well painting either. What I have done is rip off 1/2 of the bedroom wallpaper, rip down and replace all but one difficult spot of the main bath wallpaper and strip the wallpaper off the living room walls, there was about 20 layers so that's actually much more of an accomplishment then it seems. I put one coat of primer on the living room but it needs more primer and actual paint. I still have way too many possessions then space. My goal till July is to THOW AWAY STUFF! Not store it in the garage for am imaginary yard sale or list it on Craig's list either into the trash or the Church Rummage Sale!

More of my Favorite Things

I thought I'd share a few favorite recipes and beauty products.

First the running joke in my family is my bar of Clinique Facial Soap, It's a large bar and I've used it twice a day for about 5 years now....and I'm still on my first bar! The funny part is that there is still about 2/3 of a bar left so it will probably last me another 10 years! The case is all cracked but the bar lives on...

When visiting some fancy shmancy hotel in Newport,RI last year they featured this lotion in their guest rooms, I just loved it, it too is a tad pricey to order but it has a good consistency and I like the scent, I dislike Bath and Body works type products as they make me sneeze. This doesn't but is scented and the scent lasts. Gilchrist & Soames Body Lotion

My favorite things to take to a summer picnic style "potluck", done take, potato salad, baked beans or deviled eggs because chances are that's what everyone else is bringing. Two of my favorites are :

"Buffalo Wing Dip"

Served in a small tureen dish or small crock pot is best with tortilla chips

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup any flavor FRANK'S REDHOT Sauce

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cans (9.75 oz. each) SWANSON White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

DIRECTIONS:
Tips1.Microwave Directions: Prepare as above. Place in microwave-safe dish. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 5 min. until hot, stirring halfway through cooking. 2.Tips: You may substitute 2 cups shredded cooked chicken. 3.Slow Cooker Method: Combine ingredients as directed above. Place mixture into small slow cooker. Cover pot. Heat on HIGH setting for 1 1/2 hours until hot and bubbly or on LOW setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Stir. 4.Tailgating Tip: Prepare dip ahead and place in heavy disposable foil pan. Place pan on grill and heat dip until hot and bubbly.

I also like adding some actual crumbled blue cheese to the mix. Men seem to really like this.

Cast Iron Upside Down Cake

You really need a cast iron skillet to make this as it goes from stove to oven, if you have an ovenproof skillet you could try but the non stick abilities of a cast iron are best.

First 1/3 cup real butter and melt in skillet, next take 1/2 c. brown sugar and whisk it into the butter and let bubble, next arrange sliced peaches, pineapple rings pears etc. on bottom, you could toss in a few maraschino cherries if you wanted, mix up a yellow Jiffy cake mix according to directions and pour over the peach mixture, put cake into preheated oven according to Jiffy cake mix directions, when done DONOT wait for it to coll but invert over a cake stand, (hence the peach and caramel bottom is now the top and serve with whipped cream (if at home serve with vanilla ice cream).
* I also really like the taste with bananas but often the will over brown.

Where your Money there will your heart be also.

The other day I was talking with a good friend about the upcoming birth of her second baby, she was bemoaning the fact that she didn't know how she could afford to stay home for the first few months as money was SO tight! This was all AFTER she had showed me her new cell phone and talked about how excited she was about the upcoming concert that was $75 a ticket that she was taking her hubby to for his birthday. Now this is a very good friend who then commented that she wished she could stay home like myself, so I told her plainly that I didn't have a fancy cell phone, I only had the lest expensive prepaid one and it was for EMERGENCIES, I didn't have cable, we live on a budget and that's how I afford to stay home. I could have all those things but then I would have to pay for them.

She said she just couldn't "live like that" WHAT! no cable and no cell phone result in a poor life??? Not only were we not raised with cell phones but she was raised in a denomination that didn't even believe in TV!

Would you be willing to give up "luxuries" in order to led the life you wanted?

Favorite Cleaning Products

I wish I could say I was one of those people who cleaned with only vinegar and baking soda, but I'm not I can't even say that I love earth friendly cleaning products, I've tried a lot and this is what WORKS!

First of all get yourself a pair of rubber gloves, they make them in cute styles now or you can get a pair of inexpensive yellow ones like your Granny had, your hands are one of the first things to show age and the more protection between you and chemicals the better.



This is is best stuff for cleaning porcelain bath tubs or really stained toilets. Easy-Off Bam makes may products the one I like is the "Grime and Lime" cleaner. Its the only thing that cleaned out ancient tub when we moved here, you MUST wear gloves this is strong stuff.





The best toilet bowl cleaner for weekly use, it sticks to the bowl and the smell isn't overpowering.

I love this to soak baby clothes and food stains, it's an enzyme cleaner. I usually use 1/2 a scoop and 1/2 a scoop of detergent and let baby clothes soak overnight.

Greased Lightening is strong stuff , I'm not sure what ingredient makes it cut grease so well, maybe turpentine?, but I use this to clean my stove hood, simply remove your filter spray it down, let sit a few minutes , scrub with brush and rinse, it will take anyone that's stuck on a stove top off but again its really strong stuff. If you have a husband who a mechanic or into tinkering with oily things you can also use this as a clothing stain treater, I have also used this on my clothes but don't leave it on to long as it might discolor some dark fabrics.

This is the best dishwasher detergent hands down, this isn't those handy little cubes its just the plain powder, I usually run my dishwasher on the shortest cycle and on air dry and this does the best job its 100oz. of powder for about 3.88 at Wal Mart, I usually pour the powder into an old formula container and add I T. scoop per wash.

What are your favorite cleaners?

Life

Isn't that the cutest thing you ever saw! Its a counter top dishwasher that hooks up to the sink and washes cups, plates, bowls and silverware for 4! I am sending one to a dear friend who is a missionary but lives in a trailer where you can't have a dishwasher and she has so longed for one!

Life has so busy as of late! The ReverendDr. is out of town for the week at Princeton taking in a seminar, every weekend seems full of weddings, yard sales and graduation parties, gardening and two small children seem to make life very full.

Today alone I wrapped and mailed presents, wrote thanks you's,cards and bills. My 30th birthday is Friday , yup the big 30! My bestest friend in the world the "Liberal Lady Lawyer" is flying in from Boston this weekend to give me a party! Presbybaby's first birthday is coming up and today she received a diamond baby necklace in the mail from the Presbygrandpa, not the play kitchen or stroller that I said she would want, heck if it was up to me I would have said a few cases of diapers would be nice, but not all people share my un-fun ways. I can't decide on a princess theme or ladybug! I, know the hard choices in life!~

Pastor's Wives Question

I have a question for all you wives, which "circle" meeting do you attend if you church has more then one? Do you go to all (or would that be all you did) none, or a particular one, has anyone else complained of "favoritism" for not going to them all?

A Very Full Life

So much has been going on, from visitors to funeral dinners, weddings and graduations! I have been invited to two weddings on the same day! Both of the grooms were my friends from high school and they were both in my wedding, still trying to decide which to go to (both at 2 pm)they have mutual friends so I am wondering if they didn't talk to each other?

Presbybaby took her first steps at 11 mo. 2 days! Presbyboy walked exactly at 13 mo. so I guess girls are a little more advanced. This Sunday is graduate Sunday at our church and I have all my cards made out for each of the 7 high school graduates. we also have several in our family and friends that are graduating.

All of my garden is in, Presbyboy did "help" by digging up all the potatoes we planted, but he had fun planting them again!

Busy

I've been busy again this week in addition to raising a baby and a preschooler I have company coming for the weekend and a funeral dinner on Saturday for 100 people. The days seem to whiz by except that I should be cleaning right now and I'm playing around of the Internet : ) as soon as the kids are asleep I am steam cleaning the dining and living room rugs. I know the fun never seems to end.

Presbyboy will be 4 in December so he is old enough for a 3 days a week preschool in the fall, I just can't decide which one and if I want to spend so much money. We make too much for the state sponsored ones not that I'm too thrilled with those anyway, but he so loves playing with other kids and really only gets to see them on Sunday.

This and That

Not much going on around here, no one died this week, which I guess makes it a good week! I am cleaning and planting flowers and vegetables, I really should take some photos. A friend of my Mom's asked if I could come color her hair, afterward she said she really would love a perm but for long hair the salon wanted $85, well back in the day, and by "day" I mean the 90's I used to give perms but I don't think I had done one in about 10 years! So I guess I am now back in the perm business. I'm Looking forward to visitors next week and of course yard sales early tomorrow morning.

Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday which I never celebrated growing up, but Presbyterians do it up big and Presbybaby has her classic red and white dress already. Do any other churches wear red and white on that day?

Big Woops

Our summer calendar is jam packed, weddings....many weddings, family reunion, church camp, VBS,presbytery meeting, parties, Mom's birthday day, my 3-0 birthday etc. Then today I suddenly remember something I didn't schedule Presbybabies first birthday! I don't know when first birthday parties became such a big deal??? Well I am thinking it's going to have to be on a weekday, and one that's not a Friday, or it could be on Friday as long as its over by 4 ish.Is a Saturday breakfast party permissible? Think Presbybaby would be permanently scared if we put it off till September?

Stolen Meme

On my bedside table:
Lena
Life as Viewed from the Goldfish bowl
KJV Bible


On my TV:
I got the whole first season of "The Secret Life of the America Teenager" form the library for free and its a tad soap oprahish but I have enjoyed it.

On the menu for tonight:
I cooked a funeral lunch today so probably meatloaf form the freezer


On my To Do List:
I have another funeral dinner for tomorrow


New Recipe I tried last week:
I made meatballs, I almost always make meat sauce but I needed something different


In the craft basket:
Monogrammed pillowcases and a baby dress


Looking forward to:
My college roommate's visit and my 30 th birthday , yes ladies the big 3-0!

Homemaking Tip for this week:
the house has gone to pot since I have been gone at the funerals

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): Crystal over at Money saving Mom had her baby!

Favorite photo from last week:

Not Sure

Nothing more to say, we had more deaths. If fact we have a funeral at 11 am and a funeral at 2 pm on the same day which has NEVER happened before. Very busy.

Another lady passed away today, this is turning into a very long week. I'm afraid that my volunteers are getting stretched thin, do I dare call some of the same people twice in a weeks time and ask for more deserts?

Plan #2

Chiquita and family

So my order of chicken didn't come in, well it did but is somehow came in as only thighs and legs!!! No thanks, So I noticed that another store had turkey breasts on sale for .99 lb so the menu is now Turkey/stuffing/mashed potatoes/gravy/green beans/rolls and assorted salads and deserts. More work but o well !!!

I also got my potatoes in the ground today, they are late even for this area. I had my precious seed potatoes in a bag in the garage, well some critter must have also found them and made a snack! So I spaded up a trench and threw them in. They are red skin potatoes and I had a doozy of a time finding them. Now days a lot of commercial growers spray the potato with something that makes it not sprout "eyes" well you have to have "eyes" for the potato plant to grow. I really need to rent a rototiller and get in the rest of the stuff.
In two weeks my college roommate and her hubby/kids are coming for 4 days , they are home on furlough from serving as missionaries in the Marshall Islands and I haven't seen her in a few years so that will be fun! Needless to say they aren't PC(USA) missionaries. My Alma Mater is Fundamental Baptist so they serve with that type board.

The Circle of Life

Yesterday was circle, our church has more then one. One thing I am grateful is that they don't use the denominations materials, at our previous church they always seemed so out of place the circle was made up of farmer's wives and teaching a lesson so full of feminism that just didn't apply to these women's lives. Anyway... circle was fun their we're about 13 ladies and I was the youngest by about 30 years which I don't mind. You can learn from your peers but how you really learn from are these wonderful older ladies, they have already raised successful children many have been through caring for and losing a spouse. They have the joy and experiences that comes from living long,full lives.

Today is the Presbybaby's check up, 10 month old already! She is pulling herself up on the furniture and giving her brother a run for who gets what toy. I have been recruiting funeral dinner helpers which are stretched a bit thin as their services usually aren't called upon so often in the same week. Tonight I have to go pick up a couple hundred pounds of chicken and go to a viewing. The garden needs attention but it will have to wait : )

A Three Funerals Kinda Week...

So it looks like we are going to have a repeat of the other month with three funerals in one week. As far as me that means three funeral dinners to prepare in one week. I am pretty sure I am not going to make the stuffed Chicken breast and mashed potatoes that I have been, the kitchen has no a/c and huge pots of boiling potatoes make things very uncomfortable. I think I am going with the following menu, unless any of the families really prefer the stuffed chicken.

Cheese Ball and crackers
(Persons that don't wish to go to the cemetery can snack on these)
BBQ Chicken (breasts and thighs) prepared in roasters
Pasta Salad
Potato Salad (both homemade)
Chips
Jello and deserts (prepared by others)
Iced tea, lemonade and coffee

Rummage Week

This is rummage week here at our church,I don't help much with the sale as I have two little ones but I do try to contribute quiet a bit to the bake sale portion. I really like to come up with things that are a little out of the norm but that can have a high price tag. Our Bake Sale earnings go to the Second Harvest Food Bank (our church runs a food bank also).
Last sale I made from scratch danish, they all sold however their shelf life is only a few days. Banana bread, cookies, brownies are things most other people seem to make. I make a very good homemade cream puff but their shelf life is even shorter and they really should be refrigerated....So I put my thinking cap on and I am making homemade pepperoni rolls which is your traditional yeast roll with sliced peperoni and cheese inside. I am packaging them in trays of 6. I though of making pies, but honestly I HATE making pie crust, well mostly I hate cleaning up my counter from making the crust. I thought of making some layer cakes but not sure how I'd package them??? So I am still trying to come up with another idea? Cinnamon rolls, more danish??? Any ideas ladies?

Shell Removal or The "Shy" Pastor's Wife

First off I have to say that I am most definitely not shy, but in the past I have been. How does a shy ministers wife show her love and encouragement for her congregation? You have to think outside your shell, some shyness may stem from your personality some may be because of past hurts from other christian women,the last the Devil delights in , if he can keep you so scared of rejection or criticism that you never do anything for God his job is pretty much over. How do you overcome this? This is the advice I would give to such a minister's wife.

1. Pray ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and courage to do his work.

2. Go visit in a nursing home -assisted care, no one will be as happy to see you as these people, maybe some won't even remember the next day that you we're there but you will. It makes your members fell good and it makes you feel good.

3. Smile and have a happy countenance all the time, maybe your too frightened to say much but a great smile if the first step.

Write encouraging notes if you are too intimated to engage people in conversation.
Example:

Dear Mrs. Sosnso,

This morning I called out your name in prayer, I asked the Lord to bless you, Mr. Sonso and the little Sonsos. I prayed that no good thing be withheld from you as you are God's child and that the fullness of all his blessings be evident to you especially today.
I want to personally thank you for letting the RevDr and I be your family's ministers and that we consider it a privilege that of all the churches you could attend that you chose ours.

Sincerely,
Mrs.Rev.Dr. Prov. 31:30

That took all of 5 min. have a church directory handy and start with the A's, but here's the kicker, you have to MEAN it you have to actually call out your members name's in prayer!. And as always remember God knew everything about you when he decided to make you a minister's wife and with his help you can reach your full potential.

The Week After

The week after Easter the RevDr. usually takes a week of his vacation, one thing I love about our denomination is that at this point he gets 4 weeks vacation and 2 weeks study leave. The years we have a baby he takes 2 weeks after it's born to stay home and help me, but with no baby this year we can do some projects around the house and some just fun local things. This week we took the Presbychildren to the Zoo and Children's Museum, of course the 3 year old Presbyboy cried when it was time to leave each one. The Presbygirl still contained at 9 months to her stroller didn't have much to say.

We also got our second car back this week from my friend's brother who fixed it, $650 in parts and he just charged us $125 for labor, what a blessing! We decided that 2 car payments didn't fit into our decisions of being debt free. I was getting used to being home a lot but it's sure nice to have my van back to go places I just "want" to go and not "need" to go.

A Season of TV Free

We did this last year and are planning on doing it again this year. We live in a very cold climate having snow on the ground 5+ months of the year, TV in the winter is a treat when you don't have it the rest of the year! During the spring-summer we only had the "life line" cable package which is an unadvertised package for around $12 a month we received the networks, PBS WGN and public access, without this we couldn't get anything, now with tv signals going digital I am curious to see what we could pick up with just a converter box and antenna, ANYWAY, by keeping this package we didn't have to pay for it to be re- installed in the fall we simply returned our cable boxes to the company.
Not having anything good to watch encourages us to be outside more and adjust our noise level in the home since the TV isn't blaring in the background. We do still rent movies from the library and REDBOX but not excessively. Not to mention we save money.

Yard Sale Season

Here in the frozen North Yard Sale season runs from May-September. What I love about yard sales is your never sure what you'll fine, yes, you do have to go through a lot of junk but that's part of the fun. I do the majority of my child shopping at them. I have found that the best sales are in the middle class areas, the upper class ones people don't bother or they mark things way to high and the lower class ares well, obviously they don't have quality stuff.

I also go with a list, yup a printed out list and a lot of dollar bills and quarters. I also bring a large reusable bag, I personally like block sales where you can walk from one sale to the next.I have been working on my list of items I am looking for, some I probably won't ever find at a sale but again , you just never know!

Cast iron griddle
Cast iron, 6 Q. dutch oven
Any Revere Wear in good shape w- matching lid
vintage aprons and cookbooks
crystal cake stands
Wooden bunk beds or day bed w/ trundle
Round dining room set that has a leaf with 6 chairs (preferable captain's chairs and Ethan Allen brand (I have been looking for this for a while) no more then $200
Wicker Porch set
5T boys coat with attached hood
4T+ Jeans that are brand name and in good condition
2T girl's winter clothing
Crib $20 (no, I'm not pregnant but we plan on having more and our crib won't last through another baby)
Electric Clothes Dryer (ours keeps dieing and being resurrected)
push lawnmower
clothes patterns and assorted notions.

Walgreens and Rite Aid Bargains 4-5-09

I really wanted to keep my bargain blog and my Pastor's wife blog separate, but for the sake of time I think I am just going to be posting on both subjects here. Being thrifty has absolutely nothing to do with how much money you have, if we were millionaires I'd still bargain hunt and follow a budget for food and toiletries, my in-laws that have 4 homes love thrift and salvage stores, it's so not about how much you have it's about how wisely you spend it. Anyway, to me its just fun to see how much I can get for so little. Here is what I got today at Walgreens and Rite Aid, Rite Aid had a lot of food marked down 75% its not normal I find such great bargains there. Walgreens was out of a lot of items so I got rain checks.

Walgreens
Oust spray 2.99- $1 rebate, $2 coupon=free
Colgate 2.99-2.99 register reward and 1.00 coupon free +$1 overage
6 Starkist Tuna Pouches 1.09/ 2 coupons for 1 free pouch if you buy two= 4.36
One-a-day Women's water pack 1.49, free after rebate
Store Brand pull-ups 4.50
7.86 paid with Gift Card from last months rebates


Rite Aid
2-.25 each Royal Pudding .50
3- Celestial Seasonings Tea .92 each -3/1.00 coupons (they gave me the whole $1 off amount made .24
2- Starkist Albacore Tuna .69, no coupon but a good deal for Albacore 1.38
Dried Apricots sale 1.12
2-Bounty sale for .99 each, 1.00 coupon .50 each or 2/$1
Juicy Fruit 1.12- free with coupon
3- Kellogg's Eggs Cereal discounted to 1.19, 1 $1 coupon and 1 $1 off/2 coupon 3/1.57
2-Post Honeycomb discounted to 1.24 2 /.55 off coupons 2/1.38

Total 6.71

7 Random Things Meme

1. I attended two of the most conservative Christian colleges in America, Bob Jones University, and Hyles-Anderson College, neither are pleased I'm now a Presbyterian.

2. My counters could be a mess but I vacuum my floors everyday.

3. I can't stand wearing pajamas, have to sleep in nightgowns, all my college roomies thought this was strange but the RevDr doesn't seem to mind.

4. Never had a cavity till I was 28.

5. All of my babies have been way overdue.

6. I love cooking whether it's for myself or 100 people.

7.I have a bed habit of starting to wallpaper rooms then losing interest.

How Much is the Load of Laundry Really Costing You???

Can you tell I got a HUGE electric bill today, twice what it normally is, I mean it's not this high even when I'm running my central air 24/7. So I have been doing some research. As a point of reference most everyone can relate to a light bulb as they come in 60 watts, 40 watts or 100 for you really adventurism gals.

Clothes Dryer, for a 45 min. load .34 for gas .36 for electric
For anything higher then a dollar I might be willing to hang it out but not enough to make me haul wet clothes into the back yard, however my dryer is in the basement, if it we're in an area where I use air conditioning it would cost me more since it heats the air around it.

Now for the washing
this is the non - front loading

Total cost per load (electricity + water + water heating)
Wash / Rinse setting
Electric water heater/ Gas water heater
Hot / Warm
69¢ 52¢
Hot / Cold
50¢ 39¢
Warm / Warm
50¢ 39¢
Warm / Cold
32¢ 27¢
Cold / Cold
14¢ 14¢
So for me with an electric dryer and a gas water heater considering soap at .12 per load and a dryer sheet at .02 a load ranges me from .64- 1.00 and I do approximately 10 loads a week. I'm sure going to be using more colder rinses.

Presbyterian Rummage

Our church has a twice year rummage/bake sale. So it's time again for me to go through the house and get rid of stuff I don't want. I'm sure my cast offs will bring in the big bucks as everyone wants a piece of the Pastor's Wife's rummage : )Just as they all line up for an authentic Pastor's Wife cinnamon roll. Maybe I'll try to sneak in some Armenian theology books to keep the Women's Society members on their toes...

This time I've decided to give away my "thin" clothes,( I almost laugh because I wasn't "thin" by any stretch of the imagination when I wore them but for conversation sake I'll call them that) , otherwise they are known as pre baby clothes, I've come to the realization if I ever do became that size again, the clothes will no longer be in fashion. The high heals are going to, I wore high heals every day in Bible College, and I did a LOT of walking, how on earth did I do it? I guess I had better calluses built up back then. I wore a maternity shirt yesterday and my baby is almost 9 months old if that gives you an indication of how my dieting is going.

Making Faith an Action

This week I got a call from a good friend. Mary and I went to Christian school together, but for the last 10 or so years I haven't known her to darken a door of a church. She was as she describes "burnt out" on religion. specifically the ultra conservative brand she had been raised in. She wasn't opposed to church but she knew she would never feel God in the denomination she had been raised yet with her upbringing felt like it was either that church or no church.

The reason she called was a friend of hers, that was an acquaintance of mine had recently had open heart surgery (only 33) and needed her house to be cleaned BADLY, Mary said I was the first person she thought of! (Gee, wasn't that nice of her) she had been in the hospital for weeks and her hubby and two small children we're home all the time and she knew how bad it was when she left it and could only imagine how bad it was now, and she just couldn't be released from the hospital and go back to it.

Mary in her words said I would know how to "get it done" so we recruited another friend who was less then enthusiastic and we got at it. It was pretty darn bad, but for some reason it' a lot more fun to clean someone else's house then to clean your own. It was actually a single wide trailer and 3 of us working for 6 hours made it brand new and sure it was a treat for the sick gal but more then that I saw Mary sneak into the back of my church last Sunday, afterward I told her of course I was thrilled but what made her come? Her answer "you make your faith an action".
What could you do for someone else this week that would give actions to your faith?


How to Clean a Really Messy House

1.Go through and throw away all obvious garbage.(wear rubber gloves)
2.Sort through bedrooms and throw all items on the floor onto beds, take laundry out at this time (we actually sent our friend to the laundry mat because there we're about 16 loads of laundry to do.)
3. Put cleaner into toilets, spray shower, sink
4. Start dishwasher washing
5. Clean off all kitchen counters, go through fridge and cabinets and throw away food items.
6. Go back and clean bathroom
7. Dust and cobweb bedrooms and living areas
8. Put away all items that you threw on the beds
9. Put away all the clothes you just laundered, vacuum mattresses and make beds.
10. Vacuum, sofas, chairs, all floors
11. sweep-mop all floors

M.I.A.

The crock pot is missing in action...I have no recollection of removing it from the house and in my tiny kitchen there is no room for items that get lost. I hate the idea of buying another and am hoping the crock pot fairy will bring to mind where I put it.
Meanwhile the Presbyboy had a allergic reaction to something this week which led to a trip to the Dr. several prescriptions etc. the only bad thing is the Dr. didn't know what it was though detergent and or fabric softener was his best guess since the Presbyboy broke out where clothing would touch him (except for feet, diaper area and face.

Ina Cookies

This recipe is in Ina's new cookbook. I LOVE Ina or "The Barefoot Contessa",some people are all about Rachel Ray, honestly her food is too "tex mex" for my liking but Ina, now she can cook! I much prefer watching her soft voice explaining the process and the beautiful Hamptons view from her house, she does seem to have an excessive amount of gay friends to lunch with, but a girl does need SOMEONE to lunch with...Anyway,these are just about the best cookie ever, she recommends toasting the pecans and it does make these extra good. Honestly I never use raisins, just more pecans...mmmm

Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
from The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

makes 30 to 35 cookies

1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed (I used light brown sugar)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop coarsely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix until just combined.

Using a small ice cream scoop (or a tablespoon), drop 2 inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper (ed. note: the parchment is not necessary, but makes clean up easier). Flatten dough mounds slightly. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

Cooking for Sunday

I don't know what it is about church that turns generally nice people ravenous, any other day you can have had breakfast at 9 am and be perfectly fine till 1 pm, but on Sunday it seems the belly growling starts early. So on Sundays after church you have two options .

1. Eat out, except everyone else and their grandmothers is also eating out. If we eat out after church its always at a buffet so we don't have to wait too long.
2. Cook something that can be left in a crockpot so that its ready when you come home. I do this with many things that I 've cooked the night before then just left on "keep warm" setting.

This meatloaf recipe is one of my favorites, now, if you think you don't like meatloaf then you have to try this one! I usually serve it with baked beans and potato chips because its fast, mashed potatoes are of course the best!



Presbyterian Meatloaf

2 pounds lean ground beef
2-3 eggs
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I like saltine crackers, unsalted unless you really like salt because onion soup mix is also salty.
3/4-1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 package dry onion soup mix (Lipton)
dash liquid smoke
bacon strips

Directions
Mix all ingredients up (reserving 1/4 c. tomato sauce for top)
and put in greased baking dish.
Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
Place back strips along top of meat loaf.

(Honestly, I almost never use the bacon)

Good Presbyterian Cats

Before we had the first Presby Baby we had two Presbycats, Luther and Calvin to be exact, well they are flame point siamese and LOUD which is fine unless you have LOUD children then it's just too much. So we gave Luther another family that promptly changed his name to Flame...So now we just have Calvin, this morning I brought up laundry and the Presbyboy had used neon green marker all over Calvin's face...I could try to wash it off but have a feeling he wouldn't approve of that either. So now he's running around the neighborhood looking like a very Catholic St. Patrick's Day cat.

Day Off

I just got my first 2 issue of Martha Stewart Living thanks to a link from www.moneysavingmom.com I am also not over some kind of nasty virus, a perfect excuse to read a little while the children color each other with marker...

Movie Winner

Tami!

I know all 7 of you we're staying up till midnight to see!

Movie Giveaway!

Road to Avonlea movie DVD giveaway, movie is not new in plastic wrap but I don't believe it's ever been watched. 97 min. Produced by Sullivan Entertainment who also produced Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea a very family friendly movie. You have till midnight 3-13-09 to enter and you may enter as many times as you wish winner will be chosen using random.com Open to USA and Canada only.

Advice for a New Pastor's Wife

When thinking up a title I first thought of "Advice for a Young Pastor's Wife", since I guess I consider myself young still (29). Then I though well maybe there are "new" Pastor's wives that aren't that young perhaps their husbands decided to go to seminary and are second carrier clergy? The Rev Dr. actually was a lawyer before he went to seminary but that was long before I meet him, he had already been Pastoring for a few years when we met, so upon our wedding I became a Pastor's wife.
I grew up in a small church of around 50 people, then I went to Bible College at one of the world's largest churches there is a much different dynamic at both. So this advice is what I've learned at our churches.

1. Don't have church members as close friends. plain and simple , you can be friendly but it will create jealously among other ladies. A close friend is someone you share your confidences with, you can go out to lunch with a GROUP of your church ladies but don't single one out.

2. Someone that tells you "stories" about another person, will tell another person "stories" about you.

3. Find your close friends among the other clergy families in your area. Have a group that fellowships together, if your in a large church fellowship with the other staff members, UNLESS they have extended family in the same church then keep in mind that nothing you say in front of them is really private.

4. Don't complain about ANYTHING to a church member, especially about your husband or something that occurred in the church.

5. Pour out your frustrations to Jesus not others, most of the time he's the only one who can do anything about them anyway.

6. Your congregation holds you and your family to a higher moral and spiritual standard then they hold themselves.

7. The instant you become a Pastor's wife people will automatically think you are a theologian and trained counselor. Most of counseling is simply listening to people share their heartaches and ANYONE can do that, anything you can't handle tell your husband about.

8. Keep the house clean and the kids tidy,make sure your husband is dressed well and his clothing is ironed. It will reflect on you if these aren't done, should it ?? Beside the point it WILL!

9. Never be alone in a room with a member of the opposite sex, never be in a car , alone with a member of the opposite sex. I personally don't hug male church members.

10. Never let a incident or injustice done by another Christian affect your joy in the Lord and in the ministry.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday:Manicotti stuffed with ricotta, feta and spinach
Tuesday: Meatloaf, mashed pot. gravy and green beans
Wednesday: BBQ chicken sandwiches, baked beans, chips
Thursday: Homemade potato soup with homemade bread
Friday: Ham, scalloped potatoes, rolls and coleslaw
Sat.: Chili with over rice
Sun.:Chicken quesadillas with chips and salsa.
I forgot that Saturday the Re.Dr. and i are going out to a birthday party dinner with other couples so I will probably make it anyway so the kids and Grandma have something to eay.

Book Winner

Andrea V. is the winner, using www.random.com she was selected. Sorry to all those who didn't win but next Friday there will be another giveaway.

Giveaway- Money Saving Mom

Brand New Hard Cover Book
Please leave either your name or e-mail in the comment section to win this copy.
** for those who asked you have till 12 midnight Friday, Eastern time then I will draw a random number.

That "Darning" Egg

In bringing out my Easter things I realize that my Grandma's darning egg had gotten placed among the decorations, now If your too young to know what a darning egg is its a wood or (marble in my case) egg that women would drop down a sock or stocking that needed repair to hold the shape while they mended it. I wonder when this went out of fashion, when stocking stopped being made of silk? Now days I just throw away socks the get holy or stockings that get runs.

That "Crazy" Pastor's Wife

I'm afraid in the last few years I've developed a slightly unsettling habit, when I am asked a rude or invasive question by a congregate I immediately respond with an outlandish or silly answer, sadly it seems to work! I am not questioned or given advice any farther.

Examples:

Congregate: "Do you mind if I ask how old you are?"

Mrs.ReverendDr. : "15 , my last birthday" (I was actually 27, when this was asked by a PNC committee member) as I am 12 years younger the the Rev. Dr. some people assume I am his second wife, I assure all readers I am not!

Congreate: "Have to ever tried using a time out seat" (this was after the PresbyBoy tried to blow out the Advent candles during the Children's Sermon)

Mrs.ReverendDr. : "I find that a plain, old brown leather belt and a bar of Ivory soap works just as well."

One day I must learn to happily smile and nod, just not today.

The Pastor's Pastor or Executive Presbyter

In our denomination there are Executive Presbyters or as I call them the Pastor's Pastor now I've often imagined what it must be like to be one and I have a feeling it probably consists of putting out a lot of fires and listening to a lot of complaints and going to endless meetings. And no doubt dealing with any illegal situations or charges of misconduct. Not anything very fun at all! They do pulpit supply on occasion and show up for the big things like installation services and those wonderful Presbytery meetings, making sure the churches and ministers are taken care of however they have no secure congregation to which they go to every week.
That certainly takes someone with a lot of patience. Now if your a minister or just a parishioner how do you treat your EP? Do you send them Christmas cards, or perhaps a note of appreciation? Offer to take them to dinner? The EP's congregation are the churches he ministers to. I would challenge you to go the extra mile in making sure your EP feel appreciated.

Clerical Robes..

I wasn't raised in a church where clergy wore robes, for some reason seeing my husband in a clerical robe (complete with coordinating sole) always unnerves me a bit, I kind of feel like I'm on a date with a priest. I also happen to have a completely black maternity dress with velvet trim that could also double as a robe, whenever we are both shaking hands after service and I'm wearing it I always feel a little like the clerical bobbsey twins.

Now, I was pricing new robes recently and a polyester robe was around $300 a wool one $500 what the heck! Thank Goodness for the parishioner who have Rev.Dr. a collection of soles for a gift otherwise I would never spend that amount.

Now in my pursuits to acquire inexpensive clerical clothing I did manage to find a sewing pattern, its discontinues of course and is $65 used!

It would probably be cheaper to buy the pattern and materials and hire a good dressmaker to fit a robe to you.

The Pastor's Wife Poem

"Life, as Viewed from the Goldfish Bowl"

by: Beverly Hyles

Excerpt "Help! I'm a Pastor's Wife"

Daily works from morn 'till night

Perfect children, act just right,

House is always neat and clean,

Company may soon be seen,
Cheerfully at every meeting,
Smiling nicely with her greeting,
Slim, trim and always fit,
Confident and quick to wit,
Thrifty, smart and pretty,too.
Knows the Bible through and through,
Cooks and entertains with zest,
Never worried, never stressed,
Talent, charm and patience too,
Nothing that she cannot do,
Never existing in real life,
She's the mythical preacher's wife!

Manse or Housing Allowance?

In the PC (USA) most churches offer a Manse or housing allowance, some offer only the option of a Manse and some Churchs no longer wanting to maintain a manse have sold it and therefore only offer a housing allowance. I have lived in both situations and both have their good sides and bad. When we we're in the process of looking for our current call I was horrified at some of the Manses I was shown. Our Manse had been well maintained by the church and I foolishly thought all churches did this...how wrong I was.

One Manse was about 150 years old and though HUGE it was beside the church and the church being the same age had over the years paved over the Manse yard to extend their parking lot, not to mention it was actually attached to the church itself. Their previous Pastor had them do no maintenance or improvements the 25 years he had lived there,claiming he didn't want them to "spend the money" there was a good 6 inch gap between the wall and the floor boards where the foundation had shifted. This Pastor did them no favors by not letting- insisting on regular maintenance.
The four upstairs bedrooms had never been used by the minister and were a lead pain nightmare waiting to happen. We were told by the PNC committee that they would be making improvements if we decided to come, well not only did this place need well over 100k in work it would have taken many,many months for it to be done and the thought of living in a construction zone with an infant didn't appeal to us. The area we were looking at had a high cost of living that wasn't reflected in the housing allowance so needless to say we didn't even consider a call there after that meeting.
In my opinion if you are a church PNC member reading this consider that before you even start interviewing people have your Manse ship shape, no matter how wonderful your church is if it looks like you don't keep up the Manse well it reflects poorly on you as a church. Maybe you are offering a choice, if that is so and your next Pastor chooses a housing allowance you should most likely rent out the Manse and so it needs to be well kept regardless!


Housing allowance- This is what we currently have in my opinion at some point you realize that you will one day retire and have no equity in a home if you have been in a Manse all your ministry. The downside to buying is in our denomination you can't put your home up for sale until you have told your church you are leaving 4-6 weeks before you actually leave, so you might be caring house payments for a while after you have moved on to your next call. If you can find good renters renting your house out if you move to another call that offers a Manse is a good option and you are still building equity in a home, now of course this is IF you can find good tenants that pay on time.
The upside if you are a church that hires a Pastor who buys a home chances are hes not planning on leaving anytime soon. Obviously offer enough housing allowance so he can afford a home in the area of the church, keep in mind also he will be paying taxes on this allowance.

Manse- Living in a Manse is an odd situation , your landlords are your congregation and since Deacons cycle through on a 3 year term they are always changing. Most Pastors don't want to ask for a lot of things they somehow that they feel greedy by doing so. Deacons should ask every 6 months for a list of anything that needs done, don't assume the Pastor should just let you know. In my opinion this is what a Deacons board should do in addition to maintenance of the Manse.

1. Provide lawn care and /or snow plowing, no Pastor has time to mow 2 acres of lawn (trust me)
2. Paint the interior every 5 years or more often as needed
3. Paint the interior a neutral color but let the Pastor chose other colors if he wishes
4. Clean carpets once a year - professionally
5. If an appliance is old, even if it works replace it
6. For goodness sakes don't put light color carpet in a house
7. Central Air is nice, if not the church should buy window units for the main living areas and bedrooms.
8. Provide shades or blinds for all windows, a neutral sheer curtain is nice also
9. If you live in a area that has bug problems provide regular pest control
10. Have a policy regarding the Pastor's pets, if hes coming and bring an animal make sure you are willing to accept that it might cause wear and tear to the carpets/yard.

Have a designated person that the minister knows to call if there is an emergency situation with the Manse. In our previous Manse we had the heat stop working and we called the head deacon who was new to the job she had no idea that she would be in charge of such things.
Keep in mind if you are a church providing a Manse it may be more house then some Pastors need but they are paying taxes on 30% of their cash salary so in effect they are most likely saving the church money by choosing to live in it. The downside to a church having a Manse is that the minister can very easily leave for another call, he has no home to sell or notice to give on a lease.