The Scoop on Granny

Name:
Cathi

Status:
Dreaming of the mountains...


Who is Granny?

I'm the incredibly blessed mother of 9, "Granny" to 16, and wife of "The Papa," the knight-in-shining-armor whose loving support has made it possible for me to stay home and give my life to mothering, homemaking, and 26 years of homeschooling. Life at Granny's House is full of laughter, friendship, books, music, lively debate, writing, and good things to eat. My days are made even more meaningful by coming alongside other moms, giving them the support and encouragement that I lacked as a young mother and helping them to network with each other in ways that strengthen homes and families. A few times a year I board a plane to visit my "away" kids, to attend the birth of a grandchild, or to enjoy some lazy days with my best friend, but I always love coming back to...Granny's House.

My Complete Profile

On Granny's Calendar
  • August 15 - SAC Day begins
  • August 16 - Sam is 7!
  • August 20 - Kristen's birthday
  • August 30 - THE WELTYS ARRIVE!
  • Sept 3 - FAMILY PICTURES
  • Sept 3 - Chris' birthday
  • Sept 5 - Henry is 9!
  • Sept 7 - Isaac is 10!
  • Sept 17 - The Papa's birthday
  • Sept 23-30 - Granny and Papa go to Hawaii
  • Sept 26 - PawPop is 88!
  • Sept 29 - Tim is 15!
  • Oct 2 - Cheyenne's birthday
  • Oct 4 - Liam is 5!
  • Oct 7 - John Caleb is 17!
  • Oct 18 - Tony's birthday



  • Email Granny!


    Get your own calendar



    Granny Cares
  • Care Calendar
  • Agape Pregnancy Help Center San Antonio
  • World Vision

  • Granny Cooks (and Eats)!

  • The Pioneer Woman Cooks
  • Once a Month Mom
  • $5 Dinners
  • Full Bellies, Happy Kids
  • A Year of Crockpotting


  • Granny's House (and yours!)

  • Simple Mom
  • The Nesting Place
  • Between Naps on the Porch
  • The Inspired Room



  • Granny gets around...
  • A Holy Experience
  • MommyLife
  • Confessions of a Pioneer Woman
  • Preschoolers and Peace
  • Breathing Grace
  • theMangoTimes



  • Granny stays informed...
  • Real Clear Politics
  • Fox News
  • Drudge Report

  • Granny Thinks...
  • Al Mohler
  • Between Two Worlds
  • Blog and Mablog
  • First Importance
  • Equipping the Saints
  • Desiring God

  • Granny says you may go to...
  • PowerLine Blog
  • Michelle Malkin
  • SteynOnline
  • WSJ Opinion Journal Best of the Web
  • GetHuman
  • Home School Legal Defense Association

  • Granny goes to the movies...
  • Netflix
  • Rotten Tomatoes
  • ScreenIt.com

  • Granny is watching!
  • Blue Pencil Editing
  • SPOGG
  • Mighty Red Pen
  • Conjugate Visits

  • Granny smiles at...
  • Purgatorio
  • ScrappleFace
  • LarkNews
  • Sacred Sandwich


  • Wednesday, October 27, 2010
    VOTE!
    Texas voters, you have until Friday to participate in early voting! (There is NO early voting this Saturday.) After that, you will only have Tuesday, and you'll be limited to your own precinct's polling place, so find out in advance where that is so you can work it into your day...sometimes these places are hard to find, not to mention the long lines. So if you think Tuesday may be hard, go today, tomorrow, or Friday to ANY polling place and cast your vote!

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    has spoken at 12:26 PM
    3 Backtalks to Granny



    Monday, October 25, 2010
    Moms, and everyone else, you have got to see this! Gather your kids around! (If the music gets to you, turn it down or off...while some of it works, some of it is annoying and none of it is essential.)

     

    hat tip: Trish

    has spoken at 9:04 PM
    1 Backtalks to Granny



    Friday, October 22, 2010
    Working hard? Hardly working?
     
    Call Me Senator from RightChange on Vimeo.

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    has spoken at 7:41 PM
    1 Backtalks to Granny



    Wednesday, October 20, 2010
    Have you voted yet?? If you're in an early voting state and you've already voted, PLEASE TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS!

    has spoken at 11:34 AM
    6 Backtalks to Granny



    Coming soon to a country near you...
     Every mail and website to be stored by government


    (Janet Napolitano wants to look over YOUR shoulder, too. We're just not as enlightened as Europe. Yet.)

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    has spoken at 11:30 AM
    0 Backtalks to Granny



    Monday, October 18, 2010
    I hope that all of my readers, including my 2.6 liberal readers, will take time to ponder Abraham H. Miller's startling words about his Christian friends...

    Christianity: First Line of Defense for the West?

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    has spoken at 11:41 AM
    1 Backtalks to Granny



    Obama inherited, Obama inherited, blah blah blah....

    (Sooner or later you run out of other people's money.)

    hat tip: The Papa

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    has spoken at 11:11 AM
    1 Backtalks to Granny



    Sunday, October 17, 2010
    Sunday snippets...
    Here we are a week and a day after the big wedding and just getting back to "normal". That's in quotes because normal is a family joke here at Granny's House and in our adjacent family households. It doesn't look like what you'd think...

    We still have a lot of straightening up and organizing to do, filling in holes left by our bride and putting away some of the decor. I haven't been too obsessive about it, as we still have big changes coming. Kristen and the elves, who are quickly growing out of elf stage, are moving out on Saturday and will be setting up their new home in Fort Worth. Sad as this makes me, I'm rejoicing with them that all the week-long separations are over and their family can be together full-time.

    Have I mentioned how good it is to be rid of Windows Vista? The new computer is fine, but I don't have many new bells and whistles so it doesn't seem all that different...but oh, how I love you, Windows 7!

    But in case I haven't said this yet, I am sincerely hoping my new HP survives me. I can't even tell you how much I detest switching computers. Every program, every application, every database has a different 26-step process for transferring it to the new computer. And two of those steps generally involve writing the help desk at the developers and promising them your firstborn child if they'll just find a way to magically get it all transferred. No, external hard drives and "Easy Transfer" cables have not been the panacea some promised me. I'm still dyin' over here.

    And in other techy news, I continue to enjoy my new iPhone 4. NOW I see why so many people love their iPhones while I hated my old one. And I mean hated it almost from the month I got it. Now if we could just get 3G to work in San Antonio, that might help, huh?

    I finally finished a book last week (see sidebar). My reading has been awfully sporadic this year, and I won't complete nearly as many books as I normally do in a year. Even with my Kindle, which is most of the time in the hands of my traveling husband, I haven't done all that well. This will be on my New Year's resolution list. Yeah.

    School took a hit during the past three weeks, but because we got such an early and successful start this year, I'm not beating myself up. Tim's freshman year is perking along and I'm enjoying the increased one-on-one time with him.

    Okay, I realized a couple of days ago that I will be traveling, as in AIR travel, on the morning after the election. How could this political junkie have managed to schedule THAT? I will need to be at the Honolulu airport by around 10 on the morning of the 3rd for my flight home, which leaves precious little time to catch up on late returns and close races. Ugh.

    Don't ever, EVER go to Maggiano's and not get their Crispy Zucchini Fritte. I'm here to tell you that would be a very bad idea.

    Every one of those Sister Wives deserves her criminal husband. Sheesh.

    This weekend, The Papa and I had the pleasure of being with our church family, and I do mean family, at a retreat in the scenic (and cooler-than-San Antonio) Texas Hill Country. Meticulously planned and exquisitely executed by our deacons' wives, it provided a welcome refreshment for more than 80 of us. We came home after the first night, as John was tasked to preach at the worship service for the group who stayed behind, but even so we had a glorious taste of what "retreat" means  :-)

    TOMORROW is the first day of early voting in Texas. As soon as the day's schoolwork is finished, I will be at the polls casting one of the first votes for the firing of the majority and the reinstatement of common sense (See Atlas Shrugged, please.) No one will be more glad than I am to see Nancy P. collect an unemployment check. Okay, well, collect a six-figure pension. But still.

    If you're one of my friends in Texas Congressional District 23, VOTE QUICO CANSECO!!

    Hoping you have a most excellent week, savoring the blessings of God's grace!


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    has spoken at 8:58 PM
    2 Backtalks to Granny



    Sunday, October 10, 2010
    The long goodbye...
    Goodbyes always take a long time at the Warrens'...especially when they involve someone moving away. Last night was no exception. While I didn't capture the goodbyes with the boys, I did manage to capture the sister goodbyes and one special one at the end...






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    has spoken at 9:36 PM
    5 Backtalks to Granny



    Snapshots, part 3





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    has spoken at 9:30 PM
    0 Backtalks to Granny



    Snapshots, part 2
    The strings played from a platform built for them and placed behind the deck...



    The guestbook table...


    After the wedding, the deck was cleared and the chairs moved to the eating area on the driveway. The deck was then free for the dancing after dinner.
     










    The sendoff! There are benefits to living outside the city limits  :-)

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    has spoken at 9:07 PM
    1 Backtalks to Granny



    Sunday snippets, wedding snapshot edition

    The exquisitely beautiful day has come and gone. And there's no way we could have been happier, with the wedding or with the marriage. As I write this, CJ and Tony have just arrived at their new home in Oklahoma, having decided to postpone a wedding trip until next summer. We already miss them tremendously but we're overjoyed for the happiness they're experiencing right now!

    Professional pictures aren't in yet, but I'll be sharing some shots from a few of our cameras, mostly from that of our dear friend from Indiana, Val Bierlein.

    Here's a shot of our deck all set up for the ceremony. Our deck wraps around two sides of the house, so there was another area of chairs you can't see to the left, and both sides had a good view of the corner pergola where the ceremony took place.



    Here is CJ, getting ready to walk outside...


    ...and the two of the four flower girls, waiting somewhat patiently...


    Erin and Piper, getting ready to deliver roses to the mothers.


    Abigail and Carrie, spreading the bridal path with flower petals...


    This is a priceless shot of Tony, getting his first glimpse of his bride and unable to stop the tears...



    Mother and uncle of the bride, singing as the couple took communion together...


    We look on, joyfully...

    Tony and CJ walk back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Tony Longenbaugh.


    With her four flower-girl nieces!


    And with the proud parents...


    Thank you, Val, for these sneak peek photos while we wait for Shane's. In the next post, some family shots and some scenes from the reception.

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    has spoken at 8:15 PM
    4 Backtalks to Granny



    Tuesday, October 05, 2010
    Coming soon to a society near you...
    It truly has been a slippery slope, hasn't it, from "a couple of cells" to a handicapped child? (And yes, I'm leaving it oversized on purpose, for emphasis.)



    "You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes." ~Deut. 12:8 

    hat tip: Dr. P

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    has spoken at 8:34 AM
    4 Backtalks to Granny



    Monday, October 04, 2010
    EARLY VOTING
    Heads up, all you Bexar County folks. Early voting begins October 18, so mark your calendars now and send yourself an email reminder! You can vote all that week, through Friday. The great thing is that, unlike on normal voting day, you can vote early at ANY location that's convenient for you and not have to fight crowds and long lines. Here is a link to all the locations...no excuses  :-)

    Bexar County Early Voting

    Here's an easy way to do your homework before going: a sample ballot with all the names so you can research backgrounds, positions, voting records, etc.

    Sample Ballot

    And if you're still registered to vote in Texas but have recently moved or will be away for an extended period, here's information on voting by absentee ballot:

    Absentee Voting

    (Thanks, Jeanie!)

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    has spoken at 11:23 PM
    0 Backtalks to Granny



    Sunday, October 03, 2010
    Sunday snippets, Wedding week edition...
    So the wedding week is finally here! By this time next week, CJ and Tony will be Mr. and Mrs. Longenbaugh! There's a lot left to do but it's under as much control as it can be and we're all enjoying the preparations. Lots of sisters make for fun times!

    The last sister will arrive, along with her sweet family, on Thursday, at which time our entire family will be present and accounted for. The groom arrives on Wednesday evening, along with his parents...and other extended family and friends will trickle in in the following two days.  

    We will, of course, be taking advantage of having all of our tribe in town to get family pictures done--the big group of 29 and then the individual families: Warrens, Russells, Slaughters, Weltys, and LONGENBAUGHS. Look to be inundated on Facebook  ;-)


    The Papa got only slightly choked up this morning as he thanked CJ for playing the piano and reminded everyone that this would be her last Sunday with us. *Gulp*


    If you ever get married, you must have Cori Kyle as your wedding coordinator. I wasn't sure we'd all be sane by this week, but she's made it pure pleasure...I wake up thanking God for her about three times a week.

    In the middle of the the increased pace of last week, my 3-year-old Dell laptop with the nasty Windows Vista entered death throes, and in the same 24 hours I realized my nearly 3-year-old iPhone was also giving up the ghost. So I replaced both in the same day. Rid of Dell forever, I hope, in favor of an HP and Windows 7...and I upgraded my iPhone to a 4 and wish I'd done it a lot sooner.  I didn't want the stress or the expense of making these switches right now, but too much of my life is on these two machines to risk the mega-stress it would be to lose everything. Done.


    Tomorrow, the house cleaners come. Do you know how much work it is to get ready for house cleaners? Especially when one person is moving out, other people are moving around, and guests are coming in? I know I'll be delighted to have it done, but it's causing me some stress!

    We are grateful to have so many friends and family involved in helping with the festivities this week: Hollie Carnahan baking the cakes; Candace, Cheyenne, and Celeste Sabo doing the flowers; Julie Cohoon and Nicole LaSalle playing violin and viola; Jack Warren playing guitar and singing; Geoff Lupton on sound and lighting; Shane Kyle on photography (and his wife Cori Kyle telling us all what to do!); Danny (Lewis) King on videography; Teresa Fehrenbach making the (four!) flower girls' dresses; Garfield Green working with landscaping; Brandon and Blair Blair, Dirk and Aubrey Russell, and Christine LaSalle helping house family and friends; Steven Navarro, Hayden Fletcher, and Chris White helping our boys with parking cars; Dave Slaughter and Josh Russell for myriad building and outdoor tasks; Gloria Gonzales, giving her day to do hair; Cristen Gauthier, Cheyenne Sabo, Hannah Cisarik, and Courtney King assisting Cori and being available for errands and various last-minute tasks; Lehua Kamakawiwoole crafting the programs; Beth Warren and Cristen Gauthier on photo displays, lanyards, and guest book creations; Lyric Murphy (from afar) providing decor materials for the pergola; Dirk Russell performing the ceremony and Bill Warren assisting; and dozens of friends loaning us tables ice chests, etc. I'm sure I've left some folks off and I'm sure others will be pitching in to help at the last moment to make Saturday a day to remember. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

    UPDATE: See, I DID leave someone out--Penny Pitamber, addressing the wedding invitations. HUGE load off our shoulders! Thank you, Penny  :-)


    This morning in my quick scan of blogs on my reader, God was pleased to pierce me with His word in the form of an ancient prayer:


    O my God,
    let me, with thanksgiving,
    remember, and confess unto you
    your mercies on me.

    Let my bones be soaked with your love,
    and let them say unto you,
    Who is like you, O Lord?

    You have broken my chains in pieces.
    I will offer unto you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
    And how you have broken them, I will declare;
    and all who worship you, when they hear this, will say:
    Blessed is the Lord in heaven and in earth!
    Great and wonderful is his name!

    Augustine of Hippo, via Tim Challies

    And He wasn't through with me yet, and I hadn't even reached the doors of church...a second "piercing" as He stopped me in my tracks to ponder the lyrics of this song...

    I made You promises a thousand times
    I tried to hear from Heaven
    But I talked the whole time
    I think I made You too small
    I never feared You at all No
    If You touched my face would I know You?
    Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

    (CHORUS)

    What do I know of You
    Who spoke me into motion?
    Where have I even stood
    But the shore along Your ocean?
    Are You fire? Are You fury?
    Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
    What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

    I guess I thought that I had figured You out

    I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
    How You were mighty to save
    Those were only empty words on a page
    Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
    The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees


    (CHORUS 2)

    What do I know of Holy?
    What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
    And a God who gave life its name?
    What do I know of Holy?
    Of the One who the angels praise?
    All creation knows Your name
    On earth and heaven above
    What do I know of this love?

    What do I know of Holy?

    What do I know of Holy?

    ~Allison Rogers and Jennifer Simmons for Addison Road 
    ...and all morning, all day today, all I hear are the words, "What do I know of Holy?"

    I hope your week is as joyful as ours promises to be!

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    has spoken at 2:30 PM
    4 Backtalks to Granny



    Granny's Mission Statement
    "...Tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done....that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children."
    ~Psalm 78:4-6

    My Focal Passage for 2011...
    Philippians 2:5-11

    5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

    6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

    7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

    8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

    9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

    10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

    11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

    ~Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)


    Oxymoronica...

    "The vanity of being known to be trusted with a secret is generally one of the chief motives to disclose it."

    ~Samuel Johnson


    [Oxymoronica, n., A compilation of self-contradictory terms, phrases, or quotations; examples of oxymoronica appear illogical or nonsensical at first, but upon reflection, make a good deal of sense and are often profoundly true.]


    Books on the iPhone, the Kindle, or on the nightstand...


  • The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, Alexander Mccall Smith
  • The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, Arthur G. Bennett, editor



  • Books finished in 2011...

  • Oxymoronica, Mardy Grothe
  • Some Sing, Some Cry, Ntozake Shange, Ifa Bayeza
  • English Society in the Eighteenth Century, Roy Porter
  • One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp
  • His Word in My Heart, Janet Pope
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
  • Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  • Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi
  • Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, John Piper
  • Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, Joshua Foer
  • Blue Shoes and Happiness, Alexander McCall Smith
  • The Red Queen, Philippa Gregory
  • Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, Eric Metaxas
  • The Confessions of Saint Augustine, St. Augustine
  • Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats, John Keats
  • Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell
  • Words That Work, Frank Luntz
  • NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
  • Poke the Box, Seth Godin
  • Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It, Gary Taubes
  • A Patriot's History of the United States, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen
  • Song of Saigon: One Woman's Journey to Freedom, Anh Vu Sawyer
  • The Artistic Mother: A Practical Guide for Fitting Creativity into Your Life, Shona Cole
  • The Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature, Elizabeth Kantor
  • The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, David McCullough


  • Oh, the thinks you
    can think...
  • Tapestry of Grace
  • Anatomical Charts
  • America's Library
  • George Washington's Mount Vernon - Virtual Mansion Tour
  • Thomas Jefferson's Monticello - Virtual Mansion Tour
  • Hurricane Demo

  • Oh, the places we'll go...
  • The Alamo
  • Majestic Theater
  • The MAiZE
  • Magik Theatre
  • Sheldon Vexler Children's Theatre

  • Granny always says...
    Saying goodbye...
    Sunday snippets...
    Summer.
    Sunday snippets...
    Coming soon to a country near you...
    Making (a) room...
    Just in case this might make an impact on your spe...
    Midweek snippets...
    What's up?
    She said YES!

    Granny used to say...
    October 2005
    November 2005
    December 2005
    January 2006
    February 2006
    March 2006
    April 2006
    May 2006
    June 2006
    July 2006
    August 2006
    September 2006
    October 2006
    November 2006
    December 2006
    January 2007
    February 2007
    March 2007
    April 2007
    May 2007
    June 2007
    July 2007
    August 2007
    September 2007
    October 2007
    November 2007
    December 2007
    January 2008
    February 2008
    March 2008
    April 2008
    May 2008
    June 2008
    July 2008
    August 2008
    September 2008
    October 2008
    November 2008
    December 2008
    January 2009
    February 2009
    March 2009
    April 2009
    May 2009
    June 2009
    July 2009
    August 2009
    September 2009
    October 2009
    November 2009
    December 2009
    January 2010
    February 2010
    March 2010
    April 2010
    May 2010
    June 2010
    July 2010
    August 2010
    September 2010
    October 2010
    November 2010
    December 2010
    January 2011
    February 2011
    March 2011
    April 2011
    May 2011
    June 2011
    July 2011
    August 2011


    Grace Notes

    "Were the whole realm of nature mine
    That were a present far too small...
    Love so amazing, so divine
    Demands my soul, my life,
    my all!"