Hall of Blessings

What a Year It's Been - Andy

2012-01-04T19:30:00.000-06:00


Andy - Joseph and a shepherd

A Little About Me:
Name: Andy
Age: 5
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Peanuts
Favorite Activity: Scootering
Favorite Book: Joke Books


Andy loves all things about farming - especially the big machinery

Highlights from 2011

Greatest Lesson Learned: Exercising
Hardest thing of the Year: Writing
Favorite Memory: Playing in the snow with cousin Brynne
What I loved most about 2011: Watching Robin Hood

Excited to do everything his sisters do.

Looking Forward to 2012

Want to Learn: To build a spaceship
Want to get better at: Riding Scooter
Biggest Goal: Learn how to Read

My Mr. Fix it - or at least he tries to be.

What a year It's Been -- Lydia

2012-01-03T19:09:00.001-06:00

Lydia as Mary in the Christmas Program

A Little About Me:

Name: Lydia
Age: 6
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite food: candy
Favorite activity: barbie
Favorite book: Magic Tree House

An unusual deer at the Home on the Range Cabin

Highlights from 2011

Greatest Lesson Learned: How to ride a scooter
Hardest thing of the year: Sitting Still
Favorite Memory: Old Faithful
What I loved most about 2011: Vacation (we went to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons)

Baptismal in front of the church

Looking forward to 2012

Want to Learn: How to write a story
Want to get better at: Scootering

On the Phone at Pioneer Village

Biggest Goal: Read the Bible (she's reading the Day by Day Kids Bible)


Adding to the Great Ball of Twine

What A Year It's Been - Kara

2012-01-02T19:09:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! Okay, I know it's January 2 - but hey at least I'm not a whole month behind. I thought it would be fun to share something from my kids their favorites from 2011 and their hopes for 2012.

Kara - a shepherd and the Inn Keeper

Today I'll start with my eldest child - Kara Beth

A Little About me:
Name: Kara
Age: 7
Favorite Color: Rainbow
Favorite Food: Candy
Favorite Activity: Playing with my new Penguin (Thank you Aunt Sharon!)
Favorite Book: The Boxcar Children

An unused blackberry turned Mp3/Kindle/Camera/Video camera

Highlights from 2011
Greatest Lesson Learned: Math
Hardest thing of the year: Obeying (I'm so glad she was honest here)
Favorite Memory: Vacation
What I loved most about 2011: Getting a scooter

Contemplation - Kara loves losing herself in the beauty of God's Creation

Looking forward to 2012
Want to Learn: How to do cartwheels
Want to get better at: Handstands
Biggest Goal: To read all of the book Little Women


A wonderful servant (when it's her own idea)

Thanksgiving Blessings

2011-12-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

I have been very delinquent in blogging since September, but this has been a year of spiritual growth, and business with my family. I don't apologize for stepping away from the computer - It was very needed. Anyways, here are some pictures from the Thanksgiving visit of our family -- This was the first time since JA's brother Phillip graduated from college that his mom and brothers were all together. I loved being able to meet my two nieces for the first time.

Click here and here to view the pictures.

Bugs, Lizards, and Weeds Oh My

2011-09-04T22:49:00.001-05:00

This has been a fantastic week of school.Click the title to read this post.

Sugar Beets

2011-08-27T13:20:00.001-05:00

The time has come to begin clearing out my garden. This is a great lesson for the girls in beginning homemaking. Thursday Lydia helped me harvest the beets. We kept the taproot attached and then cut the stems to about two inches. We brought them into the house where Kara washed the beets and placed them in the blancher.

We then boiled the beets until the skins were able to be rubbed off. Both Kara and Lydia helped me skin the beets and then I chopped them and placed them in the pint jars. Adding a 1/2 tsp of canning salt to each pint then sealing it with a lid and ring. This is all the girls were able to help me with. I am always a bit nervous about using the pressure canner, so no kids are allowed in the kitchen when the pressure canner is building pressure up.

This was the first time I've used the pressure canner this year, so I had to do a quick review of what I was doing (by calling my very experienced gardening/coupon friend!). I processed the pints for 30 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure (or 11 pounds on my canner since the extension office told me my gauge is off by one pound when pressure gets to 10 pounds).

After all the beets were processed we have 20 lovely pints of beets. Now, hopefully the kids will enjoy eating them :) I don't think I've ever fed them beets before - Total cost $1.40 for 20 canning lids (I already had the jars and rings, and the lids were purchased using $1 off coupons for .$69 each).

Homeschooling has begun

2011-08-27T12:49:00.000-05:00

We have started our schooling up again. If you are interested in following our schooling adventures, click here or on the homeschooling tab at the top of the blog.

From Reading to collecting bugs, we hope to make this school year a great year for our family. Please share any great activities or helps that you have used in homeschooling.

Happy Birthday Lydia

2011-08-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow my little girl turns 6. Lydia is my sweet sensitive one. She feels everything, and is concerned about everyone and everything. While sometimes this can be frustrating -- because she loses complete control when she even THINKS that she is in trouble, this aspect of her personality is also a blessing as she is very sensitive to spiritual things. She is concerned about obeying God and hates the idea of any of her friends not knowing God.


Lydia's first time fishing

Lydia is also my peacemaker. She can play well with Andy, or she can play well with Kara. She tries to be loving and kind. She can be easily persuaded by her oldest sister, but she is learning to stand up and say "No, that's not the right thing to do."

Lydia loves Cats - probably because of Kara's passion for cats. She greatly misses Shalom, and whenever we go down to visit the grandparents she asks if we can go visit Shalom. Lydia loves animals. Lydia is also very detailed oriented. Because of this, she does her work slowly - because she wants to make sure she gets everything right. But, if I need things vacuumed very well - she is the person to ask :)

Lydia loves to explore, and will often get sidetracked by something and not realize where she is going. Because of this, when we are out we need to keep close tabs on which direction she is going. But, we've only lost her once - last year at the zoo. I even hate admitting that, but am very thankful we found her quickly (before she really even got upset about it). Now, I am sure to count heads repeatedly whenever we move about at the zoo or mall.

Lydia has a very vivid imagination. While Kara prefers to bury her nose in a book, Lydia much prefers to act the book out. She also loves being artistic. She made a pillowcase in 4-H this year, and I have a feeling this was just the first of many projects she will be completing this next year.

Lydia loves books, but she will tell you she doesn't know how to read (she can, but it takes a lot of effort on her part- so she would much rather have you read the book to her).

Lydia is a sweetheart, and I love her so much. Her sensitive nature and daily reminders to pray for our soldiers. She has a sweet love for her brother and desires to give him whatever he wants. Lydia is a blessing, and I am excited about the many creative things she will do for God in her life.

Happy Birthday Lydia

Strangers to my Rescue

2011-07-29T22:39:00.000-05:00

Have you ever watched someone trying to juggle too many things at one time, and thought to yourself "I really should go and help that person"? Next time, please do. I'll share with you why.

Wednesday, a church member was having surgery two hours away. JA wanted to be able to be with the family and pray with them before the surgery. So, he asked the kids and I to ride along to keep him company (we have had a very busy month, and both of us are a bit sleep deprived. So, having company on a long drive is a huge help.) I said sure, the town has a McDonald's with a great play place, so I figured I could drop JA off, take the kids to McDonald's and we'd have a great time.

Well, we dropped JA off, headed to the mall to try to redeem our free summer reading books from Waldenbooks only to discover their liquidators are not honoring anything from Borders (should have called ahead before lugging five kids out of the van). However, we were doing great. Kara, Lydia, and Andy held hands singing "Oh How I Love Jesus" as we walked through the mall. I had Ezekiel's hand in one hand, and Gabe's car seat in the other. We walked back out of the mall, into the van, and headed to McDonald's.

McDonald's was great. The kids obeyed as we walked across the busy parking lot. They stood still as I ordered our lunch, and filled our water cups. They even patiently obeyed while I filled my ice tea. Here is where I must have gotten too confident and needed a bit of humbling. I picked up Gabe's car seat, and then I picked up the food tray (which, by the way had a large cup of sweet tea on it).

I don't know what happened! The kids were obeying, but I was holding a car seat, and a tray of hamburgers, but my tea was all over the floor and me. A lady told me to take care of my kids and she would get someone with a mop. I set down the hamburgers and just had the kids head over to the play area. I paused only to joke with a lady who was sitting watching us (she had three kids of her own, and was obviously pregnant) - "That's what I get for trying to juggle to many things at one time!" I told Lydia, Andy, and Ezekiel to take their shoes off, and was about to have Kara watch Gabriel so I could go get the hamburgers when a gentleman came up with our tray. He actually apologized to me for not having stepped in and helped me before the spill! I was shocked. This complete stranger was apologizing for not having helped me avoid a STICKY (and I mean it was sticky) situation :)

Even the lady who was cleaning up my mess was great about the whole thing - "Thank you for giving me some work to do, I was getting board." Wow, God is so good and has really blessed this time with my kids. I tend to get very anxious about taking all five kids out by myself - especially in a busy place. If you knew Ezekiel, you would understand why (see my previous post). But the wonderful attitudes at McDonald's helped encourage me that it really isn't so bad taking them all out by myself -- just next time get the kids seated somewhere before trying to carry the tray of food.

The children enjoyed a wonderful time playing on the play set, drinking their water and eating their hamburgers. I enjoyed watching them play and make friends with the other kids there. I even found a few minutes to be able to do my Bible study (which had been delayed because of the early morning drive). I am so thankful for my five precious blessings, and for the lessons God daily teaches me through them, and through complete strangers.

Hey, this even gave me the courage to try taking them through Sam's Club by myself before picking Daddy up again -- I'd saying we are definitely making progress.

My Challenge, My Comedian

2011-07-26T15:07:00.000-05:00

Ezekiel riding in the combine

Can it be that my little Ezekiel is almost 3 years old? My joyous surprise the morning he was born and the Dr. called out - A Boy! My poor boy nameless for a few hours while Daddy and I struggled to come up with an acceptable name for our fourth precious blessing. Like all parents, we have taken considerable amount of time choosing the right name for each of our children. With Ezekiel, we did this twice - however since the first name was for a girl, we had to think fast. As JA listed names from Scripture, we would look up the meanings to find the perfect name for our little boy. At the time we settled on Ezekiel Paul (until a nurse came into my room later that day and said "Ezekiel Paul Hall" - I am not into rhyming our children's names). Thus his name was quickly changed to Ezekiel Peter. He was named Ezekiel because the name means God has strengthened. At the time, I took joy in the definition because I knew I would need strength to raise four kids. Little did I realize it would not be me, but Ezekiel who greatly needed God's strength. You can read it here

Ezekiel is my WILD Child. Literally, he is my crazy, do what he wants kinda guy. He is his own little man - capable, in his own eyes, of doing whatever everyone else can do.

With his independent streak, he is also my imaginative one. He will spend all day shooting bad guys, or sword fighting to his heart's content using anything that even remotely (or unremotely) resembles the item in question.

Ezekiel is also my clown. He absolutely loves to laugh, and enjoys nothing more than to get you to laugh with him. Whether it be by making the goofiest face you've ever seen, or surprising you with a tickle fest.

Ezekiel is a child with no fear - oh, he will act all shy and fearful if you try to force him to do something, but if left to his own, I have no doubt he would sit on the edge of a high cliff and enjoy the view. He would probably sit their for hours if his bouncy self didn't fall off the cliff when he gets excited about seeing a bird or a buffalo :)

With Ezekiel, I can always know that he will enjoy the small things. Whether it be a bird in the sky, a deer in the road, or especially a cow grazing in the field. He is my happy boy (if he's not being terrorized by older siblings).

My precious little Ezekiel. Born quickly and fighting for the abilities he has achieved - Ezekiel is a child of strength. Trust me, if he is bowling towards you with a gleam in his eye, you had better step aside. He has a VERY hard head :)

Six Month update

2011-07-23T17:09:00.000-05:00

Gabriel is now almost seven months old. At his six month appointment, he was 12 pounds -- just barely on the growth charts -- but in the 25% for height and weight. All of my boys have been super small from three months to about 15 months. As far as development, Gabriel logs in at about 8 months. He is able to sit on his own, and he literally crawls all over the house. He LOVES to eat.


Driving a semi

Playing on vacation


I love riding on mom's back


I love being able to turn my head and see mommy


Yummy apple while watching the ball game

Rhubarb Mint Cobbler

2011-06-15T10:52:00.001-05:00

While JA and the kids were at VBS, Ezekiel and I took on a cooking project. Again, trying to use what I have available in my yard, I googled rhubarb and mint and found this recipe. However, after I went out and picked what I could (without stripping my rhubarb in an unhealthy manner, I could only get 1 pound of rhubarb (you shouldn't pick more than a third of a rhubarb plant at a time). Thus, I am going to share the recipe here that I halved. Since, unless you have several rhubarb plants, you won't be able to harvest much more than a pound at a time (I have two plants).

Mommy's helper in picking the mint.

We picked the rhubarb and the mint, and then washed and trimmed the rhubarb and rinsed the mint. Remember to make sure you don't have any leaves left on the rhubarb. I don't want you to get sick. I actually found a fresh leaf growing up at the bottom of one of my stalks when I washed it.

I then sliced the rhubarb, and chopped up the mint (1/4 cup) with my Pampered chef Food Chopper. Add rhubarb, mint, and 1/4 cup, 1 tbsp, 1-3/4 tsp of sugar (I used splenda since I ran out of sugar yesterday!). Add 1 tbsp of butter (oops, I guess I forgot something).


The rhubarb, mint, and splenda ready for the oven (forgot to add the butter).

Make sure you add the butter as this will help keep the rhubarb from sticking to the pan. Place your pan in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven when rhubarb is soft and bubbly around the edges and stir with a rubber spatula.

While the rhubarb is cooking mix up your biscuit mixture - I would recommend using the full biscuit recipe if you like biscuits. I halved the recipe, and think I ended up with too little biscuit mixture, so if I was making the full recipe with two pounds of rhubarb I would recommend doubling this. Mix 1 cup of flour (I used fresh ground whole wheat flour), 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 5 tablespoons of sugar, and four tablespoons of butter. Mix together until the butter has the size of a grain of rice. Then add 1/2 cup of milk (less one tablespoon - I just poured the milk just below the rim of the measuring cup). Mix until the dough gathers in clumps (you may want to just use the spatula for this.) Divide dough into eight equal pieces (ok, I know where my problem came -- I didn't divide the number of pieces in half :). Lightly form each piece into a shaggy disk the size of a sausage patty.

Arrange biscuits on top of the hot rhubarb and sprinkle them with sugar (oops, another aspect I missed in the recipe - Hopefully all of you are better at following recipes than I am.) Put the dish back in the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until the biscuits are nicely browned. Serve warm with vanilla or strawberry ice cream.

Now to take the small pan next door for my neighbor. She is always showering us with cookies and fresh produce. Now to return the favor. Feel free to share what you have cooked up recently from what you found in your yard!

Mulberry Syrup

2011-06-14T20:10:00.002-05:00

Today began my first day of canning for the summer. On the corner of the church's property we have a Mulberry Tree. Over the past couple of years I have had minor uses for the mulberries - put them in pancakes, and mash them up and cook them with sugar to make a jammy syrup. However, I've never put up any of the mulberries for use during the rest of the year (OK, maybe I did freeze a small sour cream container of the jam type syrup).

This year is going to be different. One of the things I am trying to do this year is figure out how I can take some of the things around us and use them for food and maybe even some of our staples or gifts for the rest of the year.

On to the discussion of the mulberries:

Picking mulberries is no fun. Most of the branches are too high for us to reach, and the ground is littered with mulberries, so we have to either go barefoot and have purple feet, or have our shoes stained purple. Most of us choose to go barefoot. It also takes a really long time to handpick the berries. We could be out at the tree for an hour and only have the bottom of the bucket filled. So, we developed a new approach.

Armed with a tarp, three children, and two pails JA and I took on the mulberry tree today. We spread the tarp out under the tree and two of us held the corners of the tarp close to the road (the ground slopes and we didn't want to get the mulberries off the tree just to feed them to the road). Then we took turns shaking the tree. One person would shake the tree and the rest of us would get pelted by flying mulberries -- Take note where purple clothes or clothes you don't care about getting stained.

After we finished shaking the tree, we ended up with about two ice cream pails full of mulberries. The kids headed out to the backyard to play while I went inside to get to work. I started by soaking the mulberries (to get the bugs and spiders to float to the top (we really don't need the extra protein). Then I rinsed off the berries and put them in a pot filled with water (just to the top of the berries) and brought to a rolling boil.

After they began to boil I pulled them off the heat. Now came the fun part. Turning this mulberry mush to syrup. I tried mashing the mulberries -- no luck. I tried straining them -- This was working but taking a really long time. you see, mulberries have a lot of seeds and they are edible, but they tend to get stuck in my teeth so I didn't want a lot of seeds in my syrup. Finally I remembered the juicer we bought back in our Northland days (we were trying to be healthier by juicing raw fruits and veggies -- then we decided the expense was more than the little bit of juice we got was worth).

After digging the juicer out of the basement, I poured the mulberry/water mixture in, and within minutes I had 19 cups of mulberry juice (a lot more than I had expected to get). I poured the juice into a stock pot, added 25 cups of sugar (The recipe I was using called for a 1:2 ratio of mulberry juice to sugar). I'm glad I ran out of sugar because this syrup is sweet enough.

I brought the syrup to a rolling boil and pulled it from the heat. Poured into jars and processed in a boiling water bath for 10 - 15 minutes (the second batch a bit longer because of an episode I'll share with you later). The final result was 17 1/2 pints of mulberry syrup.

Thursday we are going to go back out and shake down some more mulberries and I'm going to try my hand at mulberry jam. Now to see if I can find a sugar free jam recipe since I have no more sugar in the house :)

Cost break down - $7.68 - sugar and $4.50 (probably less) lids = $12.18 for 17.5 pints of organic fruit syrup :)

Happy Birthday Kara

2011-04-26T22:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, seven years ago I was sitting in a Bible Study at Northland Baptist Bible College and my stomach started feeling a bit strange. I began watching the clock, and sure enough, the feeling came every ten minutes. I was feeling the start of labor for the first time.

The next day, at 4:30 in the afternoon I was holding my sweet baby Kara for the very first time. My mother was so excited when she found out we were having a little girl. Her desire was that I would have a child that was just like me. Thankfully, Kara was not the cranky colicky baby that I was. However, she is every bit as stubborn, hard headed, and independent as I was and still am (although I do try to pretend I'm not).

I can hardly believe my sweet adorable little baby girl turns seven tomorrow. In truth, I find it hard to believe that I've been married for more than seven years. God has truly blessed us with this precious blessing.

Kara's favorite things are: reading, reading, and more reading. Oh, and she likes to eat. I am seriously afraid that people think we starve our children because it seems like she is always asking for more to eat. She does love her sweets, but I think she is equally happy to eat green onions and tomatoes straight from the garden. She even loves her salads and fruits.

Kara isn't one to venture out and try new things. She is still shy about performing with her violin. She has absolutely loved learning how to play the piano this year as well. We are homeschooling her right now, and we will be homeschooling her next year as well. We are just taking it one year at a time to determine what would be best for her.

Kara is a great help around the house, and she enjoys her baby brother. Although she does say she isn't ready to start changing diapers yet :)

Happy Birthday Kara, I hope you enjoy your 7th birthday!

Seeing Christ

2011-04-14T16:08:00.001-05:00

Wow, the last two days have been spiritually refreshing as I've spent a lot of time beside J.A. on the couch viewing the Gospel Coalition. I would challenge you to look through the messages and take some time to listen here. I can guarantee you will be challenged to dig deeper into your Bible study, and to take a second look at your reasons for doing ministry (or even if you are active in the ministry). I will try to repeat as acurately as I can some of the comments that stood out to me.

Mark Dever made the comment, "If you call yourself a disciple of Jesus and you aren't reaching other people, then what do you mean by 'disciple of Jesus'"

Keven DeYoung stated "Make disciples of Christ by serving people, don't just serve people as Disciples of Christ." I think this statement really helps me to reevaluate the reasons behind why I serve. I think this will also help in taking some of the pressure off of trying to be involved in everything.

I don't know who stated this, but "Churches need to focus their energy on training EVERY PERSON for Gospel Ministry." I think a lot of our churches have forgotten this aspect. We are so busy with 'programs' for the single's ministry, youth groups, children's activities (not that any of these are wrong), but all of these should come after our primary focus of teaching the people in the church to be a Preacher of the Gospel to the lost world around us.

Another statement that hit me is James MacDonald's statement "The surest antedote for the fear of man is the fear of God." Wow, no explanation needed with this one.

We serve an awesome God. If you attended, or have listened to any of the sessions from The Gospel Coalition, please share in the comments what you learned.

One of the songs sung during the conference has be replaying in my mind, Behold the Lamb (The Communion Hymn). You can download it for free here. You can download both the music and the sheet music for Behold the Lamb, Come People of the Risen King, and The Power of the Cross.

A New Life

2011-04-11T19:20:00.000-05:00

We are so blessed. Not only have we been entrusted with five amazing children, three of our children have asked Christ to be Lord of their life.

Last fall, Andy came downstairs and told us that he no longer had a black heart, but that he now had a white heart. We questioned him, and have questioned him several times since then, and every time he tells us that he has asked Jesus to forgive his sins and be his Savior.

After each of our kids have professed salvation, we have given them a Bible. Andy's Bible is the ESV Seek & Find Bible. I really like the set up of this Bible. It has boxes scattered through out it explaining different things in the passage and shows pictures.

Andy is thrilled and excited to have a new Bible of his very own. Now to teach him to read it :)

Things I Never Dreamed I Would Do

2011-04-02T08:13:00.000-05:00

When we first moved to Kansas five years ago, all I knew about the state of Kansas was what I learned from watching The Wizard of OZ: obviously I knew nothing.

Well, since moving here I have done so many new things, and grown used to doing things differently.

1. I learned how to garden. My mom had a garden when I was growing up, and to my shame, one of my mom's most embarrassing stories about me comes from when she told me to go weed the garden and came home to find me sitting on a bench by the garden "raking" the weeds.

2. I have learned how to can and store up food for the winter. When we lived in Wisconsin, I played around with canning -- making blueberry freezer jam and freezing corn (thanks to generous people who donated blueberries and corn to Northland every year). Now I've learned how to can tomatoes, salsa, jellies, green beans, applesauce, and so many other things. I'm hoping to learn how to can venison this fall if we get a deer, and maybe eventually to dehydrate fruits and jerky.

3. I've learned how to make bread from scratch, okay I do admit I knew how to do this before we moved to Kansas, but not to the extent I do now. I tinkered with making rolls, and used my bread machine to make bread on occasion, but now we don't buy bread unless we are traveling (and I don't use my bread machine except to make cinnamon rolls).

4. I've learned that I can make my own flour -- I had no idea this was even possible until we moved to rural Kansas. JA bought an ice cream pail of wheat from the Co-op to use as a sermon illustration, and that wheat must have sat in my fridge for several months (at the time I didn't know it didn't need to be refrigerated). I finally asked someone, and I borrowed a friends wheat grinder, stored my flour in the freezer and used in recipies. Last fall, JA let me buy my own wheat grinder, and since January have been freshly grinding wheat to use in my bread. In fact, we haven't bought any flour since January.

Mrs. Kimbrough's cookies made with freshly ground wheat :)

5. JA has learned how to clean our own wheat (I know this isn't me, but I did all the research!!!). We have been buying our wheat directly from the Co-Op. You can't beat $7 for 50 pounds of flour. JA has been sweet enough to clean the wheat for me (pouring from bucket to bucket in front of a fan), and has already cleaned almost three bushels of wheat this year (we've only used up one bushel so far).

6. We have begun making our own laundry detergent. This has been fun, and the kids love helping to grate the soap. (I'm hoping to learn how to make my own dish washing detergent soon).

I have learned so much on the practical side of living, but one of the most important lessons I have learned since we have moved here is the importance of being a good steward of what God has placed in my care. Whether it is the money my husband earns, the health of my children, the education of my children, the beautiful home we have, or even my own time, I must take careful account of how I care for things.

I am still working on becoming a good steward of my time, I find it so easy to waste a few minutes here and there, I will be working on this over the next few months, and hopefully becoming a better steward of my time will allow me to find more time for blogging about how God is working in my life and the lives of my children.

Spring Break

2011-03-29T07:11:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful break from school last week. I would love to show you a lot of pictures of all the fun and exciting things we did -- Visiting the Sedgwick County Zoo, playing at the Exploration Place, and just hanging out with Oma, Opa, Uncle Timmy, and Aunt Beth and Uncle Joel. The kids had a wonderful time and were not ready to come home and start school up again. I enjoyed some fun shopping with my mom, and attending their church's Tuesday night Ladies Bible Study.

Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead, and I never put the rechargeable batteries that my dad lent me in my camera (there still in my purse -- Sorry Dad, I'll get them back to you some day - Maybe :) I was able to take a few pictures on my phone. You can view them here

My Special Valentines

2011-02-19T20:01:00.000-06:00

I always loved when my college roommates would receive one of Mrs. Kimbrough's giant cookies (They were always very kind to share). I thought this Valentine's day I would share that treat with my kids.

Each kid received their own giant heart shaped cookie

Of course Daddy received the biggest cookie

Ezekiel was asleep when I gave the kids their cookies, so I had to get a picture of him eating it instead

JA and I made lunch for the kids together - Quesadillas

A Really Great Giveaway

2011-02-10T07:02:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to find different areas in our budget that I can save money. The one area I haven't even considered is reducing my use of the dryer I just can't stand the flimsy drying racks that you buy at Wal-Mart. They take forever for clothes to dry, and if you even look at them they collapse. However, Life in a Shoe is doing an awesome giveaway. There is nothing flimsy about this dryer rack. If I had something like this, I think I could handle reducing my use of the dryer :)

A New Feature

2011-02-09T20:42:00.000-06:00

For those of you who frequently visit my blog, but do not use a feed reader, I have added a new feature to my blog. In the top right corner of the blog, there is a box where you can subscribe to my blog through e-mail. This will allow you to know when my blog has been updated so you don't have to keep returning to the blog and finding the same posts you have already read.

While I have good intentions to blog on a regular basis, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to stay on top of it. In fact, if my intermittent blogging over the last few months is any indication, I will probably be blogging in spurts followed by long periods of rest :) Well, the rest will only be on my blog, I can guarantee that there will not be a lot of rest around our house!

An Amazing Husband

2011-02-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

I love bragging on my husband, and he makes it so easy for me to do. I absolutely have the most wonderful husband in the WORLD! In the first couple weeks of Gabriel's life it seemed like he wanted two things -- To Eat and be Held. The main problem came when mommy was holding him. If I was holding him, it wasn't enough to be held, I had to feed him. That meant for the first week, I didn't get much sleep. One morning, J.A. woke up when I was exhaustively feeding and trying to get Gabe to fall back to sleep; He reached over, took Gabe, and carried him downstairs to the living room so I could sleep.

When I woke up, I found J.A. and Gabe both sleeping soundly on the couch; and I felt so much better.

Tiny Gabe, only two days old.

Gabe just a few hours after birth.

My Little Babysitter

2011-02-02T15:05:00.000-06:00

Kara loves to help "Babysit" her baby brother. He absolutely loves her. If he's crying, she'll pick him up and start singing to him. He just looks at her admiringly and smiles.

Kara has been a great help to me so I can get some things done without having to hold Gabriel the entire time.

I think in a few years she'll be a great babysitter.

Winter Fun

2011-02-01T16:10:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'm just going to say this once -- IT'S COLD OUTSIDE! Now that I've said that I can continue on with my post. Last month was quite a busy month for our family. Between adjusting to life with a newborn, church ministries, having family come and visit, and trying to accomplish a month's worth of school so we don't have to have school way into the summer -- made for a great combination. I don't know if it's the addition of the newborn or my determination not to fall behind on school again, but this has been one of the most profitable months in our household (as far as getting things done, not financially).

Ezekiel enjoyed his skating ride

School went amazingly well, we started school on January 5 and so far have completed four weeks of school. Kara is doing great in all of her subjects and in her piano and violin practicing, and Lydia has almost completed her reading lessons, and Andy is beginning his reading lessons.

By the end of the night Lydia was skating really well, and refusing all assistance

However, the main point of this post is more about the fun we've been able to enjoy as a family and not about the work we've accomplished.

Andy was doing pretty well skating by the end of the night.

This past month we introduced the kids to joy of rollerskating inside with real skates (not the toys skates you slip on over your shoes that never seem to work very well). They had a blast and are already looking forward to going back this month for a friend's birthday party. Enjoy the pictures.


Kara spent most of the night clinging to Sarah or me to help her skate.

Since J.A. doesn't skate, and I knew there was no way I could teach three kids at the same time to skate, we took a friend's boy with us to teach Andy how to skate. My plan was to teach Kara and Lydia, but when we arrived at the rink, one of the teenage girls came over and offered to teach help me teach the girls, so we took turns with Kara and Lydia. I absolutely love our homeschool group, and the servant's heart that so many of our teenagers have learned. Now to start teach my kids the joy of serving :)

Gabe slept almost the entire time we were there -- waking up just in time to eat before we began the drive home.

The Birth Story

2011-01-29T11:20:00.000-06:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been a month since I woke up to celebrate our ninth anniversary. God has been so good and gracious to us. His plans never cease to amaze me.

As many of you know, I was expecting my fifth child. His due date was December 29, 2010. However, With my first four children all being exactly 10 days early (OK, Ezekiel missed the 10 day early mark by about six hours), I naturally assumed that my fifth baby would also come early. I mean, why ruin a perfectly good pattern :) Even my physician thought that he would come early -- he said I just had to remain pregnant until Dec. 1 to have a healthy baby. Well, Thanksgiving came and we wrapped up the fall semester of school. My plan was for us to take off the entire month of December, getting ready for Gabe's birth and adjusting to life with a newborn. Well, once again, God's plan and my plan's were not the same. Hunting season came, and I joked with my doctor about making sure I didn't go into labor on his day off so we wouldn't have to drag him away from the deer, and he responded with as long as baby was born before sunrise or after sunset :)

Well, hunting season passed with no contractions. Then it drew closer and closer to Christmas. My expected date of December 15 passed (hey, all they others were about 10 days early). Then it was Christmas day. All day I had minor insignificant contractions. It must have been the power of suggestion and the idea of having a Christmas baby. No labor. By now I was feeling like I was almost two weeks overdue, even though it was my due date. Well, my next appointment began the process of making sure baby was okay since I was overdue. So, my next target date -- January 1, I mean why not have the first baby born in the new year. Wouldn't it be great to be able to celebrate your birthday every year at midnight when you ring in the new year? I think it would make for some great parties as a teenager. Well, once again my plan was not God's plan.

December 28 came, and I was sick and tired of putting off everything that I had been delaying because I was waiting for the birth of my baby. So I opened up my awesome new pasta maker, and made three pounds of pasta, I cleaned the house, got caught up on laundry (OK, some of this was still part of my daily maintenance of keeping house), and did several other things which I can't recall. Several friends joked about my going into labor that night because of how much work I had done (Carrie, Dee, and some others). I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what they were saying; however, before I went to bed I did feel some minor cramping (nothing new since I'd been having contractions and cramps since before Christmas and they hadn't been doing anything). But, I did take the time that night to write up my anniversary post -- Just in Case :)

Well, at four thirty on my anniversary, I woke up with more serious cramping, but wasn't ready to share my anniversary with a birthday. By five o'clock I was having three contractions within a five minute period. So, I leaned over to J.A. and woke him up asking him what he thought of having a baby as an anniversary present. Since I didn't want to take kids with me to the hospital, I called my sitter (she lived 20 minutes away). Then I asked J.A. to call the hospital while I took a shower. After my shower, contractions had slowed way down. Dee arrived shortly after I got out, but I was no longer ready to go in to the hospital. We sat around talking. About 6:00, the hospital called, "You didn't have your baby at home did you?" OK, I didn't know my calling in to the hospital would elicit such a response :) I explained that my contractions slowed down, and the nurse let me know that they were ready for me whenever I came in.

Probably about fifteen minutes after the phone call we decided to head in, not because of my contractions, but because we wanted to leave before Ezekiel woke up -- I just didn't want to have to deal with a fit as we were leaving. We drove the five minutes to the hospital, and found out that my doctor had been in since my first phone call. Can you tell they were expecting me to have a very fast delivery (Ezekiel was three and a half hour labor total)?

Here is Daddy finally enjoying holding our precious new son.

Mommy and Gabe snuggling.

Our hospital has a wonderful tradition of serving the new parents a steak dinner. They typically serve the steak dinner on the second night of the hospital stay, but when the nurses found out it was our anniversary, they called the kitchen and ordered the steak dinner for us to enjoy that evening. Dinner was a bit rushed since J.A. had to get to church to preach. But, it was certainly a much nicer anniversary meal than what we would have had at home.

Now, for those of you wanting to know the baby's stats, here they are:

Gabriel Titus

December 29, 2010 at 9:39 a.m.

19 1/2 inches long, weight was 7 pounds 9 ounces.

Happy One Month Birthday Gabriel

We Serve an Awesome God

2011-01-28T17:42:00.000-06:00

What do you do when your car won't start at 8:30 at night, and you find yourself stranded in a town where the only people you know are the Walgreens clerk and your daughter's violin teacher? Well, as my kids found out on Tuesday -- You Pray. Pray that someone with jumper cables comes and can start your car for you. When that doesn't work, you pray that you can find a place to sleep for a decent amount. Well, God answered our prayers. We rejoice that our car decided to not start in the parking lot of Hastings College. This was a blessing, because at 8:30 at night we were able to call campus security to come give us a jump start. The battery of our van was not interested in a jump start, so we asked them if they happened to have an empty dorm room we could sleep in for the night so we could get our car towed in the morning.

The security guard went and talked to who I assume was the dorm mother of the dorm adjacent to the parking lot. They had an empty room on the same floor as the women's bathroom. I state this because we ended up spending the night in the men's dormatory, so it was a HUGE blessing to be so close to the women's bathroom with two little girls. The dorm mom even had some extra bedding.

Isn't God amazing! Yes, my preference would have been for the car to have started as soon as we finished violin lessons, but that was not God's plan. My preference would have been that the security guards could jump start our van, but that was not God's plan. God's plan was for us to spend the night in a college dorm room with all of our kids and enjoy an evening of reading fairy tales, as well as telling Bible Stories, and sharing small beds with multiple children. The kids enjoyed this adventure -- You should have heard them talking with the man who came with an extra vehicle to drive us to the service station (J.A. rode with the tow truck and we squeezed seven people into a six passenger vehicle).

While I didn't plan for us to spend the night away from our home, I am thankful for a quiet evening away from technology (we even limited the use of our phones so the batteries wouldn't die) to play with our kids. Hopefully they remember this night as having been God's plan for us and I pray we passed the test of teaching our kids to turn to God when trials come and not becoming anxious.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Nine Years Ago Today

2010-12-29T02:00:00.001-06:00

Nine years ago today I married the love of my life.

We've had quite the journey over the past several years

Nothing ever tasted so sweet as the love God gave us and has allowed us to share.

My love is still a romantic who loves to take every opportunity to sneak a kiss.

I'm thankful for the godly leadership God has given me in my husband.

We have been blessed with a wonderful family, and it continues to grow each year.

Two Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T07:02:00.000-06:00

I am thankful today for a cup of hot coffee to help wake up.

I am thankful for the opportunity to read my Bible and to have an over abundant number of Bibles in my house while many people around the world don't even have one.

I am thankful for the pile of laundry I have to fold -- it reminds me that we have plenty of clothing that have been given to us.

I am thankful for coupons which have helped us stretch our budget this past year.

I am thankful my children love going to the dentist and the doctor.

Three Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-22T22:39:00.000-06:00

I know I neglected to post yesterday. Sundays tend to be very busy and tiring days for us, and so I try to stay off the computer as much as possible.

I can hardly believe we are three days away from Thanksgiving. This year has simply flown by, but it also seems like this pregnancy has lasted an entire year. This is the first pregnancy that I have had where I have been pregnant in every season of the year. I must say I will be overjoyed with this bundle decides to make his presence known outside of my body.

However, things I am thankful for today include:

** My father-in-law. While I have never met him, and have only talked with him once on the phone before he died, I am very thankful for the way he raised his children. This Thanksgiving marks the tenth year since he died. I just praise God for the life of this Godly man. I look forward to the day I get to meet him. My kids are always asking about Grandy and what he liked, and what he did. They also enjoy speculating about what Grandy is enjoying right now in Heaven. I thank God for the spiritual heritage he has given my children, and I pray that our children will one day say the same things about us.

1. My baby's very strong movements today. Friday, Saturday, and for most of the day yesterday I did not feel any movements. However, he seems to have gotten his second wind and has not let me forget his presence today -- thus avoiding a call to the doctor :)

2. I am thankful for my husband. The last couple of days my hips have been so sore that it is extremely difficult for me to even walk across the room (rolling over in bed is nearly impossible). J.A. has been so helpful with the kids and around the house so that I could rest. He even took it upon himself to schedule an appointment for me with the chiropractor -- so hopefully next Monday will come quickly :)

3. I am thankful for my waffle maker that I received last Christmas -- I love being able to have Belgian Waffles once or twice a week. I even found some mulberry syrup we made last year in the freezer, so we enjoyed some fruit on our waffles this morning.

4. I am thankful for a dentist who calls to remind us about our appointments. I have missed so many appointments over the last two months, that I was thankful to receive a phone call reminding me that the kids have their appointments tomorrow morning.

5. I am thankful for Pizza Hut's Book-It Program and that it allows Homeschoolers to participate. This means tomorrow we get to enjoy pizza for lunch before we head down to my parents house.

6. I am thankful for this blog which allows me to let our extended family members know what is going on in our lives, and especially what the kids have been up to. I know this past year I have not been very consistent, but I am thankful for those of you who have continued to visit my blog even in my absence.

7. I am thankful for the opportunity to take a breather tonight and sit down and play some games with my family. I need to be constantly reminded to not be so task oriented and focus on the more important things of spending time playing with my children. I know before long they will be gone.

8. I am thankful for our church members and how they interact with our children. They always take time to smile and talk and shake hands with the kids -- often talking with them as they would adults and not treating them as annoyances. The result -- my kids love going to church, and they love interacting with the people at church.

9. I am thankful for the new garage door being installed! We can finally park our van in the garage again. (The van got stuck in the garage this summer, so we haven't parked it in the garage in case the same problem happened again when we didn't have the time to mess with it).

While there are two more days till Thanksgiving, I am not going to be able to guarantee a post either tomorrow or on Wednesday. We will be heading down to family, and getting on the computer will be down at the bottom of the list. I hope and pray you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you will make an effort to focus on what God has done for you.

Five Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-20T16:33:00.000-06:00

Five more days until we remember and celebrate the first Thanksgiving and how the Lord provided and brought the pilgrims through their first hard winter on the North American continent.

As I think about that first Thanksgiving, I become even more thankful for what I have. I can't imagine the struggle the pilgrims faced when they landed with very little food, no shelter, and about to face a terribly cold and harsh winter - completely unprepared. Yet, God brought them through and they were able to plant crops and receive a wonderful harvest the following fall. And then they offered up a feast in Thanksgiving for what God had done for them.

These are huge things, but things I take for granted. Outside the weather is just above freezing, and it hardly even crosses my mind to give thanks for the beautiful house (with indoor plumbing and heating). I don't even have an idea of what it would be like to go hungry -- something I don't think most Americans can fathom. Even the poorest of Americans don't have to starve -- with food banks, government assistance, churches, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters -- Every American can enjoy enough food to survive (notice I say enough food -- meals don't have to extravagant or large. I think most of us would be surprised by how little we need to consume in order to live.)

So today, I am thankful for grocery stores and restaurants. With these stores even if my garden does not do well, I know I can still have a source for fresh food and all the necessities to feed my family.

I am also thankful for indoor plumbing. I can't imagine having to go out in the cold to use the outhouse or having to empty a chamber pot every morning (especially in my current condition). God truly has blessed our nation by providing these for us so that to an American it is a necessity and not just a privilege.

I am thankful for natural gas and for the intelligence that determined how to pipe this gas into homes in order to heat homes (I think a wood stove or fire place would be fabulous but would also increase insurance costs). I love being able to push a button to make the house warmer when I'm cold. This is one that I am going to have to remember to be thankful for as the winter comes and the drafts start slipping through the house. I can't complain about the drafts because at least we have heat :)

I am also thankful for the invention of the freezer (I'm just jumping from one extreme to the next). Over the course of the past three days I have been able to make and freeze 34 meals. This means at least of month of not having to prep and cook supper! Without the freezer or refrigerator I would not be able to look forward to a small break from cooking after Gabriel's birth.

God has provided so many blessings and comforts to our home and family that I can't even begin to name them. I hope I will always remember to rejoice in the blessings and the little things and not take for granted what God has provided for us.

Six days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-19T15:02:00.000-06:00

We have had quite a full day already today, and I haven't even had the kids do any schoolwork :)

1. I am thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling which allows me to be able to plan for us to have off the entire week next week so we can go visit family.

2. I am thankful for Kara's diligent work today. She sliced almost 20 apples this morning for our Apple Pie Pork Chops (a freezer meal). This afternoon she peeled 12 carrots and sliced the celery stalks for our Apple Cider Stew (also a freezer meal). I really enjoyed sitting down at the table and cutting veggies with Kara and carrying on a conversation with her.

3. I am thankful for the fourteen freezer meals (five recipes) that are already done up and in the freezer. We have ten more recipes to make up and freeze which will result in about 40 more meals. This means that I will have almost two months worth of meals made up and in the freezer for after Gabriel's birth :)

4. I am thankful for the opportunity to get together twice a month with other moms. We had a wonderful time trying to catch up on our individual projects and visiting with each other. It is a blessing to be able to share our struggles and encourage each other to seek after God during this time.

5. I am thankful for a husband who was willing to spend his evening last night cutting up a roast for our freezer (I don't like handling meat unless it is cooked).

6. I am thankful for the blessing of a restful and full nights sleep last night.

I hope you are taking time in the busyness of this Holiday Season to consider the big and little things that you are thankful for each day. I would love to have you comment and share some of the things you are Thankful for.

Seven Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-18T17:30:00.000-06:00

Today, I am thankful for many things, but due to my own tiredness and inability to focus tonight I'm going to stress only one.

I am thankful for organizations that help make me aware of issues going on in our country that I am not typically aware of. One such organization is One Million Moms.com. If you have never heard of OneMillion Moms, I encourage you to go check out their website. They are helping give mothers like me a voice to let businesses and other companies know how I feel about their support of inappropriate TV shows as well as inappropriate ad campaigns. A recent one that I participated in involved Wrigley's Chewing Gum. Apparently Wrigley's has put funny sayings on the inside wrapper of the gum. I don't have a problem with this, but I do have a problem with my children unwrapping gum and reading a statement about undressing you with your eyes. This leads my children's thoughts down a road they have no business going. One Million Moms notified me by e-mail of this either yesterday or today. I simply clicked and was able to use a form letter and adjust as I saw fit. E-mailed Wrigley's and have already received confirmation that Wrigley's is pulling this saying out of their gum packages. If you are a mother looking to have a voice and let companies know what you don't want them supporting. Come join One Million Moms.

2010-11-18T06:59:00.000-06:00

James 3:2-6
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

Like fire, the tongue's sinful words can spread destruction rapidly, or as its accompanying smoke, those means can permeate and ruin everything around it. I must carefully guard my tongue that it be used for good and to build people up rather than to bring pain and destruction.

As a mother of several young children I find that it is often difficult to bridle my tongue. I love my children dearly, but their are many times that their fighting, arguing, or constant asking for food (ie. candy) can strike a nerve. When I explode in anger or frustration, my tongue is no longer guarded. Raising my children is such an important task that I cannot afford to allow my tongue to destroy my children. I know how hurtful words can be -- they can be the making or the breaking of a person.

For example, I do enjoy watching the biggest loser. This season, Ada is a young lady on the show who has lost two brothers and almost lost her third brother in a car accident. When her parents found out about the accident they accused Ada of trying to kill her third brother also. Now, I know this is an extreme example, but I'm certain you can imagine the damage those words caused even though they may have simply been said in anger or fear. Now I don't know whether or not her parents meant it when they made this statement. But simply stating it is enough for a child to be convinced that her parents believe that the deaths of her two younger brothers is her fault.

I MUST carefully guard my words. Words I say in haste without examining how they will be received can cause hurt in my children that I cannot reverse.

My prayer today is that I will bridle my tongue and seek to encourage and exhort my children. My goal is to affirm each of my children for things they do or say at least three times throughout the day today.

9 Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-17T17:19:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and I am finding I have so much to be thankful for. Today I am thankful for

1. a kind neighbor who was willing to give me a ride home from the funeral. I was able to go prepare things for the meal and didn't have to stand out in the cold for the graveside service.

2. having a successful day of homeschooling despite all of the extra things thrown into this day. I'm always thankful when we are able to get everything done that's scheduled (although I am also thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling).

3. we are able to rent the home we wanted to rent for our extended family vacation to Yellowstone next summer. Also, I am thankful that we were able to get it for a better price than we were originally quoted.

4. a daughter who enjoys music and who today practiced without arguing or complaining. Violin practice is becoming much easier and getting done quicker now that the complaining is reduced.

5. that my kids think they are cats, cows, and horses. If you were to stop in my house unexpectedly, you may find a couple of girls crawling around meowing and a two-year old riding a stick horse saying "Nay", and another boy who will be anything from a dragon (Thanks to "How to Train your Dragon") to a lion. They are a constant source of entertainment. Let me adjust this statement. My four-year old is now a "Hero" with his spider man shirt and a purple flowered cape :)

10 Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-16T21:56:00.000-06:00

Wow, I almost forgot to write what I'm thankful for today.

1. I am thankful for a six year old daughter who is relatively responsible and an handle pushing a shopping cart with both of her brothers in it so I can push the cart with groceries.

2. I am thankful for a good friend who needed to go visit someone in the hospital today so she was able to accompany me up for Kara's violin lesson -- This allowed J.A. to stay home and study and prepare for a funeral tomorrow.

3. I am thankful that we are in the middle of November and I can still walk around outside comfortably without a jacket during the day.

4. I am thankful and excited about all of the yummy food that we are going to make this week and put in the freezer so I don't have to cook the month after Gabriel is born :)

5. Most of all, I am thankful for the precious gift of salvation that my Lord has given me. Without it I know I would be a self-centered, selfish and unloving mother to my children. God's Word has incredible power to turn a life around.

11 Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

1. I am thankful for the strong movements Gabriel has everyday. I'm so thrilled that in a month I'll be cuddling a new little baby (or at least I hope it's only a month longer).

2. I am thankful for the privilege to teach my children at home. And I am thankful that as of today we are all caught up with school.

3. I am thankful for the delicious cup of fake eggnog that I am enjoying, and for the easy recipe to make it much lower in calorie and fat than the real stuff.

4. I am also thankful that with the exception of my doctor who delivered Andy, I have always been blessed to have a Christian doctor -- even as a child my doctor was a believer.

13 Days Tilll Thanksgiving and a list included for tomorrow.

2010-11-13T11:25:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's hard for me to believe that we are only two weeks away from Thanksgiving. I am so far behind on everything I had planned to get accomplished before Thanksgiving. However, I am thankful that most of what I "planned" to get done is simply part of "my agenda" and not necessarily what NEEDS to be accomplished. I will be including a longer list today so I can take a good break from the computer tomorrow.

Today there is so much to be thankful for. Last night the weather forecast included snow. Today we woke up to a comfortable fall day.

I am thankful for the privilege to be able to have my own Bible, and to be able to provide each of my children with their own Bible/Bible Story Books. This week I have enjoyed making my personal time with God the first thing to start the day (usually while J.A. fixes breakfast). Since the kids are usually trying to talk with me during my reading, I have had each of them get a Bible or Bible story book to read. This has freed me up to be able to dig a little deeper in my reading and not just a quick surface study. As a result, my week has gone so much smoother than it normally does.

I am also thankful that I don't have to fix supper for my family tonight :) With what may be our last football game in town today, we are going to go and enjoy the tailgate party -- free dinner and a football game -- Andy will be floating on top of the world!!

I am thankful that my computer charger is still working. One of the kids knocked the cord out of my computer this morning. The pin got bent and broke off. I thought all was lost and I'd have to order a new charger. JA the smart and intelligent man that he is said I should plug it in to my computer anyways and see if it would still provide power. Hurray it does!!! Of course, it may be a good thing to spend several days away from my computer :)

I am thankful for the opportunity to school my children at home. While we don't yet know how long we will continue to homeschool (we are taking it year by year based on our schedules and the kids needs), it has been a joy to be able to have a flexible schedule and to be able to identify characteristics in my kids that I may not have realized had I not been working with them.

I am also thankful for how God so specifically works in our lives. Wednesday, Kara stole a piece of candy from her brother. JA and I talked with her about it, and then I took the kids to Kids4Truth. The lesson of the evening was on STEALING! Isn't it great how God uses others to help reinforce the training we are giving our young children.

I am also thankful for where God has placed us. We are living in a small rural community with very few places to take the kids for activities (other than shopping and the library). This has helped me to not be so focused on getting out of the house but to enjoy the simple things that our community has to offer -- such as taking the kids to the health fair, going to football games, and enjoying those community events as they come up and making them a priority rather than just an optional activity.

I am thankful for wonderful parents whom I can call and ask to pray for me when I know I am going to have a rough day.

I am thankful for the wonderful invention of computers. I am a horrible letter writer, I hate talking on the phone, and I'm not very good at communicating. But, with J.A.'s mom in Africa I want my kids to know their grandmother. Thanks to Skype the kids are able to visit with and see their grandmother regularly. And while I know she doesn't like it when the sound goes out on her end, it's probably a blessing since all four kids are usually clambering and talking at once. I'm looking forward to being able to show off our newest addition to her when he chooses to make his grand entrance.

I could go on and on, but Kara is beginning her violin practice now so I need to be more attentive to her.

14 Days until Thanksgiving

2010-11-12T08:40:00.000-06:00

Thankulness -to show or express appreciation or gratitude to, as by saying “thank you”

I am thankful for God's mercy. I am undeserving of all that God has given me, and yet He continues to provide and bless our family.

I am thankful for my husband, J.A. He truly is a blessing and one of a kind. He takes an active role in parenting.

I am thankful for Andy and Ezekiel and the endless entertainment they provide as they wrestle, and sword fight, and run around the house.

I am thankful for Kara and Lydia and the decision they have made to give their lives to God.

Be Merciful

2010-11-12T08:36:00.000-06:00

James 2:13
"For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

John MacArthur writes "A person who shows no mercy and compassion for people in need demonstrates that he has never responded to the great mercy of God, and as an unredeemed person will receive only strict, unrelieved judgment in eternal hell. Mercy triumphs over judgment. The person whose life is characterized by mercy is ready for the day of judgment, and will escape all the charges that strict justice might bring against him because by showing mercy to others he lives genuine evidence of having received God's mercy.

I must be careful not to judge others, but to be merciful and concerned about them in their need. I often find this difficult because I get frustrated by people who are too lazy to work and provide for their families. We can be very quick to judge, and the Bible is clear that we must not judge but be merciful. God is the supreme judge. He will judge people or their actions. God's command to me is to not judge but to be merciful. I can be merciful by providing food to a family who is struggling -- sometimes this may be groceries, and other times it could be a single hot meal. Passing on clothes my children have outgrown to children whose parents can't afford it. Taking a few minutes out of my day to drive someone to a doctor's appointment. However, if I "show mercy" but am judging in my heart, I am not being merciful. Mercy is an attitude of the heart that exhibits gratitude for the great mercy God has shown towards me. It is exhibited by the pouring out of mercy and help to those around me.

15 Days until Thanksgiving

2010-11-11T08:04:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for so many things. Here are just a few for today.

I am thankful for those men and women who have faithfully served our country and fought for our freedom.
I am thankful for the opportunity to take my kids to Kids 4 Truth every Wednesday at a good friends church.
I am even thankful for the various handprints that are currently all over my front window because it's a daily reminder that Ezekiel can walk, run, and climb like every healthy boy. In fact, thanks to his year of therapy he is a healthy boy.
I am thankful for indoor plumbing and the ability to take hot baths/showers.

What are you thankful for on this beautiful fall day.

16 Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-10T08:19:00.000-06:00

What am I thankful for this morning?

I am thankful for the sunshine coming through my front window.
I am thankful for the ability to sleep in till 7:30 because my kids all overslept after a late night last night.
I am thankful for God's Word which convicts and teaches me how to obey God.
I am thankful for the sounds of my children's laughter as they awake this morning.
I am thankful for God's provision of food and the oatmeal that I am about to go prepare for breakfast.

True Faith Produces Faithful Actions

2010-11-10T08:15:00.001-06:00

James 1:21-25

"Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Have you ever met a person who says one thing and does the opposite? This type of person is not one whom you respect. James warns the believers in this chapter that we should remove all filthiness and sin from ourselves so that we can truly hear God's Word. However, it is not sufficient to attend church and sit attentively under the preaching of God's Word. We must HEAR and OBEY God's Word.

In training our children, we struggle with teaching that the heart attitude and actions must reflect each other. We could be ultra strict and create miniature robots who obey simply out of fear of punishment but inside their heart rebels with every directive. This is not the type of child we long to raise. We long to have children who obey God's Word out of love for God and a desire to show that love. However, we also must be careful not to be lax in discipline. For we must teach them that sin has consequences.

Yesterday, I called my kids in for lunch and asked them to put bowls and spoons at the table. The bowls were placed and then all of the kids sat down around the table giggling and laughing. I repeated the directive to place spoons -- they heard, but not one of them got up to follow through. What a clear example of how we often approach God's Word. There have been many times that I have attended church, heard the preaching, returned home and forgotten what the sermon was about -- I cannot act upon what I've heard if I have not taken the time to reflect on it and apply it.

JA recently told me a story of a man they had attending their church when he was a boy. This man, with long hair and a lifestyle of sin believed on Christ. He came faithfully to church. J.A. asked his dad "Why don't you preach against smoking, and the specific sins in this man's life?" His dad's response was get people in the Word of God and the issues take care of themselves. Then in a sermon JA's dad read the verse "long hair is a shame to man." The man's immediate response was "What, that's in the Bible!" The next week the man returned to church with the shortest hair cut.

This is the immediate act of obedience to God's Word that we each must strive for.

17 Days till Thanksgiving

2010-11-09T07:29:00.000-06:00

Today I am thankful for good health. For four (and Lord willing soon to be five) healthy children. My husband is healthy, and God has graced me with good health and an easy pregnancy (with the only difficulty being heartburn).

I am also thankful for good friends. This morning I was up at 6:00 and met with three friends to exercise and do aerobics. I love having friends who challenge me to treat my body as the Temple of God. My friends also help keep me from going overboard with the things that I do.

I am also thankful for our van. Modern Transportation is such a blessing. Without it we would not be able to see family as frequently as we do, nor would we be able to allow our oldest daughter to take violin lessons (since her lessons are a 1 1/2 hour drive away every other week).

Quick to Learn

2010-11-09T07:23:00.000-06:00

James 1:19-20
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

I have a problem. I like to talk, and I enjoy sharing what I learn with other people. However, the Bible is very clear that it is better for a person to be quiet than to share all that he knows. Verse 19 reminds me that I need to be an eager learner -- learning from a variety of sources and circumstances. While I am to be learning, I must also be careful of whom my teachers are. Everything I learn must be compared with the Bible to make sure that I am learning truth and not lies. Then, I must also be slow to speak. Just because I know something does not mean I need to share it with everybody I meet. For example,

when we lived in Wisconsin I was going to a chiropractor for my headaches. After about three sessions I quit going -- why? because every time I went the chiropractor spent the entire time telling me why vaccinations were so horrible for my children. Now, I tend to think of myself as a somewhat intelligent person, capable of making informed decisions. With my children I have researched everything from what type of diaper pail to use to which vaccinations are considered questionable, and I did not appreciate having this doctor's opinion forced on me at every turn.

I must be careful that I am not like that chiropractor sharing information just because I know it. There are times when I may need to share what God's Word says in order to help another believer, but I must be wise with the timing and make sure that what I am saying is what God says and not just my own opinion.

18 Days until Thanksgiving

2010-11-08T10:50:00.000-06:00

With 18 Days until Thanksgiving, my friend Jenny has challenged us to list things that we are thankful for.
1. I am thankful for children who love to read and learn
2. I am thankful that we were able to finish painting/redoing our bathroom before the baby came.
3. I am thankful for a warm and comfortable house to live in.

4. I am thankful for family that lives close enough to join us for family celebrations such as the kids birthdays and Thanksgiving.

5. I am thankful for the new bicycle helmets my children were able to receive at the health fair last week (This saved us almost $100).

We serve an awesome and amazing God who knows our needs before we even know them. He has blessed me with an amazing family.

2010-11-08T07:35:00.000-06:00

James 1:16-18
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Frequently when sharing the gospel one will hear the statement, "How can God be a loving God if there is so much evil in the world. How can there be a God with so much pain and suffering?" These are the types of statements that James is addressing. Verses 16 and 17 tell us not to be deceived. God is not the author of pain, suffering, and evil. He bestows gifts on us that are good and perfect -- those gifts that are adequate, complete, and beneficial.

Evil, pain, and suffering are the results of sin. But God has "Of his own will brought us forth by the word of truth." This speaks of the regeneration of sinners. God's work gives us salvation. Nothing I can do or choose to do will give me favor with God. Only by the Word of Truth (the Bible) can I realize my need for God and accept the precious gift of His Son.

How Happy Are You?

2010-11-07T07:59:00.000-06:00

I find God's Word to be an endless source of encouragement and conviction -- often at the same time. Today my reading brought me to James 1:12-15.
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

Last September I attended a Women's Retreat and the speaker, Debi Pride, challenged us to read the word "Blessed" as "How Happy." So in coming to this passage the first thing I read is How Happy is the man who remains steadfast under trial. Wow, so if I am steadfast and endure the trial, I will be truly happy (not the flittering happiness that the world pursues). What an encouragement to continue to endure. However, I am also reminded of the opposite. If I choose to quite the trial, or to throw a pity party for myself, or any other choice than to trust God I will be miserable. This truly is a conviction to my spirit this morning. I am frequently seeking new ways to get out of my personal trial. Yet, this is not what God has planned for me. God has promised that if I endure He will give me the crown of life.

Continuing to verse 13, the word "Trials" has been translated "temptation." "James' point is that every difficult circumstance that enters a believer's life can either strengthen him if he obeys God and remains confident in His care, or become a solicitation to evil if the believer chooses instead to doubt God and disobey His Word. God cannot be tempted. God by His holy nature has no capacity for evil, or vulnerability to it. Nor does He Himself tempt anyone. God purposes trials to occur and in them He allows temptation to happen, but He has promised not to allow more than believers can endure and never without a way of escape. I choose whether to take the escape God provides or to give in.

My prayer today is that I will endure the trial so that I can truly say "God is my strength."

Glory in Exaltation and Humiliation

2010-11-06T08:26:00.000-05:00

I am continually amazed by the number of intelligent people who believe the lies of prosperity preachers. By intelligent people, I mean those people who are capable of reading, interpreting, and researching what they hear. When they plan an investment they research and study out the company they desire to invest in, but when choosing a pastor they choose one who tells them that God wants them to prosper materially. While I despise the message of the prosperity preacher who leads people down the path of destruction and seeking material possessions, I cannot understand how the intelligent person can sit in the pew week after week listening and believing this message -- do they not read the Bible for themselves? The Bible repeatedly speaks of how difficult it is for the rich man to become a believer. It also speaks of men who love and obey God who live their lives with nothing. Even Christ, the Son of God walked upon this earth with no material possessions, no home to live in, and nothing to call his own. If God wanted us, his children, to prosper physically, would he not have had his own Son prospering to the greatest extent.

James 1:9-11 discusses the poor man and the rich man.
"Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits."

Continuing in his discussion of trials, James discusses the trial of the poor believer who is exalted. Even though this man has nothing to his name, he is able to boast in his spiritual standing before God and the hope that it brings. The rich man however faces a different trial. The rich man must face the trial of being able to rejoice in losing his riches and accepting his humiliation as his ability to partake in the sufferings of Christ. Riches come and go, the poor man can be made rich quickly, and the rich man can be brought down to nothing. However, our spiritual standing in Christ is far greater than any riches and can not be taken from us as our material possessions can be. Let us as believers not boast in the things we have or the things we do not have, but let us boast and rejoice in the hope of our future with Christ. If we are blessed with material things, let us use our possessions to bless others. If we are blessed with poverty, let us rejoice in how God provides our daily needs and share this blessing with others.

Counting it All Joy

2010-11-05T05:16:00.000-05:00

God has been so faithful and has blessed us in so many ways I can't even begin to name them. Yet, I struggle. I struggle with selfishness, pride, and discontent. I struggle with the desire to have what I see as my future right now rather than waiting and rejoicing in today.

James 1:2-8 were a wonderful rebuke to me this morning.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

As I read the verses, I am reminded about trials. Nobody's trials are the same. For one person it may be the loss of a loved one, the suffering of a child, or the loss of financial stability. For others, it may simply be the struggle of day to day living. I find it too easy to compare my trials with those of others. Yes, my trial may not have me raising four kids alone, or suffering at the hand of persecutors as those Christian's in other nations do. However, my trial is still a trial and for me to discount it makes it difficult for me to see the hand of God working in my life. God has given me this trial to teach my faith endurance to make me complete. Therefore, as Chinese Christians rejoice in their physical persecution, I too must rejoice in my trial. God is Faithful! All I have to do is to ask Him for wisdom to handle and endure and He has promised to give me all the wisdom I need -- not dolled out in tiny servings that do not satisfy, but sufficient wisdom to endure the trial and to walk through it with Joy in knowing my God will bring me through the fire.

Happenings at Church

2010-11-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

I don't have a whole lot to add, other than here is our wonderful and amazing church family. We had the privilege of having Tim and Lily Killillay and their five children spend the weekend with us and share their heart for Peru to our church family on Sunday.

Birthday Fun

2010-10-31T14:52:00.000-05:00

Andy's birthday was quite a crazy day for us here.

Andy's favorite birthday presents -- Legos and a new scooter

In the afternoon the kids enjoyed trick or treating at all the businesses downtown.

Here are all the kids in their costumes -- Queen Ester, King Solomon, (can't remember what Tim was), Jonah, and Pharoah's Daughter.

Busy Week

2010-10-30T17:06:00.000-05:00

Wow, this has been an incredibly busy week for our family. Thursday was Andy's birthday, and I'll try to share pictures on another post. Yesterday I had a pampered chef party to get my sister's wedding gift (Pampered Chef pans). And this morning we took the kids to the health fair, installed the new church sign, and are awaiting our weekend company.

We really enjoyed the Health Fair this morning. J.A. went shortly after it opened to go get his blood work done while I stayed home and fed the kids breakfast. Once J.A. returned and finished breakfast we all walked up to the high school together to enjoy the health fair together.

Each of the kids had the opportunity to decorate their own pumpkin. Ezekiel was having so much fun using the markers on his pumpkins that I don't think he even noticed all the glue his brother and sisters were using. However, once Andy discovered the stickers there was no stopping Ezekiel from adding the stickers to his pumpkin.

Walking around the different booths the kids enjoyed a variety of treats -- some stickers, candy (imagine candy and chocolate at a health fair), and all four kids were able to get new bicycle helmets. Again, Ezekiel is really excited to be joining the ranks of his brother and sisters with his new head gear.

After our adventurous morning, the kids were ready to come home and do some work. Kara and Lydia went next door to help a neighbor rake leaves, and Andy went to go help daddy and some men from church install a new church sign.

Last month, the men came and laid the foundation for our new church sign.

Yesterday our new sign arrived, and today JA along with some men from the church installed the new sign. The electrical still needs connected, but the new sign is up and on display.

Ezekiel enjoyed watching the progression of the sign from the sidelines,

and you can see his wonderful new bike helmet.

Happy Birthday Andy!

2010-10-28T10:31:00.000-05:00

Four years ago, our family was in a difficult position. JA was working a job he did not enjoy because they wanted him to push sales of a satellite TV system. We didn't have our own home, so we were living with my parents, brother, and sister in their three bedroom house. And, we had no prospects for a ministry position we greatly longed to serve in. Yet, in the midst of this time, God chose to bless us with one of the cutest and sweetest gifts possible -- My Andy.

Andy was named after his grandfather that I've never had the privilege of meeting, yet I know this man was a godly and dedicated father. This is evidenced by the incredible three sons that he and his wife raised -- All who are planning to serve in the ministry as God permits. Andy has a very compassionate and caring heart -- even towards his own sisters (which I think is the biggest indication of how loving he is).

Andy, is one who loves to help and work. If you need something, he is one of the first to volunteer to go get it. He loves helping daddy load up the car to take the trash to the dump. He has also been busy this fall raking the leaves.

While Andy did not start off life with a bed (who needs a bed when you have a laundry basket :) ), he is growing into quite the young man. In fact, I think if we would let him he would gladly let Ezekiel sleep in his bed with him -- but I don't think they would get much sleep as the two brothers love to sword fight and play trucks together.

Andy's sweet smile melted my heart when he was born. I fell in love with his cleft and actually cried when it was repaired. As you can see in the picture above, the cleft just made his smile look so big. However, Andy did not lose his great smile. Now he loves to smile and make goofy faces. He is certainly one of a kind, and following his daddy's footsteps in the area of humor.

Andy's eating habits have not changed much in the last three years. The only difference is his food doesn't usually make it up above his eyes :)

Andy is always running, jumping, and climbing. He has this need for constant movement. Despite the lack of athletic ability JA and I have, Andy loves sports. He loved playing t-ball this year, and this morning turned his sisters house slippers into a football (quickly squelched by his ever loving mother though).

As I've said before, Andy is Daddy's little helper. He has helped daddy fix the living room fan, install a kitchen faucet, build the potatoe box (which by the way produced nothing). He is always trying to build things and loves walking around with his toy hammer.

One of the most exciting characteristics about my little boy is his spiritual sensitivity. For the last six months, Andy's prayer request is that God would give Ezekiel and himself white hearts. A couple of months ago Andy began telling us he had a white heart, and that he had prayed and asked Jesus to save him. While we don't know for sure where Andy's heart is, we do know that he loves God and wants to obey him. Time will tell as we interact and discuss with Andy (and possibly have him pray again as we see the need). Please pray with us for our little boy that he will choose to follow Christ as his two older sisters have.

Precious Moments

2010-10-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

On our way home from our trip to Uncle Ted's, we stopped to enjoy some Precious Moments at the Precious Moments Chapel.

The kids enjoyed climbing on the animals outside after we ate our picnic lunch of McDonalds.

How many kids can you fit on one turtle?

I'm working on training Ezekiel to walk holding Kara's hand, so when the baby comes and my hands are full I know he will obey.

The fountains all over the property were beautiful and relaxing.

I love the illustration of the cross and the open grave.

The playhouse the artist designed and built for his grandchildren

Meeting with friends in Glory -- I am looking forward to this wonderful reunion.

Living the Farm Life

2010-09-29T20:41:00.000-05:00

The first week of September, all four kids and I drove with Oma and Uncle Tim to Missouri. The kids enjoyed three nights of living on a farm and playing with the animals. Betty had four young kids (the kind that grow up to be milked) and my kids had a blast playing with them. The first thing they wanted to do when the woke up was go outside and lead the goats -- even before breakfast! They also had a hard time coming in at the end of the day. Above you can see Lydia with her first goat -- she soon switched to a different kid as this one was too stubborn to follow her.

Ezekiel's favorite part of the week was playing with Queenie. I have never met a dog who does so well with young kids who doesn't live with young kids. Here you can see Queenie giving Ezekiel kisses.

The kids really enjoyed the afternoon playing in the creek.

Here it almost looks like Kara is leading two goats, but I think she is trying to help her sister to get her goat moving. Kara also enjoyed going in the hen house to collect eggs. Who knows, in a few years we may need to build a small coop and get some laying hens. I certainly have an eager egg collector.

We really had a wonderful time in Missouri. I even had the opportunity to see my cousin Jackie for a few minutes. The kids are already asking about when we get to go back and visit Uncle Ted and Betty again.

Apple Picking

2010-09-26T14:05:00.000-05:00

Last week we took the kids to Cortland to go apple picking. We had a great time, and Kara probably picked the most apples.

Ezekiel helped daddy pull the wagon with the basket for the apples in it.

Kara and Lydia pretty much filled this basket themselves.

We did have to constantly remind the kids not to climb the apple trees since they weren't are apples.

Kara was a big help with peeling and coring apples to make our apple pie filling.

Here are all four kids after spending two hours picking apples. They had a

blast and are already asking to go apple picking again.

August Update

2010-09-18T10:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, now that it is the end of September, I guess I should update our August Adventures. We began the month of August as we always do -- Enjoying my birthday (the advantage of being born on the first of the month). My birthday present -- saying goodbye to our dog. Don't worry, it's a good thing. Shalom is quite a large and active dog -- too active for my young children, and too big to get a sufficient amount of exercise in our small town. Therefore, my wonderful sister and her husband agreed to take Shalom to go live out in the country with them. And, from what I hear Shalom is absolutely loving her new home. I did enjoy having Elizabeth and Joel up for my birthday, and Elizabeth even made a delicious Oreo cheesecake. It was wonderful. The best thing about my birthday -- being able to sit beside my husband through two entire church services -- I love having missionary speakers in church!!!

Okay, moving on. We also had to say goodbye to some sweet friends. Jon and Deb are now directors for Village Missions, and with their change of position were leaving their current ministry. We went to visit them and say goodbye -- although not for good -- we look forward to their visits with some of our local Village Missionaries.

Jon and Deb Hanson

August is a month of birthdays for our family. Lydia celebrated her birthday by turning five, and she wanted a Princess Birthday cake. Her favorite birthday present -- A Pretty Pretty Princess game from her Aunt Beth.

Ezekiel also enjoyed a birthday celebration. He turned two, and has been joyfully advancing in the area of speech. He is so much fun, and loves trying to keep up with his older siblings.

One of the fun things of summer is the intense heat :) A couple of times this summer we met my parents at a city waterpark. The kids loved meeting up with Oma and Opa, and Ezekiel loved playing in the water -- Kara loved going down a waterslide by herself. Lydia loved playing under the water. Andy enjoyed everything, but Ezekiel's favorite part -- The Lazy River.

One thing that happened this month was Kara -- She discovered a love for reading. I was finally able to get her to start reading some chapter books, and the image below is a scene that I expect to see repeated many times over the next several years.

We also took the kids to a local historic place. We had a picnic at the Home on the Range Cabin. The kids enjoyed the picnic and discovering a tiny bit of local history.

To see more pictures of our August Adventures, click here.

Fourth of July Activitites

2010-07-29T08:42:00.000-05:00

On July 4, we decided to take a drive. We figured the best place to visit on Independance Day is Lady Liberty herself. We loaded up the van and drove .

The kids all gathered around the base of Lady Liberty for a photo op. For some reason, I thought she would be much taller and surrounded by water not fields :)

We also drove some of the country roads and the kids had their first near death experience (or at least they think they had a near death experience). We had had a lot of rain the previous week, but we were driving down a gravel road that was safe -- until the gravel turned into what looked like a dry clay road. Well, the dirt and clay was not the least bit dry as J.A. surfed and pushed the van through. At one point we were stuck and trying to figure out how we would get out (the particular location had no cell phone reception). However, J.A. the master pilot was able to baby the van until she cooperated and we finally arrived back on almost dry ground.

We drove straight home to pick up some coins for the car wash. We did not want the clay to stick like cement to the van.

At home, Ezekiel decided he wanted to be supper, so he climbed into the roaster and continued to try to turn it on (he neglected to notice that it was not plugged in).

This is not yet the end of our Fourth of July adventures, but I will save the rest for another post.

Backyard Campout

2010-07-28T08:24:00.000-05:00

All summer we have been trying to have a backyard campout in preparation to actually take the kids camping. However, everytime we would have an opportunity to set up the tent and campout, I would take a look at the weather forcast and discover -- Thunderstorms coming our way. Thus, the campout continued to be postponed. Monday afternoon JA set up the tent.

We planned to camp out Monday night, but since the kids had spent most of Monday outside, by six o'clock they were grumpy and tired, so we decided it would be better to wait to campout Tuesday night after having a good day of rest (I think this may have been a mistaken judgement).

As you can see Ezekiel thoroughly enjoyed his s'mores.

Kara, Lydia, and Andy roasted all the marshmellows for the s'mores.

Tuesday came and the kids rested, and spent the day inside (so as not to destroy the tent while they played outside). After nap time, we ate dinner and then daddy fixed a campfire so we could roast marshmellows and enjoy s'mores.

After enjoying our s'mores we got everyone ready for bed, and then descended upon the tent. Even Ezekiel was excited to get to sleep in the tent. It took quite a while, but we finally all fell asleep shortly after midnight.

Child's Pizza Kit Giveaway

2010-07-26T13:36:00.000-05:00

http://inthekitchenwithaudrey.blogspot.com/2010/07/curious-chef-giveaway.html

Check out In the Kitchen with Audrey. This blog is a great blog to follow if you have young kids. Can you imagine cooking on a daily basis with your two year old? I certainly can't (of course that may have to do with the number of kids I have).

Currently, you can become of follower of In the Kitchen with Audrey either through facebook or through signing up as a follower on her blog and win this great kids in the kitchen set.

I know I would love to win this for a Christmas present for one of my girls.

The Fourth of July

2010-07-24T13:31:00.000-05:00

This year for the Fourth of July, we had a church service in the park. We rented out the town windmill (I can't believe I don't have a picture of it), and held services inside. The day was very wet and rainy, so we were thankful for the shelter to keep us dry. Thankfully, the day was nice and cool so we were able to comfortably enjoy the service. We were excited to have Kayla (the girl wearing the glasses), her father, and a friend of his attended our services.

We had a wonderful morning of worshiping the Lord and hearing about True Liberty in Christ Jesus. After the service we enjoyed a dinner together. I enjoy services like these where we are forced to step back from our traditional Sunday habits and forced to focus on our reason for meeting -- To worship our King together, and to edify each other. It was also a great opportunity to reach out to the community for those who would not normally attend church.

A Delinquint Blogger

2010-07-23T17:50:00.002-05:00

I have neglected to update this blog for the last two months. I can give the excuse of spending the first part of the summer sick to my stomach, and the second part trying to get my house back in order after being sick. However, those are simply excuses. I will attempt to get my blog caught up and have some great things to update on (the least of which is my failure of a garden).

The kids are growing quickly, and have been a great help this summer. We have been busy establishing family jobs, and trying to grow closer together as a family.

We attended my sister's beautiful wedding.


More pictures here

We also attended T-ball games for three of the kids this summer.

More pictures here

A Request for Advice

2010-05-13T10:04:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone who reads my blog. I need some assistance in a couple of areas:

1. Potty training little boys -- Andy has been potty trained for almost two years now, but he can not make it through the night dry. We even get him up in the middle of the night to go potty and he still frequently wets the bed.

2. Thumb Suckers -- I feel like we have tried almost every possibility to help the girls cease their love of their thumbs, and yet they continue to adamantly suck them. Kara can stop for a week or two at a time, and then the thumb is right back in the mouth. We are at a loss of what to do. The dentist informed us on Monday that because of the way Kara's permanent teeth are coming in, she will assuredly have to wear braces. However, since she still does not have her back molars she is unable to get the wire put in her mouth to stop the sucking. Lydia's mouth and bite are not nearly as bad as Kara's, but the dentist informed us that her teeth are getting there. Please, if you have any successful tips, or even any tips that you don't know if they'll be successful, I would love to hear them. We have tried socks over the hands, we have tried painting that thumb deterrent (Kara just says "Yum pepper") .

Thank you for any advice and help you can give us.

Happy Birthday J.A.

2010-05-06T10:57:00.005-05:00

In the ten/eleven years that I have known my husband, I just continue to be amazed by his godly attitude. He is continuously directing my eyes upward to my Lord. Today, my awesome husband turns 33! While I have yet to throw him a cool birthday party like my kids (Do you think he would like a GI Joe party :), J.A. supports me in every endeavor I undertake.

He has been an incredible father to our four children, and they each love him immensely. One of the first things we hear in the morning (besides our resident woodpecker) is Ezekiel calling out for Daddy to open the door and let him out of his room. All four kids love pouncing on top of daddy and rolling around on the floor. He also takes time to have them help him on various projects around the house, and he takes an active part in their activities.

Let me tell you a few fun facts about my husband. When he is being goofy he loves to say he wants a car with purple lightening bolts on it. He absolutely loves listening to Patch the Pirate and Adventures in Odyssey. His favorite song to sing in the morning is from This is the Army -- "You Gotta Get Up this Morning." (to which my typical response involves "Someday I'm going to murder the Bugler.")

JA also loves to go hunting, and he is looking forward to getting back into bow hunting (if I can ever find a reasonably priced bow, so if any of you have one you are wanting to get rid of, please let me know).

One thing I love about JA is that he would climb the mountains for me, he adores me in a way that every girl longs to be adored.

He certainly has achieved first place in my heart.

Turning Six

2010-04-25T15:46:00.005-05:00

From this April 27, 2004

to this Beautiful young lady in April 2010

Six years ago, I had the blessing of giving birth to my firstborn child. Kara's due date was May 7, and JA was to graduate on May 8. I knew without a doubt from when I first found out I was pregnant that Kara would be early. There is no way I could have handled JA's graduation, party, and all of our relatives that were coming for his graduation, from a hospital bed. Also, I wanted to be able to spend some time with just the three of us as a family before JA's mom came to stay with us for a month. So I just knew she would be early. And she was -- 10 days.Until Ezekiel was born, I would have to say that Kara was my easiest delivery -- I slept through labor and woke up to deliver her in a matter of minutes. However, it was not quite that simple. I did go into labor Monday night during our Uncommon Vessels Meeting, and several of the ladies at the meeting could tell I was in labor. I went home, slept, and got up Tuesday morning to go to my doctor's appointment. We left early because I was pretty sure I was in labor, but was not ready to go to the hospital. We walked around Wal-Mart for as long as I could handle it, and then went into the doctor's office. I told them I thought I was in labor, and instead of seeing the doctor they sent me to the hospital -- Oh, now I know! We walked over to the hospital, and were admitted. At 1:30 the doctor came in and broke my water and gave me some pitossin since my contractions weren't doing anything, and then they gave me an iv with stadol. Shortly after that I fell asleep. At 4:00 I woke up, and I think Kara was born at about 4:25. A nice easy uneventful labor.
To see more photos from Kara's first year with us, click here

Almost 6

2010-04-24T17:36:00.007-05:00

Wow, I can hardly believe it. Six years ago I was anticipating the birth of my oldest child. With the due date almost two weeks away, I knew for certain I would be going into labor within the next few days -- I was that confident that Kara would come early because of how crazy life would be if she didn't.

Last Saturday we celebrated Kara's sixth birthday (even though her birthday isn't until Tuesday, April 27). Kara chose a Tea Party theme for her birthday party, and I was more than happy to go along with this theme. It was so easy, and the girls loved it.

Kara blowing out the candles on her tea pot birthday cake. For those of you who don't know,
Kara thinks she is a cat, and that is why she begged me the day before to put
a cat on her birthday cake. So, I did (or at least I attempted to - she thought it was a bear).

Each of Kara's friends brought their favorite doll to the party
Here are the girls making sure their dolls are having enough tea
and sweets.

The girls carefully unfolded their napkins and placed the napkins in their laps.
It was so neat to watch these young girls be so concerned about proper etiquette
they were beautiful in their fine dress and pure girlishness

Kara loves to play Go Fish, so the girls gathered around
together to play a game of Go Fish - Thank you Lynette for
facilitating this game for me.

While Lynette was helping the girls play Go Fish, I was helping them one girl at a time
glue ribbons and flowers on hats for their dolls. It was fun to see each girls
personality exhibited by which ribbon and flower she chose, and how she wanted it placed
on the hat.

Kara absolutely loves the new doll she received for her birthday.

Here are all of the girls, their dolls, and their hats. Andy had just arrived back from
his trip to the park with Daddy, Ezekiel, Opa, Uncle Tim, and Uncle Joel, so he wanted to get in the picture. Thankfully Aunt Beth was kind enough to get Raggedy Andy down off the shelf
for the picture.

And here is the birthday girl. I will post more about her later this week if I
get a chance.

To see more pictures from Kara's Birthday Party click here

Vacation Plans

2010-04-18T13:50:00.003-05:00

Help!!! JA and I are considering moving up our plans to vacation in Hawaii to next spring. We have been planning to go to Hawaii for our 10th Anniversary which will be a year from this December. However, we currently have enough Airline miles for both of us to go for free (which will expire before our 10th Anniversary).

Now, this is where we need help. I know a lot of you have vacationed in Hawaii. Can you please share with me where you went in Hawaii, and why you think it's the best choice of destination? See, I need to start researching so we can decide where to go, but I don't even know where to begin. Also, what did you do in Hawaii that you think we would really enjoy doing ie. Climbing to the top of a volcano, taking a boat trip between islands, visiting Pearl Harbor, etc. . .

Thank you for your Help!!!

Cloth Diaper Talk

2010-04-15T11:37:00.003-05:00

Cloth Diaper Talk is doing a giveaway of a Diaper Sprayer. We have been cloth diapering for three years, and I have never used a diaper sprayer. From those of you who do use one, what have I been missing? Please share your experience, and whether or not it is a worthwhile investment. If you are interested in cloth diapering, check out Thanks Mama to view their variety of products.

Dinner Time Fun

2010-04-01T18:23:00.004-05:00

We don't do much for April Fools Day around here. April 1 is also my mom's birthday, so it's not usually a day for pranks -- other than last year when everyone surprised her for her 50 birthday.

I decided to have some fun with the kids, so thanks to Family Fun I planned and carried out a prankster's dinner. We had

Not Chicken Pot Pie

Vanilla Pudding with Starburst carrots and corn
Airhead peas
White Chocolate Chicken
Banana Potatoes
Topped with a pie crust

And for dessert
Meatloaf Cupcakes with
Mashed Potato Frosting

Oh, I almost forgot about the side of
mashed potato ice cream
and toffee gravy

Needless to say, Kara took one look at the mashed potatoes and told me that it was ice cream and caramel. It took her a few licks of the frosting before she told me it was mashed potato, and then she looked at the meat and said "This is a meat cupcake, thank you mom for making such a healthy cupcake."

Another Day

2010-03-27T11:59:00.003-05:00

As I look out my window, I watch the rain gently fall to the ground. It is a beautiful sight -- one I am sure I will long for over and over this summer as my garden grows. I'm thinking of all the many projects I need to complete, and my own lack of desire to start them. We are now on week two of the icky respiratory infection that inflicted itself upon five of the six members of my family. Three of the five our up and about running and back to their happy normal selves with the occasional fit of coughing. One of the five is simply miserable and chooses to complain and through a fit about every little thing that doesn't go his way (and no, it's not the one year old). And me, I sit here staring out the window longing for health and warm weather to be able to get outside and shove my hands into the brown dirt. I don't remember being so eager to get outside and get my garden planted before. I am hopeful that the weather will be nice next week and we can get the garden tilled. JA is going to build me a potato box next week (he already picked up some old pallets to break down for wood). This will be my first year of planting potatoes.

Well, I need to bring my ramblings to an end and cease my mindless gaze our the window and return my focus to things I need to accomplish inside -- a child who needs to practice violin, bathe three of the four children (one is already done), laundry (an endless task here at home), and weeding out the soon to expire coupons from my binder.

With a full day ahead of me, I am enjoying the gentle pitter patter of the rain outside to help relax my spirit and remind me to take time to enter into fellowship with my Father.

Bowling with the Kids

2010-03-25T16:12:00.003-05:00

We ventured out as a family in the midst of our sickly affliction to have a family activity. We went bowling, and we had a wonderful time. I've been leery about taking the children bowling because I didn't think they would enjoy it. Well, thanks to Tony's Pizza we enjoyed a free game of bowling and only had to pay 11 for shoe rental (would have been cheaper, but I neglected to place my bowling ball and shoes in the van).

Let me clarify, I do not recommend taking sick children bowling. I honestly thought that they were doing better. Andy and Ezekiel were not very happy or excited to be bowling instead of enjoying a nice long afternoon nap.

Kara loved bowling -- she took second place, Lydia took third place, and Andy took fourth place. I will let you guess at who took first and last place (unless you have already seen the pictures on facebook).

Thank you Tony's Pizza, we will certainly be buying more of your pizza's and enjoying some more free games of bowling this year (when the kids are ALL healthy).

What a Day

2010-03-22T18:34:00.003-05:00

Our family has been battling an Upper Respirtary Infection, Ear Infection, and a touch of the stomach bug for the last week. The kids are still sick, but we thought today they needed to get out and get some fresh air since we had such a beautiful day today. This morning we walked to Dollar General and Alco to do some light shopping.

During nap time Kara, Lydia, and Andy took their bikes over to the church and rode their bikes while Ezekiel took his nap. Right before dinner we took Shalom for a walk to the park and let the kids get the last bit of their pent up energy out.

Life in our Home

2010-02-25T10:50:00.003-06:00

Life is an adventure. This is the first February in the past three years that my kids have not had the flu. However, I think I did breathe a sigh of relief a bit earlier than I should have. For the past two weeks I battled a hint of a cold trying to take over. By Sunday I thought it had been conquered, and by Monday I was sure I was healthy. Then Wednesday happened. I was going about my normal business and Wednesday night I was knocked over by a cold without warning. It seemed like within moments and without a hint of it's arrival my throat locked up and is now screaming, the incessant cough refuses to stop for even a few moments, and my body aches from it all. I could go on and complain, but I do rejoice that since I am sick, I am sick this week and not next week. Next week is a very special week that I will share with you in the future -- right now I'm just going to enjoy those thoughts myself :)

This is what I feel like.

Kara unfortunately is facing the same wonderful ailment. In fact, I kept her home from Kids4Truth last night hoping that taking some medicine and going to bed early and not exposing her lungs to the cold air would help her. Obviously I was wrong. So, today's schedule is quite different from our normal routine.

Ezekiel is down for a nap, and my children are all enjoying a day at the movies. I pulled up some old VHS tapes out of the basement so I could have access to play on my computer (our DVD player busted a few months ago, and we have yet to replace it and so my computer has been our video player as well). So far the kids have enjoyed The Jungle Book and now they are watching Robin Hood. Understand, my kids typically do not watch more than an hour or two of movies a week (usually one movie during our Sunday evening family campouts), so today is a special treat for them.

Thankfully I don't get knocked down like this very often, but I would like to know
What type of activities do you have your kids do when mommy is sick and daddy is away at work?

Choir

2010-02-22T15:08:00.005-06:00

Well, this is the first time in the last six weeks that Kara and I have been home on a Sunday afternoon. This past month Kara and I had the privilege to sing in a community Christian choir. I have to say I am amazed at how well Kara did, and shocked at how much I missed singing and delighted at the vocal workout I faced each Sunday.

For the past two years, I turned down the request to join the choir. This year a trusted friend convinced me to give it a try (I guess she thought my two year hermitage needed to come to an end :) ). Not knowing how Kara would do sitting on a pew for two hours singing and listening to a choir director, we decided to give it a try. The truth -- Kara LOVED it. My sweet girl has always loved singing. In fact, she probably spends a good 1/4 of the day singing or making some kind of music. She has always enjoyed making up her own songs. While she didn't always know where we were in the hymns when we were singing together as a choir, and she wasn't always able to keep up or figure out the time signature, she did learn the words, and the messages of the song.

The last two weeks were the concert, and we did video the first concert, so I will try to get it uploaded to YouTube and then linked on my blog. I will miss the choir, but Kara and I are already excited about next year, and who knows - maybe Lydia will be reading by then and able to sit still long enough to enjoy the choir also :).

If you want to see photos of our month, please click this link.

Around the House Today

2010-02-05T18:09:00.004-06:00

Today was a nice quiet and relaxing day around the house. We didn't have any place we needed to be (other than my need to go to the grocery store later tonight). So, JA took the kids outside to play in the snow.

The kids created a snow family - if you only see five snowmen, that's because
Ezekiel is the tiny clump of snow right behind Andy. Kara and Lydia have
a hard time not viewing him as a baby.

The love of my life :)

Having fun before our family devotions
(if you click on the picture you can see where Andy
stuck a pencil through the bottom of his eyelid --
Boys are an adventure :)
I just love little babies toddling around in their diapers.
And Ezekiel is so cute to watch walk because he really
does toddle, and he loves to fall so it's fun to try to guess
what he's going to do.

New Year's Goals Updated

2010-02-02T21:42:00.004-06:00

Well, I've decided that I must use my blog to help me keep some form of accountability, so for as long as I am still doing well with achieving my goals, I will try to update the progress here on my blog. If we start to get to the middle of the month and you see know progress update, please HOLD me ACCOUNTABLE! Thank you.

Now for the update.

1. Lose 20 pounds by March -- Well 20 pounds in two months was a bit high, but I have lost five pounds so far and will continue to work on this one. I've started exercising more, but have struggled with keeping the food diary.

2. Spend more time in Prayer and Bible Study -- I have been much more consistent on Bible Study, and we have a set family time where everyone does their devotions, so this has helped me establish this time every day.

3. Read two books a month -- Well, in the month of January I read Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl and For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. Both of these books are wonderful for working on your marriage.

4. Monthly Food Menu -- January I had a menu, I have yet to sit down an get my menu made for February -- I can see a huge difference too. January we had good well rounded meals. This week we have had rice, sandwiches, quessadillas, all quick small meals. I need to get this done by this weekend so my hubby doesn't starve :)

5. Spend individual time with each of my kids -- this one is much harder than I though it would be. It is almost impossible to spend fifteen minutes with any one child without being interrupted by the others, so this one has adjusted to just spending an hour playing/reading/exercising with all of my kids together (they actually seem to like this better anyways. Maybe I should also just adjust this to about 30 minutes/week with each kid individually).

Well, that sums up my goals.

The kids goals that have been accomplished:

January 21 -- Lydia accepted Christ as her Savior (I'll post about this at a later date).
Kara has been reading at least one book a day
Andy -- well, let's just say he is a work in progress
Ezekiel -- He is now walking. He is also beginning to learn to say please.

Some other Random Things:We've been working on some projects around the house, and one of our projects (cost us only $2) was to build a mitten/hat rack for the kids winter wear. I was tired of having hats, gloves, and mittens mingled with the laundry and scattered around the house, so we found an old piece of trim in the basement, cut some dowels down to size, and created our own mitten tree.

Kara's 6th Birthday

2010-02-01T20:32:00.003-06:00

Ok, I know this is early but I am just so excited. I just received Kara's birthday present in the mail today (I know her birthday isn't until April -- I'm just planning early).

Last month I entered into a New Year's Giveaway at Branch of Wisdom, and I won a Proverbs 31 doll - Elisabeth. This is just the perfect birthday present for Kara Beth. I think she is old enough to take care of such a nice doll, and she will enjoy playing and dressing Elisabeth. I am also excited to use Elisabeth as a means of beginning to teach Kara some early lessons on modesty.

Kara requested a tea party for her birthday. So, we will be inviting her girl friends to bring their favorite doll for her birthday party. If you have any suggestions on how to make this a fun party, please let me know I would appreciate it.

For those family members who are already planning to give Kara a birthday present, Elisabeth is an 18 inch doll - the size of the American Girl Dolls. I am sure Kara would enjoy receiving doll clothes to be able to dress her doll to fit whatever activity she is doing.

The Importance of Child Well Visits

2010-01-27T10:38:00.005-06:00

I can't tell you how important it is to have your new baby go to the doctor even when they are healthy. Those appointments are so very important to help chart your baby's development and for the doctor to be able to note oddities and things that may cause concern.
When Ezekiel was nine months old I took him in for his well child visit. He was a healthy boy -- a little small, and nothing unusual -- other than that he wasn't rolling over and sitting (things that at nine months can still fall under the range of normal development). During his checkup, the doctor wasn't concerned until I made a little comment about how when I nurse him I have to fight him because he'll be screaming to eat but he arches his back away from me. At that comment and the fact that he had only rolled over once or twice, she scheduled us an appointment with a physical therapist to have him evaluated.
Our first therapy session went great. In fact we left and at home Ezekiel began rolling all over the house -- He loved it, and all he needed was for someone to show him how to flip his hips. However, the therapist noticed something else that we had failed to notice. The left side of Ezekiel's body was weaker than the right side of his body. I didn't think much of this except that we would need to work on strengthening the left side. However, that afternoon the doctor called me very concerned and wanted us to go see a pediatritian two hours away. When I asked her what she thought was wrong she said he could have had a stroke in-utero, or a tumor, or cerebral palsy. But she was leaning more towards the idea of the stroke. Needless to say the next two weeks until our appointment went quite slowly.
We had a wonderful appointment with the pediatritian where he decided the Ezekiel's problem was a MINOR case of Cerebral Palsy -- something easily corrected with Physical Therapy. However, he did a CT Scan just to rule out a stroke or tumor.
I can't thank the Lord enough for having had this diagnosis so early in Ezekiel's Life. As I researched on-line, I discovered most children with CP are not diagnosed until the age of 2 or 3. And here we are at 17 and a half months. With Ezekiel's monthly therapy sessions, he went from a nine month old with a four month old motor skills to now being at the normal level of an 18 month old. We are so thankful for a doctor who took the time to work with Ezekiel and share our concern for the delay in his development. I have been to some doctors who would have just shrugged it off as being normal development just slightly delayed but nothing to concern ourselves with.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T20:46:00.003-06:00

My Mother-in-Laws Christmas Village -- This is the first year we've had a nice place to display it without having to constantly rescue the pieces from the grasp of tiny hands.

I hope those of you who stayed up to bring in the new year had a wonderful time of fun and fellowship with those you stayed up with, and for those of you who chose to retire before the ball dropped, I hope you felt refreshed today.

We had a wonderful evening last night. Some friends from church came over and we had a short prayer service, and the a good time of goodies and fellowship. After they left, we stayed up for awhile with the older three kids and played Chutes and Ladders.This morning, I started the year 2010 off to a great start. My house is clean, I kept track of what I ate (except the food I ate at the Emily's shower, but I limited myself), and I exercised for 30 minutes. We even had a fun time finishing the game of Chutes and Ladders with the kids. We are certainly going to be spending more time playing together as a family this year.

Here is a picture of the rose JA bought me for our anniversary.

Well, the Christmas decorations are still up. They will be going down sometime this next week, but I am really enjoying them now that Christmas is past. Hmmm. I guess that means I probably spent too much time focused on what I needed to get done for Christmas that I neglected to take time to enjoy the season. Someone please remind me next Christmas to enjoy the season!!!!

New Years Giveaway

2009-12-31T18:07:00.001-06:00

Check out this great New Year's Giveaway at Branch of Wisdom
Most of the giveaway is open through Jan. 12, but there is one part of it that ends this evening (the Old Schoolhouse Magazine subscription), so you might want to hop on over there and check it out quickly if you're interested!

Upon the Eve of a New Year

2009-12-31T11:25:00.004-06:00

Come December 31, Americans all over the country vow to make some small and some great changes in their lives for the New Year. Many of these vows involve becoming a better person, becoming healthier, being a better parent, you get the idea.

Well, last night my wonderful husband and I sat down after the kids were in bed, and we reflected on the year 2009. We had many wonderful blessings, and we had made many great changes in our family life. However, as we reflected over this past year we also realized several specific areas in our lives that we had neglected or fallen short in.

Thus, the purpose of this post. We decided to set some very specific goals for this next year for each and everyone of us. I won't list my husband's goals, because those are not mine to state, but here are some of mine:
1. Lose 20 pounds by March when JA and I take a week vacation to attend a Weekend to Remember in Colorado Springs. This goal involves exercising consistently and keeping a very strict food diary

2. I want to spend more time consistently in prayer and Bible Study

3. I want to read one book every two weeks for a minimum of two books a month. These are books that we have in our home library -- not fiction story books, but books that will help encourage me in my spiritual walk, ministry, parenting, and marriage.

4. No more flying by the seat of my pants in cooking meals. I plan to write out a detailed menu at the beginning of each month including breakfast, lunch and dinner to ensure that we are eating healthy and balanced meals (and using up the items I buy and keep in my pantry).

5. Along with better discipline of my health, I also want to have a better discipline in my home and family. I am setting a goal to spend individual time each day with each of my children. Now, this may only be fifteen minutes with each child alone, but with four children, I can't spend an hour at a time with each one.

We have established some goals for Kara
1. Consistent practice of her violin
2. Weekly cook something for her 4-H project
3. Read one book a day out loud
4. Learn to wash dishes
5. Stop sucking her thumb
6. Character Quality to Work on: Kindness
7. Our Prayer: She will grow in her walk with Christ and decide to get baptized

Lydia's Goals are:
1. Learn to read
2. Learn to count to 50
3. Stop sucking her thumb
4. Learn to clean the kitchen floor
5. Character Quality to Work on: Self-Control
6. Our Prayer: She will accept Christ as her Savior
Andy's Goals are:
1. Learn to count to 50
2. Learn to vacuum
3. Character Quality to Work on: Contentment
4. Our Prayer: He will accept Christ as his Savior

Ezekiel's Goals are:
1. Learn to Walk
2. Learn to Talk
3. Character Quality to Work on: Learn to say please and thank you and have a joyful spirit and
not demanding.
4. Our Prayer: He will continue to develop properly

Please take a moment to leave a comment and share whether or not you make New Year's Resolutions; and if you do, what is one of your resolutions for the year 2010

2009 - A Year of Blessings

2009-12-30T12:41:00.004-06:00

As I reflect on this past year, I see so many areas where God has blessed us.1. The biggest and most obvious blessing was our being able to travel as a family to go visit JA's mom in Uganda. When we first began planning the trip we had only planned for JA, Ezekiel and myself to go. Praise the Lord for His gracious provision in allowing us to take all four children with us.
2. Another blessing came with Ezekiel's diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. With this diagnosis, we have been able to get him the therapy he has needed, and he went from being a nine month old who could not sit or roll over to now being a 16 month old who is crawling all over the house and climbing the stairs -- desperately making his will known. We are seeing a lot of progress towards his ability to walk and we are excited and praying that within the next month or two he will be walking and running to keep up with Andy, Kara, and Lydia.3. We have been able to spend more quality time together as a family. We have started a new tradition on Sunday nights after church where we gather in the living room, watch a movie together and eat popcorn and m&m's. The kids love it and have reduced the amount of begging the give us to watch movie's throughout the week and they wait for Sunday's. We are hoping that come summer we will be able to purchase a large tent and spend our Sunday evening family campout some where else when the weather permits.4. As a family, we have become more and more aware of our need to be wise stewards of what God has given us. Back in June, I began couponing and have had the blessing of being a better steward in making our finances stretch further.

5. A bountiful harvest from our garden.6. I had an opportunity to get away for a weekend with my dear friend Lynette and we attended a Ladies Retreat. This is the second year we have attended a ladies retreat together, and I am already excited for next year's retreat as we head to Fort Worth, Texas in October for the True Women Conference.

7. Eight wonderful years of marriage to my husband.

8. Deepening relationship with the Lord, and the wisdom God gave us to schedule our days so we could teach our kids how to have their personal devotions and we can learn together in our Family Devotional time.

9. The Salvation of my Eldest Daughter, Kara, and the softening and understanding we are beginning to see in Lydia and Andy.

10. Activities my kids have been able to get involved with that have helped get us out into the community -- Children's theatre in the spring, t-ball in the summer, and Library Storyhour in the fall.

These are just a few of the multiple blessings God has given to us. Please take a moment to share with me some of the blessings you have received over this past year.

Happy Anniversary My Love

2009-12-29T10:33:00.003-06:00

Eight Years Ago Today

Wow, Eight years has gone quickly by. So much has happened over the past eight years. When I took my marriage counseling class, I remember my teacher saying that every seven years of a marriage, a couple experiences something that can break their marriage. Looking back over the past eight years I don't know what that major transition was -- maybe leaving Northland with no place to go, living with my parents for five months in a three bedroom house with nine people, trying to juggle a family, work, and education. I don't know. All I know is that over the past eight years, God has been very good and gracious to us as a couple. He has blessed us greatly and taken our family from two to six. We are still wonderfully and happily married. There is no big secret to our marriage other than when we married we agreed to remove a certain D_______ word from our vocabulary. So, no matter what struggles and trials come through the next 20,30,40,50 + years of our life together, we will work through them together with God's strength, mercy, love, and grace to bring us out on the other side as happily married newlyweds.

Happy Anniversary Jennings Andy Hall, III
I LOVE YOU

The Greatest Season

2009-12-27T13:32:00.003-06:00

I love Christmas! I love the decorations, I love the cheerful countenances of the people around me, I love the fabulous sales at stores, I love getting presents, I love singing Christmas Caroles, I love visiting the nursing homes, I love all the yummy goodies we bake at Christmas. I love just about everything there is about Christmas (except the freezing cold weather!). But the greatest reason I love Christmas is because of the most precious gift I have ever received. Over 2000 years ago, my Creator looked down upon this wicked sinful earth and decided it was the time to send a redeemer. So he allowed a humble woman to give birth to HIS precious son - Jesus Christ. This young woman had the opportunity to raise the Messiah -- the one who has the power to redeem us all. My mind still struggles to comprehend how God could be willing to leave His palace in Heaven and confine himself to the body of a mortal man. Jesus was still God and yet He became man. He suffered through the changes and development that each of my children have to go through. He felt pain when he got hit by a rock or when His teeth came in. He felt what it was like to be hungry. And yet, he CHOSE to suffer in this life and He CHOSE to die a painful death so that I could experience freedom and life. None of this makes sense to me other than to know that GOD LOVED ME enough to do this. How can I do anything less than to show my thankfulness to Him by teaching my children of God's love.

While I love Christmas, I am enjoying passing down to my children the reason for Christmas. Oh, we talk about Santa and how Santa is not real but is based on the life of a real man who gave everything to help children. We have fun watching Christmas cartoons about rudolph and angels and Santa Clause, they have even enjoyed giving and receiving Christmas presents. But, my prayer is that as my children grow and someday move out on their own with their own families, that they will keep the truth of Christmas in the heart and will not only celebrate what Christmas is today, but that every day of every year they will celebrate that first Christmas that took place so long ago in a stable in the midst of a busy town with only the angels and the Shepherds to know the glory of that wonderful night.

Merry Christmas from JA and Tracy Hall
Kara, Ezekiel, Andy, and Lydia

To see photo's from our Christmas, please click here

Swagbucks Post

2009-11-15T16:49:00.002-06:00

Any of you who follow my blog who are interested in earning great gift cards (Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and many more) just for performing your normal searches, please click on my referral button below and sign up with Swagbucks.

I've already earned enough Swagbucks to receive several $5 gift cards to Amazon.com and a $10 Starbucks gift card. In fact, I'm only five swagbucks away from another Starbucks gift card :)

2009-11-12T10:07:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Time is flying quickly by

2009-10-22T03:33:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that we have already been in Uganda for over a week. We only have a week and a half left. Today I am taking a break from being out and about with the kids. They are beginning to get grumpy and whine, so we are staying at the house to see if we can recoup and return to good and joyful attitudes :)

This week has been a very busy week. Monday afternoon we went to go visit Stanley's father, and he gave Kara, Lydia, and Andy each a chicken. The kids also helped to pick oranges so we have enjoyed eating green oranges (they are ripe, they just don't turn orange). Also on Monday, we took a walk around the property and Mom showed us the banana orchard with lots of pineapple plants. We also walked past some orange trees. JA told Andy that these were orange trees, and Andy's first response was "No Daddy, those trees are green" He though JA was talking about the color of the trees :) The property also has a few Elephant Coconut trees, mango trees, and a garden that the kids have planted casaba, potatoes, and egg plant (probably some other things also, but I didn't know what they were).

Tuesday was a relatively quiet day. The kids spent a lot of time playing with their new friends, and I went to the supermarket with mom to get some dry milk and a lot more water. Our family of six goes through about 10 - 11 liters of water a day. I didn't realize we drank that much water until we started drinking out of bottles. Then, Tuesday night we attended devotions with the children at the property.

Wednesday morning, JA was gone from the house at 7:30 since he was speaking in chapel. After JA returned, Kara and I took some meat over to the property to get it started in the crock pot for supper, then we walked with Beatrice to the market. I must say that I am very proud and surprised at Kara. We walked an hour in the heat just to get to the market, and she did not complain. We had emptied her backpack, and once I bought the potatoes and carrots for dinner she was eager to have them placed in her backpack. I think Kara enjoyed the market, and she took a lot of pictures (I can't upload any more pictures until later b/c we have to go to the radio station to upload). Then we stopped at the supermarket and each of us bought a soda which we had to drink there since we have to return the bottles (it doesn't make much sense to me, but that's what they do). Then as we got ready to head home, we met what Beatrice called a crazy man probably from prison. He was asking me for sunscreen. I don't know why since the Ugandans don't burn, so maybe he was a little crazy.

We spent the afternoon resting, and then we went back to the property for dinner with mom. At five o'clock we attended prayer meeting. I was not able to pick Pastor Milton's English last night, but the sermon by Dad Dwire (the missionary we are staying with) was very good. We came home, and we were all in bed by 8:00. I think if we were back home and going to bed at 8:00 I would think we had gone crazy.

That brings us up to today where my kids are currently resting, and I have been preparing to speak to the ladies on Monday. Please be in prayer for Monday afternoon. I do want the Lord to use me as I minister to these women and share what God has been teaching me this past year. This will also be my first time speaking through an interpreter, so please pray that I will be able to speak slowly and remember to pause after each phrase and sentence.

JA is preparing to go visit a village with mom tonight. I know most of you who read my blog are currently sleeping, so have a good night --I'm going to go get ready to fix lunch now.

Works of God Monday

2009-10-19T12:26:00.002-05:00

Wow, God has been so good and gracious to us. We safely arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, and while we had a morning of illness among a couple of the kids, we are all healthy.

I am continually amazed at what an awesome God we serve. We have been planning this trip for years (never really sure it would ever happen as our family continued to increase in size). Yet, here we are with two more weeks to interact with the people and minister.

I am thankful for how God has given the kids the ability to adjust to the climate, the traveling, and even the lack of sleep without a whole lot of fussing and whining.

I count it such a privilege to be able to have a taste of my childhood dream of being a missionary to Africa. While that has not been my dream in quite some years I feel blessed to know that God answered my prayer as a little girl to send me to Africa.

Travel through Jinja

2009-10-16T14:47:00.003-05:00

Today was quite a day of travel. I have to say it seems like we have been traveling for days just to get here to Soroti. We left Kampala at about 10:00 this morning and traveled up to Jinja where we saw the source of the Nile. As full as our truck was, it was quite empty compared to the Taxi's and trucks we passed with people hanging out every which way. Andy sat on Mamayi Stanley's lap (Uncle Stanley since mom has taken him in as a son). Kara sat in the middle, and Lydia say on JA's lap.

I don't have a picture, but Ezekiel rode on my lap for the entire trip. He did surprisingly well and slept most of the day. I even took a couple of catnap's in the truck as my internal clock is not yet on this new schedule.We stopped in Jinja for lunch and took a few minutes to visit the Nile river and see the source of the river where Lake Victoria empties into the Nile River.The source begins just on the other side of the island in the picture above.

And for all of you who know I enjoy a good cup of tea every now and again, we passed a few different tea plantations on our way up to Soroti. Below is the picture of the plantation as we drove past.
Tonight I was given a great honor. Stanley asked me to play the part of an Auntie in his introduction ceremony tomorrow. Unfortunately I am not able to since mom's Gomez (a traditional African style dress) does not fit me -- a requirement for the ceremony. I will be content with taking pictures and video taping parts of it. Depending on what time we get back tomorrow night I will try to update.

Greetings from Kampala, Uganda, East Africa

2009-10-15T14:15:00.007-05:00

Wow, I can hardly believe that we left Kansas on Monday. I hardly even know what day it is today. This has been a very eventful and exciting week for our family.The first leg of our journey (after driving to Kansas City) started off with spending 1 hour and 45 minutes just checking in at the counter (not standing in line -- let me just say DON"T fly American Airlines). The kids had a fabulous time on the first flight from Kansas City to Chicago. We had a rush when we got off the plane to get to our next gate as they were already making the final boarding call when we stepped off the plane. Quite the rush :) Well, we made it on time and then sat on the tarmac for another hour with computer issues -- I guess we didn't need to hurry as fast as we thought!The nine hour flight from Chicago to London was also not to bad. The kids did great -- especially Lydia and Andy since they slept most of the way. Kara didn't sleep much but she did well, as did Ezekiel. He only fussed a little wanting to get down and explore.We had a great 10 hour layover in London. The kids enjoyed all the new books and toys that Tata had bought for them to play with. Ezekiel LOVED the opportunity to get down and crawl and get out his energy since he'd been strapped in for all of Monday and Monday night.

Our last flight from London to Entebbe also went well. Lydia and Ezekiel were asleep before we even ascended into the air, and Kara shortly after. I was even able to get about four or five hours of sleep on the eight hour flight.

We had no difficulty getting through customs and all of our bags arrived :) Three gentlemen met us at the airport and transported us to Kampala where we have spent the last two nights with Paul and Amanda Hudson and their family. The kids have enjoyed playing with their children, and last night we attended service at Gospel Light Baptist Church. (Right now I am watching a gecko crawling around our bedroom walls -- If I can get a good picture of him, I'll try to post it).

This morning we awoke after a wonderful nights sleep and had our first discovery of the difficulty of the travel on the kids -- Lydia was throwing up. About an hour later, Andy joined her in the sick room. After spending the morning throwing up they both took a nap, and praise the Lord, they seem to be healthy now. They were even feeling well enough for us to go out to dinner at a restaurant overlooking Lake Victoria.
The kids enjoyed looking over the balcony at Lake Victoria and the city of Kampala.

The restaurant was fabulous! I had the most wonderful Tilapia fresh from Lake Victoria. The kids split a fish and chips, and they were eager for more.We had a wonderful waitress who really enjoyed Ezekiel.

After eating mom took us to go visit another missionary family the Wallace family. We had a wonderful visit with them, and now have the children in bed since we have an early start tomorrow to drive to Soroti (a six hour drive and hopefully a stop in Jinja -- the source of the Nile -- on the way).

To see more photos of our first two days visit here

Works of God Monday

2009-10-12T07:20:00.003-05:00

Well, I have several things I can praise God for. We had a wonderful ladies luncheon a week ago, and the other big thing is that today we leave for Uganda. God has provided for our entire family to take a trip to go visit TaTa.

I will try to update while we are gone, but can guarantee nothing. Thank you all for your prayers.

Family Fun

2009-10-05T21:03:00.004-05:00

We greatly enjoy our family. We have started a new family tradition of having family camp outs on Sunday nights. Since we don't have a tent large enough for our family to sleep comfortably (and it's a little cool outside right now), we are having our camp outs in the living room, but hopefully next spring we'll be able to get a larger tent and find someplace local where we can take the family and our dog with us to camp out.

September Parades

2009-10-05T20:42:00.004-05:00

September is the month for celebrations in our community. We have two local parades we were able to attend and the children had a blast. The first parade, Kara was able to ride in and throw candy. The second parade the kids enjoyed working together to collect as much candy as they could. Kara keeps telling everyone that she is going to share the candy with the boys and girls in Uganda when we leave next week.Ezekiel and I were waiting for the parade to begin.

Kara running out to collect the candy while Andy faithfully holds the bag. I'm not quite sure what Lydia's job was.
The kids loved all the bouncy inflatables at both parades.
I just had to show you Ezekiel loves eating the bounty from the garden -- especially the red tomatoes. We had to keep him blocked from entering the kitchen until I had my tomatoes canned because he kept going after them. I was continuously finding him eating my tomatoes.
Kara in her first parade. You can see her in the front corner of the wagon.

Children's Museum

2009-10-04T17:45:00.004-05:00

After the girls first violin lesson this year, we took the afternoon and took the kids to the children's museum. They had a blast as you can see below.
Ezekiel playing in the house we built

Kara building a house
Lydia and Andy helping to build the house
Andy our little tree frog
Lydia a little monkey

It's a Dog's Party

2009-10-04T17:32:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone who let me know who you are. Our curiosity has been partially satisfied :)

Ok, I will be having lots of posts in a short amount of time.

Back in August, our small community had a special day dedicated to dogs called Bark in the Park. They literally had several vendors dedicated to selling doggy treats, apparel, and other doggy services. They also had paw painting, hot dog diving, and the opportunity to swim in the pool with your dog (obviously this was the last day before they drained the pool).

Shalom had an interesting day and while she enjoyed the bobbing for hot dogs, she did not appreciate swimming in the pool with JA.

Who Are You?

2009-09-27T22:16:00.002-05:00

Ok, This is going to be a strange post. A couple months ago I added a live feed to my blog which told me where I was getting visitors from. However, I still don't know who you are. Can you do me a favor and leave a comment on this post letting me know: Who you are, What the feed says you are from -- just scroll down and look on the lower right part of the screen, And how you know me or if you just stumbled on my blog. Thank you. This will be a help because my husband is always asking me who visited the blog :)

I promise I will get some more posts up (at least one or two before I leave the country).

It's been awhile

2009-09-23T16:38:00.003-05:00

Ok, I know it's been awhile, and I promise I will catch you up to speed soon (if I get a chance before we take our vacation). Life has been a bit crazy around here.

I did want to give you the opportunity to enter this great giveaway over here on my friend Trisha's blog Spend Freely

The computer isn't letting me upload the image, but trust me it's a great snack pack giveaway. Check it out HERE

Works of God Monday

2009-08-10T13:32:00.003-05:00

I am so thankful for how God has worked in our lives over the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, I was discouraged and overwhelmed. Last week I was excited to participate and enjoy Vacation Bible School, and this week I have the opportunity to reap the harvest from our garden.

I praise God for the bountiful harvest he has given to us. I have an abundance of peppers and tomatoes on my plants. Hundreds of flowers blooming on my beans, and today was able to harvest and freeze most of my corn from my garden in only three hours.

At 9:30, I tackled the garden with two crates and my clippers. I trekked through the corn and pulled all the corn that was ready to be picked and cut down all the stalks that were not bearing ears (or no longer had ears because I took them all). I also cut down any stalks that were showing ear fungus (so that it wouldn't spread to the remaining corn).
We then came inside and put Ezekiel in the jumper while Kara, Lydia and I husked the corn washed and blanched it. When JA and Andy came home, JA cut the corn off the cob while I bagged it for the freezer. I praise the Lord for 20 bags of corn (2 cups each bag).
Also, last night I was able to cook and can nine jars of salsa. Two weeks ago I canned three jars of banana peppers.

However, the greatest harvest I observed this past week was not in the harvest of my garden. As a result of Vacation Bible School we had the opportunity to see two first graders come to know Christ as their Savior. No bounty from my harvest even begins to compare with that of reaping souls for eternity. The Lord blessed our ministry of Vacation Bible School, and while we did not have great numbers, we had a very profitable week of reaching out and getting to know the kids that attended.

I don't understand our World

2009-08-07T15:32:00.002-05:00

I have to tell you that I do not understand our world. When there are so many couples in our country longing to hold a baby in their arms, how can we as a nation justify allowing a baby to die just because it was born during an abortion.

There is no question in my mind that abortion is wrong, but I can't understand how even those who are for abortion can stand by and watch a helpless child be MURDERED because he wasn't supposed to be born.

We serve a righteous God who cannot look upon sin.

Mr 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

God will judge us as a nation. For those of you believers who think that because you are not partaking in such gross sins you will be spared judgement, BEWARE. We are partakers of this sin as much as our country is for we are responsible for who we allow to make our laws. Please take time to repent of complacency and step up and take a stand for the Righteous Living God demands of us.

If you disagree with me about being a participant, please examine Daniel 9. While Daniel was not an idol worshiper, he still accepted the responsibility and prayed for his nation as a collective whole (including himself).

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And the Winner is . . .

2009-08-03T21:25:00.002-05:00

Alecia

Okay, I confess, the giveaway is a bit more than the $30 I promised, but I don't think I'll hear anyone complaining about that. As I started putting it together I was getting excited to draw the name.

Here are the products that Alecia has won, and believe me these are some of my favorite:
Lotus and Bamboo Nourishing Body lotion
Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover (If you wear eye makeup, this is a MUST have)
Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser
Cellu-Shape Daytime Body Moisturizer Travel Size
Cellu-Shape Nightime Body Gel Travel Size (Alecia, I am NOT saying you need this)
Ultimate Mascara - Black
Eyeliner - Taupe
Eye Color Quad - Simply Neutral
Lip Color Duo - Garnet/Gold
And two perfume samples - Belara, Tribute
Purple Make-Up Travel Bag

Again, I want to say congratulations to Alecia for winning my Birthday giveaway. I had so much fun doing this, I may just have to try this again -- Maybe I'll bring back something from Africa to giveaway in November :)