Time to Reflect

In my opinion, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year besides Easter. As the Christmas season approaches, I've been thinking. What a profound thing that is, for me to be thinking!! This year has in many senses, been an amazingly difficult for our little family of four. We have wrestled with health issues, lack of work thus lack of money, stress, heartache and the loud silence of God in the direction of our future. I look back and see the absolute faithfulness of the Lord. He has always met all of our needs (needs not wants), binded up our broken spirits, and although He is still quite silent on the direction of our future, He is not silent on the past or the present. He was and is the Savior of our souls from the penalty of sin. He was and is the Rock and Refuge in whom we trust. He was and is our Strength and our Shield. He was and is our Portion. He was and is our Comforter. He was and is our Healer. He was and is our Deliverer. He was and is. So as this Christmas approaches, I am mindful...very mindful that He is all that He says He was and is and is to come.

Jonny's Buddy Owen

Jonathan wanted to have a friend spend the night for his birthday. He chose his buddy, Owen. These two crack me up! They can spend hours playing legos, star wars, or just chatting. I am always amazed at how much they look alike and sound alike. Jonny says Owen is his "brother from another mother". Too cute!

Gingerbread Houses

What do you get when you mix a bunch of homeschool kids, graham crackers, frosting, candy and sprinkles? You get cute little gingerbread houses! They worked so hard on these. They had a wonderful explanation by Mrs. Deardorff on what each thing represented. I can't remember them all, so ask me later. This is something that our homeschool group does every year before Christmas. It is alot of fun. Unfortunately, Jonathan's house only lasted 2 days. Everytime he walked by it, he took something off of it to eat. Needless to say, it was bare in no time.

Happy Birthday Jonny~December 3!

I can hardly believe that my little man is 7 years old!! Where has the time gone! Jon celebrated his birthday by having the day off of school. Yes, that is an advantage of homeschooling. Both of my kids know that when it is their birthday, they get the day off to have a little fun. He was so thrilled with the Colts uniform that he received. You would have thought that we gave him the world. My Mom & Dad bought him the Light saber. He was also tickled pink, with that. He is easy to please, very considerate of others, willing to help. I love the way at seven years old, he loves his Savior! His heart is soft to the things of Christ. It is my prayer, that as he grows and matures, that his heart will stay fixed upon Him and he will be steadfast. Happy Birthday Jonathan! God has great things for you and to do thru you! We are so blessed to have you. I love you so much!

Thanksgiving~2009

We spent Thanksgiving at our dear friends, the Logan's. They live in St. Joseph, MI. We had a great time visiting, playing pool, eating a fabulous meal, and just being together. This couple is so special to our hearts. They are such a godly encouragement, full of wisdom and grace. We kindled our friendship starting in the Dominican Republic of last year. We have grown to love them and cherish them as our brother & sister in Christ and friends. Unfortunately, our day was cut a little short as Greg was not feeling well at all. We are so thankful for the time that we did have.

A typical Sunday afternoon

On most Sunday afternoons, this is where you find Hope and her beloved companion, Abby. They love to snuggle on the couch and watch a movie together. Well, I think Abby sleeps. But Hope enjoys watching a movie while her pooch lays back, snores, and thinks she is a human. They are mostly inseparable. The best of friends, hopelessly devoted to one another. I love that about them. Hope has such a tender heart for animals but no one holds her heart like Abby Rose. I believe the feeling is mutual.

Early Christmas~November 21

Greg's Mom & her husband flew into town for Christmas this year. We had a great time together celebrating a little early. We celebrated with parents, grandparents, siblings and nieces & nephews. Our nephew, Jacob, didn't make it back from college and was greatly missed.

Gym Day~November 19, 2009

Our homeschooling group does a gym day, once a month. This month we headed off to Maple City Bowling in Goshen and tore up the alley! The kids had a blast and did great! Of course, they were able to use the bumpers so they scored quite well! They will be asking for another bowling day in the near future, I am sure!

November 10, 2009

On Tuesday, we celebrated Jonathan's spiritual birthday. It is a big deal in our house. We celebrate the date when we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord of our life and Savior from the penalty of sin. This was Jon's special date. He requested cupcakes with buttercream frosting. Yummy! Good choice, buddy. We sing "Happy Spiritual Birthday to You". We are so proud that both of our children have received Christ as their Savior at a young age. It is our prayer that they will continue to walk with the Lord all of their days.

Jonny, I admire you in so many ways. You teach me something new everyday. Your contagious smile and laughter fill our home with constant joy. Your simple faith in Christ is profound. If God says it, that settles it, you believe it. Stay strong in the Lord and continue to grow in His grace and knowledge. Walk closely with Him!! We love you so much!

70s night

We had a disco blast at our house in celebration of our dear friend, Joe's, 45th birthday. We thought it would be a great idea to surprise he and his wife with a 70s party. We all dressed up in 70s garb and found a disco ball, 70s music and had a hysterical time. We picked some hideous outfits out for Joe & Jenny too, so they wouldn't feel left out. We had a riot playing the "guess that theme song" from tv shows of the era. The supremes showed up, a Charlie's angel, along with some disco divas and kings! The lava lamps, disco ball, sideburns, polyester, and wigs made the evening a memory to always remember!

November 4th~Gay's Birthday

We celebrated my sister, Gay's 48th Birthday at a local Hacienda Restaurant with family and a few friends. It is always good for us to get together but considering Gay's alzheimers is getting much worse, this may have been our last public celebration. It is increasingly more difficult to get her to transition calmly from one place to another without causing a scene. It all depends on the day. We may resort to small family meals at home. We are thankful for the times we have with her and continue to ask the Lord to bless her with health.

Trick or Treatin'

October 31st meant trick or treatin' for our two kiddos. This year Jonathan was an Indianapolis Colts football player and Hope was a Cowgirl. They enjoy the 6-7 houses that we visit belonging to family members stretched from one end of the county to the next. They come home with lots of treats to share with Mom & Dad. They have a taste for Reese's Cups like their parents so it is a happy night for all in our house!

Hope's Piano Recital ~Oct. 27, 2009

Please turn off music at the bottom.

Hope played a song called "Malaguena" at her piano recital this past week. It was difficult to see her over the music stands but she is more visible as she does stand at the end of her music piece. She did an excellent job! She continues to bless us with her ability to learn an instrument. She has a beautiful singing voice too. One of these days maybe she will let me video her, singing as she plays the piano. We are very proud of our little lady!

Birthday Blessings

(Jenny in the middle)

My precious, dear friend Jenny, celebrated her 48th birthday with a bunch of us ya-whos! We love her so much! She is such a godly encourager, a fantastic wife & mother, extraordinare friend and a hilarious blast to be with! She is also my walking buddy, sister-in-Christ and confidant. I admire her in so many ways. I am blessed to have her as my dear and precious friend. I love you Jenny! Hope your birthday was great!

Hope's new desk

Thanks to Meme & Poppy, Hope has a new desk. She has been wanting one for a while now. It came like this.

Hope & I successfully put it together and it now looks like this. Not bad for 2 gals, a screwdriver, instructions & a whole lot of parts.

Applesauce galore

On the 7th, I got together with 2 of my highly domesticated friends. We had 4 bushels of apples that needed to be turned into applesauce. For any of you that have a Kitchenaid mixer, the food grinder and fruit & vegetable strainer attachments, are a sheer must -have!! It made making applesauce so easy and quick. All we had to do was wash our apples, quarter them, cook them and put them thru the attachment and applesauce comes out one end, the seeds and skins come out the other. We had two of these babies going and we flew thru the sauce making!! These attachments are indeed on my Christmas list this year!! Of course, I forgot to get a picture of the finished product but if my memory serves me correctly.....we finished the day with about 70 quarts of applesauce. Despite the fact that we had a houseful of kids running around and helping, not bad at all for a couple hours work.

Field Trip ~October 6, 2009

We went to Kercher's orchard for a field trip on Oct. 6. While we were out in the field on our hay ride, it poured down rain! Oh well, no lightning, no thunder, no problem. The kids were soaking wet but able to pick apples and gourds. They learned about the different varieties of apples that Kercher's grows. We went thru a "corny" corn maze and sampled some homemade cider! What a wet but wonderful field trip.

Our trip to NC, WV, and the Creation Museum

We traveled to Harrisburg, North Carolina to visit Greg's cousin, Lonnie & his family. We always have a hilariously fantastic time whenever we are together. Let's just say there is never a dull moment when the two of them are together. Greg was able to get a few little jobs around their house done. He and Lonnie worked on putting bunk beds together, tightening the kitchen sink down, adding some ceiling fans, regrouting the shower and other manly jobs. They did find some time to do some serious road-biking (hence the matching biking outfits), played crack the egg on the trampoline, rode the "zappy", and laughed until they hurt. Angela and I are on a little more of the serious note, not by much but we try. We were able to do a little shopping, go to a ladies bible study, ride the "zappy" and just talk. Our kids are so close in age and had lots of things in common. They went swimming, rode bikes, played basketball and jumped on the trampoline.

We then headed to Beckley, West Viriginia to visit our nephew at Bible College. We tore Jacob away from studying and off on a little hiking adventure at a park in the mountains. We topped the evening off with a steak dinner (something that college kids don't get very often).

We were able to go to the Creation Museum in Kentucky near Cincinnati, OH. It was great! What a terrific place to for our kids to learn more about biblical creationism.