oh so cute!!

"Keep Growing" Nathanael!  (A special friend made this shirt for Abby.)

adoring brothers and sisters the morning after Nathanael was born

 So here are pictures from the first week or so of Nathanael's life for those so eager to see them.  He is so cute, and his siblings still really enjoy him, but he is a good bit fussy.  He seems to have some digestive problems.  But we love him anyway, and know that 'this too will pass.'  And in the meantime, we keep trying to cling to God's all sufficient grace.  I don't have time for much of anything but immediate daily life, which is hard sometimes.  But we are all growing in the process of it!  Growing is never easy, but it is worth it, so we are pressing on!  Enjoy the pictures!
(p.s. Sorry for the big gap between pictures as you scroll down.  Don't know why it did that and I can't figure out how to fix it.  That gap is not there in my "create and edit" page.  uuggghhh!)

Rachel holding him about an hour after he was born

Micah examining the tiny bundle

Mom and Dad with all 6 grandkids

A sweet kiss from Silas

All in a day's work?

October 23 started like a typical day.  Enjoying the extra few minutes in my cozy bed, not having to think about school and waking up sleepy children.  Listening to boys play not-so-quietly in their room as the house wakens.  Big Saturday breakfast.  Laundry, washed and hung on the line.
David leaving for our team's cleaning at the House of Prayer.  Oh, and the not very normal contractions.  Not enough of them to make a call to the midwife, yet, but enough for us to know something was happening and today just might be the day! 
So David again leaves, cell phone close to him, just in case.  He is going to have the title on the new-to-us van transferred and make it really ours.  He wonders if he should wait on the van, but I assure him to go.  We had been praying for this van and God's provision as a family daily for over a month.  We were all rejoicing that God again proved faithful and now we have another everyday reminder of His goodness, His listening ear, His meeting of our practical needs.  David returns. 

The kids are enjoying the fall day, jumping on the trampoline, playing in the golden leaves that fell from the maple in the front yard.  I'm taking pictures and enjoying the relaxing day. 

A neighbor asks David to help with some yard work, and I tell him go ahead and do it cause this might be the day and we don't know if he'll be able to help later.  More questioning glances after the work is done.  Still the same.  Should I cook dinner?  Contractions don't stop hunger, so I pray through dinner preparations that His timing is perfect and I wait for Him.  More questions, what about Kids worship?  I'm supposed to teach.  Maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea.  Don't know when contractions will speed up and baby will likely come quickly when they do. 
David takes the kids to worship to give us some quiet.  We take a walk to see what will happen, Silas, David and I.  Oh, now they start coming more quickly and we head home.  David goes to retrieve the kids, hoping to get the boys in bed before the house becomes a bustle of activity.  I call the mid-wife and she starts her drive to our house.  Seems strange to just hang around the house and not pack a bag for an overnight stay.  Comforting to be at home.

Abby sighs that this baby may not come quickly enough for her to still keep her birthday just to herself.  A good friend arrives to keep the girls company while they wait in the new place of mom birthing at home. 
Contractions get closer and harder and I know it will not be long now.  Wow, how did it happen so quickly?   I call the midwife again, just to put some urgency in her blood.  Lying in my bed, awfully uncomfortable, but thankful.  David encouraging and staying near-by.  Birthing pool filling, but is it filling fast enough?  Midwife arrives and I am glad because it is almost time.  Warm water, husband supporting the throbbing back, a very present Life-giver giving new strength, and a tiny new life arrives in my own bedroom.  Girls rush in, wondering if its a girl or boy.  My answer, "I don't know!"  I am praising God that it is over, and that baby is safe and this miracle has happened for the sixth time in my life!  Tears flow as I hold this precious one in my arms for the first time.

Then I lift the new one up and discover he is a boy.  "God, help us!" I exclaim.  How can we possibly raise another boy?  But God knows, and God will provide, just as surely as he provided the van that very morning.  We are on a journey and trusting in His strength and His wisdom and walking in His joy and peace are essential.  We have walked so far that there is no other way.  We trust Him in a real, daily, heart-leaning way or we fail.  There is no middle ground.  It's overwhelming and joyous all at once!  It's a huge responsibility and a tremendous privilege !  And it's all in a day's work!  

Do you have a clue about Rachel's birthday party?

For Rachel's birthday, she chose a mystery theme.  We decorated with question marks and footprints and black a white.  We played a mystery treasure game called "Jewels in the Attic" and then we had several mysteries that the girls had solve along the way. One of the most fun was having them guess what candies and other goodies I mixed into the vanilla ice cream.

Double Digits!

October is a very busy month for us.  One of the highlights of the month is both Rachel and Abby celebrate their birthdays.  This year however, we had a baby due right between their birthdays so we decided to celebrate early.  Abby got to have her party first.  We decided on a growing theme, like plants and flowers etc...  We had fun decorating with flowers, leaves, pumpkins, tomatoes and other types of growing things.  She invited a few friends to come for a sleepover.  We ate pizza, played a growing things scavenger hunt, painted flower pots and planted flowers.  We also had a Scripture Treasure Hunt to find out what God's word has to say about growing, and watched The Secret Garden. For her "cake" she asked a neighbor to make dirt pudding.  It was in a flower pot with silk flowers and looked like a real plant.   What a fun time they had!

beautiful birthday girl

birthday "cake"

decorating the sidewalk

Painting flower pots

playing trampoline games in the cold morning air

All but one of her friends who came to the party with their flowers

A Little Taste of Japan

Last month we studied 16th and 17th century Japan, particularly the Samaurai.  As a conclusion to our unit, we had a Japanese Tea Ceremony.  We also set up a sumo wrestling arena and did some wrestling.  We learned that after one powerful leader took over in Japan, he didn't want the Samaurai to fight each other any longer.  He instituted the idea of sumo wrestling instead.  We had a great night.  Rachel and Abby were the hosts of the Tea Ceremony, so David and I and the boys sat and enjoyed good service through all 6 or 7 courses.  Here are some pictures from our evening.

Keenan and Abby wrestling, notice the "stands" for viewing

David and Rachel doing the initial stare off

Rachel squatting before the match begins (this is required, right after drinking the purifying water)

Micah and Keenan

TEA!!  the perfect conclusion to our ceremonial dinner.  Don't forget to slurp to show you are thankful.

waiting for the first course

Salad and rice course

our hosts, who served us well.

soup

boy fun!

Oh What fun these boys of mine can cook up! Here are some pictures from the previous few weeks of some of their adventures. They have built backyard forts with various things from around the yard, pirate boats, animal traps (not pictured), done a scooter show- with stunts and clown antics- and more. I love their creativity and the way the work together. Of course it is not always rosy and we have to talk about being a team and working together almost daily, but they do love to be together and they do know how to use their imaginations! I've also included some pics of one of Silas's new things... he likes to put things in lines. Always similar things, like books, balls, swords, etc... It makes quite a mess, but this sometimes keeps him occupied while I am schooling the older ones.

believing prayer

We have been reading about George Mueller as a family this summer. He was a man who started out life as a thief and liar, but he met God in a powerful way and became a preacher and eventually an orphanage manager in England. The biggest quality of this man and his wife that has been such a challenge to us is his faith that God will supply ALL our needs if we will ask. From early in his walk with the Lord, beginning when his wealthy father refused to pay for his schooling because he wanted to be a missionary, Mueller began simply bringing his needs to his heavenly Father. And over and over, God answered and provided all that was needed. This continued all through his life as he intentionally sought God for all the necessary things he needed for life. George Mueller was a big dreamer, and through his prayers and trust in God He created positive changes in the church and for the thousands of orphans he came to care for through the years in Bristol, England.
I am writing all of this to give you a context for our family's prayer challenge and experiment. We decided that if God would answer George Mueller in such a tangible and specific way, that he would answer us, too. All it takes is a heart that wants to know God and live for His purposes in this brief time on the earth. So we decided to pray for two things in particular. The first was more urgent in nature. We needed to pay our rent for the month and funds were low for us. So we prayed for the remaining $300 that we needed to pay our rent. We started praying specifically on Tuesday for the money to come by Friday. On Friday, David called the bank to check our account and found that $322 had been deposited that we were not expecting! Is not our God so good! He heard our simple requests and answered in the perfect timing with just what was needed! Our faith and our children's confidence in our faithful God has been strengthened in a neat way!
Our second need we are praying about is a new van. With the baby coming in October, we will outgrow our current van. David has been diligently looking for a bigger vehicle but as this point we are not even sure what would be best. So we started praying specifically as a family each night that God would lead us to the right vehicle and provide the money needed to buy it. We are excited to see how God answers this prayer! What a great God we serve! We are so thrilled to be called to this journey of faith! Won't you join us?

p.s.We will keep you informed of God's answer about the vehicle so you can rejoice with us in His care!

Joy in the Unseen

Top 10 blessings from this week (in no particular order):
10. All 5 kids sitting around the table at snack time, their snack mix poured out in a heap, talking and laughing together.
9. Hearing the 2 year old learning to say new words.
8. Praying with friends from out of town about a big decision in their lives.
7. The oldest daughter's thankfulness at being set free to go with a friend to a much desired destination.
6. Snuggling with the cutest 4 year old ever!
5. Quiet moments with Jesus in the morning before anyone wakes, where Jesus in his gentle way draws me back to what is really important in life!
4. Hugs and the familiar scent of my man.
3. Dinners with friends
2. Laughter with the kids, which happens all too infrequently.
1. The teasings of cool, refreshing fall weather and the excitement this brings to my soul.

As God draws me to the unseen, to communion with him and the enjoyment of the life he has blessed me with, I wanted to record these memories that echo in my mind this morning.

"They shall utter (literally translated 'bubble forth') the memory of your great goodness, and shall sing of your righteousness" Psalm 145:7


EDIT: one more... watching my nine year old worship the Lord! Wow, does she bless me and I know Jesus too.

Swim, bike, run

August 1st as a big day for Rachel. She participated in her first triathlon. It was post-poned a couple of times and then finally moved to a different facility, but the day did come! We were very proud of her effort and commit- ment to prepare for the race. And she did great! Here are some pictures to tell the story.

Happy Birthday, Silas??!!

In late July we celebrated Silas' birthday. He is such a fun, good tempered boy! We are so glad to have him in our family. All of his siblings love him so much. We had a low key celebration with another family. I decorated the dining room with balloons and streamers and Silas really liked them. We (mostly the other kids) thought it would be fun to fill and use the pinata that someone had given us. So we filled it and hung it up. Silas thought it was great fun to swing at it with a stick. But when it started bursting open and candy flying out, he did NOT think that was fun. He cried and cried! I think he was scared by the flying pieces and violence of it. Anyway, we quickly came in to find something more fun for the traumatized birthday boy. We opened presents and he enjoyed that. Next we got out the cake and lit the candle. He likes to sing so he liked the birthday song. But when I told him to blow out the candle, he just wrinkled up his nose and looked at me and the cake like he was not so sure he liked this idea. Why was I putting fire on his cake and then telling him to blow? Finally, I blew out the candle for him and he happily dug in to his treat! After all of that I am not sure what impression he has of birthday parties. He may just prefer a regular day with a little extras, like friends and dessert. We'll try again next year!