A Successful Day

It's been 4 days since David and Rachel have been gone! I really do miss them!  I guess maybe I'll post more this week (this is #3 already) because there is less school work to do and because there is a shortage of adult conversations to be had. :)
Today I left the load of laundry on the line- the one with Micah's truck blanket that Rachel's cat pee'd on and a few kitchen rags that were a bit smelly.  I washed them in hot water and hung them in the germ killing sun!  But it's late and dark and they are still there. I also forgot to remind the 10 yr old to put the trash by the road for the trash truck this morning, and they went right on by our house while our trash collects flies and odors for a few more days until the next trash day that I cannot forget! And there is likely something else that has slipped my mind, still lingering in the land of forgetfulness!  I live there more often than I would like.
But then again today, I did finally get the insurance issue straightened out and get Nathanael's blood sugar testing supplies from the pharmacy just in the nick of time.  And I did enter all my receipts into the checkbook, which would make my hubby proud if he were here!  I made a run to the local DG store for the all important toilet paper, napkins, and AAA batteries ('cause those are necessities to 8 yr old boys!) I also read several books to boys crowded around, fed them all 3 meals and a snack, nursed the baby every time she was hungry, washed above mentioned smelly laundry, washed  or loaded dishes (though I just remembered that I never finished them!  Haha.  I knew there was something else I forgot!).  But I did do lots of training/discipline with one boy who is struggling to listen and obey, give lots of hugs and snuggles to all, and I remember to check Nathanael's blood sugar at every meal and give him insulin every time after.  I remembered it was Monday, which is Kid's Worship day at CI-HOP.  I got my kiddos there, watched my friend's boy, who plays with Nathanael while she teaches to the kids to love Jesus, His Word, and Praising Him, and I remembered to go back and get them when it was finished.  I was even a little early and got to join in the worship for a short time!  I also sent a few emails, had a lovely impromptu visit with a friend, checked facebook several times for updates on my loves in South America, and talked and prayed on the phone with a friend who is struggling.  After all of that, I vacuumed the rugs and the stairs, gave the 3 littles baths, sent the 2 middles to the shower, and made ice cream sundaes for dessert. Then, I took the 5 youngest up to brush teeth, read the nightly Bible story, sing, pray, get more water, give one more hug, tell one more boy to keep his hands to himself, go back downstairs, talk with Abby (the girl who's missing her sister!), and rock and feed the baby.
whew....!!  I did remember to do a lot of important things today.  So I will let the forgotten things go, breathe deeply, turn the eyes of my heart to my Father in Heaven and go to bed with His praise on my lips.  It has been a successful day!

Away they fly...

And they are off... to Loja, Ecuador!  Rachel and David, that is!  

What a neat opportunity they have been given! You may have gotten a letter from them about.  If you gave or are praying for them this week, thank you so much! You will be rewarded by our Father in Heaven who sees what is done in secret! 

They are traveling with the girls youth group at our local church from KY to minister with an OMS group and local believers there in Loja.  They will be doing some light building/ work projects, VBS-type kids activities, evangelization, and whatever else they are asked to do as servants of Jesus, the King!  I miss them so much already, but I am so thankful for this opportunity, especially for Rachel.  

All the parents were taking pictures at the same time so it was hard to get a good one, but here is the team at the airport saying goodbye to their "normal" life for a while!

SPRING!!

After the winter, spring has been most welcome!  And even though it is mid-June today, the weather is still most lovely!  I am sitting on the porch swing, watching Silas swing on the hammock as only boys will do, with Sarah at my feet on a sweet pink blanket made my grandma's friend.  And I am most grateful for this life that God has given.  Yet, there is this awareness in my spirit that life may not always be so beautiful (well, the reality is that Silas is on the porch with me because he was being mean to his brother and life is not always as peaceful as this moment happens to be!).  Sickness, death, and evil are always lurking in this fallen world.  Just as the glory of God fills the earth and there is evidence of His goodness around every bend, so there are reminders that this in not our home and the ruler of this age is only out to steal, kill and destroy!  So as I enjoy the peacefulness of my porch in the beautiful Kentucky countryside, others are suffering with disease, hunger, and persecution.  How do I reconcile this?  What should my response be?  I have struggled a bit with this lately.  I can't ignore the suffering of others, nor do I want to.  I also can't refuse to enjoy the gifts given to me just because others do not have them.  Where is the proper place to walk?

I don't think I have come to the right place yet, but I am struggling with it and I think that is a good place to be.  I want to carry others' burdens right to the throne of mercy where we all find grace to help in our time of need.  I want to listen to people's stories and really care about their suffering.  And I want to savor every moment of time that God allows me to soak in these 7 blessings that I call children, even the more difficult ones.  I want to learn to hear God's voice and obey, and see His hand moving all around me.  I want to live with gratitude so that when my own suffering comes, I have a foundation of praise to the Only One Worthy to stand upon.
Well, honestly I didn't even start this post to write about my ponderings.  Maybe they have blessed or challenged or encouraged someone.  I was planning to post some pictures, so now I think I will do it and give you a taste of our spring!

The center one in red is Abby dancing in the spring ballet performance.  This was her first dance en pointe and she was so happy about that!  As always it was a beautiful performance, very worshipful and celebratory!

These are some silly, adventurous boys!  Micah came in asking for some scissors one day with a mischievous grin.  I asked why he needed them and he said, "this time I taped Silas to the pole!"  What else could I do be shake my head, go get my camera, and make sure Silas was willingly taped up!  He was. Bored boys?  Just give them some duct tape! 

What a beauty!  This Amish hat was given to me by my midwife!  I love it and it fits perfectly for the summer!

Spring isn't complete for the Trimbles if there is not camping involved so we squeezed in a camping trip in the midst of school work, Daddy's classes and work, House of Prayer commitments, and the Ecuador mission trip.  We went to Cave Run Lake and had a great time!  It turned out to be a rather eventful experience, which I do not have time to properly tell right now.  Come on over for coffee and I'll tell the now-hilarious stories!  This is the beach where we swam... well, where the kids swam!  The above picture of the oh-so-grown-up girl walking, is Rachel!

This is the camp site the second day.  Just make your guess about the first night's story!

A treat this spring was a visit from a SC friend.  She has a house-full too, but she only brought her two oldest, who are Rachel and Abby's sweet friends, and her youngest, who is just a few weeks younger than Sarah!  They were so cute together!  It was a full, but sweet time together!

More Winter Pictures

Cute baby girl after a bath!  Her hair is a bit curly when wet,  but flattens out when dry.

One of our bigger snows!  And our biggest snowball for sure!  The boys, along with their friend in the red coat, were trying to make a giant snowman.  But he was too tall to for them to out the head on. ;)

Nathanael is one of Sarah's biggest admirers!  He loves her so much.  In this picture, she was fussing and he was trying his best to comfort her.  He even tried putting his daddy's hat on her, but that only made it worse. 

We celebrated Micah's birthday in February.  His smile matches the one on the cake!

Sweet Sarah! (and her dimple!)

Keenan is a big help with her, too!  He loves to hold her!

This is getting into the Spring, but I included it anyway because who know how long it may be before I get around to post more pictures!  After the really cold weather, we decided to pull up the carpet and let the wood floor shine!  The boys really got into it and were a big help to David. 

What can you say about this!  A friend of mine gave me this little tutu outfit and Abby had to put it on her the first semi-warm day we had!  Nathanael loved it and called Sarah his ballerina for days afterward!

The Long Winter...

Well, I cannot promise how regularly I will keep this updated.  This is my attempt, which may be lame. My life is so full right now!  I am grateful for each minute and every ball I juggle is I think ordained by God so I just juggle on, or dance on, as a friend of mine commented once.  Sometimes the dance is fast, sometimes it slows a bit, and you just follow God's lead and go with the flow.  I am learning!
So the winter in KY was LONG and COLD!  Not like it was in NY or Maine, but much colder than we are used to here.  But all the snow was beautiful and we survived it to see the green of Spring now bursting forth!So I will include a photo account of our winter, starting with Abby's big 13th birthday celebration back in late October.

Abby blowing out the candles on her cake with a couple of friends and Keenan and Micah looking on.

Abby loves to worship Jesus and had been taking guitar lessons for more than a year on an old guitar.  So for her birthday, David and I, with the help and expertise of her teacher, bought her a new guitar to aid her in making melody to praise the Lord. 

This is my beautiful 15 year old!  Wow, how time does fly!  I cannot even believe it.  This is some beautiful artwork done by a friend of hers for a special church party.

Grandma Trimble got to come out and visit shortly after Sarah was born and even got to participate in Abby's 13th birthday blessing!  I was so thankful for the time we got to have with her.

Sarah about 6 weeks old.

Silly brothers, Micah and Silas.  There is a lot of this going on at my house!

One of Sarah's first laughs!  She is well loved at our home!