The Simple Things

"A" and I went to the thrift store today and found this old type hammer toy. I bought it for CG pretty sure she would love it. She did and so did the other littles! I got some cute clips of them playing with this together this afternoon!! Glad I have this on video for my memory bank.

Beautiful Gift

This is a gift my G brought to me on Friday after taking the trash out he found this on the bush. He has appreciated flowers since he was a LITTLE boy (reminds me of his Grandpa J). Anyway, he put it in water and brought it to me. Very Sweet. Thankful for him and the cheerfulness he brings to our home.

G is a serious student of history especially military history. He loves to tell me what he learns and has expanded my knowledge from his stories! He told me yesterday after telling me more stories that he noticed the successful military men were the ones who were kind, humble, or those with character was the jist  . . as compared to and he named men I have never heard of in military history that were full of arrogance. The Bible should be our most important text book but history also teaches a lot and I am glad he pays attention to the lessons of history.

He and I were laughing the other day because in one of his classes from Veritas Press (we love Veritas Press classes) the teacher was lecturing about friendships in a certain literary classic. Anyway, he told the story about he and his two kids and they were all play sword fighting. His daughter was the "good guy" and he and his son were the "bad guys". All of a sudden the teacher's 6 year old son turned on him and started fighting against him! He asked his son why since they were on the same team and his son's reply was "bad guys don't have friends!" So true!! We got a good laugh from that!!!

Monticello

 The day after Thanksgiving we went up to Monticello to see Thomas Jefferson's home.

We REALLY enjoyed this trip. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and very interesting history. 

We LOVE history!!!
R's favorite room was a room with big windows and a desk that Jefferson would sit at and would write letters. He spent about 4 to 5 hours a day in that room. He was an extraordinary individual with writing the Declaration of Independance at age 33!!!

Beautiful day with great memories. We were concerned about the little ones making it through the tour at the end of a long day but prayer was answered and they made it. I kept taking B to the windows during the tour and telling her to look for rabbits!:-)

 Thomas Jefferson decided what he wanted on his grave stone. Interestingly, he did not have mentioned that he was President at one point!

 The garden was absolutely BEAUTIFUL due to the setting. Monticello is on top of a hill and it is so beautiful to look around the garden and see down on the surrounding area. The only garden that I have seen that rivaled this one in beauty is Beatrix Potter's garden in the Lake District in England. The Lake District is as close to what I have seen to heaven on earth. But this too was so beautiful.

 We did have to wait a LONG time for our tour but the kids had fun playing around and seeing the surrounding area.

Sword fighting between brothers.

Our Thanksgiving

 The above 2 pictures were taken on the day before Thanksgiving as we were having

our school Thanksgiving party. We read "Squanto" by Eric Metaxes, watched "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving" which we loved, and watched a history DVD on the first Thanksgiving by a children's history production. Leading up to this day we read "Voyage to Freedom" by David Gay which we have now read at least 4 times! We read some pieces out of Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation". It was extremely inspirational to read from chapter 9 and a little past about the Pilgrim's response to hardship and sickness. How they cared for there own and those that persecuted them.

 Thanksgiving day was relaxed and wonderful. Just what we needed!!!

We took some of the littles (Big sister wanted to come too) to the playground and

they had a grand time on a perfect weather day!!

 Big sister to the rescue

 Adventurous B

 Above is our Thanksgiving meal which Daddy made rib roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and I made our traditional Cranberry Fluff Salad.

Even though this year has truly been a year of hardship we have much to thank our Heavenly Father for that the list could go on and on.

We had Kiya and Reebah which for our meal showed up as

an indian and a pilgrim for our special meal!!!

Battle of Fredricksburg

The house behind the kids is the home of Mary Washington College's president. It overlooks the battlefield. The kids are sitting on the ORIGINAL wall of the battle which we did NOT realize until after the picture the was taken and we saw a sign that the wall was not to be touched. That was a big oops:-(

 Same house with absolutely BEAUTIFUL grounds!!

 Reading a battlefield history sign.

 The little kids enjoyed shuffling through the leaves.

I wish I could have captured the beauty of this Battle of Fredricksburg cemetary but the light was so low I really couldn't capture it. It was the most beautiful cemetery I have ever been too. The story of this battle is horrid with I believe somewhere around 13,ooo perishing. The Confederates were up on the hill and it really was a slaughter for the Union. During this battle "Burnsides" wanted to ride out with his men and in essence let himself get shot because he knew he had made a mistake and his men were slaughtered. Other officers prevailed upon him not to go. More sad stories but I will not relay all here. The Civil War was a necessary but horrid time in our nations history.

"A" turns 12 (November 5th)

 It is very hard to believe that "A" is now 12 years old!! All of a sudden my life seems to be speeding up and I see my oldest kiddos growing up. "A" almost 2 years ago now went through a very tough surgery that I have been told is one of the 2 most painful surgeries there are. She was having a birth defect corrected. That surgery was very rough not only for her but for her mommy. I will NEVER forget when she was waking up from the surgery in EXTREME pain and scared about her breathing and helping her through that first night. Something I never want to relive but I wouldn't change it in the world that I could be there for her and remind her of her Heavenly Father's care. I know that experience is all part of her Heavenly Father's plan for her and her ministry for Him.

"A"is a very humble girl that never draws attention to her accomplishments. I am so thankful for her. She is truly a gem from above.

 R got her a speaker for her ipad from the $5 store and she loved that!

 Big brother G gave her a HUGE package of NERDS 

for which she was very happy with.

We got her leather teepee boots which are basically a moccasin.

"A" loves indian items. We also got her a necklace that says "radiant" and 

the place that sold it said that it was to remind people that all that look to Him (God)

will live radiantly. I thought that would be a great reminder.

She really enjoyed her birthday which basically was celebrated 3 days. Thursday of her birthday her Jr. High girls Bible study in the neighborhood celebrated with brownies and ice cream, Friday our family celebrated, Saturday Daddy took her out for a steak dinner. She loved it all!

Baptism of R and C

This was an exciting day for our family. Our church had a BIG service outside at a local park. R and C had weeks before decided that they wanted to be baptized and we were thrilled about that. Baptism has nothing to do with salvation but what it does show is a desire to identify with Christ and a desire to follow in obedience to Christ's words after salvation.

We REALLY appreciate our pastor and his preaching.

Swim Meet

 This was R's first meet ever which was a great learning experience. G won first in 50 Free and was happy about that. The kids are getting better and better at swimming. "A" was not apart of this meet as she had piano festival to play at on Saturday and I forget that she could have participated on Friday. Oh, well another time. If you watch the above videos YES, I do cheer for my kiddos. R told me I could cheer for G (knowing how I cheer) then he said "Well, if you want to you can cheer for me" Ha! He wanted Mommy cheering!:-)

J wanted to sing to his sisters last night . . .

Usually big Sis sing to the little girls before bed but last night J wanted to sing and he did a GREAT job and the girls LOVED it!:-)

The Littles Keeping Themselves Active

"A" hymn playing

"A" has been getting ready for a Hymn playing competition here coming up and this is one of the songs she is going to play. She picked this song long ago before she knew about the competition to start working on knowing that her Mommy liked it!:-) It is such a blessing to listen to her play. I thank God for a teacher that is so good and so giving of her time! She is such a sweet kind lady. She is playing "Holy, Holy, Holy" in this selection.

Happy Hands Ministry

 A and R were apart of our church's Happy Hands Ministry this fall. They had a BLAST last night at the Cr*s*s Pregn*ncy fund raising dinner getting to perform sign language to the song "Speak Life" by Toby Mac. R said "I will never forget this". A found she LOVES sign language and really wishes she could continue.

The song was perfect for the ministry. When people speak Christ's love to hurting people it is LIFE.
Unfortunately, how often does love get spoken to hurting people? Thankful that there are ministries that do just that.

What if we all spoke more of Christ's love not our own thoughts and opinions?

 Daddy trying to keep little ones happy during a waiting time for rehearsal.

The venue was beautiful. There was about 1,000 people there.

Pure. Truth Conference

Weeks ago I was telling the kids about a pastor I had growing up and how he was such a good pastor and so humble. Weeks after that conversation our church was advertising a conference coming up at our church for our youth group. The speaker for the conference was my former pastors son! How cool is that! The kids went and had a great time! They REALLY enjoyed how things were taught and could not say enough good about the speaker. He reminded G of his Grandpa J!

Time in the Trees!!

For his 9th birthday R wanted to go to this adventure park to climb the obstacle course in the trees. We looked forward to doing this but on Saturday when we went little did we know how fun it really was!! WE HAD A BLAST!! It was so much fun and such a great time. It was an activity, it required problem solving, strength, some guts, and we encouraged each other through the courses! If we could have stayed longer we would have but our time came up mid afternoon.

R would ask me to be sure that before I stepped off the platforms to come down that my gear was all properly attatched before I would step off. I thought that was so sweet!

On the way home I told him what I thought of during the day. Going on the obstacle course during the day made me think of Christ. In life we get into scary situations but as life goes on and we see that as a Christian Christ is taking care of us through all life throws at us our faith grows and strengthens because we know God will not let us fall. The obstacle course when you first start is SOOOO scary but soon you realize that you are always clipped in and that holds you through all your falls. Your confidence rises to do the obstacles of the course knowing that you are clipped in to a line that always holds you. So it is if we are hooked in to Christ, he is our life line in whom we can trust through the greatest of challenges and we can attack those challenges head on and with confidence knowing He is there to catch us if we need it.

R came to read me some verses that he had found and read in the Bible. He really liked the first 24 verses of the chapter but one verse stuck out to him and reminded him of that analogy that I mentioned to him on Saturday. He said this verse reminded him of what I was talking to him about on Saturday. It was Psalm 37:24 (Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.) Like to see he is thinking when he reads. So thankful for my R. He is a kiddo filled with enthusiasm, ideas, strong opinions, and energy. I can't wait to see how God uses his life.

Growing up for G

G said the other day part of him wanted it to be next summer so that he could go on a big trip with his sister A that we have been planning for the two of them to relatives homes in the midwest but he was also enjoying this year so much. This was quite a statement for me to hear since last year he LOVED his school, teachers, studies, fellow students. I am so thankful. God led us to some neat opportunities for him online and that coupled with the fact he does school with his oldest sister has made this a fun year. God is good in his guidance and leading when we need it.

The other day G came and wanted me to read Romans 11:1-4 and said that this to him refuted the reformed theological view of Israel. I was so thankful for how he thinks and that he thinks. By the way,  a lot of his school training is by reformed theologians and we are so grateful for their EXCELLENT education and teaching him to think and read critically and he would say that they are the ones that taught him how to think about and analyze things.

He just started a study at our church on evangelism (Way of the Master) and he loved the one class he has been too. Unfortunately, that will have to go on hold while Dad is out of country.

Love this Song!!

This especially struck a chord with me being in the Navy that really we won't find that perfect place to be until Heaven and then what joy that will bring. We've seen Edinburgh, London, Paris, etc. but Heaven is so much better  . . . it has Jesus and that is all we need!

As I was playing this song today little J said to me "What city do we like?" (Ok, that is just sooo cute!) I said, "Heaven". He said "Ok" and I told him. "Jesus is there and that is all we need."

C enjoying Bible Club

C has been LOVING his church Bible club. He has been working hard on his Bible memorization and doing so well. He has some GREAT club leaders which is such a blessing.

Today when I was helping him I told him he was supposed to draw a picture of his favorite thing that God has created. I asked him what he was going to draw and he said "my family".

As I was reading the passage out of the Bible for C I got to the verse before the verse that says "but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" and C said "But someone found grace in the eyes of the Lord"! He knew that verse was coming. His Bible class this year is so good. May he hide all this in his heart.

A learning new things . .

"A" started a class at church learning sign language for songs so they can perform as a ministry at an event this month. She has worked hard and was picked for a small "solo". She has found she REALLY enjoys sign language A LOT and wants to continue learning it! We'll see if that happens. May it someday be used for God's glory!

Twins

CG now calls B "Da" and B calls CG "Kitty". Very cute and sweet!

In the video above you can hear B say "Awesome!" when she fits a puzzle piece.

B is very talkative and C is quieter but very compassionate.

Funny J Stories

Story 1 --J was in the van with Daddy and me and we were on our way to pick up one of the vans at Walmart after being serviced. He knew Daddy was leaving for Germany soon and was confused thinking Daddy was taking the van to Germany. He asked Daddy "How far away is Germany?" Anyway, he seemed to think he was going too and it was explained to him that just daddy was going. He said "Well, I guess I am going to Walmart." HILARIOUS!!! Then Daddy said that maybe someday he could come to Germany with him and J said (not harshly but just matter of factly) "I am trying." We get the biggest kick out of him! He just said these statements so matter of factly we enjoyed our life moment of humour.


Story 2-- He has had a problem lately that if I am not in the room that he thought I was in he will start screaming and crying and in my words freaking out. On one occasion I heard him do this and he was in the room with the twins and one of the twins was trying to kindly talk to him and he cried in sadness "I am thinking about Mommy!"

Story 3--Another day J did this and I talked with him about how it is dangerous when you are scared to "freak out" because that means you are not thinking things through and that can be dangerous. I said instead of freaking out he needs to calmly call out "Mommy, Mommy" and if he is scared he needs to pray. He immediately walked into another room and I heard him talking (I don't know what he said or if he was praying or what) but he then started walking and calmly calling out my name and trying it out! SOOO CUTE!!!! I praised him!!

Story 4-- One day J asked me to go downstairs with him to get a drink but then he stopped and said "I will go myself. God is with me!" and he went!

Funny 5-- He calls the twins "his babies".

Funny 6-- He often says the phrase. "Sure you can!"

Funny 7-R, CA, and J and I went on Saturday morning to buy our weekly doughnuts. The set up at the grocery story is strange in that the cart goes down one side of the checkout and the customer down the other. So the boys all went down the side with the cart which had J in it. J saw the check out lady scanning things and he took it as her buying things. He looked at his brother and said "Quick! Get me out of here before she buys me!! We got a kick out of that!!

Jedidiah Sweetness

Today Jedidiah said to me "I am glad God gave you to me."

Later he asked me to go downstairs with him and then he said "God is with me! I will go myself!"

Dear comments for my mommy memory.

Sweet J

J told me today he loved me and said "Did God give me to you?" He remembers me telling him that before! I said "Yes" and something to the effect that we are so blessed He did. He likes hearing that which is so sweet!

You Have My Surrender featuring Lauren Daigle

The Twins Birthday

The girls turned 2 in July! They have come a long way from birth at 2 lbs 10 ozs and 2 lbs 11ozs.

God has been good.

Grandma and Grandpa got them little stuffed animals which they have enjoyed especially B with her "Birdie". She loves that Big Bird!!

Battle of Petersburg

This was a one day outing out and about. If I remember correctly the Battle of Petersburg was the last battle of the Civil War. We had a tremendous day as a family which is most important.

We also got to see a replica of a very important cannon which I can not remember the name of right now!

C and I got to pretend we were in the battle and that was the highlight of my day.

If I have a son likely to end up in the miliary it is C and someday I may write him a letter

when he grown and on the battle field and say "remember when we once marched together?"

C on the left is a tough girl as you can see in the picture but she can be sweet too! 

She has a lot of brothers to keep in line and she has NO problem pointing her finger and telling them

whatever she thinks necessary within her small but ever growing vocabulary.

B on the right is dainty and sweet.