In The Potter's Hands

Lessons From Haiti, Part 2

2011-03-23T23:52:00.001-05:00

Have you ever found your self going through an experience and thinking that what you are learning is not spiritual enough?

Maybe I am missing it, God.

Maybe I didn't pay enough attention.

Or maybe someimtes it is the simple lessons that we need the most.

Haiti is an extremely poor country. It is sad to see how people live and the terrible things they have to face on a regular basis. Despite being beautiful, it is also a very dirty country with garbage everywhere. There is nothing easy about the lives of the people there. It is also a dark country spiritually. People are lost and many are mixed up in evil practices and bound by fear.

However, none of this is what struck me while I was there. It isn't that i didn't see it, feel sad about it, or care about it...I did. It is heart wrenching to take it all in. It is just that I wasn't walking around with this heaviness as a result of it and with a new found desire to help. The thing is, I think God broke much of that in me long before I got there. I knew I was visiting a place with many different needs and I had seen some similar needs in other places. I just thought that was why I was going and something God would have me take away from my time there.

God impressed something so different on my heart. He is there. Big, I know. You are probably thinking, "Are you kidding me?!" No, I'm not. I felt like He kept showing me that He is there...and everywhere. I mean I knew that. I have been told that my whole life. God is everywhere, I get it. But I didn't, not in the right way. I went to Haiti focusing on what many told me I would experience and feel. I focused on the bad, the dark, the sad. Growing up, this was my default mode. It was easy for me to focus on the scary, the bad, the sad and I have spent years changing that pattern. Here I was slipping back into it though. So, God needed to show me that yes, there is spiritual darkness in Haiti but His light is there as well and even more powerful. Yes, there is evil there but God is visibly at work as well. Yes, there are sad things but the joy of the Lord is visibly present in people as well. He is there, and His presence can be felt not just by me but the people that live there, and His joy is eveident in them. Though darkness exists there, God's presence does as well and He is much bigger. So I felt darkness, and saw hurt, and saw terrible living conditions, and heard of living in fear, but I also saw Him. I saw believers filled with His joy and saw Him working in their lives and doing amazing things!

Some of the ladies arriving at the conference

The ladeis holding up their new Bibles

Our cargo arriving, PTL!

One of the breakout sessions

Playing a game the ladies taught us

My friend Johanne

Another game the ladies taught us. The sweet thing about this picture is you can see the joy written on their faces and they never do things like this where they just have fun together as women.

Lessons From Haiti, Part 1

2011-03-21T22:18:00.001-05:00

God in all His sovereignty has better plans

...and truly aren't we glad He does. Even when they don't seem as good as ours, even when we have spent much time planning, even when it hurts, His plans are always so much better. This lesson was one our team was quickly confronted with on our trip.

Early morning wake-up to catch a shuttle to the airport on the 12th and...no shuttle. What we didn't know at the time was that this was only the beginning of absolutely nothing going as planned for the rest of the trip. Once we arrived in Haiti every detail of the conference began to unravel until the only thing that seemed for sure was that the people who were going to speak were still going to speak...though when, to who, and where were a little sketchy. :) Not to mention, our cargo with all the conference supplies including blankets for the women to sleep on, goody bags we were going to hand out at the beginning, conference programs for them and much, much more did not show up until Monday afternoon. Most of the ladies came in on Sunday and the conference started Monday morning.

When your best laid plans fall apart what do you do? Pray. Trust God in His sovereignty. Wait on Him. Roll with it! 20 women being flexible and rolling with whatever the day brought? That's right! I was blessed to be a part of the most amazing team of women who were so flexible and patient. We really never knew how each day would look from one day to the next, but God knew and His plans were better right from the start.

Everything worked so much batter than we could have imagined. We ended up having 167 ladies instead of 150 so we couldn't have handed out bags at the beginning anyway. We didn't have enough so we needed to make a few and then rearrange what was in them to make sure everyone got some things. We had breakout sessions and main sessions planned but circumstances forced us to only ever have two different sessions going. God knew. We were supposed to have 5 translators and ended up with 2 so we could only do two session at a time anyway. When the speakers all got rearranged they ended being lumped together perfectly by topic...only God can do such amazing things! We were humbled and grateful.

Can we trust God with our plans? I think the better question is, can we let go of our plans and trust God with His? Can we accept that whateve happens is in the sovereign hands of God and choose to have a good attitude anyway, choose to trust God anyway, choose joy anyway?

I opened my backpack today looking for my glasses...they weren't there. I am pretty sure they are somewhere in Haiti. At the moment I discovered it I could feel the tug on my heart saying how are you going to respond? How? It wil cost hundreds of dollars to get a new pair. It was totally a God thing the way I got the last pair. There is such a temptation to be negative. Good attitude anway, trust God anyway, joy anyway... I am sure someone can use those glasses and I am sure God can provide new ones. He is sovereign in the big and the little.

Team prayer the night before we left for Haiti

My college friend and me

The old well at the Open Door Church compound

where we stayed

The mission house on the right and church on left

The school within the compound

The clinic in the compound

View from the roof of the mission house

What have I experienced in Haiti?

2011-03-14T12:05:00.001-05:00

warm sunsine

perfect temps (not the sweltering heat expected)

beautiful brown faces of women

adorable children who love to laugh and giggle at us

dirty streets with much garbage

lush vegitation

very dark nights

spicy, yummy, unique food

a cold, short on sleep night

a comfortable restfull night

praising God with sisters in Christ from Haiti

much laughter, singing and dancing

times of sharing with tears of brokeness and joy

the need for MUCH flexibility

new Haitian and American friends

prayer and more prayer

poverty and great needs

poorly cared for animals

crisp clean clothes of Haitian people who know how to work hard

the presence of God

Haiti

2011-03-12T20:19:00.000-06:00

I made it to Haiti and it is beautiful here, life is not easy but beautiful people and countryside! We are staying in Open Door Church's compound. It really is very nice and we have been so blessed by the people here. We landed late morning and spent the day just getting to know the place and the people. We got to take a walk outside the compound to see the orphanage they are building and along the way got to spend time with the sweetest kids ever! Tomorrow we will have church and then begin prepping for the conference which starts Monday morning. Our cargo with many things for the conference did not make it and may not till Monday well after the conference starts. Please pray for a miracle here as part of that was blankets for the women who be staying here at the compound for the conference. They will have nothing to sleep on but cement. It is such an amazing opportunity to be a part of this conference as these women have never experienced anything like this where they are pampered, taught, given gifts and even get to make a trip to the beach which is unheard of. Please pray that these women will experience the incredible love God has for them personally.

Randomness

2011-02-23T19:35:00.000-06:00

Sadly, this blog a has been a little neglected. I figured the best way to get back at it was some randomness to show you what we have been up to. So what have we been doing?

Trying to get good picture of everyone. Getting a good picture of all 5 has become quite the challenge! We are making good memories though :)

Snuggling with bears better known as "puppies" to these two

Visiting with good friends

Accomplishing a decent picture of everyone

Thinking we are hiding with the grapes we took :)

Having fun in the snow with family

Playing with cousins (I loved this one because unintentionally they both posed exactly the same way!)

Turning new snow shoes into stunt skies on hardened drifts (Middle Man)

Swimming with friends

Yelling...just for the pure fun of it! (Don't you love that the word "noise" is in the background?!)

Being pure sweetness

God with us

2010-12-12T15:12:00.001-06:00

Christmas. Even the word "Christmas" makes us think of cheer, of wonder, of festivities and fun. Yet, for so many it will carry such sorrow, and heavy hearts will sit under lit up trees. There are many reasons that hearts will be heavy each year, but this year I think of the two families I know that between Thanksgiving time and now have each lost a son. One was 12, one just a baby. I can feel the shattering of their hearts into so many little pieces. And, my heart is broken...again.

Sorrow, pain, death, imperfection: our world is so full of it. I sit at a funeral watching a mom look at her 12 year old son's casket, and I remember. I watch the scene that should never be, dad and mom following their lifeless child out of the sanctuary and I know what it is like to go home. It all seems so wrong. The email that the baby won't make it through the night, and he doesn't. And hopes, dreams, lives crumble. These pictures of death happen all over the world, every day. Because our world is fallen, imperfect, not as God intended it to be.

As I sat at that funeral, and watched mom and dad follow their son's casket out, reaching up high behind them were risers in the shape of a giant Christmas tree and it was all lit up. This scene is etched clearly in my mind because as I watched this family and their shattered world, I was reminded. That tree in all its shining wonder reminded me what this season represents. Even as so many will wade through dark waters this Christmas, they do not have to do it without HOPE. God did not turn His back on our imperfect world. He left perfection and entered into our hurt with us. He came to us and brought hope all wrapped up in the form of a tiny baby. "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." He came to us and offers a way to be with him forever, promising that one day he will dry all the tears and heal all the broken hearts. We are not alone, and this life is not all there is. God with us. Hope.

Please pray for these two families and that they could experience the hope of Christ during these difficult times.

Last but not Least

2010-10-05T23:29:00.001-05:00

We wrapped up our trip spending a few days with some wonderful friends and getting a glimpse into what their life is like.

The first day we were there the guys took the boys fishing. This is the type of fishing where you constantly catch something. Needless to say, the boys LOVED that!

We went to some big slides...they were pretty cool!

And we spent some time at a super sweet park...minus the nasty snake near our pcinic table where we were having supper!

Our friends' son and our boys were having a GREAT time with this game which basically consisted of one of them at the top kicking the rest down and not letting them get to the top. They seriously were having a blast as were several other boys who got in on the "fun" too.

We went to the Omaha zoo which was absolutely amazing!

Here was the whole crew together. Our whole family agreed this was one of the best stops on our trip. We had a great time with this crew and appreciated their hospitality and all the fun they planned for us from the park, to the zoo, to swimming and lots and lots of catching up on life with each other :)

We got back home late on Labor Day. It was a fantastic trip that I am sure we will all still be talking about a long time down teh road!

Boston

2010-09-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

The day after our Rhode Island adventures we spent a day in Boston (which was not nearly enough time to take it all in!). We all loved Boston and hope to some day get back there and see the sights we missed. I personally am a huge history fan, especially the Revolutionary War period so visiting Boston was a real treat. One of my favorite parts of Boston was Boston Commons, the large park in the middle of the city. It has a fascinating history to it and today is just a beautiful park with a large pond called Frog Pond where kids can splash and play (it is very shallow), a neat play structure and fountains, and many other interesting things going on.

This frog had water coming out of its mouth which the littlest ones loved! The older boys were more into the bigger fountains that were spraying water right by this frog.

Park Street Church right across the street from Boston Commons

Right beside Park Street Church is Granery Burying Ground where many patriots are buried. Here is a memorial for John Hancock

Paul Revere's tombstone

Statue of Ben Franklin in front of Boston's old City Hall

Old South Meeting House where many important meetings leading up to the war took place, including the decisions about the Tea Party.

The Old State House, right outside this building the Boston Massacre took place.

For those who have not been there, this is what much of Boston looks like

We took a ferry from Long Wharf to the Navy Yard where the U.S.S. Constitution is located. This was a pier by the Navy Yard

Here is the U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest floating warship in the world and also know as "Old Ironsides" We took a free guided tour of the ship which was a highlight for all of us

We got to go on two decks below, this was the first, the gun deck

As you walk around Boston on the Freedom Trail, you follow a red line that is brick like this or painted red so it is generally easy to know where you are going and the boys had fun figuring out where the red line was all the time

This is harder to see due to the light but it is Old North Church where the lanterns were hung when Paul Revere and William Dawes made their ride

It was well over 90 degrees and sunny the whole day we were in Boston. Hot! So by the end of the day we were all worn down and very hot. We found these fountains on the way back to our vehicle after supper and the boys had a great tiem running through them and getting soaked!

And still more

2010-09-17T23:34:00.000-05:00

After we left Acadia, we took the coastal highway down Maine toward NH. We were able to go through many neat little towns along the way and the scenery was beautiful! At one point we were going past Rockport, ME and the Big Man spoke up and said he wished we had stopped there. When we asked him why (as that seemed very random to us) he told us that is where Andre lived. When we were at Acadia we bought the book Andre because we had seen the movie a few years back. It is about a harbor seal that this man raises. It is a very sweet movie (if you have never seen it we would recommend it) and the Big man had read the book while we were driving. I did not remember the town it took place in but he did and told us. We turned around and went down to the harbor where there is a statue of Andre. It ended up being a very fun little stop!

Here is the harbor where Andre would play and put on shows for people.

Here is statue

Most of the little towns we drove through looked something like this one

We stopped in Freeport, ME which is the home of LL Bean

Then we camped for three nights in NH at Bear Brook State Park. The park was only about an hour and a half out of Boston and it was a three hour drive to Newprt, RI. We spent the first day in Newport, which is on an island. We went to one of the top ten beaches in New Englund, Easton Beach and it was incredible! It was a huge beach, with sugar sand, and the water was pretty warm. We had a blast there!

The Big Man in the middle of one of the many good sized waves that rolled into the beach. Out of all of us, I think he may have enjoyed swimming in the ocean the most.

A very nice man let Todd and the Big Man borrow his boogie board for a little while. Here he caught a pretty good wave and rode it in.

The younger four playing in the sand

Todd and the Big Man waiting for this wave to hit them

The Little Man loved running from the water as it would wash up

The Middle Man had a love hate relationship with the ocean. He so wanted to be out in those waves with his brother but yet was afraid to go out there. He had fun though. :)

KR love, love, loves water! She wanted to be in it all the time even in Maine where it was very cold!

Poor KK, she does not love water and the waves crawling up the beach terrified her. Much of the time she stood at a distance with this look on her face if we all went to the water.

True to form, this guy attacked the ocean like he did learning to tie shoes, pulling teeth, riding bike, or playing sports. He went at playing in the waves with 100% of his energy and loved every minute! They all had a good time picking up shells too :)

After KR and I played in the water a while, KK deliverd a drink to her sister.

Then she warmed up to the idea of the water and had fun too!

From the beach you can take off on a walk called the Newport Cliff Walk. If you are ever there it is well worth your time! You walk along an easy trail along cliffs and go past huge mansions.

This is just a sampling of some of the amazing places

The second half of the trail you have to climb on rocks and accross yards, there is not a nice paved trail so we had to stop because we had a stroller. That was okay though as our kids were getting tired and the sun was setting. It was a great day in Rhode Island though!

Phase Two of the Trip

2010-09-14T01:16:00.000-05:00

After we left the camp we headed over to Acadia National Park. The park is on Mount Desert Island in Maine. We would loved to have had a week there! It is so beautiful and there is so much to see and do. We spent a couple of nights there.

This is Thunder Hole. The water has worn a channel into the rocks and when it hits with force at the back of this sometimes air gets caught and makes a loud sound like thunder. I think we all could have watched this all day!

This is along the drive around the park. It is so beautiful as there are mountains, islands and ocean

This is Sand Beach. We took a hike that went out from the beach and then we played here all afternoon the one full day we were at the park. This picture was from up on the trail we were on above the beach

Here we are on the hike. I decided to try wearing a pack so we could go but was unsure if my back was ready for it. I felt great the whole time! I can't tell you how grateful I was and how much I thanked God for that healing on the hike. It was such a thrill to be in God's beautiful creation and doing something I love to do!

Todd and some of the kids out on the point where we climbed around in the middle of our hike.

The girls playing at Sand Beach. One loved the water (which was 55 degrees) and one hated it

The Big Man lived in the big waves!

The view from on top of Cadillac Mountain. The islands are called Porcupine Islands

A view of the town of Bar Harbor

And this was just cute of the little man with a great find!

Stay tuned for more to come...

Our Adventure

2010-09-10T23:50:00.000-05:00

Almost three weeks ago we set out on a family adventure. We packed our vehicle and camper and set out for Maine. This trip was by far the longest we had ever taken but it was absolutely wonderful! We talked to many people along the way in many different places and got the same response from most people...they thought we were crazy driving that fa,r and with that many, and that young of kids. The travels weren't perfect, we weren't perfect, but one thing is for sure...

we had a great time as a family!

I think our travels are best described by what the Big Man said one day after we had been at our first destination for two days. He asked when we could get in the suburban and travel again. I asked him why he said that and if he was having fun. He assured me he was having a good time but, "It is just so fun on the road!"

I love it! Was it a perfect trip? No, we had some stomach flu, got lost, had a blown tire and some extrenely late nights driving. We sometimes fought, yelled, cried and yes, even complained. However, we also sang together, played games together, read books together, listened to Adventures in Odessey together, did school work together, prayed together, talked about our travels together, and laughed much together.

When it comes to family, it just doesn't get much better than "together," no matter what you are doing.

So here are the pictures of the first part of our trip

The view in the rear view mirror

One of my great childhood memoried is what we used to do on road trips. When we would stop at a rest area, my dad would plan out an obstacle course for us to run off some energy. I like to do the same with our kids and they love it too :)

Day 3 of our travels east we stopped at Niagara Falls. It was so worth the stop! God has sure made some amazing things in this world.

The kids were absolutely in awe of the falls

On one side of the falls there was this really neat, twisty tree that our kids fell in-love with. I so rarely get a good picture of the Little Man so this was a treat :)

The sweet thing about this picture is that it wasn't posed.

While in Maine we went to a Camp Good News and spent a little time with the CEF State Director and District Director out there. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him and at the camp. Here are a few pictures of the camp.

While at the camp we took half a day and went over to the Kancamagus Highway in NH. We didn't have enough time to follow the whole route but what we saw was beautiful and we had a fantastic time playing at the lower falls on the river running along the highway.

These two constantly have us all cracking up! They are quite the pair!

more to come...

Summer Fun

2010-08-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Sand

2010-08-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

Water

and

Cousins

What a great combination!

The Sweeties

2010-08-02T22:00:00.001-05:00

And my personal favorite

Family Barometer

2010-08-01T22:19:00.001-05:00

that is what he is

Our own

personal

family barometer

Time as a family is very important to him. We are finding he really keeps us in check and makes sure it happens. We know things are getting off kilter when it starts to seem like something is bothering him. The other night I told the boys we were headed to camp in a couple days. Normally he would be extremely excited but he was very quiet. I started asking him questions to figure out what was bothering him and he finally told me that he liked it when we took a vacation as "just a family." He said, "then we all get to play together." I could have cried because I just love how much he loves family time. It isn't that he doesn't understand the importance or our ministry or of camp (we talk about that often and he is all about ministry), it is just that he feels it when we have all been spread thin and around people so much that we have lost our connection as a family...so he tells us in his own special way. This is the very reason, that at the end of every summer, we leave. We just leave all by ourselves and go on a trip (usually camping). We need that time to reconnect and get refreshed as a family.

So, I assured him. We will "all get to play together" after camp when we go on the longest trip we have ever taken. In the mean time, we will have to work a little harder at making time for our family in the midst of all the craziness of summer ministry. I am so thankful God gave us this boy to make us stop in the craziness and remember what should come first and what is important.

What do you think they look like?

2010-07-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

They are a beautiful sight to me

This is no ordinary bunch of teenagers

Many of these wonderful people have sacrificed most of their summer thus far to go out and teach 5-Day clubs (backyard Bible clubs) for kids and to face paint and share the Gospel at fairs.

Now I get to spend the next two weeks with quite a few of them at our Camp Good News. These amazing teens are going to go serve the way Jesus did.

they are going to get their hands dirty playing in the sand

they are going to have about 90 kids crawling all over them

they are going to give more piggy-back rides than they ever imagined

they are going to wipe tears and give hugs

they are going to sweat it out in a hot chapel with well over 100 people a few times a day

they are going to get up early for staff meetings to pray for these kids

they are going to sleep in hot, stuffy cabins every night with rowdy kids

they are going to deal with many problems they've never had to face before

they are going to pray with and teach these kids

and they are going to work their tails off

The best part?

Most of them won't be able to wait till next year when they can do it all again!

It is a humbling experience working with these young people. please pray for them over the next two weeks. We all need your prayers for health, energy, wisdom, rest, unity, and servant hearts.

Thanks

Some days

2010-07-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

are meant

for adventures

The Road

2010-07-27T23:31:00.001-05:00

We have this idea

that the road of life

the "normal road"

looks something like this

fairly smooth, just some little bumps here and there

That is not reality though

"Normal life" is not a life of

no pain or suffering

or hardship and trials

"Normal life," the life

most people walk

has a road that looks more like this

You don't even know where the road is sometimes

let alone is the road smooth.

"Normal life" is full of hard stuff

We all face it. No one, no matter how wealthy, successful or famous gets to escape from the hardships of living in an imperfect world. Somehow in America we get this idea in our heads that normal life doesn't involve really painful and hard things. We want to live this life of ease and when we get hit with painful experiences we wonder where God is and why He isn't faithful? He is supposed to be good and keep us from hurting, right? Not so. God actually promises in John 16:33 that we will have tribulations...tough stuff will happen. Pain and suffering are not a novelty (other countries in the world know that all too well). I have personally talked to about 7 or 8 different people in the last two weeks, all dealing with different, but major, struggles and heartaches. People struggling with various physical problems, major illness, loss of a child or loved one, grief of various kinds, disappointing or scary news, major life struggles or relationship struggles. I am sure you could add to the list.

Knowing of all this pain constantly surrounding us gives those who are followers of Jesus two opportunities. First we can love those hurting like Jesus would. We can be His hands and feet in their life like so many have done for my life. We can bring hope and encouragement to them, and just be there for them.

In other works, we get off our road (even if it is looking pretty smooth right now)

and join them in the valleys and for the tough climbs

Because that is exactly what Jesus would do.

Second, when it is us facing the heartahce, we can be salty and bright in a world longing for hope. We can embrace whatever trials come our way because of the hope and joy we have in Christ. We can still be real and admit life is hard and we are hurting, but not be defeated and not lose hope. We can recognize God is still who He says He is. Faith and hope are a choice, and we can choose them every day. We don't have to wonder why this terrible thing is happening to us, why not us? Am I so special that the rest of the world should hurt but not me? It is during those times, when we still have hope and joy that the world stops and takes notice because that is something different than what they are used to seeing.

Salty and bright...

I want to be that way.

(for more on that you can read or listen to John Piper here.)

And I can be. Because though promising we will have trouble, God also promises that He has overcome the world, and in Romans 8:37-39 that we will overcome all of the trouble here and nothing can seperate us from His love. In Philippians 4:6-7 He promises we can bring all of our heartache and worries to Him and He will give us His peace in our hearts. He doesn't promise to change our circumstances but He does promise peace in the midst of them.

God is good

despite all the pain around us

I don't say that lightly. I have walked through dark waters

and I have no doubt there will be many more.

But, if I say I believe His Word to be true, then I have to hold onto that no matter what life may bring.

Our moto

2010-07-22T22:00:00.002-05:00

is never

ever

waste a

good mud puddle

Pure Sweetness

2010-07-21T22:00:00.001-05:00

2010-07-20T22:15:00.000-05:00

I realized that I almost forgot to share about a certain Middle Man's birthday

and that

would have been such a shame

because he is such a joy!

This boy

loves to sit in his mom's lap

can't get enough time playing any and every sport

is thrilled to sit and listen to books

likes to tell jokes

has a deep gut laugh

adores his big brother and wants to be like him

likes to play games with his sisters (and laughs that deep gut laugh)

watches over his little brother

has a very tender heart

loves animals

is very mischeivous

loves music and the drums

thrives on encouragement and praise

likes to read certain stories in the Bible over and over

has many questions

loves vegetables

likes to look at picture and hear stories

his name means "provider of comfort"

Before he was born we had always said we would name a third boy "Noah." I don't even know why we said that. After Micah died and we learned we had another baby on the way, we decided since we had always said that, that we should name the baby Noah if it was a boy. Then we looked up what his name meant...

God is so good.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of each of our children but specifically for our middle man in light of his birthday. His life was the beginning of healing in our hearts. Capture his heart, Lord. We pray he will be a man of integrity who brings you and your kingdom much glory in the ways he lives life and serves you. Use His joy and tender heart to minister to the lives of others. Thank you for blessing us with him right when we needed him.

Thank You Is Not Nearly Enough

2010-06-22T00:45:00.000-05:00

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer

for you all..."

Philippians 1:3-4

That verse in posted in honor of the friends that we are so undserving of but God has so richly blessed us with. We recently returned from being gone for 10 days to our CYIA (Christian Youth In Action) training camp. We had an absolutely fantastic time and had the privilege of seeing God work in the lives of many youth while also being challenged ourselves.

Our return home (though it is hard to leave camp) is always sweet. Our dear and wonderful friends made it even sweeter. I am going to try and list all that they did for us...though I am sure I will miss something. I will also post some picture of their handy work but I did not capture all of it in pictures. So they...

painted the walls and all the wood work in one room

painted the walls in another room

moved all the furniture into the appropriate rooms as one friend new how I wanted to move things around (this was a big feat of moving large furniture!)

found and installed a closet untit in our walk-in-closet, as in shleving and rods for hanging (up till now everything was still in an upstairs room)

custom built deep shelving on the other side of our closet

cleaned the entire house

washed all the bedding and remade beds

touched up the paint in my kitchen

mowed our lawn

scrubbed my recliner clean (THIS WAS A MAJOR TASK!)

and I am sure there is more that is just slipping my mind right now

There were many wonderful friends who chipped in in many different ways on these projects. We want all of you to know that your kindness, generosity, sacrifice and friendship are deeply appreciated beyond what words can express. What you did represents hours and hours of labor that we do not have to do and can put into ministry and hopefully into your lives. We are greatly humbled and feel so undeserving. We pray for God's rich blessing to be poured out on your lives. Thank you for loving us

Birthday Boy

2010-05-06T21:09:00.001-05:00

Somehow

time flies by and our little man went from this

to this

then this

to his big 3-year old self

He is a ball of red headed energy

has a contagious laugh

quite mischievous

loves to do whatever he can with the boys of the house

adores his daddy

loves on his little sisters

has a great imagination (lately he has been battling giants)

is thrilled with any truck, tractor or train that hooks together with something else

always eager to talk about the things of God

loves to hear stories told or read

would live in a mud puddle if he could

has a strong will and a big voice

loves to sing, especially about God

wants nothing to do with being potty trained

His name means "the Lord is my God" and we constantly pray that that will be true of him

Thank you Lord for the gift of this little boy in our lives. We ask that you move in his life and draw him to yourself. Help him to see his need for a savior. We pray he will passionately puruse you all of his life and live to bring you glory. Thank you for the joy of raising him.

It could have been worse & Brokenness

2010-04-12T00:27:00.002-05:00

NOTHING prepares you to hold your lifeless child in your arms. My mind has been a constant blur of thoughts lately. We know of two families who lost their first baby right before delivery just in the last week. My heart is broken for these families as they walk through these dark waters. Their lives took a turn that wasn't in the plan and they find themselves in a place that no one wants to be. I so remember that feeling, and I hurt for them. I can clearly remember holding my lifeless little boy and the thoughts that I had at that time. It was almost as if time stood still. I remember realizing that I had a choice to make. I could choose to trust God and walk with Him in faith and praise His name through it, or I could could become bitter and angry and choose a much more difficult path. I know it was the grace of God making my thoughts cleat in that moment and I made a choice to trust my Heavenly Father. I have never regretted that decision. Please pray for these two couples as they desperately need it right now.

I am so thankful for my relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the only thing that sustained me during that dark time in my life. There is a children's book entitled It Could Have Been Worse. I think about that often these days as I think about what has taken place in my life and in the lives of those around me. It is not exactly that I am looking at what we are all going through and thinking there could be something worse that could happen, or that person's pain wasn't as bad as mine, it could be worse. No, it is a different thought process. You see, I never look at someone else's tragedy or difficulty and think that it is not as bad as what I went through. I don't believe you can compare pain. If something causes a person pain, then it is hurting them and it doesn't matter what brought them to that point. Pain is pain, whether it be because of an injury, a terminal illness, the loss of a child, the loss of a parent, the loss of a job or any other difficulty in life. What matters is that we come to a place of brokenness in our pain, I will come back to this thought. But what I am talking about when I say "it could have been worse" is going through any of those things not knowing the incredible hope found only in Jesus Christ . I cannot imagine what it is like to walk through tragedy like losing your child not having the hope that a relationship with Christ brings. I can't imagine not being able to know that I will see my sweet little man again when I see the face of my Savior. I can't imagine being unable to rest in the absolute sovereignty of my loving God. And, I can't imagine getting up each morning after experiencing such heart break and not being able to experience the true joy of an intimate relationship with God. I am so thankful to say that Todd and I, as well as these other two couples, each have a personal relationship with God through Jesus and what He did on the cross. Yes, it definitely could have been worse, we could have not had that relationship. We could have had no hope. But, praise the Lord, we each do and anyone can! I am praying these two couples are able to cling to that right now.

I have thought much about how it could have been worse. I have also thought a great deal about brokenness. When we experience heart wrenching pain, what matters is that we allow ourselves to be broken before God. We need to come to a place where we recognize our desperate need for Him. Without Him we are hopelessly lost, sinful and unable to help ourselves. God wants us to let our dreams for our life be shattered and begin to see His dreams for us. We need to scrape together the broken pieces of our life and offer them up to God with open hands. When we do that, God gets down in the dirt with us and begins to help us back to our feet and He begins to put those pieces back together. I think the best part though, is that they don't go back together quite the same way and He leaves a reminder, the scars. There is a song that Point of Grace sings that touches my heart deeply every time I hear it. It is called Heal the Wound. There is a part where they say, "Heal the wound but leave the scar, A reminder of how merciful you are, I am broken torn apart, Take the pieces of this heart, And heal the wound but leave the scar, Don't let me forget everything you've done for me, Don't let me forget the beauty in the suffering, Heal the wound but leave the scar" Oh how thankful I am that God took the pieces of my shattered heart, healed the wound but left the scar behind. It truly does remind me of God's faithfulness and my need for Him and his grace every single day. It also reminds me to be compassionate and to reach out to those who are hurting all around me. Todd and I had the great privilege of meeting and visiting with Steve Saint (son of Nate Saint, the missionary who was killed in 1956). He had lost his daughter a couple years before our meeting him and we were talking with him about that. We got his book and he wrote something in it that I think of often. He said, "Don't be afraid to let your scars show." I am thankful for the scars and that when we allow them to show, God can use them to be an encouragement to others.

I am so thankful that I am in the Hands of the Great Potter and that through all that I face in life He is shaping me into who He wants me to be. I don't want to miss what He has for me in the trials in life. I pray I can bring Him much glory by allowing Him to mold me even in the valleys I may have to walk through. He is so faithful!

I believe I can fly

2010-04-09T12:00:00.002-05:00

I love to observe my boys. At this stage of life, they pretty much think they can do anything.

Even fly.

And, I guess I can't argue

I think they can stay in the air longer than I ever could :)

They have very few fears when it comes to trying things. Even my middle man now jumps into all kinds of adventures where he used to be quite reserved. It is fun to see them growing and changing. And as fun as it is to see the physical changes, I enjoy seeing them grow spiritually even more. The older two boys are developing such compassionate hearts toward those hurting and in need around the world. I pray that God can give me the wisdom and knowledge to know how to continue to foster that compassion and love for others in them.

Treasures

2010-04-08T14:31:00.002-05:00

March 1st marked what would have been the sixth birthday of our son Micah. When he died we decided that this would always be a day to celebrate in our family. A day to celebrate his life and what it meant to us, and a day to celebrate the gift God has given us in our family. Every year we take the day off from life and just spend time as a family. I really mean the day off from life too :). We don't answer our phones, we don't do work, we even pull out of school for this one! Then we just do all sorts of fun things. Every year looks a little different, and every year is an adventure that our kids look forward too. We don't have to go anywhere to have an adventure, it is just that they have no idea what we will do and look foward to each thing no matter how big or small.

What I don't think we realized when we started this tradition, is what is would teach us. It would teach us to take time out, no matter how crazy life is (like being four days away from major banquets!) and just treasure family. I realized today as our kids just thrived on all that totally uninterrupted time with us, that we don't do it often enough. We don't take a break from life and just spend time with each other. Although I would love to have Micah here with us and the party would have been so much better if he had been part of it, I am so thankful that we learned this through our loss of him. Our family really is a treasure to us and we praise the Lord for how He has blessed us through our kids and our marriage.

Here are some pictures of the day's events.

The girls watching the rest of us make some brunch of waffles, bacon, and fresh squeezed OJ

The middle man trying hand hand at squeezing oranges

The boys love to make orange juice

We played lots of games too. One was a new one we picked up called Eye Spy Eagle Eye. It was fun for everyone.

One of the only smiles we got out of our sick little man.

Here was the start of a special birthday treat we made.

Here was the yummy finished product

The big man was a big fan

This is seriously how the little man looked all day...very sad

The girls kept us well entertained with silliness throughout the day

So I started this post over a month ago when my back was still very bad. The three little ones have already changed so much since these pictures were taken! I will have get another post up quickly with updated pictures, especially now that I can sit comfortably at my computer again. :)

They don't stay little forever...

2010-01-15T12:00:00.001-06:00

...which is kind of sad at times

but it is also always exciting to watch the changes

no matter what age, kids are so fun!

These girls are up to all sorts of new tricks

They love to climb and get a kick out of little chairs

I have seen KK take the mothering role to her "little" sister giving her her nuk or bottle when she is crying

Very Cute!

They ride around in big seats now

Their new favorite activity is to play peek-a-boo with each other and the giggle and giggle

KK has now completely given up crawling and is a walking maniac

KR...well she is getting there :)

A little more Christmas

2010-01-14T12:00:00.002-06:00

...so recognizing how little I pulled out my camera with my family

I attempted to get it out more when we got together with the other side

I still did not do well but have a few moments captured

Grandma found the youngest boys matching shirts

The older three here wanted a picture of all the girls cousins and set this up themselves

Very cute!

G & G made blankets for all the grandkids

these were a big hit!

It was sister-in-law's 40th so all of us girls surprised her one night and went out to eat

It was lots of fun!

Christmas...finally

2010-01-13T15:21:00.000-06:00

Okay, so it took me a little while

but here is Christmas

as it unfolded

KK with her new water bottle right before we headed to MN for Christmas

The girls at my parents' house (where I did not take nearly enough pics, it was just so busy! I don't even have pics of everyone there. Check out my sister's blog as she has more!)

Cousins chillin

How many grandkids can fit on a couch with G & G

Some more cousins

My dad has become quite the woodworker. This year each family received something my dad had made

our kids and my younger sister's kids received toboggans

they weren't quite ready so they opened a message telling them Grandpa had something in the works for them and then they got to see the project.

They are pretty sweet! It is a special gift that we will all cherish.

More to come...

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-21T09:38:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful winter party yesterday

it was a beautiful day

frosty treees

warm

no wind

lots of friends (I think well over 60 were here)

a big bonfire

horses and a sleigh

lots of good food

and

Christmas carols

Good times were had!

Reading is Refreshing

2009-12-19T16:16:00.000-06:00

Having a great reader around has been a

refreshing

change to our house

The big man's reading skills

have kept everyone

entertained

(they were looking at him, till they saw me)

Thanksgiving Festivities

2009-12-14T12:24:00.000-06:00

Over Thanksgiving we were able to head to my parent's house for a few days. We had tons of fun playing games, visiting, celebrating birthdays, going to a parade and enjoying good food.

The middle man LOVES animals!

The kids loved the parade (well, we all did) and it was a beautiful night!

This was probably the coolest part of the parade. It was a basket from a hot air balloon and they would shoot the flame every few seconds...it was so warm!!!

We celebrated the girls' birthday and mine and my sister's birthdays. You can guess whose cake was whose...

Here is one of the sweet little birthday girls...

...and here is the other

Thankful for a birthday

2009-11-24T14:19:00.000-06:00

I love that the girls have their birthday so close to Thanksgiving. I can't help but feel how appropriate that is this year. I look at pictures of their tiny little bodies in the NICU a year ago and find myself praising and THANKING God for the strong, healthy, energetic, sweet little girls He has given us. God is so good!

A year ago, our world changed completely as we welcomed these sweet babies into our family

Not the time or the way we would have planned

Not the size we thought they would be

But God has been so faithful

We pray that they will passionately love Christ and have gentle, humble hearts that desire to serve Him.

They have been such happy, content babies and we pray that contenment in what God has for them will be a characteristic that they always possess.

Happy First Birthday KK and KR!

There is Nothing

2009-11-16T21:02:00.001-06:00

... like a good book shared with a best friend/sister.

He did it

2009-11-14T17:50:00.001-06:00

the middle man is riding on just two wheels!

this was a huge accomplishment for him

and as you can see

he is quite thrilled about it

We waited FOREVER for the big man to get home from school

to tell and show him the great news

in wonderful, big brother fashion he was thrilled for his brother

and immediately began helping him get going and then hopping on his own bike to ride

the three of them "rode" (one may have been more scouting) all the rest of the afternoon

There is no looking back now!

Oh, and by today

...he could get himself started :)

Frogs

2009-11-13T08:00:00.001-06:00

Funny thing.

I was recently thinking how I never see frogs around here.

The next thing I know, I am in the basement and my middle man tells me he sees a frog.

I assume he either means one that is not real or one he saw outside, but no, it was indeed a frog

...in our basement

...and we have no idea how it got there.

Now, as I said, we do not see many of these. So, my boys do not have much frog experience.

The middle man has since developed quite the fascination.

He caught that frog and put it outside for me. This first time, he did not want to use his hands.

Only days later, another frog shows up.

This time there is no fear of using hands...at least for the middle man :)

Oh, and this one, was outside!

This boy is becoming so sweet and tenderhearted. He had great concern for leaving his new found friend alone outside, to the point of tears over it. Lately he is brought quickly to tears out of concern for people while watching a movie or reading a book if that person is sad or alone. I am so thankful to see this tenderness in him as only a year ago we were praying that God would develop that in his heart because we were concerned about the lack of it that we saw. How wonderful it is to see God work in the heart of your child!

Oh, and frogs are pretty great too!

Yep

2009-11-12T08:00:00.002-06:00

...these boys love their sisters

During the stretch when the kids were sick with some nasty stuff, everyone had high temps, and my hubby was gone, the big man (even not feeling well himself) was such a big help with his sisters. Here he was holding KR as she had a high temp and just wanted to be held.

He even put her to sleep...

The boys just love to play with these two little girls and as you can see

...these little girls love to have those brothers play with them.

Almost A Year

2009-11-10T22:10:00.001-06:00

I can not believe how fast the last year has gone! I have been doing much refelcting lately as our baby girls rapidly approach their first birthday.

Only 12 days

Till our little sweeties turn 1!

And they can stand now...they have gotten even more steady since I took these. This is KR

KK even figured out today how to stand up all by herself in the middle of a room

They definitely like to be Mommy's little helpers

"So Big" is a big hit with both of them

...and they love to clap after they do it

On last one of KR, because it is so sweet. She always rubs her head and plays with her hair when she has a bottle

Part of me just hates to see them have to get bigger and part of me can't wait to see the ways they grow and change and how they will interact with each other and their brothers!

Aren't These

2009-11-03T10:52:00.002-06:00

...about the cutest little hats ever?!

The girls were quite fascinated with each other.

Despite the cuteness, little miss KK didn't not think it was a good idea to leave it on.

They do

2009-11-02T08:00:00.003-06:00

...find many ways to get into trouble.

But they sure are sweet, aren't they?

7 is the number

2009-10-31T08:00:00.036-05:00

I am not sure how it happened.

One day he was just a little guy and did things like snuggling up with his daddy to read a story...

..and then the next day he was 7!

And doing things like this

He is such a blessing to us and we praise the Lord for him every day. He has grown and changed so much in the last year. He has become so good at reading and is excelling in school. He is exploring new interests, like his new focus, skateboarding. Whatever he does, he does to the best that he can. He is a very hard worker. He is also a wonderful big brother. He loves to play with his little sisters and make them laugh. He is so proud of how he can carry them around and hold them to help me out sometimes. He is also so good to include his youngest brother when he and the middle man play. He watches out for him and sticks up for both his brothers when they run into trouble. It gives us such joy to see the Holy Spirit at work in his life. He finds great joy in doing jobs that I haven't asked him to do and then surprising me, like cleaning up the basement, picking up outside, helping a sibling, or helping to set the table. We have been thrilled to hear of the good choices he is often making at school and how he takes a stand for the Lord there. He also is developing such a tender spirit to those in need around the world, and toward those who have never heard the Gospel. He is not perfect, but none of us are and I truly can't imagine life without him. God is so good in how he plans out our families.

Me Too

2009-10-30T12:42:00.004-05:00

My Age

2009-10-24T23:54:00.003-05:00

So we were at a party at our friends' house the other night and my middle man had to use the bathroom. When finished, he walked up to the sink to wash his hands. He looked at the sink (which is lower than most and thus he could reach the faucet very easily) and said,

"Look Mom, it's my age."

Oh how I love what kids say! And, I love my kids!

Hard Work

2009-10-20T14:22:00.006-05:00

...always pays off.

We recently went to a farm festival at a little town near our home. The boys got in on the tractor pull for kids and had a great time!

They both worked very hard in their division and did their best. Look at the determination in these faces!

There obviously can only be one winner though.

We had an opportunity to learn a good lesson that day. Even though you can't always win, your hard work is worth it because you learn to do your best, you bring glory to God, and you build character. So, they couldn't both win (there were like 26 others in the division too!). One had his hard work build some character.

And one...

Got to take home the prize.

We were very proud of both boys!

It is the life for me

2009-10-10T21:09:00.005-05:00

"Why?" some people ask

Why would I want to live in the country?

Well . . .

let me tell you

Because

because there are fewer distractions and it is a great place for families to connect

because there are many places for adventurous souls to explore

because there are wide open spaces and creation manifests the magnificence of God constantly

because God has placed us here and given us many opportunities to glorify Him with all the "space" we have

because my heart and the heart of the man I love thrives here

So . . .

you may ask, will we always live here?

I don't believe in ever using the word always. We have no intentions of moving now or in the future. However, I don't think it is right to say we will always live here, or we will never move. The only "ALWAYS" in our vocabulary is, we always want to be in the center of God's will for our lives. I hope and pray that we would be ready and willing to do anything and go anywhere in order to stay in the middle of God's will for our lives.

You see, it doesn't matter how great a place is. If it is not where God wants you, it will be the most miserable place in the world to be. And, it doesn't matter how terrible a place may seem, if God is calling you there then there is no better place on earth to be.

So, I love the country! I would love to live here for the rest of my days on this earth. I have no idea if that will be the case, and that's okay.

Because

I know for sure, I ALWAYS want to be in the very center of God's will. That is the life for me!

Splish Splash

2009-10-06T23:32:00.005-05:00

...wish WE were taking a bath

This...

2009-09-27T17:29:00.007-05:00

...is what happens a lot around here...

...and we ALL love it!

I could have...

2009-09-19T20:57:00.006-05:00

...done it neater

...had less clean-up

...did the job the way I wanted

BUT

I would have...

...missed spending time with my boys

...missed an opportunity to teach

...missed seeing their sense of accomplishment

...missed seeing smiles like this

(not sure why the pics got so blurry, sorry)

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. - Psalm 19:1

2009-09-18T00:22:00.003-05:00

2009-09-16T13:49:00.007-05:00

My whole family, FINALLY, got together a couple of weeks ago in celebration of my mom's birthday. We planned some surprise events, had whole family pics taken (with 13 KIDS the oldest being our big man AT 6!!!), and had a great time.

The first day we had the pictures taken by an awesome gal, and hopefully I can post some of those soon. You really should check out her site, she takes some pretty sweet pics! All the kids did really well, except KK who was very sick. :(

The next day we all went to church together. Then in the afternoon, we got 5 baby sitters and left ALL THE KIDS while we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for supper and then to the Broadway's Mary Poppins at the Orphium. Great production!

We also were able to see my brother's new baby boy for the first time

...isn't he sweet?!

...and my older sister's little girl who was born only a week after the twins but we had not been able to meet yet. You think KK looks sad?
She pretty much looked like this most of the weekend (SO SAD!). We ended up in the ER early on Labor Day because she had such high temps for so long and seemed to be in pain. Turned out she had a urinary tract infection.
some of the boys having a blast playing a silly game with their uncle
Finally, the two oldest wearing their "fat" skater shoes (just ask the big man, the "fattness" is very important!) the night before my nephew went to his first day of school

...the big man would also say that his cousins were much "fatter"

...and thus, better :)

A Farm

2009-09-12T22:24:00.007-05:00

and a Family

are a Good mix

...the girls?

They were sleeping.

Tepee Camp Out

2009-09-02T00:59:00.005-05:00

Todd and the older two boys headed off the other night for a camp out with Grandpa in the tepee. Yes, tepee. Their grandpa has a life size tepee that he puts up every fall. So they slept in there with a fire and all. Aside from coming back with very smokey smelling bedding, they had a great time and it was decided this would definitely be an annual event. Next year the little man will get in on the action too!

.

Where are we Mom?

2009-08-23T23:36:00.005-05:00

Yep, It Is Definitely A Sunflower

2009-08-22T19:44:00.003-05:00

So, the other day I was walking out to the fort my boys made in the trees. The easiest route is through part of the field. As I was going on along, I saw this. What do you think this is?

Need to see it a little closer? What do you think now?

You are probably thinking a sunflower, and you are right! (You are also probably thinking, "Kim has really lost it!" But hang with me here.) Your keen eye probably noticed, as mine did, that this is not a sunflower field. This field is actually growing durum, but there is that sunflower right out in the field with the durum. Now, this is not necessarily an uncommon sight around here. It is a volunteer sunflower. But seeing it made me stop and think for a moment and I just had to take a picture.

You see, that sunflower represents what we are supposed to be as followers of Christ. When I saw that sunflower, I never had to stop and think, "I wonder if that is really a sunflower?" No, I new immediately that it definitely was a sunflower, there were no doubts. Is that not what we should be like in the world? The unsaved of the world should be able to just look at us and our lives and know, without a doubt that something is different. There should be no question in their minds that we are not just like them, no we have something special going on in our lives. That something special is the power, peace, love and joy of the almighty God flowing through us!

We Christians look too much like the "world" these days. I am not talking about how we are dressing (though for some that may be an issue, that is between you and God). I am talking about our lives, our actions, our words. Where is the love for the lost, and all people really?! God tells us over and over in His Word that we are to love, we should be known for how much we love people, no matter who they are. Can others even tell the difference between us and the rest of the world in the way we treat people?

What about our words? How are we using them? What are we allowing to come out of our mouths? Are we gossiping, slandering, and hurting others with our words or are we complaining and negative all the time?

What about our actions? Where are we choosing to go, what are we choosing to do, what are we filling our minds with? Yes, you may have the right to do some things, you may have the freedom. The Bible may not say that particular thing is wrong, but does that make it best? How is it affecting those around you? What are we watching, listening to and playing?

Seriously, can people look at us, like that sunflower, and know without a doubt that yes, that person is a follower of Jesus? Do we stand out? We need to stop blending in to the world to reach the world, the world wants something different. People have tasted the world and found it had nothing to offer and they are as empty as ever.

I am not saying we should shelter ourselves so we don't become like the world. Notice where that sunflower was. It was in the middle of that field, surrounded by durum. We need to be out there with the lost willing to come along side them and carry their burdens, willing to get dirty for the Lord and reach people where they are. But, we need to stop being just like those that don't know Christ and start standing out like that sunflower. People need to recognize the hope and joy that we have. They need to see love in our lives.

I write all this talking primarily to myself. God really made me stop and think about my life when I saw that sunflower. I had to ask myself, what do people see in me that is different? Is it obvious right away? And, finally, am I in the world reaching the lost?

One final thought. When I went back through the field, I couldn't find my little sunflower. It wasn't standing out any more. It took me a while and I found it trampled down. You know, that sunflower stood all alone. It wasn't surrounded by a few other sunflowers. We can't go through this life and out into the world without the support of other followers of Christ. We need those friends surrounding us, supporting us and praying for us.

So, how about you? Are you ready to stand out like that sunflower?

What they have been doing

2009-08-20T22:58:00.005-05:00

This girl has just learned how to sit herself up and is just figuring out how to move forward and how to clap (Don't you just love the hair here?!)This girl has recently mastered crawling and is starting to pull up on things

This guy is learning how to count (despite the fact that it doesn't look like it, he loved the tire swing)

This guy just learned how to pump and is flying high

This guy just started 1st grade today

Snakes and Trials

2009-08-18T23:49:00.005-05:00

There are two things I have been thinking about lately. The first is this, I heard a speaker a few years ago and her words deeply impacted my life. She was talking about eagles, as she had spent much time studying them. She was saying that an eagle won't let anything near its nest. A snake, however; can sneak up to the nest and then out of nowhere pops its head up. I can still see her using her hand to demonstrate this idea. She said that eagle instantly takes off the head of that snake. It knows better than to let the snake hang around for a while, that would be deadly.

She used this as analogy for our lives. When we allow anger, bitterness, grudges, hard feelings and unforgiveness to stay in our hearts, we are in essence allowing Satan (like the snake) to pop his head into our nest. We are giving him a foothold in our lives and allowing him to have victory in our lives. She used this in reference to our relationship with our spouse. She said harboring any of those things in our hearts toward our spouse was giving Satan victory in our lives and we need to chop the head off the snake as soon as it rears its ugly head by humbling ourselves, apologizing where we need to and working things out with the other person.

I will never forget what she talked about that day as it changed my life. The Lord began teaching me to humble myself, to forgive, to say I am sorry. Arguments between Todd and I have been resolved much quicker because no matter how mad at him I may be (justified or unjustified) I remember her words and it makes me more mad to think I would give Satan any victory in my life! I then usually swallow my pride and go apologize and begin to resolve the conflict.

The second thought I have had is also related to a speaker I just recently heard. He was speaking to a group of pastors. He told them to be ready and know that when real ministry is happening, when the Lord is at work and people are being reached, it is not if trials will come but WHEN. Satan will throw all sorts of attacks to discourage and stop the Lord's people from serving. He encouraged them, when those hard times come it is not time to give up but to put your head down and plow forward even harder.

What do these two things have to do with each other you may ask? A great deal I believe. They have a great deal to do with the church today. In our ministry we work with many different churches and hear their stories all the time. I have several family members in church ministry and we hear some of their stories. We are also involved in a church ourselves. The one common denominator in all these churches is that none of them are perfect and all of them face persecution when the Lord is working through them and people are being reached.

So often in churches today people carry around grudges, unforgiveness, hard feelings, and anger. The reality is, we are so often giving Satan a foothold not only in our personal lives but in our churches. We are allowing him to have victory because we are all unwilling to swallow some pride be the first to apologize and then begin the road to reconciliation. It should make us so mad to think we are allowing Satan to have victory in our lives and our churches!!!

We should also stop and look at the big picture. If we would, we would see that God is at work and people are being reached through the ministries of the church! Satan wants nothing more than to stop that and one of the primary ways he can do that is by causing discension in the church. Now is not the time to become discouraged and give up in our churches, now is the time to put our heads down and push forward even stronger doing the work of the Lord.

However, we can not push forward until we are willing to chop off the head of that snake! It is time in our churches to say we are no longer going to allow Satan to have victory. So lets put our heads down, move forward, and protect our nests!

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galations 6:9-10

Time to Reconnect

2009-08-17T22:57:00.023-05:00

Our summer is a little different than many other people's summers. We are around people all the time. We are either with people at camps, or have staff or teens living with us, or have parties with friends or teens at our house. There is always something going on around us that involves people ... and we LOVE IT!!! We are so blessed by the many people that we have the privilege of spending time with and working with. God has used many people in our lives to challenge us, encourage us, make us laugh, cry with us, and carry the burden of life and ministry with us. We wouldn't trade any of it, however; by the end of the summer our family definitely feels a great need to reconnect. Our kids are the most important relationship that Todd and I have besides the one we have with each other and we have a short amount of time to cultivate that and build into their lives, thus we try to end every summer with a week long camping trip.

So camping is precisely what we did this last week. We headed out only a day and a half after camp (which makes us somewhat insane) with our 5 kids 6 and under to go camping (which makes us mostly insane!) and we had a blast! We went to Door County, WI. I had been looking into a trip there for the last two years and it finally worked out this summer. I reserved a camp site back in March at Peninsula State Park where we spent 4 nights. Then we went down to Wisconsin Dells to the Yogi Bear Campground (at the recommendation of my sister and her husband) for one night, then up to Bemidji, MN to visit my grandma and grandpa as my grandma just had open heart surgery. Here is our trip in pictures!

Can you BELIEVE this pic?!!! All 5 actually looking and smiling!!! This may be a one time event folks, take note!

This is my little miss KK, she is my adventurous little ladyHotel + hotel beds + 5 kids = wrestling, jumping and fun
We got to our campsite at Peninsula State Park much later than we wanted (that is definitely the way it always goes!) and so no one was at the entrance and we forgot our paperwork. We had no idea which site was ours and it was dark! Gotta love an adventure! I was prasing the Lord for our technilogical age and good cell service as we used Todd's blackberry to get online and look up our account to find our site number. I figure leaving only a day and a half after camp, and that being the only thing I forgot, I did okay. The middle man had one job while we set up the camper...don't let the babies eat rocks! He was fairly successful. :)
We had lots of things go wrong at the beginning of our trip. A water jug leaked in our camper and soaked most of Todd's and my clothes. I am sure it will be funny later!
The first day out there we went to Whitefish Dunes State Park. That had an awesome beach but other than that wasn't so great.

We took a hike there that was somewhat of a disaster! It was a really cool trail but much of it was lined with poison ivy on both sides. Try keeping a four year old and a 2 year old in the center of a trail! We hiked to a look out at the top of the tallest sand dune which was 100 feet above the water. Here is super dad carrying one of the babies and trying to contain the little man.
I was there too, here is my shadow to prove it!
Next we went to Cave Point County Park which was connected to the Dunes State Park. This place was awesome. We climbed all over rocks and played in the water here. The waves have made sea caves into the rock here and it is really beautiful. The boys loved it here!

The water really was that green
Brothers
There was a neat tree there that the boys just Had to climb
The boys were great helpers on this trip. The hauled alot of water, and dried dishes for every meal.
They also helped dad build the fires
The girls roasted their first smores...but will have to wait till later to taste them! The second day out there we went to Washington Island on a ferry. It was so sad because I forgot the most important thing besides food for the babies, my camera!!!! Oh well, we had some fun anyway. It was a little challenging as there was so much to remember and bring with. We realized this day that some things are just not fun with our family at this stage of the game. We require large amounts of transition time so moving around to many places, especially if our bikes were involved was not always worth it. The day was fun and we sawa cool things. We went on a "trian" tour and learned about the island and its history. We saw Schoolhouse Beach and later biked there. It is an amazing beach of smooth stones. But in the end, it was not the most relaxing day. If you want to see Washington Island pics check this out as my sister went there as well. You can also see pics of the fish boil at her site. We did that on the way back from Washington Island at the same place she went, and again I still did not have a camera. Fish boils are a tradition there and a really neat experience. It also happened to be our anniversary that day so that was something fun to do for our day.
The girls needed a good scrub after a few days so they both got baths
The third day there was the most relaxing. We went to Nicollet Beach right at Peninusla State Park and spent a few hours. It is a great beach with very shallow and thus warmer water. All of us had a blast here. Even the girls loved playing in the water!

KR is so funny because she always sits with her legs spread way far apart

A teenage girl befriended us at the beach and loved playing with the girls. She built this little pool for them to play in. We also met another nice couple from Chicago that had two kids 13 months apart. We always enjoy all the neat people we meet along the way on these trips.
Todd and his girls
There was an observation tower at the park as well. The older boys and Todd really enjoyed this. I made it to right below the second big level and my fear sent me packing, oh well.
Here is a view of Horseshoe Island from the tower
We enjoyed the Cave Point County Park so much that we went back for an afternoon. We were so glad we did too because it was very windy and there were big waves crashing in. The guys had a blast getting soaked by these waves! Here are my men, I sure do love them all!
This was one of the first waves to get them
It didn't take them long to get right in there!
The big man took on some of the biggest ones. Check out the person jumping in the background here. Scroll down to see Todd doing this too.

The girls and I kept our distance, I didn't think they would be too impressed with geting soaked by cold water

So Todd decided to try the jump that many people were taking. If it had been the other day, I amy have too. It was warmer then and clamer and I am not afraid of water at all. However, this day was cold, the water was cold and the waves were big...no thanks. He did it though and here is how it went...

Camping is not complete with out some smores and just plain marshmellow stuffing!
We biked to a lighthouse and the a park in our state park on the last night there. That was very fun too. The girls love to swing! Here is KK
and KR
Our crew at the lighthouse

Like I said above, we wrapped up our trip with a night with Yogi Bear. All of us really enjoyed this place. There is a great little water park there and they show old Yogi Bear cartoons outdoors on a big screen at night. Here are my little sweeties all bundled up after swimming.
They love the water!
The middle man and the big man loved the slides

We have found with twins, as those who have twins already know, that we draw a crowd most or at least much attention most places we go. These kids were fascinated with the babies and the boy in the front followed us around and wanted to be in all our pics! He was so cute!
In case you have noticed or wondered why there are very few pics of our little man. There is a very good reason for this. He is very hard to get pictures of! He is never, ever still and when I do get a pic he always seems to be blinking or something. I will have to try a little harder in the future I think.

Swimming in Berries

2009-07-22T00:02:00.006-05:00

We had such a fun time as a family this last weekend. Our family this summer has included one of the teen girls that serves with us in the CYIA program. She has been living with us this summer when she is not out teaching 5-Day Clubs in other places. It has been a joy to have her here this summer. The kids love having her around, and so do we!

This last weekend we just hung out here a bit on Friday night, then on Saturday we had promised the boys we would go swimming. So, we packed everybody up and headed into the local pool. It was a great time despite the fact that the water was a bit on the cold side. After that, we loaded up and went out to my in-laws' farm where we had supper and went berry picking. Grandma watched the babies while the rest of us went on a bumpy, adventurous ride out to the patch that Grandpa had spied a few days before. The branches were heavy with berries and we all had fun picking...and eating!

We wrapped up our weekend with a spontaneous "Bring Your Own Meat BBQ" at our house with old friends and some new friends from church. Todd and I have discussed lately how there really is no ideal time to have people over. Our life is always so random and crazy, so we need to just jump at parties when we have a chance. So, that is exactly what we have been doing for the last few months and what we did on Sunday. It was a lot of fun and once again we were reminded what great friends God has blessed us with.

KR, the girls are so funny. They love to sit in the grass which is not every babies favorite past time.

Our little sweeties LOVE to be outside.

My middle man being his crazy self!

The big man going off the diving board at the pool

Todd and the little man going down the slide

My men, I sure love them!

Headed down the trail to pick berries

The boys in the middle of the patch

The little man and me, he got a bigger kick out of throwing the berries...so we tried to occupy him with other things

It was nice to see Todd take a break and enjoy some time with the kids in the midst of extreme craziness right now with camp only days away

2009-07-17T00:21:00.005-05:00

I don't think I have mentioned recently how much I love this man! God has so richly blessed me through my husband and sometimes I am not so good at making sure he knows that. The above picture is an average day. No, we are not always in a beautiful lake in MN, but everyday despite long hours of work, he takes the time to wrestle, play with, read to and talk with our kids. I love that!

He also works very hard every day to provide for our family and take care of our home, but most importantly to grow the Kingdom. I love that too! I am so thankful for how he leads and loves both me and our kids.

Recently, he planned an awesome date for us (I ended up being very sick that day but that is another story). It is very rare for us to get away alone this time of year, but my parents were coming so he worked out for us to go horseback riding. We had an awesome time, and it totally fueled my desire to get a horse. :) I was so sick I forgot to get a pic of the two of us, but here are a few that I did think to get.

The horses all ready to go.

This was the view where we were riding. We were riding on top of bluffs running parallel to those.

Todd on his horse.

Thanks again for an amazing time! I love you!

Camping in MN

2009-07-12T18:23:00.009-05:00

The fourth of July is always a difficult holiday for our family. We like to do something different every year and not typical of how we spent it in the past. Pretty much every year we end up camping in a different location. We have found that it is nice to go to state parks because there is no partying and no fireworks, which is really great for Todd and I. This year we went to Itasca State Park in MN. It turned out my younger sister and her fam were planning on camping there around that time anyway so we planned it together.

Before heading to camp I was able to spend a few days at my mom and dad's place and then Todd met up with us at the state park on the weekend. It was so great to spend time with my mom and Dad, my brother and his fam, and much extended family. We had tons of fun there, the only problem was that it went way too fast!

We also had an awesome time camping. I love doing things over the fourth where we stay very active and busy and I have little down time to think too much. There are far too many difficult memories from that time that don't do me any good to relive. My parents, my brother and his fam, and Todd's sister and her kids all joined us for a fun time at the park on the fourth. Then the next day my parents and grandparents joined us for an afternoon and evening of fun.

Overall, we did a lot of biking, playing in the water, playing baseball, and just hanging out. Here are some pics to highlight our time.

This is KR with two of her cousins at my parent's house

This is my little man with my sister's boy who is close to the same age. They always have fun together.

The middle man at the headwaters of the Mississippi

This is when Todd caught up with us on Saturday. I had some pretty excited boys!

My dad crossing the Mississippi with some of the grandkids

We made a tent on the beach for the babies one day to get them out of the heat.

Todd and the boys playing in the water

My younger sister and I at the beach

The babies (KK, KR) in the bike trailer

Here was part of the trail we biked on

The MN state flower, the pink lady slipper

Standing in the Mississippi

The big man and his cousin

My sister and her husband were telling us about these young guys they saw scaling this whole play structure without touching the ground. We, of course, thought we should do it too so...we did. Here is my sister on one part of it

Here is me on another. Can't turn down a good physical challenge!

Me, hot and sweaty at the end of it with my middle man

One afternoon Todd and my brother-in-law took the older three boys to the 100 foot fire tower. This is not my thing, or my sister's so we gladly stayed back while the little ones took a nap. Here are the boys at the top.

The tower

The little man down at the lake by our campsite

The big man playing in the water

There wer a ton of dead crawfish which absolutely fascinated the boys

The whole fam

Our last night camping

Looking back

2009-07-10T23:29:00.003-05:00

5 years ago today we buried that sweet little baby. As I write this I can remember the moment so clearly it is as if I could step into the moment again. I remember wanting to stop them from lowering him in the hole. I just wanted to grab that box and hold that chubby little guy, and kiss those cheeks one more time. I knew then, and still know, that he wasn't in that little body anymore anyway. I knew he was in the hands of our loving Father. But, the human side of me wanted to hang on just a little bit longer. It was the most difficult day of my life and yet there was so much joy in feeling so close to heaven I could almost touch it.

I looked at my other post today and am so thankful for the Lord's many blessing in our lives. We have not one but two sweet babies to play with, kiss and hold right now, and three amazing boys to wrestle, read to and snuggle with. God is so good, whether we had all that or not, He would still be good. And so today, I am thankful.

Feelin Smart

2009-07-10T13:44:00.007-05:00

These girls are feelin pretty smart lately. As you can see, we are very close to movement here! I am gearing up for the chaos.

Even cuteness can make messes

2009-07-09T20:31:00.004-05:00

So as incredibly cute as those two are, they have the capability of making incredible messes! Many of you have already heard of one of their crowning achievements (and there have been several since) but I will retell the story here for those who have not heard.

So a couple weeks ago, these two little cuties were laying diaperless to help clear up an infection they had. I had to run downstairs and was gone for five minutes. In that time, they both managed to poop, roll in it and play in it. It was all over them (hair, hands and mouth included) and in the carpet. I paused long enough to take a couple pics and then tackled the crazy mess. Let me tell you though, I had no idea where to begin with two of them eating it! Here are the pics so you can visualize what went on. in the pics it is not easy to see how it completely covers them as it was very light colored, but believe me...it covered them!

KK squishing it with her hands

Fun with Friends

2009-06-24T21:47:00.007-05:00

Today the kids and I went here (it is just a 1 1/2 miles down the road from our house)...

...and had a picnic with a bunch of great friends.The babies were a big attraction for many of the kids...

...and so was the water

Moms and kiddos all had a great time!

CYIA Training

2009-06-23T12:05:00.008-05:00

We just got home from two weeks at our CYIA (Christian Youth In Action) Training. This is a training that we do for teens in order to equip them to teach children in 5-Day Clubs, and to challenge the teens themselves in their own walk with the Lord. It is an intense two weeks of training and very exhausting for the staff. However, it is also a joy and a privilege to see how God moves and works in and through the lives of theses teens. He also does a little work on our own lives while we are there. :)
Much goes on during this time and it would be hard to capture it all but here are a few picture highlights from the time spent at the camp. I was not sure how this would all go this year having five young kids but the kids did awesome, so we are praising the Lord for that! This was the first year of Training where I considered packing winter coats and boots. It was very cold the first few days but eventually we moved to beatiful, warm days. Here are the girls all bundled up.

KR, KK

Here is one of the classes the students had to go through.

We were extremely excited to have my sister-in-law and her two kids at camp with us this year. My SIL helped in the kitchen and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins!

We set up a little nursery area in the dining hall. It made for a great place for the girls to roll around and play. They love to have the freedom to move.

Here is an example of one of the students teaching a Bible lesson. They are trained how to tell a Bible story and throughout the story pull out and share various points about the Gospel message.

This is the campfire down in this big sand pit on Saturday night. It wraps up what we call the Day of Prayer. It is an afternoon and eveing set aside for a whole bunch of activities focused on their discipleship.

Here is my sister-in-law with KK

She and I and my mother-in-law took all the kids to the zoo Saturday so they would have something to do during the Day of Prayer activities. We had a blast! Here is the little man with the otters.

The boys were fascinated with the lion.

The people here with Todd and I are our amazing staff. We are so thankful for each one of them and all the talents and gifts they bring to the team. On top of all that, we just have a lot of fun with them!

Here is my big man with his cousin. They hooped it up quite a bit.

We got to go to an outdoor theatre and see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat on "Surprise Night", which is a night when we take the whole camp off sight and do some fun things just to give them a break. Here is the little man hamming it up with one of the teens.

Here is the amazing show!

A couple pf the girls studying

My big man with KR, he is so great with his sisters!

My middle man

The boys had a "car" wash for their bikes

All in all, it was a challenging but great two weeks. We faced some spiritual warfare but God walked us through it and reminded us that it just mean He was working through this camp and these teens. It will be nice to be home for a little while now.

Undeserved Blessings

2009-06-20T16:36:00.006-05:00

We just got home last night after being gone for two weeks at a training camp that we do for teens. Some of you may remember last year at this same time we came home to a huge surprise. Our kitchen, dining room and hallway had all been textured and painted. Our house was also clean, lawn mowed, bedding washed and beds remade, and flowers planted.

Well, we got home last night and had our socks blessed off again! Since moving here six years ago, we have been reminded over and over again what amazing friends the Lord has blessed us with. We don't deserve them or their kindness and all they do for us is appreciated beyond what we are even able to explain. We came home to a house that had been scraped, primed and painted. Our deck had been primed and one coat of paint done, our lawn mowed, house cleaned, beds made with clean bedding, and flowers planted including two beautiful arrangements in pots on our deck! And it all looks awesome!!!!

This time around my friend and I had discussed what she could do while we were gone. She wanted to do another project. We talked about the house, but I ended up injuring my back and by the time it felt better I was swamped with getting curriculum wrote for camp and other prep. I was not able to get the house scraped, we hadn't settled for sure on a color, along with a few other things in the way of getting it done. I found out later, that didn't stop this friend or anyone else. During the second week of camp I was told out our house was being painted but had no idea about everything else.

The thing you need to know is that camp is physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually exhausting! We come home wiped out in all those areas. I needed some encouragement this particular day. We were meeting with our board and Todd told the board and me that our house was being painted. The whole board got to see me cry. So to my friends involved in any way, know that you were a part of making me cry in front of a lot of people! Thank you! Working with 40-60 teens for two weeks is truly a joy but as I have said, quite draining and words can not express what an encouragement and a blessing it is to have friends like we do.

So, to all of you involved in blessing us with the work on out house, thank you so very much! Also, thank you to all of you who pray for us and pray us through the work of this ministry. We truly could not do it without any of you! We pray the Lord's blessings on each of your lives.

Every Morning

2009-06-02T14:37:00.004-05:00

This is what I get to wake up to every morning...could life get any better than that.