Thankgiving Celebration

Okay...so I'm a little behind! Thought I would try out the new slideshow feature-let me know what you think !

Prayers Needed...

UPDATE: Henry had some tests and an MRI done this week. The good news is that he's able to swallow and take a bottle. The tragic news is that it appears he is blind, and he has damage to all four quadrants of his brain.

I'm being forced to explore the whole theme of forgiveness, as I try to, for very brief moments only, put myself in this family's position. If someone were to do to Anna what the day"care" provider did to Henry, how would I cope? Would I be able to say "Blessed be the name of the Lord" in this situation, when the trail is marked with suffering? Would I persist in rage at the complete unfairness of it all, the tragedy of my precious baby's life being hijacked? Or would I dissolve into bottomless sorrow...or something in-between?

I do know that God has promised that His grace is sufficient for all things, and that by putting myself in their shoes, I indeed do not have the grace to handle their situation, because I'm not really in it. I only have enough grace to handle the things that I have to handle today...which blessedly are trivial compared to the trials Henry's family is enduring. I am tired, but not from a bedside vigil. We are stressed, but my children have eyes that see. The proverbial financial belt is tight, but we do not have hospital bills looming. My children may drive me crazy some days, but they are healthy, smart, funny, charming, exploring, discovering, developing bundles of life and joy. And I weep for Henry's family, who have these blessings that I enjoy and take for granted, stripped away in one senseless moment. I cry a prayer of joy and gratitude when Anna "Joy"fully greets me in the morning.

Yet God's love and forgiveness encompass this woman who abused Henry. I cannot fathom it, but He wouldn't be a God worth His salt if He couldn't. That's one of the million and one reasons why God is God and I'm not...for now, I will simply seek His face and challenge myself to be like Him, even in the face of tragedy.
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Through a connection Mark has with the ministers in Seward, we have learned of a family in SD who desperately needs prayer for their 6 mos. old baby, Henry.

A few weeks ago we was abused by his daycare provider...I'm not clear on whether he is still in a coma or not, but the dr's prognosis is permanent brain damage and possible blindness. (The daycare provider shook him and slammed him against the floor when he wouldn't stop crying...he also has a broken wrist).

Our heart is just breaking for this family, and we're trusting with them in our God who is the Great Physician!

If you want to keep up-to-date with prayer needs, they have a blog going, at http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do You will need to register to view the site, but it's quick and easy to do.
Thanks for praying with us for this little one!

Daddy's trick...

Mark was attempting to feed Anna the other day, which can be problematic because she's such a thumb-sucker. After each bite, she'll try to stick her thumb in her mouth, and she's really quick at switching hands if you get hold of just one. So, to make holding both of her hands easier, Mark decided to just hang on the sleeves of her shirt! It frustrated her at first, but really no more than it frustrates her when I hold both of her hands with one of mine. Good trick, dad!

Guess who?

I would give you three guesses as to whose nose we had to aspirate a piece of corn out of...but then again, we only have 5 people in our family. Two of them are adults, who have moved beyond the phase of sticking corn up one's nose. One is a baby, who doesn't have corn yet-and though her brothers could do that to her, she wasn't nearby the incident in question.
So that leaves at most two guesses. But anyone who really "knows" our family, really only needs one guess...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let my people go!

In our sorting out/packing process, Mark found this headdress from his trip to Israel. The boys loved it! Ever since learning about Pharoah and Moses, one of Jacob's standard lines while getting undressed (while his shirt is still up on his head) is "Let my people go!" It was novelty to not have to use a shirt to play the game!

Along the way...

We saw all these sheep on the way to Anchorage last Friday...

Fire Station Field Trip!

Last Friday, we were privileged to join a field trip hosted by our local Christian homeschool association.
We visited Anchorage's largest fire station, and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Jacob, not being a school-ager, could only go if another adult accompanied him (besides myself), so Rebecca graciously agreed to go along, and I had Anna in the front-pack.

I'm not sure what fascinated the boys most! They said they liked seeing the trucks the best, but the sliding pole must have been high on the list, too. It was so funny to see their faces the first time one of the firemen came sliding down the pole to answer the door...surprised that they actually used it!




Andrew was always right at the front of the group, hanging on every word! I was amazed later at how much information he had picked up!

They first showed us through the "Big House," their kitchen and living quarters, and then showed a fire safety film in the theater room. Then we headed out to the garage to see the trucks! They wanted to climb in the trucks, but I think they weren't allowed simply because it is the largest, busiest station in the city, and wouldn't want a bunch of kids on a truck that was needed! In fact, they even had to switch tour guides because the one we had initially was called out on one of the rescue trucks.


Did you know: With two hoses spraying at full capacity, it takes only 3 minutes to empty the engine of 850 gallons of water?!


Jacob really liked the trucks, too...though he was one tired boy! (We had to leave the house at 8 a.m. to make it...though I think we all agreed that it was worth it)! After getting a tour of the trucks, one of the firemen suited up, explaining as he went what each piece of gear was for. Then he even got down and crawled toward each of the kids, announcing that "This is the fire department...is there anyone here?" so that they would know what he would look and sound like if they were actually being rescued from a fire.



All in all, it was an excellent field trip, and I think the boys, particularly Andrew, got a lot out of it. We've checked out all the books from the library on fire safety, too, and have been having fire drills, testing the smoke detector so they know what to do when it goes off, etc! And an added bonus: They were given fire hats, which have been in constant use since then!

Getting ready...

Anna's getting ready to "go skiing..."

Thanksgiving Theme Unit

We had our Thanksgiving Theme unit two Fridays ago, and had lots of fun! We made mini-books about the first Thanksgiving, graphed our favorite Thanksgiving feast foods, read up on our history, and made a paper ear of Indian corn to practice making various color patterns! Since I didn't have the gumption to do an actual feast with appropriate costumes, etc, we just make butter...to at least remind them that the Pilgrims had to make everything from scratch!

They had a great time with the butter-making, passing the jars with whipping cream back and forth, shaking as hard as they could! It was yummy on fresh bread, too! But, we're thankful we don't have to churn our own butter all the time!

Gotta love the get-up...

More cereal!

Drumming

Andrew has been quite the drummer lately. We just got a new drum set for the church, and since then he's been fascinated by it, and is using the stools as drums every day! As he informs me, sometimes he uses sticks (markers) for being like the new drums, and sometimes he uses his hands like Mr. Casselman's other drums (congas). If it's not the guitar, it's the drums! (Not that I'm complaining...it's a good thing)!

Blueberry Picking!

My friend Gloria just posted her pictures from our blueberry picking trek! We went back in October when they came down for the weekend, when we left the men and children behind to forage through the forest. We had a grand time and the picking was great, as we were surrounded by bushes as laden with berries as the one Gloria has pictured!

Anna's eating cereal!

Well, Anna's finally started eating rice cereal! So, we got the high chair out...though it's ridiculously big! So, we don't use the tray often!

But, she loves her cereal and is doing well...hard to believe that she's this "old" already!
The boys find the novelty enthralling, and Jacob calls it her "baby breakfast," even though she has it at dinner time. I guess cereal=breakfast in his mind. "Is Anna going to have her baby breakfast?" Too cute! :)

Andrew and Anna

Andrew loves to hold Anna, and she really enjoys playing with him!

First skiing!

We finally were able to start skiing again! Last Sunday we got about 7 inches of snow, and several more inches since then.


Jacob had some ski time last year, but not as much as he should have...like his mother must have been pregnant or something so she didn't get him out as often as he could have been. So, his skiing has been off to a slow start, but at least he's highly amused whenever he falls!

We were so grateful to be able to buy a used pulk for Anna this year, thanks to many who sent money gifts for Anna. I know it may not seem like a "need," but when you have long winters and the only thing standing between you being stuck inside and getting out and getting exercise is a baby, a pulk for pulling the baby in becomes pretty near a necessity! So far she's not too thrilled with it, but we've also been going at Jacob's pace...which is more stop than go. We're headed out here shortly with Mark, so it should go more smoothly with one of us to help Jacob and the other to pull Anna!











Andrew, for his part, is amazing on skis this year! It's his third winter on skis, and he just flies off on his own!

Operation Christmas Child

Each year, our church works together to put boxes of Christmas presents together to send to Russia through Operation Christmas Child, a program of Samaritan's Purse. We take the boys shopping for gifts for a boy their age, and they really enjoy the process of packing and praying for boys who need to know Jesus!

Then our church works collectively to put together boxes...last year we did 42 boxes, and this year we managed 71! We have a good connection with the manager at a hardware store in Seward to get the plastic shoe boxes for really cheap, :) and a family in our church shops for sales all year....you know, like pairs of mittens for 97 cents and boxes of crayons for 39 cents, and donations from dentists for toothbrushes! We raise most of the funds for doing the shoeboxes with a few rummage sales each year. If one child comes to know Christ through the Bible tract in his box, then it's worth all of it!