October Scrapblog

We have a DUCK POND!!!!

OK so this might not be BIG NEWS for you, but for my poor little desert ducks and geese who have only ever had a small blue swimming pool from Wal-Mart... let me tell you this is a BIG deal. But the funny part... my poor desert ducks who had never been more than knee deep in water didn't quite know what on earth to do with the pond at first. So we took away their trusty blue pool and well, they had to drink from it... and then the goose seemed almost to knock the duck in and laugh and then.... they all tried it out and they LOVE it! And me, well I am tired and sore from helping Justyn dig it out but it's awesome & we did it!

for a perspective of size, I asked the kids to stand near it, and of course. Justyn got goofy
desert ducks running toward the dogs to avoid the water
still waiting (Justyn actually snapped this one of the pond) no ducks or geese yet

PLAYTIME!!!!

Discovering our History

We are blessed to have friends out here that are not only locals, they know the history of this beautiful area. Monday, they took us off roading to see some of the historical mines and other places that are now only in ruins, back from when miners were prevalent during gold rush times, and cattlemen were in high demand. We learned where the natural spring was that they hauled water from for years before they go a well, that there are still cattle driven on those lands today, the ruins of a once very prosperous little town, several mines (one we actually explored a little bit) and so much more. We had a terrific day! A terrific tour guide! Great fellowship and fun! Between our 3 families including the little ones there were 16 kids. We have our own bonafide little homeschool group. Here are just a few photos of our terrific Monday adventures!

God's incredible creation was everywhere especially as we took this long and winding road up a couple thousand feet in elevation. The air cooled off and it was just breathtaking. Sometimes it's almost too much for me to believe that the God of the universe that created such majesty cares just for me... but Zepheniah 3:17 says "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."
The God of the universe that created every part of this incredible world sings over me. not that I deserve it, but He loves me anyway.

jennifer

Snapshot Sunday

One handsome kid that stopped to let me shoot his photo... Justyn is growing up way too fast!
Kiahboy at the park
waiting for mommy to get her haircut!
The boys went with daddy to get theirs freshly cut
a terrific picture of the brown eyed boy!
sweet ..... discovering God's beutiful flowers
Arianna in a tree with her friend (yes, that would be our girl up a tree in a skirt!)
Arianna and little gus before church- Aren't these girls just the cutest!
Kiah with a goofy smile at a friends house
out for a ride at a friend's house
New Friends to celebrate with
Little thrill seeker on the big kid playgound- I might add I took this photo from beneath her!
enjoying and icee coke at the park
drawing with some new friends

more icee cokes! mmmmmmmmm.....

A Humble Thank You

.

So many of you have email and even a few commented because of the the comment I left at Bring the Rain.... and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank each and every one of you for sharing your stories with me and for praying for us- sharing again with me the hope we have in Christ. When I got online this morning I was humbled beyond measure at all the people that had stopped by my blog, and took the time to email, leave a comment and even those that didn't. I never imagined in my blogging so many would care.

I want to share with you that we are doing better. We have re-plugged in to a local church. We attended there for about a year- we have been welcomed back with open arms and loving hearts. God will heal all our wounds that have been there recently God will heal in His time. We are in His care. Ultimately this was His child, on loan to us- we will meet this little one when we step into Glory. And until then the little one is safe in the arms of Jesus. I have only one photo of the little miracle, taken probably days before we lost him or her.

We are back to homeschooling full time again. Most of September was half days. I just didn't have the strength to do it all. I bled for over 2 weeks, had 2 emergency trips to the ER complete with 5 bags of fluid (grand total) , paperwork was drawn up for a transfusion but one never came to pass. I know there was a time where Frank was concerned he was losing me too- it was a frightening time for us. Arianna is back to a volunteer schedule once a week, Micah just began his violin lessons yesterday and we are busy.

Frank and I are doing better as well. That initial reaction to him was frightening to me. We are working diligently at not pushing each other away. In fact we made a faith choice to continue to trust God for our family size and needs despite the miscarriage. I know I am still scared, about losing another, but I know God is bigger than my fear.

Life goes on out here in the middle of nowhere, a Marine goes back to work, we fall back into school and feeding horses and day to day chores- and we thank you. each of you. for all your kind words and reminders in Scripture. God Bless you.

<><

jennifer

A very touchy subject

So, I've been thinking. Can a born again Christian vote for Mickey Mouse? Probably not, since they do "once upon a fairy tale gay weddings" at Disney....

I was sitting behind a very nice lady at church Sunday morning who, at the end of Sunday School, got up and passed by the travelling missionary table, who just happened to have "vote", "McCain", "McCain,Palin" pins. She stopped by their table and thumbed through the basket full of pins and walked away mumbling.... " well they are racist. No barack pins"

Are we so enamored by the words a man speaks that we as believers have forgotten that he believes in pro-choice (aka : murder) and supports gay marriage as well as a flurry of MANY other non Christlike values?

Now, let me say this. I am not a McCain "fan", nor do my personal views on Sarah Palin seem to be near to the average Christian woman... but when we - as professed believers- start listening to sugary messages of hope and leave behind the issues, we are in deep trouble.... so PLEASE if you are registered to vote in the USA go here:

http://www.vote-smart.org/election_president.php

check out what your leaders do and don't stand for. And don't vote for Mr Mouse, only because that will help the democratic party get what they want.... Frank wants to write Chuck Norris in on the ballot. Honestly I don't know how I feel about this election. All I am saying is vote for what the Bible says is right,
not a guy that makes it all sound good.

<><

Perspective

today we made shoebox gifts for kids in Mexico. It was an enlightening process. We had planned on doing 6 boxes - one from each of our children & one for the baby that would have been born in the spring had I not miscarried. Plans changed. We ended up doing 8 because we got a few pairs of shoes over the weekend, so now there is one from each person in the family....

because there was 8 however, there were now only 6 coloring books, colored pencils etc...you get the idea, BUT there was TONS of stuff to fill the boxes; yo-yos, paddle balls, stuffed critters, crayons, candy, stickers....all sorts of stuff! Honestly, had we tried to cram it all into the 6 boxes they would have exploded!

At the end we had a time of prayer over the boxes and then I asked a question.

me: "So, if this was going to be your only Christmas present how would you react?"

Micah: " that's it?"

Arianna " disappointed"

Justyn " I dont want this for Christmas.... shouldn't we get what we want for Christmas?"

me: " wow."

why do we think we deserve something for Christmas? Why do we think Christmas just isn't special without a pile of wrapped packages under a tree? Why do we think in order to celebrate we have to have huge traditional meals? Or that we have to spend huge amounts of money spending it with family? Or that we need to bake 15 different batches of cookies (which I am very guilty of)? Or that we need to spend more than we ought in order to have a good time? Not that those things are bad(well some are), but if they take the place of the ONE whom we should be celebrating??????

then we talked about greed, and the purpose of even sending these boxes is so that the Lockwoods get an opportunity to share the Gospel with more children in Mexico, not to get a bunch of stuff. Don't get me wrong, the items are nice- just not what my kids would want under their own tree....

Christmas shouldn't be about toys or presents, I came under heavy conviction of that last year...in fact it is an area that is requiring much prayer in my life. And as a child thats really what it was about for me. In fact, for the very first time LAST YEAR we went to Church on Christmas eve- even as believers we have never done that. It was all about the traditional Christmas eve dinner- God is still searching our hearts on all of this....I don't want my children growing up with the need of Christmas greed... because we do know it should be all about the Saviour if we are celebrating it.... what do I mean if....well that's another post for another day.

cookies, dinosaurs & busy"ness"...OH MY!

Pizzelli cookies to share with new friends
Daddy at the creation museum
panning for gold

I have been absent from here! I have been working on a very hands on "project" for two very special ladies in my life.... both of our mom's - soooooo if you are reading this- yes it is both of you! Needless to say I can't tell you anything about the project but it is time consuming and yet so very neat!

So, what have we been doing you may ask....

school, taking pictures, celebrating birthdays, getting chased by dinosaurs(jk), shoe shopping....

Arianna looked at me tonight and asked why there are no pictures of me on my blog....

me: "silly, cuz I take the pictures"

her: "we need to change that"

did I mention that I hate having my picture taken, that I am super self conscious about it, that I would much prefer to be behind a lens than in front of one.... but in more than 1000 photos on my hard drive (I have been backing them up) I am in less than 10. I have more photos of inanimate school projects than I do of me. And if something were to happen to me there are very few photos of me in the last 5 years - maybe more (years that is- less photos) . And those are mostly background photos.... so pray for me, that I get over it!

Tomorrow we have declared a workday. We have a liner for a pond we are going to dig for the ducks and geese, stalls to muck, horses to groom, shoeboxes to fill for the Lockwood family to distribute to the kids in Mexico, and then showers and King's kid's in the evening! A busy day. Thursday we are off to some new friends house to hang out and fellowship then off to the park on Friday to hang out and fellowship with friends there. In between school and such it is a very. busy. week.

Did I mention that next week Micah begins violin lessons?

so here are a few photos and I am off to bed.....

<><
jennifer

Photos, Friends, and Prayer Requests

Our power is scheduled to be out tonight starting at 9 pm (a big KUDOS to you guys NOT dependent on the power grid!!!!) so I am posting early... Anyhow I thought I would upload a few photos of my other children before we go to black... they are from our birthday celebrations last week (see- I didn't just take photos of the birthday girl and boy!)

Yesterday we were able to spend a few hours with some friends before they move. The girls had fun snapping photos and both our blog and Arianna's blog got a face lift courtesy of Danny! Arianna has photos posted on her blog of our time together. Pray for them as they get ready to move.

On a more serious note, on that...to be continued post...that I haven't had the chance to continue.... well we are supposed to go back to the park tomorrow where last weeks fight took place. A friend of mine ordered some Good and Evil books from No Greater Joy I will probably have a handful of tracts on me from Dare to Share and we plan to attempt to share the Gospel with some of those teens at the park should they choose to come back tomorrow. Please pray for us.

After the park that day I was able to meet one of the teens involved in the fight. Actually we were sitting outside our local feed store waiting for Frank when I saw him. I prayed a prayer that went something like this "Lord, if you give me an opening to talk to this young man, I will take it" Do you know what happens when you tell God something like that? He gives you an opening. The young man sauntered across the street into the tile shop right next door to the feed shop JUST as Frank returned to the car. So I told Frank I would be back shortly and went to find him. His name was Sonny. He is new to the area and it was - as he said " an unplanned fight that was a one time thing" Except my 4 year old thought he was Aaron (a kid that was part of the youth group we led last year). God gave me an opportunity to meet Sonny, make sure he was ok, and even a moment to invite him to church. Please pray for him.

Also there have been big changes in the last few weeks as far as church goes for us. In June we left a ministry locally, spent the summer in fellowship with a few of those families from that church doing some home churching, but just recently decided to go back to the church we came from when we first arrived here. I do not believe in church hopping, so guilt got the best of us and we sat down with the Pastor last night and had a real honest conversation, a good one. He is a terrific man of God, and while still a man, you certainly can follow his leading. We are far more fundamental when it comes to the Bible than I sometimes want to admit to. Anyhow pray for us as we transition back into this church, that the wounds we are healing from God will heal completely , and that we will still maintain the treasured friendships we found while we were away.

OHHHHHHHH..... and I know this is a long post already.... please keep in Prayer the Lockwood Family - missionaries to Mexico. They have a Category 4 headed their way on the Baja Penninsula of Mexico. This incredible family is reaching the people down there with the Gospel while having 12 beautiful children (their youngest is due in May). Please pray for them as they ride out this storm down there and minister to those in the area, as well as safety & wisdom for their family.

I think that's all the news from here....
<><
Jennifer

Birthday Photos!!!!

Saturday was MaryRachael's 2nd birthday. Time has gone by too fast. We went out to the market to get some fresh veggies, then out to lunch, after that shoe shopping of course! Although by this point she was a little overtired so we cut it short. Mac n cheese for dinner (at her request) and then a heart shaped cake for our sweet princess.Mary Rachael with her birthday lunch- her fave! Spaghetti
posing with a pretty 2 year old smile
mmmmmmm..... the icing is great!
Want some?


Micah turned 7 on Friday. He requested donuts for breakfast, and then we headed to the park to have pizza with friends as well as his cookie cake (that he helped make).There were some interesting unbirthday like events that took place that afternoon, but that's not what this post is about. Home in the evening with presents, a movie and leftover pizza & cake! What a fun day!
at the park Mutt rides his motorcycle through the grass... thanks Grandma& Grandpa!

cozy new jammies with a cowboy twist!

Grandma Gail & Grandpa Joe sent the ever popular star wars LEGOS!!!!!!!

A king sized chocolate chip cookie cake

finally...right. yeah, I definately dropped the ball. Other issues weighing on my heart. But here are some photos from our special 2 days! I will post more photos of the other kids too in the next few days!
<><
Jennifer

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at our birthday celebration days!

What I learned on my summer vacation

ok, well.... we took the summer off from homeschooling- per my husbands suggestion. We had just recently left a church, abandoned a ministry, and were licking our wounds.

but there is one thing I really believed. The IGNITION Ministry came to an end, the one that reached out to teens, the one with the key verse of 1 Peter 1:7


"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"

It was a challenge to those teens, but for us it was more than that. It was about reaching teens one by one and igniting a passion for Christ in them one. soul. at. a. time.

And then, the events I witnessed Friday changed my perspective.

Is the Ignition Team ministry Frank and I? Can we still win souls for Christ's glory? Can we still talk to teens on the street, share our faith and invite them to church.... why can't we? Shouldn't we at least try if God has gifted us with a heart for youth and a passion for sharing the Gospel.

So what changed my "perspective" you might ask...?

A fight. Not just any fight.

Friday afternoon as we were fellowshipping with friends at the park celebrating Micah's Birthday on one side of the park a few cars full of teenagers arrived, then a few more, and a few more.... and at first they were just hanging out, but as the numbers grew there was a certain "climate change"- tension. they began to cross the park, a group of 50 or so teenagers- almost like a scene from a movie..and then they turned and went toward the football field. My friends and I who had been assessing the situation (not to mention the potential safety of our children) began to think we had jumped the gun and prematurely assumed the worst...maybe they were just there to play football after all...

About 5 minutes had passed and they headed back our way, but stopped outside a building just before the park. This time however "contenders" with their shirts off emerged, throwing punches, and punching hard. They meant business. It seemed to be a planned fight. By this time the crowd had grown, at least another 15 people...the police were called, the kids scattered...


As we were talking after things settled, I realized what a missed opportunity. As Christians we so rarely put our mouth where we say our heart is. One woman suggested that with "those kids" it might have been too dangerous, they could have had weapons, or in as great a number as they were in they could have overtaken us, or maybe those kind of people just weren't worth it.... WHAT?????

Is Jesus not worth it?

Why not?

Was it not Jesus who chose his disciples from a brood of less than savory men? Is it not true that Jesus hung out with sinners? What makes "those kids" any different from the people that Jesus touched with His ministry day to day? Aren't those the very people we need to reach? Since when are church houses filled with the righteous- are we not all simply a lot of sinners that have been saved by Grace? Are we so pious that we cannot even share the Gospel with one person?

so HOW?

(To BE Continued....)

God is SO good!

The camera has been located! and is currently charging for the very special Micah day (which by the way happens tomorrow) And for those of you that don't know it's the big *7* We are headed to the park in the afternoon for Pizza with friends. Daddy even got the day off to spend it with us.
I have to pick up some balloons and such to decorate the kitchen 9 like I usually do.

thanks for all of you that prayed for us to find it!

A Strange Prayer Request

Since my miscarriage my brain has been elsewhere some days... apparently last week was one of those times. I uploaded the photos from Frank's re-enlistment and then....

misplaced my camera.

which has been a bummer since I have not located it yet....

but would you pray that I find it ..I mean since God can answer even the simplest of prayers...

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And since Micah's 7th birthday and MaryRachael's 2nd Birthday BOTH happen this weekend , I am really praying that I would find it soon!

<><
Jennifer