14!

As with my last post, I'm late. I'm really trying, it's just that the days move too fast! Daniel celebrated his 14th birthday in January and I wonder again where has the time gone. How is it that it seems just yesterday that this little boy entered our hearts and yet he is so tall? Daniel is our outdoor guy and loves the freedom that comes from being outside four walls.

Daniel's brain is energized by looking at God's creation and his heart is tugged by the less fortunate. Just recently Daniel saw a mailing from one of our local missions that was putting out information on how to donate money so they could feed the homeless. Daniel picked it up and asked me, "Are we going to do something about this?" We are working on helping Daniel understand what he can do to help with those situations.

Daniel with his siblings enjoying the sprinkler many years ago.

Age 4 - playing at a friend's birthday party.

Feeding the pigs at The Farm in Door County, WI. It made his day!

Soccer in his younger years.

He's Snowman in the school program!

Happy Birthday #7!

A close-up of Mr. Smee (guinea pig). Daniel does a great job of caring for him!

Enjoying a family gathering.

Brothers

Hangin' out in the tree.

There is so much to think about! We've helped him choose his high school classes and he's toying with the idea of trying football in the fall. This summer Daniel would like to run a pet-sitting business and we have challenged him to put together a small business plan which he has begun to think about.

Happy (belated) Birthday Daniel!

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May you walk faithfully in the ways of the Lord all your days.

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God holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones."

Proverbs 2:7-8

Joel! (a very delayed post I didn't want to skip)

Joel is our oldest son and 17 years ago this past December he came into the world weighing 8# 15oz. We joke with him and tell him that I was never the same after his delivery. The truth is that knowing Joel is a true blessing and I will never be the same because I have gotten to know Joel.

Because this is a very late birthday post I thought I would share 5 things about Joel.

#1 - He is a goal-setter. Joel often has a list on a whiteboard in his room with goals he has decided to reach. I love it that often those goals have to do with his walk with the Lord. (But his bed may not be made.) This past fall Joel decided to start running and greatly has enjoyed being a part of his high school cross country team. #2 - He is willing to try something new.


#3 - He is a good big brother. Having several younger siblings that enjoy 'finding' birthday presents for each other you never know quite what you are going to get. But he was a great sport and ooohh'd and aahh'd over each one. *

Pink stickers that say "Cheers".

A little handmade pillow and a personal size tube of used toothpaste.

#4 - Joel has a great sense of humor though it may be hidden from some.* Actually he appears to be hiding in a shower display at the IKEA store here.

#5 - He is going to be a great "poor college student". He's up for a Goodwill shopping trip* to see what we can find for fun and he holds on to his money.

Another present from a sibling.

I know I said I would share 5 things about Joel but as I write this I think I should share #6 as well. It is an encouragement to me that Joel has a growing relationship with the Lord. He is disciplined to be in the Word.
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There is a verse that I think of as I think of Joel:

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"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

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(*Even though his bed may not be made.)

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Love you Joel,

Mom*

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2010

Last night at dinner we were talking about what was good about 2009. As you can imagine for our kids many of the things that were good were fun things we had done during the year or something special they had received. It was fun to look back at the year with them. I am so very thankful for another year where we saw the Lord's faithfulness, good health, our kids growing and learning. There are so many things to be thankful for in 2009.

Most years we take some time in January to sit down and make some goals for our family for the coming year. Along with those goals we set a family verse for the year. It is wonderful to see how the Lord has used those scriptures in our year and how we can look to them in specific situations as we go through the days.

We don't know what the Lord has in store for any of us in the coming year but we are looking forward to watching the Lord work.

Our family verse for 2010 is:

Mark 12:29-31

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

So ready or not it's here! Happy New Year!

Memories of Old and New

I love traditions. I do wonder sometimes if my love of tradition comes from my not liking change though. Christmas is filled with many traditions for many families. Over the years we have had to make some changes with our traditions to better fit our family size and what was happening in our lives at that time. One tradition we have let pass is a live Christmas tree, though we have many great memories of hunting for the perfect tree over time it has worked better to pull the one we have out of the attic. Actually now we put up two trees so we can enjoy all the ornaments we have accumulated through the years. As our children move out of our home our tree will be pretty bare as many of the ornaments belong to them. That is a tradition we have kept; each year each of the kids receive an ornament that has (hopefully) something to do with the past year and shared memories.

For fun we got into our old pictures and though some of my children will groan at these pictures it has been a lot of fun to look back over where the Lord has brought us. So I hope you all enjoy these pictures, if for no other reason than the changing hairstyles.

Our first Christmas as parents in our first house.

We remained the three of us for the next Christmas in our second house.



Joel was just a couple of weeks old here as Allison celebrated being a big sister.

Our third home and still my favorite, though it came with a lot of hard work.

Jeremiah joined us for 11 months and we watched him grow and develop.

(I've misplaced some pictures) Our family added Natalie.

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Ken and I are getting older and not always as willing to be in the picture.

Daniel joined our family the next year.

This isn't exactly a Christmas picture but we did have a great time at

Brookfield Zoo in the winter.

(Not sure if they still have them but in the winter there were free days.)

I threw this one in because I just love the look on Natalie's face!

Daniel was a snowman in his school program.

One of the wonderful blessings received when we moved into our current home was wonderful neighbors - several of them. One family in particular has joined us on Christmas Eve for several years. Our children took it upon themselves to act out the story of Christ's birth. Some years were more serious than others but they were always a delight and wonderful memories.

Molly and Brandon became a part of our family the next year,

things were really hopping now!

Here is a picture at Grandma's house with my sister Jennifer sneaking into the picture.

Another year of the Christmas story. More 'characters' contributed this time.

Another year patiently waiting at the top of the stairs. Though we don't
"do Santa" we do make the kids wait until everyone is ready to go downstairs.

Nathan was still at Eagle's Nest the next year so we felt that part of us was missing this particular Christmas. He would be home the coming June.
Family minus one.

Celebrating last year with Ken's mom.

We enjoyed a quick photoshoot in the park this past Sunday as it was snowing.

There were cold people but lots of smiles. Another memory made.

Merry Christmas 2009!


For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Outside the Box

I struggle with wanting to save the neat things that the kids have worked so hard on and not having enough storage space to save each and every little thing they make. I have a good-sized plastic tub for each of the kids. In those tubs we save things that represent milestones in their lives. For instance swimming lesson report cards, ticket stubs to a special concert or event, programs from the latest piano recital, or a special card they received.

It is fun to look back at things they have made and done. I hope that when they have their own kids they will enjoy sharing these momentos with them. In the mean time there are certain things that you can't store in a box. So here are a few I thought I would share..

Molly's turkey could probably fit in her box but he'd be smashed after a while.

Of course Brandon's spelling words written on the white board wouldn't fit in his box.

Joel's Great Wall of China definitely didn't fit in his box and would have been a shame to not be remembered as it took Joel quite a while to get it just right.

An Eygptian pyramid didn't fit in Natalie's box.

Could have put this picture in a box but it looks better on Joel's wall.

Joel won Third Place in a local photography contest with this picture from his trip to

South Africa.

It wouldn't be a good idea to put the meal Daniel made for his Food Consumer Science class in a box. But we did enjoy eating it.

So while it is good to have the boxes to store those special things in not everything fits in the box. That's where the camera comes in handy, because while these projects don't fit in the box, the pictures could!

(On a totally different level: I have some thoughts swimming in my head lately to blog about but I need to find the time to sit down and put them all down.)

Look Mom - I'm 8!

This post is extremely overdue but I didn't want to miss a chance to blog for Molly. She turned 8 in September. Molly's glass is half full most of the time. She is growing up before our eyes and is quite a delight! I thought it would be fun to show some of the many faces of Molly through the years. She has a beautiful heart to match her smile.

Happy #8

Molly loves her Daddy!

Several pictures as she has grown.


Not so happy being a frog.

Molly Happy Belated-Blog Birthday!

We desire for you to grow in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man.

I am a Mom by God's Grace

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about being a mom. What does it mean to be a mom? How do we parent 7 children when each of them has particular needs and unique quirks? How do we be everything we need to be for each one of our children? Some days I feel that I am failing miserably, other days I find myself thinking, "that went pretty good". I feel totally inadequate on so many levels! Help!

As you read this you may notice what I noticed about my way of thinking - it's all about me. Oops. You see I didn't get to be a mom all on my own, the Lord brought me to this place. Though part of my life is a dream come true, the only reason it is what it is is because the Lord has brought me to this time and place. I had been taking God out of the equation, trying to be a mom on my own steam. I can't be everything to my children, only the Lord can. I have been in the Word and greatly enjoying a study of David recently, but in the mom department I had not been recognizing the Lord's presence. ( I thought it was men who were the ones to compartmentalize.)

So..... what to do now. Well, first I need to take in some principles from my study of David. I need to recognize that I am right, on my own I'm not the best mom. It is when I moment by moment rely on the Lord that I handle situations appropriately. Remember when I am weak, He is strong. Secondly, I need to follow Christ's example. Respond to my children as Christ would respond. He shows me infinite grace, I need to show more grace to my children. Talking with other moms I don't think that I am the only one who feels the Lord tapping on my shoulder when I'm talking to my children. And lastly, I need to ask God to remind me of the reason I am a mom. I am right where the Lord put me, being the cracked pot I am He desires to fill in those cracks and to use me in the lives of my children.

I need to seek refuge in the Lord on the days when I feel worn down, I need to rely on him fully each day. Recently our Bible Study teacher shared that she set her timer for 30 minutes during the day to remind her to recognize the Lord's presence in her day. Excuse me while I go set my timer.