Going Way Back.... to April...

Jordan's birthday breakfast... french toast with strawberries and whip cream...yum
I always have to make his before the rest of the families b/c of his allergies, so I just plated it all up for him. It looks like alot b/c it is!!! He usually does eat 4; just not with strawberries and whip cream.
We couldn't understand where it all was going!!!

What a piggy!!!
Oh well... it was his birthday!!!!

What happened to your blog?

A question I've been hearing alot lately. I apologize for my slackness in blogging everyone. My main problem after uploading pics onto the computer is transferring all of them over into a file that I can access on the web. Anyways, I take full responsibility and will be working overtime to see there are updates soon........ I can't wait to share all the pics.
There are so many of kids playing, climbing, riding horses,playing with cousins and my favorite and yet most sad catagory, my little and last baby, getting his first haircut and transforming right before my eyes into a little boy!!!! A sad day for mommy seeing that it wasn't just a haircut, it was a buzz cut!!! I knew the day would come and now I have realized, I no longer have little babies. What a sad thought but a very real one. Don't we all wish they could just stay little forever ?!?! But, after all, he is only 2 so I have many more of these "lasts" with him thank the Lord. None I look forward to..... except one...... the last diaper!!!!!!!!

I am so thankful for my healthy children and I am savoring these young years. I do admit there are days I feel like screeming, but only into a pillow, in my room, with the door closed. They are so fun and funny and I try to remember every little thing lest one day I should forget.
Thanks for checking in on us. We Love You !!!!

The Little Chapel

This is the little Edman Memorial Chapel in the HoneyRock village. It really is beautiful and these pictures don't do it justice. It was really neat walking in there. Last years burdens and commitments were still nailed to the cross, and I can imagine the special times that have happened in there throughout the years.

HoneyRock pics

The sign at the entrance of the camp road.The lodge where we eat and fellowship.
The fireplace in the lodge. Rather messy with loads of stuff the students left there while they ate
A few of the HoneyRock staff. Most pictured here will move on in the fall. That's whats so cool. These guys invest in the camp and get to know the staff and make friendships and grow in Christ and then leave to go start the ministry God's calling them too. At the right is Brandon and Jackie. they will leave in the fall to go to another camp out in Colorodo. They have been called to serve there. One girl has just left to go to England to work in a mission there. A couple will be returning to Columbia , South America and yet others over in Czech and Africa. Its awesome to know they're so many willing to still go and share the Gospel of Christ in foreign lands and love the whole world as Jesus did.

Snowmen!

The snow was perfect the other day to build snowmen.

They were outside a long time rolling them and then waited for Daddy to get home to stack them. They had so much fun and I liked watching them as I passed the sliding glass door. They've helped me to remember the fun times I had as a kid playing for hours outdoors in the winter wonderland. It was so fun!!
Haley's snowman w/ Jackson playing football in the background.
Jackson's snowman

The snow had melted quite a bit when these were taken last week but has since returned and is falling very heavily right now.

Words for the Day

I'm reading a book right now called, How I Know God Answers Prayer, by Rosalind Goforth ,1921. It is their family's memoirs of answered prayer in their lives. They were missionaries in China and these are some of the times God showed Himself to be all-powerful, all-knowing and full of grace. This is a poem from the book .

"He answered prayer: so sweetly that I stand,

Amid the blessing of His wondrous hand,

And marvel at the miracles I see,

The favours that His love hath wrought upon me.

Pray on for the impossible and dare,

Upon thy banner, this brave motto bare,

'My Father answers prayer.'"

It's not the most poetic,fluid and beautiful poem in the world, but after reading the ways God worked miracles in their life, I tried to understand from their perspective, after all those times and trails, how these words came from her heart and how humble and inspiring she was.

He has worked miracles in all of our lives and how many more He wants to give if we would just be ready to receive them from ready, obedient and faithful hearts,lives and attitudes.

Exploring camp

We've been outside everyday since we've been here. It's a beautiful time of year. Not too cold and its the time before it all melts and makes a muddy mess. We've had alot of fun exploring the different and interesting places here at camp. We were walking on the lake yesterday evening and saw either bobcat,lynx or mountain lion tracks along with a multitude of other ones. The kids and I haven't looked up the track online yet but it's been interesting to see all the different animal tracks there are in our yard and around camp and try to guess what they are.
The sun reflects so brightly off the snow and its just beautiful. I love being in the midst of such beautiful creation.

Our Home at Honeyrock

Here is a couple pics of our house here at camp. We are in the middle of camp and the kids are loving it so far. The broomball court, rink, rockclimbing and one of the tubing hills are right out our door.

Dell walks up the this path to go to work and we have been enjoying the closeness to him. He even talked me into coming to make french bread for him in the lodge kitchen a few days ago while the little kids napped and the big ones watched a movie.( We have walkie talkies and can talk back and forth. ) It worked out well and it helped him out alot.

You might be a redneck if.............

.....your youngest(and last)
childs 2nd birthday consists
of a ham sandwhich and coffee crisp
chocolate bar at 8:30 at night :)

We had just arrived at Honeyrock after 2 days of traveling in terrible weather: it was -3 and we were all so.. tired but you gotta do what you gotta do. Needless to say we had a really good laugh about it all and will make for a good story to tell about him.

I really don't know why we didn't celebrate his birthday over breakfast at Cracker Barrel when he had a pancake with whip cream on it! I guess the thought didn't cross my mind in all the chaos.

We're here!

We are here at Honeyrock in Three Lakes, WI. The Lord has truly blessed us with a smooth transition so far. We were amazed to have over 25 people unload our 2 trucks in less than an hour! Everyone has been so great to us already and its nice to already begin to feel at home here and so welcomed.
Last night was family night where the entire staff and their family's eat together. We met alot of people and ate some great food in the beautiful lodge here. We pulled the kids over in the sled and they thought that was so great.
Today was a mild day although it has snowed all day. I put the kids in the sled and pulled them around camp. We saw the horses and are eager to get a chance to ride them. Jackson has already become friends w/ alot of the college students here and they have included him in several games of broomball. He's loving it!
We also went iceskating this afternoon on the rink up the path from our house. I even got out there and did pretty well for not having skated in 15+ years :)
We had alot of fun!!!

My Father's Wisdom

I was getting ready to post a final few thoughts before our family begins our transition to WI. I reached for my Dad's Bible to look up a verse and I read a few of my Dad's notes in His Bible. I hope he won't mind me doing that. What I read reached the very core of my soul. As long as I can remember, my Dad has walked so closely with the Lord. I have so many times taken it so much for granted , but never again. I pray that one day, I will have half the wisdom and passion for the Lord as my Dad does.

" God is a perfect All; the creature a poor nothing, and I return to that which I've recognized as the best and productive of the greatest peace of mind~ that is, forgetting myself as much as I can and continuing to live simply in the grace of God. O Lord, confirm us in this resignation of ourselves, and that all that is within us may sing with thine handmaid Hannah,"There is none holy but the Lord, for besides Him there is none else." 1 Sam.2:2 Amen"

"If the life of a man or woman on earth is to bear the fragrance of heaven, the winds of God must blow on that life,winds that are not always balmy from the south, but fierce winds that chill the very marrow."

These notes my Dad penned from his heart and I long to have that obedient and submissive spirit and heart toward the Lord and His will.

He is worthy and O that we could let go of our perspective and get His. I want to be able to say,"Lord, bring the fierce wind if its your will for You are my All and there is none else."

Orienteering

Haley has our map, her best friend Meghan has the compass. Lead the way guys!
Haley w/ her walking stick. She always finds the best one like her Grandpa.
We stopped for lunch along the way and even w/7 kids,1 dog and 5 adults we came in 2nd !
(we weren't trying to be good, we just are naturally :)

We let Jordan find the last marker of the day. He was so proud !!!

Happy Cow Creamery

This was a really awesome field trip. It was rather far away but it was well worth it for the info we learned and experienced. The kids loved it. Especially Jacob!
Say "mooo..." kids!
They bottle their own milk in their old grain silo. It is really the best milk I've ever tasted and their story is really awesome how they transformed their farm. Click on the title to read more about it.
These were the "mama" cows who were due with their baby's any minute.

My Little Man

Jackson wants to pray about everything. Isn't that awesome? He asks if we can pray all the time. The other day he had a fever and he felt so yucky. He said, "Mommy, can we pray? I really don't feel good and I think that will make me feel better." Of course we did and he didn't say another thing about feeling yucky and he didn't whine anymore all day.
We had a get-together with our SS class and it was an 80's theme we were supposed to dress for. I decided to get those stick on nails from the $ store. They looked hidious but were perfect for that theme. Anyways, Jackson said in his worried -about- mommy- tone,"You put super glue on those. They'll never come off!" He was very worried about it all evening. I kept making comments about how I hoped I could get them off before church the next day.(not thinking of my ultra sensitive son listening to me speak out loud to myself)He was worried still after we got back home. "I sure don't like those mommy. Are you sure they'll come off?" I assured him they would and that it will be OK. Later on after I'd tucked them all in bed, he came out and asked,"Can we pray for you mommy? :) I don't want you to have those nails and I don't want it to hurt when you get them off." So, we sat there, my little man and me, and he prayed for exactly that. He's an awesome guy and I pray he always trusts the Lord as he does now.
Needless to say, I'll never put fake press on nails on ever again even if it was part of a costume. I want my boys to remember the good stuff that they love about me and as far as Jackson knew, I had permanently changed his Mommy and he didn't like it. Poor guy.
There are countless times like these that he wants or needs to pray. It's rather convicting at times.
I'm just so thankful and amazed for the love and trust he has in Jesus Christ and pray that it will never change.

This Boy.........

Jackson is an absolutely hilarious child. Dosn't this picture just exude that?!
He's always moving and that makes homeschooling all the more interesting.
But the reason for this post is to tell you about todays "words of the day" by Jackson.
He was reviewing question and exclamation marks. I guess I've never pointed to one and asked him its name. Well, today I did, and here are the answers.
"Jackson, what is this mark and how are you supposed to read when you see it?"
"It's a questionmation mark and you're askin' a question." (question mark)
I'm laughing but explain the real name and move on.
"So, what's this mark and how do you read when you see this one?"
"It's a collectionmation mark and I don't know." (exclamation)
Now I can hardly breath cause I'm laughing so hard. Maybe its one of those"got to be there"things, but it was hilarious to Haley and I, and I knew at least Dad would appreciate it.
He's a funny guy and makes me laugh alot but this can't- stay- still business can get a bit on my nerves. He can stay still in church, but I guess his view out the kitchen window is just calling him to get out there and go wild.......................... imagine that!

Apple- Cranberry Muffins

These are really yummy.
1 3/4c. plus2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar divided
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg (I use my egg replacement recipe b/c of Jordans allergy)
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. melted butte or margarine
1 c. fresh cranberries (I've used craisins before and they work fine too.)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine 1 3/4 flour, 1/4 c sugar,b.powder,b.soda and salt in medium bowl.
In small bowl, combine egg,milk,applesauce and butter; mix well
Add egg mix to flou mix; stir just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy;don't overmix.
In small bowl, toss cranberries w/ remaining flour. Fold into batter.
Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups.
In measuring c. mix remaining sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle the tops of muffins.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Cool if desired but they're really good warm too.

Just another day

Do you like Jordans shirt? We got it at Bubba Gumps Restraunt in Charleston.

Jacob, Jacob and More Jacob

Jacob the climber.....
Jacob the cheese......
Jacob the muffin taster........
Jacob the" bad bo" with his foot on the table........
Jacob the cutey pie.....