March on!

Marching band season has begun!

Today was Jacob's first parade.  He was excited and nervous.

Probably most nervous about carrying a crazy-large, heavy sousaphone.

This isn't their regular uniform, but since the weather is warm still, they wore something a little lighter and more casual.  They looked great!

 Jacob isn't quite sure about the shoes.  They aren't on the top fashion list, but they are comfortable and durable.   However, this morning he found the word "womens" on them.  Now he's sure he's not overly fond of them!

 The weather was perfect for a parade...sunny, warm, with a nice breeze.

We lined up on the sidewalk about 40 minutes ahead of time to be sure we got a great seat!

 

 Guess who else was in our parade?  Cindy Williams, from Laverne & Shirley!

I have no idea why she was in our little parade, but it was fun!

 And here he is, playing his heart out on that sousaphone.  He was extra excited this morning when he arrived at the school because 2 brand new sousaphones had arrived yesterday...just in time for the parade.  And the band director, being the awesome lady that she is, stayed until very late to be sure they were well oiled, and ready to go for the parade!

 The band members, ranging from 4th to 8th grade, did a great job.  Another parade next Saturday and he can't wait!

School, and a long weekend

I suppose I'd better get caught up on my blog.  My kids will read this blog book years from now and wonder what happened to them during these missing weeks.  Well, I tell 'em....SCHOOL!

It has hit with a vengeance this year.

Compared to some of you moms, 4 kids to homeschool is not a huge number.

But for me, along with their activities, it's enough!

We started school over 3 weeks ago.  Schools go back early here, and Jacob had a week of marching band camp even before that, so I figured, why wait?  We'll slowly ease into our subjects, and we won't even notice a change in schedule.  Ha!  Fat chance of that!

Jenna is 5 and in kindergarten this year.  She loves to color, cut, sing, dance, and play. ABC's and 123's really are not a priority.  She's happy enough without them.  As a matter of fact, the number 9 caused a meltdown one day.  Not sure why (though the males in this house blame it on female emotions).  Blasted number 9!  She's experiencing AWANA for the first time this year, attends a homeschool co-op for art, music, and science, and will start dance next week.  She doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up (becoming a Christmas tree is no longer an interest, thankfully), but I have a feeling she will be fine as long as she can talk, dance, and sing her way along.

My handsome boy, Amarin, is 10 and in 5th grade.  He has the typical math, history, grammar, spelling, reading, and logic, as well as anatomy, band (drums) and art at the co-op.  Piano is continuing, too.  He's really enjoying history and anatomy so far.  But he's most excited about his Lego engineering class that starts next week. This boy is all about constructing, fixing, and building.  LOVES it!  He says he wants to be an engineer someday, preferably with the Lego Co.!  Add AWANA and soccer to the mix, and he is one busy boy.  What amazes me is that when he came home 3 years ago, we started him in first grade work.  Yeah...he's doing great!

 Charlie, my 6 year old dynamo, is wrapping up first grade in a few months.  His reading has really taken off this fall and he's actually eager to try new books.  He's also waiting expectantly for a "big boy Bible."  The kids all have to be reading well before they can get a "real" Bible, vs. a kid's story Bible.  He has reminded me several times about his upcoming birthday!  Char's first grade work is accompanied by piano lessons, AWANA, and Lego engineering with Amarin.  At this time, he's wavering between becoming a policeman, and a preacher with his Bible on the Ipad.  Either way...he will be teaching somebody right from wrong with a "weapon" in hand!

 This is a big year for Jacob, and one that is bringing some challenges with it.  He has always been the one to whom most things come easily.  So, we upped the ante a little this year, and put him in high school.  He's carrying a hefty load including physical science, writing, grammar, U.S. history, algebra, German, and typing.  He's playing his tuba/sousaphone in a marching band, playing soccer, continuing piano lessons, and participating in AWANA and co-op.  He still finds time to read about collector cars, and right now, becoming a maritime pilot sparks his interest...or any other fun job that makes good money, doesn't consist of long hours, and for which he can earn a college degree on a tuba scholarship.  Let us know if anything like that exists!

 And with that all in motion, we decided to take a long weekend to visit family.

On the way, we stopped by Lake Michigan for a picnic.  We do miss living near these beautiful lakes.

I can't think of a more relaxing time than being by the water.  It's so soothing and peaceful.

 We didn't have bathing suits handy, so we waded.  I predicted that someone would be drenched first.

My prediction came true!  Just look at the innocence on his face!

 My girly-girl was a little more cautious.

Good idea to feel the temperature of the water before proceeding.

 I have no idea...flying?  KungFu Panda move?

 Keeping Laura out of the water is exhausting.  She LOVES being in the water and will not give in until she is in it!  Jamie and I had to trade off to spare ourselves from sore arm muscles.

 Skipping stones

 Laura was laughing so hard she could hardly catch her breath, and as always, ended up with a terrible case of the hiccups.

 Next came their first trip up a sand dune.  Jamie walked with Jenna...

 until she bailed because of "sore legs."  My boys would say...she's such a girl!

 Here come the boys flying down the hill.

 Charlie bit the dust...er...sand.  He was spitting sand and needed a drink badly!

We're home now and back in full swing.  I'm going to take a nap now.

Surprise!

 Who doesn't love a surprise?

Especially when it involves friends we haven't seen for months and months!

Of course, we moms had it all planned out, but I left my kids in the dark.

So when the doorbell rang and they saw who was standing there, Char and Amarin started yelling and Jacob choked on a gulp of water.  It's not every day that friends show up on our doorstep that live hours and hours away!

All recovered from the initial shock, and they had a great time playing.  Like 8 months had not even passed since they last saw each other.  And even though my sweet friend, Amy, is a seriously healthy eater...she caved and agreed to pizza for lunch! :)

 Within minutes, the arsenal was out and in full force.

 Laura made it home from school just in time to get in a quick snuggle with Amy before they had to leave.  We're so glad they came to spend the day with us!

Laura's First Day

 We have a 2nd grader!

Laura started school yesterday with a 1/2 day.

(Why do schools bother with 1/2 days?)

Anyway, someone was NOT happy when Mama woke her up at 6 A.M.

Talk about gettin' the stink eye!

So I thought I'd get that look on camera for proof.

Because no one ever believes that she can give me "the look."

But as soon as she heard the camera click, this is what she gave me.

 Aha!  I caught the look!

Oops.  Better put on my happy face again.

 

 Is anyone still looking?  Can I give Mama the stink eye again?

I chatted with Laura's teacher after school and she said she had a great first day.

And she agreed that Laura has indeed become quite loud!

A little kindergarten girl started in her class (also non-verbal) and was shushing her all morning.

Sounds like this could be a funny year!

Watch This! UPDATE

UPDATE:  Actual voting is taking place at this link:
http://on.fb.me/PdsJNe
(look for Caleb Blaha's name under the video at the bottom right) 

In short, please click HERE and watch this awesome music video.

It's totally family friendly.

Oh, and share it with your friends, too.  I'll explain more below if you want to read.

In long...here's the story behind it.

The family that made this video is some of our best friends back where we used to live.

Their son and Amarin are like two peas in a pod.

And Jacob and Amarin stayed with them for 2 weeks when we went to China to get Jenna.

They are a sweet, sweet family, and just love the Lord.

Caleb, the dad, is a very talented videographer...I think that's the right term.

He has put together family movies based on Bible stories, and novels.

When our boys stayed with them, they all worked together to write a script, and turned it into a fun, short film, complete with animation, costumes, etc.

Caleb recently entered a video in a contest by Andrew Peterson, based on his new song, Rest Easy.

The winner of this contest will win a cash award, as well as have his video used as the official song video.

Caleb's video made it to the top 10!

Now the voting begins by simply watching the video.

Ultimately, Andrew Peterson will choose the winner, but the voting will count, too.

So please take a moment to view this video, and then you can share the link on FB, blogs, or whatever other way you would like.  It is very well done and so fun to watch our friends!

Leave me a note and tell me what you think.  I know there are lots of you out there from lots of different countries that lurk without leaving messages!

PS.  As you watch it, pay attention to the video that the kids are watching while lying on the floor.  The two sword fighters...those are my boys in the video that they made while staying there!

Happiness is...

 sharing popcorn with a baby sister.

 and holding on to a big brother, 'cause he will keep me from falling.

 Calling "mamamamamama" while trying to eat popcorn.

 Using those little fingers to take food...

 and feed myself like a big girl.

 We're happy.

Babies and Justice

 Jamie's home.  After 11 days, 6 flights, and a ridiculous number of time zones...he's home, safe and sound.

And jet lagged.

But enough about that.

Here is a picture of the goods he took over for the children under the care of BaoBei.

We were thankful that we could fill one suitcase with much needed items for the sweet babies.  Even the suitcase was donated so Jamie could just leave it there.

Well, he had meetings for work the first week he was in Shanghai, so he met with one of the co-directors of BaoBei on Saturday.  Such a sweet lady, and so hospitable.
She showed Jamie a quick video about BaoBei, talked with him about what they do for children, and then...here's the best part...took him to see two babies!
Oh, I would love to show you the photos I rec'd of Jamie with these little ones.
But I can't.  So just imagine with me two of the cutest babies ever.  Are you with me?
OK.
One baby girl was recovering from a recent surgery.  She was hooked up with lots of wires so he couldn't hold her.  But...he got to hold a baby boy and feed him a bottle.
What a precious photo I have of the two of them!
Unfortunately, this baby boy's surgeries hadn't corrected his health issue as they had hoped, so his days here on earth, barring a miracle, are very short.  Jamie's heart was so touched by this little guy.  We just rec'd word this A.M. that Jamie's newest buddy was transferred to an awesome care facility to spend his last days.  And the caregivers promised that when he was in his last days, they would hold him 24/7.  Anyone have a tissue?  That, my friends, is what it's all about.

In line with this topice, I just finished another wonderful book called Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just, by Timothy Keller.

 You see, once you realize what God has done in your life, you just can't look at life the same.  You can't look at the orphans, widows, foreigners, or needy in the same way.  They are not lesser people than the rest of us who are so privileged.  In fact, the Bible mentions caring about these groups of people over and over again. And it's not a request.  It's a command.  And it's not charity, because charity is optional.  It is simply living out the command that we were given.  The command.

When I see pictures of orphan after orphan after orphan come across my computer screen...orphans needing families and surgeries and a chance to live...it just overwhelms me.  And when I see the cost of surgeries that could save their lives, I wonder why some of these kids are still waiting at death's door, enduring pain and discomfort like no child should.  And when I hear about the amount that Americans spend on frivolous items throughout the year, it makes me angry.
For example,
"Americans are going to be spending $6.9 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation. That's up from the $3.5 billion they spent on the scary holiday in 2005."
 Do you realize how many life saving surgeries that could cover?  That's not generous and that's not justice.  How I pray that more and more people will wake up and see the need "Beyond the Horizon" and their own front door.

VBS...Phew!

Can I get a big PHEW! from anyone that has done VBS this summer?

What a busy week...fun...but busy.

We had our VBS last week in the evenings.

What was really special was, for a small fee, church families could eat dinner at the church before VBS.  And the dinner was all prepared for us!  YES!  I didn't have to cook one dinner last week!

This year's theme was Super Heroes of the Bible.

Jacob was now leader age.  He and his buddies had fun coming up with superhero costumes.

(Note the cookies behind him.  I think he was sneaking one before dinner!)

 There was a penny contest between the red and blue teams.

It got crazy at the end of the week with kids and adults bringing in buckets of pennies!

The pennies were going to support missionaries in Papua New Guinea, who had recently been robbed of all they had....even the food in their refrigerator!

Can you tell Amarin is into this whole competition thing?

 Here's our penny counter.

Red team brought in the most pennies.  "Let's Go Red!"

But the blue team memorized the most verses.  "Eat Blue Dust!"

 Wacky Wednesday was fun.

 Backward and mismatched clothes,

 and a million ponies in Jenna's hair!

 The evenings ended with games.  Thankfully, even with all the crazy hot weather we've been having, there was only one night the kids didn't get their game time.  The rest of the evenings were cooler and breezy.

Friday was family night.  There was an inflatable slide, dunk tank, and pizza!

Pink Grandma and Pink Papa were able to join us, too, since they were visiting for the weekend.

 

Not sure what Laura thought of this!

 Here comes Char!  Good idea to remove all of those buttons...for the sake of the slide and your skin!

 Unfortunately, my camera battery ran out before I got any more pictures on Friday.

Amarin dunked both our preacher and another leader.  He was pumped!

This week...breathe.

Gotcha Day #3

Has it really been 3 years already that we met you?

Sometimes it seems like yesterday.

But then when we look at how much you have grown in confidence and ability, 

it seems like you've been here always!

Love you, Amarin!

And someday we WILL get back to visit Thailand.

Love that beautiful country of yours!

The Mouse

This doesn't look like much of a picture, does it?

Just dry, burned up grass from our backyard.

It's one of those times I kick myself for not having my camera handy to capture the drama as it unfolds.

 

But see that light brown, loose dirt?

There lies a mole.  And his story is one to remember.  

Well, maybe the way he got there is more of the memory we want.

A couple weeks ago, we had friends over for dinner and a movie.

The boys and girls were downstairs playing while we adults chatted in the kitchen, preparing dinner...er...opening up pizza boxes.

Suddenly, the screams came upstairs, making us aware that there was a mouse (mole) in the basement!

Actually, he was in the window well outside.  Phew!

The kids scrambled outside as Jacob ran to find his BB gun.

Jamie unlocked it for him, and out went our big game hunter to save the day.

The scene was hilarious.  Jacob was standing, gun pointed down into the window well.

The kids were crowding around waiting to see what would happen.

I was wondering why no one was worried that our window was about to possibly be pelted with bbs.

Well, our big game hunter got him...twice.  Gross.

The kids squealed.  They were excited.  Weird.

They ran off to get a shovel to properly bury this little guy.

And as they're buried him, we heard singing.

" So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown."

Well, I guess he had a proper burial.  

R.I.P., little guy.

And we have one more story to look back on with friends and laugh.

On August 1st...

I received a letter today from Franklin Graham...Billy Graham's son.

Well, it wasn't actually a personal letter, but it did show up in my email box!  :)

Franklin Graham is the CEO of Samaritan's Purse.  This organization provides worldwide, humanitarian relief in the name of Jesus Christ.  They help develop communities,  provide emergency relief and medical treatment, and most importantly, share the gospel with lost souls, giving them hope in the midst of despair.  Our family supports this Christian organization throughout the year as they do such awesome work in Jesus' name!  Visit their website...you'll be amazed.

So, back to this letter.

I'm sure you've heard over the past few days about Chick-fil-A's president, Dan Cathy, coming under fire for his support of "traditional" marriage.  Yeah.  What a horrible thing to support.  (insert your own sarcasm).  

Well, on August 1st, former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee, is calling for a national Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.  If you happen to live by one of these yummy restaurants, do go in and support them, even if it's only in words. If you don't live near one the restaurants, send them an email. Franklin Graham sent a letter supporting this endeavor...hence, my "personal" email.  :)

"In the words of the bold, biblical prophet Daniel who refused to bow to the culture of his day: 'The people who know their God will display strength and take action' (Daniel 11:32, NASB)."

Franklin Graham 

You know, the subject of this post is almost comical.  Is our nation really in a time when we don't even know what marriage is?  Marriage was created thousands of years ago by a perfect God, between one man and one woman, period.  God did not waver on this. As a matter of fact, when multiple marriages and homos*xuality was present, God punished them or allowed great trials in their lives.  But today, there are those who think they can rewrite definition of the word and call marriage "traditional" instead of right.  And when those of us who voice our support of "traditional" marriage only, we're considered hateful, uncaring people. 

Can you imagine what our nation would be if we went back to believing in families?  Families that had one dad and one mom who loved one another.  Who remembered that they got married "for better or for worse."  Who remembered that this nation is resting upon the shoulders of children who need to be taught right from wrong...not whatever "feels" right to them.  Who actually walked through the doors of church each week, thankful that they have a God who loves them enough to teach them right from wrong.

"Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble in them."
Hosea 14:9