Goodbye 2008!

I am not sorry to see this year come to a close but I am not really excited either. I feel as if there is still so much left to do and yet the days have disappeared. Our family will annoint our home tonight and we will begin the new year with fasting and much prayer but I am not very thrilled with 2009 being here already. I am not ready.

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.
Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
(Luke 12:35-40)

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. (Revelation 3:3)

These verses seem to about sum up my thoughts these last few weeks of 2008.

Happy Birthday Jesus! Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful day of peace and goodwill. The kids and I ran away to Fox River Resort again and holed up inside with warmth, laughter and lots of snuggle time. We are so blessed and it isn't in material things it is in relationships, love, and peace that Christ is still on the throne and interceding for each of us. I will post pictures once I can get Jordan's camera uploaded.

FLL Regional Challenge

The night before the competition..


What a wonderful experience if not a stressful one for me. I have let many things slide as I helped our team prepare for our first competition with First Lego League. The challenge this year is Climate Connections and here are some of the highlights in photos. I am so proud of the kids and the way that they prepared, performed, and carried themselves in a way that honored God and each other. Way to go team!!

Our team on the Practice Tables:










Team Photo (notice some rather dazed expressions after a full day [8am-3pm] of presentations and challenges with the robot):

Creative Presentation of their Research Project:




One of 4 challenge matches with their robot.





Waiting to start...

Team mates waiting for the start of the match.






Our Supporters!!! Thank you!!

Making Cinnamon Rolls

Something to smile about?

Jennifer and Jordan both got their braces on yesterday and last night as they were both in a good deal of pain they asked the profound question, "Why did you have to pay for us to be in so much pain?" I DID NOT laugh (out loud at least) and explained that they would feel better in a few days. Here are their self photos.

If you have known me for any length of time you will not be surprised by my statement that 'I feel like running away'. I have analyzed this to some extent and realize that there is a real dilemma here with the statement. I have never run away from anything (that I can think of) and so why do I seem to make the proclamation as if I know what if feels like? Never having run away from home, ditched school, or gone AWOL, I am not certain what the feeling is that prompts the declaration from my lips or even simmers in my mind. I honestly think that the best or better way to describe my emotional state when I feel like running away is that I feel like shedding all responsibilities and commitments. Now, if I were to run away many would still follow me and others would rise up in their stead. There really is no way to avoid those things that are required for daily life. I have come to accept the fact that when I am feeling like ditching everything and escaping life as I know it that I am in fact, leaning too much on my own understanding and NOT leaning on His strength, wisdom, and grace enough.

I will work on this. The craziest thing about all my thoughts on the subject is that it doesn't usually happen when things are going bad or are extremely stressful. I usually feel like running away when there are no major stressors in my life. I am sure a good psychologist could explain it in depth but it is enough for me to recognize that the only place I will run to is into the arms of my Savior. He is my refuge, my hiding place, my strong tower and my strength!

"In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God." Ps.62:7

On the road again

We have been traveling and visiting with Grammy Elaine since the 30th of October and now, as we are headed back home, I have finally decided to post. I can't speak for everyone else so I can simply give my impressions of our trip and visit. Wonderful! Peaceful, relaxing, and fun!

We left Waukegan and headed to St.Louis, Mo. where we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott for the night before heading the rest of the way to Branson, Mo. I dropped Grammy off downtown so she could check out the St. Louis scene and then we headed back towards the hotel stopping only for the Sonic Drive-In.
The kids and I swam in the pool, soaked in the hot tub, and lazed on the wonderful pillow-topped beds watching television. They served fresh baked cookies and delicious hot drinks to us while we surfed the internet in the business center. Life is good!

Friday morning we lazed about finally getting on the road about noonish. We drove to Branson and checked in at Holiday Hills Golf Resort just in time to catch a fall craft and scavenger hunt. Mom and I made polar fleece hats and the kids did the scavenger hunt coming back with lots of goodies. It was fun and a great time meeting new people and hearing about the different shows all before we even checked into our condo! We finally left the Activity center and went to the condo where mom was totally awed at the accomodations. I told her she should just wait till we toured the Presidential suites. She saw them the next morning and was suitably impressed!
We ended up going to a timeshare presentation the next day at 12:30 where we were treated to a nice chicken and gravy spread complete with mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and salad. Dessert, and drinks were just icing on the cake. Actually, it was a lemon cheesecake that was oh, so yummy! We met the sales person and I let mom hear the whole sales pitch. She learned a lot and asked great questions and would have bought one had I not been there.
We left after a few hours and collected $50 and went online and bought her a better one than the one they offered her for a 10th of the price! I am not about to let anyone I care about make a mistake like that. She is loving it though. She now has two timeshares and I am very happy for her.

We toured at Westgate Woods and then Grammy got discounted tickets to Silver Dollar City that we used to see the Christmas Lights and ride the roller coasters. We had funnel cakes and lots of giggles. We also hit eight thrift shops and shopped all of them!
We also visited the St Louis Mills mall and Jordan was thrilled with the Cabella's but 'bored' with all the rest. (grin)

We are now back in St.Louis staying at the Holiday Inn Express and I am sitting in the pool area watching the kids swim. Mom is checking out more of St Louis now and we are going to kick back and relax. I thought to post some pictures but they are on the other camera and I left it upstairs. Until later...

Last Volleyball Game

With falling leaves come...allergies.

Fall is here and the allergies are raging to prove it. The gorgeous fall colors and leaves help remind us too. (Okay, so you can't see any fall colors in these pictures but my hard workers let you feel the season.)



School is much more fun this year and going great. Jordan is surprising me every day with his ability to adapt and learn new skills and his enthusiasm for learning.



Jennifer would much rather read a good book than do homework but she has maintained a steady pace and is doing excellent with algebra and science which are two challenging classes for her. (Periodic tables and Distribution laws??? Huh?) Her love of Latin has given us some challenges as we argue with her teacher that K stands for Kalium hence the symbol "K" and that she should get full credit even though she didn't write down Potassium but instead gave the latin name for the element. She definitely provides me with a lot of opportunity to think outside the box.

Lego mania

Jordan is such a ham!!

Here are some rather late pictures of our garden before the peas were harvested and the majority of the tomatoes. We are still getting plenty of tomatoes and a little lettuce and carrots.

Big Springs State Park, Missouri