Foundation Verses

 The twins (and I) have been working on some Foundation Verses from Desiring God Ministries. I'm kind of floored by how easily the girls are picking them up- we've been working about 6 weeks and have almost 9 down! Not that we're in it for the "achievement" of it- I'm praying these verses will be beneficial for throughout their lives and mine. Berea is already taking Isaiah 43:5 to heart and reminding herself that she doesn't have to be afraid of the scary shadows or the dogs barking at night because, "Fear not! For I am with you!"

Chickens! (aka Return of the Overalls)

As I sit at the computer, the pressure canner thrums away- finishing off the last of the chicken, while the rest of the meat is neatly packed up in the freezer outside. My body is not used to day-long manual labor like Christian's is!

 

They say to find something you enjoy doing with your spouse... 

"Enjoy" might be a little too strong of a word.

The crew: Daddy the dispatcher/skinner/gutter, Mama the plucker/butcher/cook, Peter the gate holder/sympathy, Anne the master chicken catcher/hauler

And...this is the last picture I got for you- life got pretty busy shortly after this picture! :)

(Yes, they are still alive in this shot)

Moms Rock!

I love that girl. :) And she still wants to be a mom when she grows up! :)

Kids and more kids

Last week was a kid week! We watched the Vaughan cousins on Mon/Tues/Wed afternoons then the Lantings on Thursday! Needless to say, the house is still a mess and I didn't take many pictures. But here are a few from our clunky camera...

 Super T!

 "Sister Cousins"

 Anne! In front of a lot of dishes...yep, the dishwasher's still not working...

 Armed and dangerous

Poor Tirzah got sick/feverish from an infected splinter. We eventually got it out, smeared her foot with triple antibiotic and she was 80% better the next day! Fever gone, less swelling. One more smear with our happy green and she was all the way better by the next day! Whew! I was a little nervous that we'd have to take her in and sedate her to get that thing out! Yay for a carpenter daddy who's a pro at getting splinters!

So this upcoming weekend is our church's mission's weekend- Grace and I are 2 of the 3 planners for it, and the 3rd isn't able to be there- so we're counting on people we've enlisted to help and a lot of prayer! If you can, we'd sure appreciate your prayers that God would use this weekend and our visiting missionaries to...

#1 renew excitement in our church for what God is doing around the world

#2 challenge people to get involved in what He's doing- around the world and in our neighborhoods

#3 help people worship God in response to the great things He is doing.

Thanks!

Labor Day and people thoughts

For the first time ever we went as a complete family to the County Fair this weekend. In years past I've had Grandma help me, or we've just sent off the older kids with generous relatives. I was so paranoid ahead of time that I sharpie-ed Daddy's phone # onto all the kids' arms. It's still on their arms...in case they get lost while working on their Math... at the dining room table.

I felt so bad for the steer. They were just so fat and so furry and looked so very hot. It reminded me of the summer I was pregnant with the twins.

 One of the first things we did was watch some of the llama obstinate obstacle course.

This young man was great! You could really tell he worked well with his animal and that his animal trusted him. The couple other kids/llamas we saw- not so much.

 The kids got to go on one ride (wow, they are ridiculously expensive). With how tall the sides were, it's a wonder they saw anything! Though, from a mom's point of view, I suppose I'm glad they weren't about to fall out.

Ok, brace yourselves... here come my ponderings on people..

This guy was funny, had some weird tricks, was on America's Got Talent, made fun of people leaving his show early, made fun of people with kids (which was kind of weird, since that was most of his audience)... I felt like there wasn't much that he presented that I would want my kids to emulate
(including catching a bowling ball with his forehead), even though he did get some good laughs.

Next was a family circus. Veeeeery small- consisted of 4 people. The tricks weren't that great, the dad/clown wasn't really funny. BUT. I could tell they were having fun. And when they messed up, they didn't make jokes about it or look bummed out or get mad- they just moved on with a smile. The dad/clown was very encouraging of his little daughter and her learning "the ropes" of being in a circus. Lots there that I would be happy for my kids to emulate. 

And there are my thoughts.