MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May God Bless you and yours!!!

I'm looking forward to spending the holidays with my family, anxiously awaiting a new niece or nephew. One more to love and spoil.

May God Bless and keep you all in the palm of his hand. May your trials strengthen you and help you go on unto perfection.

Christmas Spirit

We're trying to get things together for Christmas. I was sick last week and we've had family things come up. However I think that we are ready to get Christmas things done.

I woke up with my mental list for today in my head and thought I would post it

• Put in my AVON order (done)
• Get Christmas packages ready to mail
• Package and ship off access AVON
• Mail off Christmas packages
• Finish up Christmas shopping
• Decorate for Christmas

Yes we haven't decorated yet. I'm really looking forward to doing it. I got such lovely things from my Secret Sister. Some cute Snowmen and lovely ornaments. Today my children are going to go through my "stash" to see if there is anything they want to give each other for Christmas. My son has already done so and has decided to get his own gifts. We set a $5 limit so that he wont spend to much.

I think that is so wonderful that are Christmas eve is on a Wednesday this year. Sometimes I think that it would be nice to have meeting on Christmas eve each year. It seems so right to meet and worship in Thankfulness for the greatest gift of all. Not that were not thankful all year round.

Yesterday my son once again showed signs of maturity. He came to us early in the morning about a problem. It seems that he has a lot of "imaginary" problems. After us giving advice about his problem he said "What about ______'s problem?" come to find out that was the problem all along. Someone had shared a very big problem with him. One that was way to big for his little shoulders. And he came to us with love and empathy for this person's problems. With much prayer we handled this as best we could and will leave it in God's hands and of course offered to help in any way that we could.

It meant so much that our little son came to us for help. He was told not to tell us and the person even tried to keep him from telling us. He did not tattle, he was very concerned and knew that we were the ones to turn to.

It humbles me...

How many times do I go to my father with other peoples problems, not tattling, with love and compassion for the one in need, with no ulterior motives, not upset that they came to me but wanting to make things right for them. Knowing that their problem was bigger than I could deal with, with complete confidence that my Father could take care of it. That he would have the perfect answer.

Oregon Coast Trip

Surrounded by his Glory

Yaquina Head Light House

Here are some pictures of our mini-family vacation to the beautiful Oregon Coast

The awesome power.

I was continually awed and amazed by the beauty and magnitude of all that God has created.

HE DID IT!!!!

My oldest passed his State Testing today.

On the very 1st try.

I guess he took all or part of what we told him to heart.

He took twice as long as usual, which was a good sign.

On the way home he kept repeating, "I was focused" because of this, because of that.

It made me think about how I need to be "focused" on serving the Lord. Do I try my best to pass each test that comes up in life? Do I stay focused on the Lord every day of my life?

I'm so thankful that testing is over for the year. The past few years he has done the testing 3 times and still failed the tests. It is such a relief to have it behind us now.

He still has work "samples" to turn in over and above his regular work. For now he will be concentrating on bringing his grades up.

Then the 1st part of December we will get into the new schedule and start on those work samples.

Waking Up to Shiny Floors

Oh the beauty of my floors, floors that I thought would never look good again. It didn't seem to matter how much I cleaned them, they never lost their dirty pock-mark spots. So my dear hubby found a way to do our floors, for free.

Doing floors is one of the many things he does at work and I have to admit that he is very, very good at it.

A lady at work admired his work so much she wanted her floors done. Do between the 2 of them they concocted a brilliant plan. She would pay for the scrubber and chemicals. He would do her floors and then he could use them to do ours.

So yesterday was the day. Now our floors look so lovely, I can't get over how wonderful they look.

Many thanks to my dear husband.

Sorry that I don't have any pictures. We couldn't find the camera.

AVON OPEN HOUSE

I'm having an AVON open house this Saturday from 4-7pm.

I will be serving some tasty soups and sweetbreads along with hot drinks.

There will be a drawing every hour.

I'm also doing a nice non-profit fundraiser thing.

Everyone is welcome.

If you have any questions you can give me a call.

Also on the 15th I will be at a bazaar at the school were Sis L works

I'm not sure of all the details yet

Also I may be at the Teen Challenge Bazaar in Shedd on the 6th of December.

Again if you have any questions give me a call.

Family Pet Laid to Rest

Last night when my oldest daughter went upstairs she noticed that her gunea pig was dead.

She comes down stairs, holding the gunea pig in her usual loving way, tears streaming down her face, wailing.

What a sad day when you lose your first pet.

Needless to say it was a while before we went to bed.

Our oldest was concerned that he had helped in its demise. I guess that my oldest daughter had a little to much help with it's bathing earlier in the day.

Our little 4 year-old's biggest concern was that her basket of candy was to close to the dead gunea pig.

Right before she went to bed we had to assure her that her candy would not be placed next to the gunea pig. Truthfully she really never showed affection for the gunea pig, and was known to torture it a time or two.

Needless to say the 4 year-old was the only dry eyed one in the house.

All Alone

Isn't amazing how much a song can mean?

Usually in church, I just sing along, not thinking much about the words.

Last night Bro M. started "All Alone" out of the blue book or #1 book as our dear Bishop likes to say. I listened to every word, and took it to heart.

There's been many things on my heart and mind lately. I went to church with a burden to pray and leave things once again with God. I just didn't feel the lead of the Spirit. After that song was sang dear Sis. T. got down and prayed, I heard her refer to the song in her prayer, than I felt the liberty to pray myself.

Last night was a night of prayers only, however I felt such a peace after I prayed. I was reminded of the many times I've been "All Alone" with God, how he's listened, heard, and answered my prayers. Not always giving me the answers I sought, and more often than not getting a reprimand myself, but always he's there.

When my dear hubby and I went to bed last night he told me how that song spoke to his heart. Then I was reminded of how it says, "fasting for the pilgrims in the way" and how that fasting and prayer had been requested and announced for my dear Dad after church.

One simply song started in the spirit spoke to so many. One that I know I've listened to time and time again with no thought.

Thanks to God who knows our hearts and exactly what we need, maybe a little reminder to find that quiet place and be "All Alone with Christ our Lord".

Christine, Christina

Today is the day I put in my AVON order. Unless I get another order, all but one of my customers have some form of the name Christina. One goes by her middle name, thankfully. And believe it or not I have another future customer named Christina. Maybe I should broaden my horizons, LOL.

My oldest daughter and I were reading a story yesterday morning, we came across the name Cristina. I told my daughter that I'd never seen it spelt that way before. Well my very next customer spelt her name that way.

Just a quick update. We've been very busy with my dad, his family came in for a few days, one of my aunts is staying for another week and a half. My dear sister and her husband came for a short visit. Their baby is as cute as every, she doesn't seem to have grown much since we last saw her. Which is fine with me, she is walking though and it is so cute to see her toddling along. I haven't seen my dad in a few days but my mom seems to think he is slowly on the mend.

How do you address a situation in which someone dear to your heart is partaking of things they should not? They know they are doing wrong, have no remorse, and believe that God will give them time to make things right, maybe by sending another trial their way. When I first found out I was so Mad!!! I gave it to the Lord and am trying to leave it there. They've been through so many hard trials in life already. I'm not sure what they think they are asking for.

Sitting Still in Meeting

Our 4 year old has not being doing a good job of sitting still or behaving in church, so.....

One Wednesday night, I said to myself, "Enough is enough!"

So I took the child out, administered a little swat to the bottom, and a talking to, then I laid down the new law, which is that if your bottom gets off the bench, it gets a swat

Needless to say we made many trips out that night

Now on the way to church we rehearse what will happen if #1 you fight Mommy and Dadddy and do not sit on the bench, #2 your bottom gets off the bench

The child remembers the rules very well, as a matter of fact, I was informed that I had left part of it out on the way to church this morning

This morning was a very important morning for remembering the rules, Mama had just enough time to drop the 2 youngest off before going to pick up Dad and brother.

By the time I got back to church, meeting was pretty much over. However I had a very good report of the children. Seemingly they walked up to our bench, sat down, and behaved.

Now isn't that a blessing!

Avon

My mom-in-law talked me into joining Avon.

You can click on the "My Avon Page" link to order.

I ordered online and it was fast, easy, and efficient. One of my items was missing. They said they would send it off the next day.

My plan is to let my church family know, use the online page, let my neighbors know, My husbands co-workers, and of course for my own personal use. I love Avon, almost to much. LOL

"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR"

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted an old friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a doormarked "NO ADMITTANCE."When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlightsfocused on the impressive Steinway on stage.In horror, the mother saw her littleboy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star."At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear,"Don't quit.""Keep playing." Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began fillingin a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn't recall what else the great master played. Only the classic," Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."
Perhaps that's the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy.We try our best, but the results aren't always graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of the Master, our life's work can truly be beautiful. The next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You may hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear,"Don't quit." "Keep playing." May you feel His arms around you and know that His hands are there, helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Remember, God doesn't seem to call the equipped, rather, He equips the 'called.'Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire. So touch someone by passing this little message along.
May God bless you and be with you always!

Girl Time

We are very big on spending special time with one another in this house.

So last night I got my youngest daughter bathed, snuggled in a big fluffy towel, and dressed. Then we went into Mommy & Daddy's room for some "Mommy and Me" time..... We snuggled in with a book of her choosing....and read a few stories out of it.

Next I got to comb her hair out while breathing in the strawberry smell of her new shampoo....All the time thanking God for such a precious gift, and asking for guidance. Then she happily trooped off to her room for some more "reading" time and journal writing before "lights out" time.

Next was time with my older daughter. I went in and washed her hair with the new shampoo, gave her finishing instructions, and told her to meet me in my room in 5 minutes........5 minutes went by, and then 5 more, finally we practically had to drag her out of the tub. She will spend an hour in the tub, no joke, without actually cleaning anything. So finally we had some "Mommy and Me" time. Time was short but I still savored the look and feel of her hair as I combed it, parted it, and braided it into 2 cute little braids for bed......all the time talking together

It seems so seldom that I take the time for these little things, and how precious are the moments......

Wonderful Weekend

We were able to have a great weekend with our wonderful brethern. We went to a dual 50th, 25th anniversary. We set in a beautiful meeting. I missed out on most of the testimonies because of our baby (who isn't a baby any more). Mostly the meeting was about living the faith and how that your parents and granparents can't live the faith for you. Also the many examples of our parents, grandparents and older brethern. How there are ones that we say "I want to be like them when I die."
We took my Mom and Dad with us. He wasn't feeling good, hurting alot. Many of the visiting brethern stayed in the same hotel as us. On Saturday night, most, if not all of the brothers went to my parent's room to pray for Dad. He was very cold and shivering when they came to pray. My dad said that when the brother's laid their hands on him to pray for him he could feel their hands bringing warmth to his body. The brothers could tell a difference in that when they got there he was shaking and when they were done praying he wasn't shaking any more.
My dad had a rough ride on Sunday afternoon so we decided to stay a night in Prosser. We called my husbands widowed aunt before hand and requested that she call some of the brothers to come and pray for dad. Right after we got there a brother and sister showed up. Then more showed up. My dad laid out on the floor and requested that we sing. It was beautiful and I could tell that he was feeling some better. My cousin helped dad get ready for bed and then came again early the next morning to pray for my dad.(He'd had a rough night) My dad was then able to get some much needed rest.
We left about 5pm Monday and it seemed that my dad had a better trip. I'm sure that it was through the prayers of the brethren.
My husband and I thought about how blessed we are in his job and in the fact that we are homeschooling our children. God has truly blessed us and allowed us to go among the brethren from time to time. Oh the wonderful treasures we are building in heaven. The foundation we are shoring up for our children.
May God bless and keep you all.

Back and onto other things....

We've been back from our trip for nearly a week now. It was such a wonderful trip. I got to visit with a dear sister who is not doing very well right now. I met her at a time in my life when I really needed a friend and she was there. When I first met her she and her husband had just received the mixed blessing of raising 2 of their grandsons. She told me at that time that it wasn't something either one of them planned on, but she wanted to do a good job of it. Her prayer at that time was that she could raise them with the Lords help.
Now 11 or so years later I can see where the Lord has been with her, and they've raised some pretty good boys. There is a few years yet before the boys will be on their own but I'm confident that she's done all that she can. If the Lord was to call her home now she can rest assured that the Lord has answered her prayers.
We had a few close calls on the road that we know of and God only knows how many we weren't aware of.
Now we're gearing up for our camp out and school. Our camp out quilt was about #3 in line so it is just now in the frame ready to be quilted. Lord's willing I'll get to bring it home to quilt on next Sunday. Every year we make a quilt, have all the brethren at the camp out sign it, sell tickets, and raffle it off. Each year it seems that more and more of the brethren donate items for the raffle. Each item is something unique, hand-crafted or homemade using the special talents that God has given them. This a wonderful, fun, and meaningful way to raise money for our camp out.
We're thinking about doing a camp out themed quilt with a twist next year. Our home body will make the center block, then we will send it to another assembly, they will do the next round, and then send it on to another assembly, etc, until it gets back to us to quilt. It will be very interesting to see what it looks like when its done.
This year school starts on the 28th for us. With the hot weather I may see if we can start on the technology early. We haven't received their books yet so we can't get a jump-start with them yet.

Zuchini Bran Muffins w/raisins makes 3-4 doz

Here is a recipe I came up with a few years ago.
One of those were I had some ingredients on hand I needed to use.
I buy my bran in bulk at Winco and pay less than $1 for a bag full.

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2 cups boiled water Mix bran and water till bran is moist
3 cups bran throughout, set aside.

1c sugar Beat sugars and oil until well blended.
1c brown sugar
1c oil

3 eggs Add eggs and vanilla, beat until blended.
2 tsp vanilla Add bran mixture, beat until blended.

Mixture may be soupy

3 cups flour Add sifted dry ingredients
1 TBS cinnamon alternately sith zuchini.
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda Stir well.
1 tsp baking powder

3 cups grated suchini

1 15oz box raisins Add raisins

Spay bottoms of muffins tins, fill 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
The muffins should be nice and moist. They will need to be refrigerated, ate quickly, or stored in the freezer. They usually don't last long at my house. They may stay good in a sealed bowl on the counter for up to 3 days.

I used dried cranberries this morning. I just use whatever I have on hand. A dear sister gave me some zuchini last week so I had to get out this recipe and use it.

Summer Fun

We are getting ready to go out to Oklahoma.........5 more days and counting. We are so anxious. Its been four years since we've been there. My list of things to do is almost done. For today I need to:

• Put up the sewing machine, material, patterns ect. (All finished with those summer outfits for this year and feeling a little sad)
• laundry
• clean the kitchen
• sweep and mop floors

Thursday night 5 of us dear sisters went to the Portland airport to pick up Bomshell, a country music group I've never heard of before. We ended up picking up the band and taking them to their hotel in Eugene. I got home about 4am, made my hubby some breakfast, and went to sleep on the couch for about 5 hours. My dear husband and I went to listen to them last night. It seems that country is starting to sound like rock.

Right about the time we were leaving last night they had a singer on that was singing classic country, more our style. Maybe tonight there will be some good ones. Maybe even some of that good gospel music.

Well time to get that list done and go help with the church garage sale........

Somethings in life you only do Once!!!

Here is a picture of the 3 and under sleepover we had. We made pizza together and had lots of fun. Things were going well until bedtime.....fortunately none of the young ladies cried for Mommy or home.....unfortunately none of them were ready to go to sleep. I eventually had to go in there and lay done with them. And I thought teenage and older girls were hard! The mattress was so uncomfortable that needless to say it got put on the top bunk the next day.

STRAWBERRY JAM AND A CLEAN KITCHEN

Today after church we grabbed a quick bite to eat through the drive thru and then hurried home. I had strawberries from Friday morning to make into jam and thought I'd get started on some of that deep cleaning. The Jam turned out well and I ran out of jars and lids before I ran out of pectin, strawberries, or sugar. I decided to call it good and clean up.

After a short break my dear hubby helped me by finishing up the dishes and being a go-for. I just did the kitchen tonight and it took me over an hour to do the floor, bottom cupboards, and baseboards. I have a very small kitchen but there was alot of buildup along the edges, in the crevices, and on the baseboards. It took a butter knife to get some of the places and even then I couldn't get all of it. Some of the spots seemed to reappear on the cupboards as soon as they dried. Well after getting the dishes all done and the kitchen cleaned I found a few more dishes. Our cups and a plate and knife from my son's bread and jam snack. Isn't that the story of my life though. LOL As soon as the job is done there's a start to it needing to be done again.

Swimming Lessons

Our children all took the free swimming lessons at the Y this year. Our middle child seemed to get the most enjoyment out of it, learning rapidly, so we purchased her some weekly lessons. She just finished and is most of the way through the long list for Progressive 1. She's done very well. We are so happy for her. She wanted to take the surfing class, so I figured we ought to start with learning to swim first. LOL She's like a fish in water, which is not surprising since she loves animals of all kinds and tries to emulate them. She got to dive, ride in a canoe and learn swimming safety. With all the swimming she's been doing for the last 2 weeks her new swimsuit is very faded.

SUMMER CLEANING?!?!

So the school year was coming to an end. We had just got back from the Brewster camp out. The laundry was finally caught up, and then we got a 24 hour inspection notice. Needless to say our apartment wasn't quite as clean as it could be. We explained our situation and assured them that we would be working on it over the weekend and it would be clean by Monday morning.(HUD inspection day) Sure enough it was clean by Monday morning with freshly mopped floors and all.
We waited for the notice on our door or in the mail because of it not being ready the 1st time the manager and maintenance man came in. It didn't come, thank God..... Well when they came in on that Monday they replaced the doors on our hall closet, and inside storage. Our hot spots for clutter. The doors we kept closed even when we swept and mopped. Our coffee table seemed to be in the way at one point and I offered to move it. No they said, it was Ok.
Well about 2 weeks ago we got a 30 day notice to move if we didn't have things cleaned up by the 1st of July. The notice was for the day that our apartment was clean.....so I was trying to rack my brains over what the problem could be. My husband even asked the manager and she just said some general stuff and to look at our agreement. The notice said access filth, clutter, and unsanitary living conditions. All we could think was that we needed to get rid of some extra items (the coffee table went for one). By the time we got the notice the inside storage had already been cleaned out, so we did the hall closet. We found our rental agreement and sure enough it said nothing about "clutter".
I asked a dear Mother in the Faith to come and help me rearrange my furniture (She's very good at that). I was in the middle of washing down my dining room chairs when she arrived. With love, compassion, and charity she said, "Let's tidy first, arrange the furniture and then clean." When she left we had tidied and arranged the dining room, living room, and kitchen. And guess what it looked clean.......... Even if we knew it hadn't been deep cleaned. She told me to finish tidying up and then get in there and clean after everything was tidied. I felt sooo much better about it.......And I hope and pray that that's what they're looking for.
Another dear Mother in the faith came yesterday with her steam cleaner and helped me steam clean 2 of the carpets that needed it. She was so patient to go over the bad spots many times slowly, with one of us getting the scrub brush after some of the tougher spots.
Well, what I hadn't mentioned yet is that my own dear Mother came last Friday on a mission to help me clean. She washed down my 2 littlest ones bedroom walls, and the upstairs hall walls. Using up at least one, I'm thinking 2 of those magic erasers. Our walls are textured and my baby has finally got out of the "coloring the walls" stage. She would do it any time I was busy schooling the older 2, or any time she thought she wouldn't be caught.
So today and tomorrow I'm having a yard sale and everything that doesn't get sold will be donated or put on Ebay later. But only one small box of Ebay stuff.
So that is what I've been busy doing since school has ended. We had planned on "Spring Cleaning" gradually over the summer. I guess we just had to get it done in a shorter amount of time.
I'm so very thankful for all of the "Mothers" I have in the faith.
My husband and I decided when our 1st child was ready for school to home school. At one point I lost a nights sleep on 2 different occasions wondering if we where doing what was best, if they would get the education that they needed. At some point after that I asked my dear husband what he thought. He said that he felt that homeschooling was the right choice. Just as matter of factly as anything, with no doubts. I've tried to do my best with some short fallings along the way. One of the big things is the housework.. It has been strongly suggested that I think about sending my children to Public school so that I can better take care of my home and so that my daughter can get the help that she needs. This fall my daughter will finally be getting the help that she needs, and I'm afraid I will be fighting another 2 years to get her the help that she needs, while she gets further behind. My son is at the age where he can get up of a morning and get his chores, and shower in about half an hour. When he applies himself he can really get his schoolwork done in short order. I'm afraid that he'll go to school, be a "good 'ol boy" and bring all his work home to do anyways.
This suggestion was made out of concern for us losing our home, the only one that we can afford. Also out of concern for my daughter who is having difficulty with reading. She's at least 2 years behind.
I feel confident that this year is the one that will really work for school, especially when we get our schedule down over the summer. We've lived here for over a year so we know when the HUD inspections are. Right at the busiest times for us of course. With prevention and maintenance, staying on top of every aspect of the housework we shouldn't have a problem there either. Also if the one maintenance guy comes over to work, (the one that we get written up after), I may ask for a few minutes to tidy up. Its hard though because he is older and I hate to ask him to wait.
It is so embarrassing and humiliating to be found short in your housecleaning. Its not easy on your pride to ask for help, advice, or guidance.
We need prayers that we could seek God's guidance. We want to do his will above all else. I'm most certainly not perfect and I'm afraid that my short comings will be a detriment to my family.

End of School Year Busy

I haven't posted in a while because it is the end of the school year and portfolios are due. Both of my children will be going on to the next grade, however they will have extra help and support in the areas they need to work on. My son's teacher called yesterday and we were able to clear some things up and find a way to simplify the writing process for him. This is great since the hold up on his writing is him not wanting to take the time to write all of his thoughts down. He has a wonderful imagination and has done very well on his poetry writing this week. A 10 year-old boys poems can be very interesting to say the least. I think he really likes that they can be as silly and nonsense as he likes.
My daughter has struggled in her reading all along. She is going on to the next grade because they don't believe it will help to hold her back again. I called Sis Lori P and she gave me some wonderful advice. It is working very well, Thanks so much!! Sometimes I just need to remind myself that her reading may bloom later and that it will be as well with her than as it could be now. She loves stories and has a very inquisitive mind and great comprehension. I just can't wait for the day that the light bulb comes on for her. I see flickers of it from time to time so I'm sure the day is nearing ever closer.
Well back to the school day..............

SADNESS AND REJOICING

We made a trip to California this weekend to try and be a comfort to some dear friends who lost a son and brother. He was hit head-on on his way home from work. It was so unexpected he left a wife and little daughter. His life was full of many things, however he hadn't been baptized or going to church. He figured he had plenty of time. Two brother's in our church preached at the funeral. It had to have been hard since they knew him real well. He was a good man and had many friends. Their was somewhere between 300 and 500 people present at his funeral. The saddest part to me was that he had done so much with his life, but neglected the most important part.
Sunday at church they preached on getting busy on doing the things you want to get done since you don't know how much time you have. Also on choosing what you want to accomplish in your life. Some of the family was there and there were some testimonies about the brethren being there for you during the hard times. The times when you just don't understand the why or reason for things. The man that died had so much time ahead, or so it would have seemed.
The rejoicing came some during the meeting but more so afterwards. A young lady gave her hand to the father of the man who had died. Their was a long moment of silence with Joy written on every ones faces. Tears of Joy were rolling down the faces of everyone. At the waters edge the brother who had lost his son said that this was the first step in helping him in the loss of his son. After the baptising, laying on of hands, and dismissal prayer another young lady gave her hand to the 1st young ladies dad.
We rejoiced so much!!! We went to be a comfort, just making a last minute decision to do so. And the treasures that we have stored up from the time spent with our brethren. Sharing in their sorrow and joy. I felt that we had made another payment or 2 on that home up in heaven. I also felt that we had built up, shored up the building blocks of our children's faith. It is so wonderful to hear the same things preached from assembly to assembly. The same things taught on the floor that we teach in our homes. It seems that lately the things that have been on our minds, that we've discussed with our children, have been brought forth in the meetings we have set in.

Tea Please

A friend sent this to my husbands email. I thought it was funny.

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.
Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.
My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.
Then she says, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet?'

LIFE, FAITH, & GOD'S MERCY

God knows just what we need and often supplies it before we even ask.

Travis' check about a month ago was about $400 more than it should have been.

When Travis showed this to his bosses they said it was a company mistake and not to worry about it. So Travis' mom calls about this same and is coming out. She wanted us to take her to Prosser so that she could spend some time with her brother, Bro. Benny Easter. The children and I were able to take her up there and the following weekend we went back up and spent some wonderful time with her as a family. We took her back to the airport on Wednesday after she spent a couple days with us. Uncle Ben died on Friday and Travis' mom headed back down right after attending her best friend, Sis Twila's funeral on Saturday. She left at 5:30 Sunday morning. This time it was by car and a quick trip. We were able to go back up to Prosser for the funeral and spend a little more time with her and the family.

It seems that a lot has happened in our lives lately. The children are quite a bit behind in school work but catching up. Its at times like these when I'm thankful that we home school and are able to go and do these things. We just need prayers that we can get caught up and back on track.

Travis has taken it upon himself to set up a list for brethren to stay up with Eric at night. A brother from Harrisburg and him are making a list, each assembly taking 3 nights at a time since both of our assemblies are small. Travis has been sick and unable to go see Eric much less sit up with him for about 3 weeks now. He is really looking forward to sitting up tomorrow night since it has been so long.

A Bro. Mark from Boise Idaho called this morning and felt like coming up and being of some help with and to Eric. When he called, Travis was at work but I called him back, invited him to dinner and encouraged him to come on if that was what he felt like doing. Bro. Bill Hays joined us for dinner and we were able to sit in heavenly places, talking on faith and God's mercy. I think maybe something controversial may have came up in the beginning. However my husband quietly said that we could "nit pick over the word and pick each other apart or not" both Bro Bill and Bro Mark agreed and they then proceeded to talk on Faith, Miracles, & God's Mercy.

I feel that if nothing else we have been blessed by Bro Mark's visiting in our home. It never ceases to amaze and astound me how God works in each and every one of our lives.

One time a young college student studying to be a minister came by and asked Travis and I some questions. It was for a school assignment. I'm not sure how we got on the subject of miracles but we did. This young man, about the same age as we were at the time, said that the miracles written about in the Bible died with the apostles. I said, "Oh how sad". I don't remember if I elaborated or not but knowing me I probable did. I know I didn't go into much detail though. But how blessed are we, who take it for granted, that the miracles spoken of in the bible still happen today?

To be able to call upon the Lord and in an instant be healed, or have the pain leave our bodies. To see the dead rise and breath again. It seems like now more than every we are in need of these miracles, and they are there for the asking, if we only have faith and believe.

Sara and her husband have been staying with us for a few weeks now. We've really enjoyed having them. I've been able to get up with Travis and go walk in the Mall early in the morning. They will be leaving us however to get things ready for the baby. We will surely miss having them in our home. They plan on being around a few weeks after the baby comes and then head back home to JD's family. We will really miss them then.
We were able to sit in a wonderful meeting in Eugene Wednesday evening. It lasted nearly 3 hours with talks, ministry, and testimonies of God's goodness. How that the brethern are different from the world. How that we will drop everything and be there for a comfort, support and any way that we can. I could tell that Sis Brandi was having a difficult time. I was very proud of how she had her children in church. She testified close to the end of meeting. She said that she prayed for words to speak to her children. She felt that what went forth that night was just what her children needed to hear. She also said that it was 4 months to the day and she'd almost didn't come to church. She surely still needs our prayers.
Eric has had his pills destroyed and is not doing well now. He's asking for prayers that he will have peace. It seems there is so many who need prayers, and again so many that God has been with. My dad is doing much better. I think one of these days he's going to get sick and not get better. It seems that each time is worse. So as you can tell the meeting that we set in was just for my benefit as anyone elses. Travis's uncle from Oklahom made a talk about the seeds and the sower. He also instructed us to look into our hearts, that we knew what our work was and to be up and about it.
Travis just got a prophecy about a week ago. It was very short but told him what his work was. That he'd been asking. I told him if he'd asked me I could have told him, but I guess we need to hear from the father. It did make me think of how I need to work on being a better helpmate to him and what I could do to encourage him and help him.
Please keep us in your prayers and we'll continue praying for all of you.