Charity lights the candle for Advent 2008

The title says it all. Emma and Christiana lit a candle too, but Jon skipped a reading before the lighting took place so I was scrambling for the camera. By the time I got it on and ready to take a photo, the other two were finished. Oh well, maybe next time.

A Thanksgiving Table

Well, there is no food on this table, but here is what it looked like before we ate. My older children are so talented in photography, I had to post this cool picture. Joel took this photo. We finally unloaded the camera, so that is why this photo is posted almost three weeks after Thanksgiving.

On the way home from church-by Beth

Here are two photos that Katie took on the way home from church in the van. Aren't they cute? Katie is very good at photography. She took all of Joel's senior pics as well as Joel's best friend Josh. The other is of Stephen sucking his lip while waiting for those teeth to begin to erupt.

Lighting the First Advent Candle-by Beth

It is the time of year for lighting the Advent candle again. This year our Johanna gets to light the first one. Here she is, so excited to have the priviledge. This is actually the second try for her. The first time her candle went out as she attempted to light the purple candle. So she went back to big brother Nathan who lighted it again, and she got the job done.
I can't believe we are looking forward to Christmas already. The year has literally flown by. I guess that with a birth to look forward to and recover from and a new baby to adjust to you tend to lose track of time. When he was three weeks old we began school again. Soccer season followed soon after, which was a whirlwind of activity. We are just now beginning to enjoy some nights home and the holidays are upon us. I have not baked one Christmas cookie, but I am fairly well finished with shopping and have a lot of wrapping done (thanks to some great help from Katie and Nathan). This week has been filled with running errands, like getting three boys shoes for basketball, and Jon ministering at the hospital for the past 4 evenings. Makes for late nights.
Nathan arrived home over a week ago and has been doing some projects around here like painting our family room ceiling and trying to fix his car. He has some Ohio rust on some parts in the undercarriage that need to be replaced and he is trying to find creative solutions. We are juggling cars too.
I hope to have some time to relax soon. I want to savor Stephen's babyhood. Right now it is time to nurse him.
Bye for now.

It's Crescendo Time for Fall Soccer

Well, our family has had a great time for the past six weeks enjoying soccer four nights a week, and then all day on Saturday. Our season is coming to a crescendo this weekend. All five children played three play-off games to see which teams would make it to the semifinals. We had nine different games today. David-2, Caleb-2, Christiana-2, Charity-2, and Zachary-1. We started the morning early with Beth taking the majority of the players at 8:15 A.M. Joel was added to the mix because he's refereeing. He did four games himself today. At 9:00 A.M., both Caleb and David had games. The party continued until just before 5:00 P.M. when Charity's last game ended. She and her teammates were awarded a trophy after that game because they did not qualify for the semifinals, and thus their season was complete.

That means that the other four DID make the semifinals. David's team got in after they won the third tie-breaker. We're happy that Nathan is coming home tonight, and will hopefully be able to see his siblings play a game or two before the end of the season comes this week.

A Night at the Golden Halo Awards

Beth and I had a wonderful time being part of the Golden Halo Awards. She and I were blessed to be able to be chauffeured to the event (note the picture above). We were able to sit with other families from FMCS, including the Collins. I did not win, but received a beautiful certificate, along with a very nice gift from the Christian Chamber of Commerce. Besides that, it's the first time in awhile we've been able to be all dressed up and have somewhere to go.

Glad to be at Fort Myers Christian School

These are pictures of a blessed event in my life. Lauren Collins and I were chosen as part of the top ten finalists for the Golden Halo Award, which is awarded to a teacher from a Christian or some other private school. We are pictured together at the Awards Banquet, which took place on November 15th.

I am thankful for the privilege to teach at FMCS. What a blessed change it has been teaching where Christ is exalted in the classroom rather than where Christ is excused from the classroom.

Some Unexpected Good News

While the news from the national front was not good for us personally, the news which came to me on Tuesday was totally unexpected and a cause for rejoicing. At Fort Myers Christian School (FMCS), we had an assembly where our Missions projects from each class were highlighted. At the end of the program our principal, Mr. Mitchell, announced there were special guests coming into our assembly to make a presentation. Five representatives entered the room from the Southwest Florida Christian Chamber of Commerce. They came to announce two of the top ten finalists for the Golden Halo Award. The Golden Halo Award is given to the top teacher in area Christian Schools. The Chamber included schools from Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Hendry Counties. To my total surprise, one of our Second Grade Teachers, Lauren Collins, and I were chosen as two of the finalists!

Mr. Mitchell wrote us a very nice e-mail afterwards. In it he included these words:

"I have much more to say, and want to say, but I will keep this short for now - we are very proud of you! All I could think of is the awesome way that God confirms things: two teachers, months ago, facing whether or not they would have jobs for next year...I think this would be a sign that you are in God's will!"

Post election blues

America, it seems, has done it again. Elected another unqualified person, this time though, he seems downright dangerous. I don't understand, when there is an abundance of sources that are shouting "from the rooftops" all the evil things that seem to surround this man, that people are so taken in by it all. I don't mind that my guy did not win so much as the wary feeling of the future for myself, my children and their children. It is time to pray that God would guide this new leader so that we may walk in the paths of righteousness. Blue is definitely the word for the day.
Beth

My first thoughts by Beth

This is my first time trying to blog. I have been wanting to get to it for weeks, but it just never seemed like I had enough time to gather my thoughts before I had to be doing something, or was being interrupted. I finally decided to just try it and get as far as I can until it is time to end.
Stephen has now passed the three month mark. He has a wonderfully predictable schedule. After I feed him, he is up for one hour, then sleeps for two. Well, until recently that was his schedule. Lately he has been waking early, wanting to take cat naps, and then won't nurse well. But, overall he is still a good baby. He definitely likes his crib. When we take him to soccer he gets tired and then is crabby. He is very cuddly. I miss the early weeks when he would fall asleep on my chest, and I would work on the computer while he was snuggled there asleep. He did that the other night to catch a cat nap and it was soooo nice. I thank God for him every day.
After we had Abigail by c-section, I had a nurse friend that cared for me during that trial tell me/us that we should probably not have any more children. We thanked her for her concern and said we would pray about it. After arriving home I remember sitting on the edge of the bed and Jon and I were discussing it. I remember telling him that I felt that we were not finished with our family and that I would like to have another baby. I know that flies in the face of the world's logic, but we were convicted long ago to let the Lord plan our family. We did not believe that we should change our minds just because things were more difficult. If we had listened we would not have our sweet Stephen. I love him so much. Just think what I would have missed!! Who knows what a blessing he will be to us in our old age, Lord willing.
Having a large family can be very overwhelming at times, though I don't feel that way often anymore. I have been trained through the years and I also have all my helpers. It is a delight to be home with my children.

A Boy After Five Girls

God has been good to us. At one time, He had given us five boys and one girl in our family. For many years Katie was the lone girl, and desired to have a sister in the family, but her hopes were not realized with four brothers born after her. The LORD sent another girl when Christiana was born in '98. Four other girls followed her, and the balance of siblings tipped in favor of the girls six to five. As we awaited the birth of our newest child, we wondered which gender he or she would be. God graciously gave us another boy, and Beth has commented, "It's so fun to have a little boy again."

It's always amazing each time we have had a new baby. The baby's siblings just dote over him or her. Stephen is no exception. All of the children--from the youngest to the oldest--enjoy holding him, and we've even had squabbles over whose turn it is. "You already have held him today. It's my turn!" While we never have liked squabbles, if there was something our children were to squabble about, then wrestling over whose turn it is to hold the baby is a pretty good thing. All in all, this lies at the heart of how we feel about children. Someone has rightly said, "If you love children, then your children will love children." Beth and I truly love our children, and so it is reflected in how our children love their new baby brother. Now, that's not to say we don't have any troubles, because we do. However, our hope is that all of our children feel loved by their parents and also by their siblings.

By the way, we've affectionately called Stephen "even Stephen" because he's the one who evened the score at six boys and six girls.

My other observation is that God gives grace to Beth to adjust her schedule to accommodate the baby. She is wise to keep track of his feeding times, and knows how long she can be away from the house. She has recognized his pattern of awake and asleep time. She knows when he's getting tired and crabby. She knows when it's time for bed. I guess that's just what a good mother does!

How Big of a House Do You Live In?

The title of this entry is a question Beth and I get quite often from people after they find out the size of our family. Before I answer the question, I'm reminded of drives we've taken through some big cities. One example of this was driving through Chicago. When you're in the city of Chicago proper, the residential areas are older, and the size of the lots and the houses on those lots is relatively small. I say "relatively" because those are in comparison to the large lots and larger houses in the suburbs. The size differences say quite a bit about how families lived in earlier times as opposed to today. When those houses were built in central Chicago the families lived with a lot less square footage in their houses. They may have had only one bathroom (who could do that now?). They learned the character qualities of cooperation, consideration, and common courtesy. We might be better off with less space and more cooperation.

Having said that, our house was an average house in Cape Coral when we purchased it ten years ago. Since that time, we have built two additions onto it. The area of the first addition was gobbled up by the second. The second added about 1000 square feet to the house and lanai (screened-in porch). So now, we have four bedrooms. It goes 4/4/3/2 for occupancy. Four boys in the boys' bedroom; the four oldest girls in the girls' bedroom; the three youngest in the small bedroom, and Mom and Dad in the master bedroom. We added a bathroom in the second addition, so we're up to three. Even then, there are times when it's pretty busy.

The biggest blessings have been 1) the great room in the back of the house which gives more room for living, plus is where we have our church services on Sundays; and 2) the large dining room so we can all eat together in comfort, and even have friends over with room for them to sit down with us.

God has been good to us. We are thankful for all of His provision, including the house we presently occupy. We are blessed.

A New Season of Soccer and Outdoor Activities

We've been blessed to be able to be a part of the Cape Coral Soccer Association's Fall Soccer program for the last five years. The first year we started with just Joel and Caleb playing. This year will find five of our children playing. The league changed the age limitation from 14 to 15, so Caleb gets to play one more year. He's playing in the U(Under)16 group, which will be Co-ed this year. That means he's got boys and girls on his team. Zachary is in U14, and is a year taller and stronger. David will have his coaches from two years ago as coaches again. He's actually 12, but fit under the U12 boys category because his birthday wasn't before September 1st. Christiana is playing for her fourth year, and is looking forward to playing on a good team in the U12 girls group. Our new entry into soccer is Charity. She is in the U10 group. This will be her initiation into competitive athletics, so we're interested to see how she does.

Soccer season will last just about two months. During that time, Beth and I, with the help of Katie, will be transporting children at all different times for about five days out of the week. I believe Beth has written down all of the schedules in her calendar, and now the juggling begins. Just this week, practices for all of the teams started. According to the schedule, we have Sundays and Fridays off, so for the rest of the days of the week we will be hard to find, unless you look for us on the soccer fields.

As a home school family, this is the best time of the year for Physical Education. P.E. goes into full throttle when soccer begins. This season, tied with the changing of the seasons, makes for lots of outdoor time for our family. Not only do the soccer players practice, but the younger ones are outdoors more too. They especially love the swingset when the outside temperatures cool.

Soccer season is a great time for all of us. We all enjoy watching the children play, meeting new friends, and getting reacquainted with old ones, and also, watching the weather turn from summer to fall so we can enjoy the outdoors more fully.

The Thankless Job

Have you ever thought about the fact that you have clean clothes in your dresser drawers, or ironed shirts in your closet? Where do these come from? Do they just appear out of nowhere? The answer is an obvious, "No." Instead, they come from the person who labors hard several times a week to clean those dirty clothes you hopefully threw into the hamper. That person in our family is my lovely wife, Beth. She dutifully and consistently washes clothes on Tuesdays and Fridays, with some other days thrown in when a mess is made mid-week or on the weekend. She sorts and washes them. Afterwards, they usually go out on the clothes line for drying in order to conserve energy and save money. Besides, they smell better when they are air dried. Then the clean clothes make their way to our bedroom where she folds them and puts them in piles for each child and parent.

Now, she does get help from the boys in hanging out the laundry, and Caleb usually is the one to iron the shirts. But for the most part it's "Mom's job." It doesn't normally get recognized, but is a vital part of everyday life in our home. This post is written to say a special "thank you" to her for all of her labor of love, even the unnoticed stuff.

THANKS, BETH!

We Have Lots of Piano Players

While we were pastoring Living Faith Church in Cape Coral, Florida, our church's organist, Jeanette Ronan, approached us and gave us a wonderful present. She saw the potential in our children, and offered to give our three oldest children--Nathan, Katie, and Joel--piano lessons without charging us. Well, we couldn't pass up this opportunity. Mrs. Ronan gave them all a great foundation. Since that time, they have had other piano teachers, and more children have been included in lessons. Other teachers included: Shari Pettis (Boshart); Michelle and Natalie Mayer; and Marcia VanderPol. Besides all of those piano teachers, those three older children have taught lessons to the younger ones. What a blessing that what was taught to them is also being passed down to their younger siblings. So, presently here are the piano players in our household: Nathan, Katie, Joel, Caleb, Zachary, David, Christiana, Charity, and Emmaline. We thank God for the ability He has given our children, and we thank Him for sending Jeanette Ronan who helped get them all started!

A Daughter with a Servant's Heart

What can I say about our oldest daughter, Katie? She has been a model of a servant. Since she is older than ten others in our family, she has willingly taken on numerous responsibilities. Beth informed me several years ago that Katie without any prompting by Mom took on the responsibility of providing lunch for the rest of the family every day. Beth has commented more than once at how freeing this was for her, and how blessed she was to have Katie do this. Even now, when Katie has to be away, she will either rearrange her schedule or work it out with Mom or one of the older brothers to cover for her in this regard.

Whenever we have any activity that requires us to dress up, Katie is actively involved in helping her little sisters get ready. She has five little sisters, ages two to ten years old, so this is no small task. She usually does the hair for each of them, creating new and stylish braids that make them look beautiful. My observation is that she makes sure all of the rest of the girls are ready before she starts on herself--another sign of a servant.

For several years, since she was about 13 or 14, Katie has been faithful in playing the piano for our worship services. It started one winter while we were having services at the Tamiami RV Park in North Fort Myers. There was a woman who played who did a fine job. One year she said, "I think it would be good for Katie to be able to play, as this will be a good training ground for her." Well, what started as a training ground turned into a long-term commitment, and for this I am thankful. I have never had to worry about having an accompanist for our services. She has done it now for about seven or eight years. Even though I'm not always that quick to give her a list of songs for the next Sunday, I have yet to hear her complain about playing.

She has been a blessing to our whole family. Someday, some young man will appear on the horizon in Katie's life, and she will leave our home to start one of her own. Both Beth and I recognize the great gap that will be left when that happens. For now, we appreciate every day we have with her as she has grown into a beautiful and godly young woman!

Proud to be a part of ALERT

When he was 15 years old, our oldest son, Nathan, told us of his interest in being a part of ALERT. ALERT is an acronym which stands for Air Land Emergency Resource Team. ALERT is a Christian organization which trains young men to be spiritually and physically fit in order to be ready to help in the time of natural disaster. At that time, they had recently moved their headquarters from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to a former university campus in Big Sandy, Texas. He spent a week there helping one of our friends, George Mock, rewire a large portion of the campus for electronics. Beth and I believe that the Lord had been working in Nathan's life, and used this visit to instill in his heart a desire to be a part of ALERT. Two years ago he left his well-paying job working for a company which sold and repaired computers here in Florida to travel to Eastern Texas. Thus he began the process of going through Basic Training, Phases II and III, and graduating from each one. At the conclusion of Phase III, he was asked by Captain Chris Overby to join him in the computer (IT) department of ALERT. This was what he has been trained to do. Seven years have passed since Nathan first stepped onto the ALERT campus. He has now been working for them since last November, and feels that this is where God wants him at this juncture in his life. We are glad he has this sense of being in God's will. There's no place better to be than where God wants you. We're proud to have one of our children working at ALERT, and so to be tied to its ministry.

A Red-Letter Day for Two Young Men

For almost two years our sons Joel and Caleb worked through the process of having braces. That meant sacrificing some of their favorite foods (what wasn't on the "off limits" list?), taking more time to care for their teeth, and enduring the pain of having their braces tightened. But this lesson in endurance paid off earlier this summer as they showed off their pearly whites in this photo taken just after their braces were removed. Now it just means wearing a retainer 24/7.

Welcome to our family blog!

There are many friends and family with whom we love to keep in contact. This blog has been set up for us to interact with many of you, and to open up our lives to anyone who would like to walk with us in the our pilgrimage of faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. If you are reading this, then we invite you to post comments on what you read, and hopefully we will encourage one another as we seek to love and serve the LORD.

God bless you!