A Field Trip~by Beth

I did it. I actually took the kiddos on a museum field trip this past week. I had tickets for our local hands-on museum and thought I better redeem them before time ran out. The above photo is of Emma doing a weather forecast. There is a closed circuit camera and tv that allows the children to see themselves doing the weather. Emma did a fine job. I helped her with placing all the icons for the different weather. It is quite unusual to have snow in Minnesota and a hurricane in the Gulf at the same time. The children also got to see gravity in motion with various tracks and balls, air, clouds, a thunderstorm, wind tunnel, and a live demonstration of feeding the sting rays. We also were able to get to a show that featured a python, some sort of frog, and an alligator which they all got to touch. Can anyone say "Hand Sanitizer?" We had a nice time and even stopped for a quick lunch on the way home.

Abigail's 4th Birthday~by Beth

The day after Nathan was married was Abigail's 4th birthday. While all the relatives were around, like Grandparents and a great Aunt and a great Uncle, we had a little celebration. Here is our beautiful Abigail.

Caleb and Joel are both Referees~by Beth

Last August Caleb took the referee course to become a certified, Florida soccer referee. He passed his test, ordered his uniform and got on the roster of refs. Here is a photo of my two guys headed to Caleb's first game as a ref.

A Fall dinner~by Beth

Just before we left for Nathan's wedding, I cooked up our great big pumpkin that was gracing our table. I froze all the cooked pumpkin for future use and made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for the trip. When I got home I made a yummy fall dinner of pumpkin soup, generally liked by most, and some fresh baked rolls. It looked so fallish with the seasonal table cloths, decorations and candles. I just had to take a photo. Kind of reminds me of Abby Anderson posts :-) I also made a delicious chocolate pie from a recipe I found in a magazine. It turned out wonderfully. It was so rich it was a good thing that we all only got a thin slice.
So, here was our dinner last week. It took me until now to get the camera unloaded with all the computer trouble we had at the end of the summer. I hope to update with some other photos. That will have to wait for another day.

Nathan's Wedding

We arrived home early on Monday morning after attending Nathan's wedding. It was very beautiful and both brides in this double wedding looked beautiful. We had six members of the family be a part of the ceremony, including Jon who was the officiant of the service. After a cold, rainy week, the heavens opened up to sun and warm temperatures for a perfect wedding day. It was still very chilly for the pictures at 8 A.M., but by an hour before the ceremony our jackets and sweaters all came off. We are beginning to get some great pictures off facebook. Of course our photographer has a slew of pictures that we will get after she edits them all and Nathan and Hannah get back from their honeymoon.

We arrived in Big Sandy on Wednesday last week. Nathan and Hannah had planned all our dinners and lunches for the entire time we were in TX, including the night of their wedding! That was a blessing. There were so many involved in some way in making this day happen. We are so grateful for everyone's help. Johanna was a wonderful flower girl. She was always at Nathan or Hannah's side, even after they ran through the bubble line on their way to change to leave. I made her come back to me. It was bittersweet to see them drive off. I was happy for them, but sad to say goodbye. That night all my family and Katie left along with a good portion of the folks that came for the wedding, so the dorm where we stayed was quite empty and quiet. That was depressing. After so much noise and activity it was like the air went out of a balloon and everything felt flat. We got up at 4 A.M. to pack up to leave. Of course it took us nearly two hours to actually get on the road, but we made it home in 19.5 hours, which is pretty amazing. Jon and Joel had to get to work and college the next morning. I have gotten most of the unpacking and washing done, and nearly everything put away. Now to look forward to Christmas when Nathan, Hannah and Katie will be coming home. Yea!!!!

Nathan's courtship journey~by Beth

When we joined ATI we were exposed to the idea of courtship instead of dating. We decided that was a more biblical idea and that dating definitely was not God's idea. So, that became our family standard. When Nathan was 15 years old he was able to attend the Young Men's Counseling seminar in Indianapolis. He was challenged to give the Lord his youth in order to serve Him, kind of a tithe of his life. Nathan made the commitment to give the Lord the next seven years of his life. During this time he would not be looking around for his future mate but would concentrate on serving the Lord and his family. He had also felt the Lord calling him to attend the ALERT Academy, and just before his 21st birthday he left for Texas. After completing the program in a little over a year, he was asked to remain and come on staff working in the computer department.

When the seven years he committed to the Lord came to an end, he talked to his dad about talking to girls. I later found this out and told him that it was no different than when he was talking to them now, but when the Lord showed him the right one, he would know in his spirit. I also told him that when it happened it would be fast since he was already in the position to be married and had prepared himself spiritually as well. Those words were prophetic.

So, a year passed. Then in September of 2008, he began to pray about a young woman that worked at ALERT. He did not tell the woman, nor her father, nor us. He just prayed about it. He prayed all Fall, all Winter, and then in the Spring he approached her father, Capt. Smith about the possibility of courting his daughter, Hannah. Capt. Smith liked Nathan and gave his blessing. Nathan had already built a relationship with Capt. Smith, and so he was able to evaluate Nathan as a future marriage partner for Hannah based on how well he already knew him. During this period of time he indicated to us that there was someone special. He planned to ask Hannah if she would begin a courtship with him. We talked several times about the timing of this "proposal" and he decided on a day and time.

Nathan told us later that he was very nervous about asking Hannah. He felt that before asking if she were willing to begin a relationship with the idea of marriage he should come clean with her about areas in his life in which he had failed. Full disclosure. She said yes, and Nathan later recounted that it was in that moment that he knew she would say yes to getting engaged. That was the first week of June.
Several weeks later Nathan came home for vacation to Florida. We talked about their relationship and he revealed that he was ready to ask her to marry him. He initially thought that he would propose on October 24th at Hannah's sister's wedding. But as time went on he told us he did not want to wait that long. He asked our counsel and if we had any check in our spirits about him getting engaged sooner. We did not and gave him our full blessing. Now, just before he left to go back to Texas we went looking at rings. We found one that was stunning, but still needed her ring size. When Nathan got back he got her ring size. I asked him how he got it thinking that somehow he had gotten a hold of one of her rings and then called to have the ring sized. He told me that he just asked her. The ring was to arrive on a Friday but arrived a day early. He and his roommate went to find a microscope to check the number on the diamond and see if it was the same as the one on his certificate, which it was. He had told us he thought they would get engaged on his birthday, but he wanted to keep the ring in his pocket in case the right time just came along. Lo and behold, the very next night the right moment came and he asked her to marry him. She said, "Yes." That was July 10th, making his courtship five or six weeks long.

We are so grateful that the Lord has brought a godly woman into Nathan's life. We pray that will be a testimony for our other children, and others about leaving their future spouse in God's hands and serving him with their whole heart.

I am also grateful for e-mail since it has allowed me to get to know Hannah. We have been sending lots of e-mails back and forth and having deep conversations. Jon is counseling them for marriage and will be performing the ceremony.

Tomorrow, Katie leaves for ALERT. Glad I will be busy with the children and school.

A new chapter in our lives~by Beth

Well, so much for trying to keep of more often on this blog. I love to write, just can't seem to get to it with the wonderful business of our lives, oh and the computer finally getting fixed (well, a replacement until it gets fixed in the next few weeks). After we began school and Jon went back to teaching at Ft Myers Christian School, we did settle into a routine. That is, until the boys began asking to go to football practice before basketball practice on Tuesdays. All their friends were going to play, which includes most of the basketball team, so we said they could go practice but don't plan on playing as we did not have the money for that, nor did we want the extra scheduling challenges. Well, next thing I know they are on the team and have games scheduled. So, instead of having a more relaxed Fall leading up to the busy winter and Spring, now we are going to games that last 2 hours!!! Plus the girls volleyball play during the hour before so we have to go cheer them on. I don't mind all of this, but it is hard to keep up some days. Yesterday we got poured on and soaked. But, with 2 hours of the game, we managed to dry off to just damp.
Wednesdays we have the boys' co-op followed by 3 piano lessons, home to dinner and then catch up on any school work that didn't get done, or correct work they did not understand. Today Jon worked with David and Charity on their math.
Katie is getting ready to move to TX to minister at the International ALERT Academy where Nathan is. She has felt that the Lord wanted her to give Him at least a year to serve. We will miss her but look forward to the growth that the Lord has in mind for her life. She leaves in one week!! Then we will all be leaving for TX for Nathan's wedding about 20 days later. I have been e-mailing his fiance' Hannah for some time now and am excited to be getting to know what a sweet, godly woman she is. Nathan used courtship to begin a relationship with her and then was shortly engaged. They will be having a double wedding with Hannah's sister Emily. Jon is performing the ceremony. I can't wait. Maybe next post I will write their courtship story. It is soooo of the Lord. What a blessing. I am excited that our other children will have such a great example for their lives.
This replacement computer does not have our hard drives so I do not have access to any photos except this one of Nathan and Hannah right after they got engaged.