Baby B

 The first great grandchild will be arriving next month.  Excitement does not even begin to capture the level of hope and anticipation this little guy is bringing!  No names have been revealed yet.  The nursery's theme is little jungle animals, just like the cake!

 The new parents-to-be.

 Conway can't wait to be a grandmother!

 It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  The shower was held at a remote country club that was charming.

 Katie got 3 of these diaper cakes.  They are adorable, unedible and low-fat!

 It's hard to hold gifts on your non-existing lap.  This was a gift from relatives up north who couldn't make it.  Thought I would pop a picture of Katie opening their gift of a college fund piggie bank...crazy to think about how much it will be when this fellow graduates!

 Party games...this one was guess what's in the diaper....

 Smushed Snickers, smashed Pay Day, eewie chocolate bars...how creative!

 This is Katie's grandma...such a dear lady!  She made the quilt.

Such a sweet day to gather around a new mom and join in her bubbling gladness.  How precious these times are!

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 139:14-19

Coram Deo,
E.W.

Global Aid Network

Instead of class at school today we invested in a service project for one of our class field trips.  We went to the Global Aid Network to participate in a worldwide outreach.

Global Aid Network is a mutli-national network of ministries serving to demonstrate the love of God, through word and deed, to hurting and needy people around the world through relief and development projects.

As the relief and development aid arm of Campus Crusade for Christ International, the ministry of Global Aid Network spans the globe helping to meet physical needs in areas of poverty and despair and providing hope through evangelistic outreach.   This cart is used for handicapped people to get mobile!

 Clean water, we take it for granted here in the states.  We have nothing to complain about!  Imagine getting your water in this manner.

 This dear lady showed us how to make the salvation message bracelet.

 Our teacher shared after we returned home, "We had a wonderful experience making bracelets which are used to share the gospel with children and adults around the world. One leader told us that they are even used with government officials sometimes – I guess a handmade bracelet along with the gospel message is more appreciated in other cultures! We also packed school supplies to send to children in Guatemala. Another leader told us that when she visited Guatemala she asked why so many children were not in school. She was told that children have to supply their own school items and if they do not have them they cannot attend. These pens, pencils and rulers that we packed today will be used by children who literally would not have an education without them. We are so blessed and what a privilege it is to be able to be a part of serving others in this way."

 Hands are my second favorite thing to photograph or sketch or behold.  Hands that have loved, served, and worked diligently are a masterpiece!

 If the beads went in the wrong order or you forgot to tie one end symmetrically like the other end...DO OVER!!

 Somehow making the bracelets became a competition.  Everyone was counting their piles.

 After making bracelets we went into the big warehouse to restock boxes with school supplies.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25: 35-40

Coram Deo,
E.W.

Dicecapades

For Leui's birthday he got a new zany game called Dicecapades.  For those who like a little friendly competition and for those who like some fierce competition this game is for you.  Our crowd contained both.  It's a cute game of brain teasers, drawing skills, stacking skills, and being able to go with the flow!

We sang

 We hugged

 We ate

 Banana Grams anyone?

 Stack the teny, tiniest dice in 30 seconds...

 3 very different expressions...

 Sophia was not pleased with one of our guests...and he was terrified of her!

 One of the card activities was to arm wrestle the person on your right, which would have been Harvey against my mom, but my dad stepped in!

Here is a picture of one of the nicest guys you'll ever want to meet.  He is charming, romantic, smart, can fix ANYTHING, filled with compassion, and funny!  I met him 19 years ago right around this season.  He puts the color in my world!  He is my beloved and I am his.

Song of Solomon 6:3

Coram Deo,

E.W.

Give Them Grace

What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city?  Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio.  Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia (the city where he pastored), all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other.  There would be no swearing.  The children would say, "Yes, sir" and "No ma'am," and the churches would be full every Sunday...where Christ is not preached.

I have started reading this book by Fitzpatrick & Thompson about being much more concerned about teaching our children grace than teaching them to be 'good.'  Now that I have been a parent for over 16 years I have read a ton of books, taking umpteen parenting classes and there are a few golden nuggets that if I could turn back the hands of time and have a redo this is one of the books I would say is a keeper!

Coram Deo,

E.W.

School's in Full Swing

We are off and running with the new school semester.  Two in high school and one in elementary...how did this happen, weren't they just in diapers??  For the first time all three of my children are in school full-time.  My 4th grader came home and asked, "Mom, what do you do all day?"  "I lament and cry and console myself by staring at your picture all day until you come home darling." (I didn't say this out loud mind you).  Actually, I have been enjoying my full days of being a family manager!  Sometimes I don't sit down at all or eat lunch, I am just busy being about the work at hand.

He really needs two bookbags with all the books he carries back and forth!  He is House Captain for Augustine House, directing choir, teaching piano, directing drama and taking physics, calculus, honors lit. and history, and writing a 15 page junior thesis this year.  He has got his focus on!

Girlfriend is sporting that Peggy Sue look.  After being homeschooled for all of middle school (thank you very much!) she has jumped into freshman year with a vengeance.  Getting A+ in everything it feels real good to know that all our hard work at home has blossomed into equipping her for these rigorous academics.  She is still teaching riding lessons on the weekends and is involved in drama and choir as well.  She loves her worldview class and is doing some WIKI/blog stuff in literature.

My handsome Gabinator is growing in leaps and bounds.  This year they have changed the focus to study skills and reading at home instead of the traditional homework fill-in-the-worksheet things we have been doing for a coon's age.  I have to say teaching study skills has been a fruit of the spirit engagement!  Self-control and perseverance have been exercised on both our parts.  It is a huge leap from 3rd grade to 4th grade.  New applications are tapping into his brain that are stretching him.  He is doing great!  He is playing soccer and practicing piano too.

 

I have lived out that little Norman Rockwell part of me that dreamed of warm muffins for breakfast to send them off to school and gooey chocolate chip cookies from the oven welcoming them home. That glass cake dish has had some homemade yummy treat in it since school started and I just delight in keeping it full.  Besides filling my garage with purging projects and de-cluttering one area at a time (no hurry mind you) I am blessed and content to care for my family and home.  I have been trying to write one encouraging snail mail card a week and preparing for Sunday meals with family and friends.  Maybe I will venture out and have lunch with a friend one of these days, or sit down and read, or paint my toes but for now...those 6 hours fly by in a flash!

Coram Deo, 

E.W.