Youth Project for Our Suffering Brethren

The National Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church was in November. During that month, our children were involved in a youth project to make parachutes for delivering the gospel by air to a very restricted country, and to fill ten bags for needy and persecuted Christians or their neighbors in another restricted nation. Here Crystal is helping a few older folk who pitched in as well. We ordered kits from one of our favorite organizations that works to help families of martyrs. I am being careful how much I say on the blog because anybody could read this.

Sis. Naomi is marking exactly what items are in each bag. Approved items included jackets, sweaters, blankets, T-shirts, soap, a nerf ball, and towels. Later the bags will be vacuum sealed before shipping.

Here are the ten bags lined up by the church altar, so that special prayer can be made for the recipients, that they would be blessed and encouraged by the gifts of love.

Some folk from our church practicing for the prison service we had the first Saturday of December. Jonathan is the one on the far right, playing the big baritone horn. Next to him is a man playing what is called a pocket trumpet. 

Sammy's Birthday!

In our house, the children get to choose what cake they want for their birthday. AND they get to make it! Sammy is chopping up four cups of diced apples for an apple walnut cake. I forgot to check it when he spread it in the pan, and it turned out rather lumpy and humpy. It is supposed to be lumpy, but not humpy! So the humpty dumpty cake, at which I was a little embarrassed due to my negligence of not supervising better, got hidden away till time to serve it with icecream, at which time it was pronounced beyond success by the company and grandparenst. The way I know it is beyond success is when they ask you for the recipe! Despite the humps, it was one of the best cakes any of us had ever tasted, and so full of apples! So, good job, Sam!

Sammy invited a boy from church named Michael, and his parents, and of course Grandma and pa Lucas to enjoy the birthda with us.

There were lots of gifts, including a Guinness Book of World Records from Michael, and plenty of other things.

Hannah spent Sammy's birthday evening finding hats for everyone and putting them upon their heads--usually backwards!

Grandma got a hat AND a scarf!

 Jonathan reads the Christmas story to Danny at bedtime...

...while Timmy goes to bed under the Christmas tree, their favorite spot during the Christmas season.  Something about the cozy lights makes it warm and cozy.

The girls set up the bell set our church Sunday School has, in order to figure out songs for the Christmas program.

The children coaxed Daddy and Mommy into playing a game of Monopoly Deal, that Sammy had been given by Michael for his birthday. Mom won! She said it was because she knew how to obey! She did everything Rose told her to because she did not have the least idea how to play at first.

Guess who we found in the cupboard!

The boys with their blocks.

Jonathan lifts Hannah up to hang an ornament on the tree.

The children help put away the Christmas figures of the flannel graph set that Mom used for teaching Sunday School.

Of course, Danny likes to put away the animal figures!

Now it is Crystal's Birthday!



Sweet sixteen!



She made a mint-flavored, cream filled chocolate cake. Mmm.

  Sixteen Blessings for Crystal's "Sweet Sixteenth" Birthday

All of us present at her birthday mea expressed the blessing she had been to us or prayed these blessings on her.

1. That just as the morning she was born was bright with crystal light on the new-fallen snow, God would bless her with the "crystal" brightness of His presence.--Mom

2.That the Sun of Righteousness would rise like the "Dawn" in her life.--Mom

3. Crystal is a blessing because she is a good cook and made such a good cake!-- Hannah (age 2)

4. Crystal has blessed us with her good cooking, and

5. I pray God will bless her with a good hubby to perfect her cooking on! --Daddy

6. Bless her with wisdom. --Carrie

7. Bless her with patience. --Grandpa Lucas

8. I'm blessed that Crystal gives us presents for our birthdays and Christmas, and may she have the gift of God. --Timmy (age 8)

9. Crystal is blessed with cheerfulness. May she always have the joy of the Lord. --Grandma Lucas

10. Crystal has blessed us with her helpfulness. May she have the ever present help of the Lord in time of need. --Rose

11. Crystal is the blessing of a good example.--Grandma

12. Bless her with thriftiness.--Grandpa

13. And may that be balanced with the blessing of generosity. --Mom

14. May she be blessed with hope.--Stacy (a cousin)

15. And glory!  --Danny

16. May she have good friends. ---Grandma finished the sixteenth blessing.

Crystal below, with her gifts. Everything from new ear muffs to a pretty pink outfit to books, yarn, a sweater and other little gifts from all of her loving family and cousin Stacy and both sets of grandparents.

Giving Thanks This Year!

We give thanks this year!

For Guests Unseen

On Thanksgiving morning, we took time to give thanks to God. Danny wanted to give thanks for God and Jesus! I can't post a picture of them, because they are unseen. But they are real in our hearts and spirits. We want our children to grow up to believe and know God as much as they believe and see people and things around them.

For Healthy Food

I was tickled to find luscious blackberries for just a dollar a carton Thanksgiving week, so we had a beautiful fruit platter for breakfast.  We usually go to relatives on Thanksgiving Day, which is something to be thankful for, that we have family who love us and whom we love. At the same time, I miss having our own family dinner traditions and getting to make special holiday meals at home! I am a homebody who loves my own home and family. But we try to make up for it a bit by putting extra effort and specialties into our holiday breakfasts. Lots of protein and pretty colors!  Jonathan makes omelets while the rest of us fix the fillings and work at other things. Here was one of the omelets before it got folded up. Well, it didn't fold!

Thankful for pies! This year we went to my sister Iva's down in Pueblo West. She made blueberry, cherry, mincemeat and pecan pies, while we contributed apple and pumpkin pies.

I loved these simple decorations Iva had on her table: a craft from one of her children's Sunday School classes, and a plate Elisa arranged with tea lights and pine cones, leaves and miniature harvest fruits.

More decorations on their bar counter.

Iva working hard in the kitchen getting everything ready while I ooh and ahh over her cooking and decorations and all the simple things that add to life's joys if received with a thankful heart.

Kenny and Sammy seeing just how much their heights differ! Kenny is a little younger.

Kenn explaining about some of his Miller family traditions as our two families and a friend, "Uncle" Carl, take our places at the table. I ended up sitting down on parts of two different benches at once put end to end beside Jonathan. The only trouble was that the beenches were different heights by about 2 inches. It's a good thing I am not too stuck in tradition to move a little bit!

"We will sing the doxology, which is a Miller tradition for Thanksgiving," says Kenn.

When Iva found out how much I miss a turkey centerpiece, she set it on whole and she and Kenn carved it together.

Here are the little ones at their table, including Regi, Timmy, Evan, Danny and Sarah.

Rose and Krissy hussle with a game of Dutch Blitz.

Now there is a lot more hussling with Dad and Iva joining the game.

Elisa and Carrie play croquet outside.

Elisa and Carrie playing an indoor matching game.

Iva showed me some of our old friends who are on Facebook. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces with all their children or grandchildren. It was just overwhelming seeing people I knew 20 years ago, and now they have children getting married or grandchildren! Yikes! What does that say about how old we are getting?

 

Poor Jonathan's lap becomes a toy box.

After a very sound sleep (Due to the Golden Rule, I will spare you the picture I took while he was sleeping! :) , Jonathan gets fed Christmas shaped pretzels by Hannah.

Our Kitty

Best friends!

"Not too sure about this..."

And even less sure about this! Poor kitty! Especially when he is a boy kitty!

One of Hannah's favorite pastimes is going out to hunt for and bring in fresh, warm eggs! "Chickie eggs!" she exclaims delightedly.

Another of her favorite pastimes is finding something to eat! This time she was quietly trying to find that candy that Mom threw away...

Ordinary Days and Duties

Rose decides she wants a dirt skirt.

Danny and Hannah help bring in our little potato harvest in their little wheelbarrow.

 Rose and Danny dig potatoes from our raised bed.

Playing train with upside-down chairs!

 A cozy evening roasting marshmallows by the woodstove.

Crystal exercises much longsuffering as she supervises Danny and sometimes Hannah rinsing dishes in the evening.

Thankful for pears! Since we were able to get organic pears for just 25 cents a pound or so, we canned over a hundred quarts.

More longsuffering and lessons in patience. Hannah is included in helping to mix rolls.

I am sure Rose would like us to believe that she is also exercising longsuffering and patience having to wipe the stovetop in the morning...

Ironing out the wrinkles in our lives...Thanks to Crystal and all the children, I can blog every once in a while as they keep the household running smoothly.