Wonderful Fellowship!

Last week our family was invited to a first-time homeschool support group only a few minutes away. There were five moms and twenty-one children--and a dear old grandmother who could not speak much English, but shared loving hugs and kisses all around.

A mother named Audrey was in charge, and she did a superb job of having organized activities for all the children.

The first activity was to promote teamwork. Audrey divided the children into teams of two, and let each table of teams observe a tray of small items for 40 seconds. Then the teams had a short time to write down everything they could remember.

 

Here are most of the boys at their table, scratching their brains.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen another mom coordinated table activities for the little ones who couldn't read or write yet. 

Carrie and Amanda won the first two activities! They were a great team!

 



The next activity was for each team to sort a cup of macaroni, red beans, and chick peas.

Who can get them sorted into three piles first?

After teamwork activities, more cooperation and cooridination are required. This activity has two teams at once working to scoop cotton balls off the floor--with one partner of the team blindfolded and the other giving directions! Danny was teamed up with a 16-year-old, and instead of telling him directions, he pounded the floor wherever there were cottonballs. He's definitely a kinesthetic and auditory learner! Everyone had a ball cheering each other on.

 

During an instructional activity, the children took turns playing "Who Has the Ball?" Then there was a delicious snack and time for mom and children to visit.

A new friend, sister in Christ, and organizer of this first event--Audrey Zarkovski, whom I've met in Safeway a few years ago. Just when I felt I couldn't make it any longer without some sort of understanding support, God is providing other families with similar needs and vision-- choosing to homeschool but recognizing our need for support and fellowship and interaction with other families of like faith.

Last night, all of us went out for exercise in the snow, by shoveling about 20 or 30 wheelbarrow loads of snow from this 6-ft drift in the goat pen. We spread it over the dry and barren spots of the back yard.

Hannah wanted to help, too! She insisted she did not need mittens. Later when she went inside, Sam found her in the kitchen with muddy mop water all over the floor, sunflower seeds all over the floor, and who knows what else was going on while we were dutifully wheeling snow here and there!

The tunnel the children made in the huge drift before making a mighty crash through it!

Second Snowstorm in Two Days!

Tuesday night we had another snowstorm that redrifted where we had shoveled and used the snowblower earlier! We had planned to take our steer to butcher, but the roads were too bad and the drifts were high again on the way to the pasture where the cattle trailer was. Sammy is here snowblowing a path all over again to get the truck through.

 



Teamwork! Someone came up with the idea to blow the snow into wheelbarrows and take it where there wasn't any snow around trees or on bare patches of yard. It was fun teamming up with my sweetheart! How wonderful to have him home for the morning and to sneak some extra kisses and hugs.



Jonathan starting to snowblow through this huge drift.

Sammy teaming up with his dad. We'd slowly maneuver wheelbarrow right alongside the blower, 

then the boys would dump it around trees.

Timmy's turn! He is not afraid of hard work.



You can see how high the drift inside the goat pen is--more than six feet high, Timmy says.

Carrie is busy working in this huge drift by the snowfence, digging paths, and tunnels.

This is just one of the tunnels. 

You can see how high the snow is.

Sledding.

Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow!

February Snowstorm Dumps in Drifts!

Today the children had a wonderful time playing in the snowdrifts left by Sunday's snowstorm.

 

 

Here are Hannah and Danny by the flatbed trailer.

 

This drift inside the goat pen is several feet high at the ridge.

We all spent quite a while shoveling snow from drifts into bare spaces on the yards. I got lots of exercise that way--maybe too much--it is hard to even sit here blogging as I guess I overdid. Grrr.

 

Here is another drift, with wind curve in it.

 

The big drift in the pasture in front of the snow fence. It is a few feet high at the high points, too! It was surely worth it to put some snow fence up because most of the snow just blows from here to --well, perhaps Kansas if you don't catch it somehow!

Carrie digging into a snow cave.

The puppies had a ball, too!

As I said, this is what the pasture looks like where there isn't snow fence. Wish we could spread the drifts out!

The other evening, when it snowed, the girls made a snow mummy out of Timmy on the front porch swing! Their parents laughed and laughed.

The children coming back from a fun sled ride around the circle on the road.

 

 

If we teach our children to help while they are young, they will be happy helpers when older, too. Three-year-old Hannah is rolling chicken thighs in cornflakes crumbs and putting them into a casserole dish. 

I believe a great secret of happiness in a family is to let the little ones help with all manner of duties and projects--together with their mom or dad or older sibling. It takes patience, and that requires sacrifice on the part of Mom and Dad and others. Many times through the years I have helped get a child started on a fun project like this, then stepped out of it and done the dishes or clean up, so that the children could learn a new skill and do the fun thing. They already know how to do dishes! So many girls do not know how to even cook when they get married. I let Hannah crush the cornflakes with rolling pin, roll the chicken and put it in the pan, and then have her take dishes over to wash. What a fun time!

And guess what? She is in there fussing right now so I better go find a project for her!

 

"Remember Those in Bonds"

Today was a day full of joy and answered prayers. We've been praying for more fellowship for our family closer to home and have been making friends with some Mennonite folk not that many miles away.  Twice now we moms and the children have been able to get together for projects and games.

Today's project was writing letters to Christians who are imprisoned for their faith in hostile countries.

 



Above, the children are busy addressing letters and finding Scriptures of encouragement to copy into their letters. Even Timmy addressed and wrote a letter. (This all counted for English assignments as an added benefit!)

Below are little piles of letters ready to be stamped or finished.

The Bible teaches us that we are to "remember those in bonds, as bound with them."

A lady at church had purchased these letter writing kits and urged our children to take some and write letters, so today we shared the project with others who had never heard about it. 

"Dear friend, We thank God for you and are praying for you. May God give you strength and courage each day. Jesus has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you..."

The children and moms help each other come up with ideas to write and Scriptures that would encourage someone who is in prison usually through false accusation because of their faith.

This was a very special time for me. I was especially grateful for another family who was willing to participate in this project of love!

Afterward, two other ladies brought in a generous lunch for us all, (chicken pot pie, rolls with strawberry jam, and brownies and ice cream)  and then the children and I played a fun game of kickball. It was cold and foggy, but the fresh air and exercise was wonderful. (Note: the mom of the Lucas children did not do the greatest about kicking the ball or running or winning points! But we sure had fun! Even Hannah and Danny were allowed to try to play so they could have fun, too.)

 

Below, Crystal is rather unsuccessfully trying to get ornery puppies to cooperate for a picture!



Some of our cute puppies.

On our way home from the Mountain Springs Mennonite church/school, we stopped to ship this box of layette bundles the girls had put together another time for Christian Aid Ministries. What a joy to be involved in sharing with others in need in these ways! Perhaps as you read this blog, you will be encouraged to think about a way you can do more for others, however small a project it may be. God will reward us! And there is so much joy in sharing love!

Lots of Love on Valentine's Day

Crystal put together a bulletin board last week for Valentines Day. It turned out so pretty.

 

Yesterday was a happy Valentines Day. The girls had a lot up their sleeves. Rosie kept covering up SOMETHING she was doing with Danny, which turned out to be some of these hearts they hung on our kitchen light. 

Jonathan had brought home this lovely Gerbera daisy for  centerpiece.

Each of the girls wanted to make a special dish from Taste of Home magazine, which a dear friend of theirs had gotten them a subscription for. Rose made these luscious apple dumplings with orange sauce almost entirely by herself, substituting homemade dough for the refrigerated crescent roll dough the recipe called for. I have never tasted anything so luscious, and I was thankful to actually have room for a whole serving after an already good supper.

Carrie made these cheesy potatoes, and Crystal made a heart-shaped meatloaf with bacon and shredded carrot. It was one of the best meatloaves I've ever tasted. We had to admit that our wonderful daughters are becoming quite competent in the kitchen! What a blessing!

The girls pushed me out of the kitchen, which I took as a complement.Here I am at the ironing board to iron and put away things. I did manage to sneak into the kitchen a couple times to wash or rinse some dishes without the girls shooing me away. 

Jonathan came home with this marvelous balloon "especially for you, but for everyone!"

The boys have had oodles of fun with it, hanging everything from magnets to little plastic helicopters on the string and watching it go up and down. 

And since the girls made most of the supper, shooing me out of the kitchen, they got it back! After supper, I shooed THEM out of the kitchen and did the dishes, and...

can you believe it? We had to snap a picture of this to document it. Jonathan actually helped rinse the dishes!!!! Maybe the girls need to make such a splendid meal more often.

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. 

After family worship, Jonathan and I were still on our knees, and I was rubbing my worn out head, when numerous Valentines Day cards began descending in front of us. So we pull ourselves up and take time to read and enjoy all the loving little notes from our precious children. 

Perhaps we could say these chickens were an early Valentines Day gift for the children.

Sammy found them for sale on Craigs List, and we hurried and got them, as they are young and some just started to lay. Ours had started molting or for some reason had quit laying.

Now we are back to getting almost a dozen eggs a day--every color--green, blue, white, rusty brown, and brown. How delighted the little ones are with their little fragile treasures, loving to run and show Mom what they found.



I treasure my children in my heart, treasure my husband, treasure the gifts of God. His mercies, like these wonderful eggs, are gifts of love that are new each morning. Sometimes unexpected, you don't know what color or shape or size His gifts will be, but they will be all from His loving hand--

Even the cracked and broken things. Sometimes the children bring in shells already cracked or broken. But we carefully salvage the egg. There is treasure inside that broken shell.

I teach my children that

even a cracked egg is still an egg.

Even a broken egg is still an egg.

And we must not despise the circumstances that God sends us, though they may seem broken and messed up. "Why this, Lord? Couldn't you have sent me a nicer gift today?"

Sometimes the eggs are dirty and messy. We have to wash them, get through the mess to get the treasure. Sometimes we don't get a treasure from God until we have gotten through a messy situation and allowed more dirt and dross to be scrubbed from our lives.

And even though every one of us is cracked and broken and simply a vessel of clay,

God still considers us His treasure. He separates the cracked shell from the treasure inside and condescends to still use it.

God specializes in broken things, "in things thought impossible."
He chooses the weak, the foolish, the despised, the things that are not,

 to bring to nought things that are.

Great is His faithfulness!