What a wonderful evening!!!

 The kick-off for Anniversary Weekend...a concert with the Inspirations.  These seven men were a blessing!  Teddy, Caden, and Ainsley sat in the front row and were captivated.  It was fun to watch our children soak in the experience.  Teddy came to his Dad at intermission to ask if we got any of the cds.  We made a bee-line to the table afterwards.  If our children ask for music that will point their heart to their Savior, we will do whatever we can to help!  What a blessing!  Thank you, Uncle Pastor, for promoting, singing, and leading Godly music in our church and school!

 Song after song about our wonderful Savior and about Heaven.  They sure had fun playing and singing for the Lord!  It is ok to laugh and enjoy God's music together...in a church setting!  Last night...was NOT a funeral dirge!  Our auditorium was full with church family and guests.  There was AMEN-ING (out loud!), clapping, and there were tears.  It was refreshing and encouraging.  Three of these men have been traveling for 32, 42, and more years.  As we drove home after the concert and ice cream social, the kiddos were talking in the van, "That music was AAHH-MAAAZING!"

I am sitting here with  my cup of German coffee reflecting on last night.  The sun is shining and the birds are singing.  We are looking forward to another busy day...thankful for the goodness of God!

Pictures from our Europeon traveler

 Ted's favorite country to visit...remains Austria!  I can see why.

This is where he stayed in Germany.  It looks neat to me.  Ted said it reminds him of a haunted house.  Nobody was ever around...even the caretakers!  His room...where the top right gabled window is...the attic.  He showed me around inside during one of our facetime visits...and I said...not very sensitively..."Oh, it reminds me exactly of the Clue game board!  Really, it does!"  Ted did not find the humor in that at all.  It was dark and drab...spookily quiet and vacant. There was a lady who walked through the lobby at one point...but I wasn't sure if it was Mrs. Peacock or Scarlet...ha, ha, ha.

Have coffee...will travel...

 to any grade any time!  I've been in the 5/6 classroom, the 1st classroom, and now 7/8, 9/10, 11th.  I loved the humor of the teacher who I covered for..."Follow the yellow brick road..."

 I made some new friends...and kept busy the last two days.

I do have to admit...Economics class was above my comfort level...but the girls who take the course were gracious and kind!  I should have had Ted come in...that stuff is right up his alley!

...And....Daddy is home! I feel like I've been holding my breath for a very long time!

 Not a good get on the freeway and head to the airport sight!  Thankfully, the four lanes only had to go down to one lane for the safety of the road patchers for a short distance.  I made it to the airport at the same time Ted texted me that he was at the curb with his luggage.  Huh?!  Evidently, they had good head wind...or is it tail wind...coming back to Detroit.  His flight landed an hour earlier than scheduled! I dropped him off at the airport last Tuesday...just as the snowstorm was getting ready to hit.  Today...cloudy with the sun breaking through and 40 degrees.

Oh...it is so nice to have him home!  Balance has been restored.  Ted brought some treats from Germany.  He has some neat pictures again...different from the last time!  For now...he is catching up on sleep after being awake for the better part of 30 hours.  "Whatever it is that you do on an airplane is not classified as sleep!"

I'm just gonna say this once...consider it to be like the humor in uniform section in Reader's Digest.

 We didn't think things through very well when we started having our kiddos!  But God had a plan.  Three in quick succession was overwhelming for me when they were all in diapers, teething, sleepless nights, potty training, sick, getting into stuff...but I survived...with my sanity.  Well, I like to think so.  As I look back...those years may have been the easier ones...and it didn't matter if I stayed in my pjs all day.  I love our kiddos!  I am thankful for each of them.  They are teaching me many things!

 This TWO TWEENAGE GIRL stuff writing research papers and various other projects at the same time while meeting deadlines...may just do me in!  We've had our issues with time management, desire, and will.  To top it all off...the day before research paper is due...our third chair filler discovers once we get home that she didn't bring her folder home WITH HER RESEARCH PAPER INSIDE THAT NEEDS THE LAST THREE PAGES TO BE COPIED FOR THE FINAL DRAFT!
I didn't go back.
Tonight was church...she can get it then.
She had a poster to do!
I wasn't reminding her, so if she forgot...(hard part coming up...) she would suffer whatever consequences.  (In my defense, she forgot books yesterday...which we picked up after the dollar store stop for poster boards...that they told me they needed as they climbed into the van in car line. OI!)  She remembered...and she finished after we got home from church.  We shall see how she recovers from her 9:45pm bedtime...tomorrow morning!  It was amazing to see her "step it up" all of a sudden.  Teachable moment opportunity that I wasn't going to let go...she dropped her gaze quickly as she ADMITTED to bad decisions all week. We have been working on planning and not leaving it till the last minute, but we always end up working on the last day.  It is stressful...as in...not fun.
We're still learning...

So...their posters turned out nice.
I am thankful for the dollar store...that is conveniently a mile from school.   Poster board 2 for $1...so you can then get 2 packs of punch out letters for $1 each...and 2 report folders for $1 each.  Thankfully, they could share the package of 4x6 cards for $1.
Do you see where this is headed?  Everything is going to continue being doubled...for the next...how many years?  The needs are many.  Some big items.  Some nickel and dime me to death items.  And the dollar store won't work for everything...but for right now...it is a way to buy my sanity! 
And don't forget our fifth chair filler...he has an oral book report to give on Friday...dressed up...as Adoniram Judson.  And the words, "We did those cards all wrong!  We have to have a 3x5 card (Yeah!  I have those because I bought them at the dollar store!) and we can only write on the front.  We wrote down way to much stuff!"  Teddy finally filled me in this afternoon.  "Huh?  You just found this out today?  We have worked on it for two days...we don't wait till the last minute.  Well, we are over-prepared!  Not a problem...we can re-write it tomorrow and cut out a whole bunch of stuff!"
We should have looked for a wig at the dollar store.
Adoniram didn't have a buzz cut!
We don't have a ruffly white shirt.
"We are going to have to get creative.  It was easier when you were babies!"
Did I say everything was doubled?
I meant tripled...
with a twist...
who is our boy.

On behalf of my mother and father...

A picture of the Alps from above the clouds, as Ted flew from Austria to Germany this past Saturday.
I've been singing this song ever since... "And the God on the mountain is still God in the valley...the God of the good times is still God in the bad times...the God of the day is still God in the night!"
It was my first thought after Mom called Monday night with an update...that I was not expecting.  God is continuing to lead and stretch our faith. 
After some pre-op checks, Mom will not have her eye surgery as scheduled for tomorrow.  There is a different, more serious need to check into first.  We are thankful for God's working...and NOT healing her eye...as this issue would have gone un-checked!  We continue to pray for God's leading and His sustaining grace.  As I talked with Mom a few minutes ago, I remembered this picture that Ted sent.
"We talk of faith...when we're up on the mountain, but talk comes easy...when life's at its best.  But when things change...and we're down in the valley...that's when faith is...really put to the test!"
So thankful that God sees the whole picture...all the time...and He has perfect plans.
Mom shared this verse, Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God:  I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

 

Prep time...

 has been taking place for the last couple months.  Now...we are down to the final details for our church's 175th Anniversary.  It has been fun to help with all different types of work...scanning pictures, cleaning, painting, cooking, and organizing.  Baking happens on Friday.

Special concert, Ice cream social, Open house, Spaghetti supper, Homecoming service, Pie fellowship, Friend Day...a full, busy weekend!

 To help keep children occupied, Uncle Pastor (the kiddos and I decided we like that title!) wants some fun things to keep them busy while their parents fellowship.  We have come up with a few things.  Ok...so this idea made us laugh...so we are doing it!  A Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head with a pastoral theme...see the Bible?  Mrs. has kleenex in her purse.  I will laminate these puzzle type pieces for repeated use as people cycle through the open house time.

 Everyone has been working hard to get the building in tip top shape.  Uncle Pastor has worked on some neat details...the display case with all sorts of memorabilia.  It is amazing the historical collection that has been kept!

Thousands of pictures, newspaper articles, ledgers, documents, and the list goes on and on.  Those things are interesting, but the focus is being directed to the faithfulness of God through the years.  Many people have passed through these doors.  I am thankful that God has allowed our family to be part of this continuing ministry.  It sure has been a balm and blessing to our hearts already!

An average day...

 with a heap of laundry...a hot coffee...

A little friend...and a sky full of sunshine!

A basketball date

 29...that's our guy!

 He had a foul, four shots, and several rebounds!

 I love watching him play!

He makes a great date too!

To me...this is a picture of grace...

Grace undeserved.  Grace sufficient.  Grace over-flowing.  Grace experienced...time and time again!
We are all smiling.  This was taken during our visit at Christmas.  Our parents have held us up in prayer through many trials.  When I look at this picture, the words to the song "Keep On Praying For Me" by the Stephan Ray Nichols family play in my mind.  My heart is squeezed with the meaning of the words...it's very personal to my life.  In the recording, a little boy begins singing...then growing children sing...at the end...the parents singing.

Dear Jesus, help me obey Mommy. Help me grow up to be like my Daddy.  Help me play nice each day and put my toys away. In Jesus' name, Amen. Now, Daddy, it's your turn to pray.

Time has passed us by so quickly. It only seems like yesterday, I was just a little boy kneeling with you to pray. I learned from watching you and mother all along life's way.  You keep on serving Jesus, no matter come what may.  I've watched you love each other in sickness in health. You'll always be my heroes, and so I'm asking you today,

Keep on praying for me, don't ever stop praying for me.
As I go down life's pathway, keep on praying for me. 
May I live my life for God alone, and like you serve Him faithfully.
Just keep on praying for me, don't ever stop praying for me!

In our home, when we were young, we heard our brother sing that song.  It was just a song to us, we'd always sing along.  But in time, we understood the meaning of this little prayer.  As we've followed in your footsteps, we've learned to walk with God.  Mom and Dad, your lives are precious more than any words could say.  You will always be our heroes, and so, we each ask you today,

Keep on praying for me, don't ever stop praying for me.
As I go down life's pathway, keep on praying for me. 
May I live my life for God alone, and like you serve Him faithfully.
Just keep on praying for me, don't ever stop praying for me! 

We'll keep on praying for you.  We'll never stop praying for you. As you go down life's pathway, we'll keep on praying for you.  May you live your life for God alone, and each day serve Him faithfully. We'll keep on praying for you.  We'll never stop praying for you!

Now...we are praying for our parents...with so many miles between...it is the best thing we can do!   We have had some physical scares and concerns...and have been reminded that God can see us through the hard times of life.  We know what He has done for us in the past and we are trusting Him for the future!  God is always good!

Our Grammy, Kari's mother, will be going in for surgery on her left eye this coming March 7.  We are asking our family and friends to pray for the surgeon's hands.  We ask that you would pray for Dad and Mom as they wait through this week.  We are praying for God's grace to cover Dad and Mom as they endure a difficult recovery period (7-10 days of Mom keeping her face in a downward position).
We rest in the fact that God knows what He is doing.  We asked for healing, but the macular cyst didn't completely heal as of February 26.  Dad and Mom met with the specialist and have been prepared for the journey ahead.  Mom has some vision loss in her left eye, and it may not come back.  We are thankful for her right eye working over time.  How thankful I am for doctors and nurses who minister kindness during those uncertain appointments!  God gave Mom a doctor who has been praying for her!  Now he is going to walk through this "unpleasant" recovery with her.  Dad has ordered the special equipment to aide in the comfort-as-much-as-possible-as-you-can-have-face-down part.  I have been reminded that some times...God chooses to answer our prayers differently from what we would choose!  He has a reason in all this...even though we don't understand what it is.   He always carries us through those unpleasant times of life.  It has been a good teaching/learning lesson for our children..."but...Mom...we prayed that God would heal Grammy's eye!"
In my human frailty...I felt the same way...but then I remember every part of our life has a purpose...for our good and for His glory!  And so...we are trusting God...to once again...work His good purpose and give grace that is sufficient for each day.
Will you pray for my parents this week?

A cake wreck of my own...

 My helper...making sure the frosting was beat to perfection.

 The cakes baked up nice and puffy...and I am wondering if that is where things started to fall apart.

 Ted noticed the leaning and suggested that I lay it on its side.  "But that is not what she wanted!  She wants a nail polish bottle...standing up."  He was right.  I knew he was right.  But I put more skewers in it and it was looking like it would be ok...

 but the van ride was our undoing.  I saw it go over as I drove...and there was nothing I could do.  I teared up...but knew I could do something to fix it...sort of.

 My undoing...the top fell off in my hand...and there I stood...coat on...and chocolate frosting all over my hand.

The top is drastically shorter...so it looks like a roll.  I squirted frosting out the top...flowing into the words Happy 13...but if you are not a girl...it makes no sense.  What a mess a knocked over bottle of nail polish makes!  I'm so sorry, Bryn...the little bottles look like what you wanted...sort of.  The cake and frosting taste good...just watch out for the skewers! 

Where did the week go?

 "Losing a day" to a snow day, sure made this week go by quickly!  We have had traces of snow for the last few days.  I always like to see how the snow and ice make the trees sparkle...even on a gray day.

 It almost felt like spring...almost!  Meijer had strawberries...beautiful strawberries 10 for $10 and get an 11th free.  Seemed like a deal to me...a sweet deal to be sure...especially after we got home and tasted them!  We filled our freezer with most of them.

 Ashlynn and Chevy always "work" together to fill his empty food containers.  I sure appreciate the helpful hands of our children!  Makes every job go A LOT FASTER...plus it burns up their unending supply of energy.

 Friday night lights at our house...movie marathon, twinkly lights, and a fire in the fireplace!

The kiddos informed me of National Pancake Day...we celebrated this morning...with more strawberries!