Mom, I'm going to major in English Writing...

Warning...I confess to some of my poor homeschooling mistakes...

Today I got a phone call from my oldest son and these were his words, "Mom, I'm going to major in English writing."  He had hinted that he really felt like he wanted to change his major a couple of weeks ago.  He was majoring in Information Systems.  He had a late start in this major so he had programming classes this year and just was not enjoying it too much.  But he was thinking that next year, he would probably enjoy what was to come.

So after registering for his classes and thinking about the classes on his schedule, he just was not happy and called us to ask us what he thought about changing his major.

My first thought was - you can major in whatever you want to, just not English!  That wasn't on his mind at the time - it was more like Public Communications or something in communications.

And then he met with some trusted advisors and professors from his school and realized that what he really loves is writing.  He actually told me that he didn't have to write a "real" paper this semester and he missed it! So, my son is now an English writing major and he is quite happy about this and even about what career choices lie ahead for him. (Yes - I did google this so thankfully, there are some career choices for him!! )

Why am I writing this blog today?  I just want to encourage my fellow homeschooler mommas of young boys.  I will tell you a little bit about my son, Jonathan.  When he was very little, he was very bright and learned very easily.  In fact, just starting out homeschooling, I had it pretty easy.  But one thing that I learned very early was that he hated anything that had to do with writing.  He hated his handwriting assignments (even though he had great  handwriting).  We loved the Sonlight curriculum and they really promoted copy writing. When he was in the third grade, I believe, we were trying this English curriculum and it was not going well at all!  It seemed like anything that had to do with writing or workbooks, etc., he just had no motivation and we had to just make it acts of obedience to do the work!  I didn't think this is what homeschooling should be like!

One day, our of my frustration with trying to get Jonathan to do some of this work, I learned about Switched on Schoolhouse.  Jonathan liked computers and video games - maybe this would be the answer!  I called them and ordered the whole series for his grade!  (I don't advise that - but it was a desperate moment for me, I guess!)  When it came, we had one happy school boy!  Jonathan loved doing his work on the computer and I loved that he was loving doing his school!

We finished up that year and made some changes for Jonathan the next year, but since that time some form of computer course was always part of his curriculum.  We did some other English curriculum, too, over the years like Shurley Grammar.  We think that one of his three-point paragraphs was about why he didn't like to write...

But the funny thing is, and I hate to admit this, I just did not spend time with him and his writing!  With SOS, there are a lot of projects.  Sometimes we would get behind and I would just delete those because they would take extra time and he would work on all the other assignments.  We would often even joke that somehow he made it through high school without writing a research paper!  How did this happen?!  (Although, he did write a few papers...and he did write a research paper in his biology class.)

So - you can imagine my surprise when he called me to tell me that he wanted to major in English writing! You homeschooling mommas out there with reluctant writers, hang in there!  They do grow up.  They may or may not love to write once they go to college, but they will figure out what they love to do and you will be amazed!  

Martin Merry Christmas

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Homeschool beginnings...again

Last year, I was posting pictures of my kids beginning their first days at a private school for the first time!  When they were all in elementary school - I tried to take pictures of their first day for each new year.  Somehow, we started the school year off again - all homeschooling again - and there was no flare, no fireworks, etc.  In fact, it all just started up again and we are back into the groove of having more routine to our days and learning throughout the day.

It felt almost scary to me to be homeschooling again.  In fact, I had one tearful day last week feeling overwhelmed that it is up to me again to provide a good education for them and to be pretty much responsible for the curriculum we choose, encouraging them to be diligent, and work hard every day.  That does not come easy.

But as we have settled in to week two, I have to say that the joy we experienced in homeschooling and the benefits we found for our family come in little snippets - and I recognize them and rejoice that I've been given the opportunity to teach them and to learn from them.  Little things like reading a book aloud together and discovering history together.  Little things like having time to talk together at night and discuss the day and pray together.  Little things like going out to lunch and getting haircuts with my girls on a school day and watching them interact and being part of that.  Little things like watching them be diligent on their own to complete an assignment or practice or clean up.  I missed those things last year.  Oh, they were there - just in a more hectic fashion and much more complicated.  

Would I want them to be back in school again?  Well, someday I might write a blog about what going to school did for my children.  It was a wonderful experience and completely worthwhile for our family.  But that was last year and what God wanted for our family.  This year he wants us at home.  I don't always know his plans or the reason for his plans, but I am trusting Him for a year that surpasses them all!!!

So while I have no new year pictures to share this start of the school year, I'm praying for many lasting memories for each of my children, lots of learning to be done, and hearts molded to love and listen to God as they become adults!

Christmas Card 2011

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A couple of months in

Well, we've now lived in Austin for almost two and a half months! We hit the ground here after about two weeks of moving in - and we were running full steam!

Charis & Joy started school on August 16th, the day before my birthday. I was so nervous and anxious that first day. And - I cried for a while after they left! I missed them so much. I had been with these girls for the last 16 and 13 years! I knew it was going to be very different for me this year.

I'm pleased to say - that after two and a half months of "real school"...both are getting very good grades and doing very well. Charis really loves it - when I thought she would be the one who might not like it so much. Not sure why - maybe because she's a little more shy and she kind of loves to do her own thing. But she has really enjoyed it. She loves the teachers and she loves, loves, loves, art, band, and choir! I think she would probably go just to have those things! But she also loves the classes and is learning a lot. I'm so proud of her!

Joy is loving school, too. She loves all the friends and people and especially the instruction. I have to say that for her, she just really needed teachers. She's getting 100% in algebra! Who would have thought?!! :) She really wanted to try out for cheerleading...but had to say no because it really was going to be time consuming. She is struggling some with practicing as much as she used to on her violin and really wants to make it her priority still.

Jonathan has settled in to our new home and found a job at Office Max. After about a month of being home and doing some online classes, we were so thankful this came up! It really was an answer to prayer, so we are thankful. Although - he's not too excited as I write because this week, he has to work 7 hours a day for five days! That's 35 hours! He was really hoping it would be more "part time" as in 20 to 30 hours a week. I"m sure it will all work out, but he's feeling a little bit like all his time is being taken by school and work. Imagine that!:)

Daniel and I are homeschooling still. It's going well this year! We're doing something called Classical Conversations. We go on Mondays where he has Foundations in the morning where they learn a bunch of facts in every subject. They memorize these facts over the year - it's pretty impressive! Then in the afternoon, he has Essentials where he's learning grammar and writing. It's a great writing program! I'm so thankful for this as it's given both of us a social outlet right from the start.

I actually have been asked to teach his Foundations class as the gal who was doing it got sick and couldn't keep up. So - now I have another part-time job!! I really love doing it!

I've been working a lot doing transcription, too. As soon as I was put back on the regular schedule - I have worked at least 3 days a week (nights or over the weekend) and then I have five piano students. It's been a lot - but it's all working out okay.

David's been doing a lot of volleyball officiating, so that has helped a lot! My money from transcription doesn't really come in until November - so for September and October - he's more than made up for what I would make!

David's also doing well at his job. Yesterday, he received an amazing "compliment" in the form of the head data architect for the company - the guy the recently brought in to run the data for the company - called him and told him he wanted David to come on with his team part-time and help them out with a big project they have. It was like he looked around at the data architects and picked David as the one he wanted! David was floored and excited! On that same day, he got a call from his friend from Wal-Mart saying that his name came up and the gal who interviewed him asked if he was "happy" in his new job! So, I'm excited for David.

We also have found a church and all of us have become involved. David and I are leading a small group, and we're excited because the people who have joined seem wonderful! We have had a couple of meetings and have really enjoyed it. Jon, Joy, & Charis have all enjoyed working in the children's ministry, too. And - the preaching has also been wonderful as well. So, it's been great so far.

Time to get back to work!!!

We're here!!

I've been meaning to write a little bit about our recent move, but I have been busy - you can imagine!!

I have to start off with saying that I think my faith was weak...but that I also believed that God was in control and would provide what we needed even if it meant financial hardship for us. But in the last two months, waiting for what was God's provision for us was extremely hard and, at times, I was not sure that anything would really happen. And to add to that - if you read my last blog post...I also had some medical concerns that were very frightening. I'm so happy to say that the tests came out okay - no cancer or anything! We were so extremely thankful for this as it only heightened my anxiety last week!

Our "family verse" (started out at our wedding!) has always been Proverbs 3:5&6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and in all your ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct your paths". This was on the cover of our wedding program that Tim, David's brother, designed, and for a gift, he gave us a large print of this that has been hanging in our home ever since.

We have definitely seen God just directing our path in this whole move as we did our last move. In fact, all six of us can look back at our move to Oklahoma and count the number of ways in which God was working in our lives to change us and to grow us and to bless us! And so - we look to this move to Austin and wonder how/what God will do in our lives here.

Since we have known we would be moving for the last six months, we knew a few things had to happen: we needed a place to live, we needed someone to buy or rent our home in OK, and we needed to all be living together!!

We spent the spring looking at homes to buy and excited about some of the possibilities but knowing that we had to sell our home first. We put our home on the market March 7th and spent some money and decluttered...and NOBODY even looked at it!! We had it on the market for almost 4 months with even one person to look. After some phone calls to some area realtors, it became apparent that it just was not looking good for the economy where we lived and the homes that were selling were all foreclosures.

So we began the search for looking for a rental home in Austin and putting ours up for rent in OK. David was working in Austin and had found a "room to rent" in a very big house near Lake Travis. He had a wonderful situation, and we were so thankful. He was also able to come home for a week at a time and work from home, so when he came home, he could stay for awhile. Things had worked out well for us so far. But in May, we also realized that he couldn't rent a home unless he was ready to move in right away because they were going fast in Austin! So, we waited until June 1st as we had planned a move-out day of June 30th. That was our plan.

David was coming home the weekend of June 13th, so he had permission from his boss to come home and stay until we moved then. He left our home May 15th after Jon's graduation and began to look for a home to rent. He couldn't really look until after June 1st...and then, would you believe, there weren't many options available where we were looking! Since the girls will be attending a Christian school in the area, we were hoping to find a place within 15 minutes of the school. And - our realtor was out of town on vacation and just wasn't as helpful looking for a rental as she had been for a home to buy!!

So - here we are with just a couple of weeks to finalize where we would live and there weren't many options. On the Sunday before David was to come home, he still did not have anything that would work for us and the realtor only had one home to look at and the renters there weren't cooperative, so he couldn't even look at that one! He remembers that night before church just going through the list of homes that we had looked at to buy that were close to the school and picking about four of them. He asked the realtor to see if any of them would be willing to rent to us. On Sunday afternoon, he got a call from her saying there was one who was willing to talk about it with us and show David the home. It was truly an answer to prayer! That last week that David was in Austin, we were able to apply for and get approved to rent this home - and it is almost perfect for us! And the amazing thing was it wouldn't be ready until August 1st, so we had another month to figure out what to do about our home in Oklahoma AND David's boss gave him permission to work from home until that time. Also - the guy David was renting a room from allowed him to just pay half the rent in June and so he was out of that rental situation, too!

So now, we have a place to live! And would you believe that we are just a block from the school?! Already it's been wonderful as we've had a couple of meetings to go to and it's so close!

One of the things we have loved about life for us and living under God's timing and His provision and leading is that we can see Him work in all of our housing situations since we've been married! As I recount them in my mind, I just am filled with joy overflowing!!

Anyway, in spite of this, I think I was still worried that we would have to leave our OK home without renters or empty or something. It was pretty scary for me looking at that possibility not only because of the financial risks but because of the risk to our home leaving it empty, etc.

In the middle of July, we had a couple come out to look at the house. This couple kind of reminds me of the devil in disguise! They had the one thing going for them that was so tempting - they had money! For some reason, this young man's Indian tribe in California pays their members $13,000/month!! So he and his girlfriend and their baby son came to look at our place. They were not married, they both smoked, they were pretty messy (at least their car was), and they had two pit bulls!! Oh my!! They were ready to rent it for August, too! But after a call to my realtor the next day, there was no way our company would cover pit bulls in our homeowner's insurance, and she told me to steer away from anyone with those kinds of dogs.

So - we had to tell them no. That was hard!! I don't think David was struggling like I was...he was the calm for me and kept telling me to just trust the Lord. He was going to take us through this and would provide what we needed!

The next week - one week before our move, we lowered the price. We had one couple (not married) come look at it, but I think it was just way over their heads. They took the application and then didn't call or come back. But on Tuesday evening, the night before we were to leave, we had an e-mail from a guy that said this..."If you'll lower the price to ..., we're you're family". His signature had "R.N." by it, so that was at least intriguing for us because he had a real job!

So David wrote him back and said - we can't lower it that far, but could probably come to another number. If he was okay with that - then could he tell us why we should rent to them. Then we got a nice long note from this young man telling us all kinds of wonerful things!!! He was a Christian, married and had four kids under 10! He and his wife homeschooled their children and she was part of a ministry called Kids of Virtue (or something like that). He had just finished his R.N. training in Little Rock and had just taken a job at the hospital in Siloam Springs and they would be moving out here very soon!

We were both kind of like in awe!! This was the perfect family we were looking for in our home! He came out Thursday and looked at it and loved it! He even came back on Friday to sign the lease and get his membership cards from Flint Ridge, etc, and got the key!! This home was an answer to their prayers as they had wanted to live out of the city but in a nice home that was big enough for them to grow in! And we desperately needed renters! He had lunch with us on Thursday and we so enjoyed getting to know him. He is hoping to join the National Guard and also do medical missions as God allows.

So, you can see that we are just sitting back at this point and just saying WOW!!! God is so good! How could I NOT trust Him?!! Thank you Lord!!!

I don't know about tomorrow....

Yesterday was one of those days you wish you could never have to go through...I had to have an ultrasound of my gallbaldder - and when the doctor called to give me the results, she said that I, indeed, did have gallbaldder problems - but what was more concerning to her was two dark spots that appeared on my liver.

I would need to have an MRI - did I want to do that before I moved or after? Wow! I was totally unprepared for hearing that - especially a few days before our move when I'm just up to my ears in moving issues and packing, etc.!

So - the evening held a few tears - some phone calls to my sisters and my mom, and just resting in David's arms. And today - there have been a few more tears as I have thought about how this could come out. Of course - the cancer word is the one that I think of most. I'm not ready to die! I love my kids and my husband so much - I'm not ready to even think about leaving them.l

But in the last day and a half, I have thought more about that than I have ever thought about it, and I'm still not ready to entertain those thoughts. I had the MRI today - it was very cold and very tight-fitting. I've cried out to the Lord many times throughout today as it all came to mind. And a friend tonight - Rhonda Calvert - called me back after I had talked with her about it to just pray.

So - after a bit of prayer and thinking about this more - I thought I'd write a bit here. I kind of feel like it's all my fault - especially if it is cancer. I'm so fat - I've overeaten for so long. Did I think that I was just going to be immune to all the troubles of obesity? Was all the food worth it? No way! Not at all!!! Lord - please rescue me tonight from all the wrong thoughts and from all the wrong ways I have lived. I want your blessing and I want to be completely yours.

On another amazing path, however, God has brought a young family into our lives through the internet and craigslist - and there is a chance we might rent our house to them. I've been praying for a miracle - and wondering what miracle God might do, and it looks like it might it just might happen! Tomorrow, we'll have lunch with the dad and let him see our place and Flint Ridge, etc. It's pretty amazing if it all works out.

More on that tomorrow!!

Moving Again!

Well, the move is almost upon us! We have one more week from today, basically, to get all the rest of our possessions, etc., ready to be moved into two trucks! That's right - we are renting two Penske trucks...and I have to drive one of them!

I feel like I've been in this holding mode...packing things up a little at a time, taking care of bills, school registrations, college registrations!, homeschool registrations! - oh my! But I'm ready to file the rest of my papers and let it go for a couple of weeks. I think I'm paid up on all my bills and most of the companies contacted with our new address.

Now...we're just waiting for a miracle from God to provide us a renter for our home! I can't wait to see how He provides...but it is very hard waiting and waiting...

I'll post some pictures from the move after we're gone, but I have to say I'm really looking forward to that pool in the backyard at our new place!!

We've had a very eventful summer! First to Iowa to see Isaac graduate. Then Jonathan off to camp for two weeks for his leadership training. Then a short camping trip with some great friends. Then taking Joy to Quartz Mountain for her 2 week music camp! What an experience for her!

Then...Charis headed off to Arizona for 2.5 weeks to spend some time with cousins and a week of camp at Ironwood. She had such a great time. Daniel then went to his camp at New Life Ranch for a week.

While Charis was gone, we headed to Colorado Springs for an Evins family reunion July 8-10. what a wonderful time we had! It was so fun - and it was especially great to see Charis again! We sure missed her.

Now - we're home, and our time in Oklahoma has about one week left now. Amazing.

A Cello Praise!

It's been over a week, and I can't believe I didn't write about this already! God is so good!

A few weeks ago, right after Christmas, Charis got to go spend a week with her cousin Hannah Gross in Pella, IA. She had so much fun! She got to go sledding, pond ice skating, and just in general had a wonderful time.

She also brought her cello with her. She practiced "a couple of times," so I'm not sure it was worth the trip for the cello, but it was a good idea in theory...

Anyway, on the way home, we went to St. Louis to see Sarah Greenwood's wedding. That was a wonderful and beautiful wedding, and we got to see some wonderful friends from our St. Louis days.

We had the cello with us in the car, and, unfortunately, we forgot that it was in the car. When we checked into our hotel, we just left the cello in the car. It stayed in the car all night long - and it was a below-freezing night that weekend - probably in the teens or less.

When we got home, Charis noticed her cello had this funny sound to it, and the strings were too close to the fingerboard. We took it to the guy we purchased it from in Tulsa, and he looked at it and we talked about what happens when you leave a wood instrument in severe temperatures. When he turned the cello over, there was a crack going down the the back of the cello. He saw that and told us that the cello was pretty much "ruined" in its value. He could fix the crack for about $100 - but he would never buy it back from us and it had lost any resale value. We just purchased this full-size cello for Charis in August!

You can imagine our despair as we left his shop - leaving this expensive instrument to be repaired for $100 that seemed to be "totaled' in his words...

Charis just broke down in tears after that, and there was not much to say or do. We had all kind of failed to remember to take the cello out of the car.

About three hours later, I got a call from the guy at the shop saying that he had called the company that made the cello, and they were going to stand behind their instrument and replace the cello! The guy had another one just like it in his shop, and so we returned later that afternoon with a brand new cello for $100 for the set-up!! We were just so amazed and so thankful!

God had just shown us that He is with us all the time, and can step in and fix problems for us, even when we were ready to face the loss!

I think both Charis and I could not stop smiling all night after that!

So - just thought I needed to put this down in writing! Thank you, God!!!

Thank you, Lord!

Our lives are going to be changing again! And all I can say right now is Thank You God for taking care of us and showing us Your power in our lives again!

It was October 15, and I was downstairs reading aloud to Charis & Daniel - we were all snuggled up together on our green little couch. It was so strange when David opened up the door and came in to this room - at about 11:30 a.m.! He works about an hour away - so when he walked in the door, I could just sense this little bit of doom coming when he asked to talk to me up in my room!

I won't go into the details about his job - but it turns out he was ultimately let go from his job at Tyson.

Years ago - about 16 years ago - we found ourselves in a situation that seemed a little similar but different in many ways. That particular situation affected me much more than this job because it was like leaving a wonderful family we had grown to love so much! We had no idea what God was going to do in us and for us, but we just trusted Him and sought His will for our lives. And it was after that when we moved to Pennsylvania and Davisville Church - and met amazing and wonderful people there who really helped us raise our young family then. It was a place we all loved and grew and saw God work in and through us!

So here we were, only this time without a real severance package and wondering what we were going to do? In this economy and with David having a change of career in his 40's and with only three years of experience?

Well, on that same day, David hit the internet and began his new full-time job - looking for a job! I have to say that he wins the award of being the most diligent job seeker I know! He really did work full time on this. And we learned a lot of things about his line of field.

The first thing we learned was that there seemed to be a real market for his field - data management/architecture. Companies now are having to store and manage all kinds of data and doing it right is of big importance to them.

We also learned that this field is also managed largely through contracting companies. After about 2 weeks of having his resume out there, we started getting calls daily from recruiters about his availability.

We also learned that getting a job like this doesn't happen in one week, or two, or three! It was going to take awhile.

After the first few days of job searching, David sent his resume to my brother to have him look it over. My brother has been in business management and we thought it would be good to have his opinion. One of his bit of advice for us was that he should include his church work on his resume. He hadn't included it because it wasn't really relevant to this field, and he also didn't want to distract from his field of expertise.

So - he changed his resume, and then must have applied for the job at HP after that. We can't even remember applying for the job at HP because there were so many jobs he applied for!

About two weeks later, he got an e-mail from the data manager at HP saying that after looking at hundreds of resumes, his rose to the top and was he still pursuing a job with them. We were just kind of amazed and so responded that yes - he was still looking!

So, he was scheduled for an interview over the phone with this guy later in the week. After that interview, which went very well, he was then scheduled for two tech interviews later the next week. In the meantime, David is getting calls and interviews with different contracting companies. One of these companies was one that was hiring for a position at Wal-Mart - which meant we wouldn't have to move! We were also hearing from INGDirect in Maryland and University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania!

David just kept pursuing everything and taking all interviews. It was like we were on a rollercoaster - going from this place to that place and then trying to "stay home" as well! It was so crazy. I think the week of Thanksgiving he had 5 interviews - all interviews that were past the first interview. We really had no idea what God was doing or where we were going to go.

After Thanksgiving, we found out that he did, indeed, do very well with the Wal-Mart contracting company and they were going to be offering a job and also that he had an interview for the last level at HP! It looked like two jobs were going to come through!

Then, to top everything off - he was told by the Wal-Mart contracting company that Wal-Mart wanted to pursue David directly, so that was off. Then he had to go into Wal-Mart for a face-to-face interview, and that went very well, and he was hinted to that an offer from them was forthcoming...

Then, on Monday, December 6th, we had our first offer from Capitol One in Richmond, VA! We weren't even really thinking about this job and it was the first one that came in. Since we knew there were others that were coming in, David was able to turn that one down - but not until we had a firm offer from HP!

The amazing thing about all of this is we just kept asking God what did He want for us, and where could we see his hand in all of this – which job would be the one He would want.

As we continually prayed about it, we realized that there was something about the HP job that just seemed supernatural – that there was something in it that seemed to be from the Lord. But – it also seemed that the Wal-Mart job had the same kind of thing...

But as we continued to pray, we had a growing sense that the boss from HP was a Christian. We couldn’t really put our fingers on it, but it just seemed that there was something special about his interaction with David and his interest in David’s previous career. After all the interviews were done, and there was a confirmation that David would be hired – we did indeed find out that this man was a Christian – and it was part of David’s past experience that actually caught his eye when he began to look at the resumes! It’s just amazing – out of hundreds of resumes, he finds David’s – who had been in music ministry for 20 years – and that kind of sticks out to him as someone to pursue!

There is a little more to this story – we were offered the job from HP with the information that an offer from Wal-Mart was forthcoming. But we wouldn’t have that offer for another week, so we really couldn’t compare. But the real clincher in our minds that was more “practical” was that if David worked for Wal-Mart, it would be an even further commute and then he would have to work 9 hour days and could not work through lunch – so his work day would at least be 9.5 or 10 hours! That would mean he would be away from home for 12 hours every day. We just knew this wouldn’t work for our family right now – the kids need him so much now. It’s amazing how much involvement he has as the kids have grown up.

So, as you can see, it’s been an amazing ride. I’m finishing this up a couple of weeks after I started it, and we just continue to be amazed at God’s goodness to us. David even got to start at HP on December 20^th and we received our first paycheck two weeks later – and he “had” to take vacation from December 23 – January 3, so he only worked two days! I know – we won’t have much vacation left, but it was so nice to have him home for Christmas and New Year’s, and we’re ready to begin the next five months of a “new normal” for us.

There are so many other things that we have seen – even the choice of Austin as a place for us to go. It just seems that God has his hand on this in every way, and we are so thankful.

August 9th

What a great day today! It's Monday morning, and all my little chillens are home today! Yea!

They're all sleeping, which is a good thing, because I've been able to have some quiet time - and then I need to get busy proofing my job I had over the weekend.

But it's also a great day because they're all home now! Of the last 11 weeks, they've only all be home together for 7 of those weeks - I am NOT ready for my family to get smaller. But, alas, I know that in just two short years - and probably every summer from now on, my home will be growing smaller and smaller.

As I look at that future, though, I am filled with joy and pride. Jonathan came home from his two week training at Nehemiah and was changed. I don't know what it is really, but he was nicer to Daniel - I could just tell it. He left for camp counting his money to see when he could buy a new x-box - and he came home wondering if that was something he really wanted to do! I thank God for all the people at NLF the last two weeks who helped shape my young boy into becoming more of a young man! God is so good!

Then, I see my wonderful Joy, who spent two weeks at Nehemiah training and then 3 weeks on a missions trip this summer. Wow! What experiences she has had! She comes home from Nehemiah having learned out to physically work hard all day long. She had a wonderful time there. She came home from Ecuador with so much more learned in her life.

She learned more about working hard no matter what. She learned much about going with the flow and just doing what you're told without any questions. She learned much about getting along with people. She learned much about trusting God. And the one thing that stood out in my mind after she got home about it all was this statement:

"Mom - I learned so much more to appreciate missionaries. I always thought that missionaries were 'neat - but I never realized that they gave their lives and comforts to go to another country to live like them and tell them about Jesus. So many Christians in America just don't do anything - we go to church and have our friends, but we are not all about God every day.'

When she said those words to me, I realized that she had learned a most valuable life lesson that probably will be with her for her life! God - do your work, now!! Keep her close to you!!

Charis spent a week at camp, and who would have thought that at the Friday night service where the kids come up and share what God had done in their lives, that my shy little girl would be one of the ones up there! And then, what she said was so meaningful...that she had learned more what it meant to really be a Christian and that she had been just living her life without any thought about that or really believing....something like that. I started to cry - my little 12-year-old was maturing, and I could see it happening that night. She was starting to think differently and think thoughts that were more spiritual. It was one of those eye-opening night for me - to kind of experience this "knowing" - of my daughter growing up like that - was surreal.

However, thank God, she is still just 12 and so much fun and silly!!!! I don't think she'll ever outgrow her adventuresome and creative spirit, for which I'm so thankful!

Daniel was funny this year (but I think this happened last year, too!) We went to find him on that Friday night because his group had already had their service. When he saw David, he just starting crying - almost bawling! He said it was because he was "happy" to see us, but I know he missed us and I know that he was ready to come home. I know he had a good time, but I think there were situations that might have made him feel lonely or insecure, and he really missed his parents who love him no matter what! He did have a great time, though, and I think camp for him, still, is just loads of loudness and fun! I'm not ready for him to grow up so fast!

So - that's the summer camp in a nutshell. Great and fun days for my children, and I thank God so much for that.

Looking forward this week to another beginning - school! I must say that looking forward may not be the best option for words, but in keeping in step with the Spirit - I must look forward to it with high hopes and high desires of teaching my children to love God and to love their neighbors more than I ever have before. This will be my mantra for this year - we'll see how it goes!

It's going to be a great Monday!!!

(And I forgot to even write that today begins my 3rd volleyball season at Cookson - amazing!! More about that later!)

Charis ensemble

Fun in the Sun!

Last week, our family had such a great time doing some camping and some swimming and some "water parking!" It was quite an event...

We traveled down to Texas on Wednesday morning after getting all packed up. David has been so busy around here that he hasn't had time to even breathe...but we managed to get all ready and out the door around 10am.

One of the highlights of our trip was getting to visit our dear friends - Leanne & Tim Marlier! It was so neat to see some friends from my days in California - I hadn't seen them for over 17 years. It was great to catch up with them and to see what they are doing there and to also see their daughter, Jenny (whom I taught when she was 11!).

There was a big storm, so they let us sleep at their house. It really was a lot of fun.

We also went to Hurricane Harbor - a water park there in Dallas. Of course, it had a delayed opening as there was a huge storm the day before. We were so glad we did not camp out in that storm! Anyway - David kept telling us how it was really a blessing - that we would have so much fun at the water park because a lot of people will stay away! He was right! We were there for only 2.5 hours - and every ride was a walk-up with no lines!

Daniel's birthday

Daniel had his 8th birthday this week! It was so fun to celebrate such a fun kid! He was so cute because we were going to be camping on his birthday on Saturday, so we celebrated it on October 16th in the evening. He could hardly stand it all day - he was very diligent with his schoolwork, he played with his legos, he ran around the house in circles, literally!

The evening finally came - and he was able to opens his presents. This year - he got a lego set (which he loved and really wanted!) and we decided to get him an acquarium and some fish. So it's been fun the last few days setting up his acquarium.

We did not go camping afterall - so he got an early birthday! When I checked into the place were were thinking about going - it was all booked for the weekend! It was a gorgeous weekend here in Northwest Oklahoma - just beautiful! We have a campground in our subdivision/community - so I checked there and it was pretty full, too - and they were having some kind of big party there, so we decided to camp at home! We actually considered camping in our backyard...but Dad and the older kids really didn't want to...so we put up the little tent for the Daniel & Charis and they camped in the backyard. They actually made it the entire night out there - I was surprised! We had a fun evening, though, and had a fire and made Smores. It was a great family night.

On Saturday, we had a lovely day at home. It was so nice because my house was clean because we had cleaned it on Friday! So I had a relaxing day. We had the candidate for our youth pastor position at our church and his wife for lunch - it was a very nice time and we really liked them. Then we decided to take the family to see the Beverly Hills Chihauha movie to do something fun on Daniel's birthday - it was pretty cute! And then on the way home - we stopped and actually bought his fish! He had a good day.

Well - that is all for now - I have a daughter wanting to use my computer for some school this morning!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hi Everyone!

I am trying this out and wanted to say Happy Valentine's Day to you! I hope it was a great day for all of you...but I'm missing my Valentine!

David is really enjoying his new job and I think he's doing well. I have a "vague" idea of what he does, and I'm really going to do my best to listen as he explains thing to me! :)

We are all doing well and appreciate your prayers. We have found a house we really like - especially the location. But we need to sell our home here. We continue to pray that God answers this as it seems like the last part of the move that needs to happen.

We love you all! The pictures are of a recent trip to Arizona. The kids and I visted Oatman, AZ with their cousins and our familyh took a trip to the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful!

Also - Charis was baptized a couple of weeks ago and it was a great day!

Love you all!

Sonya

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was a great Valentine's Day in our home. The kid were excited and it was a "light" school day.