How Did We Get Here, Part 2

I briefly explained our view of family planning in this post.  After having Opal 5 years ago, we stuck to our natural family planning - and figured with my advancing age, that our chances of our family expanding were rapidly declining now that I am over 40.

But God is full of humor and blessings.

He surprised us this year with our third "last child."  We now have 7 kids!  We never planned to be "one of those weird families."  (And I still don't consider us one of "those" families. We are a very normal family, that happens to have a lot of kids!)

We started marriage in 2004 planning to have an "acceptably large" family of 4 kids.  I did not have regular menstrual cycles (one or two a year), so we had to use ovulation drugs to get pregnant with the first two (boys), born in 2007 and 2009.  We had a miscarriage in 2011.  After being pregnant with a girl (born 2012), it seemed that my hormones finally figured it out and I began cycling regularly. We had our fourth (another boy) in 2013, and whereas I was "done" mentally (4 kids in 6 years), I can't say I ever truly felt like I knew we were done.  (Everyone says you know.)  

Paul was leaving it up to me, as it is my body that has to bear pregnancies, and I was leaving it up to him as it's his finances that have to provide.  We both felt that we needed to trust God, but agreed my body needed a break.  (I had been pregnant or nursing all but a few months of 8 years.)

Then we became pregnant with #5 within months of having the "let's give your body a break" talk.  Another girl was born in 2016.  (And this was after having an ovary removed due to a cyst!)

After this baby, my cycles became extremely regular, and we thought this we had this family planning thing really under control. No babies for 4 years seemed to verify that thought.  And then there was that one month in spring of 2020 (the spring of Covid lockdown)......  Our 6th was born in early 2021.

At this point we both felt we were done, but still not willing to have surgery to demand our will over God's.  Our oldest was almost done with home school high school, and our youngest was just starting.  I was managing a thriving ministry at church, and we were all involved in ministry at church and helping on my family's farm.  Life was full, and we were content and abundantly blessed.

Everything on the internet about fertility in your 40s says it is almost impossible to get pregnant.  Apparently that doesn't apply if you've had 6 babies already!  We got pregnant with baby #7 on my 42nd birthday, despite carefully tracking my cycles, and the calendar and physical symptoms showing me being days past "the danger zone."  Ironically, my sister had just given me back all the baby stuff I'd given to her.  I took it to donation, but the pregnancy center was randomly closed, so the car seat and other items stayed in the back of my van for two weeks.......where it still was when I found out I'd need them again!

Our 7th was born in March of 2025.  I've had babies in three separate decades!  ('00s, '10s, and '20s)  God is good, and never ceases to amaze us.

Rhodes Report 2017

If you haven't gotten our annual letter in the mail - don't read the below!  I'm trying to get the year wrapped up within the actual calendar year.  The letters will go out next week!

We hope that you have had some time over the holidays to sit back and reflect on your year.  As we have reminisced, our family's motto continues to be: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  His faithful love endures forever!"

Ah, 2017…… What a year.  It seemed like non-stop busy-ness from one end to the other!

In February, my mom and sister Lurenda went overseas.  They got to do some sightseeing in London during a layover, and see all the sights of the Zimbabwe region while visiting my younger sister Carlsie and her husband Jono and his family.  My dad ended up having emergency surgery while they were gone, to repair a twisted intestine.  The doctor said that the blood supply had been cut off, and he was possibly within an hour of life-threatening damage.  We were so grateful that Dad happened to be with a friend who drove him straight to the hospital, and not working outside on the farm alone.  I moved to the farm with the kids to play nurse until the travelers returned, while my brother JC and neighbors took care of the animals.  Dad had a few "fun" months after that, with multiple trips to the emergency room (the first due to a stomach bug our kids were so kind to share), a kidney stone, and gall bladder surgery.  But now, six months later, he's going strong!  (Thanks to Mom's good care, I'm sure!)

We celebrated 13 years of marriage on March 20.  Lucky 13!  It's been the best one yet!
Carlsie and Jono moved home from Africa in March.  Later that month, Zadie, Elsa, and I took a road trip with Carlsie to northeast Arkansas (about 8 hours) for a job interview for Carlsie.  It was a relaxing time for me, not having to worry about teaching, enjoying beautiful drives, and good conversations with Carlsie.  The little girls and I browsed the small town during her interview, and enjoyed the hotel's pool and hot tub.  The ride home was a bit long with a baby who was DONE with being in the car, and a small girl who couldn't decide about going to the bathroom.  Even though Carlsie decided against taking the job, I still count it as a good trip.

Over the spring, Paul and I designed and built a patio to connect our two decks.  We used pea gravel, native rock, and lumber, and we are thrilled with how it turned out!  Paul designed and built custom patio furniture.  We bought colorful cushions for the couches, and now have a perfect outdoor oasis to enjoy.

We went on our first "real" family vacation in May (“real” in that it didn't include staying with family).  When we asked the kids what they wanted to do for a vacation, they said, "Go to a hotel with a pool!"  We went to Omaha to visit their zoo, and stayed in a 3-room hotel suite (2 bedrooms and a living/kitchen) with an indoor pool and breakfast buffet.  Everyone was happy!  Our luggage consisted of 1 duffel bag (for all 7 of us!), a diaper bag, and a stroller.  After this experience with packing light, I plan to travel that way from now on!

Two days after we returned home, we got a "hail" of a storm.  Golf-ball sized hail pounded our home for a half hour.  It totaled both cars, destroyed our brand-new roof (6 months old), and all the siding and trim on two sides of the house.  (No broken windows!)  It completely broke out the skylight panels on the barn roof, and decimated the trees, garden, and flowerbeds.  When it was over, it looked like mid-January outside - the ground was white, the trees were bare.  (And it was cold!)  It took over 24 hours for the piles of hailstones from our roof to melt.  Thankfully, no one - and no pets - were hurt.  Insurance payout wasn't as great as we'd hoped for the house, but the payout for totalling our cars will cover all the home repairs plus some upgrades.

June was busy with teaching at a Vacation Bible School in Homewood, and an outdoor Bible club in Pomona.

In July, the elders of our church asked me if I would head up our Awana ministry.  (Awana is a Bible-based children’s ministry that is held in churches worldwide.)  I head up the planning and administration, but the volunteer leaders are the ones who really carry the club, and they are doing a fantastic job!  I feel like there are some things I personally could do better, but there is the un-ending "not enough time" factor that seems to plague everyone.  But our club is operating smoothly (for the most part) and has grown, and I can only give that glory to God. I love the ministry of Awana (www.awana.org).  It had an impact on both Paul & I in our childhood and teen years.  Now our own children are growing to know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus through the ministry of Awana.  

This fall, Paul and I attended a church leadership retreat, and an Awana LEAD conference, and were challenged regarding our personal spiritual lives, and leadership methods and abilities.  We also both separately attended Encounters, and were again challenged regarding different areas of our lives.  It is so wonderful to draw closer together as we draw closer to God.  

In September, we started our home school year with 4 children.  (Yes, 4.)  What an adventure!  Gideon was only 3, but so stinking smart (and in need of something to distract him from destruction during school hours!) that we decided to put him in Kindergarten with Zadie.  We figured I could teach them both letters and numbers at the same time.  After about 2 months, I realized this was not the best situation - Zadie was learning quickly, and whereas Gideon was learning all his letters and sounds also, his motor and attention skills were far behind Zadie.  So, creating more work - by schooling them separately - has actually made my life easier.  Home-schooling has its days of absolutely maddening frustration (this year, many of them!), but it also has times of deep satisfaction, like listening to your child read or explain fractions and realizing you taught them every single thing they know.

We bought a handgun in the spring, and I surprised Paul with a shot gun for his birthday in July.  He has enjoyed practicing shooting with both guns.  (He has ridiculously good natural ability.)  In November, he went pheasant hunting with the brothers-in-law (JC, Keith, and Jono) and my dad.  We enjoyed smoked pheasant for our Thanksgiving meal. :)

At Paul's work, teams were challenged to come up with a production problem at work, and use a specific set of steps (the "Kaizan Spiral") to identify, troubleshoot, and resolve the issue.  His team won their plant-wide competition, so they went to Atlanta in November to present it at the U.S. Corporate meeting.  Paul’s team won second there, and will be going to Brussels, Belgium, in February to present it at the AGC worldwide competition!

Our family participated in the 15th annual Bethlehem outreach that our church puts on.  This year, I was "lead angel" in charge of 7 angels ages 10 and under (including 3 of our own) - oh my!  Paul was given a new part, portraying a rabbi at the synagogue, reading prophecies of the coming Messiah.  Grandma Janice kept the two littlest ones at home and out of trouble.  We really appreciate all the ways Paul's parents help us out with the kids and with projects. 

With a family this large, you knew a letter couldn’t be short!  But I won’t bore you with more details, and instead will wish you the happiest of New Years!  We invite you to stop by any time you are near, and we will catch up in person – we don’t take this circus on the road that often, so chances are you’ll catch us at home.  

Much love,

Paul & Rachel
Nathan, Jacob, Zadie, Gideon, and Elsa

Updates on the kids individually:

Nathan turned 10 in September.  It's hard to believe that we have been doing this parent thing for 10 years!  Nathan is very much a leader, taking charge during play time and even leading his brothers in Bible reading times in their room.  (He also attempts to be the teacher during school, which does not go over well.)  He excels at memorization, and does well at memorizing verses for Awana and complete poems for school.  He does very well in Math and Handwriting (hallelujah!) but struggles in Spelling.  (Details are not his strong point.)  He is an excellent help on anything we need, and loves working alongside Paul in the shop.  He and Jacob almost completely took over the yard work, and they kept it looking excellent all summer long.  Nathan says his favorite things are Legos, cats, army/military, Star Wars, and nachos.

Jacob turned 8 in October.  He is definitely a follower, which makes for peaceful interaction between the two big boys.  He does well in school, but we struggle with how to motivate him.  (He's a lot like his mother!)  He and another boy lead their Sparks (K-2^nd) group in Awana memorization, which is solely of his own, other than me adding it to his school list as a reminder to spend time on it.  Jacob wants to mow the yard constantly, which would work if he was heavy enough to hold the seat down!  So instead he push-mows and rakes.  He loves helping out, but also doesn’t want to leave the familiar (mom).  He says he wants to be a farmer when he grows up.  Jacob says his favorite things are Legos, playing outside, riding his bike, tractors, dinosaurs, camouflage, and mac & cheese.

In April, Zadie turned 5!   Zadie is definitely a princess.  She is obsessed with clothes and shoes (which we don't encourage), and has mastered issuing orders.  Yet despite this, she will often put on her hand-me-down camo and join the boys on their expeditions in the pasture.  She is a sass, but has a very tender and sensitive heart, as well.  Zadie asked Jesus to be her Savior early this year - there is no greater joy as parents.  She is in her first year of Sparks in Awana and is absolutely loving it.  Zadie started Kindergarten this year.  She eventually figured out all the sounds and names of the letters, but the more she’s learned, the more she wants to learn!  (Hooray!  Finally!)  She loves drawing pictures, writing her letters, her "girl" Legos, Beauty and the Beast, riding her bike, peanut butter sandwiches, and pizza.

Gideon turned 4 in December.  People constantly comment on how good his vocabulary is, and how quick he is to figure things out.  He drags Paul’s tools out and “builds” things most times he is outside.  He figured out his letters and sounds fairly well in school, but has no interest in numbers.  (Everything is “3!!!” – his age until this month.) But this cleverness coupled with being the 4th child (that the older 3 don't listen to) often leads to frustration and temper tantrums when he feels he is not being heard.  He is in his first year of Cubbies in Awana, and loves it!  He is a charmer, and knows exactly who will fall for his big, blinking eyes.  (Not his parents! ……usually.)  His favorite things include sugar (in any form), milk, Curious George, toy tractors, and building with "big Legos.” 

In March, Elsa turned 1!  She is a happy girl, full of cheesy grins.  She's a smart little thing, and is just as curious as her littlest big brother.  (I foresee trouble in the future when those two get together!)  She is very much a mama's girl, and wants to be near me at all times – yet when we’re home she is Miss Independence, fetching and carrying and dressing up all over the house!  She's not talking yet (sometimes I wonder if that's deliberate), except for one word – “GO!” which comes in handy, because she is potty trained!  (Her decision.)  We all love having this little golden redhead as part of our family.  Her favorite things include shoes, "cheesing" for the camera, "baby sauce" (apple sauce pouches), and watching Shaun the Sheep on YouTube. 

Now That's a Pie!

This was our selection of Thanksgiving pies this year. No, it's not two mini pumpkin pies.... Those are two regular size (9") pumpkin pies. They look mini because that's a huge apple pie! It measures a full 13" across and has 6 pounds of apples in it! It takes a double double-crust recipe.

Now that's a pie!

We bought this pie dish 3 years ago. It's not actually a pie dish, but was marketed as a pasta bowl. Paul and I both love pie, and went on a search for such a thing after having several children and never having leftover pie to enjoy after family dinners. Larger pie = more slices = more to eat the next day.

We finally found it at the pottery shop at Silver Dollar City. I love it, and never have regretted the $30 purchase.

We shared this pie at family Thanksgiving with Paul's family. He took a piece of the leftovers in his lunchbox, and i had a piece for breakfast, and we still have a couple to enjoy for supper.

And THAT is why we wanted that pie plate!

Managing My Household

Something I've been struggling to figure out is how to manage my household.  Proverbs 31:27 says, "[A virtuous and capable wife] watches all that goes on in her household, and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness."
I like being lazy.  But I also like a clean house.  So I'm torn.
But now, with the balance of power shifted in favor of messy small people, something must be done.  The house can go from "not that bad" to completely destroyed during the preparation of one meal.  And I've decided it doesn't have to be my job to pick up those messes.
What does a manager do?  Constantly checks on things and delegates jobs.  And "managing" the house is going to require doing something about those areas I avoid because I don't want to deal with the filth - the kids' bedrooms and the downstairs bathroom.  And it takes a lot of my time.
I'm trying to figure out ways to "manage a household".  I've researched online, and found several ideas, but most are in favor of strictly scheduled days and checklists.  I like the idea of this (if I write things down, I can't forget them!), but I hate the strictness.  There are some days that it's okay to be lazy.  When Daddy has worked 7 days straight, and we have a day at home with nowhere to go and nothing to do....  Throw out the schedule!  But then I feel guilty that I didn't do anything and follow my own rules.
So I'm trying to figure out what works in our house.  Each house is different, made of up different personalities and different work and school schedules, so it's taking a while to figure ours out.  Especially since school hasn't started yet.  But I'm trying to get everyone used to keeping the house clean daily before we start that.
I read Proverbs 29 to the kids tonight.  Two verses speak to mothers, children, and discipline.  "To discipline and reprimand a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child." (v 15) "Discipline your children, and they will give you happiness and peace of mind." (v 17)
There are two kinds of discipline.  Discipline can be appropriate punishment, and discipline can also be self-control and responsibility.  And that's something I am in charge of teaching my kids.  When they don't have discipline, it may result in discipline.  I want them to have the self-control to not destroy an entire room, and the discipline to clean up after themselves.  But it takes constant attention and tough love.  Because children are naturally oblivious and selfish.  They don't think the "mess" of their beloved toys is a big deal, and they think Mommy is here, so she'll wave her magic wand and make it disappear.
So we're working on it.  And trying to keep the house clean daily.  And considering what type of list and schedule we need to remind us and keep us sane.

I Stopped Caring

One of the best things - and biggest challenges - about having so many young kids, is that it's made me focus on what really matters.
Which means I've had to stop caring about a lot of things......

I used to care that my kids were dressed in nice, new-looking clothes any time we went to town.  I didn't want to look like "one of those" low-income families.
Now I'm just happy if they are wearing clothes at all (Gideon), or at least have clothes on that don't have holes and stains.

I used to think I needed a closet full of nice clothes so I would have choices when I go out.  After all, having lots of clothes shows the world I am classy.
I go out so little, I could wear a different outfit every time I go out, and not repeat for a year.  So bit by bit I'm paring it down to only clothes that I love.  (And having to finally retire my 20-year-old t-shirts.)

I used to pride myself that I was "green" before it was cool.
Now I see that sometimes it's okay to make life easier for myself, and do things like use disposable diapers.  (After all, which is worse - throwing a few paper diapers in the trash every day, or wasting so many gallons of water washing tiny, incomplete loads of laundry several times per week to keep the flies from infesting the diaper pail?)

I used to care that my kids be "perfect" at church, so everyone would know what a great mom I am.
My boys' shirts are always untucked, with crooked collars.  Zadie's hair is usually doing some crazy thing, and I have to pull them down out of a tree when it's time to go home. (Usually while they're simultaneously staging an army invasion with toy guns they smuggled into the van.)
Now I see that the illusion of perfection doesn't matter.  What people see of my family is how we are all the time.  Imperfect but real.

I used to want my kids to have a chance to be involved in all those things that kids "have" to experience:  sports, reading clubs, 4-H, homeschool co-ops.
Now I see that the "home" part of "homeschool" is more important than anything else.  What values do they learn by being herded to the van constantly?

I used to want all my kids to be proficient in a musical instrument.
But forced daily practicing and arguing was killing our love for music.
Now I see that having kids that sing their hearts out in praise to God is more important.

I used to care that my kids would be the brightest, most-advanced student for their age.
Then we had a delay in reading.
Now I see that there is so much more to life and learning than what is learned in the schoolroom.  (How many 8-year-olds do you know that can build a deck, frame a room, and hang sheet rock?)

I used to care that my house was perfect whenever anyone came to to visit.
Now I want people to know that I'm real.  My house isn't always perfect.  I try to make an effort, as a way of honoring our guests, but my house always looks lived in.  Lived in by 7 people.  It will never be a Better Homes & Gardens feature.  But people know that they are welcome in our home any time.

I used to want my kids to just blend in.
But now I want them to be spiritual leaders and be willing to take a stand.  I want my boys to be men, and my girls to be feminine, and not be ashamed of how God made them!

I used to worry that everyone would think my kids are weird.
They are weird.
But so are all of us.  Yet many of us shove our true selves into a box, so that the rest of the world doesn't think we are weird.  I don't want my kids to be cookie-cutter kids.

I used to think that families need to go on vacations every year.
But even though vacations are fun, memorable experiences, do they really make kids better people?  I'd rather teach them about saving and spending money responsibly.  Which means admitting to them:  vacations cost a lot of money, and we don't have a lot of money right now.  So we do things fun and memorable and free - like fishing in the neighbor's pond, and searching for geocaches.

I used to care about our "stuff."
Now I see how little stuff we actually need.  (Did you know you don't actually need a toaster?)

I used to think I needed - deserved - "girl time" and "me time."
I don't remember the last time I had girl time. My "me time" consists of watching non-animated television while folding clothes or balancing the checkbook.
But I don't miss it.
I am living the life God called me to live.  That includes my family.  Do the kids drive me nuts sometimes?  You bet they do.  But I love spending time with them when all of us can be home together.  It is when I feel most complete.  (But I do still love those rare, deep heart-to-heart chats with true friends.)

And finally.....
I used to care what people think about me.
I still do.  I want people to like me.
But I know that what God thinks about me is more important.  As long as I'm following Him, living my life according to the way He's convicted me, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about me.  I don't answer to them.  I've lost friends and had people reject me because of this, and that has truly hurt.  But I can't change that.  I have to live my life for the One that matters.


So sometimes it's a good thing to just stop caring.

Surprise..... Five!

Something I've been asked a lot since Gideon, our 4th child, (who just turned 2) was born, is the question, "So, are you done?"
I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Is it judgment?  (You shouldn't have more than four kids.)  Is it curiousity?  (Are you one of those "big family" people?)  I usually just gave a vague answer, because.....  We're weren't sure.
About a year ago, I was feeling pressure from people (and maybe myself) to decide for sure.  Everyone says, "You'll know when you're done."  But I didn't know.  There were a lot of comments about how I needed to get on birth control or Paul needed to have "the operation" done.  (Which I did consider rude.)
We had trouble getting pregnant with Nathan.  I only had one period in the year after I went off newlywed birth control.  That meant one chance to get pregnant.  I had no idea what was going on with my body or what medical interventions it would take to get pregnant.  It turned out that for me, it was relatively simple.  After one round of Clomid (an ovulation drug), I was pregnant.
But in that year, I spent a lot of nights crying out to God with many tears to give us a baby.  All I had ever wanted, my whole life, was to be a mother.  I recently found a poster I made in 3rd grade about my likes and dislikes, and what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I had written "a mommy" and drawn a picture of me with a little child.  I wrote my "career paper" for Senior year on motherhood.  Being a mom was all I had ever wanted, and all I had ever felt "called" by God to do.
And then I got pregnant.  And the hormonoes of pregnancy and nursing apparently set my body in order, because obviously there have been no problems getting pregnant since then.  (Our kids are spaced 2 years, 2.5 years, and 20 months apart.  We had a miscarriage between our 2nd and 3rd, which accounts for the longer gap.)
So, being that God not only answered our prayers, but blessed us abundantly and beyond with four children, and healed my body, I felt like it wasn't my right to tell God to quit sending blessings.  So I left the decision up to Paul, who has to lead and provide for this family.  (And deal with me when I'm losing my mind from dealing with kids! :) )  I had some minor health concerns as well, considering I've had two surgeries to repair hernias caused by pregnancy, and also have severe varicose veins.  But I felt God reminding me that He made my body.  He can heal it and help it carry another baby.
Shortly after I had gotten these thoughts in order in my head, but not really shared them with anyone, Paul sat me down on the couch, last April or so, and said, "We need to talk."  My heart dropped, because previous "we need to talks" had been about very upsetting subjects, and I was not ready for one of those talks.
Paul said, "What do you think about having another baby?"
I just laughed.
I told him that I had left it up to him and God, so this was the answer.  Paul explained, "I've never felt like we should have more.  I was good with one.  I was good with two.  I've always felt it was up to you since it's your body.  And I'm not saying right away.  Let's give you a break and get Gideon older and maybe potty trained and next spring (2016), we'll start trying."
In May and June, my cycles messed up, and in July, after several weeks of suspicion, I found out I was pregnant. (And Gideon, showing God's sense of humor, started potty training himself in August.)
So, basically, what we were saying was, "Yeah, God, we heard you.  But we'll obey on our own time."  And God, being the good Father, decided to make us obey on his time.
So.... We're going to have 5 kids!
This little one is due sometime in mid-March.  The doctor's chart says March 8, but sonograms we've had say anywhere from 3-5 days later.
I actually didn't go see the doctor until I was 30 weeks (7 months) along.  Our insurance charges us for obstetrician care in both years, if you get pregnant in one year and deliver in another.  When we had Zadie (born in April) we paid an additional $700.  Last year's insurance, we had a higher deductible and had had zero medical expenses, so we knew we were looking at paying even more.  I decided that I knew now, after 4 babies, what was normal for me, and I wasn't paying a thousand bucks to go in for 3 or 4 visits, where all I do is pee all over myself trying to pee in a tiny cup, having them measure my belly, and say, "Do you have any questions?  Okay, see you in a month!"  Pregnancy is not an illness, so I didn't see a need to go in.
We did have a sonogram at a local women's life center, just for peace of mind.  That's where we found out I was due almost 2 weeks earlier than I thought I should be.  Even though it's not necessarily a medical sonogram, everything looked good.  We even have a video of our 15-week-old baby with hiccups.
After my first appointment (January 12), my doctor ordered another sonogram.  Given the activity level of this baby, I am confident of it's health. :)  But I went to have one for the doctor's peace of mind.  (She had recently had an unhappy surprise during a delivery.)  And I wasn't going to complain about getting to see this little one!
A baby at 32 weeks looks so much different than a baby at 16 weeks.  I could see the chub starting to form.  The technician pointed out the fuzz of hair - enough to show up on a sonogram, even though there's 8 weeks to go!  She said he's measuring about 4.5 pounds, which is right about where he should be for how how far along I am.  (I say "he", but we don't know if it's a boy or girl....  We're waiting to be surprised again.)
So here is our baby!  (And my excuse for such a prolonged absence from blogging.)

I can't wait to meet him (her)!!!

I'm Still Here.

Okay, so it has been pointed out to me (Ahem, Carlsie....) that I am not doing a lot on my blog lately.  A myriad of reasons, really.
Even though our family life has not been crazy, my personal non-mommy obligations have been on overdrive, it seems, ever since the first of the year.  I can't tell you what all it has been, exactly, but it seems like every time I'm on the computer I'm working on something else.
And then we have the fact that I have cut my recreational computer time, drastically.  I wasn't doing a lot already, but basically I check my email and that's it.  No blog (obviously), no reading other blogs, no Facebook stalking through Paul's account.  No useless Yahoo news.  I didn't really resolve to cut those things out, it just happened.  Lack of blogging is also due to the fact that most of the stuff I want to write about requires pictures, and I have a lack of motivation and time for finding and uploading them.
I have really, really been making a concentrated effort to keep the house clean.  Today, it's still reeling from the crazy week we've had this week, and I can't quite motivate myself to do the stack of pans on the counter.  But for the first time in months, perhaps years, there's not a box full of unorganized crap sitting somewhere.  I went through every box and basket and got it put away, thrown away, or filed.  That's a good feeling.  And I am trying not to let it happen again.  Inevitably, a box or pile gets stacked together when we're having people over and I haven't gotten the table cleaned off, but I usually am getting through it in a day or two.  And why is cleaning off the table of clutter so hard???  Is it just me??
Recent projects completed (mostly) include both decks getting finished, finally finishing the basement floor, grinding and staining my parents' back porch floor, and getting my front flower bed planted (phase 1, anyhow).  In-the-near-future projects include painting both rooms in the basement next week, and moving the boys to their new room in the basement soon after.  We also need to stain the back deck, if it ever stops raining.  And we have started ripping up the linoleum to finally tile the front room. 
It has rained SO MUCH in the last month.  Seriously.  I think there were 5 days or less that it didn't rain in all of May, and maybe one day so far in June.  My garden is a complete wreck.  A lot of stuff is yellow, some has died, and the weeds are flourishing, so much that there are a few rows I can't even distinguish among the weeds.  I tried to step out there once and sank up to my shins.
Paul's parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary last Sunday.  Paul, Elizabeth, and I threw them a surprise dinner and reception, and nearly 100 people showed up to bless them. 
I guess also, a reason for not blogging is my discovery of Downton Abbey.  I'm a bit late to jump on the bandwagon, but I love that show.  It's not without it's faults, but they are much fewer than many shows - no nudity or crudity, and zero language.  I have even gotten Paul to watch it with me, not just here and there, but every episode.  We just finished Season 5, and I have to say, that was the BEST season finale of any show I have ever watched.  Since Season 6 is not on DVD yet, my evening free time should be a little free-er.  :)
We are about a week away from finishing school for the summer.  (It seems late, but let me remind you we didn't start til late October due to the house project.)  Close to finishing the seatwork, anyhow.  I'm still not sure what we're going to do with Nathan's reading over the summer.  I really would like him to do a full phonics/reading course so he can catch up, but I think getting him to do seatwork will be like trying to give him an appendectomy with no anesthesia.  And about as pleasant for me, too.  We'll figure it out.  Just daily practice will go a long ways.
Anyhow.  That's a bit about what's going on.  Now to find the girl-child and put her in bed for a nap.  She skipped her nap yesterday, and I now know what the term "hot mess" is all about.  That was her by 8 PM.  So today the nap is non-negotiable.

A Long While

Oh my goodness, how long has it been since I actually posted an update?
It was just a bit busy during February and the beginning of March.  Now life has slowed down, and the weather has warmed up, and we are doing good.
I don't even know where to begin. 
The reason I was so busy in February was that I helped plan and put on our church's main (only?) event for women.  We have an annual one-day "mini-retreat."  This year,  we called it "A Season for Everything" and I have to say, I think it was the best yet.  We had 5 women talk about the different seasons of life that they are in or have been in, and what got them through it.  It was amazing how God tied everything together.  We didn't really know any of what the others would talk about, but yet the theme, the ideas, and the Scripture all pointed back to the same things.
We also did an Awana Grand Prix workshop the last weekend of February, followed by the Grand Prix event the first weekend of March.
The second weekend of March I went with nearly 30 women from the Ottawa area to Women's Encounter.  I didn't personally have any friends going as attendees, but I think God knew that I needed this time for ME.  It has been a long two years since the last time I went.  With nursing, not sleeping, and trying to live in it while finishing the projects..... Even though all of those things are getting better, I needed this rejuvination.  I got to give a gospel presentation to 267 women.  And I got to spend the weekend serving with 6 awesome women that have done so much to challenge and encourage and inspire me (my mom and sister included).  It was a great time to realize how much I appreciate the ladies that God has placed in my life. 
Paul and I celebrated our 11th anniversary on March 20.  We went out for BBQ and rented a couple movies.  (Loved Fury, a movie about a tank crew in WWII.  The newest Hunger Games installment, Mockingjay, was a snoozer.)  Every anniversary gets more and more low key, but I am perfectly fine with that.  I love loving my husband!  I'm so thankful for our marriage and the strength and commitment my husband has.... Even on days that I'm not very friendly.
As for the kids....
Gideon has been sleeping through the night ever since I weaned him in December.  He went from waking up 2-4 times a night while nursing, to a solid 8-12 hours.  I got used to that REAL fast, but I still feel like I'm catching up from last year.  The last couple days he's been a bit fussy and grumpy.  I think it's more teeth, even though all 16 are broken through.  It doesn't seem like Gideon eats more than 2 bites at meals.  Even at snacks, he very rarely eats more then a few bites.  The only thing he'll chow down is bananas.  He loves to play "I'm gonna get you!" and will run through the house squealing with laughter as someone chases him.  The older boys love playing this game with him.  He's not talking yet (surprise, surprise).  He nods and shakes his head - not always the right motion for the answer he's trying to give, but it's a step!  And he has one-syllable sounds for some words, like please and thank you and milk.  I was hoping he would be different than the last two, but he's shaping up to be silent til he's 2, just like they were.  (He's almost 16 months.)  He's still pretty high-maintenence when it comes to needing entertained.  He wants to be held most of the time when I'm around.
Zadie is.... Zadie!  That's all I can say, and for anyone that knows her, that says it all!  She's such a little boss.  She is so different than the boys!  She talks to her toys, and her toys talk to each other.  The other day, her hot dog and her toy girl were having a conversation about a toy pteredactyl!  She is really into clothes, but not in a prissy way.  She wants a pretty dress, but then she'll go out and dig in the dirt and climb trees.  Lately, she's been wanting me to braid her hair all the time, which really helps with the tangle situation - if we can get past the drama of brushing it out.  I'm sure our neighbors (who live a quarter mile away!) can hear her screaming like she's being skinned alive!  Some days I just don't want to deal with that.  She still loves her babies, and talks about being a mommy.  The other day she showed me that she was nursing her baby.  Paul wasn't sure what to think, but I think it's great that she has a concept of what's natural.  She also has wanted to start doing "school."  This consists on flashcards to teach her colors, and a calendar like the boys' that she gets to draw on.  Her 3rd birthday is in a couple weeks.  And we're FINALLY POTTY TRAINED!!!!  We still have an accident occasionally, but it is SO nice to have her using the potty on her own.
Jacob has really picked up on reading.  He blasted through all the short vowels and consanants.  He's stuck on long vowels, but I think it's because it requires effort and thought.  He is totally my child when it comes to that.  "I'll do it if it's easy."  But he's also figured out that if he just DOES his school, instead of whining and wandering off, he can get it done SO FAST.  Like seriously, two hours tops.  He's only got about a dozen math lessons left for Kindergarten.  I'm not sure what we're going to do for a stopping place on reading, since we're not really using a curriculum at this point.  I know we'll do some type of reading through the summer, just not sure what yet.
School is getting better with Nathan, most days.  Part of it is I've made a concious effort to change my attitude.  He reflects my attitude.  Some days it's hard.  But I offer grace, again and again (just like God does for us).  I discipline him when he needs it, but show excitement and give enthusiastic praise for good work minutes later, so he can see I'm not holding his bad attitude against him if he will choose to change it.  He's come a long way in his reading.  He's still behind what our curriculum says he should be (probably reading at a 1st grade level according to their standards), but I'm not too worried about it, since he's interested in it and making effort.  We will probably do full reading/phonics curriculum over the summer to try to catch him up.  Jacob is close to catching Nathan, but a lot of that is because it's come very naturally to Jacob (how I was as a child), whereas Nathan really had to think about it at first.  Math is definitely the subject that takes the most time in his school, as he has a math lesson (where I teach new concepts), a time test, a two-sided worksheet (one is supposed to be homework, but that never happens if we try to do it later), plus counting, time, and money questions.  I haven't done as well at drilling the math tables as I should have, but he at least has the skills to figure them out if he can't recall them by rote memorization.  I would prefer he doesn't have to use fingers, but sometimes I still do!
We're finishing up on the house projects.  The electricity in the boys' rooms (play room and bed room) is done, so Paul is finishing putting up sheet rock (right at this moment, actually!).  He finished the sheetrock in the main stairway as well, so now all we have to do is paint.  Paint..... So much of that to do, and I don't even want to think about it.  It's kind of an overwhelming thought, mostly because I know that every aspect of life otherwise will have to come to a standstill to get those projects done, so I am not looking forward to it.  (But I priced hiring it out, and NO WAY.)  Paul got the small deck on the east side of the house put back on - CHANGED MY LIFE.  It is so nice to be able to walk across a porch to access the house, rather than having the all the dirt from the yard applied directly to my floors.  (We have no grass for about 20 feet in any direction from the house.)  We got 3 beautiful solid-wood doors, for the two new bathrooms and the boys' bedrooms.  So the back bathroom is fully funcional and private (previously just had a curtain).  Paul got the toilet installed in the downstairs bathroom, but we're a while out from getting the shower put in.  I told him that the back deck is higher on my priority list.  Having a bathroom downstairs is really going to mess up the boys' school routine - their favorite trick to try is the "I need to go poop!" excuse, and then they promptly disappear for a half an hour.  Going to look for the missing truant means the remaining boy will escape or become totally distracted.  So having toilet and sink down there solves all excuses!
Warm weather means we're planning a garden and flower beds.  My main flower bed got completely torn out, so all there is is bare dirt at the front of our house between the house and the driveway.  I'm excited to start from scratch, but also overwhelmed at the options for such a huge amount of square footage.  I'm also looking forward to replenishing the vegetable supply.  This having to buy produce is crap.  And no one likes the frozen store veggies, so other than salads, we haven't been doing too well on healthy eating!
Anyhow.  That's a glimpse of life lately.  I'll try to put up pictures soon.

Quote to Consider:

If  you reach a child, there is a 15% chance of reaching the family for Christ.
If you reach the mother, there is a 30% chance of reaching the family for Christ.
If you reach a teen, there is a 50% chance of reaching the family for Christ.
But if you reach the father, there is a 92% chance of reaching the family for Christ.
In light of this, why are churches not actively finding ministries to reach fathers?

--Heard on Intentional Living, quoting the leader of Arizona Promise Keepers

(Whereas I'm almost positive I have the percentages correct, I'm not sure this is the exact wording.  I have not been able to find the statistic in print through Google.)

Rhodes Report 2014

This is my annual letter - "Christmas letter," if you will - that I send out after the first of the year.  This years was record length, I think.

As I was reflecting on the start of the New Year, and looking back on the past year, the words to one of our family’s favorite songs kept going through my head:

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning; It's time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, Let me be singing when the evening comes.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul!  Worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul!  I’ll worship Your holy name.

--“10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin

I can’t think of a better thought to begin the New Year – WHATEVER happens – BLESS THE LORD!

This has been a year of “whatever” – and what a year it has been!

We opened 2014 more exhausted than ever before in our life.  Our newest, Gideon (born December 2013), refused to sleep at night.  One or both of us spent every night rocking, walking, holding, and praying for him to sleep.  The good news is, it got better.  The bad news is, it took several months for him to start sleeping on his own at night (and he didn’t sleep through the night –at all- ‘til after he turned 1).  But now all of that is behind us, and Gideon is a happy, active 1-year-old who walks (runs), climbs, wrestles, and explores.  He has 12 (!) teeth and the most adorable smile.  He nods and shakes his head when you ask him questions, and has the most infectious laugh. 

Zadie turned 2 in April.  Even though she jabbered constantly, she didn’t start talking intelligibly until late summer.  In the months since then, her vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds, and we can understand almost every word now.  She is a little mother, constantly bossing the household around.  She is also a girly-girl.  Everything pink, sparkly, fluffy, and otherwise fancy she loves.  She adores jewelry and is obsessed with shoes.  She constantly asks to have her fingernails painted.  Thankfully, she also loves being a “Mommy” and playing with her babies and cooking in her kitchen.  She has recently decided she’s going to use the potty.  That can’t happen soon enough; I am SO done with having two in diapers.

Jacob turned 5 in October.  We started Kindergarten with him this fall.   He seems to pick things up very quickly.  Some of it may be “spillover” from being present as Nathan learned these things, but he just seems to have a very quick mind in remembering things.  Math he’s breezing through, doing several lessons a day, and even though reading is a bit more work for him, but he’s still doing great for a 5-year-old!  He enjoys Legos, kitties, outdoors, and dinosaurs.  He’s always willing to help, whether it be sweeping the floor at home, or doing chores at Grammy and Pa-Pa’s.  In December, Jacob had surgery to repair a small hernia above his belly button – the hereditary weak spot – and it didn’t slow him down one bit.

Nathan turned 7 in September.  He’s in 2^nd grade at home.  We are still behind in reading, but made a huge turn this summer when he finally decided that reading might be useful, and stopped arguing and started trying.  He’s making good progress and can read simple books.  We have a deal made for his time tests in Math – if he can complete it in less than 2 minutes, he gets a dollar toward buying a watch.  He always scores 100, but the higher addition tables take a while for him to figure in his head.  Nathan enjoys anything army, camouflage, or gun-related – so of course, Duck Dynasty!  He spends hours playing with his Legos and drawing or acting out army scenes.  He is very helpful with projects, doing a lot of work on the house this year (installing sheetrock and flooring), side-by-side with his dad or Grandpa.

Paul and I celebrated 10 years of marriage in March.  It’s been pretty close to a “perfect 10”, and we couldn’t be happier.  We love loving each other, and are truly thrilled to be best friends.  Paul just completed his 15^th year at AGC (6^th as a supervisor).  I am so proud of him.  I still “just” stay home.  In July, I had a [repeat] hernia surgery (same spot as Jacob’s).  Hopefully we are done with that issue.

To explain our crazy summer, I have to first start with last spring.  Paul and I wanted to do some updates and improvements to the house.  We knew our floors weren’t level (by several inches), so before replacing doors and windows, we wanted to see what we could do about leveling up the house.  It turns out that our floors weren’t level because two of our rock foundation walls were collapsing.  After having 3 companies come and give us inspections and estimates, and much prayer, we made the decision to completely tear out our stone cellar and foundation…… And replace it with a full concrete basement.  So now we have level floors – and twice as much living space as a year ago! 

We could not live in the house while work was being done – no water or gas, plus the fact that the whole thing was up on jacks!  We spent 12 weeks living in Williamsburg with Paul’s parents.  We so appreciate all of their help and generosity.  We moved back in the first week of October.  Paul has 3 months down on finishing this project….  And 20 years to go!  We tore off our old back porch/laundry room/utility room/disaster area (which would not have stayed attached to the house had we tried to jack it up with the rest of it), and replaced it with a new, taller, brighter back porch/mud room, with a half bath.  We moved the laundry, freezers, and hot water tank to the basement.  We will add a full bath in the basement (at some point), and this summer we will complete a bedroom for the older boys (eventually all 3).  The schoolroom is also downstairs – bliss! the dining room table is clean! – along with plenty of space to play.  With all new plumbing and ductwork – plus no wind howling through cracks in the rock foundation – our house is much warmer and draft free (and no frozen pipes!).

We can’t talk about the basement project without giving glory to God!  It was obvious from start to finish that this was God and He was blessing us in outrageous ways.  From the huge things – like providing the money – to the small – like our freezers were empty when we had to move them to the shop – we have felt His guidance every step.  We are overjoyed that He saw fit to give us this blessing.

Homeschool was an adventure this year.  The combination of a nursing baby, a demanding toddler, and an incredibly tired mommy made for lots of days of doing the bare minimum.  I think we took 3 spring breaks, so we weren’t done with school yet when we moved out in July.  The boys finally finished up in August while we were living at Grandpa & Grandma’s, and we didn’t start up again until October when we moved back home.  That’s the beauty of homeschooling!  We took a break from music lessons this year.  My lack of sleep for six months and our insane summer, combined with daily whining and arguing about practicing, made this one thing that became not important to me at this point.  Life has settled down now and we hope to take that task back up sometime soon.

Last year when I wrote this letter, my little sister was recently home from her two years in Africa with the Peace Corps.  In March, her boyfriend that she had met while living in Zambia came to visit.  In June, he went back home……. As her husband!  Carlsie and Jono now live in Zimbabwe, which is where Jono grew up.  Jono works as Chief Agronomist for Green Fuel, a huge farm that grown sugar cane for ethanol production.  We are thrilled to add Jono to our family!

We were able to take a small trip to Silver Dollar City in October.  We planned it in January, before we’d even imagined the basement project.  We were only home for two weeks before we left again, but it was a great time.  We had a “family reunion” of sorts, which included Paul’s parents , his sister, his aunt and her husband, and his cousin and her husband and their 3 kids.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed their time together, as did the grown-ups.  It was a nice time to just relax and enjoy fun together.

We are still blessed to be part of the family at Ottawa Bible.  We are involved in Awana, and a weekly small group that meets at the church.  The older boys and I helped out with our 14^th annual Bethlehem experience, which they loved.  We had over 1200 guests come through this year.  We have also gone several times to local nursing homes to do some music ministry.  Paul is still very involved with Men’s Encounter, and we both look forward to serving at several Encounters again this year.

Obviously, our lives are full and busy.  We are truly blessed, and we count you each as a blessing, that you are our family and friends.  We hope the New Year finds you happy and hopeful as you look to the future.  We may never know what the future holds, but we know the One who holds the future, so we can find peace in trusting in Him.

Love to all,

Paul & Rachel

Nathan, Jacob, Zadie, and Gideon

The Other Photos......

So I finally sent out my New Year's letter (I gave up with trying to get it out before Christmas, so calling it a "New Year's letter" takes the pressure off).
I almost didn't send a picture.  We've been plagued by various illnesses, and things have been tight financially, but then I thought.....  The pictures are my favorite part of receiving letters!  Plus, it's only like $7 to print them if you have a coupon.
I never made it to my sister's to have her take nice portraits of us.  So we herded the kids outdoors today (first day above freezing in weeks!) and tried to get a decent shot.  (And yes, Gideon is in his pajamas.  It's just normal day attire for us!)

Trying to photograph children is like herding cats - impossible!
Gideon would not stand still.  At all.  (If they held him, he screamed.  If they let him go, he charged straight at me.)

Oh, by all means, let's bring the dog in!  That will help......

And of course when Gideon does stay put, no one is looking at the camera.

Almost......

Close.....  But I was hoping for better smiles.

 

In the end, I went with the first photo I took.  I wish you could see Zadie better, but they're all real smiles, and it shows their real personalities.  And this is real life for us (chaos)!

Laundry Basket Dresser

My mom sent me a link to this picture of what is apparently called a "laundry dresser" back last summer.  She knows my disdain for laundry.  (Which, ironically, I am not folding in lieu of writing this blog.)

I liked the look of it, but I didn't like the idea of having to pull out baskets to sort each thing when I am sorting dirty clothes for wash.  I just toss.  It seemed like a way to make it prettier, but more complicated.

I did know that for our new laundry room, I wanted a laundry basket for each kid.  I had discovered that sorting a massive pile of clean laundry into baskets for each person makes folding go 10x faster - you're only folding one person's clothes at a time, so no more having 15 stacks around you while you fold.  I got a couple more square baskets and for two months, I sorted clothes into the baskets..... Which stayed parked in front of the freezers.  (I did fold them occasionally.)  One basket for Nathan, one for Jacob, one for Zadie, one for Gideon, one for Paul and I, and one for towels.

That takes up a lot of floor space, folks.  

Right before Thanksgiving, I couldn't take it any more.  Light bulb!  That laundry stacker...... for clean clothes!  Paul was going to the lumber store, and I made a list.

It fits perfectly in the little niche of space between the freezers and the spiral staircase!

I don't do step-by-step how-to's with photos.  Basically, my process was measure my basket, allow two inches clearance for each basket, plus two inches off the floor.  We built each side (looked like a ladder), then set a basket on it and measured to determine how far apart and how much wiggle room to leave for the handles.

I used 2x4s for the legs, and 2x2s for the handles.  We put a couple 2x4 braces across the back and across the floor, and then topped it with 1x6s.
(If you are thinking about taking on the project and know anyone even minorly handy, have them take a quick look at the photos and it should be enough to figure it out.)

I actually did most of this project.  I designed it, but I had Paul double-check my calculations and make the shopping list.  I did the cuts, although he had to re-do a couple cuts for me (they were millimeters off, but enough to wobble).  I made him do all the screws, because I would have taken entirely too long with my over-analyzing each move.  I wanted to get it done the same day. :)  Then I stained the whole thing and put it to work!  (In retrospect, staining before assembling would have been MUCH easier.)
It's not making me any better at folding clothes, but it does keep them organized in a way that the kids can find them.  They pull out their basket, dig around, and put it back (usually).  When they were all lined up on the floor, they'd pull them out of their basket and toss them into the ones next to it.  And it takes up a quarter of the floor spaces as my laundry basket parade!
So there's my laundry dresser!  Pinterest project, minus the Pinterest account. :)

Too Many Clothes!

Am I the only one that struggles with this?  I have SO MANY CLOTHES!!!!

We have (had) only 4 closets in our entire house.  (And only two of those were original to the house.)  One upstairs, a shared closet between the bedrooms (that we use as an attic), and three on the main floor, in our bedroom.  One of those was our hanging-clothes closet, and the other was a multi-purpose storage closet (with photo albums, games, sewing/crafts), etc.  The last closet we repurposed into a headboard area for our bed, to gain space in our room.  When we built the basement, our hanging clothes closet disappeared to make room for the stairway.

Knowing we were going to be down two closets by the end of summer, I did a HUGE clothes purge this spring for our annual garage sale  But I STILL have a 4-drawer dresser stuffed completely full, a 3-foot "portable" wardrobe (also full), two extra drawers in a Rubbermaid dresser full of socks and underthings, a shelf-full of sweaters, and an under-bed box of off-season clothes.  AND I DON'T SHOP FOR CLOTHES!!!!!

It's seriously a dilemma for me.  I feel like I can't get rid of clothes, because they are either 1/stained and/or frayed enough that no one would want to buy them at Goodwill or a garage sale, or 2/still practically brand new so I feel like I haven't gotten my (or more often, someone else's) money out of them.  (A lot of my clothing has been gifts.  People must think I need help in the fashion department.)

So what do I do?  Keep wearing the "every day" things I have been wearing (paint-stained exercise pants  and promotional t-shirts) until they fall apart, or wear my nicer shirts and sweaters so I can feel that I look nice and am getting the worth out of an article of clothing, even though they very well may get ruined in the course of the day?

For now, I'll go back and do the THIRD major clothing purge of the year.  If I don't love it and haven't worn it in a year, it's going.

Home. Sweet. Home.

What I didn't mention publicly during all of this work being done on our house, was that we couldn't live at home while it was being done.  In order to get the support beams under to lift the house, all of our plumbing had to be torn out.  And our propane had to be disconnected.  (So no hot water or stove.)  Not to mention, our house was up on blocks-----!!!
So for 12 weeks we lived in the basement of Paul's parents' house.

The older kids' "room."

Our "room."
(Have I mentioned we don't ever ---ever---- make our beds?)

Gideon's "room."  (About 5 steps away from ours.)

And let me tell you, I was dreading it.  Not because it was with Paul's parents (although I would have much rather lived with my own parents, in the house I grew up in), but because it was with people.  I go for days without talking to another adult besides Paul, and I'm okay with that.  I like it, even!  Having other people in my business, and knowing when I'm doing my business, and most of all, knowing when and how often I don't do anything at all was really making me nervous.

But I guess it's just another way of knowing that God was in this plan....  Twelve weeks, and no problems.  In fact, we worked out a pretty sweet deal of me cooking and Doug and Janice cleaning up.  And I took naps.  A lot.  They were so helpful and accommodating, even though I'm sure our circus drove them nuts on occasion.

The only thing I did miss, is that for 12 weeks, I didn't feel like Paul and I got to have a real heart-to-heart conversation.  Some things you don't want to do in front of anyone, even people you love.

We moved back in last week.  It started as an overnight "campout" (plumbing was operational, but no hot water and no stove) last [a week ago] Sunday night, and turned into a "we're not leaving."  We had to borrow Elizabeth's (Paul's sister) shower and kitchen the next night, but by Tuesday the electricians had our hot water tank hooked up and now it's HOME-SWEET-HOME!

Our propane still isn't hooked up.  Apparently there's only one technician to lay line for this whole side of the state, so it was over a month out.  So it will be the end of this month before we get it.  We checked in with other companies in the area, but I can't justify the $600 price difference.  We're going to learn to love (or possibly loathe) the electric skillet and crock pot!  

I can't wait to show off pictures of the basement!  We are doing final touches to get everything finished and operational and life-can-begin-again, but by the end of the week the essential stuff should be done.  (Other stuff will be done over the winter, or over the next several years.)

........Just in time to leave again for a vacation we've had planned since February!!!

Kids at Church

I am revisiting my views on children in the worship service.  I was challenged on this by Rob Reinow, the speaker at last year's Awana conference in our area.

In Scripture, the children are present in their times of worship.  He pointed out that in the last century, we have come up with a "better" way of reaching children at church.  But looking at the numbers of teens and young adults walking away from their faith..... Something's not working.

So Paul and I made the decision to be in charge of our children's spiritual growth.  We're not leaving it up to just what they learn in church.  And one of those decisions was keeping our kids with us in the corporate worship service, so we share in that time and can discuss it during the week.

Which is easy when your kids do this during church:

But not so easy when you have a dramatic daughter who always ends up causing a scene when you walk away to do offertory.  

I'm not sure I think that kids should be this involved in the service. :)

I took her to that side of the church to sit with her grandparents (who sit next to the piano), but she followed me up to the bench.  It was easier just to leave her there than cause a scene.  And she did very well!  She only touched the keys once, and when she noticed everyone watching her, she sat very soberly and quietly.

Maybe she can start playing offertory next year. :)

Anyhow.  The top thoughts were just so there was something of substance to post with these pictures.  (Thanks to my sis Carlsie for taking the candid photos!)