Teeth and glasses

Miss No Front Teeth
loving on
Mr. New Glasses

fire

Ruth went to the fire station with her class last week. When I drove her home she didn't seem as excited about the trip as she had that morning...

"Ruth, how was the fire station??"

"Mom, there was NO FIRE!"

Fire station... :)

These two schmoopies... trying not to smile, sitting in their box... what fun!

I Am

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Arkansas and Missouri. While we were there we got to spend the nights with children in the room with us. Now, all of them wake up pretty cheerful. But sometimes a little bit earlier than we would choose to wake up on our own! While we were at Kev's parent's house in Hot Springs, it was us and little Elijah sharing a room. He waited until maybe 7 to wake up which isn't too bad. But he was stuck in his pack n' play. So when he would wake up, he'd just start to play. We heard all kinds of goofy things in his early morning play time.

Lijah had two toy puppies in his bed with him and they would wake up "talking" to each other. One day it was,
"yes."
"no."
"Yes."
"No."
"YES..."
You get the idea.
One morning, his puppies woke up saying, "Bow!" to which he replied, "shut!" Back and forth for a while. (Apparently that's what people say to puppies... something we try NOT to say to each other in the Crawford home but to puppies, he must have figured the short form of "shut-up" was appropriate.)
One time it was his baby CPK, Matthew, crying. "Matthew's crying... whaaaaaa!" Only much louder than you just read it in your head!

My favorite wake up conversation in the morning was another repetitive one... Lijah simply said, over and over,

"I am. I am. I am. I am. I am..."

Who knows what he was talking about! Gotta love the 2 year old mind. But I thought right away of the Lord being the great I AM. What a good focus in the morning.

Have you heard the Nichole Nordeman song, I Am? She sang it at the Women of Faith conference I attended with my girlfriends this fall. I understood it better then... let me just share a verse with you... you'll get the idea.

You saw me wear white, by pale candlelight,
I said forever to what lies ahead
two kids and a dream,
with kids that can scream
too much it might seem
when it’s two AM

CHORUS:
when I am weak, unable to speak,
still I will call You by name.
“Oh Shepherd, Savior, Pasture-maker,
hold on to my hand,” and You say “I am.”

When we are in need or ask for Him to help... He says, "I Am."

Women of Faith...

All the Saints

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

I've been waiting to blog this one for you for a month or so...

Our good friends are missionaries in Asia. So you know that you don't just go blogging about "M" in Asia... Since they are home in the states again, I figured it was safe to share my story with you, or rather how our stories intertwined.

While our friends were over in Asia, they found themselves in some trouble. (Among missionaries, so we've found out, we are considered family and therefore "Aunts and Uncles..." So since that's how our kids refer to them, that's how I will, too... I'm not sure how gently to tread still.

Our uncle found the police at his door one day and was taken downtown to have a visit. There they questioned him about his friendships and his purpose in Asia. I think it was about six hours that they held him with some of that time spent in prison. You can imagine how scary that would be. His family didn't even know what was going on and he didn't know if or when they'd let him go. They had apparently been told he was there as a missionary.

Okay, so that's a wild story, and I'm sure that since they are back in the states, they would love to tell you more details! (Let me know if you want more info...) :)

But that's just their side of the story! Here on this side of the world, it was night time and I was climbing into bed reading my God's Word Day by Day by Beth Moore. It's just a short page of verses put into prayers. My prayer for that day was about the armor of God. As I got to the end of that familiar verse the last line stood out to me... Be alert and keep praying for the saints. I kinda laughed and thought of these specific friends of mine and chuckled that they could be considered "saints" as missionaries over there... Heh. Then I thought I should be alert and pray for them. So I spent just a little time praying that God would make Himself known to them, that they'd know He's there with them, and that He would be there Encourager. I even thought of the book Safely Home by Randy Alcorn where the angel stands by the man in jail...

The very next morning, we saw our uncle on Skype and he told us he had just gotten home from prison in Asia! He told us the time and I figured out when that would have been corresponded with my prayers... EXACTLY the same time! Seriously! Can you believe that! Isn't the Holy Spirit awesome!?

I've heard stories of that and know that it could have even happened to me in the past and I may have not known or don't remember it now... but it was really exciting for me to SEE God alive and active. Working. So cool.

The rest of their story is that he was imprisoned again for a longer time and they have been sent home to the states. They'll find a new place for missions work and trust God to work all things together for good...

The rest of my story is that I can't wait to hear from God again! Speak to me, Lord. I'm so excited to hear Your voice.

Let us stay alert and keep praying!

yellow makes me sing

Okay... gotta tell you guys some quick, cute kiddo stories for a minute! :)

The other day, when the kids and I were driving home from Wed night church (Kev was still with the youth group...), the van's gas-tank-is-low light came on. Usually that means there's a few miles left to go before it's out (although I've never actually run all the way out!). But when Benjamin saw the light on, he figured we needed gas right away! Since it was like 9:00 on a school night, I chose to just go right home and worry about the gas the next day. As I drove past the gas station on the way home, I hear a little 8 year old boy voice from the back seat, "Mooommmm, are you being foolish??" Ha. Maybe... but it was a hoot to hear it from my little Benjamin! (BTW, we did make it home, no problem!)

Elijah is really enjoying singing lately. He sings, "Blessed name the Lord... Blessed name the Lord!" (Blessed be the name of the Lord...) And he still love "I'll fly away, oh Louie, I'll fly away..." One of his favorites from a Veggie CD we have is "Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you... long to see your rolling river... AWAY! I've found a way across the wide Missouri." Kev loves to hear our little guy sing that one. Heh.

Lijah's also learning grown up phrases... you almost gotta hear him say them... but just picture a little two year old in pullups... :)

"Lijah, do you have to go to the bathroom?"

"Not really."

"Lije, come sit at the table"

"In a minute."

"Eli, it's time to go inside."

"No way!" (Not just the simple "no" anymore!)

Those are just a few examples! Heh.

Ruthie came home from school the other day and told me, "Triangles are CUTE." Heh. Yup, I guess they are!

After church a week or two ago, I heard Hannie singing, "Yellow makes me sing..." I thought, triangles are cute and now yellow makes us sing... then figured out from the song we'd sang that morning in church... "hallelujah, hallelujah, Your love makes me sing..." She said, "Ohhhh!" (But don't mention it to her... she does NOT like feeling like she's being laughed at... she was okay with us laughing a second over how cute it was. but...)

Cuties.

Mentor

I found a Mentor! :)

Have you read Titus chapter 2 about older women and younger women? Let me see here...

3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Well, I've always been kinda drawn to that verse... kinda sums up what we as women should be all about. Training and encouraging other women! Then this summer, I got the book A Woman's High Calling by Elizabeth George and read some of it with some girlfriends. One chapter pointed out, encouraged, recommended... that we find ourselves a "mentor" to hang around and learn from. Also, that we should put ourselves in a mentoring position!

So, after thinking about that for a while... My kids, and especially my daughters, are my most obvious Loves to be a mentor to. Then at church it's easy for me to love on little ones there. Kevin has fallen in love with the youth group and therefore, I love them, too! But they are some who are younger than me that I'd like to be available to. In the end, it wasn't too hard to think of who to encourage and teach... but to find myself a mentor... hummm...

It's a little intimidating, too! "Will you be my mentor!?" Heh. And who? Who do I want to be like? Respect, love, see Jesus in... After a while someone came to mind, and came to mind again, and again... Are you like that? I tell Kev that it takes at least three nudges for me to be like, "Oh! Okay..."

In the end, I'm very glad to say that Mrs. Julie Schimke has agreed to be my mentor! :) She's the kindergarten teacher up Riverside Christian School, where our kids attend. She's had both Benjamin and Hannie and will have Ruth next year, if we're still in the states!! Besides the fact that she loves little ones and teaches Early Childhood... she's so obviously a lover of the Lord. She's so full of His fruit and so active in pursuing Him. When I asked her, she said she'd like to pray about it. That was cool. Heh. It's intimidating to her, too! But we'll make it informal and just make sure to find time to hang out once in a while! Sounds pretty simple, huh?

I'm excited. I found a mentor! You should find one, too! And be one! God said to!

Encourage one another in the Lord while it is still called Today!

cute girls

Okay, just a couple cute stories of my girls...

Hannie, the other day, drew up a picture at school and stuck it in her best little friends backpack to surprise her! When Jazmyn found it, she was so happy and noticed that Hannie had used both of their favorite colors in the picture... So sweet.

Ruth came home the other day from preschool talking about "T" that they learned about during class. As she was telling me words she said... "Talky-phone..." "You mean telephone??" "Nope, talky-phone!"

The other day she sang, "This is my commandment that you love one another, that your joy may be HEARD." I told her that I thought it went... that your joy may be FULL. Again, she knew it was HEARD with a big grin on her face. I told her... your joy IS heard! :)

My lovely ladies.

Bread - hkleb

When we were at our missions training in Springfield, MO last summer, we were encouraged to listen to John 3 in Russian... you can find it online at audioscripture.org... http://www.audioscriptures.org/files/0100/NT/NT.html It's a good example of a conversation! Well, I found it the other day and hit play. Even though I still can't follow a conversation or reading in Russian *sigh* I like to hear the language anyway! So I listen for the few words that I might recognize. After a while of it going on... I thought I heard the word "hkleb" a few times. I thought, I know that... Then it I thought, that's "bread", isn't it?! Heh. Bread. Why would the Bible keep saying "bread". Then I got it! Jesus is the Bread of Life. I looked it up and sure enough, it was on John 6... Jesus is the Bread of Life.

John 6:35
Theen Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:48-50
I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.

Interestingly, a few verses before that, Jesus took the boy's bread and multiplied it to feed thousands...

God can take our "bread" and multiply it... We can take His "bread" and live forever!

I love how learning Russian makes the verses I already know, the simple words and truths, and expands on them for me. The Holy Spirit is cool that way. Teaching...

"Hkleb"
"Bread"
~It's in the Bible! :)

spilled milk

"One of those days" seems to have become every day for me! Heh. That's what I told Kevin last week. Seems like there's always something crazy. Something lost. Something forgotten. Something late! Uff. Well last week it was something spilled!

Ruth and Elijah and I had gone to the store after dropping the kids off at school. I got a few gallons of milk and stacked them along the seat of our van. Long story short, Ruth wanted to play with the lights in the van instead of obeying and getting out, so I "helped" her get out by lifting her up and out. Her coat or leg got caught on Hannie's carseat and it fell into the milk... Ever have to clean up a whole gallon of milk off the garage floor? That's what we found ourself looking at. A whole gallon of milk splashing out of the container and running all over the floor. To top it off it was a windy/rainy cold day.

I did, however, get a chance to explain to her later how I didn't know what to do and had prayed that God would give me wisdom and patience... and that He did. I sprayed it out of the garage with our outside hose and didn't put her in her room for the whole day... God meets us where we're at!

And I did not cry over our spilled milk!

"towered"

I just thought I'd share that Elijah is Mr. Two year old Cutie... When he's tired he'll look at us and say, "I towered. I go to bed..." We love it... Lijah's "Towered." So cute.

So we put him to bed with his Jerry Giraffe, his baby Matthew, a drink of water, a good book... and make hime all cozy... then he's good to go! :)

He will listen...

So I've been reading more about missionaries and martyrs and such... This has changed my way of thinking and my prayer life, too. Last night just before I read my Bible before going to bed, I was praying for persecuted Christians around the world and asking the Lord to keep them safe, give them hope, keep them warm, encourage them... and then kinda ended up asking Him... Why? How Long? What about the ones who are hurting them? So I prayed that their captors would have soft hearts and mercy and that they'd know Jesus, too. And that there would be justice. In the end, I was a little discouraged that things like that go on in the world...

Then I opened my Bible. These were two of the last verses I read (in my organized Two Year Bible...)

Psalm 102:17
"He will listen to the prayers of the destitute.
He will not reject their pleas."

and

Proverbs 22:8
"Those who plant seeds of injustice will harvest disaster,
and their reign of terror will end."

The "reign of terror" will end... and God hears their prayers.

Apparently, He hears mine, too... God's Word is alive and active!

Please continue to pray with me for Believers who are persecuted for their faith! He is with them... He will listen.

summer time

Okay... so I guess I should explain why I've been a quiet blogger this summer... Mostly, I've been messing around with my new myspace account! http://www.myspace.com/nadesda Heh... On top of that, we've been busy! Here's a glimpse:

Wedding, wedding, baseball, Williston, Mpls, 11th Anniversary!

waiting

The other day a gal came up to me and visited with me about her kids... she had waited for them to come home and now they were. She told me it was all in the Lord's timing. She would have prefered it to have happened sooner but she knew that it was all in God's timing. He had good timing. I heard her. And I know the same to be true for us. We are waiting on God's timing.

Then in a book I read... guess what the people were learning about?? God's timing. How they don't like waiting but how good God's timing is. To quote, "God's like that. Often right down to the last minute but never late." After I read that, I had to smile with the Lord. I love it when He talks to me like that. Reminding me of His truth and His good plans. Double dabble good. (Check out the Cul de Sac Kids books by Beverly Lewis... that was our summer reading! Double dabble good!)

So we're waiting to get sent to Russia and wondering why it would have to take so long when we said "yes" to going. But as we wait, we grow, and we trust that even if it feels like it's taking too long... God is never late!

("ahhh, hhhaaa, ha ha haaaaa, hhaaaa, haaa, ha, ha..." ~Lord of the Rings)

...It will, however, be more fun to look back on the waiting and see that the Lord's time HAS come! Heh...

Hannie's graduated!

Hannie is no longer a kindergartner! It's official! The Fruit of the Spirit award of Patience was given to her! Her teacher said that when she was building in the block corner she was so patient if her blocks were knocked down or bumped. Her responsibility for the ceremony was quoting their "C" verse and their "S" verse. Her whole class learned a verse for each letter of the alphabet. (C is "Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." Eph. 6:4... and S is "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found." Isaiah 55:6.)

We raced from swim lessons to graduation, in case you notice that her hair is wet/drying!!

When we got home that night, Hannie got her first official Bible. Not a kiddy one, a big, full one! It's the Young Women of Faith Bible. She's pretty excited to be able to read her own Bible now!

We're proud of our Hannie girl.

camera, shoes, mac and cheese

God loves a cheerful giver. Have you ever heard that? I have. And now that we're out fundraising, we kinda like that verse a little more! Heh. We want to meet lots of cheerful givers! While at the same time, we're learning how much He loves - and blesses - cheerful givers! Let me share just three examples with you that happened to me in the past month or so!

First, my camera.

You might know that I love taking pictures!? Well, a while back, we had some good friends of ours just give us an extra digital camera that they had! What a blessing, huh?? Our first digital camera. We've had it for about a year... then "someone", someone little, wanted to take a picture, and opps... it dropped. So! The camera still works but won't zoom in and out and is a little picky about when it wants to turn on and off... Heh. So for my birthday I got about $100 all together to spend on "something for yourself". Oh good, I though, I could save a little more and maybe get another camera! I checked out Overstock.com and everything! Heh. Then...

Wouldn't you know. I was watching Life Today and at the end of the show, like usual, they showed kids who need help. While that was on, I "happened" to pick up a letter from Samaritan's Purse asking for help. When I got to the page about disabled kids who need help and the suggested amount was $100... I just got teary and thought, "Oh no, Lord, you want me to give away my birthday money, don't you...??" (Okay, not so cheerful, I admit!) I wanted to buy a new camera! Then I heard His voice in the depths of my heart... "Jill, how did you get that camera in the first place?" It was like He was kinda saying, trust Me...

So, out of faith, I sent of my birthday money and just kinda moved on. Okay. Did it. Off we go. Not so bad. Didn't think a whole lot about the camera since there was really no way to get a new one now anyway! Then...

Here comes my folks up for a visit. When my Dad tells me... he was gonna give me his nice, new, lovely, digital camera when we left for Russia but it looks like I could use it now. He's planning to get a new one sometime anyway... Ahhh! Wouldn't you know it! I could have all charged forward and spent my money on a camera that I wouldn't have needed! (Or got a cheap little one and never "needed" a new lovely one...?) Now, by following what I felt the Lord was saying, someone somewhere has what they need - and so do I! Can you believe it??

Then, Shoes

During one of our Bible studies with Blake and Crystal, we were encouraged to look past our own big "needs" and to reach out to someone else with similar needs. First I had to figure out what I think I need... Well, Kevin is the busiest husband in the world! Heh. (Along with thousands of others...) But the first one I thought of with the same type of busy husband was our music/youth pastor's wife, Emily. She's a friend of mine anyway and I just thought maybe we could have a playdate to get out and visit. The book stressed that you don't have to reach out with money or big things but a word or encouragement, or time, or a hug or something like that. Emily and I went out for a playdate...

While we had our playdate, we talked about shoes and how Ruth's was getting big holes in the toes. I said after our next paycheck, I'd go out to get her new ones! Then wouldn't you know... later that afternoon there's a knock on our door! Emily's standing out there with two new pairs of shoes for Ruth. She said she just felt like God was encouraging her to go get them! Wow.

The other part of our Bible study was about how when we reach out to others, God sees that and uses others to reach out to us, too. Not always the same person or the same day - but sometimes!! Heh.

Then lastly, Mac and Cheese!

Kev and I were talking about saving money. I told him, well, if we just have mac and cheese for several meals, then we could maybe get caught up with all our travel expenses from itinerating... Wouldn't you know, a day or two later, Blake shows up at our door with a big box filled with about 15 individual boxes of macaroni and cheese, extras from his office!!! We couldn't believe it. (or we could...) Kev's joke now is that next time we say that, he's gonna say we'll have to have steak for the next month! Heh. Never know...

So maybe the verse could say something like God makes a lover of giving - cheerful! We are so excited to see God at work in our lives! It actually is fun to give! And to recieve. What a dealio.

ballerina and Israelites

Just had to share a pic or two of our lovely Hannie ballerina! She did both tap and ballet this year. Lovely.









And then the Israelites are from the kids school... their Spring Concert. Can you see Benjamin and Hannie... :)



Gotta love it!

Obey and Trust

Trust and Obey
For there's no other way
To be Happy in Jesus
Than to Trust and Obey

Comon, don't tell me you didn't sing that when you read those words? At least a little hum? Well, that's one song we've played a lot lately. It's on one of our Big Daddy Weave CD's and for some reason Hannie has taken a liking to it. Me, too. Maybe that's why. Regardless. It's a good theme song, wouldn't you say?

After pondering the phrase, "Trust and Obey", I came to realize that right now it seems more appropriate for me to sing, "Obey and Trust". (I know that's not a rhyme but...) It just seems like we reached a point of saying, "Okay Lord, we're gonna obey you and say yes to missions. Here we are! Here we go..." Or not so fast. After our initial step of obeying the call that we felt impressed upon us, we are now sitting in a position to TRUST. It did take some trust to say the initial "Yes" then we thought we'd be off to obeying as we packed our bags! Well. We are learning to trust God in more things as we wait for the day to come to pack our bags to go.

I'm learning to trust Him day by day in more ways than before. Trust His timing. Trust His good plan. Trust His care. Trust His involvement in every area of my life.

And I'm learning to obey Him day by day in more ways than before, too! Obeying down to the "little" everyday things. Obey Him when He says... Give Thanks in All Circumstances. Rejoice Always. Submit to each other. Respect your Husband. Be United in Love. Encourage each other. Watch your Words! Remain in Me.

Trust and Obey.
Or as the girls sang,

Trust and Obey
For there's no other way
To be Happy AS Jesus
but to Trust and Obey.

Jesus must have been pretty happy. I choose to be happy too, as I trust and obey...

Obey and Trust.

coughing and singing

This past week, I've had such a bad cold. Friday it seemed to be getting better so I figured I'd sing back up while Kevin lead worship at our home church on Sunday. Well, Saturday night my cold got worse. Crazy. We were planning to sing a praise song in Russian after we gave a quick 5 minute update. And we have the next two months away. It would have been easier to say, naw, not today, I'm sick... but this was our chance.

In the inspiration of Brother Andrew, whose book I just finished reading - good book, I decided to sing anyway, putting it all in the Lord's hands. Brother Andrew would bring Bibles behind the Iron Curtain where they were forbidden. When he would cross the border, he would set some Bibles on his front seat so that he would get through because it was in God's hands and not because of his cleverness. Then time after time he would drive right on through and get his Bibles delivered!

Now, singing a special number in church is maybe not the same as bringing Bibles to those who need them... but it was still a step of faith! All in God's hands. All in His control. I'm learning, even if it's baby steps!

By the way, my singing may not have been perfect but we did get the job done fairly successfully... and now on Monday, I've been coughing like crazy and can barely talk! So that morning was my chance... coincidence? God IS in control.

(The book I read about Brother Andrew is called The Narrow Way and was written along with Jars of Clay... His organization is called Open Doors if you want to google it! Good stuff.)

Benjamin's bowling party!

Benjamin turned 8 years old March 31st! Eight years old. For his party, we invited some of his good buddies over for cake and ice cream and then we headed over to the bowling alley. Besides having friends, cake, and gifts... Benjamin won the bowling game! He got a whopping 99! A couple weeks later he got 131! Our bowling champ.

Here's a few pics of his big bowling birthday bash! :)

Whoo-hoo!!

belief... rewards

Mark 5:34
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

Mark 6:5
And because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Okay... what do these verses have in common? Heh. They are all one's that I've read in the last couple days. And they all speak so strongly about how important it is to BELIEVE, have FAITH. Our faith, or our unbelief, will directly affect the work God is able to do in our lives. What a powerful inspiration for us... "Lord increase our FAITH!" (Luke 17:5) He is able to do anything, will we let Him!?

Then Hebrews goes on to say that we must believe that that He exists... which most typical Americans would tell you is true. There is a God. But how about the second part that we must believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Are you earnestly seeking Him with expectation of His great rewards? I mean, comon, just think of what great rewards there could be from the Creator of the universe! And this is what He asks of us... to believe that He'll do it!

Wow.
BELIEVE!

Christos Voscres!

Christ is Risen!
(A family picture of us after the Easter service at our home church, VCC, here in Grand Forks, ND.)

Happy Easter! We celebrated Easter at home this year with my folks and my 98 year old grandma. They had planned to stay home but then decided to come celebrate with us since we might not (hopefully not) be here next year! So it was good to spend time together. We went to our home church together and sang some lovely songs about the Lord. What hope we have! Christ is risen - risen indeed! Cristos Voscres - Va Istina Voscres.

Let me share a couple pics with you here. Hope you all had a great time remembering the Lord's incredible sacrifice and awesome power to overcome death and to bring us hope and a future!

(The bunny cake was a gift from our neighbors! What a cute, little masterpiece!) :)

(The kids are sitting at our counter behind me... they ARE there celebrating Jesus with us! Heh.)

think about it

Think about what you're thinking about!

It seems like I've heard a lot about thoughts lately. Well, for the past year or more! Heh. God's thoughts for you are good, positive, for-you thoughts. You can do all things through Christ. You are His child. You are a brother or sister in Christ. You are victorious. You are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. You have a hope and a future. He has good plans for you. He will always be with you. On and on... The enemy, however, is trying to get you to think all the opposite thoughts. Whatever lie he can get you to believe is good for him - bad for you. He wants you to feel overwhelmed and defeated. He wants you to forget your future and your hope. He wants to you not get along with others. He wants you to feel alone. He is a liar. God's thoughts are for you. The enemy is out to destroy you. God's words for you will build you up. The enemy's will tear you down. God wants you to live in joy and freedom. The enemy wants you to live in guilt and fear.

It is wise to stop to think... who's words am I listening to? Which thoughts are playing in my head. Truth or lies? Choose wisely who you listen to. Fill your mind with the Word of truth. It's a matter of life and death!

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

lavish

Today we made fruit pizza to surprise Kevin... shhhh... he's still not home yet from itinerating this weekend. It's a good surprise since it's his favorite. Well, when I made it, I couldn't find the recipe but I've made it enough that I could wing it. It's not that hard, really. In the end, I decided to look up the recipe for the cream cheese frosting in a book my good friend, Emily, gave me when we got married. (At the bottom of that page she wrote *Em's favorite!) As it turns out, that recipe was probably bigger than the one I usually use. So we ended up with LOTS of frosting.

As I plopped it on the sugar dough crust (or sugar do, as Hannie called it), I thought back to the book I'm reading with another good friend of mine, Lisa! The book is She's Gonna Blow by Julie Ann Barnhill. In this book, she just talked about the frosting her grandma would make. When she would plop it on the cake, the cake would shake from the weight of the frosting. She said her grandma would LAVISH the cake with frosting.

God says he lavishes two things on us. Love and Grace. I've always thought that was cool. Of all the things he chooses to lavish on is it's His love and His grace.

So I did as Julie Ann Barnhill suggested and called the kids back over for an object lesson with frosting. Just as we're lavishing this crust with frosting, that's how God lavishes His love and grace on us. (Ruth and Elijah got into a disagreement over something in the middle of the lesson but I think the kids still caught it!)

When we were done admiring the frosting, of course, they got out spoons and ended up using fingers and whole hands to clean out the mixing bowl!

Lavish love and grace. Accept it and do it!

be a rainbow

As I thought about our new suncatcher, I realized a couple things. Being in the light has always sounded good to me. (LOVE the DC Talk song, "I wanna be in the light, as Your are in the light...") Now I know that if I was a clear piece of glass with Christ shinning through me, that'd be cool. But when I looked at the suncatcher, which is a piece of glass that's got several different cuts in it... it got me thinking about trials and suffering. The Bible talks about Christ's suffering and our suffering and how they are or can be for our benefit and His glory. I thought, maybe in the light of suffering, we reflect more rainbows instead of just white light. More detail of the light. More character of Christ.

In the face of suffering, be a rainbow.

rainbow day

We got a suncatcher! So we hung it in our dinning room window that faces the south. Now all day we watch the rainbows move around our dinning room/living room/kitchen. We LOVE it. How exciting to find a rainbow on your toe or on your chair!

The other morning when we got up Ruth saw the sunshine and said, "Oh! It's a rainbow day!" She figured Hannie would be excited to see the rainbows when she came from kindergarten. She was.

miss out

The other day was Spring Break. All four kiddos were home and playing with matchbox cars. When it came around to nap time, everyone went to bed but Hannie decided that today she did not want to go to her room for any quiet time! She wanted to stay up and play... and besides, everyone else already took the "good" toys to their rooms! She was getting all worked up and crying. I told her I might be able to work something out just for today since it was Spring Break and Benjamin was home. But she would have to get herself under control first. She did not even try to get herself under control because life was too hard and everyone had it better than her... She got more and more worked up and said a couple thing to her mother that were inappropriate. At that point, I told her she would have to take a nap in her own room with her own toys. When I told her that I was going to let her play in Benjamin's room with him and the cars... she went crazy! She screamed and threw an even bigger fit! A few minutes later I went back to her room. She was quiet and resting now. I told her that she could be playing with Benjamin but because of her big fit she, she missed out. She missed out on something better just because she couldn't calm down and wait...

That's when I realized that God used Hannie to talk to me.

The Lord likes to do that. A child will lead them. And I have four right here! We are so learning patience and trust as we continue to itinerate and raise our budget for missions. One day I even had a fleeting thought that it would be good to just get over there , even though I know that He's got a good plan that will work out best. I would just like to be THERE sometimes! So it was right around then that I said those words to Hannie. Like the Lord was saying to me, "Don't throw a fit and miss out on something better. Calm down and wait!"

cute kids

Just gotta share some cute kid stories every once in a while... :)

Kev's folks were here last weekend and his brother, Scott, flew up to meet up with all of us, too. So we had to pack up and head to Fargo to pick him up at the airport. While Grandma Sharon and I were telling the girls about out trip to Fargo, Ruth wondered where that was. Hannie quickly replied, "That's two Veggies away!"

Saturdays, we try to have "Saturday Snuggle Day" when all our family hangs out in the morning, we make pancakes or go to Uncle Blake's for waffles. We also like to make funky pancakes. Our typical is vanilla flax seed pancakes. Recently, Daddy made some kind of banana pancake. Then the kids love to top them with different things. So as Benjamin looked at all the different toppings on the table, he decided to add them all to his pancake. After a mix of butter, peanut butter, syrup, powdered sugar... He looked down at his creation and said, "Look, it's an extravaganza!" (He wants a dictionary for his birthday...)

Ruth turned four years old on March 5th. She had her first friends party and was allowed to invite four friends for her fourth birthday. She was so pumped. All day long whenever I would say her name, she'd correct me and say, "Call me 'Birthday Girl!'" Then when Crystal stopped by to visit, she asked Ruth who was coming to her party in the afternoon. Ruth's reply was, "Oh, my best friends!" When Crystal asked which friends, Ruth just shrugged! Ha. Best friends when you're four are apparently the ones who will run and play with you, whoever that may be! She did have her friends over and had a lovely "Sally" party! (From the Cars movie...)

Elijah is just cute, cute. Let me think of what he's done today... Heh. His latest word is, "Funny!" He says that all the time with a little throw back of his head and a big laugh. "Funny, Mommy!" Kevin taught him to say, "What'd you say?" And he says it really quick and cute. My favorite is when he says, "luf oo, too!" after we tell him we love him. If you ask him if he'd like to do something that he would like to do, he'll reply with a, "Yup!" He also can tell you what his name is if you ask, "What is your name?" He'll reply something like, "Zisha!" (Lijah.)

Our children.

library

I love having four kids! They can argue and bug, but boy, can the PLAY. The other day, Hannie got it in her head that her and Ruth needed to make a library in our back guest room. So they got out some boxes for shelves and pulled tons of books down there. They had a toy to scan the books that we checked out and even closed the library while they were away... The library is still set up right now waiting for more play tomorrow! (When Benjamin was a baby, he'd call the library, the "li-boobie". What a hoot.)

Today Ruth and Elijah made a fort together and laid down on their bellies side by side to watch BOZ out of the door of their fort. Too cute.

Then tonight I went down to see if they were ready for bed and they all were sitting on the floor together listening to a Dan and Louie CD. It was something they all thought was funny and had to hear it over and over again, laughing together!

Gotta love those brothers and sisters!

are you in bed?

After putting the girls to bed and going to fold some clothes...

Me: Benjamin, are you in bed?
Benjamin: No.
Me: Benjamin...
Benjamin: Hee, hee... I'm hiding. Hee, hee...

I finished folding the few shirts that I had left and went looking. Elijah was already in bed but was no help at all in helping me find his brother! He was just in his crib unzipping his jammies. Heh. In the end, I found Benjamin... under Eli's crib!

never been in a wedding

I have never been in a wedding. Besides my own, which was very lovely and wonderful. But I have always kinda wondered if I'd ever be in someone else's wedding? Some of my friends have eloped and some have never married. Now most of my good friends already ARE married. So. My last hope on being a bridesmaid in a wedding was set on my brother, Blake. I figured he'd at least try to talk his bride-to-be into sneeking in there somewhere!? (Maybe Kev's brothers will think of me, too??)

Well, here I am! Who would have ever imagined. Blake is indeed getting married. The wedding is set for this summer. And wouldn't you know, I get to be a bridesmaid for the first time! (At age 31! Heh.)

But here's the kicker. The blessing on top of the blessing. Blake is marrying one of my best friends! So not only do I get to be in his wedding... SHE has chosen me to be in HER wedding... as her matron of honor! What a joy. I am so delighted.

I'm thrilled that I get to stand up for Blake and Crystal. But on top of that... I'm thrilled that Blake found a lovely lady to marry and that Crystal found a wonderful man. And they're my brother and my friend! Crazy. Double the joy, huh?

God knew all along that I would get to be in a wedding besides mine and that it would be above and beyond all I was thinking of! He's knew the day was coming and now we're rejoicing together! How fun.

Matron of Honor along side, Kevin, who's the Best Man, for my brother and my friend. I just gotta read that again to let it sink in. There's a smile on my face!

The kids are all going to be involved in it, too, and Kevin's parents are coming up from Arkansas! Whoo-hoo.

I'll show you the flower girl dresses for Ruth and Hannie... lovely, lovely! :)

Thank you, Lord, for such a treat!

Py

Our kids know their names in Russian. Since they have Bible names, it was easy to look up how to say and spell them. Benjamin is similar and looks like "BeH" for "Ben" but is said with a "V" sound instead of a "B". Hannah is AHHA and is said more like "Ahnnah". Did that make sense? No hard "A" sound. Ruth's name looks pretty different. We call her "Roo" and in Russian it looks like "Py". The "R" is a "P" and the "oo" is a "y". Neat. So "Py baby." :) "Ruth" will actually sound something like "Roof." Heh. Elijah has all different letters so I can't show you how they look! :) But to say his name sounds like "Ilya." He already knows that is his name along with the English "Elijah."

Benjamin even printed out his name in Russian and took it to school to show the kids. Pretty fun.

Well, Elijah is handing me an alphabet book! Ha! So I better go teach him our alphabet!! Time to sing some ABC's...

can't see me

I've always kinda liked camouflage. Maybe it's 'cause my Dad always has liked it, too, but doesn't get to wear it because his someone he's married to thinks it's gross. Anyway. The other day Kevin and I went crazy when we saw camouflage pants at Old Navy for 75% off. I talked him into getting some with me, which is something we never usually do... spend money for something goofy like that. But we went WILD and both got some camouflage pants! Whoo-hoo. Look out for us... but you won't be able to see us in our camouflage!

when I'm grown up...

Benjamin is all about what's right. He's about justice and fairness. The other day after supper, Kevin and I had two of the deserts that we'd given the kids... I forget if it was cookies or what. Ruth totaly thought she should have another one since we had one. After a few minutes of Daddy saying, "No, you had yours..." and Ruth saying, "But YOU had two!" Benjamin thought it through and said, "But he's the Daddy so he gets more." Then he thought a little longer and said, "I can't wait until I'm grown up and can have all the pizza and candy that I want to have!" We laughed that that's the conclusion he came to. Ah yes, being all grown up has its perks! :)

cough

Just an update on the cough thing I mentioned a few days ago... Benjamin and Hannie are much better! They both still have a lingering cough but are good to go other than that! Up and running again. Thanks if you prayed for them! God hears our prayers... Ruth's still feeling fine and Eli acts okay but now he is coughing an icky cough. He just does that sometimes so hopefully that's all it amounts to!

Thanks for praying for our family! The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective!

Charis

Do you know what that Greek word "charis" means in English? Some of you might. It's "grace". I"d heard that before. But what I hadn't heard is the word that ties into "charis". It's "chara" and it means "joy". Grace and Joy are intertwined. Once you've truly experienced God's grace in your life, you won't be able to help but to experience His joy as a result. Whoo-hoo!

"welcome"

Elijah is learning how to say polite words. So if he would want milk "mu lo ko", for example, and I would give him a cup... he would politely respond, "Welcome!" I've tried to explain to him that I'm the one to say, "your welcome" and he's suppoed to say, "thanks!" Well, in the midst of all the attention, I think now he's decided either way, it's just plain more fun to say "welcome."

One of the other funny things said tonight was from Ruth. Hannie brought home a book from school about Mr. Sniff the detective. He's trying to figure out why all these practical joke type things have been going on and who's been doing them. At the end we find out it's the little boy who's been helping him try to figure it out! Well, I finished the book and talked to Hannie about it for a minute when I look at Ruth... there's a silent pause from her, then... "What on earth..." It's so funny to hear little ones say "grown up" things like that.

Eli says, "funny" all the time. Now I notice that I, too, say "funny" about things. Benjamin will tell me a story and I'll reply, "Oh, funny."

If you read this today... you can say a prayer for Hannie and Benjamin, too. They've been fighting off something for a week or so now. They've had fevers and now Benjamin just mostly has a deep cough. Hannie, on the other hand, still gets the fever back off and on. So I'm not sure what that is. Maybe we'll have to give the doctor a call? We've been concerned about the little ones getting it. They might have had the same type of thing before Christmas... But especially when Eli gets sick, he really gets sick. He has always had some chest cough, allergy, asthma thing. So.

Hannie said the other day... "Two days I've been so sick and two days you've taken care of me." Of course. She's so sweet. "Welcome."

Merry Christmas!

ice

"Roll with the punches..."
That's a Papa Eddie quote that Kevin (and I) like to remind Benjamin of. He can get so worked up over "small" things like forgetting his lunch... we'll bring it to him, or losing a game... try again. You know. (For me, it might be something like not having a quiet time during nap... or missing Beth Moore on Wed morning...)

Well, like usual, God likes to teach me things through my kids. The other day as I stepped around the ice on the sidewalks around our house, I looked back and noticed Benjamin was aiming for each patch of ice. He was sliding over all of them as he made his way up to the house. So I guess he is learning to roll with it. Instead of going around the ice or tip toeing around it, he went straight foward to slide right past. Heh. He's learning to see the good in things. And so am I. Even so, you might not see me skating past your house...

this is eternal life...

It's interesting what Jesus prayed about eternal life...

"Now this is eternal life:
that they may KNOW YOU, the only true God
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
(John 17:3)

Kevin and I have been sharing about how Jesus came that we may have abundant life (John 10:10) and how that abundant life starts now. He gives us hope for the future in heaven - and for life today. So when Kev and I came across that verse over the Christmas break, it was just like another piece to the puzzle slipped into place. Not many people would answer that eternal life is to Know God and Jesus, but rather to go to heaven. Eternal life begins now! Know Him!