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!

know Him more

Sometimes it's nice to hear your kids repeat what you say and sometimes it's not so nice. Well, I was pleasently surprised to hear what Hannie was saying when I realized that she must hear me say it, too! Each week of the month the kids "get" a week... They get to go first to get their cups or be served the meal or make little decisions. This week is Hannie's week and one of the perks of it being "your week" is you get to pray before we eat. We have a different thing or different people to pray for each day of the week: Russia, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Pastors, Teachers, Friends/Neighbors, and Missionaries.

This week I noticed Hannie's prayers usually include "let them know You better" or "help them know You more each day". I love it! So if you're in that list, you've been prayed for this week by Hannie - that you would Know Jesus More. What a thrill for me to know that she knows that that's an important thing, or THE important thing, for us to pray for others.

Ephesians 1:17-18
17. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.
18. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints...

I Love Color

When I was a little girl, I told my mom that I was going to marry a black man. My godparents daughter was pictured with a black man in a photo hanging on their wall. I asked my mom about it and she said that was her husband but some people gave them a hard time because they were different colors. That's dumb, was my basic response. If they're married and all is well between them, what right did anyone else have to give them a hard time... so that was that - I, too, would marry a black man. So there.

Well, there's a couple funny things about that decision. I don't think I'd even met a black person out in white-ville, ND. My first kiss, however, was from a little Korean boy back in 5th grade! Heh. And now that I'm grown and married... I joke that I married the whitest of the white men around, my gorgeous, red headed, blue eyed, Kevy bear.

All that being said, we're excited to be going to Russia to work with college students from around the world! While we've noticed that there will be lots of people of lots of different colors, I'm thrilled to see how God's been working in our lives and in our KIDS lives to prepare us. He has brought so many lovely people into our lives and we're thankful for our friends for several reasons. But I'm excited, too, to see God at work. Isn't He always preparing us...

Let me share some pictures of our children's good friends:



Jazmyn and Hannie being silly... they go to school and church together.



Hartrick and Elijah... we carpool with Hartrick and Elijah says, "Hartricks, Hartricks!!"



Benjamin and Alex... He was adopted from India.



Ruth and Caleb... okay, so he's a white boy, but a good friend of Ruth's!

I just love color. God's so creative. And so in love with people! Our kids friends are just friends. No big thing. (Benjamin did used to call Alex his "gray" friend... just matter of factly! Heh. Now Benjamin loves asking Hartrick about different animals and things he saw in Africa but he moved here when he was 7 so usually doesn't remember seeing them!)

What fun to see God at work in our lives as we prepare to invest in others lives!

amaryllis flower

Hannie asked if we could plant a flower this fall... so here's what we planted back in October and what we get to enjoy in December!

quiz

Take a moment to think about the following quiz that I took from a Beth Moore study:

-What type of media entertainment do you enjoy?

-List the TV programs you watch.

-What kind of music is aired on the radio stations you listen to most frequently?

-List the last five movies you have watched.

-What magazines and books do you have around your home?

Now using the following scale, place a 1 or 2 beside each form of media that you listed.

1. Honored God and encouraged my walk with Christ.
2. Fueled temptation and compromised godly character.

She goes on to say... Please consider deprogramming from all sorts of deceptive forms of media... and reprogram with the truth of God's Word.

Last night, I read in James 1
19. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
27. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Personally, I noticed my TV section needing the most work... I mean, really, what is on the TV that doesn't "fuel temptation and compromise godly character"?? Hello. (Most of my music and movies had something to do with Veggietales or Dan and Louie! Heh.) So even though I don't watch a ton of TV, what I do watch is not building me up in anyway. I think God does intend for us to watch good things, but where are we going to find it these days? The search now is harder than it was before. The evil is "so prevalent". Stand firm.

Beth Moore goes on to say...
I pray that you will consider maintaining a very active relationship with God through His Word for the rest of your life. We can't recognize lies if we don't know truth.

Four truths about God's precepts from Psalm 19:10-11
-more precious than gold
-sweeter than honey
-warning to servant
-great reward in keeping them