PS - it's snowing here...

Some thoughts along the way...

Today we celebrated a life well lived in a lady that had attended our church for years. Nadia was older than 80, and passed on to her eternal home after battling many illnesses and congestive heart failure. She trusted Jesus, and served her King with compassion and a zealous spirit that many can't imagine. One of the things that struck me today (there were many!) was that we will never understand the impact our lives have on a person until we reach Heaven. This lady was instrumental in so many things. She learned how to fly during one of the wars in the earlier part of the 1900's. She chose to never marry because of a surgical procedure that she had done... she would not be able to have children, and she didn't want to disappoint her would be husband. Wow... She made a phone call for a friend of ours in her earlier years that allowed him to study and become one of a few very specialized dentists in the US. He just returned from a trip to a 3rd world country where he helped take care of over 600 orphan children's teeth... it would never have been able to happen if this dear lady hadn't made a phone call to a friend to get him in to med school... the power and opportunities we have to affect the lives of people that we don't even know is tremendous when the King of the Universe is residing on the throne in our hearts. Does He (Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords) live there in you?

She was a very beautiful lady who had a feisty side... if you were out of order. She was the "auntie" to many children through the years, but even as we (her church family) helped her to clean up her home and get her ready for a nursing home, she wanted to serve and pray for people... My children have asked in the last few weeks when we were going to Nadia's to pick up her mail, or take in her trash cans from the street. They understand that Nadia lives with Jesus now... I just hope that I can impart the kind of life she lived when she was younger - so they can learn from her servant's heart.

Good night -

Sophie turns 2!

Where in the world has time gone? If you find her, let her know that she usually moves just at the right pace, until she shows up in time for a birthday. Then, I'm just sure that she is going way too fast and needs to be reminded that she ought to slow down. Actually, Sophie was delighted to find her birthday finally here... she even helped me (quite nicely - I might add) to cut her cake... She ate daintily and was even using her fork (not always a part of eating at our table...).

We celebrated with our great friends, and even took the kids on a train ride to the north pole - thanks to a local mall. It wasn't quite the day we had planned, but I think they enjoyed the mall train ride more than they would have the Detroit Institute of Arts - grand reopening even that had been planned. So we got our budding artist a waterless fingerpainting easel... she's had to shoo Simeon off of it several times!

Turkey's around the table

While Daddy was in class last weekend... BTW only 2 more classes left until we celebrate! Wakadooo!

We made Thanksgiving turkeys. They ranged (ha ha) from the cute, to the sedate, to the wild kinds... and all were displayed proudly in our home until Turkey day came to an end.

My adorables

I thought that I would capture a peaceful moment before church a few Sunday's ago... Sophie was at home... but look at these beauties. Notice in the 3rd pic that Olivia has control of the situation! :-)

A few weeks ago I posted that we were sick...

I don't know if any other mom feels this way or not... but I have discovered that when one (or more) of your children are sick... you tend to loose days... that is you can't account for the time that slips past when you are busy tending to runny noses and coughs etc. We are on the mend, in fact we are starting on our next round of stuffy noses and coughs... just par for the course this year - apparently.

To pass the time Daddy has been spending time with the kids coloring and working on the sight words that Livvie has been learning in school.

Kids, Coughing, Croup...

It can't be that I posted last in October... where did I loose a week! Well we've been a little busy these past 11 days. Simeon has been sick. Since, you can't give a little guy cough medicine anymore... I talked with another mom friend that uses homeopathic "stuff"... I think that it has shortened the cough and cold. But, now Sophie has croup. I remember watching an Anne of Green Gable's episode where a little girl had croup and Anne helped her along with some ipecac syrup... either way it's no fun.

So, Tamara, I understand what you're working with in sick girls... we're praying for you along with ours. Hang in there... I'm hoping for a few more hours of sleep than just 3 1/2 tonight!