A few weeks ago....

We have a lovely lake near us that offers a super playground, excellent walking, biking road, equipment rentals and even a free tram ride.  The kids and I finally took the tram a little while back... it was a 45 min ride and I wasn't sure if they'd get to bored and squirmy.  There was a 10 min break part way through where they were able to get off and play.  They did great and we had a good time!

Precious Little Singer

Here's my precious little singer, singing along with an instrumental cd (Jaime Jorge).  She's not singing real words, just making stuff up as she goes along.  :-)  And the microphone is the vacuum cleaner hose.  :-)  Enjoy the boy chiming in at the end!

Am I Neglecting Something?

"Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?"   Luke 17:17


Food for thought from William MacDonald's book "One Day At A Time":


"The Lord Jesus healed ten lepers but only one returned to thank Him, and that one was a despised Samaritan.

One of the valuable experiences for us in life is to encounter ingratitude, for then we can share in a small degree the heartbreak of God.  When we give generously and do not receive so much as an acknowledgment, we have a greater appreciation of Him who gave His beloved Son for a thankless world.  When we pour out ourselves in tireless service for others, we join the fellowship of the One who took the place of a slave for a race of ingrates.

Unthankfulness is one of the unlovely traits of fallen man.  Paul reminds us that when the pagan world knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful (Rom. 1:21).....

..... Ingratitude permeates all of society.  A radio program called "Job Center of the Air" succeeded in finding jobs for 2500 people.  The emcee later reported that only ten ever took time to thank him.

A dedicated school teacher had poured her life into fifty classes of students.  When she was eighty, she received a letter from one of her former students, telling how much he appreciated her help.  She had taught for fifty years and this was the only letter of appreciation she had ever received.

We said that is is good for us to experience ingratitude because it gives us a pale reflection of what the Lord experiences all the time.  Another reason why is is a valuable experience is that it impresses on us the importance of being thankful ourselves.  Too often our requests to God outweigh our thanksgiving.  We take His blessings too much for granted.  And too often we fail to express our appreciation to one another for hospitality, for instruction, for transportation, for provision, for numberless deeds of kindness.  We actually come to expect these favors almost as if we deserved them.

The study of the ten lepers should be a constant reminder to us that while many have great cause for thanksgiving, few have the heart to acknowledge it.  Shall we be among the few?"

- William MacDonald

This has given me some good food for thought!  So VERY often I'm guilty of ugly ingratitude toward the Lord and the many incredibly loving, kind and generous people He has blessed me by putting in my life!  May I become like the Samaritan in Luke 17... having a heart of thankfulness and taking the time and effort to express it!

Overheard recently:

A little girl saying or singing "Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace".  I was blown away and realized she had picked that wonderful passage of Scripture, describing the Lord Jesus, from our "Sing The Word" CD! (www.singtheword.com).  So precious and thrilling to mommy's heart!


Same little girl in her car seat singing "I don't have a friend like the lowly Jesus.  Not, not one.  Not, not one."  A wonderful hymn adorably reworded... and one I had no clue she knew any part of.



Struggling with recently:

Trying to "retrain" a little boy who has become very used to sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed over the last couple months or so and wondering how to deal with his frequent night time waking.  Not fun, but I must remember his precious baby days will soon be passed and I may be missing them before I know it.




Enjoyed recently:

An impromptu twirl around the room with the whole family to the beautiful song by Selah, "Wonderful, Merciful Saviour".

A lunch all together at a local Polish restaurant.

Sampling PG Tips Special Blend Tea, from my Dad's store.  Very good!

Those moments when the cuteness of my precious kidos just hits me so hard!

A little boy becoming more and more funny and interactive!

A little girl sitting with little brother and informing me that he is "Stephen" and she is "Gracie".  :-)

Same little girl taking food orders with pen and paper in hand and bringing Kiah and I drinks in the form of unopened cans of tomato sauce.

The little boy making pretend eating or drinking sounds from the tomato can given to him by sis.



Thank You, Lord, for Your countless blessings!

Moments... From The Last Couple Weeks

Hil at the park

Christa and Clara and a job well done!  :-)  They both enjoyed working on this all together.  This was Clara's first time to work on this kind of puzzle!  There was lots of help from Mom... but the way it was enjoyed makes me want to get more at a similar level.

Grandpa and his VERY faithful little shadow... taking a lunch break at the fair!

Me and the little man.

Me and my babies!

What A Treat!

What a treat this holiday weekend was for our little family!  We got the fun of having Grandma and Grandpa M., along with another dear couple, here visiting!   In the space between Thursday night and Tuesday morning, we managed to pack in a trip to one of our favorite farms for blueberry and apple picking, an excursion to the State Fair, lots of chatting and apple peeling and freezing and BBQing hamburgers!  Grandpa also spoke at the chapel Friday and Sunday.  We all enjoyed the visit and it went so fast!  We sure do miss living near family, but it is such a joy when we get to have these times together!