Mystery Gift Giver

This is a special note to say, "THANK YOU!" To the kind person that has been leaving us gifts in cars and in-boxes. You are a blessing to us. God bless you.

I Did It!!!

Yesterday I (Amy) ran my first 5k! Saturday night I was dreading the thought of going to run but it was great. I ran with two friends, Emily and Olivia. We signed up for the non-competitive run/walk. That was a mistake. There were over 15,000 people in down town Charlotte yesterday for the Susan G. Komen run for the cure. I think 14,000 of them were walking. It was difficult to get through the crowd if you wanted to run. But I didn't train the last 6 weeks to walk. So I weaved my way through the crowd and completed the race in 38 minutes!!!! I say that it was my first 5K because now that I have done it once I just might do it again.

Our latest news letter went out on September 30. If you didn't get one and you want one let us know.

Maggie

I knew that someday I would have to post this blog, but I didn't think it would be this hard. Last Saturday our 12 year old boxer, Maggie, died. We aren't quite sure how. Sun-stroke, heart-attack . . .old age. We actually had hoped she would die before we left the country. We wanted closure for ourselves and the kids. But it was extremely difficult and emotional. They have never lived without her. Saturday was an awful day. We said our good-byes, dug a deep hole together out in the woods, wrapped her in her favorite blanket, and buried her. The kids each picked something special to bury with her or wrote a note and placed it with her. It was really sad. It has been almost a week now and I still automatically go to let her in or out. We miss her but such is life. We are thankful to have had one of the BEST dogs ever in our family.

New thoughts for the here and now

Christian and I have spent the last 4 days in Union Mills, SC at the Center for Intercultural Training. We have just completed a church planting class. It was really good. We are headed home today. Larry and Lorraine have been at our house watching the kids this week. I haven't spoken with the kids since Monday (ZERO cell reception out here in Union Mills and a 15 mile radius.) I assume all is well. This was the last of our requirements that we need to "go do". We still have some books to read and Bible courses to finish but those can be done at home. For the first time in very long time we don't have anywhere we need to go. God has to work some amazing networking now. We have asked everyone we know to join our team and we still have 25% left to raise (that = $1,300 a month.) He has already done some really neat things in SC. We just pray he continues to do more.
Pray for us that we - all seven of us - will learn what ever God has for us to learn in SC, in this season of prolonged waiting. I do ask that you pray that God will provide the rest of our support but for the first time ever I am not placing time frame on that. I don't want to guess or demand that God do anything not in his plan for us. I don't want to be prayed out of a hard situation - I want to champion the situation through God's might and power. A good friend was always pointing out to me how our family was going through major change and how the kids or I were acting accordingly. Well, God has kept our family in a constant state of flux for the last 8 years . . . change seems to be a constant in our family so God must want us to get good at handling it.

I have never really prayed for that. I have always prayed to get to the next phase, or the next "known quantitiy" as quickly as possible. So please pray in a new way for us. Pray that through God's strength we are able to champion the difficult circumstances in our life right now and that we would feel free to enjoy the life God has given us.
Pray that the rest of our support comes in soon - we truly believe that is God's will for our family, to go to Peru. But I am done putting dates and time limits on my prayers - I have caused myself much frustration and disappointment by making plans (even if they were just in my head) that I really had no authority to make.

Thanks for loving us and reading this.

Somewhere in Kentucky

Yes, we have to go to Kentucky to use the internet!!!! No, we really only have to go down the street to the office but we happen to be in a hotel in the middle of KY with free wifi. How nice!!
We are on our way to visit friends in MI. We are looking forward to seeing everyone.
I had a bunch of clever quotes and interesting stories I was going to tell you but I don't feel cleaver anymore. I can't remember what I wanted to write. So good night to you all. Tomorrow we leave the beautiful rolling hills of KY for the flatness that is Ohio and then on to MI.

A la prochaine.

Off Line

We have no home phone and no internet at home either . . . hence the lack of posts. My gratitude to those of you who have kept checking our blog. We are all doing well. We are loving the weather, and Christian is really enjoying his job. We just mailed out a newsletter last week that gives a few more details on that. If you didn't receive one just let us know and we will add you to our mailing list.

There is a block party scheduled for our neighborhood today so the kids got out their littlest dirt bike and all took turns zipping around the streets. It was fun to watch them ride. They love it.

We have gone to some very interesting churches over the past few weeks. We attended a baptism at one last week. It is always so amazing to watch people commit their lives to Christ. I didn't know anything about the people professing their faith in Jesus in the pool, in the parking lot outside the cinema. I am sure they were just like the rest of us. They have a story to tell. A life full of trials and heartache with a scarred heart to prove it. Yet, in that pool, the hope and peace that washed over them because they know God now was almost tangible. God is so amazing, the way he has chosen to love us, and know us, and change us. But most of all, I am so thankful for the hope gives.

We have a new address!

God is amazing!! Christian made it to SC Tuesday night. He made some phone calls the next day and found a condo for rent only 3 miles from the office. It has some woods and a stream to play in and a community pool (our kids prayed persistently for a pool!)

Our new address - as temporary as it may be . . .

2149 Midnight Blue Ln
Fort Mill , SC 29708

Thank you to all who have been praying for us. They land lord was very nice and gave us a good deal on the rent and a very short-term lease and we can have Maggie (our dog) come with us!! God is faithful. The plan from here is to pack and leave next week-end. Christian will be home Saturday night and has to work his last week here in CT. Packing is proving to be the most trying aspect of this move. It looks like a bomb has exploded in our rooms. Well, I will just pray and keep plugging away . . .

The song says it all

Something changed inside me,
broke wide open all spilled out,
till I had no doubt
that something changed.

Every word I believed in,
'til I felt it in my own heart
in the deepest part
the healing came.

And I cannot make it
and I cannot fake it
and I can't afford it
but it's mine.

Something so amazing
in a heart so dark and dim
when the walls fall down
and the light comes in

And I cannot make it
and I cannot fake it
and I can't afford it
but it's mine.

I thank you, Lord . . . .


-heart/life: Amy
-words: Sara Groves

The Latest . . .

Christian leaves on Tuesday to go a look for a place for us to live in the Charlotte, NC area. He accepted a position at the SAM home office and will be working there TEMPORARILY until we leave for Peru. We are still waiting our full support to come in but in the mean time we thought this job would be a great opportunity for Christian and our whole family. Pray for him, Finding a rental with 5 kids and a dog at an affordable price is not as simple of a task as I had once thought. We will be coming back up to CT in early May and we still plan to travel to MI. Our address is changing but that is all - we are still raising support and will leave for Peru as some as we are at 100%.

Other noteworthy news:
Max lost his first tooth (ripped it out himself)
and
We are officially finished with our history book!!! (it has taken us 2+ years to get though world history from the fall of the Roman Empire to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the colonization of North America - Story of the World volume 2)

Table Games

Our kids have always been very creative and they become more even more so as there minds are opened up to the realities of other cultures around the world. It is interesting to see how their minds process and accept the idiosyncrasies of other cultures. People who eat bugs for lunch is not really gross anymore. It is a matter of fact.

For lunch today we had pasta. I didn’t have quite enough penne so I broke up so angle hair and through it in the pot, too. While eating, Gavin and Beth had some sort of game going but I couldn’t quite tell what it was. Then Beth blurts out, "We are playing American and Indian!" It took a second to put it all together, but they meant Indian: a person indigenous to the rainforest, and not American Navaho. I had a pretty good idea what was going on but I had to ask for an explanation of the game. Just to hear it in their own words.

One person is the Indian and the other person is the American. The "Indian" gets to make up what they are eating - for example, the angel hair were the skinny worms and the penne were the fat worms/grubs. The "Indian" acts like they LOVE the food while the "American" sheepishly puts the "worms" into their mouth and tries not to get grossed out.

I allowed them to continue the game as they were still remembering their table manners. Then Gavin(who was the "American") looks at Beth and asks pleadingly, "Can we stop this game, my belly is really starting to hurt." I guess he got into his role a little too well.

Chocolate cream pie

We scheduled several small group presentations about Peru for this month. We had great turn out at the first one, great turn out at the second, and zero tonight. Two families couldn't make it and the others never RSVP'd. So, admittedly, tonight was a bit discouraging but over all, four new people have joined our support team in the last week. That is AMAZING!!!!! God never ceases to astound us with his goodness and his foresight.

Having no one show up tonight actually was a blessing. We were able to take our time with dinner and eat chocolate cream pie for dessert. Gabe had gone to my mom's for a birthday sleep over tonight and the three younger ones went to bed as usual which left us with just Emma. We let her stay up late and played a great game of "Settlers of Catan". It is always exciting to spend time with the kids one on one or when they find themselves in a new roll (ie. oldest sibling for the day).

To Infinity and Beyond!!!!

Well, we didn't quite make it to infinity but we did travel to/through 13 states and 1 Canadian province in 20 days. We are all a bit sick of the car, but it was a fun adventure none the less.

We stayed in Ontario with our friends the Harris family. God blessed us with their friendship shortly after moving to MI in 2004. They have 6 kids - what a house full. It was such a blessing to reconnect and spend time with them. We were able to see their new home in Canada. That is good because I like to be able to picture where someone is standing in their house when I talk to them on the phone and to know little things about their everyday life . . .like the fact that they by milk in a bag. (Its a Canadian thing.) Bobby took us all bowling one night. Most of our kids have never been. Of the 15 of us guess who won . . . . Gavin!!!! He scored a 155 and beat us all!!!

In Michigan our wonder friends, Jim and Natasha, opened their home and let us invade their basement. We always wanted a large family so we would always be a big group of people doing things together - unfortunately . . .we are a large group of people every where we go. It is hard to be discrete in another's home when you are like the invading Saxon horde moving onto their land. J and N - you guys are saints!!!

The kids (and us too) had a great time with baby Max. Natasha is an amazing first time mom. She was patient and calm as my 5 hovered over Maxon James like vultures. They had more fun with his baby toys than he did. Maxon also got a great work out as the kids helped him do lap after lap around the house helping him walk.

We had fun catching up with friends and renewing acquaintances. It was great to see everyone at Impact. We plan to travel back to MI in April, so if we missed you this time we hope to catch up with you then.

Apart from fellowship, our main purpose for this trip was to raise support. We are at 40% of our monthly support and are praying we see that double in the next month or so. We hope to be fully funded and leave for language school by the end of the summer. After language school we will be church planting in Peru. All of this is in God's timing . . it always has been. I just forget sometimes.

We went south after 9 days in MI. We drove through OH, KY and TN. KY is beautiful!!!!! We stayed in this place called Pigeon Forge, TN because the hotel room was dirt cheap. Little did we know we were staying in a mini, less risque version of Las Vegas! As we headed south off the highway in the direction of the Microtel we were accosted for miles by lights, signs and shows. It was crazy - tacky to be more precise. Turns out we stayed right near Dollywood. (It was closed for the season.)

The next day we drove through Smokey Mountain National Park. The mountains were beautiful. We hit Asheville, Morganton and Hickory, NC on our way down to SC to visit the South America Mission office in Fort Mill, SC. We stayed with friends and enjoyed beautiful weather.

God has opened some doors and placed some great opportunities in our lap during this trip. Pray that God's desire for our family and our remaining time here would become our desire as well.

I will try to post pictures later.

We're Headed West

Tomorrow we pack up and head west. (Yes, we will pack tomorrow. I am still doing laundry) We are going to visit with some dear friends, formerly from Alto, who now live in Canada. We can't wait!!!!! Then it is on to the Lowell area where we get to visit more great friends and stay at Baby Max's house. God has been doing amazing things through a lot of different people. It is so amazing to watch God unfold the story of your life.

Gabe's first blog entry

Gavin and I went out to play in snow. He fell and hurt his leg so I teased him and said,"Want me to bury your leg?" He said, "Yes." So I buried all of him.

Good idea . . in theory

We were making lemonade today: lemon juice, real maple syrup, and water. As usual, we weren't measuring anything. The "Guess and Taste" method works pretty well in our house. Well, the first attempt was rather sour and we were out of maple syrup. I went to the cabinet to find some stevia packets when Gavin shouts, "I know, through some flax seed in it!"
Ah, I have taught my kids well. They love their Omega 3's.

(I know what some of you are thinking . . . . No, I did NOT let him do it.)

Musician Max

This really needs no explanation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Max . . . .

Key Change

In the aftermath of Christmas morning presents Max and Gavin find their way to their instruments and begin to make magical tunes. Gavin thought the guitar needed a bit more tuning so watch closely and you will catch him giving big brother a hand.

Holiday Fun

We had a great holiday and we pray all of you did, too. We took advantage of family time on Christmas eve and the seven of us opened our gifts while L&L went to church. It was so fun watch the kids exchange gifts with each other. Gabe, Emma, and Beth used their own money to buy gifts for their siblings. Max and Gavin had a little parental help. The smiles, hugs and kisses we witnessed that night among the five of them was such a blessing.



We have always had this rule: one gift per kid. When you only have one shot to get it right it had better be the perfect gift. This year I don't know who was more excited about their gifts, us or them.







Beth opening earrings from Emma (Clip-ons Emma had gotten from Nana and saved for Beth)








Emma showing Gabe a little gratitude for the mood bracelet he bought her.







Max has wanted to learn guitar so he finally got his own.





Gavin was so excited for his eye-patch from Gabe - he didn't even seem to notice the tag on his nose.



All-in-all it was a musical Christmas. Max got a guitar, Beth got a how-to harmonica book (she has had the harmonica for a while), Emma got a sustain pedal for her keyboard, and Gabe can practice drums while he listens to his MP3 player. Gavin, well, he got an eye patch and he's missing a tooth - the perfect front man for the band.

Lexicology with Gavin

The other day the kids stumbled upon a really bad video recording of a musical I did in high school with the church youth group. The kids thought it was hilarious to watch. I was a bit embarrassed to hear for myself that my singing wasn't as good as I had thought back then. Emma was glad that I am not as large as I had been and glad I don't wear that much jewelry any more. Gavin just wanted to know what a youth group was. With his face a screwed up he demanded, "Mommy, what IS a youth group?" I answered very simply, "A group of youth who get together and do things." Annoyed he asked again, "What is a youth?" "Oh, a youth is a young person." Annoyed and exasperated he finished the conversation, "Uh! Why can't they just say young people!!"

Biology II with Gavin

Gavin complimented me on a dress I was wearing yesterday. I thanked him and told him Daddy liked my dress, too, and that I have had it along time. I even had it when Mommy and Daddy were dating.
"You mean like crickets, Mom, when they meet each other for the first time. You had that dress when you were mating?"