Seth getting ready to blow out his candles. Tara crocheted the animals for him. 10 years old!
Our power was out for 20 hours but Tara just had to read anyway.
Seth with his snow pants from Jayco fabric.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Pics we forgot to post
Pictures...Posted by Tara
Here are some Pictures:
Matthew watching us play Dutch Blitz
And Again
He really likes looking at his giraffe!
And, sometimes, he even likes trying to eat it!
Here he is, sucking his thumb!
Mom knitted me some slippers.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
winter happenings
I'm having a hard time pulling myself away from knitting to post here. Tara taught me how to knit and it seems to be quite addictive. Kinda like puzzles for me....which is why I hardly ever get them out anymore.
Right now the Toews boys are all home and Melissa is here too. It's so good to see her again. She and Luke Toews are courting/dating. I think it's pretty exciting.
Mandi, who had been here for 2 months helping out, left on Monday. I will miss not having that extra help, especially with food prep. She would be busy in the kitchen in the mornings so that I could focus on school. We have been on break now this week and probably next, so we'll see how things go when school starts up again. I'm hoping to get things set up for the kids to take turns making lunch each day so that I can still be available for school and kitchen questions.
Meanwhile since school has been out, we have been keeping busy with other projects. I had a bunch of mending piling up so I was able to work on that. I have some other sewing projects that I would like to get to also. I made a felted purse the other day since mine was falling apart. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with the results. I need to do something different with the zipper or remove it altogether. Tara, Seth and Sharayah all have some sewing they would like to do too. So I want to help them get started on their things.
The last few days we have had children here nearly all day. There are times I just wish they would go home. But by the grace of God they are growing on me and I kinda enjoy having them around more and more. It is great to be able to speak truth into their lives and there are times we are able to encourage them. I pray that they will see the love of God through us.
We got some snow again so the kids are coming up to go sledding too. Bryce had the opportunity to sled with one of the boys his age that we have not seen up here for a long time. I think he really enjoyed that. Most of the boys his age don't come up here like they used to.
Some days I feel like God is stretching me to the limit, but I know it is to grow me and bring glory to Him. Thank you all for your prayers! They are surely needed.
I will have Tara add some pics here tomorrow.
Right now the Toews boys are all home and Melissa is here too. It's so good to see her again. She and Luke Toews are courting/dating. I think it's pretty exciting.
Mandi, who had been here for 2 months helping out, left on Monday. I will miss not having that extra help, especially with food prep. She would be busy in the kitchen in the mornings so that I could focus on school. We have been on break now this week and probably next, so we'll see how things go when school starts up again. I'm hoping to get things set up for the kids to take turns making lunch each day so that I can still be available for school and kitchen questions.
Meanwhile since school has been out, we have been keeping busy with other projects. I had a bunch of mending piling up so I was able to work on that. I have some other sewing projects that I would like to get to also. I made a felted purse the other day since mine was falling apart. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with the results. I need to do something different with the zipper or remove it altogether. Tara, Seth and Sharayah all have some sewing they would like to do too. So I want to help them get started on their things.
The last few days we have had children here nearly all day. There are times I just wish they would go home. But by the grace of God they are growing on me and I kinda enjoy having them around more and more. It is great to be able to speak truth into their lives and there are times we are able to encourage them. I pray that they will see the love of God through us.
We got some snow again so the kids are coming up to go sledding too. Bryce had the opportunity to sled with one of the boys his age that we have not seen up here for a long time. I think he really enjoyed that. Most of the boys his age don't come up here like they used to.
Some days I feel like God is stretching me to the limit, but I know it is to grow me and bring glory to Him. Thank you all for your prayers! They are surely needed.
I will have Tara add some pics here tomorrow.
Friday, December 04, 2009
school, pottying, sewing....life
The guys just left for wood cutting and I'm still up at 5:20 so I thought Id write a little. I should be sleeping I know....
Things have been fairly active around here. Seems we have several from the village that have been coming around asking for help. So far they have not been quite ready to turn to God and after a day or 2 seem to be back to their ways. It is sad and we continue to love them and pray for them.
We have started sewing with a couple elderly blind ladies on Thursdays from 9am to about 2:30pm. It is 2 sisters that hand sew quilts and do a really good job. We help match colors for them and pin blocks together. I so enjoy that time. They have such a good sense of humor and they ask lots of questions about God. The one has believed for several years but has not had much teaching. It is harder for the elderly to understand all the English language as well and they are unable to read in Hopi since it has not been a written language very long. (they just became blind in the last several years) So it is a lot of fun sitting with them and talking. I'm able to work on some mending of mine too.
Kids time is going pretty good too. There are a handful of kids that are pretty consistent in coming and then others that are sporadic. The thing that has been really good is the Bible memorization they are doing. They keep the same memory verses for them to say because it seems so often they learn the verse but forget it right away. By repeating the same 20 or so verses they are really drilled in their head. They are able to earn "dollars" by saying the verses, to spend in a store that we open every 2 weeks during kids time. So they can say the same verses over and over and earn "dollars" each time they say the verse. We pray that these verses will come to their mind some day in whatever situation they are in and bring them to repentance.
Homeschool is going really good. It sure helps to have help, in the kitchen especially. Mandi prepares lunch every day so I am able to just focus on school. We will sure miss her help when she leaves. She will be going home in about 2 weeks.
Bryce did get his permit then. We had to get a new birth certificate though. So now he wants to drive whenever possible. I went with him once into Hotevilla, but I prefer to let Jim drive with him. :)
Matthew is getting more interactive all the time, cooing and smiling a lot. He has stretched out his feeding to about every 4 hours now, and has his last feeding is at 6:30pm....so now I can get to bed early right? Not! It hasn't actually happened yet, but I have hope. And yes, we are still working on potty training the way some other countries do....very early. He is doing pretty good. We know his schedule pretty much and he seems to know what to do when hes on the potty. It is saving in diapers and Tara and Bryce can help take him. I'm not sure I would try this without older ones to help. And then the best news about Matthew of course, is that he found his thumb! It still thrills me when I see him soothing himself. lol! Strange, I know.
ok, well i should get a quick nap before Matthew wakes up. Ill let Tara do the picture posting on here.
Things have been fairly active around here. Seems we have several from the village that have been coming around asking for help. So far they have not been quite ready to turn to God and after a day or 2 seem to be back to their ways. It is sad and we continue to love them and pray for them.
We have started sewing with a couple elderly blind ladies on Thursdays from 9am to about 2:30pm. It is 2 sisters that hand sew quilts and do a really good job. We help match colors for them and pin blocks together. I so enjoy that time. They have such a good sense of humor and they ask lots of questions about God. The one has believed for several years but has not had much teaching. It is harder for the elderly to understand all the English language as well and they are unable to read in Hopi since it has not been a written language very long. (they just became blind in the last several years) So it is a lot of fun sitting with them and talking. I'm able to work on some mending of mine too.
Kids time is going pretty good too. There are a handful of kids that are pretty consistent in coming and then others that are sporadic. The thing that has been really good is the Bible memorization they are doing. They keep the same memory verses for them to say because it seems so often they learn the verse but forget it right away. By repeating the same 20 or so verses they are really drilled in their head. They are able to earn "dollars" by saying the verses, to spend in a store that we open every 2 weeks during kids time. So they can say the same verses over and over and earn "dollars" each time they say the verse. We pray that these verses will come to their mind some day in whatever situation they are in and bring them to repentance.
Homeschool is going really good. It sure helps to have help, in the kitchen especially. Mandi prepares lunch every day so I am able to just focus on school. We will sure miss her help when she leaves. She will be going home in about 2 weeks.
Bryce did get his permit then. We had to get a new birth certificate though. So now he wants to drive whenever possible. I went with him once into Hotevilla, but I prefer to let Jim drive with him. :)
Matthew is getting more interactive all the time, cooing and smiling a lot. He has stretched out his feeding to about every 4 hours now, and has his last feeding is at 6:30pm....so now I can get to bed early right? Not! It hasn't actually happened yet, but I have hope. And yes, we are still working on potty training the way some other countries do....very early. He is doing pretty good. We know his schedule pretty much and he seems to know what to do when hes on the potty. It is saving in diapers and Tara and Bryce can help take him. I'm not sure I would try this without older ones to help. And then the best news about Matthew of course, is that he found his thumb! It still thrills me when I see him soothing himself. lol! Strange, I know.
ok, well i should get a quick nap before Matthew wakes up. Ill let Tara do the picture posting on here.
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