In a nutshell....

Things have been going pretty good around here.

A big praise is that I am past my morning sickness, (except about 1 hour each day) Yay! Now to get some sewing done that has been long waiting.
The Toews got back home about a week ago. It's so good to have them back.
We have had a lot of interaction with kids in the yard this week especially. It was spring break and beautiful weather all week.
Our family is gearing up for a trip in about a week. We will stop in Colorado to see friends and then head over to Kansas for Jim's cousin's wedding. We hope to see several people along the way. We are excited to be taking a family from here along. We will be gone about 3 weeks or so.

We continue to seek God in discerning how to minister here. We've been here about 2 1/2 years yet we still get feedback from the community here that makes us wonder just what we should be doing day to day.

Well it's back to the sewing.

Here are the kids working on unloading this trailer full of wood. They worked hard and got it finished with Jim's help.

Exciting News at the Millers

After having a time that has been really quiet around here, it seems things are picking up again. We have a lot of kids in the yard here almost daily. We have enjoyed that and it gives opportunity to invite them in to eat.

Please pray with us for a man that will be serving some time (not sure how much yet) We have had a fair bit of interaction with him and he has had lots of questions but has never been fully surrendered to God. He has asked us to pray for him though as he serves out his time.

We started Hopi language lessons about a month ago. We really enjoy that and our teacher mixes in Hopi history/culture too. I have to say that Jim and I are not doing as well as our children though. Maybe they can teach us.

We made a quick trip to Phoenix last week to help out a family there. I wish we could have stayed longer but we needed to get back. We did come back with some citrus fruit though and have been enjoying that.

I also wanted to let you know the latest exciting news here...we are having a baby in September. We are really excited about it. In our human minds we were thinking that I should regain more health...but it seems God had other plans. I have to say though, we have not been disappointed for a moment.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Making raisin filled cookies for Grandpa Martin

...in their pajamas

Picking grapefruit, lemons and oranges.

Tara and Sharayah taking a break to pet the neighbors horse.

Loaded down and ready to leave. We will be eating citrus for a while.

Art and more...

Life is racing by while I'm not posting...imagine that.

We spent several days in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. There is a young family living there from here on the rez that we are trying to walk beside. We enjoyed the fellowship with them for a few days. We are praying about where they can go/live more permanently. He has been unable to find work in Phoenix and the environment is not so good there either.

He draws really well and while we were there we got this drawing from him. He did this free hand with a No. 2 pencil. He is willing to draw for others as well if you want to purchase some art work from him. (he just needs to know what you want on it) Here is the drawing we got from him. Click on it to see the whole thing.


A few days after returning from Phoenix the Toews left for their trip out east that will include a missions conference where their son Luke will share. Luke recently returned from 2 years in Africa. Another family from here also went to the missions conference so that has left things really quiet around here.

But starting this weekend there are several ceremonies coming up. (it is the beginning of the ceremonial cycle that will continue through the summer) Some of these will involve initiating children into the Hopi religion - a very scary time for the children. We are praying that somehow God will intervene and the children will be protected.

I was looking forward to spring and warmer weather. We haven't had any snow on the ground here for a while, but a couple days ago we ended up with 10 inches. So I guess I'll have to be patient yet.....or head to Phoenix again.

Well, I need to run and help Seth with the grape nuts he's making.

A few pics from the hike...

We went up to Page, AZ to do some hiking the other day. The particular canyon we hiked in is Water Holes Canyon although there are several canyons in the area. It was absolutely gorgeous in and around the canyon. The formations were amazing. Here are a few pics.

Some pics taken on top.

Down in the canyon.

Good Evening!

Lately I have been chipping away at clutter. It hasn't all been fun but it is worth it to get rid of things we aren't really using etc. In the midst of that, all the other day to day tasks.

We have had several days now of sunshine and temps in the 40s. It makes for a sea of mud outside the front door and down the driveway. I wondered if it would work to use skis to get down the driveway. But even though we've had some warm weather the sledding hill behind our house is still snow covered. It faces north and the snow just seems to stick. So we still have kids up here sledding nearly everyday.

I got a good report the other day from my doctor. The most recent blood test is showing improvement in the deficiencies I had. We have been waiting for that and it seems my body is finally moving in the right direction for my immune system to start working correctly. Praise God for that! We will follow-up in a few weeks again.

As I think of a friend of ours here...I am really sad tonight. It seems this one in particular from the family, has turned their back on God. It was heart wrenching as I heard that in our conversation on the phone today. The last week has been really hard as we walked beside them but this was.....I have no words really to describe it. I just cried out to God to have mercy and soften hearts. We can only place these dear friends in God's hands and pray that God would move in a mighty way.

Thanks to you all for your prayers, we really need them.

Sharayah after trying to ski on her face down the hill.

In Phoenix

Sharayah in front of our house.

Warmth AND Sunshine

Here we are in Phoenix enjoying the warmth. It is currently 58 at 9pm with a windchill of 59. Figure that out...according to NOAA Tomorrow should be sunny and 70.

We left rather unexpectedly after lunch today to head down here. We brought our friends down, as they found out earlier today that they needed to get a way down here today. It is the mother and her daughter that have been living there with us and her husband that we brought down. They will stay here as they seek God's direction for where He would have them more long term. (Staying on the rez is not an option for them at this time.) Please pray with us and them for an environment where they can be nurtured and discipled in their new walk with the Lord. It was a sad parting for me since she and I have grown close over the past several months and she will really be missed. But, I know that God is in control.

Tomorrow we plan to take care of some business down here in the valley. We will head back up later tomorrow or Saturday.

We were actually down here last weekend too. We visited Jim's family(Wil and Kathy, Matt, Monica and kids) that were visiting from Indiana. And of course Maury, Melissa and Isaiah, who live here. We really enjoyed our time with them. And I think we could get used to this great weather too.

I would post some pics but blogger's not letting me right now. So til next time....enjoy your weather! :-) We're enjoying ours at the moment.

God continues His work...

...in out lives/heart.

Our opportunity for interaction in the community has dwindled, (although it seems to be picking up a little in the past week) and it has/is a time of God teaching me. I have been asking myself, "What is there in my life/heart that hinders His light from shining out, even in my own family, is His light shining?" I was reading in Micah 6 where God is talking to Israel. Starting at verse 3 He is talking about all He has done for Israel. I had to look back and think of all He has done for me and what all He has taught me and how He cared for me. Then in verse 6-7 it asks what should we offer Him and there are different suggestions, but in verse 8 He says "no" What He wants is for us to do what is right, love mercy and walk humbly with Him. Amos 5:24 refers to it as an" endless river of righteous living". Am I doing this and that for Him? and they're good things, but what does He really want. I was thinking of things in my life and whether or not they reflect a godly, ordered life. Are there things I do because they look good but aren't coming from the heart...all this doing...hmm. A few days later I was reminded to stop doing things on my own strength when I read in Isaiah 22 starting at verse 9 it seems as though they are trying to get all these things done and then in the middle of verse 11 it says we never ask for help from God. That is so much like me. I try to get it all done on my own strength...meals on the table, house in order, laundry, home school, training my children, ministering to those in need...and on and on. And where is the focus of my heart that I don't remember to ask for help moment by moment throughout the day? I have lots of room for growth I can see.

In other news...Mom/Grandma has gone back to Indiana. She was here longer yet it seemed too short. We do cherish the time we had though. On the way down to Phoenix we did some sight seeing.

After leaving the airport we went on a critter control adventure. Our friends had honeybees living in the wall of their house. So we went to rid them of some bees and confiscate some honey. It was a very large colony and proved to be quite a challenge and we discovered they were africanized bees. We got over 1 gallon of honey which wasn't nearly all of it but they were so aggressive, Jim didn't tarry too long.

Things have settled back in to school and keeping up with day to day tasks. It looks like we will be getting some snow this week and the kids are anxiously awaiting it's arrival. Even checking the forecast online and then watching the clock for the time when the snow was predicted to start.

We made up some crafts and spent last Friday at the Bacavi Bazaar. Everyone made a little money because they all helped. It was also a chance to visit with friends from the community.


Here are some recent pics.

Tara by a yucca plant

All the kids by an ugly saguaro.

Tonto natural bridge in the background. It is 183 ft. high.

All of us at Tonto Natural Bridge

Crafts for the bazaar

Bryce and Jim ready to open up the hive. I was in the house shortly thereafter so no more pics of the hive.

Straining honey

We stayed with Jim's cousin and family while in the valley. Maury, Melissa and Isaiah.