GIve Ye Thanks

Three years after the Pilgrims’ arrival and two years after the first “Thanksgiving,” this proclamation was made by Governor William Bradford:

To all ye Pilgrims:
In as much as the great Father has given us this year and abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat , peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetable, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience;
now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the daytime, on Thursday, November ye 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all his blessings.

William Bradford, Ye Governor of Ye Colony

May all ye and ye’rs have a blessed day of Thanksgiving to the Almighty for His continued blessings.

Happy Thanksgivng!

Our Daughter: The Writer...Update

We previously mentioned that our oldest little blessing, under the pen name "Elyn W. Marsh" had one short story and one poem "bought" by the online magazine Mindflights.

Since then, they have also picked up another of her poems, and most exciting of all they decided to include her short story in the print version. Our copy arrived in the mail just the other day.

It's pretty exciting to pick up a book, open the pages, and find your own words staring back at you. The book is simply a collection of some of the material posted on the website, but if anyone is interested, you can go here to purchas a copy.

Congratulations, Sunshine!

Appreciating Being Appreciated

Most of you know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Our family was blessed to be officially “appreciated” last night. The folks got together a “card shower” with some very nice, thoughtful cards and gifts, and we met after the evening service for some refreshments.

A few of the folks got up and shared some glowing remarks about me and our family (almost made me think they were talking about someone else!). While I genuinely do appreciate the thoughts, I always feel a bit awkward at moments like this. (Humble Pie, anyone?) And yet when it comes to my family, I couldn’t agree more about how great they are!

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and a wonderful church family. God’s grace is overwhelming as always. So, to my family…Thanks for being the blessing you are. And to our church family…Thanks for being a blessing as well, and thanks for taking time to say “Thanks.”

Homechoolers on Parade

Our Homeschool "co-op" entered a small float in the Apple Festival Parade down in Seymour.

The kids had a fun time tossing candy, etc. Here they are sidetracked by a passing train (Our four along with Mrs. Nancy and her son Tyler).

The only drawback was the education level of the homeschoolers who made the sign. (OK, anyone can make a mistake, right?!)

We were able to correct that by covering up a part of the sign with an apple (see above picture). Actually, the really scarry part was who we let drive!

In all, a fun time was had by everyone. Thanks to the Lawrence family, who provided the tractor and trailer, and the Smeltzer and Ingalsbe families for participating as well.

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

She’s always been our Sunshine
Since the first day she was born
Even though in recent days
It’s tougher to shine in the morn

After 17 years of ups and downs
Our love for her is not “lessing”
Because nothing can ever change the fact
That she was our first little “blessing”

From “only child” to oldest
She’s gone through more than the others
But now and forever she’ll shine
In my heart and in her mother's

We Love You, Sunshine!
Happy Birthday


(Sorry for the corny poem, it’s the best I could do on short notice!)

Nathanael's Favorite Hunter

Over the summer we reported that Kenaniah was able to meet a couple of his “heroes” (see here). This past weekend, Nathanael was able to meet one of his. As you might know, Nathanael is very much into the hunting/fishing/outdoor thing; he just loves to watch the outdoor channel as well. Last year he heard a guy named Jimmy Sites speak at an event and discovered that Jimmy is also the host of a regular hunting show called Spiritual Outdoor Adventures.

Well, this past weekend, Jimmy was back in our area as our local Baptist Association hosted an “Outdoorsman Event.” It was a day long bow shoot, which Mr. Sites too part in.

There was also a blacksmith demonstration, tomahawk throwing, and it all wrapped up with Jimmy speaking to the crowd of nearly 800 who came. He told some hunting stories but laced them with biblical truths for a pretty nice presentation. Over 100 response cards were collected with various needs on them.

Anyway, as we were there hosting one of the “comfort stations” along the bow shoot trail, Jimmy came by and visited and Nathanael was just thrilled.
Any of you hunter types ought to check out the SOA program and website. It’s pretty good stuff. And thanks to Jimmy Sites for a good day and for taking time to be so kind and generous to our young “fan.”

What homeschoolers do with plywood and a leaf blower

Went to church tonight for our family "game" night and one of our fellow homeschool dads (seen in the video) brought one of his latest "toys" to play with.

We took the video of Kenaniah's wild ride on our cell phone's camera, so it's not the best. But hopefully you get the idea of how much fun they had. Of course, Nathanael couldn't let little brother have all the fun so he had to have a turn as well.

Our Daughter: The Writer

We mentioned awhile back that an online magazine called Mindflights had bought the publishing rights to one of our oldest's short stories. Since then, they also bought one of her poems. And now, both of them have been posted on the Mindflights website.

So go here to read about the Vegetarian Dragon





Or here to read a short poem called Fey Stranger

You'll notice that she has used a "nom de plume" which is made up of a name based on her initials and part of our town's name. Quite creative, actually.

Anyway, we're pretty proud of her and just wanted to shout out the news to all we can.

Thanks, Mom!

You know how you get embarrassed when mom pulls out the photo album and starts showing those old baby pictures and things. Well, my mom was nice enough to put it on the INTERNET!! She's been doing a lot of work on our family tree over at Ancestry.com, and told us to go check it out.

Actually, it was pretty cool. She's traced us back to the 1600s in Ireland on one side, and in the midst of that tree is a genuine hero. Lt. James McGuire, my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather on mom's side, fought along side Daniel Boone in Kentucky. In fact, he was killed in action during the Battle of Blue Licks, KY, considered to be the last battle of the Revolution. There's an historical marker with his name and everything.

But, anyway, back to the original topic, the kids were looking at the site with me and we started going through the pictures Grandma had posted. And lo, and behold, this comes up.

That's right, Me, at two months old with my big brother, Mark. Right there (and now right here I guess, on the Internet). The kids loved it. So thanks, Grandma. I'll see if I can dig something up to pay you back with!

The Homeschool Family

Thanks to Terri at the Back Deck for pointing this one out. This is fantastic!!

Vacation/Family Conference

Our family just returned from a week in Branson, Missouri. And while part of it was dedicated to fun and games, the primary reason was to attend the Defending Your Faith Family Conference, sponsored by Answers in Genesis.

In the next few days I hope to have some fun pictures and things here, but for the serious reviews of the conference, go to Dad's site here.

Aaarrrgghh!

I’m not so sure that pirates and four-year-olds are the best mix. But ever since the Veggietales movie “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” back in January, we’ve had a little buccaneer in our house. And he requested a pirate birthday. So, being the overindulgent parents that we are, that’s what Kaptain K got. On the bright side, Cheryl had the opportunity to try out her creative cake making skills. Personally, we all think she did a pretty good job. Bottom line, we had a pretty fun birthday and Kenaniah was overjoyed.

Happy Birthday, Kenaniah!!

Happy Birthday, Nathanael

I’m a little behind on things, but I did want to post birthday wishes to my Buddy. He’s not my little buddy anymore (considering he’s as tall as me now!), but my buddy none the less. Happy 14th Nathanael! And congrats on that first home run!

I Am That Hero!

Everyone should get to meet their heroes in life. Unfortunately, most of mine are dead (Spurgeon, Edwards, Luther, Calvin, etc.). But Kenaniah got the chance to meet some of his while at Silver Dollar City.

That’s right, Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber of VeggieTales fame. I know he should aspire a bit higher in life, but hey…it sure beats Sponge Bob!

FREE DVD from Vision Forum

The people at Vision Forum have authorized us to give away a FREE DVD from their Reclaiming the Culture series. All the details are over at the By Grace Alone blog. Check it out to win a copy of the DVD entitled: The Promise: The Beauty and the Power of the 5th Commandment.

Speaking of Publishing

Cheryl isn't the only one with "publishing news." Our eldest (Sunshine) has recently signed a "contract" with an online magazine called MindFlights. They purchased a short story she had written about the adventures of a vegetarian dragon (Dad's idea) in the mythical land of Spiggle (who knows where that idea came from!).

You can check out the site, but so far it hasn't actually been posted. They agreed to pay her for the story and publish it within the next year or so, so it may still be awhile. Afterwards, they give her the rights back so she can look to have it actually published in written form somewhere.

We're pretty proud of her, and we're looking foward to all the revenue this new venture will bring into the family coffers. We'll try to post here again if and when we see the story online.

What's In A Name?

We all like to think that we are individuals; our own person; a one of a kind. Imagine our shock then, to discover that there is another lady out there with the exact same name as our Cheryl; middle name and all. Furthermore, she shares many of the same interests and has even written a couple books. Not just any books. But from the sound of it, the very books that our dear Cheryl would like to write!

Consider some of the similarities. Exact same name. Love of horses. Love of animals in general. Interest in Christian books/fiction. Hockey fan (Grandpa Ron used to play, even). This other Cheryl worked in the mental health field, and our Cheryl home-schools four children and is married to a pastor: we're talking major mental health issues!

Now this is not an endorsement of the books. We haven't read them yet. But from early descriptions and from the contact we made with "her people", they sound promising. We just thought the similarities were amazing, and that it was fun to see books written with Cheryl's name on the cover. If you want more info, you can go to this website and find the books.

Turkey Killer!

We have an expert hunter in the family. On his first ever turkey hunt, Nathanael bagged himself a big 'ol turkey. In fact, he did it in the first two hours on openning day! Here he is with his proud pappa:
Deacon Jim encouraged us to give the youth turkey season a shot, pardon the pun. In fact, he even helped outfit us and let Nathanael use his shotgun (mine wasn't big enough!). Thanks to Mr. Jim's expert instruction and turkey calling expertise, we had a great time. Here's Mr. Jim and his prize pupil: On a cold morning, with a little freezing drizzle even, we hit the woods before 5am. And by 5:45 we heard the first gobble. Mr. Jim began his calling and within an hour or so we had a big ol' Tom right in front of us! He was a bit closer than we expected, and when Nathanael tried to re-aim, the old bird saw us and started to leave. But Mr. Jim gave him a couple more clucks on the caller and like any male, he stopped to look at the girl he thought was there. That was all Nathanael needed. One shot. One turkey dinner.

This old bird was 23 3/4 pounds, with an 11 inch beard and 1 1/16 inch spurs. Not bad for the first time! Kenaniah even wanted to get in on the fun, but he'll have to wait a couple years. Still didn't stop him from getting all dressed up:

Dad even had some fun pretending to be Rambo or something:

Of course, now Dad is going to have to give it a shot come regular spring season. Can't have the boy braggin' too much, can we?

Egg-citing Art (Egg-stremely Late!)

The kids have been after me for awhile now to get these posted. Sorry it's so late. Just like the Christmas cookies, we like to have fun with eggs at Easter. Here is some of the fruit of our labor: Kenaniah wanted Bob and Larry of course
LoriAnn had to include a Dragon
Nathanael just had fun
Katrina added a bunny and horse
And dad had to do a Nascar thing (notice the 24 finishing ahead of the 20!)

Vote For Us

No it's not about politics. It's about floors.

Our local OzarksFirst.com is running an "ugly floor" contest along with Carpet Barn. The winner gets something like $2,000 in flooring. As much as we love our broken down old farmhouse, the scarred baby-diaper green vinyl flooring in the kitchen, dining room and hall is just horrible (as the picture clearly reveals). But on the ol' preacher-salary, that's not a high priority budget item.

Anyway, if you're bored and just looking for something to do while you're wasting all this time on the internet anyway, hop on over to the OzarksFirst website and vote for #22, that's us. I voted tonight and Cheryl said, "Hey, put it on your blog." So why not. It beats whining about the presidential race, doesn't it.

Remember, that OzarksFirst.com and vote for number 22. Thanks.

For The Children

I posted this on my personal blog, but feel stongly enough to post it here as well:

Everyone knows that being a parent is difficult. It's hard work raising children in general, but add to that the element of trying to raise Christian children in an increasingly anti-Christian world, and the job just gets tougher.

Every time I turn around I read stories about state governments that are going out of their way to protect everyone's rights except those of the Christian student and their parents. The latest (that I've heard anyway) is about SB777 in California, recently signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger. It ensures that no one can openly criticize homosexual and transgendered teachers. What about the protection of the children in those classrooms. We don't seem to care much about them, do we?

Or go to the Homes School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website and read about cases all over the nation where Christian homeschool families are being targeted by local school districts, DFS offices, etc.

Of course, there are positives here and there. In Missouri our legislators are trying to pass HJR55 which would clarify students' rights to pray in public places, as well as the right of the average citizen to do the same. But at times I wonder if things like that are too little too late.

I would encourage you to check out two ministries:

1. Exodus Mandate. Their stated purpose says that, "Exodus Mandate Project is a Christian ministry to encourage and assist Christian families to leave government schools for the Promised Land of Christian schools or home schooling."

I know that sounds so radical to some, but take time to remove the historical blinders and look at the true history of education. Government education the way we do it now is a very modern invention, and I don't think those who started down this road ever intended it to go so far in removing families from the equation. Christian people need to realize that our children have been given to us to raise, not the state or anyone else, and we are responsible for their training in godliness and in everything else. Get involved parents! Your children's future depends on it.

And speaking of parental involvement...

2. ParentalRights.org. This organization seeks to bring "together everyone who agrees that the vital role of parents in the lives of children should not be undermined by government action or policy." Of primary concern here is not only keeping an eye on state and federal legislation that removes parental rights in various ways, but also the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Yes I know that's been around since Clinton, but the threat still looms as there continues to be pressure for the US to officially endorse this. On the surface it seems good, and in ways it might be, but the end result would be a serious erosion of the rights of parents to bring up their children with Biblical values and principles. Check out their site for more information on this and other issues.


The bottom line is that parents need to get involved, stay involved. We've abdicated our role and responsibility in the rearing of our children to the state, and to others in general, for too long. God has called us to be parents, to ensure the faithfulness of the next generation, to be sure that future generations know of the greatness of our God. We can't do that by standing on the sidelines and letting godless government agencies determine what's best for our children. For their sake, get involved.

Happy Birthday Joy, Joy!!

Our little Katrina is growing up. Although she's still my princess, she's not so little anymore.

But we still love you, Joy, Joy!

Happy 12th Birthday!

Online Tag

Our good friend on The Back Deck “tagged” Cheryl, which we’re told means that she has to answer the following questions. I’m not sure this is anything more than giving in to online peer pressure, but here it is.

Four jobs I’ve had
1. Homeless Ministry Counselor
2. Trail Guide
3. Child Care Worker (for years and years)
4. Private Christian School Teacher

Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Parent Trap (original)
2. White Christmas
3. 7 Brides for 7 Brothers
4. The Chronicles of Narnia

Four of my favorite foods
1. Homemade Bread
2. French Fries
3. Pizza
4. Toasted Ravioli

Four TV shows I love to watch
1. Unwrapped
2. Good Eats
3. Weather Channel
4. Bull Riding!

Four places I’ve lived
1. Missouri
2. Texas
3. North Dakota
4. Back to Missouri

Four places I’ve been on vacation
1. California
2. Florida
3. Montana
4. Colorado

Four Websites (Blogs) I visit daily
1. I’m only on the internet about once a week.
2. I like the Family Fun site
3. I have to read my husbands!
4. Kraft Foods

Four places I’d rather be right now
1. Florida Keys
2. In Bed
3. On a horse
4. Any place quiet! (The Library, etc.)

Four people I’m tagging
In an outstanding act of mercy, I will refrain from tagging anyone else!
Sorry!

We Have A Winner!

Today was the annual Soup and Chili Cookoff at our church. LoriAnn entered a nice "hot root soup," but the soup competition was very heated this year, pardon the pun. Nathanael picked through a cookbook from the library, combining a couple of different recipies to come up with his own concoction . . . and won second place!This is actually the second time he has finished as runner-up, placing second two years ago. Of course Dad reminds us that he has bragging rights in the house, since he won first place in last year's contest. (Is there room in the house for all this ego?!?)

Congratulations Nathanael!

Sad, Sad Sight

As great as the recent snow was, it didn't last nearly long enough. And there is nothing sadder than a lonely snowman, reduced to twigs and dirt sticking out, being the only remaining snow anywhere in sight. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

More Dragons and Friends

Well, we finally had our first decent snow this season. Turned out to be a perfect day: enough snow to work with, a fairly warm and sunny day to enjoy it, and it happened to be my day off! So out we went to toboggan down the back hill, have a snow ball fight (which Nathanael and Dad won by the way) and to make some snow critters. Actually, the older two made snow critters since the younger two are getting over colds and couldn't stay out that long.

LoriAnn kept with her dragon theme and made a snow dragon:
And Nathanael rolled up a traditional snow man to keep him company:Hope you all are enjoying winter wherever you are.

Thar Be Dragons!

LoriAnn has found herself in the dragon making business. What started out as a project for a friend’s gift became a commission to produce several more as gifts for others. In all, she’s made about a dozen of the critters. And she’s wondering if anyone else might be interested.
We know this blog doesn’t reach all that many folks, but if anyone out there, or anyone you know, would like to commission a hand sewn pet dragon we are now in business.

Each dragon is about 12-15 inches long with a wingspan of the same. They are two-toned and can be requested in nearly any color combination. They are each sewn together by hand (no machine work here!) and come with a tag which gives the dragon’s name and personal information.
If anyone is interested, contact us at the email set up for this:
dragonsbyanor@home-schooled.com

The price is somewhat negotiable at this point, depending on the number requested, shipping, etc. We were offered $10 a piece for the first “litter”, but would like to make it as reasonable as possible, with that price maybe including shipping, etc. Make us an offer!
And tell a few friends! Everyone knows dragons make great pets!

Faith Like A Child

“Hey, did you see the trampoline on the shed?” the 11 year old asks. And with wide eyed amazement, the 3-year-old says, “Yeah, who put it there?” When dad explains that God put it there with the storm last night, to our wonder, we didn’t get the typical toddler question to everything (“why?” in case you’ve never been around toddlers). Instead, he simply gave a satisfied “Oh” and moved on.

I wish I could have the faith and trust of a child. As the worst outbreak of tornadoes in at least 40 years ripped through the Ozarks late Monday and into Tuesday, dad was anything but calm and trusting. Normally, I do fairly well with storms, but this one scared me. Especially when the straight line winds hit the house with a fury that shook everything as we grabbed the kids and headed for the basement (thank God we had one of those).

We escaped with only minor damage to the house, and of course the trampoline relocation, but not everyone fared as well. One woman within a few miles of our home lost her life. Many others, including two of our church families, lost their homes.

Please don’t hear me making light of all this. I hate those trite answers as much as anyone. But the final answer in all this is the same one I gave our youngest, and that is God is still on the throne, still in charge, and in His providence has spared us and challenged the faith of others. I don’t understand how or why these things happen as they do. And my frequent lack of faith has me quaking in my sneakers until it’s all over.

I just wish I had that childlike faith. To know that God is in charge and be satisfied. People pray for the patience of Job, but I’d much rather have his faith, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15).

Please pray for us here in the Ozarks as we pick up from these storms, and pray for this faithless father, that I might example stronger faith to my children instead of the other way around.

Christmas Catch Up

I’m way behind in getting all this posted. We were able to get away and go to Grandma and Grandpa’s for Christmas for the first time in…well, ever. It was a wonderful time, and while we were there, the kids took time to do a little candy construction. We’d call them gingerbread houses, but they are made with graham cracker walls and icing. But whatever the construction materials, the end results were fantastic. Enjoy!