NATHAN

This is Nathan. He is one and a half years old.

Heis a blessing to our family and brings many smiles to our faces. He reminds us a lot of his brother Zachary with his endless energy. He is just starting to talk and we are challenged almost every day to figure out what his 'new' word is! wa-wa is Joshua and water so we sometimes get them mixed up :) He loves music and is found many times dancing or clapping. When his big brother Joshua plays the jambe he likes to climb up on his lap and 'help' out! We call him our little praiser! He has a 'job' which he has to do several times a day. He puts his sister Brooke's and his diapers in the garbage. He took this responsibility on all by himself and he takes it quite seriously. When he sees anyone go to change Brooke's diaper he is sure to follow them and be there to deliver the diaper to the garbage. He is so cute as he can't open the garage door, so he needs the assistance of his big brother Caleb. He comes up to him and says, "Bob, Bob" (our family nick name for Caleb) and then they go together to carry out their mission! As you can see by the picture we are working on high chair manners and many other things in his little life right now!

WHO AM I?

Who am I? When I am around this group of people... oh and what about that group of people? Who am I? When nobody is around? Who am I? When I leave the church building? Who am I? When circumstances don't go my way? Who am I? When I am tired or feeling under the weather. Who am I? When someone really annoys me? Who am I? When someone cuts me off in traffic? Who am I? When I have to make do with something less than perfect? Who am I? When someone offends me? Who am I...... Am I a reflection of Christ? "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

JESSE

This is Jesse. He is 3 yrs. old. He is a very talkative Jesse! Dad marveled just how much he talked when he was with him for many hours in the tractor this summer. When it was quiet dad knew he had fallen asleep! And then the moment he woke up the talking started again. He is very interested in things that have wheels and spends lots of time making tractor noises and pushing around his 'wheeled' toys. And if dad goes somewhere you are sure to find Jesse with him. He watches closely everything and everybody and reminds us very much of his big brother Joshua when he was this age. When Joshua was very young he knew a lot about farming just from all of his close observing and we can see that Jesse is learning quickly this way as well. He pronounces anything with a sw as sq; so sweaters are squetters and sweep is squeep. He says the words 'at that' a lot, like are we going at that town. He says upside instead of outside. FUNNY JESSE STORY: While eating supper one day, Jesse (2 1/2) protested about having carrots as a vegetable. After telling him that he didn't have the choice and he would have to have carrots he said, "We need to pray again." (meaning the prayer for the meal) When we asked him why he replied, "Because we need to have corn." He seemed to think prayer would change the carrots to corn. Little child, lots of faith!!!!

WORSHIP

The age old question: What is worhip? We talked about this today in our devotions. Worship is often thought of as something you do; in church, singing, reading God's Word ect. But real worship is.... BRINGING JOY TO GOD'S HEART So that means we can worship all day long. Psalm 5:3; 119:147 talks about worshipping God in the morning. Psalm 63:6 talks about worshipping God at night. Psalm 119:62 talks about worshipping God at midnight. I Cor. 10:31 when you eat and drink AND whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. In other words, our lives should be worship to God. Whether we are doing dishes, making a meal, rocking a sick baby, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, changing a diaper... We can do all this in worship to God. We can worship Him because we have food to eat, a baby to rock or change his diapers, nature to enjoy, fresh vegetables to eat... but most of all because God is God. Many times I worship God when things are good, then it's easy, but what about when your circumstances are not ideal? We need to remember that GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME. This became real to me when I was doing a middle of the night feeding with Jesse. I was tired and was counting the many hours of sleep I wouldn't have:) Then God brought to mind a friend of mine who had just had a baby a couple of weeks earlier and her baby was born with medical conditions so she couldn't nurse her baby or even have her home with her right away. And at that point I became so thankful that I had my baby home with me and 'could' get up in the night and feed him. Did my circumstances change? No, but my perspective did! Worship to God does not depend on my circumstances. It depends on the goodness of God. And if God is good all the time, then I should be worshipping Him all the time. As I was growing up my mom had a saying which has stuck with me, "You don't have to, You get to!" We don't have to worship God, WE GET TO!!

ZACHARY

This is Zachary, our 6th born. He is 5 yrs. old. The best way I can think to describe Zachary is BOUNCY, BOUNCY, BOUNCY. He is full of life with lots of energy! Just to give you an idea; In his 5 years he has managed to have: -a broken arm -3 knocked out teeth (all at different times) -broken off his toenail -and too many bumps and bruises to mention! His favorite pastimes are playing with his brothers, riding bike, playing in the sand box, sliding across our floor and landing in all kinds of "interesting" positions and many other things that make his mom cringe! He also spends much time making his brothers laugh. He likes to help around the house and is often asking for a job (we hope this lasts!) He has a very sensitive heart, and wants to make things immediately right when he hurts someone or disobeys. *He calls 1 ton trucks with dual wheels "chubby cheeks trucks" *He thinks meat sauce comes from trees because mom puts bay leaves in it. *He thinks the plants that come in milk cartons give milk. *He doesn't want to say unkind things to his brother because he doesn't want to be a 'sin man'!! *He can eat and eat and eat and hardly grow (we think he uses up his calories with all his bouncing!) *He sometimes finds himself in a hamper head first!

The Call

This is a song that God gave to us while we were worshipping as a family one day: God's raising up an army Do you hear the call; To set your heart before Him To give your all and all. Lay down your desires So you can be free; Hear the cry of His heart "Will you follow Me?" CHORUS: Rise up mighty army Rise up mighty army Rise up mighty army God's raising up an army It's time to train for war; Putting on the armor The armor of the Lord. Arm in arm with brothers Joining in the fight; Taking orders from the King Doing what is right. There's a mighty army It's marching through the land; Breaking down the strongholds, With His mighty hand. Do you hear them shouting Songs of victory; Worshipping the King of Kings Who's come to set them free.

CALEB

This is our 5th born Caleb. He is 7 yrs. old. Caleb came next in line after three girls so has put up with a lot! He very talented with building things and drawing. So he spends many hours playing with Lego and anything else he can build with. He likes to spend as much time as he can outside playing with his buddies "his younger brothers". He has a real soft spot for little ones and is often found 'conversing' with his baby brother and sister. He has a very strong personality and he knows what he wants and doesn't want. When he was 3 yrs old he told us at the supper table that he was all done. Dad looked in his bowl and said he had one pea left to eat before he could have dessert. Caleb got a "look" on his face and refused to eat that one pea. So he left the table without a word, and also without dessert. I think over the last few years he has realized 'there's more to life than one pea'

You Know You Have a Large Family When...

Those with large families will be able to relate....... You have half your kids with you and people still think you have your hands full. Your family fills up the elevator. People laugh at you when you describe an outing by saying "When I just had the three kids." You have a child for every age group at church You buy clothes on the sale rack without worrying because 'it will fit somebody'. When children visit your house and need a change - you are sure to have something to fit them. People have heard of you, from other people you don't even know. Your dream car is a 15 passenger van. The McDonald's cashiers hardly know what to do when you order 11 hamburgers and 6 large fries and 9 waters. People ask if you are part of a day care. You count your children by multiples of two or more. There is never enough space on a form to list all your children. You call 3 names before you finally get the right name. Your kids look at you funny when you tell someone on the phone you have one less child than you actually have. (oops!) You have 2 medical cards, because everyone doesn't fit on just one. Attendance drops by 10% when you don't show up for church. One room is no longer an option when you go to a hotel. You think matched socks means two socks that are the same size. Diapers are a line item on your household budget. You never worry about what to do with leftovers. Your family is too big for a family pass. You can no longer all fit on a Walmart photo. You laugh hysterically when someone asks if you work!

KERRI

Our 4th born is Kerri. Kerri is 10 yrs. old. When I think of Kerri, I think funny. Not because she looks funny :), but because she is always making us laugh. It is real refreshing to have someone in the family who makes you laugh; because laughter is as medicine! Kerri is the one who will often come up to mom and ask, "Is there anything I can do for you mom?" Anyone who is a mom knows how pleasant that is! Her favorite pastime is playing games with anyone who will take her up on the offer! She is also often found teaching her little brothers or playing outside with them. A cute story of Kerri when she was about 7 yrs. old:

She came to me with red dots all over her legs.

We discovered that it was from cleaning detergent

that she was using to clean the tub and standing in.

So mom told her to go and wash her legs in the sink. After what seemed to be a really long time of Kerri 'washing' her legs

mom told one of the girls to tell her that she had washed long enough. The report came back that Kerri had replied "They aren't off yet!" Meaning she was trying to wash off the actual spots!!! We have many stories like this of our Kerri!

SHINING LIGHT

It used to really bother me when we would go out with our whole family (then 9) and we would be such a spectacle. The questions & comments were fired at us, Are they all yours, you must be so busy, don't you know how this happens, do you plan on having more, what's your secret to make them behave so well, you look to peaceful to have this many children, you must have a lot of patience, you look to young to have that many children, how old's the oldest, how old's the youngest, what do you drive, you must spend a fortune on food, how do you keep them dressed so nicely.... and the list goes on and on. One day while I was thinking about this, or rather pouting, God spoke to me about being a light. Isaiah 60:1-2 says 'Arise shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkenss shall cover the earth, and the darkenss the people. But the glory of the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen (made aware of) in thee.' And I realized as I hadn't realized before that as Christians we should be a light and people should notice us (in a good way!) because we should be different (also in a good way). We live in a world where there is much darkness and many people have lost hope. Lost hope in parenting, in marriage, in church, in God.... So we need to be that light that will lift Jesus up so that men will be drawn to Him. I also felt God was telling me that He had blessed us with a large family and that people were drawn not only to our family size, but to the light of Christ that was within us. And that, as I was bemoaning the fact that we were such a spectacle, I was belittling Christ within us. Instead I should use this as an opportunity to share Christ with others and rejoice in the fact that we are a "spectacle". So now when someone comes up to us and asks the questions I know are going to come, I don't get quite so annoyed. I answer their questions with a smile and I pray that our conversation and witness will cause a spark in them to seek true life in Christ. So how is your light shining. Are people drawn to the light that is within you? And if so, how do you react? Sometimes the very thing that bothers us about ourselves or our family, God wants to use as a tool to bring others to Him. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16" ALL GLORY TO YOU GOD!

MEGAN

This is our 3rd born Megan. She is 12 yrs. old. She is the one who everyone consults when they can't find their book, or mitts, or socks, or pants..... Yes, she has a talent to organize everything! She is also has a very soft and sensitive heart and her younger siblings will go to her first when they want something or are hurting. In fact, when she was quite a bit younger we had to be firm with her about not getting upset when we would discipline our other children. That sensitive heart is a blessing to all of us. Her favorite pastime is making cards or gifts for others. People often comment on her beautiful smile, and to me her smile shows what's in her heart!

FAITHFUL DOG

We named our 5th born Caleb. We basically named him that because we had a Joshua and we really wanted a Caleb. (not very spiritual I know!) I have always liked the name Caleb but not really the meaning. It means 'faithful dog'. I know a dog is faithful and all that, but the meaning still kind of bugged me. That is until we went to a conference a couple of weeks ago. At the conference one of the speakers showed a video clip of a dog show. In the dog show a dog and his owner were doing a 'dance' together. The dance was really long and the whole time the dog had his eyes on his owner (unless he had to do a twirl or something). He would just look into his master's eyes and nothing could distract him. Not the many people watching or the noises happening around them. The only thing that seemed to matter to him was pleasing his master. The purpose of the video was to relate this to our relationship with God. That He is our Master and we should never allow ourselves to be distracted from doing His will and that we should only be concerned about what pleases Him. I was really moved just thinking about this. That's when it struck me...... the meaning of Caleb's name suddenly became alive... 'Faithful Dog' Our desire for all of our children has always been that nothing in their lives would be more important to them than pleasing their Heavenly Master and being faithful to Him. And how neat that we have a son whose name means exactly that! Now often when I look at him I am reminded how I need to be faithful to my Master and not let the things and busyness of life distract me from Him.

JENNIFER

This is our second born, Jennifer. She is 14 yrs. old and a tremendous help around our home. When I think of Jennifer lots of hugs and kisses comes to mind. She loves to have fun and has an easy going personality, A personality that her mom can learn from sometimes! Her favorite pastime is changing diapers..... okay, maybe that's not quite #1 on her list! She likes to read and you will often find her goofing around with her little brothers and baby sister. She also really likes animals and if she is missing you'll be almost sure to find her at the barn. Faovorite foods? hmmmm....not whip cream, she likes chocolate sundaes without the ice cream??? a roast beef meal without the roast beef???? But she does like chocolate ice cream?!?!? Her favorite word is RIIIIIIGHT! Did I tell you she likes to sing and play keyboard. That's our Jennifer in a nut shell and she is a NUT!

LOVE IN THE HOME

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in it’s place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper---not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing and decorative achievements, But have not love, my children learn cleanliness---not godliness. Love leaves the dust, in search of a child’s laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials, Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive, Love crawls with the baby, Walks with the toddler, Runs with the child, Then stands aside to let the youth walk in adulthood Love is the key that opens salvation’s message to a child’s heart. Before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child. As a mother, there is much I must teach my child. But the greatest of all is LOVE. --Author Unknown--

OLD TOWELS

This morning as I took out a clean towel, I noticed I could pretty much see through it. It was so thin. Then I realized maybe I should buy some new towels.

Now I don’t know about you but it always takes us awhile to “wear� in our new towels. Until then they don’t dry as well as the “worn� in towels. So I found myself resisting the idea of getting new one because I like my old ones so much! But that is not very practical, because when they fall apart they will not dry at all!

Then I started thinking about my Christian life and how I sometimes resist the new things God is calling me to because I am comfortable with the old. New revelations, new ministries, new relationships. These may not be comfortable at first, but as I grow into what God has for me it will be the ‘best’. There’s good, better or best. We can settle for any one of these. If I resist these new things, I will never know the ‘best’ that God has for me. And I do want His best, so out go the old towels.

By the way, does anyone know of a place where I can buy new towels that dry like old ones?!?

Maybe I haven’t learned my lesson after all!

Joshua

For those of you who don't know our children,

I will start introducing them to you.

This is our oldest, Joshua. He is 15 years old and a great help to us on the farm. He likes to drive tractor, and drive tractor and did I mention drive tractor? We love having him around and miss him when he is in the field all day. His favorite word is "EXCELLENT!" His favorite color is red if it is a tractor and otherwise I don't think he has a favorite. His favorite food is......FOOD! (except pineapple). His favorite pastime is... did I mention drive tractor?

Deny Yourself

Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. But I’m tired, I’ve had many late nights with the baby. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. But he can do it himself, he’s had more rest than I have lately. Deny yourself take up your cross and follow me But I have so much to do. Deny yourself take up your cross and follow me. But…..Sound familiar? When the house if full of little ones, when there are endless things to do, when you are tired beyond tired, it’s challenging to deny yourself. In the verse before Matthew 16:24 Jesus just rebuked Peter for desiring the things of man rather than the things of God. Peter did not want to hear that Jesus would suffer and die. But Jesus put an end to that kind of talk quickly.

‘Get thee behind me Satan, you are an offence to me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men.’ Peter’s intentions were not bad, he loved Jesus. But they were not of God. We have to be aware of the Peters in our lives, the ones who mean good but encourage us to desire the good things of man rather than the things of God. Denying ourselves isn’t easy, but it is necessary to live a fulfilled Christian life and one that brings forth fruit.

Do I Fear God?

In our devotions the last few days we have been talking about the fear of the Lord. We talked about what God loves and what He hates, and that this should be the motivation of the things we say and do. Loving what God loves, and hating what God hates. Sounds simple, right! So we challenged each other to think this way in what we say and do. Even Caleb, Zach and Jesse can understand this. Question for the day "Does God love that?" and if He doesn't, what can we do instead that He does love? "Let all the earth fear the Lord:

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Psalm 33:8 "