Artic Blast

We know things are going to get a lot colder yet before the winter is over but we have been getting a fair amount of snow and the roads continue to be very slippery. Cubbies was canceled last night and we were glad since we didn't want a repeat of last week when I slid off the road. Next week is our "Birthday Party For Jesus" and our last Cubbies club night for the year so we are all hoping that the weather will cooperate next Thursday night.

The Strong Family

While I have been riding on my bike every morning I have been enjoying a tape series by Charles Swindoll called "The Strong Family". Each tape is packed full of scripture along with practical ways to allow God to strengthen families with principles from His Word. It has been encouraging and challenging. If you ever get a chance to listen to this series it is well worth it.

The Call

Seth phoned at about 6:00 p.m. to say he made it back to Bible school. Thanks so much for praying for him as he traveled back. The car was acting up but Praise the Lord it made it.

Taking Off

It was nice to have Seth home for Thanksgiving weekend. He took off not too long ago. His car was giving him some trouble. So if you read this post today please be praying with us that his car will make it all the way back to WI. Thanks!

Christmas Party

Although it is still November Ruth had her work Christmas party last night. It was nice that Seth was home and was able to go as her date. The party was in the basement of a restaurant. There were door prizes and Ruth won a "Heat" jersey and Seth won a wet and dry vacuum.

Baker's Corner

This morning I found myself back in the kitchen baking up a bunch of cookies. I could not pass up this opportunity to send more cookies back with Seth for him and his brother. I was also able to bake some cookies to give away to other people as well. In all I baked 30 dozen cookies and washed LOTS of dishes. I think I have baked more cookies with our sons in college then ever before.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

For the past six years it has been our family tradition to put up the Christmas tree the day after American Thanksgiving. Last night we started off the evening with a favorite family meal and then moved into putting up the Christmas tree. This year things went a lot smoother with putting the lights on. Some years it seems like it would take forever to untangle lights, and also to find lights that are still working and get them on the tree. It did help that we had a couple of new strings of lights to put on the tree. (We did miss having Zachary home who REALLY enjoys fighting with the lights to get them on the tree. ) While we work on putting the tree up we usually listen to a variety of Christmas cd's and enjoy eating snacky foods. After the tree was up and decorated we enjoyed watching a movie together.

The Comfort of Cuddles

Seth has been sick for awhile so he has been sleeping a lot. (Cuddles loves snuggling up with people when they are sleeping.) Seth went to the doctor yesterday and came home with medicine for a sinus infection. The doctor said it would take a few days to feel the affects of the antibiotics. Hopefully by the time classes start on Monday he will be feeling better.

Pajama Night

Tonight was pajama night at Awana. (We were all supposed to be yawning in the picture. I guess Titus yawns with his tongue out.) Well we all headed out for our pajama night but things sure changed quickly. We had a snowy day and the roads were quite slick. We headed off to the next town where our Awana club is. I takes about 17 minutes (in good driving conditions) to get there. It was slow going but we were making good progress. We all of a sudden came to a road block. There was a firetruck blocking the highway. A fireman stopped us telling us that there was a bad accident and that the road was closed. He told us that we needed to take a side road around the accident. I asked the fireman how the side road was as the side roads are the last to get plowed. He said , "Just fo slow." So we started down one side road and then had to turn on another. We don't have our snow tires on the car yet and the road was incredibly icy. We were going down a bit of a hill and our car slide off the road. Ruth and Titus got out to help push us back on the road. It looked a bit funny since the kids had their pajamas on. Instead of a coat Ruth was wearing her bathrobe. A man stopped to help us out and we were good to go. But I knew that it was time to head home. So it was very unfortunate we weren't able to enjoy Pajama Night with our Cubbies but we were VERY thankful to make it home safe and sound.

Happy Thanksgiving

We would have loved to spend this day with all of our family members but we were Thankful for the ones that were with us this year. It was also good to talk to our parents and children that were not with us. It was quite a snowy day and so it almost felt like we were celebrating Christmas instead of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Break

This morning just before 8:00 a.m. Seth pulled in. It is so nice to have him home for Thanksgiving and the weekend. We are looking forward to making some memories together. (We will miss not having Zachary, Caleb, and Kristina home. However, Zachary will be able to make it to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with Caleb and Kristina.)

SISTERS

I love my sisters dearly and enjoy any and all time I can spend with them Unfortunately, I do not get much time to just hang with them. The night before I left three of my sisters, a niece and a friend got together to watch a "Chick Flick". It was SOOO nice to just chill together.

Happy 93 rd Birthday Grandma!

On Saturday it was my grandmother's 93rd Birthday. It was also my brother Dan Ron's 17th birthday. It was so nice to be able to celebrate their special day with them. It's been so AWESOME to have a grandmother who has been so involved in my life and who has showered me with her love, support, prayers, and words of wisdom.

O'Hare International Airport

While I was passing through the "O'Hare International Airport" there was a neat display honoring Lt. Cmdr. Edward "Butch" O'Hare. It never even occured to me that the "O'Hare International Airport" was named after someone. Lt. Cmdr. Edward "Butch" O'Hare was a World War II fighter pilot from Chicago who was one of the greatest heroes in naval history. If you are passing through the O'Hare International Airport and have some time to kill, check out his memorial with his statue and Medal of Honor. You will find the display between terminal 1 and 2.

Home Sweet Home

I arrived home early Monday morning at about 2:00 a.m. Vern, Ruth, and Titus were all at the airport to meet me. Needless to say we were all very tired on Monday morning. Thanks so much for praying for my mom. She is doing better although, she has on going health issues. It was a joy to be able to be there for a week and help out and spend time with my parents and some of my siblings.
(In the rush of getting to the airport I forget my camera at my sister's house. So I have not been able to blog some things I wanted to. Therefore I will have several more posts today.)

Fall Leaves

Most of our leaves are all off the trees already in Ontario. It has been nice to enjoy all the leaves and the beauty of the fall down here in Chicago. The other day me and my youngest siblings were cleaning the house. While we were in the house my brother Charles was heading up vacuuming up all the leaves in front of the house. Since it was such a nice day Julio was able to be outside and help as well.

Airport Memories

All went well with my trip into Chicago. It always seems a bit wierd to go through airports without the whole family since so many of my airport memories are of the family going through an airport with all of our "Lug On's". It was WONDERFUL when we bought "Lug On's" that had wheels.

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane

Well, things can change very quickly in life. Early tomorrow morning Vern will be taking me to the Buffalo airport so I can catch a flight to Chicago. I will be gone for a week. My mother is not well and is in the hospital. I would appreciate your prayers for her. Thanks!

Shane and Karen

Here at the Training Center we have the privilege of getting to know a lot of people that come through here. Once couple is Shane and Karen Whatley. They were students our first year here and after their training they became part of the staff. They are such a neat couple and it has been such a joy to have them here and a part of the training staff. They are now enroute to Indonesia as they will be flying out in a couple of days. They came over for supper tonight and we were able to have one last visit with them. We are so excited for them. They will be such a blessing and help on the mission field. We'll miss you Shane and Karen!

Grounded

The Lord blessed us with a little red car a couple of years ago. It has been such a great car for us! We really have not had to put any money into it but unfortunately that was about to change. The car was not acting right and we had a friend check out the car for us. Well, we needed to have some major work done on the brakes and all sorts of things underneath. The car was deemed unsafe to drive until we could get the work done. So our red car was "Grounded" until we could get it into the shop. On Friday we had the car in to get fixed. (It was painful to see the bill at the end of the day. ) We are very thankful that our car is up and running again. And we hope it will go many more miles for us.

SURPRISE!!!

This morning instead of having our normal ladies sharing time we had a surprise baby shower for Megan who is one of our first year students. Although many "surprise showers" don't end up being a "surprise", we were able to surprise Megan. Instead of gifts we collected money towards a rocking chair which is some thing Megan was wanting to get. We had such a great time honoring the radiant Mother-To-Be.

Games Night

Tonight we had a first year social. A group of our students planned the event and things came together nicely for a great evening. The room was decorated in a game theme. (Great job on the decorations ladies!) There were games and tables set up and we broke up into groups to play table games. Half way through the evening we all got together to play a "Guys Against the Gals" in a game of pictionary. We all brought snacks with that were of course enjoyed by all. It was a great time of hanging out together.

Thanks Aunt Brenda!

Ruth is on the mend but is still feeling a bit out of it. She was home again today trying to get back some of her strength. Her aunt Brenda dropped off a "Get Well" balloon for her and it did lift her spirits. Thanks Aunt Brenda for bringing a little sunshine to our daughter.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We woke up this morning with our first snow fall on the ground. Titus is the only one in our family that really loves the winter weather. (He was wanting snow at the end of September already.) So I guess it is time to get the snow shovels out as well as all our winter gear and admit that winter is here.

Pray for our Sickies

As much as we would have liked to think our family was going to stay healthy throughout the fall and winter those dreams quickly vanished as we have the flu in the house. Titus had quite a bad day on Saturday where he was struggling to keep water down. Although he seemed to perk up a bit he is still not feeling well today. Then early this morning it hit Ruth. She is totally wiped out and has zero energy. We would appreciate your prayers for Ruth and Titus that they can get over this quickly. Vern and I would of course love to be spared from from this sickness but time will tell.

Sisters?

Ruth loves each of her brothers and really enjoys hanging with them. However, she would have loved to have at least one sister. Moriah has been a great "little sister". The girls have had a lot of fun together. When we were at that big mall Ruth bought them both matching sweat shirts.