The Festival Of Northern Lights

Last night Vern and I went on a date. The last thing we did before heading home was to go and see the light display. We were in a town about 45 minutes away and every year they have a light display that they call "The Festival Of Northern Lights". I have always enjoyed looking at Christmas lights. When I was a child a family outing we would do every December was to all pile in the car and drive around to look at Christmas lights. There was this area in Chicago that was called "Candy Cane Lane". It was streets and streets of houses with amazing light displays. I have tried with not much success to get my children to enjoy this same Christmas activity. I know my children were thrilled that their dad was adding this to part of our date so that I would not drag them with this year. It is of course a bit chilly walking around looking at the lights but Vern had a coffee and I a hot chocolate and it was a perfect evening. I hadn't seen this light display for a couple of years so it was fun to make it back up there to see them.

Table Talk

Last night we had our family Thanksgiving meal. It was so nice to be all together this year as next year Ruth and Zachary will be off to college and might not be coming home. Next year there should be a high chair around the table. (Smile)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Although we didn't do our traditional Thanksgiving celebration today it has been a good day to sit back and reflect again on all that we have to be thankful for. The list is endless. As I was doing the Bible lesson in Cubbies I was explaining how our sin separates us from God. However, God who loves us so greatly has a RESCUE PLAN. We do truly have SOOOOO much to be thankful for.

Like I mentioned we did not do our traditional Thanksgiving celebrations since we had Awana tonight. We greatly value every opportunity to connect with the children God has entrusted us with for that 1 1/2 hours and to teach them a little bit more of God's RESCUE PLAN. Tomorrow we will be celebrating as a family. We are looking forward to that family time as it has been a number of years since all our children have been home together for Thanksgiving. Whether you have been able to spend this Thanksgiving with your family or not I do hope you have a heart of Thankfulness for all we have in Christ. If you have no idea what I am talking about when I talk about God's RESCUE PLAN, please email me as I would love to share it with you.

Having A Heat Wave

For the past couple for weeks I have been having trouble with my oven and being able to regulate the heat. I can set the temperature for 350 degrees and in no time it is at 450 degrees. There are also times when I set the oven for 350 degrees and it won't get up to 150 degrees. Today I baked some mini loaves of banana bread for close to an hour at 150 degrees and just like that the oven shot over 400 degrees. Therefore I was overjoyed when we got a call today saying the part for our oven was in. Thanks Jeff, for helping us by replacing the old regulator with the new one! I will enjoying not having to sit by my oven while baking things. I will also be able to bake my Thanksgiving turkey with a lot less stress.

Winter Wear

Titus is enjoying his new winter hat that a friend gave to him a couple of weeks ago. It makes me feel like we are living in Russia when he wears it. Titus just loves winter and is the only member of the family that waits in anticipation for the snow to arrive. Now that he has his nice warm furry hat he will want to be outside in the snow even more.

Sweet Reward

About 15 months ago Ruth and I were walking around the mall and walked into this candy shop. Besides candy they had all sorts of taffy apples. These were no ordinary taffy apples, they were specialty taffy apples. I love taffy apples and would have loved to eat one however I was on my "Biggest Loser Campaign" and so did not allow myself the privilege of eating one. Ruth still had her braces on so she couldn't eat one either. I told Ruth when I lost the weight I wanted to, I would eat one of those specalty taffy apples as a reward. Well, I did get down to where I wanted to on the scale but I had totally forgotten about those taffy apples. (You also can't even find them here, they were at a mall about 1 1/2 hours away. ) Ruth and Kris went out Christmas shopping yesterday and when they came home Ruth told me to close my eyes. While I had my eyes closed she put one of these speciality taffy apples into my hands. It was an awesome surprise especially since I had forgotten all about it. (But let me tell you it was probably about 1000 calories.) I sure enjoyed it though! Thanks Ruth for making my day with that little surprise!

Lighting Up

What were we doing a couple of weeks ago when the weather was so nice? Well, we hadn't even thought about putting the Christmas lights up. Therefore, Vern and Zachary had a chilly morning as they worked on putting up the Christmas lights. Since this year we had mostly new lights the biggest challenge was finding working extension cords. Hopefully the lights will last through Christmas. It seems like every year after only a couple of weeks some of the lights start dieing. But for now, we will enjoy the lights.

Gripping the Steering Wheel

Vern got our snow tires on just in time as we are well into winter over here. We as a family do quite a bit of winter driving with everyone off to their jobs, many church activities during the week, as well as errands that we need to run. I personally do not enjoy the stress that the winter roads bring. Prayer for safety on the roads seems like some thing that I am praying for many times now during the day and evening.

Root Canal

Since I was not going to be able to get into my dentist for another four weeks yet, I decided to check out another dentist to see what his take was on my dental need. Before I knew it he was doing the root canal. (I am glad I didn't know that before I went in otherwise I would have been nervous about the whole thing.) I am on antibiotics due to the infection and I can't eat on that side of my mouth. However, all in all, things went pretty good. In two weeks I go back in to see how things are going and to open up the tooth to finish up the job.

Happy 94th Birthday!

Today is the 94th birthday of a very special person, my grandmother. Since my grandmother lives right next door to my parents I am able to have a good visit with her every time I make it to Chicago. My grandmother is such a beautiful person inside and out. She has been such a support and encouragement to our family. HAPPY 94th BIRTHDAY! Have a wonderful day and know you are loved!

F Y I

Ruth often comes home with interesting facts that she is learning in her anatomy course. I have heard some people say that when they are sick they like to work out and it helps them get over their illness. I thought how nice for them but never really thought there was any scientific evidence to support that theory. Well, now I know the scientific reasoning behind that statement. "When a person does vigorous exercise, it increases the lymph flow which cleans out the body, getting rid of pathogens. When a person is congested they have excess interstitial fluid. The increased lymph flow relieves congestion because the fluids return to the circulatory system." Most of the time when a person is feeling sick they aren't feeling like getting up and running around the block. However, since there is medical proof that exercise can help, I think the next time I am sick I will try to exercise to increase lymph flow and see if I can get back on my feet faster. I look forward to Ruth coming home and sharing more interesting and helpful facts with me.

This information was taking from "The Human Body Fearully and Wonderfully Made" by: Dr. Fay L. Wile and Marilyn M. Shannon, M.A.

Pajama Night

Tonight was "Pajama Night" at Cubbies. I was wondering how the evening was going to work out. Some of you might remember last year when we had Pajama Night. That's right, it was the night of a big snow storm and we ended up sliding off the road. Ruth and Titus were outside trying to push the car back onto the road in their pajamas. We never did make it to club that night. I am happy to announce that this year we did make it to club. Almost all our Cubbies wore their pajamas and they sure looked adorable. It was a fun evening. I did have to go to the store on the way home from Cubbies , so I did feel a little funny walking through the grocery store with my pajamas on.

College Quest

I have been spending any "free time" helping Ruth and Zachary on their quest to make it to college. I have been doing a lot of leg work for them in finding colleges that might be a good fit for them. It might not be possible but right now we are hoping to find a place that they can both go to. Not every college or university has a nursing program so that is the primary thing we are looking for. Then of the ones that have a nursing program, I have been investigating what are the prerequisites to get into the program. Some can be quite competitive and have waiting lists to get in. Also, one of the most major considerations is the cost. Therefore I have also spent a lot of time looking up different scholarships and financial aid information. There are three universities that Ruth and Zachary are in the process of applying for. We would really appreciate your prayers for the Lord's direction in this whole process and that things would indeed work out for them to be able to attend college together.

We Remember You

It is a great privilege to be a citizen of free countries. Although today is the official day that we remember all the veterans that gave their lives so that we could live in a free country, we are grateful every day for their sacrifice that they and their families gave. We are also grateful for all those who are still living who have served and are serving the United States and Canada. THANK-YOU, WE REMEMBER YOU!!!!

Day of Prayer

Today we had our November "Day of Prayer". We once again took the morning to learn more about a couple of the countries that New Tribes Mission works in and to pray for prayer requests from around the world. The two presentations were on the countries of Paraguay and Greenland. (During our break we sampled food from the two countries. Yum!) Paraguay is wanting to open up some new works but more laborers are needed. We learned that Greenlandic is one of the hardest languages to learn. The missionaries have had a discouraging time as they have seen very little fruit. If you have a minute please pray for these countries and the missionaries serving in them.

Happy 40th Anniversary Frank and Kathy!

Tonight we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Vern's cousin and husband. Frank and Kathy are not only family but dear friends. Frank and Kathy were also our coworkers in Venezuela. They came down to Venezuela three different times to work in the tribe with us. They were such a blessing and help to us. They also were like grandparents for our children as they invested a lot into our children. Fifteen years ago we celebrated their 25th Anniversary in the tribe. It was so neat to help them celebrate their 40th Anniversary! Happy 40th Anniversary Frank & Kathy! We love you!

Ketchup

Since I have gotten back I have been playing "Ketchup" on things over here that were waiting for me here at home.

Philly Fans

On behalf of all the Philly Fans I took this picture as I went through the airport in Philly. They sure got those signs up quickly. It would have been nice for the Sox or Cubs to make it all the way. There is always next year.

Packing Up

I will be flying out this afternoon and heading home. So it is time to pack away my apron, recipes, and bread pan. It has been a good week and I am glad for the time I have been here to help out my parents. Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for my mom and her health. It is greatly appreciated.

Forever friends

In the work we are involved in our  family has the opportunity to develop some great friendships with a lot of people.  However, many of our friends are overseas.  Our first two years in Ontario there was a family that came through the training that we became good friends with.  They have five children and from day one Ruth, Damarise, & Hannah connected and became really good friends. (kindred spirits) It was such a great two years filled with so many wonderful memories.  We were very excited for their family as they headed out to Mozambique, but that meant years of not being able to see them.  Damarise and Hannah have made so much effort in staying connected.  On Ruth's 16th Birthday they phoned all the way from Mozambique to wish her a Happy 16th Birthday.  About a year and a half ago Ruth was trying to make it over to Mozambique to see them.  However, due to Ruth's health it didn't work out.  The girls talked via the computer on Saturday and shared a surprise they have been working on for several months.  THEY ARE FLYING IN FOR RUTH'S GRADUATION!!!  Their family is coming on furlough so the timing is perfect for the girls to be able to make a trip to Ontario.  Ruth was already excited about family from Chicago that is coming for her graduation, but this just blew her away, as she never dreamed something like this would happen.  WHAT AN AWESOME SURPRISE!!! 

Time Out

Yesterday I spent part of the day with two of my sisters and a niece. It was so nice to have that time together. In case you are wondering about the picture of the car. We parked in this parking garage and it was pretty abandoned, like the scene from a scary movie. We were wondering if anyone knew some thing we didn't. It was a good thing it was the middle of the day and not at night. We had never seen anything like it. But our car was still there when we got back.