Trick pic answer

Kaitlyn, you got it right! Christmas lights from "Lights Before Christmas" at Riverbanks zoo!
...I'll try to share more pictures of our time during that visit home from Daddy later, but that happened last November... so it would really be called old news now ;). If I get to it before the new year, so be it. If not... so be it!

I think it is time for another trick pic!

Trick pic, #6.
What is this picture of?

About the time we were working on all of those towel dresses...

...We were also having some lovely dental work done.
I wouldn't ordinarily have shared this news, just because it is so "ho-hum", but I thought that you might enjoy this funny comparison, Allie.
First read this post by my blogging friend Allie.
Then read this account..
Mommy, Tori, and I all had fillings done from the tenth to the thirteenth. (Oh, so fun, haha!)
In between fillings, we tried to go about normal life... aside for going to about five stores looking for a certain kind of ice cream... I love how Allie puts it... "Just goes to show how crazy our family is. :-) (And why we had (five) cavities filled)." To help us get through the "drama", you know ;).
And, yes, I am one of the ones who had two fillings.
Allie, I thought of you all that week ;).
It was sweet, though, how everybody at the dentist office was coming in with concern that we were moving :), therefore they wouldn't get to "keep seeing the children grow".

December posts coming...

...get ready ;). You're completely free to skip all this old news :)...
Late last November Mommy and I spent a few days making some tea towel dresses for the last Hidden Treasures auction for little Adam. We fully expected to just auction those off, and see how they went, maybe doing them for other auctions in the future if they went well.
 Well, they were extremely fun to make :). We used this tutorial with this pattern and took ideas from one that our neighbor had given us, and came up with this...

 I love this picture, haha!

...and a few others. They went well, and then I got an email from the lady who runs the auctions, that two ladies were interested in buying more. Daddy, Mommy and I talked about it, and decided we would take them up on their offer. We expected they would buy one or two each.
We got a couple emails soon after...
....one wanted three Christmas ones...
...the other asked could we make her, like, ten?
We were busy for a week ;). But it was fun!

I feel like I haven't blogged much lately...

...so how do I actually have eleven posts from this month?! That actually sounds like way more than I remember writing! Haha... we have been so busy lately!!! But, now that Christmas is over, I hope to have (just a bit) more time to catch up on telling some little bits of news that I have meant to share (half of which are already written out... in my head, haha.), along with pictures.... Maybe :)...

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I pray that the realization of this will stay with us all through out the year, even now that Christmas is over! Praise God for gifting us with his only Son to pay for our sins on the cross!

Over the past couple weeks...

...There was this new update on the Pleven orphanage.
A while back there was a new director placed in Pleven. She made many changes in the orphanage that has been greatly appreciated. The little children there have already shown signs of better treatment. But this doesn't stop the fact that the little ones need FAMILIES. Better conditions are good, but their real need is a Mommy and Daddy. Nevertheless, we do not want their circumstances to change back to the worse.
And there is danger of that. Or, there would be if God was not in control.
But we know that God "holds the government on his shoulders". And he will work this out for the best.
Please, those of you who read this. Pray. God will hear the cry of his people. Pray that the Bulgaria government would be lead by God to not re-institute the former director "who was enriching herself at the expense of tiny, hurt children who were and are completely helpless to defend themselves."
What she did was significant, and they know, or at least need to know, that. And, may I ask that, as one lady who reads Miss Susanna's blog mentioned, we would pray that God would work significantly in her life? That he would draw her to him in His saving grace.
Among other things, I have also been praying that this bit of news would break the hearts of those who feel God leading them to adopt and yet are holding back from fear. That the thought of that child that they would love to have in their home going back to those conditions would cause them to step out in faith in God.
But then another update this morning may mean that isn't possible.
This post (which leads to another post, which leads to the petition... sorry if it seems complicated...) tells that the government for the country these children are in may make it to were these children may not be able to be adopted by Americans. From the sounds of it... because they are trying to get back at Americans for something our Government did that offended them. They are trying to use children's precious lives to get even.
If you feel so lead, would you sign the petition? And please... PRAY. This doesn't just mean that the children who don't have a family committed to them would no longer be able to be adopted by Americans. That means even those who are close to being brought home here in America would not get home from the sounds of it. Please, pray.
This is Christmas, the time of anticipation... joy... hope... salvation... preparation... faith in God. And these children need families to anticipate and prepare for them, to offer them hope and salvation, through faith in God, to bring these children joy in this season, in their whole life! Families who will nurture these children and explain these concepts to these children, through faith in God.
I praise God that he has placed me in a family where our parents have explained to us what each of these things really mean. And I pray that the door remains open for families to do this for other little ones, too. To care for orphans is what God has commanded, and he will cause it to happen, no matter what. But he has also commanded us to pray. Let's do just that!!!

On a lighter note, there is a little fundraiser going on to help bring Tommy home...
And precious Garnet and Kramer have families working to bring them home!!!
And, have you seen who the next Hidden Treasures action will be for? I think Payton is adorable, and he is a very good example of the change that the new director at his orphanage has brought to help bring better health to these children, if you've seen the pictures of him a while ago! It starts in February, so any of you would have plenty of time to think of something to donate this time, if you would like. I know, I've always mentioned the next one while it is running... I know that does next to no good for somebody who would want to donate something that would take a week to get ready, I'm sorry :)...

This is so sad...

A shooting in a school in Connecticut took place this morning... so very sad. Please pray for those families who have lost loved ones. God is in control, and we know that he has a plan and purpose for even this... but even Jesus wept, and we know how very badly the families of those who died are hurting...

Nothing much...

I just wanted to share this link to a video from YouTube on a cast on stitch. One of these days, I hope to start a page with links to crochet/knitting/tatting techniques and stitches, along with all the alternate names for each of them, that I come across. Like that will ever happen ;)...
Turkish Cast-On/ Eastern Cast-On
That's it :). I'm using it to convert a pattern for a Christmas present. If it works, I'll tell you how I made it. If it doesn't... well, you'll know, because you won't see it ;)!

Most of you won't find this interesting,

 but it was easier to post these here then on Facebook for someone...

 

I'd love to write a detailed report right now,

But I may not be around much until next year. There is a major time crunch for me to finish Christmas presents, and we're still working on the house :). I just wanted to remind you that the Hidden Treasures auction ends at midnight tonight!

Prayer and calls are being requested for a Senate vote tomorrow

"We received word this morning that the US Senate plans to vote tomorrow on whether or not to ratify the United Nations Disability Treaty."...
..."One of the dangers of the conjunction of these two laws could be that US parents could find it increasingly difficult, and eventually impossible, to get permission to bring orphans with special needs into the US."
Go to http://theblessingofverity.com/2012/12/alert-please-call-your-senator/#comments to read more.
Praise God that he is in control of all that happens!!!

Praising the Lord for a working sink!

Our sink is draining freely again!!!
Mommy finally tried holding a hairdryer under the pipe, and gave it to Tori so that Mommy could go do a bit of cleaning. I looked over, and at 12:29 a.m. last night (yes, I checked the time!) the sink drained by itself for the first time in about nine hours.
I had prayed just a few minutes earlier that it would drain by 12:30...
And when I pulled up my dashboard to start this entry last night, I saw a neat milestone for my blog: I had had exactly 5,000 page views since I have joined blogger :)...

Two clogged sinks, a pouring dishwasher and a lovely burn later....

That would happen to be Mommy's Facebook status two hours ago, after we had spent a couple hours trying to unclog the sink. 
Please pray for us! I know this is something we will laugh at in years to come, but it is not funny in the least right now!
I was cooking hamburger for supper this afternoon, and after I drained it into the sink, the water was turned off... prematurely. We didn't find out until it had solidified, causing the water from the dishwasher to back up, pouring out of the door, onto the floor.  We found the source of the problem, and have tried everything we can think of to unclog it: hot water, vinegar, baking soda, plunging one side while the other is closed off(pulling apart our plunger, in the process, but it screwed back on easily...), during which time Mommy burned her arm. Next we're going to try Drano...
Thankfully, God prompted me to make lunch (our big meal) for tomorrow, and then prompted Mommy to decide to have leftovers for supper tonight instead, and we just made bread, so we have meals for the next two days. We also have no clean dishes to speak of, haha...
Anyway, we just really appreciate if you would pray that the sink would cooperate, and any suggestions would be WONDERFUL, also...

Okay...

I've already planned all my Christmas gifts... But I thought that the books in this post were adorable, and they are homemade! They would be so fun, and it would be fun to personalize them for each child! Maybe this will give one of you who actually needs some ideas,  some ideas :).
I think I have gifts planned for Peter's first two years of life, haha...
We have a lot of crafting coming up. Christmas presents, and an advent chain are needing done very soon (24 days 'til Christmas!), I would love to make Peter a couple hats (he is the first one to really keep hats on his head, so fun :)!), and there are a few other things I would *love* to do before the new year! We'll see... and I may keep you updated if I have any time in between :)... I have a Thankful Thursday and some posts from when Daddy was home, and then I'm not so sure how much I'll be around :).
Merry Christmas to all who see this post! (My stats say I have had 670 page views over the last month! That has been a huge jump up from a few months ago, and, although I'm sure I don't know most of you, I pray that God may work through my blog to minister in some way to you all! I'd love to see a comment from any of you!)

Awesome Adam Auction!

The next Hidden Treasures auction is up and running to help bring little Adam home! Make sure you hop over and check it out! It will be running through the seventh. Please be praying, and bidding if you see fit :). Mommy and I had so much fun making the items we donated this time, there were a lot of strange new techniques that were really fun to do :).... Although we could have lived without dealing with the computer ;)... we had a lot of laughs while trying to send pictures, haha!
Also, have you seen the latest post on "The Blessing of Verity"? Praise God for Theodore's family! Please, also pray for the little ones who have been turned down, again. They are loved by God!!! May he bring their families to them in his timing!
And praise God, also, for the double blessing he is sending the Musser family at this time :)...

Birds of the air...

We saw these birds earlier this year, and we saw them Wednesday and Thursday, also... we're guessing they were migrating back and forth... we thought this was amazing :)! We had so much fun watching them! (I'm sorry it is so shaky, haha. And yes, the birds were that loud!)

"And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;"

Psalms 55:6 

Homemade bread!

One of my friends asked me on Facebook, after I shared this post;

 "It's Homemade Bread Day :)... (November 16)"

if I would share our bread recipe.
This recipe was adapted from Miss Tammy's Whole Wheat Bread recipe. Over the past four years we have slowly changed this or that measurement or technique, as we read more and more tips for making bread, and it has since turned to this :).
Here, without further ado... (This makes four loaves.)

9 cups of flour. We grinder our own wheat, and we use 6 cups of Hard Red Winter Wheat berries to make our 9 cups of flour. If you are not grinding your own wheat, just go with the 9 cups of flour, but it won't be quite the same. And try not to use Soft White Spring Wheat berries, whatever you do, haha :).
6 T. of ground flax seed.
3 T. yeast
1 T. salt
1/2 cup of wheat gluten
1/8 + 1/4 t. of ginger
1/4 t. vitamin C. We buy tablets and then just crush one for each batch of bread, but do as you see fit :). We've left it out a few times,and it hasn't been too much of an issue, but it is better with :).

Mix all this in a large bowl. Let sit while you mix together

3 cups of water
3/4 cup of honey
6 T. olive oil
3 T. of milk (water works, but, it is better following the recipe, if possible...)

Combine both of the mixtures in a mixing bowl and beat on a low speed, adding flour until it is a soft dough, pulling from the sides of the bowl.
Knead it in your mixer on a higher setting, unless you want to knead it by hand. But I doubt that will be an option unless you are doing this out of boredom :). We use our large Bosch mixer set on the second speed (medium-high), and leave it for about 15 minutes. You'll have to play around with this if you have another mixer, or use a bread machine, as I've never made it in anything else. If you are using a Bosch, this dough beats the sides a good bit. We suggest putting a metal bowl in front of the mixer so that the bowl falls off and makes a racket before the mixer if it decides to move to the edge of the counter. We have had the whole thing wiggle to the edge of the counter, and yank the plug out of the wall as it sailed through the air across the kitchen!!! Thankfully, nobody was in the kitchen, and it didn't break!

Leave it to sit in the mixer for about 5 minutes after it is done kneading. This allows it to "relax from it's beating" ;). While it sits, butter four bread pans. (Ours are about 4 1/2" by 8 1/2".) If you live in a cold climate, or it is winter, you may want to warm your pans just enough that they are no longer chilly to the touch. Those cold metal pans can greatly stunt the rising of your bread.

Now dump the dough out onto a counter, and cut into four equal parts. Place each loaf in a bread pan. You can mold it so that it fits the pan perfectly, like Tori does, or leave it as is, as I do. The end result is the same :).

Now comes the part that most people find very, very odd :)...
Get a fork, and stab your bread right in the middle. Long or short ways, is doesn't matter. That wasn't so bad, was it? Okay. Are you ready? (Stabbing it was to give it a "mouth".) You are going to burp your bread.
For those of you who care for babies regularly, this is second nature. For those of you who don't, this isn't too hard.
No, really. We call it burping the bread, but please don't burp your babies these way!
Give the bread one, hard, resounding slap! If you left a small indention of your hand print, you probably did it right ;). Now your bread will be bread through and through, with no air pockets causing big holes in your slices!

I set the oven to 200 degrees and leave it for three minutes, then turn off and slide the bread in to raise. Your oven may be different, though, so be careful. You want to warm the bread, not start cooking it :). Let rise for 20 minutes.

Leave your bread in the oven, and turn your oven on to 350 degrees. Bake the bread for 35 minutes, starting the timing from the time you turned on the oven, not from when it was done heating, until it is a good brown shade on the bottom. Get the rest of the bread out carefully after five minutes of sitting in the pan (It will be cooler, so harder to squish, and will have sweated just enough to make it come out easier without sogging the bread. still be careful, because you can ruin the look of your loaf if it is squished, which is easy ;). Use a turner to loosen the sides, and hold it so the back is what is touching the bread.

Done! Enjoy!!!
This sounds hard and time consuming, but after you're used to it, you can spend just about ten minutes of hands-on time to make four loaves of bread!

So...

A couple years ago, Mommy started asking me what I thought of this project...
http://withatangledskein.blogspot.com/2009/10/li-aries-soaker.html
At first I thought it was odd. Yarn to catch what cloth can't? A few weeks ago she found this pattern, and asked me again about it. She informed me that you lanolize them after you are done, which she says she has told me before, but I don't remember at all, and which makes me feel they may work a bit better than I have been thinking ;).
I just may try them after my Christmas projects, and that one thing I started on our trip, and maybe some hats for Peter (he is the first one to keep hats on, sooo fun!!!) are done...
Although I am still highly on the other side of the fence as to making a knit uterus and intestines set...

Thankful Thanksgiving post

...Late. Of course :)... Sorry! But we are actually celebrating Thanksgiving today, so I guess it isn't too bad :).
Just some of my favorite Thankful Thoughts over the past 34 weeks have been (going from oldest to newest)...

~God's love :)!
~God's goodness,
~A twenty-two month old who asks me to read her the Bible :)!
~A loving Savior who dead for me!!!
~Handwritten letters.
~History.
~God's mercy!
~Hearing a 22 month old's voice singing the chorus to "To God be the Glory"... in her sleep!!!
~Being invited to read the Bible through with a friend. This is the second time that we have done this, we're just taking it a bit slower this time. It has been a blessing!!!
~Getting to see Andrew's drawings (he has become a great artist!!!).
~Walks at the park.
~Jesus' forgiveness.
~Books written by strong, godly men and women to help us on our journey
~Staying up late talking with Tori. We don't do this quite as much as we used to since we have four more people in the room, but it is still fun when we do.
~Watching two brothers bonding (it is truly precious!!! It is hard to explain, but it really seems to me that even Peter knows that they are going to become best buddies.)
~Watching little ones with babies,
~And hearing them cooing to that baby-
~Cooing such things as "I just can't wait to hold that chubby hand every day while we pray!" (said by Andrew, age 5, while stroking Peter's little hand.)
~A good, Godly (!!!) sign language curriculum DVD.
~The book to go with this DVD- we got this DVD free, but didn't have the book. Mommy and ~Daddy bought us the book for our "first day of spring" celebration.
~Sisters to learn sign language with :).
~The sound of rain on the roof.
~Quiet, rainy days...
~And not-so-quiet, rainy days ;)
~The sound of a brook.
~Beautiful gems and rocks.
~The gift of Mothers :)!
~Cameras.
~Learning how to use these cameras.
~And a Daddy willing to teach me all he knows.
~Photos.
~Celebrating another year with a precious family member.
~Reasons to crochet...
...Which include babies...
... little ones...
... loved ones...
...birthdays...
... and Christmas...
~Or just crocheting for fun :).
~The gift of Fathers :)!
~Blueberries.
~Leaves.
~Shade.
~Sun.
~Blueberry Popsicles after blueberry picking.
~Swings.
~Reading others thankful thoughts!
~Trying new recipes, whether I make, or just eat them :).
~Lots of recipes to choose from!
~Cooking.
~Old hymns.
~Singing praises to God along with our church family.
~Singing with my family as we work together.
~Enjoying time with family and friends, working, playing, talking, laughing, and living together.
~The Bible.
~Little hands.
~Jesus' grace to sinners!
~A bed full of family telling/ reminding others of family stories that were the cause of much laughter ;)... (at about eleven o'clock at night, which may have also been part of the cause of the hysterical laughter. That, and the relief that that piece of toilet paper wasn't permanently stuck in Abbi's nose...)
~So much to be grateful for!
~Watching little ones enjoying singing praise to the Master :).
~And a Lord to praise :)!!!
~Getting to visit family.
~Getting to take Peter to visit Granny for the first time :).
~The example of people before us that loved their Lord, and that God lead others to document their lives.
~The smell of bread in the oven (Thank you, Tori, for making the bread the last few times! You have done a wonderful job!!!)
~Antique tatting shuttles :)! I saw a tatting shuttle last year while Mommy and I were out antiquing. But, I decided not to pay 25 dollars for something that didn't tell how old it was. Now I'm glad I didn't, because this year Daddy and I found one that was under 13 dollars, and it has the date it was made engraved on it, so there can be no mistaking it- it is 89 years old! How neat is that :)?!
~My wonderful family!
~The crocheting book that one of my closest friends gave me just over a year ago. (Thanks K.!!! I just finished using it yet again. With all the gifts I've been able to make out of it, it has most likely more than given me it's money worth. It was so sweet of you!)
~Watching Andrew read to Peter (LOVE  IT!!!).
~Sewing fun. Guess what? I have fallen in love with sewing!!! I didn't think it would happen, but I have! Thanks to the fixed machine and the fact that I kind of know what I'm doing now, I have enjoyed myself so much! Mommy and I altered two skirts, finish a nightgown for Abbi, and made matching nightgowns for the little girls the other day (although they were cut out the day before). It was fun, even though I did forget a few steps that had to be done after I thought I was done, haha...
~"Finding treasure" (Andrew's description of GEO-caching) with our Grandpa.
~Staying up late with Tori, my Mom, and my Aunts.
~Lots of crafting to look forward to! After a project I really should get working on, I have Christmas presents, and I really should finish the basket/jars covers I started forever ago to make all my crafting containers match ;).
~God's provisions for our family.
~Creativity in the kitchen :).
~And that we found a certain button I need for a project I'll try to do for that auction. I was going to do it for the Musser's fundraiser, but God seems to have had another plan, and I can't wait to see what it is :)!
-Which brings me to another thing. God was obviously planning on me joining in these auctions years ago! Those buttons I mentioned just happened to have been sitting in my button jar for years. I bought them for absolutely no other reason except they were so adorable I couldn't leave them on the shelf ;). I couldn't see them going with any fabric, at least not for a piece of clothing, I figured if I ever used it it would be for scrapbook pages. We couldn't find buttons to match the fabric I choose (pine cone fabric to make a little tea towel dress). I remembered those buttons after we got home, and they were a perfect match!  That was so neat!
~A godly church, where the word of God is proclaimed and the members have become just like family to us. We will miss everybody when we move, but it is exciting to know that God has lead us this far, and he will surely lead us to another church in VA that will be just as much of a blessing. And then, of course, we'll just have even more "family". Between letters, phones and the internet, we'll be able to stay in touch with everyone, and Mommy pointed out that never before have we had Facebook or blogs to stay in touch with people we're leaving behind :).
Bible study, and the way that God teaches you something new no matter how often you have read a passage :).
~That Daddy was able to finish his training here! That was such a blessing, we were able to have him home every night :)!
~Phone calls from Daddy, while he is up in Virginia starting to work up at his store there.
~The great time we had on our trip to Virginia.

And this week I am especially Thankful for...
~A loving Lord and Savior, who has brought me thus far and has promised to lead me on. Lord, thank you. May I never turn from you, and may many join in serving you!
~My dear family on this earth. Daddy, Mommy, Tori, Bethi, Andrew, Abbi, Emmi, and Peter, I love you guys soooo much!
~Jesus promise of a reunion in heaven with loved ones if we will believe on him. We can't wait to meet you, tiny Micah and Michel!
~The Pilgrims who gave all they had to come to a new land for spiritual freedom, not only for them, but for future generations. We can never be too grateful for this, especially as it is a virtue our country is trying to throw away.
~Our Founding Fathers, who fought hard under God to allow us to keep our liberty, and founded our independent nation under God. May God cause a revival in America, if so be his will...
~God's provision for our family this year, both while Daddy was out of work, and in bringing him a job. God has truly shown his hand in this situation, for which we thank him. Not only did he give this job in an amazing way, but he also gave us several months of family time to prepare for these months of frequent separation.
~That Daddy was able to make it home Saturday!
~Traditions...
We're trying to celebrate Thanksgiving, our first night of Advent, and do our Saint Nicholas day celebration while he is home. *He leaves tomorrow, at five o'clock in the morning*. So far everything has gone the way Mommy planned. We'll see if it works. Hahaha...
~Fun breakfasts.
~Meals together.
~Joy and laughter.
~Peter's delight at seeing Daddy again. Although we were all excited to see him, Peter's joy after being sooo cranky since his little teething issues started, if that is what it was, was especially precious :).
~Green bean casserole. I tried making this at Mommy's request Saturday night, and everybody loved it!
~The great time we had at the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo last night.
~Advent.
~Thanksgiving.
~Saint Nicholas Day.
~Laughter at one o'clock in the morning while fulfilling a yearly tradition...
~A kitchen full of people you love baking with you.
~Finding some odd finds while cleaning out drawers... look for a post about Tori's La-ma-fa-saw...
~And, though most of you will find this odd... the song "Feliz Navidad". Oh Gramma... ♫ ♪♫ Feliz Navidad ♫ ♪ ♫

"As your name, O God,

so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness."

~Psalm 48:10

Philippians 2

As I didn't get to posting the second chapter of Philippians yesterday, I'll do it here for those who may want to read it here still :)... 

1So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^a 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,^b being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know Timothy’s^c proven worth, how as a son^d with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

We've been very busy lately...

I've wanted to blog about many things that have happened during this busy time, but... it has been a busy time :). (Tori just walked into the room and told me that I had posted only two days ago, so I think I should clarify. It isn't that I haven't had time to post, just that I haven't had the time to post recent happenings between trip posts and Thankful Thursdays :). Look for a mega Thankful Thursday post in honor of Thanksgiving tomorrow!... And just remember, I said look, not read. I'll do my best :)!)
Before I go any farther, I want to share a tidbit about the "daily" bible passage on my side bar. Has anybody noticed that feature? It isn't quite daily, but I do update it every time I visit my blog page.
There are different ways I decide what chapter to post/book to work through next. I may read a chapter during my bible reading and want to share it's truths, Daddy may have picked that book to read during family bible time, or I may just make an impromptu decision to use a certain book or Psalm. I may also use the "Proverb of the day". Isn't it wonderful that God isn't one to say "all rights reserved" when it comes to his book :)? Anyway, the book we're working on now in church is Philippians. I'm also memorizing that book at the moment. And, that book has four chapters in it, the same number of days until Saturday, when Daddy will get home for Thanksgiving weekend!!! I thought a bible passage count-down of the days would be fun :)...
We will be celebrating Thanksgiving next Monday since Daddy will be home then- we're very thankful that he will make it home for that, since something he said a few days ago lead us to believe he wasn't going to be home for weeks!
As far as good news in the progress we've made on getting the house ready, we have only two more rooms to paint, after we complete the de-cluttering we're working on at the moment. Then we have the garage to clean ;)... And, all the the rooms that are painted are put back to rights. Of course we hung the curtains back up and put the electric covers back on, why would you ask? What? Why would you think that we had a grand old time laughing at all the things that happened during that process? No, nothing of the sort... all right, all right, I admit it.... I might tell you a little bit about our backwards switch plates and mutiny-desiring curtain rods sometime...
All this about packing leads me to the fact that I need to start Christmas presents, so that I can put the supplies I need for that up, along with the rest that we hope to have packed up before then. Anybody ready for that to start? I know I talked about Christmas a lot last year once I had started Christmas prep in ...October, I think it was ;). And cut it closely, if I remember correctly. But not as closely as the time I finished Christmas morning...
Some odd random bits...
We had to pick up some more paint last Friday, and we ended up getting the wrong kind, so had to go back the next day. As we were driving we hit a construction site... and Mommy called out "The road is lost!!!" Haha, seriously, it appears they bought a road and tore it up!!! Thankfully she found an alternative way to Lowes :).
Emmi was laying in bed with me the other day, and she told me that her "Veggietales" Larry stuffed toy was "dyed". I knew she meant "dried", but it sounded like "died". I decided to tease her a bit, and said "Larry died?! How sad!" She answered me, "No!!! You're silly!... I said dyed, not died!!!"
And, as my last bit of news to share with you all right now... would you consider praying for little Peter? He is very sick at the moment. Nobody else has caught it so far, so we're not sure if it is teething related of what, but little baby is feverish and miserable :(.

The end of our trip ~Virginia trip Part seven, and that's a wrap!

Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four
Part five
Part six
Part seven...
We did a little more sight seeing, found a Chick-fil-a, grabbed some lunch, and took it to a park for a picnic. After that we were on our way home, which we reached at exactly twelve o'clock, causing Daddy to win the "if we leave now, will we, or will we not get home before midnight" debate :)... We passed the Joanns in Richmond one last time (Joannes up there is always going to hold memories for us. We passed it for the first time, and I said "They have a Joanns!". Mommy didn't hear me, looked up, and said "Look! A Joanns!". Daddy laughed at us and told us "crafting people" to "look for some supper instead". Then Bethi piped up from the back "Hey! A Joanns!!!"... and so on.  After that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to mention it every time we passed it, which happened many times while looking for pizza ;)...)
We had a wonderful trip, and we are looking forward to the time when we can all be living up there together :)...

At the park.

Love this picture :)

The park was where we found that fun tree :)...

While Mommy was getting everybody settled in the back, Daddy took 

Peter. Peter had fun playing with the steering wheel :)...