Reformation day

To much of the world, this day has become a day to celebrate evil and the dead. But a few know that today should really be the celebration of the anniversary of something much better.
Martin Luther was born to a wealthy family, and had good schooling. He planned to be a lawyer, much to his father's delight, as the job paid well. But one day, as he was heading back to school from a visit to his parents, he was caught in a thunderstorm. He promised "St. Anne" that he would become a monk if he lived. He kept his promise- he felt it was a sign from God. But, he felt that something was missing in his walk with God. Later, he came to see that it was grace! He couldn't earn his salvation; it was a gift.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle church in Wittenburg. (I posted these theses in my last post, if you haven't seen it.) Although he was not the first reformer, he was one of the first to make the reformation public.
Martin Luther headed the translation of the Latin bible into German, and wrote many letters, books, and hymns, including "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". He also became the Father of six children, three boys and three girls born to him and his wife Katie, a former nun.
Our family has celebrated reformation day for years- we started a year or two before we found out were the evil roots of Halloween came from, and what it stood for. We no longer participate in Halloween and that leaves us with more time to learn... We usually read Luther's 95 Theses, the book "Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World", and look at pictures of the church he nailed the theses to, of his house at Eisleben (he was born and died in Eisleben, although he left!), and other things. We usually do our Christmas "kick off" today, too, but we did that last night. We did get a movie about Martin Luther, that we'll watch sometime soon, if not today. I hope it's truthful ;). Nothing bugs me more than a movie that doesn't tell the truth, especially if it is about history- it's bad enough in a movie based off a fiction book ;). Mommy researched it, so we're pretty sure this movie will be fairly accurate :).
Although Martin Luther and those who believed as he did were persecuted, they stood firm in their faith in God, and did so much for the freedom of future generations! Praise God for his many blessings, and for the way he uses people he has drawn to himself to do his work. May he receive all the glory!

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe—
His craft and pow’r are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not His equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He—
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him—
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure:
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly pow’rs,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,

This mortal life also—
The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still:
His kingdom is forever.

                                                                  ~Martin Luther, 1483-1546

Martin Luther's 95 Theses

Out of love and concern for the truth, and with the object of eliciting it, the following heads will be the subject of a public discussion at Wittenberg under the presidency of the reverend father, Martin Luther, Augustinian, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and duly appointed Lecturer on these subjects in that place. He requests that whoever cannot be present personally to debate the matter orally will do so in absence in writing.

1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
2. The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh.
4. As long as hatred of self abides (i.e. true inward repentance) the penalty of sin abides, viz., until we enter the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law.
6. The pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God; or, at most, he can remit it in cases reserved to his discretion. Except for these cases, the guilt remains untouched.
7. God never remits guilt to anyone without, at the same time, making him humbly submissive to the priest, His representative.
8. The penitential canons apply only to men who are still alive, and, according to the canons themselves, none applies to the dead.
9. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit, acting in the person of the pope, manifests grace to us, by the fact that the papal regulations always cease to apply at death, or in any hard case.
10. It is a wrongful act, due to ignorance, when priests retain the canonical penalties on the dead in purgatory.
11. When canonical penalties were changed and made to apply to purgatory, surely it would seem that tares were sown while the bishops were asleep.
12. In former days, the canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution was pronounced; and were intended to be tests of true contrition.
13. Death puts an end to all the claims of the Church; even the dying are already dead to the canon laws, and are no longer bound by them.
14. Defective piety or love in a dying person is necessarily accompanied by great fear, which is greatest where the piety or love is least.
15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, whatever else might be said, to constitute the pain of purgatory, since it approaches very closely to the horror of despair.
16. There seems to be the same difference between hell, purgatory, and heaven as between despair, uncertainty, and assurance.
17. Of a truth, the pains of souls in purgatory ought to be abated, and charity ought to be proportionately increased.
18. Moreover, it does not seem proved, on any grounds of reason or Scripture, that these souls are outside the state of merit, or unable to grow in grace.
19. Nor does it seem proved to be always the case that they are certain and assured of salvation, even if we are very certain ourselves.
20. Therefore the pope, in speaking of the plenary remission of all penalties, does not mean "all" in the strict sense, but only those imposed by himself.
21. Hence those who preach indulgences are in error when they say that a man is absolved and saved from every penalty by the pope's indulgences.
22. Indeed, he cannot remit to souls in purgatory any penalty which canon law declares should be suffered in the present life.
23. If plenary remission could be granted to anyone at all, it would be only in the cases of the most perfect, i.e. to very few.
24. It must therefore be the case that the major part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of relief from penalty.
25. The same power as the pope exercises in general over purgatory is exercised in particular by every single bishop in his bishopric and priest in his parish.
26. The pope does excellently when he grants remission to the souls in purgatory on account of intercessions made on their behalf, and not by the power of the keys (which he cannot exercise for them).
27. There is no divine authority for preaching that the soul flies out of the purgatory immediately the money clinks in the bottom of the chest.
28. It is certainly possible that when the money clinks in the bottom of the chest avarice and greed increase; but when the church offers intercession, all depends in the will of God.
29. Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed in view of what is said of St. Severinus and St. Pascal? (Note: Paschal I, pope 817-24. The legend is that he and Severinus were willing to endure the pains of purgatory for the benefit of the faithful).
30. No one is sure of the reality of his own contrition, much less of receiving plenary forgiveness.
31. One who bona fide buys indulgence is a rare as a bona fide penitent man, i.e. very rare indeed.
32. All those who believe themselves certain of their own salvation by means of letters of indulgence, will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.
33. We should be most carefully on our guard against those who say that the papal indulgences are an inestimable divine gift, and that a man is reconciled to God by them.
34. For the grace conveyed by these indulgences relates simply to the penalties of the sacramental "satisfactions" decreed merely by man.
35. It is not in accordance with Christian doctrines to preach and teach that those who buy off souls, or purchase confessional licenses, have no need to repent of their own sins.
36. Any Christian whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys plenary remission from penalty and guilt, and this is given him without letters of indulgence.
37. Any true Christian whatsoever, living or dead, participates in all the benefits of Christ and the Church; and this participation is granted to him by God without letters of indulgence.
38. Yet the pope's remission and dispensation are in no way to be despised, for, as already said, they proclaim the divine remission.
39. It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, to extol to the people the great bounty contained in the indulgences, while, at the same time, praising contrition as a virtue.
40. A truly contrite sinner seeks out, and loves to pay, the penalties of his sins; whereas the very multitude of indulgences dulls men's consciences, and tends to make them hate the penalties.
41. Papal indulgences should only be preached with caution, lest people gain a wrong understanding, and think that they are preferable to other good works: those of love.
42. Christians should be taught that the pope does not at all intend that the purchase of indulgences should be understood as at all comparable with the works of mercy.
43. Christians should be taught that one who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does a better action than if he purchases indulgences.
44. Because, by works of love, love grows and a man becomes a better man; whereas, by indulgences, he does not become a better man, but only escapes certain penalties.
45. Christians should be taught that he who sees a needy person, but passes him by although he gives money for indulgences, gains no benefit from the pope's pardon, but only incurs the wrath of God.
46. Christians should be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they are bound to retain what is only necessary for the upkeep of their home, and should in no way squander it on indulgences.
47. Christians should be taught that they purchase indulgences voluntarily, and are not under obligation to do so.
48. Christians should be taught that, in granting indulgences, the pope has more need, and more desire, for devout prayer on his own behalf than for ready money.
49. Christians should be taught that the pope's indulgences are useful only if one does not rely on them, but most harmful if one loses the fear of God through them.
50. Christians should be taught that, if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence-preachers, he would rather the church of St. Peter were reduced to ashes than be built with the skin, flesh, and bones of the sheep.
51. Christians should be taught that the pope would be willing, as he ought if necessity should arise, to sell the church of St. Peter, and give, too, his own money to many of those from whom the pardon-merchants conjure money.
52. It is vain to rely on salvation by letters of indulgence, even if the commissary, or indeed the pope himself, were to pledge his own soul for their validity.
53. Those are enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid the word of God to be preached at all in some churches, in order that indulgences may be preached in others.
54. The word of God suffers injury if, in the same sermon, an equal or longer time is devoted to indulgences than to that word.
55. The pope cannot help taking the view that if indulgences (very small matters) are celebrated by one bell, one pageant, or one ceremony, the gospel (a very great matter) should be preached to the accompaniment of a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
56. The treasures of the church, out of which the pope dispenses indulgences, are not sufficiently spoken of or known among the people of Christ.
57. That these treasures are not temporal are clear from the fact that many of the merchants do not grant them freely, but only collect them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, because, even apart from the pope, these merits are always working grace in the inner man, and working the cross, death, and hell in the outer man.
59. St. Laurence said that the poor were the treasures of the church, but he used the term in accordance with the custom of his own time.
60. We do not speak rashly in saying that the treasures of the church are the keys of the church, and are bestowed by the merits of Christ.
61. For it is clear that the power of the pope suffices, by itself, for the remission of penalties and reserved cases.
62. The true treasure of the church is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
63. It is right to regard this treasure as most odious, for it makes the first to be the last.
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is most acceptable, for it makes the last to be the first.
65. Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets which, in former times, they used to fish for men of wealth.
66. The treasures of the indulgences are the nets which to-day they use to fish for the wealth of men.
67. The indulgences, which the merchants extol as the greatest of favours, are seen to be, in fact, a favourite means for money-getting.
68. Nevertheless, they are not to be compared with the grace of God and the compassion shown in the Cross.
69. Bishops and curates, in duty bound, must receive the commissaries of the papal indulgences with all reverence.
70. But they are under a much greater obligation to watch closely and attend carefully lest these men preach their own fancies instead of what the pope commissioned.
71. Let him be anathema and accursed who denies the apostolic character of the indulgences.
72. On the other hand, let him be blessed who is on his guard against the wantonness and license of the pardon-merchant's words.
73. In the same way, the pope rightly excommunicates those who make any plans to the detriment of the trade in indulgences.
74. It is much more in keeping with his views to excommunicate those who use the pretext of indulgences to plot anything to the detriment of holy love and truth.
75. It is foolish to think that papal indulgences have so much power that they can absolve a man even if he has done the impossible and violated the mother of God.
76. We assert the contrary, and say that the pope's pardons are not able to remove the least venial of sins as far as their guilt is concerned.
77. When it is said that not even St. Peter, if he were now pope, could grant a greater grace, it is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
78. We assert the contrary, and say that he, and any pope whatever, possesses greater graces, viz., the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as is declared in I Corinthians 12 [:28].
79. It is blasphemy to say that the insignia of the cross with the papal arms are of equal value to the cross on which Christ died.
80. The bishops, curates, and theologians, who permit assertions of that kind to be made to the people without let or hindrance, will have to answer for it.
81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult for learned men to guard the respect due to the pope against false accusations, or at least from the keen criticisms of the laity.
82. They ask, e.g.: Why does not the pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money, a most perishable thing, with which to build St. Peter's church, a very minor purpose.
83. Again: Why should funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continue to be said? And why does not the pope repay, or permit to be repaid, the benefactions instituted for these purposes, since it is wrong to pray for those souls who are now redeemed?
84. Again: Surely this is a new sort of compassion, on the part of God and the pope, when an impious man, an enemy of God, is allowed to pay money to redeem a devout soul, a friend of God; while yet that devout and beloved soul is not allowed to be redeemed without payment, for love's sake, and just because of its need of redemption.
85. Again: Why are the penitential canon laws, which in fact, if not in practice, have long been obsolete and dead in themselves,—why are they, to-day, still used in imposing fines in money, through the granting of indulgences, as if all the penitential canons were fully operative?
86. Again: since the pope's income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers?
87. Again: What does the pope remit or dispense to people who, by their perfect repentance, have a right to plenary remission or dispensation?
88. Again: Surely a greater good could be done to the church if the pope were to bestow these remissions and dispensations, not once, as now, but a hundred times a day, for the benefit of any believer whatever.
89. What the pope seeks by indulgences is not money, but rather the salvation of souls; why then does he suspend the letters and indulgences formerly conceded, and still as efficacious as ever?
90. These questions are serious matters of conscience to the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian people unhappy.
91. If therefore, indulgences were preached in accordance with the spirit and mind of the pope, all these difficulties would be easily overcome, and indeed, cease to exist.
92. Away, then, with those prophets who say to Christ's people, "Peace, peace," where in there is no peace.
93. Hail, hail to all those prophets who say to Christ's people, "The cross, the cross," where there is no cross.
94. Christians should be exhorted to be zealous to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hells.
95. And let them thus be more confident of entering heaven through many tribulations rather than through a false assurance of peace.

 Taken from this site :). http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm

Thankful Saturday- Thankful Thursday, late, of course, week 30 :)!

Well, if I can't post on time, at least I can post in a neat little order :) Thursday, Friday, Saturday... I'll try not to make the next one a Sunday ;). And it doesn't seem I've been doing this that long. Peter turned six months this week, too :(... where has the time gone?!!!
This week I'm thankful for...
~Zoo trips with friends (I promise to work on a post or two about our two zoo trips in the past three weeks as soon as I can... there are just so many pictures that will need uploaded, and at this point they are already on a disk...).
~Picnics.
~Fall colors (the ride to our Grandparents was fun since they get more change in the tree colors :).)...
~Getting to visit our Grandparents and Aunts again this week :). We had a lot of fun- Grandpa took us geo-caching again, we spent plenty of time baking, playing outside, reading, talking, and doing dishes together :).
~Working with art. I just discovered this week that I love doing pictures in color, too :)! It isn't quite as real looking (and it's been so long that I forgot that markers smudge. The duck I was coloring has a big smudge on the back of it's head from when I laid my hand (that had just been resting on the blue sky...) on it while putting on the finishing touches), but it is so fun when you are going for a cute picture, rather than a realistic picture :).
~That I was able to make decent granola bars the other day. They came out a little crumbly, but they were bars!!! And, I know two factors that may have made them more crumbly, so I'll try to fix those next time, and if that doesn't work, we'll try adding an egg. But, they were still so fun to make, and they tasted good! Just not exactly firm enough to eat in the car without a big mess :)... (Although, being a girl, what in the world put it in my head to replace half the chocolate with nuts? Next time it needs nuts and all the chocolate ;)...).
~Louisa May Alcott's books. Right now I'm reading "Under the Lilacs" (Grandma let me borrow it), and loving it- I have wanted to read it for years! (I heard about it in one of the Fairchild books, heehee :).)
~Games of scrabble.
~Dictionaries.
~That Emmi  is not allergic to bee stings! That was so scary, because Daddy is, so it was a big possibility she was... but she handled it so well! She calmly came to me, "Bri, -::sniff::- I hurt." It didn't look like an ant bite, and I hadn't seen such a small sting before, aside for the fact that I thought she would have shrieked when it happened if it was one, so I thought she had poked herself with a stick (although she thought an alligator bit her?!). I am sooo thankful Aunt Tessa took a look too!!!
 ~Pinecones... they are so beautiful, and you can use them for so much, and they an be great for analogies... maybe I could do a post on them sometime this Christmas season :). What are your favorite uses for pinecones, large and small?
~Doing crafts with my Aunts and siblings. Between Tori's, both my Aunt's, and my ideas/finds, we usually do at least one whenever we're there :).
~That people do not make hot sauce ice cream.. yet... Heeheehee, any ideas where that one came from???
~Hearing Emmi "read" her favorite book.
~We are most certainly moving to Virginia!
~God's provisions for our family.
~Daddy's visit home right now!!!
~A washer and dryer.... with all the clothes we have after the whole family has been gone, one for two weeks and the rest for three days... I am sooo thankful we don't have to do clothes by hand anymore!!!
~Baby kisses from Peter :)... Love it! Especially when they are voluntary!!!
~A sleeping baby laying in my lap as I write this :)...
~These precious baby cheeks...

For a few notes that have nothing to do with my Thankful Thursday posts (well... I guess I'm thankful for something in all of them... but... anyway, just read on ;)...
The "It's Tommy's Time" auction ends TODAY. If you would like to look around, maybe bid, or anything like that, now is the time, up until midnight tonight. Thanks!
I really will try to start on that zoo post this week :).
But first (or maybe I'll bat them back and forth, posting whichever is done first first? There are a lot of pictures, after all...), I want to write out one more blog post, about all that God has done for us in the past couple months in this journey of Daddy's new job and the couple months leading up to it.

"Bless our God, O peoples;

let the sound of his praise be heard,"

~Psalm 66:8

Thankful Friday

This week I'm thankful for...
~Daddy's visit home last week.
~Our trip to the zoo.
~Getting to feed the birds while there- that was the best time we have ever had feeding the birds! I promise I will work on that post soon, but life is a little busy right now :). It has been good busy, though :).
~The great fun outing we had yesterday-
~-we went to Ckick-fill-a, where we had great food and the little ones got to play.
~-Then we went to Hobby Lobby. We had a wonderful time...
~...looking at fabric...
~...picking buttons...
~...finding yarn...
~...and looking through Christmas ornaments.
Then we went to Target, Walmart, and Food Lion, where we got food for our pantry, pjs for Andrew, and shoes for Tori and I (along with a "big-girl" travel cup for Abbi,
a ball for Emmi, books for Bethi and Andrew, Peter's first toothbrush, etc. :)). We also got some kitchen towels as the finishing touch to a sewing project we have coming up, which is why we went to Hobby Lobby :). I'll post more on that later :).
~The meal Mrs. Ann sent over this morning.
~Our awesome apple peeler!
~Lots of apples.
~A large kitchen, busy with making...
~...applesauce...
~...apple chips...
~...apple pie filling...
~...and apple butter.
And,
last but not least,
the fact that...
~We now know where we will be moving!
We have thought for years of moving to Virginia.
And now, we're 99.99% sure that in a few months, maybe less, that's where we'll be living!!! daddy meets with the DM next Friday to finish all the details. After that, it appears that his twelve week training is over, and he only left the first of this month- how NEAT is THAT?! It is more than neat... this whole thing- Daddy loosing his job, staying home for two and a half months, then joining with Lifeway, and now our upcoming move- has obviously been planned- orchestrated- designed- by a wonderful director. I wonder who that could be?!
Thank you so much, dear Jesus, master designer, for your hand in our lives and this story you are working! May you receive all the glory!!!

"Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!"

~Psalm 66:3

A promised, but never posted, post...

...slipping this in and posting it where it should have been... very, very, very late... we loved our time at the zoo last October with Daddy :)...

Watching the flamingos.

 Do you see the "teenage" flamingo?

 Ewww, he touched it!.... That would be a snake. ::shudder::...

 ::Squeal::... So did BETHI!

 Oh, Tori... I really expected you to stay true... heeheehee.

 (Abbi just came into the room-"Oh. Ew," she said.)

Pretty bird :).

Pride, litter, bunch, large family... whatever 

you call us, I love my siblings :).

:)

?!!! He is awake?!!!!

This was the best part. We thought that this would 

be our last time feeding the birds, and we have never 

had so much fun with them- I don't think they 

had eaten that much that day ;). I wish I could 

find the picture of the bird on Daddy's camera...

Now THAT is a LOT of birds....

"Are you sure about this?" Haha :).

Look at all the big and little (well, littler...)  giraffes!

:)

We wore him out. Or Mommy wore him out.

Whichever way you want to put it... he fell 

asleep while she wore him ;).

♥

Posted April seventh, 2013... hahaha...

Interesting fact

I did NOT post the post titled "A s" with absolutely no other text that was posted last night. That would be Tori. Yes, Tori posted that on my blog. Not me!!!
Haha, she was trying to help :). She was trying to re-write the title "A sneak peak at a post in the works!" for me, because she thought that restarting the computer had deleted it :). Thanks for helping, Tori!
I just thought I'd clarify, because it was still showing up in Google Reader after I eraesed it :).
And, I shouldn't have looked through old posts earlier this morning. Now I'm singing Christmas songs, haha!!!

A sneak peak at a post in the works!

A s

Trick pics 3, 4, and 5 answers.

Sorry you all have had to wait so long, we've been busy since I've had the card again :).

Trick pic 3 was...

A butterfly!

Here's the picture without being upside down , heeheehee :)...

Trick pic 4 was a...

Butterfly!

Trick pic 5 was a...

Nope, sorry, not a butterfly!

The plastic tunnel that they had at Niven's for the little ones to crawl through :). (I had Mommy and Daddy stumped with this one, and I showed them two hours after I took it ;). Daddy said something metal, but it is really plastic, so there was really nothing to go by ;P...)

Sooo...

I was looking at some of my stats yesterday, and I noticed that a couple of the key search words that have been used are "Sarah Mally" and "Sarah Mally blog" (in fact, over half of the search words that are common enough to mention- 24 times, to be exact!) . Now, I won't say that I know how this whole computer thing works. That could mean that those words have been typed into MY search box, but I personally take it to mean that these words/phrases have been typed, leading to my blog.. It is probably due to this post, possibly this one.
 So, I thought I've give some links for you who may run into the same thing of typing something about Miss Sarah Mally in and coming up with my blog :)...
Miss Sarah doesn't have a blog that I have found, but her sister, Miss Grace Mally, does. She keeps a family journal over at "Grace Notes", and shares plenty about ministry, family, and faith. And the Bright Lights Facebook page is at...
https://www.facebook.com/brightlightsministry
I hope that helps a few of you :). The Mally family has been a big blessing to our family, I'm sure they will be to yours, also!!!

For fellow crafters, or any who are interested.

Tiny Tommy has a family, praise God! But he's still not home yet...
The next Hidden Treasures auction, for Tommy, which will be called "It's Tommy's Time"...
will be running October 22-27. That leaves a little bit more than a week before items will be going up for the auction.
I know you've probably heard me talk of Tommy before, so I won't go into too much detail on that. If you want to learn more, the second link is a post by his Mommy telling his story. But the Hidden Treasures auction will go to help the Musser family bring home their tiny treasure! All funds gained from the auction will go straight to the Musser family.
There are many ways we can help. Donating items would be one way. For us crafters, it is fun to have something to make to help :). For those who don't make, or just don't enjoy making, handmade things, donating bought items is an idea. Gift cards are also taken. Or, bidding on the items is just as much of a help! Or, if you aren't able to help in any of these ways, there is one more very big way you can help- pray! Pray that the Lord would lead people to the site who need to be. Pray that the adoption would continue to go well, as Tommy ages out next year and they have to have certain things done before then. And pray that, once again, glory is given to God for defeating the enemy!
I thought I'd share in case anybody would be interested in joining in helping bring home another treasure that has been without a family for so long!

(By the way... Daddy got home last night, and doesn't leave until Tuesday!!! We were all very glad to see him,and have enjoyed our time with him so far!!!)

Look at my little brother :)!!!

He is absolutely PRECIOUS!!!!
 He has recently started crawling (army crawl style (true boy, haha ;)...)).
He is getting very good at holding himself up on his hands and knees for long periods of time.

And this morning,
we found a very bittersweet milestone.
This little baby has a tooth!!!
 Although he has just grow so much bigger by that tooth, I can't wait for the little grins coming up when it grows just a bit more... I *love* toothy baby grins!!!

Aunt Tessa....

 I thought you would enjoy these pictures :).

Enjoying a banana while wearing her new sunglasses

 from Aunt Tessa (yes, inside!)...

And, because after seeing the camera, you *have*  to "pose"... 

haha... hence I caught her by surprise the first time ;).

Some of the best employers...

...are those who pay in chocolate ;). A cup for our homemade coffee blasts is good too ;). I just thought it was pretty :).
While Mommy took Tori out on Tori's birthday, I stayed home with the little ones. I got a few nightgowns cut out, and the little ones did a couple stickers mosaics. They are not done yet, but they're coming along! They look really pretty, as long as we keep the stickers off the table ;). We also had fun making cards for Tori.

Thankful Thursday (and can you tell that we've finally seen a sign of fall?)

This week I'm thankful for...
~Bible time outside.
~Spiced oatmeal.
~Cool weather.
~Gingersnap cookies.
~Hot drinks.
~Cheese and Potato soup, with oyster crackers after doing...
~...Garden work.
~The weed free garden beds (other than the 1/3 that we can't touch... )
~A mowed yard.
~Sweaters (more for enjoyment then from being too cold. I was out the next day in flip flops, but it was just cool enough that I thought I was more likely to stay outside for two hours with one, and I love sweaters :)).
~Colored leaves.
~That Math-U-See seems to be working. On the other hand, I am waiting for it to get hard, this is just odd. I know that I have already kind of, sort of, learned the stuff I'm working with (while using SOS, I was mostly "reviewing" stuff that I was supposed to already know- if I had been using their program the year before. But that was our first year using it, so Daddy had to help me a LOT ;P...) but... about 80 minutes to do a whole 7-part lesson, with about twenty problems each part, one time? This might not sound amazing to a math whiz, but I am not one of those math geniuses, so this is a big deal for me ;). I'm scared ;)... We'll see once I get to totally new stuff, I guess!!
~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 ;).
~Free yarn. This has come in handy for lots of things, especially small amigurami projects. (And, by the way, amigurami is like the best stash-buster-technique ever when you need to clear room for large balls for an up coming project, especially since it is fun, haha!)
~Trips to the museum.
~Seeing a piece of the moon at the museum!
~Getting to touch a meteorite.
~That Daddy gets to come home for a few days tomorrow!!!

"I will praise the name of God with a song;

I will magnify him with thanksgiving."

~Psalm 69:30

Thankful Thursday, most of it typed out Thursday, but of course, posted Friday ;).

This week I'm thankful for...
~Crochet hooks.
~Baby yarn.
~Coupons for that yarn ;)...
~Patterns.
~The work for the orphans at Pleven that is taking place in so many ways. (There is a Hidden Treasures auction running right now if you are interested! Please at least visit and maybe share with your friends, even if you can't bid right now!!!)
~Suitcases.
~New nightgowns.
~A so-obedient sewing machine :)!
~A tiered jean skirt- I've wanted one for so long!
~Visits to our Grandparents!
~The tiny sweet munchkin in my lap :)...
~Alarm clocks.
~The slightly cooler days lately :).
~Bible times with Daddy, via the phone.
~Emmi's voice answering catechism questions :).
~Our fifteen passenger van- which we call "Van-illa". It will take a lot of room to fit all the stuff for the next three days!
~Getting to do crafts with the little ones.
~Getting to spend time with Mommy and Tori while eating candy bars, drinking iced drinks, and watching a new movie.
~Emmi's joy in yellow balloons :).
~Little ones so eager to help :).
~Our safe trip to our Grandparents yesterday, and the sweet fellowshp we have had since then!!!

"Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them."

~Psalm 69:34

Happy late birthday, Tori!

Although Tori's real birthday was yesterday, I'm just now getting to the post :). Sorry Tori!
Sweet, dear Tori turned 11 yesterday! She is such a blessing to us, and we are so thankful for her!
She is learning how to make bread right now, and sewed her first nightgown this year. She is our family's scientist, which earned her a  microscope for her birthday this year. She has wanted one since March, when she found out it was possible to have one at home :). She also got a fossil at the rock shop while she was out with Daddy for her birthday a couple weeks ago- she loves rocks!

Happy birthday, Tori!

We love you, Daddy!

Daddy,
We love you very much! We already miss you badly, but we are so thankful that you are following the Lord's leading, in a job to provide for us, but also to have a ministry for him! We can't wait to see you again, but until then we will be eagerly awaiting every nights phone call :). I pray that your first day goes well, and that you will be kept safe in God's hands.
Love you lots Daddy,
Bri

Happy birthday to Andrew!

Andrew is six!!!
Andrew is such a sweet addition, and we love him so much :)!
This year Andrew has learned to read, to tie his shoes, and has been put in charge of the trash (something that he has absolutely loved to do for years ;).), among many other things that have brought him great enjoyment ;).. It has been wonderful to get to see him grow. It has been precious to hear him tell us girls that "he will protect us", and telling Peter that "when you get big, we can play ---- together!!!"
 Happy birthday, Andrew! I pray that this is another wonderful year in your life through Jesus! Love you!

 

September's month goals update.

With the Lord's help, to grow more like him!!! (Although, this is a on-going one, not finished this month by any means!)- of course, ongoing!
Make Tori and Andrew's birthday gifts. - Done.
Map out Christmas gifts (call me nuts, but I will, most likely, be starting making those Christmas gifts in early October. With the fact that I can only get one ball of yarn 40% off a week, and that I make at least 80%, usually 100%, of them by hand, it takes a while ;). I do have one gift that I know will be going on that list... I can't wait to make this for Peter :).) - mostly done. I still have to find something for Bethi.
Help come up with creative meals to get some of the many bulk items that we haven't been using lately out of our pantry. - ongoing :).
Pick sign language back up. I'm not sure how, but Tori and I kind of just quit moving forward with it, though we do still use what we've learned. You are supposed to be able to learn in a week if wanted?... - we did more than last month... but that is kind of pitiful...
Finish reading the driver's manual that Daddy bought me :P... I don't really want to drive, but I know that, even if  Daddy let's me decide when I learn, I'll have to learn some time, and I'd rather I got as much learning as possible out of the car ;). It doesn't help that all my friends are talking about learning to drive and how *wonderful* it is... eighteen wheelers coming inches from them... forgetting they have breaks on the car... running into a/c units the first lesson... _Oh, my, didn't finish this one, either...
And finish memorizing Philippians 1:27- 2:11. - Although I will continue to work on this, I do have it memorized, I just want to make sure it sticks :).
(And get a certain post out of draft mode, haha!)- this is done, also! This post was my Titanic post :).
There you have it. I got about half of it done!... haha...