Noteworthy Events

Due to the rather long break we took from posting, we missed Papa's and Hadassah's birthday posts (not their actual birthdays, of course, just the posts). Perhaps the saying, "Better late than never" is really true.

Joe/Papa had his special day on September 4th.
Here are a couple of pictures from the year.





























We grow more grateful every year for our dear Papa -
so dedicated to caring for us in every way.

Papa, may we be as great a blessing
to you as you are to the rest of us!

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our sweet Hadassah turned 5 on September 19th of this year.
We had a lovely day celebrating the gift she is to each one of us.
Here are some pictures from this year.
















































May God bless you, sweet girl,
to continue to grow in His grace.

Waiting for the Dust to Settle

I realize it has been quite a while since we posted, it is not without good reason. It has taken quite a while for us to settle in here due to several factors - one being that we down-sized and there is a tremendous amount of sorting through and throwing away involved, more than I had imagined possible. While that is not the only factor, it is one of the main ones. We still feel like we are waiting for the dust to settle.















The new house.

We have also been exploring our new neighborhood ~
maybe I'll get to post some more pictures soon.

Moving?

Yes, we are moving again. It is not so long ago (2 years) that we moved here. Ahhh . . . well, the Lord's ways are not our ways. We are glad to report that the Lord has provided a home for us in Freeport. Since we are in the midst of moving, we have not gotten to blog very consistently - but we will try to keep you all up-dated. Our move is scheduled for July 13-14. We will be sure to post pictures of the new place as we get settled in.


Someone is tuckered from all the packing.

















A few parting pictures of the beautiful haven
we have enjoyed for the past two years.




























































































As the sun sets on the time we have enjoyed here,
we are grateful for the lessons learned; the joys
shared; the beauty displayed; yes, even the trials
grown through; and, most of all, for the Lord's
faithfulness through it all.

A Birthday Visit

We are delighted we had the opportunity to have my sister, Aunt Darla, stay with us for a few days - including my birthday! We had a wonderful time and are already counting the days? . . . weeks? . . . months? . . . until her next visit. The only flaw in our visit was that Uncle David could not join her this time. Still, all-in-all we had a very nice time. She made me a fabulous birthday dinner!

Thank you, Sweetie!

Birthday dessert was peach cobbler.
Hmmm . . . I wonder if we can convince them to move a bit closer, we could do with some more of her cooking.





The children enjoyed taking her
through the "back 40" and . . .



















. . . it was a good opportunity
for Darla to get some pictures.














Sisters, sisters, never
were there such . . .
hmmm . . . such sisters :)














What are you two up to?



















Striking a pose . . . or is it a striking pose?
Who knows?
Either way it is looking kind of goofy.














Looks like someone
is off for a round of
hide and seek!



















Must of been a great shot :)

Birthday Reflections

With Every Year That Passes

With every year that passes
I find myself more often on my knees
more do I revel in God’s grace,
enjoy His blessed sovereignty.

With every year that passes
more of the Saviour’s preciousness I see
growing to comprehend His sacrifice,
rejoicing that His great love has come to me.

With every year that passes
the sweetness of His word
touches my soul more deeply
with every passage heard.

With every year that passes
My unworthiness more clear
Even so, His mercies never fail
Living in the shelter of His care.

By: Diana Ortega

















"As for me, I will call upon God;
and the LORD shall save me.
Evening, and morning, and at noon,
will I pray and cry aloud:
and he shall hear my voice."

Psalm 55:16-17

Instrument Flying

Pilots must learn to fly by their instruments before they can fly with any measure of true safety. Unless the sky is cloudless and the weather perfect, they must rely on their instruments and not on their own senses. To rely on one's sense of sight when flying a plane in the clouds, even on a fairly sunny day, often ends in tragic crashes and death. Once your vision is obscured by cloud, storm, or darkness your senses are so thrown off that you could think you are flying straight when you are actually in a deadly downward dive. Such obscuring leaves your senses no way to see the reality of the situation. A pilot must trust his instruments so much that he will override his own in-born senses in order to fly according to the instrument readings. In overriding his in-born senses his life is preserved and he can fly through even the roughest storms in safety.

This is so reflective of the Christian life. We must learn to live by our God-given instrument, His Word. When life is easy; the trials mild and few; when prosperity smiles upon us and all seems well in the world, we may not recognize our need to fly by our instrument. However, when clouds arise; trials deepen and increase in number; when times are difficult and fraught with any variety of concerns, we realize our need. We cannot safely rely on our natural man to navigate our course. Relying on the natural man brings destructive and, eventually, tragic results. Oh how often the natural man is certain he is flying straight when he is actually in a deadly downward dive. Trials, difficulties and concerns obscure the natural man's vision. The only way to see the reality of any situation is through the filter of Scripture. As believers, we need to override our in-born natural man and live according to the truth of God's Word. In overriding our natural understanding and responses to life; in completely trusting ourselves over to the truth of the Scriptures; in living as if every word of His is true, our lives are preserved and we can fly through even the roughest storms in safety and with peace of heart.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Note: Our thanks to Dr. Irwin Moon for recording many of his sermons, including the essence of what we have shared here, for the benefit of future generations. He is now home with the Lord.

Willow - Sweet and Lovable

Need we say more?

Gaurd Duty

This is our dog, Willow. She
takes her job very seriously!

I guess this photo doesn't show
her sweet and lovable side.
Maybe we will go for sweet and
lovable next time.

A Joke?

We are not real big joke folks over here. But when we do find one that is actually clean and funny, we enjoy it. This is one we found recently that qualifies.


An MBA and an Engineer go on a camping trip, set up their tent, and fall asleep. Some hours later, the Engineer wakes his MBA friend. "Look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

The MBA replies, "I see millions of stars."

The Engineer asks, "What does that tell you?"

The MBA ponders for a minute:
"Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.
Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three.
Theologically, it is evident that the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
What does it tell you?"

The Engineer friend is silent for a moment, and then speaks.
"Practically . . . someone has stolen our tent."

:) :) :) :) :)

May 12, 2006

Happy Birthday, Gabriel!

Nine years old already!?!

Growing up so fast :)

May the Lord bless you to continue

growing in His wisdom and grace.















We love you, Big Guy!!

Papa, Mama, Josiah
Moriah, Isaiah and Hadassah

Spring

There is nothing like . . .

a spring bouquet.

Interesting Quotes

Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
~ Lou Holtz

"Do something every day that you don't want to do;
this is the golden rule for acquiring
the habit of doing your duty without pain."
~Mark Twain

We have found that in doing a "dreaded" task daily the task soon looses its power to cause dread in us and becomes well tamed, simply a part of every day life. Of course, a positive attitude plays a major part in taming any task we don't want to do. In reality, I suppose it is our old nature, our will, we are taming.

Any additional thoughts?

Out and About

We recently spent the day out and about.
Here is a pictorial sample of our day.


An enjoyable walk along Lake Michigan ~








































































A visit to the Kenosha Public Museum ~

The butterfly and moth display was one of my
favorites. There were literally hundreds on
display. It is amazing the variety, complexity
and creativity God has reflected in these
delicate creatures.





































































































We did not realize moths were so pretty.












































A sample of the museum's art display.






























There is a life size, replica of an early
Indian village in the museum. We had fun
visiting these days of old.




































































































There was a full skeleton of a Woolly Mammoth
actually excavated in Kenosha County - it was
impossible to capture all of it in one photo.