Celebration Sunday!

Our church had "Celebration Sunday" last week and it was a real blessing!
We rented this HUGE tent and put it on the property of some folks from church that offered their land. Then we met there with all of our church and also the church that we planted last year for our Sunday morning service and then a meal afterward. It was a PERFECT day, a perfect spot, such a blessing to see all those that went with the church plant last year, the Lord really blessed the service, and the food was good too! Here are a few pictures of the good time we had.



I can never resist taking pics of my kiddos when we have some nice scenery available!











Joshua dancing with his friend Isaias.













Inside the tent. It was SO windy that day that we could feel the tent shaking with the wind, but I thought it was an awesome touch. Reminded me of Acts 2!

A Visit to My Grandmothers

Well, we finally made it last weekend to visit my grandmothers, after intending to for too long! We had a wonderful time! Here are my children with Great Grandma Nita, my dad's mother.







She has a nice little creek down by her house that the children like to play by (and would like to play in!)











Great Grandma Nita and Israel


















Joshua and Dominique sitting at a very special table at Grandma's house. This table was my grandmother's when she was little; my father and siblings used it when they were little; my cousins and I used it when we were little; and now a fourth generation is enjoying it! Talk about made to last!







Uncle Bill and Joshua looking at a model Porsche. Joshua soaked up all of the attention Uncle Bill gave him! He is my dad's brother.











My grandma "babysits" for her neighbor's cat, Pumpkin. He is a rather curious cat, and here you can see him checking out Israel's bed! The children loved having him around.










Grandma always has fun things planned for us to do, like go for lunch to BK play land! It's always nice to wear the kids out!











Then later we went out to Uncle Bill's new place. He recently moved back to the place of his birth to go back to farming after getting tired of the stress of the corporate world. I asked him how he liked it and he said it was great.... that it didn't pay as well, but that you can't buy peace of mind. So true!

So, here he is back to where he and my dad and aunt grew up, and where their parents grew up before them. Actually, on the way to his place, my grandmother showed me the school that she went to from kindergarten through eighth grade: a one room school house. She explained that there was one every two miles, for all the children to walk to. One year there were six children: a brother and sister from three families. Another year there were also six, but five were boys, and she was the only girl. Even the teacher was male! Now that schoolhouse has been turned into a house and is not any too big! Incidentally, my father also went to a one room schoolhouse when he was little.


Sunset at my uncle's place. See the cattle on the yonder hill? Oh, how my heart aches for a place like this!!










We all love Grandma Nita! I'm so glad we got to visit!


















Here we are saying farewell to Grandma and Mr Moon, her husband of 4.5 years. :) And then we were on to visit the other side of the family!
















Saturday I was able to go to a baby shower down by Springfield for my cousin's wife,Becky . She looked great, all went well, and I was happy I was able to be there. Since we don't live very close, I am always grateful for every chance to be able to be a part of things.

With Grandma Jean, my mom's mother.

Great Grandma Jean loving on my kiddos!

I wanted to get a nice picture of her holding Israel, but he was so past nap time, that I had to give him something to even get him to sit there for two seconds, and the only thing I had available was my keys! So, this is the best pic we got, but it turned out okay, considering. :)

We got home not too late on Saturday night, and were very thankful for God's grace and protection on the trip! "A good time was had by all."

Hodge Podge

I didn't have enough pictures of any one event to put together a cohesive post, but here is a hodge podge of recent events:

I got a call from a friend the other day whose car had broken down and she asked if I would take her three younger children while she figured out what to do. (Her oldest is in school.) Well, it all went fine and wasn't too long, but it did help me figure out that if I really did have two 5-yr olds, two 2-yr olds, a nine month old, and a four week old all the time, well, I would be quite a bit busier than I am currently. :) So, I had to enlist Dominique's help here with baby Efrain while I tended to the others. She didn't mind!

Isn't this just the sweetest picture! The other day I got together with my friend Michelle H., and this is Dominique with her daughter Adeline. Dominique is just five months older that Addy, and her son, John Michael, below, is just five months older than Israel.














Israel will be ten months old tomorrow, and all of the growing he has been doing does eventually wear him out! (Usually not as quick as it wears mama out!)
















This camera and her toy cash register are Dominique's all time favorite toys! Actually, she has a few now that I think about it. She also just LOVES her babies and her cel phone and her many purses. She really enjoys playing "house" lately, but she doesn't really know that is what it is called, so she just calls it "playing mamas and daddies and babies and bags". :)















Here is a "small world" story: When we were in Japan, staying on a YWAM base in Osaka, we met a guy who was in Japan as a JET (English teaching program). His name is Eddie, and though he is originally from Guatemala, he had been in the States since childhood, and was from the Chicago area! Turns out that just a couple of weeks after we met him, his parents and grandmother came to visit and came to stay in Osaka at the YWAM base with us. We had a wonderful visit with them! They are such sweet Christian people who really love the Lord! We moved back to the States shortly afterwards, and Eddie did as well, a few months after us. And, though sporadic, we continue to keep in touch. They came to visit us last week and we always enjoy spending time with them.

Eddie and Joshua.














I also had a garage sale a couple of weeks ago, and a concerned friend saw that Joshua did not have a bike helmet and decided to buy him one. To say he likes it would be an understatement! Here we caught him taking his nap with it on!

I Love Fall!

I must say, I really enjoy the changing seasons that we have here in Illinois. Winter is a bit too long for my liking, but even still I am thankful for each new season and the change it brings. But, my very favorite is autumn ~ the crisp breeze, the changing colors of the trees, bonfires, pumpkin pictures, and outings like this one, to the apple orchard!













We went with the homeschool group - about 80 of us altogether! It is such a blessing too, to have an "internal" homeschool support group right in our family! All of the cousins were along, and Grandma Carol too, which made it all the more fun.














Gabriel was being so sweet with Grandma Carol, giving kisses and laughing!











Gabriel and Dominique ~ really growing up!













This is not all of the group of cousins, but it turned out quite a bit better than any of my recent attempts at a group shot!











Yeah! Apples fresh off the tree!













Israel kind of got in on the fun too. :)














My sister-in-laws Amanda and Suzy. I am so thankful for all four of my sister-in-laws! (Two on my side, two on Fabio's side.) They are some of my best friends! What a blessing!




















Picking in the orchard.









The petting zoo we went to after the picking.













My little animals!













Feeding the goats...














... and the calf. He was too cute! Just made me think all the more of my dream... which has always been a little piece of land, a big garden, a few goats, a few chickens, sheep and horses......

:)

Family Gatherings

Here is my brother having a rare serious moment. :)




















Yet another attempt to take a picture of all eleven grandchildren. This was the best of about twenty tries!














Uncle Joe with little Israel


















Uncle Joe, Aunt Kathy, and Grandpa Howard.
Aunt Kathy and Grandpa Howard are funny together. You may have to know them to find the humor in this, but their conversation went something like this:
Aunt Kathy: Do you believe I've known you for forty years now?
Grandpa: Ya, forty years now I've had to put up with you!
Aunt Kathy: Ya, well, the feeling is mutual!
(LOL)
I had no idea at the time, but Aunt Kathy was not feeling well all day and was taken to the hospital the following day with heart trouble. She seems to be doing better now, but please keep her in prayer.

The ladies L-R: Mom, Amanda with Moriah, Aunt Sue, Suzy, me with Israel.











Grandpa Howard, Uncle Bill, Uncle Joe















Grandma Carol and Moriah who looks adorable sucking her thumb ;-)
















I needed to take this picture because the most recent picture I had of Scott's family was when their first child was a baby, so I really needed to update! What a beautiful family!















And after trying for about five months now, I finally got a beautiful wonderful splendid picture of my adorable neice smiling! (Usually when she smiles, she gets so excited that she turns her head and the picture comes out blurry!)