Our Family

We celebrated Havalah's 17th birthday last week and since we were all together I thought we should get our annual Christmas picture. This is much easier said than done. The noise level during this process is quite high and it is no easy task to get 16 kids 10 and under to sit still and all look up at the same time. I know that eventually this will be an impossibility as I still have 8 kids to marry off and the grandchild count will be too high to even fit us all in the same room. Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking when we decided to take God's word literally when he says that children are a gift and the more the better!

Pretty Little Leni!

This is Alaina (Leni) Maria. She is wearing one of my favorite hats to knit. It's a Little Turtle Knits pattern and I make them for new baby gifts. They are so adorable and warm. Is this not the sweetest little baby girl?

A New Grandson.

My oldest son Josh and his wife Kathleen gave birth to their 6th baby boy on tuesday 11-11-2008. He weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz and was born in the privacy of their bedroom. I was the official "baby catcher" and was assisted by Jim's mom and my daughter Hannah. He is beautiful and so far seems to be a pretty easy baby.

Harvest Party Pictures.

We went to our churches annual Harvest Party at Jim's brothers house and the weather was absolutely perfect! I won second place in the Mexican food catagory and Judah brought home a cake from the cake walk. Took lots of pictures of the kids and grandkids. Enjoy!

Celebrating Homecoming!

This is my son Noah and Joy, his date for the annual Homecoming celebration. Noah is my 5th son and he is a pretty awesome kid. These 2 are good friends and they also went to Tolo last year together as well. The night will be spent with a big group of kids and dinner at the Olive Garden. Afterwards they will attend the dance and then part ways and head home to bed! Noah has to milk the cow in the morning:) Oh, do these years fly by, I can remember being 15 and attending dances with my friends. Enjoy your youth Noah, it is certainly fleeting.

A Very Special Father-In-Law.

This is a tribute to my Father-in-law, who was recently diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The prognosis is not good and it makes us all feel very sad. You know, when I first heard the news my first thought was that 33 years knowing him was not enough....I want more time with him. But I will assure you that this man's faith is very strong. He has a very close and personal relationship with Jesus and really lives it. When you call and try to lift him up he is the one who ends up encouraging you! He has spent his whole life as a pastor in the Evangelical Free Church and though retired he still serves as a chaplin in our local hospital. He has been the best of fathers and my husband is lucky to have been raised by him. He is not without his own flaws, but he really loves people and always tries to find the best in everyone. He has been a counselor as well for many years and has probably impacted more people than anyone I know. So if you get a moment during your day, send a little prayer up for him. We would sure like to keep him around for many more years to come!

ps. The beautiful woman with him is my even more special MIL Claudette who has been married to grandpa for 54 years!

My Best Friend Jim.

I have been married for over 30 years to a truly wonderful man. We came from very different backgrounds and yet somehow we found each other. I was 16 and Jim was 20 when we met at his dad's church. I just happened to be visiting that sunday and saw him across the room and was instantly smitten. He came from a strong and loving Christian family, his dad is a pastor in the Evangelical Free Church. I grew up in a home where faith was not present, only an abundance of alcohol and anger. I found a job for the summer with the Youth Conservation Corps and was introduced to Christ in a new and very personal way. So when I went back home I decided to go to the church closest to my rural home and well....the rest is history. I really believe that God directs the steps of His children and have seen it many times over the years. We have had some difficult years and also many good ones. Jim has always been the best one of us and he is a very kind and generous man. As the years pass we become better friends and our commitment to each other and our family is rock solid. I thank God every day for my family and especially for Jim, whose love is steady and sure. And that is a rare thing in the world we live in.