Quote-worthy

Our nightly Scripture reading on this particular evening was the 2nd chapter of John.

The wedding at Cana.
Jesus turning the water into wine.

After the chapter was finished, we were talking with the children about what we were just reading. Jay and I mention to them that this was Jesus' first miracle in the Bible.

Rebekah pipes up.

"Uh... you mean other than when He created the world. You know... cuz He's God?"

I just LOVE that my kids get it! They get it! Wow. :o)

Woo Hoo! She's 2!

My precious little daughter,

Today is a big day for you. Today you have been with us for 2 whole years. I can hardly believe it!

You are so big now. But I remember when you came out of Mommy's tummy and you were not-so-big (although I thought you were much bigger!). You were a little stubborn thing. You got stuck and it was very difficult to get you out. But once you were here, that stubborness really paid off for you.

You were so sick, and needed a lot of medical attention. You ended up needing all of that extra birth weight, because you lost a whole lot of it in the first few weeks you were with us. Even the doctors were worried about you for a while. You were so small and frail, and you were hooked up to all of those machines, so we couldn't hold you like we wanted. It was very hard on Mommy, because I wanted to hold you and cuddle you and sing to you in my arms to help you get better.

We had to feed you with a tube in your mouth, and I cried a lot, wondering if you would ever get well again. But that is when your stubborness came into play. You fought like a trooper, and began getting your color back a little, day by day. Then, slowly, you wanted more and more food through the tube. You got hungry a lot more often, which made Mommy and Daddy so happy! And soon afterwards, you were able to get off of the machine, and we were able to hold you! And eventually, you didn't want to be fed with a tube anymore, and you learned how to nurse on Mommy like a pro! That made everyone so very happy, because we knew then that you were going to grow into a healthy little girl. And so you did!

You became a rosey-cheeked, FAT little baby. You learned to sit up, and crawl, and walk earlier than most babies do. It was as though that stubborness in you wanted to be done with baby-hood, and you were ready to be BIG like the rest of your siblings.

And I can hardly believe how big you are today. You may be turning two years old today, but you are much smarter than any two year old I have ever seen. You truly amaze us! You have been talking in complete sentences since you were barely 1 year old. You can sing several songs all the way through, including: Jesus Loves Me, The Barney Song, The ABCs, Elmo's World, Clap Your Hands All Ye People, Give Me Oil in My Lamp, All the Children Ought to Know, O Come All Ye Faithful, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and many others. Sometimes Daddy and I just look at you in amazement at all that you are able to do at such a young age. Your brothers and sister were also very smart at your age, but you have surpassed them all... by a lot!

You have turned into such an adorable child, too! You are getting so tall, and you are (finally) slimming out, making you look even taller. You have the most beautiful red hair I have ever seen. And it has really begun to grow long the past few months. You love to sit at Mommy's dressing table and let me fix your hair. You always tell me you want to look "like a princess". And you do, my beautiful child. You also have beautiful eyes of the deepest color blue. They stand out even more with the contrast of your red hair.

I cannot take you anywhere in public without someone stopping me to tell me how strikingly beautiful you are. Everyone (even complete strangers) want to touch your soft, beautiful hair and stare into the deep blue pools of your eyes. And so far, you don't mind it too much. You are very patient and always tell people, "thank you" when they give you such wonderful compliments. My prayer for you is that as you grow older, the compliments of others will not go to your head. I pray that you will continue to be polite as people pass compliments on to you, but that you will accept them with humility and grace, never allowing vanity to enter your heart.

I love watching you interact with your big sister, too. It is so sweet to watch you studying her, attempting to imitate everything she does. You want to dress like her, and fix your hair like her, and smell like her, etc. You are always getting into her closet and putting her shoes on your feet. You take her purse and put it on your shoulder, and walk around the house pretending to be "Sissy". You climb up on the couch and sit right next to her, in exactly the same position. It is adorable.

I pray that you will always have a godly example to look up to, teaching you the way to become pure and godly in girlhood. I pray that your heart will always be tender towards the Holy Spirit, always willing to let it guide you in all of your ways. My biggest prayer for you is that you will grow up healthy and strong, so that you will be able to grow into a beautiful, virtuous maiden, and eventually become a godly wife and mother. I pray you will cling to the Lord with all of your might, and follow Him in all that you think, say, and do.

And I pray that God will grant us many, many more birthdays to celebrate with you.












I love you, my beautiful little daughter. My precious H. E. R.

Love always,
Mommy <><

Milestones

They've done it! The kids have done it. Another milestone has been reached.
They have learned how to ride two-wheel bicycles.

And it proved to be a lot less stressful than we thought it would be. It only took one day, actually just the afternoon. They are some smart cookies, our kids. (But of course I am not biased a bit! ha ha)

R needed no help at all. She took off and never looked back. She was a pro! She did so well, in fact, that we bought her a brand new bike for her birthday, which she LOVES.


B had a little more trouble with it. But, he IS only 4 years old. I didn't even know how to ride a bike without training wheels at 4.

Jay started him off, and there were a few bumps and bruises at first.

B was beginning to get a little frustrated. Okay, fine. He was getting more than a little frustrated. Can we say... John McEnroe?

But, since R was firguring it out so well, she decided to take B on a step-by-step bike-riding lesson. B was a good student, and concentrated on what she was trying to teach him.

And, after a boost of encouragement, an even a few more failed attempts, B was off again. And this time... HE DID IT!

We are so proud of him. Proud of BOTH of them. And they are proud of themselves. What a great day.

I love watching my children reach new milestones. :o)

The End of an Era

I sit here today as one proud mama.

Not, that I haven't always been proud of all of my children and their accomplishments, but this particular instance really got me beaming.

For the past couple of years, R has been pretty much infatuated with a certain "teen pop sensation". One who has her own television show with her famous father. I am sure you get my drift.

And up until recently, Jay and I were not bothered by it too much. I mean, for all intents and purposes, the show seemed fairly harmless (at first) and the little actress herself seemed to be, for the most part, a generally "good" kid.

However, as most of us are aware, that "good" kid's behavior lately has become somewhat less desirable. She has begun to display a bad attitude, more promiscuity, etc. And I am aware that her personal life doesn't necessarily mean that she will bring those traits into her show. But, as we were watching the show together the other day, I was shocked to find that the episode was all about how she was "old enough" to make her own decisions about her life, and deliberately disobeyed her father's command that she stay home. Instead, she lied and sneaked out of the house and jumped on an airplane in defiance of her father's wishes. Several other episodes of the show since that time have contained the same rebellious behavior.

I waited to see what my sweet daughter would do about such blatant disregard for the 5th and 9th Commandments, and to decide when I was going to have a conversation with her about it. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. R told me immediately after watching the episode that she couldn't believe that HM would do such a terrible thing! Without me saying a word, she told me that HM was breaking God's Commandments and that she couldn't believe it. We talked about it a little more, until I was sure she understood that she was always to behave in a godly way, regardless of the way people she likes on TV are behaving.

Several days later, I was folding laundry when R came up to me and told me that she had something important to talk to me about. Having forgotten the events from a few days before, I was completely surprised to learn that she had been thinking long and hard about our conversation about HM. She told me that she was very upset about the way HM had been behaving on the show, as well as with the behavior of the actress that played her in real life. R told me that she no longer thought MC was a Christian, but someone who was heading in the opposite direction from God. I sat and listened with awe as R told me that she had been thinking a lot about it, and that she had finally decided that she no longer liked HM, and didn't want to watch the show anymore.

And now, whenever we go to the store and we see HM merchandise, R just shakes her head and says, "No. I don't want that. I don't like her anymore." This is BIG, people. I mean, R LOVED HM and MC. She at one time wanted everything in her bedroom to be labelled with HM. She got the wig, the microphone, the makeup, the clothes, the posters, the school folders, pencils, pens, umbrella, cds, itunes songs, etc. with the HM logo on it. She LOVED it.

But, she has also gotten over it, almost overnight. She has done a complete 180. She has decided, all on her own, to have as her role models, young ladies who more closely follow the Lord and His Commandments. She has traded in the worldly ways of HM with more god-fearing characters like Laura and Mary Ingalls, and Elsie Dinsmore.

While my daughter is far from perfect, this new decision of hers has really impressed me. The fact that she would have the maturity in her young spiritual life to see something that violates God's law, that most of the world would think is "no big deal", and go against the flow and completely change her life to "flee from all unrighteousness" is truly astounding to me.

It gives me a glimmer of hope that whenever Jay and I are teaching our children about the Lord, R really is listening. And that gives me so much peace, that we might just be doing something right with this parenting thing.

Like I said before, I am one proud mama. :o)

Out With the Old, In With the New

Well, it's here. The new year has finally begun, and that means that 2008 is officially gone.

And I say, "Good riddance!"

2008 turned out to be THE most difficult year of our lives, bar none. We had an enormous amount of devastating events that occurred back, to back, to back... all in one single, solitary year.

Our faith was tested more in 2008 than in any other year since becoming Christians. But we also grew stronger in our relationship to the Lord than ever before. We learned to trust Him with our very lives. We learned to rely on Him for absolutely everything. We relied on him for food, shelter, clothes, everything. We lost "fake" friends, moved far away from "dear" friends, rekindled relationships with old friends, and made new friends.

Our marriage became stronger in 2008 than it had since 1997 when we got married, and in all of the rest of the years combined. Jay's prolonged unemployment, in essence, "forced" us to spend A LOT of time together. So, obviously, there was also a lot of "forced" communication between us. We overcame many, many obstacles during those stressful months. And, we have come out of it all in much better shape as a result.

2009 definitely brings with it the hope of better things yet to come. At the very least, it has to be better than 2008... for our family anyway.

We don't normally put too much stock into all of the "hype" that accompanies New Year's. To us, it has always been "just another day". We are much too old and too tired to ever really stay awake until midnight and "watch the ball drop". This year, however, we decided that we wanted to usher out the burdensome 2008 year, and say "HELLO!" to this new year -- this "fresh start" and "new beginning".

So, we did something that we hardly ever do. We let the kids stay up past their bedtimes. We told them they were allowed to stay up as long as they possibly could. Which, of course, got them so excited, one would have thought they had just witnessed the ball dropping to ring in the new year.

We played board games. We ate lots of snacks and junk food (another thing that doesn't normally happen in our family). We played video games. We chased them through the house, and let them jump on their beds. (Okay... we did a LOT of things we don't normally let them do. But this was no ordinary day for our family, and we wanted them to know it).

Eventually, though, the late hour began to take it's toll on the children. They got slower, and slower until, they all got very still (which also doesn't happen often). I put a bunch of pillows on the living room floor and they all got their blankets and cuddled up while we watched videos until the time came for the ball to drop.

They didn't last that long.

The First to Go...

The Next to Go...

Third is going....

Going....

GONE!

After we put the littler ones to bed, we did go ahead and wake R up for the ball dropping. She woke up for the last 5 minutes of it, but was very groggy, so I made her stand up to try to help her stay awake (she had told us earlier in the day that she really, really wanted to see it).

When the countdown finally came, and the ball dropped, she looked at me and said, "That was it??????? I thought the ball was going to drop." After I explained that it had been dropping, slowly going farther and farther towards the bottom of the pole, she said, "Oh. Well, that's boring. I'm going to bed now."

She told me this morning that she thought the ball was going to fall really fast when the clock got to zero. She said that she enjoyed all of the silly stuff we did as a family (video games, jumping on the beds, etc), but that she probably wont stay up that late anymore.

Ahhh... That's my good girl. :o)

A Letter to My Birthday Girl

My Dearest R,

Today is your birthday. I can't believe you are 8 years old already! You are growing up so fast. That makes me sad sometimes, (like today) when I remember the day you came into this world. You were so small and helpless, and you needed me to do everything for you. Things are very different now. You can dress yourself, you take showers all by yourself, read by yourself, braid your hair, and ride a bike. You can even get yourself something to eat, and can help me feed your little sister sometimes, too.

But, I also get the privilege to see what a beautiful young woman you are becoming. And you really are very beautiful. You are so tall, thin and stylish. And with your blonde hair, I feel like I have my very own life-sized Barbie doll. I love that you prefer to wear nice dresses instead of jeans. It is such a blessing to me and your daddy to see you preferring modest clothing to the more popular kind. I pray that will never change.

It is also a blessing to have the opportunity to watch you blossoming into a young woman of godly character. I like to catch you in your room sometimes with your dolls and stuffed animals, as you attempt to teach them stories from the Bible. And whenever we go to a playground, you always seem to make a friend, and you always ask them if they are Christians, and make sure to tell them about Jesus before we leave.

And it pleases your Daddy and me to catch you with your light on late at night. I know that sounds silly, because normally, we would discipline you for staying up past your bedtime. But we have learned that you use that time to read your Bible. Most girls your age would choose to read much different things, and it shows us that your little heart has a yearning and a desire to know more about our Lord. And that is a good thing to yearn for, because as you seek to become more like Christ, it will be evident in the way you relate to others.

You are already displaying a heart full of love and patience. You let your brother and baby sister play with your toys, and you are very patient with them as you try to teach them some of the things you have learned in these 8 years of life. And I adore the fact that you get excited to read books from Elsie Dinsmore and Little House on the Prairie. I beam with pride every time I see you trying to act like Elsie Dinsmore or Mary Ingalls (you prefer to be like Mary instead of Laura because Mary is the oldest and has blonde hair, just like you). It is so much better to see you imitating these young women of godly character, instead of the ones that are much less godly from the popular TV shows that other children your age are imitating.

You are also very adaptable, and have accepted changes easily. You really are showing us that you have a heart that is willing to sacrifice. Our family has been through a lot of hard times in this past year. And you have very willingly and humbly sacrificed so much as a result, and yet, you don't complain. And I know it has been hard on you to adjust to living without as many things as we used to have. It breaks my heart to see you worrying about our finances. You aren't supposed to have to worry about such things, but you have done so well at trying to live on less lately. You have gone from having your own room, with your own bed, filled with your own toys, and clothes, and books, to sharing not only a room with your baby sister, but you share a bed with her now, too! And you didn't complain about it at all. You actually said you thought it would be fun, because you could be like Mary and Laura Ingalls. What a wonderful big sister you are! You have become a wonderful role model for your brother and sister to look up to.

And I know that you are looking up to me as a role model, too. I will have to work extra hard to be a good one for you to follow. I love it when you ask to help me cook dinner, and that you are so willing to do your chores with a good attitude. You have a very teachable spirit, and accept correction very humbly and meekly. You bless me so much and bring tears to my eyes when you are asked what you want to be when you grow up. You always tell people the same thing. You just want to be a mom. Not a doctor, or a lawyer. A mom. That might not be something most people would choose, but believe me when I tell you that it is a very high calling, and one that the Lord will bless in countless ways.

I know that you will be a wonderful mom someday. You can sing to your children with that beautiful voice of yours. And I know that you will teach your children from the Bible, just like me and Daddy teach you, because I know that you truly love the Lord and His Word.

I pray that one day your children will make you as happy and as proud as you have made me and your Daddy these past 8 years.

Have a Happy Birthday, my sweet, beautiful, 8 year old daughter!

We love you always,
Mom

Thanksgiving #2

The first Thanksgiving celebration we had was with all of the homeschool families in our homeschool group. The second one was celebrated with just the family.

We were supposed to host it at our house this year. But with our "Month of a Million Travels", it was going to be much too stressful for us. So, we decided to have the meal at Jay's sister, Melissa's, house instead. However, Melissa was right in the middle of an extremely ugly divorce, and her ex-husband TOOK the stove out of her house! Yes, I know. I have never heard such a horrible thing (but honestly, that was just one of the many terrible things he did).

So anyway, we were going to have to cook the Thanksgiving meal, and my house was the only one with a stove. I was a bit nervous about it, I have never cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal at my house before, so this was a new experience for me. But, I started the night before, and by 12:30PM on Thursday, everything was finished baking, and ready to be eaten. Now, the tough part was getting all of these freshly baked yummies all the way to Melissa's house! But, they all made it just fine! :o)

We had ham, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, corn casserole, dressing, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cake.

Everything tasted really really good, and we all had a wonderful time visiting with each other. It was especially nice because Jay was supposed to work on Thanksgiving this year (people are still dying, whether it is a holiday or not), but at the last minute, the other chaplain told Jay that he would work in his place. What a blessing! :o)

Besides all the wonderful food, though, I have to say that the highlight of the day was when we brought out our Wii, and convinced Jay's dad that he would love playing it. He was hard to convince, because he insisted that he couldn't understand video games enough to play them well. But when we showed him how to play bowling and baseball (the easiest games to play, in my opinion), he decided to give it a try.

It was soooo fun to watch! You could see the look on Charles' face change from completely confused, to totally enthralled and excited as he began to understand how the game was played. Eventually, he got brave enough to play boxing with Jay, too! Now, THAT was hilarious to watch! I had to get some pictures to show as proof! Ha ha.




The really funny part is, Charles came by the house yesterday afternoon, and could not stop talking about how much fun he had playing that Wii! ha ha ha. :o)

Month of a Million Travels...part 2

I mentioned before that November was the "Month of a Million Travels" for our family. Part 1 was when we went to KY during Jay's mom's illness. Part 2 took place the next weekend after we got back.

We had scheduled a mini-vacation to Orlando soon after Jay got his job, as a way to celebrate finally ending the long, hard 8 months without a job or any income. It was supposed to be a very relaxing time for all of us. Supposed to be.

Three days before we were scheduled to leave, Jay came home from work early. He stepped through the door and stumbled to his bed. He was burning up with fever, had chills, and a terribly sore throat. He had even completely lost his appetite, which should tell any of you who really know him that he was most definitely sick!

Jay promised that he would be better in time for our trip, which was 100% non-refundable. However, after three days in bed with no change, I thought we were going to have to bite the bullet and cancel the trip. But, Jay insisted that we were still going to be able to make it, even though he could barely speak. We took him to the doctor, who told him he had a nasty case of strep throat. He could barely drive, but he told me to get us all packed and ready to go.

So, it was then my job to nurse my very sick hubby, homeschool the kids, care for the little ones, clean the house, shop for the trip, and pack everyone. All in less than a day. I was more than a little stressed. But, we crammed all of the suitcases and children into the van, and headed for Orlando. For our nice, relaxing vacation.

We got to our hotel in one piece, and were pleasantly surprised at how extremely nice it was. Jay's dad had a timeshare there and we were able to use it for the trip. We had 2 bedrooms, a living room, a den, a dining room, a large fully stocked kitchen, a laundry room, and 2 large bathrooms... both of which had jacuzzi tubs in them!

Here is a link to see a virtual tour of the hotel room we stayed in. It was by far the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in! When you click on the link, you can click on both of the 1 bedroom buttons and you will get some idea of the room we had (Both bedrooms are attached to each other).

I was very disappointed, however, because with all of the hustle and bustle of packing and everything, I completely forgot to bring our camera. I had NO way to take any pictures of our hotel room or the trip. I was so upset! But we went to the gift shop and bought a cheap disposable camera. I took several pictures, but when I got them all developed, very few of them turned out at all. I have included some of the few that did (found below)...

We went to "The Holy Land Experience" in Orlando. It was surprisingly very educational! TBN recently bought it, and when you are walking through it, you can definitely see the influence they have put into it (with many things seeming to be a bit "cheesy", and sometimes we would cringe as we saw the way they were portraying things). But, overall, I have to say it was a fairly positive experience.

Like I said, a bit "cheesy"... and you might cringe at this...

This is in the children's area, which is full of very vivid colors. They also have a giant whale that you can walk into and listen to the story of Jonah. And a giant ark where they have story time. It's all a bit too commercial for our taste. But the kids enjoyed the rides. :o)

This picture is very dark and hard to see, but it was taken in a room that was filled with tons of these sports chairs that swiveled and had matching ottomans. The kids liked to sit in this room and watch the TBN children's shows they had up on a big movie screen.


Above everything else we did on our trip, though, the best time the kids had was when we were in the hotel room, and they all got to go "swimming" in the hot tub! ha ha.



Jay was still very sick throughout the entire trip. But he was a trooper. We did some shopping in Downtown Disney and "oo'd and awe'd" at all of the statues in Lego Land.

It wasn't our usual, fun-loving, go-all-out kind of vacation. It was a LOT more toned down than usual. But, we still tried to make the best of things.

And, you know... the kids still talk about that beautiful huge hotel room and how they got to go swimming in the giant tub every day. So, in that respect, our little mini-vacation turned out to be a winner after all. :o)

The Best Things in Life are FREE!

Saturdays in our family are considered to be priceless and sacred, for quality together-time.
This is non-negotiable in our household.
We do not volunteer our time for various church or community events which are held on Saturdays, and Jay does not accept invitations to perform funeral services through the Hospice Center on those days either. Saturdays are strictly for Family Time.

Now let me explain that there are times when we do participate in various ministry projects together as a family on Saturdays. Sometimes, we like to go to nursing homes and visit with some of the patients there (elderly people get so lonely in those places, and seeing the children brings such a sparkle in their eyes, and joy to their hearts). And, if Jay was asked to perform the funeral ceremony for one of his patients that was especially dear to him, we would all go with him to provide comfort to the grieving family members.

But these events are always done together. Not separated into different areas. Not forced to have one child in the nursery, the others in the children's area, and both adults split up doing this, that, or the other thing. There is a certain time and place for that. We all-too-often find ourselves caught up during the week, over-exerting ourselves and being pulled in a million directions; caught between work, or church, or homeschool stuff, etc. But no, no. Not on Saturdays. Saturdays are reserved for us.

So, two Saturdays ago, we got in the van and headed down the road. We needed this particular Family Day, because Jay and I had just come home from a long and exhausting trip across the country without the kids, and had spent the entire week agonizing over a major decision. We had finally made up our minds about it and, feeling relieved and confident about our decision, decided to spend the day doing something fun with the kids.

We went to a restaurant for lunch we had never eaten at before -- one of those "Mom and Pop" places. We had just taken our seats and began eating, when a woman came over to our table. She had noticed that we had small children, and told us that she had tickets for an event in Tampa that evening, and wondered if we wanted them. For FREE. Now, perhaps we have been burned a few too many times in the past. We tend to be suspicious of things that appear to be "free". But, this woman asked us to wait where we were for a few minutes (which was not a problem, since we had just begun to eat), and she called her friend on the telephone to get the tickets from her home, and bring them to the restaurant.

Just as we were finishing up with our meal, the woman came back to our table, with her friend and the tickets in tow. She gave them to us, and told us very sweetly that she hoped we would be able to enjoy them. And then she left. No tricks. No hassles. Just, four tickets. The tickets were for "The Wiggles - Live on Stage". Something we probably wouldn't have bought tickets to see any other time (mostly because they are so expensive). But for FREE... we are willing to endure just about anything. :o)

So we accepted the woman's FREE tickets (which would have cost $40 each). But since there were only 4 of them, and 5 of us, we were going to have to purchase one more ticket. No problem. Seeing a show for only $40, that would have cost us $200, was something we were more than willing to do. So, we drove d0wn to Tampa early to see if we could buy one more ticket that would be next to the seats of our other tickets.

Jay dropped me off at the front, so I could run over to the ticket counter. When I got there, I was the only person in line, which surprised me. I began to wonder if the tickets were indeed legitimate. Once I showed them to the person at the counter, who by the way, was extremely nice, told me they were, in fact, real tickets, and happily obliged our request for five seats together, and even found some that were a little closer than the ones our tickets had been for.... at no extra charge. And I was able to get another ticket for little H as well. For FREE. So, another person blessed us with a free ticket to the show! 5 tickets to see "The Wiggles"... for FREE! Wow!

Yes, it was The Wiggles. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was cheesey. Yes, it was repetitive. Yes, it was a little annoying. But seeing the look on our children's faces as they clapped, and squealed, and sang, and danced, and "wiggled", and had the best time of their young lives... was absolutely priceless, and worth any annoyance. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

What a blessing to be able to experience it all for FREE! What an amazing experience!

And what an amazing way to spend our precious Family Day. :o)

A Happy Homeschool Thanksgiving

This week has, of course, been a crazy one. I am sure it is the same with every family at this time of the year.

A few days before Thanksgiving, we celebrated this festive holiday with all of our friends in our homeschool group (there were probably 60 of us all together!). We had so much fun!

It was hosted by one of the many members in the group who run a working farm. They have ducks, chickens, roosters, turkeys, baby chicks, horses, ponies, cows, etc.

Poor R... she is such a girly girl. She overdressed herself for being on a farm.

But she tried to make the best of it and (after applying some facepaint) was soon running with the others. :o)

And, yes, that is my daughter rubbing her tummy and saying, "YUM! Turkeys." The poor turkeys you see in the background are going to be Thanksgiving Dinner this year.

Sandy, who was the hostess, dressed herself and her 7 children as either pilgrims or indians, and gave all of us a wonderful history lesson.
Sandy is a 9th generation direct ancestor of William Bradford, who was one of the original pilgrims. She also has his personal journals that he wrote in from his journey overseas to the "New World", and of his trials after his arrival. It was fascinating.


One of the entries in his journal was that in the beginning, the settlers did not have much food at all, and many of them were starving to death. That first year after they arrived, the rations of food had dwindled down to merely 5 kernels of corn per person, per day!

So, Sandy had prepared some corn and gave each of the children 5 solitary kernels of corn... and then told them, "Happy Thanksgiving! Didn't you like this wonderful feast?" Ha ha. Some of the littler ones got a little worried that they were not getting anything else to eat! :o)

Another interesting entry in the journals was that there were no utensils for the settlers to use, so they had to use sea shells as spoons. Sandy encouraged those who wanted to, to try to eat their meals with a shell instead of the utensils that we take for granted.

R decided to give it a try... which, if you know R, you know she is very prissy. It was soooo out of character for her, but she did it! The look on her face is priceless, but she did it! I was so proud of her!

The kids ended the eventful day by going on horseback rides!

Well, all except little H. She didn't mind so much. She had too much fun playing in the giant sand pit they had in the backyard.

At the end of the day, she was completely filthy from head to toe, and was asleep in the car shortly after this picture was taken. (as you can see from the picture, she is already staring off into space and I couldn't get her attention for a picture, so this is what we ended up with) :o)