The past weeks in a nutshell!

I have not posted in a while as there have been so many thoughts swirling that no one ever seemed to stand out more than another... they all just keep piling up til I feel a little over whelmed to post one just one.

When my hubby first started having to preach, and prepare messages, he often felt the same way. He would have a great topic some where in I Corinthians, and start out by asking everyone to turn to Genesis... I guess a "brief" Old Testament survey never hurts, but it is hard to catch the "Main points" of a message like that. Such has been my life the past few weeks!

(And please know my hubby is a great preacher! He has since... and very effectively... learned less is really more in the aspect of a single sermon!)

So in the interest of brevity, I want to just hit a few hi lights.

Dan and I celebrated our 19 wedding anniversary. It was during the week Encounter Revival Ministries was here, and while we celebrated, it was far from in the traditional way. We took our kids and our hosted girls out to dinner- at Wendy's- and had only 20 minutes to chow it all down and get everyone to their respective obligatory locations... in separate cars. It was memorable if not romantic!

Olivia ended her soccer career as a high school student on an amazing high note. They were at the championship game in Cohocton on a lighted field at 8:30 pm one VERY.BRISK. October evening. The fans all wore snow suits and winter gloves and hats! Well, the rival team had an undefeated season, and only one of their wins was not a shut out. One goal had been scored on them the ENTIRE SEASON! Needless to say they were arrogantly overconfident and full of themselves very good competition!

Well after half time, no score. Zip-Zip.

After entire game, no score. Nada-Nada.

After not one but two 5 minute sudden death OT, no score. Fans were screaming and teeth were chattering. The waves of excitement could be felt **hundreds of miles** away!

The entire seasons Championship Title now rested on one goal keeper, and 5 kickers from each team.

Shoot Out.

First up for Rochester Rapids... my daughter, Olivia. No little pressure rested on her shoulders at that moment!

The ENTIRE crowd of fans became eerily quiet... it was 11:oo pm... and 31 degrees. She took two steps back... surely not enough to get the power behind it to break the keepers hand as it whizzed by clear the upper 90! Whoosh! The keeper barely feels it skim her fingertips and it is SCORE!!!!!! The crowd erupts and the Rapids are up 1-0!!!

They shoot- miss!

We shoot- Katie makes it!!! Rapids are up 2-0!

They shoot- score... their fans give a brief cry of victory, but we are still up 2-1.

We shoot- miss. We are getting nervous.

They shoot - miss! We are getting hopeful!

We shoot- miss. They still could pull this off. They have two more tries.

They shoot- miss. Our side shouts in excitement of possible victory!

Our final kicker is our keeper still in the opponents net. She ran across the field to be our final kicker.

The crowd became silent so that even breathing stopped. The chattering of teeth was all that broke the deafening silence. Liz's cleats could be heard by all as they crunched onto the newly frosted grass... she took her few steps and belted it into the net! SCORE! RaPiDs WoN 3-1!!!!!!

I know all of this not because I was there... sad for me!!! Dan gave me a play be play on my cell phone! I was so bummed to have missed it as I was **hundreds of miles** away in Old Forge, NY.

"Why?" You might ask.

Well, a great friend from church has asked if she could head up the Ladies Prayer group for our family. Wow! That makes things seem so very real and close! Well she and her hubby have built an amazing Log Cabin in the Woods of Old Forge. (All caps because it truly deserves accolades!) It is a gorgeous setting and even more a stunning home. She whisked me away for a the weekend to really get to know each other, and to get a good direction for our prayer group! What a great time! I still missed "The Game"... but as you can see it was for a good cause! To top it all off, they are generously and without compensation offering this home to our pastoral and missionary families to use for a mini retreat if they should choose! WELL... if that is not a great offer!

It is a blessing that our church has such amazing support for our missionaries. Having been part of the "sending teams" for so long, I know what a blessing it is for those I have supported prayerfully and financially. I have heard them tell over and again how they would not be nearly as "successful" without it. Now as a family that is "going to the other side" and actually preparing to be one of the sent, I am even more aware of the power of prayer and the importance of consistency in my support- both financially as well as prayerfully!

My time spent up in the mountains really caused me to think again of all that our family has experienced these past few years. Dan and I have time after time felt the Lord confirming and encouraging us to continue on in this path. His word has been our source of strength when we feel discouraged or like we are treading water. He has sent people in our path that are veteran missionaries as well as people who are only a few steps ahead of us. We are so thankful to God that we have all of these people to learn from, to be encouraged by, as well as to be co laborers in the Great Commission!

Zambia in Picture

Here a few pictures from Dan and Levi's trip in September. It was a great time for them!

Win one for yourself!

So I love purses and never quite have the free few bucks to just buy one, but I found this bloggy give away at Handbag Planet and can win one of 24 purses! And I pick the purse! ... see my selection right there!! You can too!! Check it out! Go ahead! And if you win, please tell me... and let me borrow it! Especially if you chose hour #13!

Fall is in the air

This is my favorite season of the year.

For whatever the reason I love the cool mornings and the glow in the sunshine. There is a crispness to each day that is reminiscent of days gone by and a fore shadow of colder days to come. We have been in school full swing for weeks now, and there is a comfortable pace to each day.

Now for a reality check!

Somewhere in the walls of our school room a hive of bees has been nested and the newest of their offspring greet us eagerly in the mornings. It is a full fledged bee killing fest every morning!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the team from Encounter Revival Ministries. Our family loves being host to a few members each year, and we pick up our two new temporary family members on Saturday which begins a flurry filled week of chapels in the morning, Bible studies at night, and too much hilarity and insanity in between to adequately tell of! There is also a new Summit Teens commercial that will debut on Sunday, which I will post next week for all to endure enjoy!

They guys have been bitten with salmon spawning fever, and the river calls to them like some long lost memory they simply cannot ignore! They eagerly face the bracing morning chill like a friend and head down to High Falls any chance they get! 4 large Salmon to date... I am praying for some deer in my freezer this year!

To get the scope of this picture, remember Levi is now 13, 5'7" tall, and that fish is huge!

The craziest thing about this trip is, Dan managed to get the fishing in before work...but not the "finishing" in. He dropped off boys and salmon, changed and left! The filleting, cleaning and bagging have been left to the boys. And Savannah! She is the cheerleader!

**************Caution! Graphic Images !! *******************

I warned you!

Notice I am not out there... I have no tolerance for anything from the water. Not fish, shrimp, lobster, or crocodile! (Which I have tasted, by the way! ) But... I will be right there when they are all done with the hose and pine sol to wash off the patio!

Two in one day!

I know this is the second post for today, but you must go to this super fun google game called Where in the World!

I am absolutely terrible at Geography, but this is a fun way to teach observation with analysis as well as geography all in one! Go ahead! Try it!

Is yours a Do or a Done?

I'm reading just a little book called "done", and it really brought some things to a clear focus.

I have long held the teasing joke that there are as many religions as there are breathing people on this planet. Over 6 billion ways to be good, love God, get to heaven. If it were left to us humans, we would all concoct a slightly different way to achieve a glorious place we would call Heaven. Some might agree a little more in some areas than others, and those we would refer to as fundamentalists. Or cults!

But in this little 100 page book, the author makes a statement that really there are only two types of religion in this world. The DO category contains all but the one classified in the DONE category.

Summing it up, in all other religions their mantra is, "what more do I have to do?" In their belief system there is always has a list of do this and do that. In the end followers are left asking the question..."Have I done enough?!"

In the one standing alone, the one true God has said, "What is required I have DONE." Out of love and a desire to know and please Him, I am left asking... "Lord what more can I do?!"

So the question stands. At the end of the day are you wondering have you done enough? Or are you resting in the finished work of the cross, and praising God-the Author and Finisher of your faith- for yet another day to do his glorious work?

Oh the Age in which we live!

As a child of the 70's and 80's, it may surprise none of you that growing up I had only the game "breakout" on my one game nintendo system. And I was cool with that. And I was good at it too, if I dont say so myself. Now mind you my family did NOT acquire this game until I was in 8th grade.

Also, our family got our first VCR-and it was HUGE!- the next year when I was in 9th. But we had no movies to play in it- only the home made tapes that were so skillfully and very NON-DIGITALLY recorded on the massive home video recorder. But watch them we did, and with such "we have arrived" attitudes in our hearts!

So pardon me if some things of today still amaze me. And crack me up.

My children- the very next generation- think all of this technology has always been there, and simply refuse to believe the statements made above, as well as others!

They forget that our family just entered the cell phone arena just over two years ago! They also forget that the computer on which I type is considered archaic in the realm of cutting edge technology! I only have 40g hard drive for crying out loud! (PLENTY for me!! )

But some of the funniest things are the things said and done by our Savannah. She is 5 going on 21, and I am not kidding! I have never claimed to have genius in my blood, so where her whit and intelligence come from is a mystery. But she has come up with some winners and I will share a few with you today. I know you are thrilled!

Last spring during our stay with the P's Dan was doing some NSBI home work on his computer. Savannah says, " Dad, are you laptopping?" Loved it, and it stuck! He now does laptopping all the time.

Recently, she found me on my cell phone, and she asks, "Mom, are you texting or saving a number into your contacts?" What?! How does she pick up on these things? The texting I will allow, but "saving into contacts"? She is truly on a higher intellect!

The topper was last night when we went to bed... VERY LATE I might add! She has yet to break the habit from Dan's long absence, and likes to snuggle on "his side" until he kicks her out a few minutes later. Last night as she jumped into bed, she grabbed her little "laptop-like" Barbie game. As she does, she says, "Mom, I need to check if Little Livvie left me an e-mail before I go to bed"!! OH MY! I dont even have a lap top, and Dan never does laptopping in bed... where do they come up with these things! I called for Olivia to take a pic on her cell phone so the quality is not great- but here she is!
You may notice her recent hair cut. Another of her higher thinking moments prompted the shearing. Her hair- while thick and beautiful, is NEVER up for long, and her feeble attempts to keep it out of her face-food-school- you name it!- only leave us both frustrated at the spaghetti, syrup, and blue marker that always end up in it! So she says, "Mom if you cut it, I can only get a little in my hair, because there wont be so much of it!" C.H.O.P.!! Works for me!

And not that you can see it very well in the picture, but she has a HUGE gap in the front of her teeth. Genetic. This one is my my gift to her. And was my Grandmothers gift to me! (I actually gave it to both my girls... how nice of me!) Anyhow, this gap is the result of a very thick "frenum" and will not close with the falling out of the baby and growing in of her adult teeth. I went back and forth with the decision to do anything about it. My mom chose to have an oral surgeon perform a "frenectomy" when I was 5, and I now have no gap. I also had no need of braces at all.

Olivia had the gap and at the advice of out orthodontist (read into that "job security") opted to try a retainer to close the gap. Needless to say- poor Liv has been in some sort of oral appliance since she was 8. Yeah, she is 17 now!! AND to make matters even better, she still had to have a frenectomy... LAST MONTH!!

So... I say all of that to say this. Savannah is having oral surgery tomorrow. Olivia has a great deal of sympathy for his little sis, as her memory of the whole ordeal is so very vivid and fresh! My memory of it, on the other hand, not so good! I only know I got a doll as a consolation prize. Which, by the way, I still have. Somewhere! So my plan is to down play the whole Novocaine-scalpel-stitches part and focus on a really fun present. Like an i-pod or something. Well, a toy one!

If you happen to think of her on Friday, please pray for her. I know this will not be pleasant no matter how you cut it. Pun not intended!