Random photos

A toad prince in our back yard.


Alex wanted to see if he could swim.


Jello salad yummy.


Our mutant tomato plant.


Four together.

Rains of Blessing

As a fourth year, we are enjoying the reduction in call. From 10 calls in 31 days to 7 is something to cheer about. Ben commented it almost feels like he is on vacation. I anticipate this year will go incredibly fast as two months we'll be spending in other states. Two cold months at that. We'll get to weave our way through prospective cities and tour hospitals. If you think I'm counting the days till our decisions are made, you are probably right. I have two years to pray that God prepares us for another spacious land, another place where we'll grow more in his likeness, where we can continue to raise our children, stretch out and enjoy. And I'm thankful that I have two more years to sit under the preaching of God's Word here. The church we began attending in January has been such a blessing in my life. I have been reminded of the unchangeable attributes of God, the simplistic but powerful message of the gospel and the joy of being a believer. Things I intellectually knew I have seen lived out in our church. I feel like I am dry ground being moistened by the Truth. I'm impatient to be saturated.

My "Liddell" for God

This is Jane. This is the girl in the palm of God's hand. For the second time since the beginning of the year...Jane has been miraculously kept safe.



When I originally posted my prayer prompter I did not anticipate that a few days later God would show me how his Spirit is the prompter of specific prayer requests.

One afternoon I took the children to the library. This library has a fabulous play area in the basement with a breathtaking mural (I must remember to bring my camera sometime to take a picture.) My three older children were wheeling dinosaurs in dump trucks and preparing ten course meals in the multiple play kitchens. Jane was content being held. After a while Jane decided to get down and crawl. I didn't see in coming. The only other child in the room decided to pick Jane up. As I reached to take her from the five-year-old's arms he threw Jane with a terrific force against the floor. She crumpled. I willed my body to move, though my heart had stopped. The way Jane fell I was terrified she was paralyzed. I gently picked her up and blood was spurting out her nose. When she began screaming, the blood rushed to her face and to get that nose to clot became increasingly difficult. By this time my lavender shirt was splattered with fine red dots, the boy and his mom had made a hasty exit, and Jane had thrashed enough for me to know she still had movement in her arms and legs. I thanked God for only that week asking safety for her in my prayers. Thank you all who have prayed alongside me.

This past week when the basement door was left open, Jane fell the entire way down the stairs to the concrete floor below. Once again I thank God in a moment that could have been life altering, Jane only sports a slight bruise on her left cheek. Because Ben is in orthopedics, I hear of people falling five feet off a ladder and never walking again. God must have a fabulous plan for Jane and the use of her legs. Maybe she will be fast like her namesake Eric Liddell. Maybe she will run for the Glory of God. But right now I'm just praising God she's walking.

Warm Weather Increases Productivity

As the weather gets nicer I notice I post less. We have been outside enjoying our Indian Summer. When it is this gorgeous it is hard to think of moving, but then in the 17 degrees sunless, six months of winter you couldn't convince me to stay. Yesterday we picked blueberries, four buckets worth. They are incredibly large and sweet.


Task-oriented Alex and Emily applied themselves to filling their buckets to the brim. Easy-going Fritz preferred to eat that which he picked. And Undiscriminating Jane picked berries off the bushes and the ground, ate them whether green or blue and had a very muddy mouth when we were finished.





On Sunday, as I was helping Emily get dressed, Jane found some shorts and draped them over her shoulders. She dressed herself for church. At the impressionable age of one, she must have seen a sari somewhere and tried to the duplicate the effect. She is a girl after her mama's heart.


In the last two weeks I have read five books and painted my dining room twice. Here is the latest color. Perhaps I shouldn't admit it, but since moving in, this room has changed colors five times.



And a funny unrelated note: History has a way of repeating itself. When someone near and dear me was little, he saw a toilet on display in a store and proceeded to use it. Well, a few days ago when we were in the hardware store, Emily saw a toilet in the plumbing aisle and adjusted her outfit to climb up on the seat. I turned around just in time to see her obvious intentions.

July 4th

Alex was doing backflips off the floating platform. He drove the platoon boat and had all the soft drinks his heart desired. It was a grand day.


Jane contemplating whether she can escape her mother's eagle eye and go swimming.



The host and hostess had Guiness, a dog the size of a horse, that the boys enjoyed throwing toys to. As he galloped, he was so large and powerful that it was quite frightening if you got in his path.


When the sun set they watched some impressive fireworks launch from the dock.