Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

God did an amazing thing yesterday.

I shouldn't be surprised.  He has proven Himself faithful over and over and over again.  Yet somehow, I am still amazed to see Him work things out in such unbelievable ways.

When Paul got out of the Army last August, he had decided to go directly into the Reserves so that we could pick up medical coverage when he opened his own practice.  We thought it would be an easy transition, but it ended up taking six months to get the paperwork straightened out.  In the meantime, we had transitional coverage until the end of January.

Then that ran out.

We waited and waited and finally thought everything was taken care of...until yesterday.  I was trying to refill a prescription when I was informed that we still had no coverage.  The problem was that I only had six days of medicine left, and our coverage apparently doesn't start until April 1.

I called a pharmacy and discovered that a 14-day supply would cost $75.  We knew we didn't really have any choice.  We were going to have to pay the full amount.

I decided to call our doctor and ask if they had any samples.  A sweet Christian nurse from the clinic answered the phone and listened to my story.  A minute later she came back on the phone and said that they had one sample box I could have.

"How many days is that?" I asked tentatively.

"One month," she replied with a smile in her voice.  "When do you want to come get it?"

The kids and I ate a fast lunch and drove right over to the office.  When she handed me the box, I told her thank you and she said, "God is good all the time."

On the way home, Josiah asked to look at the box.  I said, "Do you know what you're holding?"

"No."

"You're holding $150."

And then God said to me, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from Your Father...Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows."

Amazing.

Our Latest Birthday Celebrations

Micah and Sarah turned seven in February!  Here are some pictures of them with their cakes!  As you can see, the cake tradition continues, and we had a great time celebrating the birthday of our twinnies!  They got the presents, but they are the gift!

Sarah wanted a garden cake complete with a pond!  This may be one of my favorites!  The fence is made out of frosted graham crackers, and the little girl is made out of gum paste.

On the afternoon of Sarah's birthday, Paul came home from the store with the pot of daffodils.  You can't have a garden cake without real flowers too!

Micah wanted a football cake!  As we were finishing up the cakes, Paul decided to make a frosted graham-cracker scoreboard.  It is a little hard to see, but Michigan is beating Ohio State 77-7 with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter.  We do bleed maize and blue in this house!  The field is complete with yellow gummy bears to represent Michigan and red gummy bears to represent Ohio State.

Micah even wore his Michigan jacket for the picture!

Rudderless

Paul called home one day last week to check in with me, and he asked how my day was going.  I said, "I feel rudderless today.  Absolutely rudderless."  Then it dawned on me why I felt that way.  I had stayed in bed later than usual and then one of my kids got up earlier than usual.  I wasn't able to have the quiet time with God that has become like my very morning food over the last two years.  No wonder I felt rudderless.  The unfinished, most-important thing in my day was hanging over my head.  I hadn't acknowledged the One that directs my steps, so I was completely lost.  What a realization.

When Paul deployed, I very quickly learned that if I was going to have any joy at all through those twelve long months, I was going to have to start each day giving everything over to God.  It became my habit and something that I actually look forward to each morning.  What I didn't realize, though, is how much I had come to depend on that time.  It is my "breakfast" of solitude, reflection, prayer, and listening to what God wants for my day (although it is always done with a cup of coffee in my hand!)

Sometimes the baby-steps of progress in my Christian life are so imperceptible that I hardly see them.  What a grace that God would allow me to see how He has brought me along in my own personal walk.

I started the day rudderless.  I ended the day encouraged and thankful.  Onward I plod-- by God's grace and for His glory.

New Year's Greetings 2010

Dear friends,

Paul and I want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Happy New Year filled with the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ! The last year was one of many changes for us, and I invite you to go on a quick pictorial journey with us as we recap our last year and look ahead to the new year unfolding before us.  With all of the adjustments and changes of the last few months, I haven't written nearly as often as I would have liked, but Lord willing, I will be adding to this blog much more frequently in 2010!

Josiah (9), Micah (6), Sarah (6), Isaac (4)

The year 2009 began with Paul at home for his two week R&R from Iraq. We had a wonderful time as a family, and we dreaded the good-bye that came all too quickly.

At the airport when Paul arrived for his leave

On January 8, Paul again journeyed back to Baghdad for another five months, and the children and I resumed our daily activities. To say that God was active in our family is an incredible understatement. There were many days that I got to the end of the day, positive that the only thing that had sustained us was the limitless grace of God.  I can definitely look back and say that I tasted the sweetness of Christ like I never had before, and I came away from the year of deployment having learned much about God as an ever-present help and refuge.

In March my mother-in-law came for two weeks, and then my sister came with her two girls for two weeks.  My mother-in-law even found time to paint murals on the basement walls!  Both Heather and Betty were a great help, and their company was a great gift.  Again, the Lord met my needs when I was very weary!

As April arrived, I have to admit that I've never been more excited to see spring come in all my life!  The children and I began preparing for Paul to come home at the end of May, and on May 29 we left for Fort Benning, Georgia to meet Paul as he arrived home on the 31st.  What a joy to be reunited as a family, and what a gift from God!

From Georgia we began a very long, very exciting road trip-- 8,134 miles to be exact!  We drove from Georgia to Florida and spent ten days on vacation.  We went to Disney and Sea World and loved every minute of being together.  From Florida, we began a 4-day, cross-country drive to Seattle so that Paul could out-process out of the Army at Fort Lewis, Washington.  After a week in Seattle, we drove to Denver for a few days with my parents, and then drove back home to Michigan.  The kids are fabulous travelers, and we had a wonderful trip!  We were gone a full month, and Paul was very glad when we finally drove back into his beloved Michigan!  He was finally home for good!  I posted numerous pictures of our long road trip earlier, so if you would like to see those, go here!

The rest of the summer was spent adjusting back to our life together, growing a garden, playing a ton of backyard whiffle-ball, and enjoying being together.  Paul and I celebrated our 10th anniversary at the end of July, and his mom came to stay with the kids while we went to St.Ignace/ Mackinac Island and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for five days!

The kids spent a lot of time foraging in the garden for sugar-snap peas and strawberries!

Paul and I at Mackinac Island

On August 1, Paul left active duty after more than eight years.  The Lord made it clear that our time in the Army was finished, and we are excited to begin a new chapter in our marriage and family!  Paul applied to transfer his law license from Colorado to Michigan, and in November, he opened his own law practice here in Rochester, Michigan!  The Lord seemed to lead in this direction, and we are looking forward to seeing what he has for us in the years ahead.

I am in my fifth year of homeschooling our children, and I find my days filled with school, our homeschool group, and tasks at home.  I am also directing the adult choir at our church.  The choir is one of the sweetest groups of people I have ever known, and they are truly passionate about leading our church family God-ward as we provide a musical picture frame around the face of Christ!  It is such a joy to be involved in this ministry.

Josiah is in the 4th grade now, and he loves books and animals.  He just received an aquarium for Christmas, so he is the proud owner of some new tropical fish.  He is a great student and is making wonderful progress in his education.  I see the Lord doing much in his life right now!

Micah and Sarah are both becoming great readers, and they are doing well in 1st grade.  Micah loves Legos and math, and Sarah loves dancing, singing, and writing.  Micah is daddy's boy when it comes to sports, and Sarah is my constant little companion in all things girly!

Isaac is our spoonful of sugar!  He loves Legos and Wii bowling, and he tries very hard to keep up with the big dogs (his brothers)!  He will start Kindergarten in the fall of this year, although he has already caught a lot just listening to me teach the others.

As I look back on 2009, I have learned three main lessons.  First, whether I can always see it or not, the Lord is active in the lives of each of His children.  Sometimes it is easy to imagine that He hasn't done much lately, but when I was forced to look to Him more than I ever had, I found Him in even the tiniest details.  Even when so many refuse to recognize His sovereignty, He is orchestrating every detail of life for His glory.

Second, I learned that I cannot calculate without God.  The instant I started to imagine what might happen, or "forward-fear", I would lose sight of all of the ways God had been so near to me in the past.  I had read many things about difficulties post-deployment, and while Paul and I had some adjustments to make, things really did get back to "normal" pretty quickly.  We found that two people seeking to glorify God can overcome many obstacles with His help.

Third, I learned how very blessed I am to have my precious husband and children, extended family, and dear friends to link arms with on this journey heavenward.  While Paul was deployed, he videotaped daily devotions for our children using a wonderful book called Training Hearts, Teaching Minds.  He would mail me the tapes, and we watched them almost every night.  I believe strongly that this made the deployment and subsequent adjustments so much easier for our children.  They heard their dad pray over them almost every night, even though he was half a world away, and they knew that God watched over all six of us.  Our family and friends came around us to "hold up our arms", and I can't praise the Lord enough for blessing us so abundantly.

The completed paper chain that grew around our kitchen while Paul was gone!

I don't know what this new year holds for our family, but I know that God is living and active and present.  With much thanksgiving, we bless Him for caring for us in 2009 and look forward with expectancy to what He will do in 2010.  We are thankful for each one reading this greeting, and we pray that the Lord will make His name great in all of our lives for His own glory.

Treasured Traditions

I was recently asked to speak on traditions for a women's gathering. The following post is from the handout for my session. I pray it will be an encouragement to those that are looking for ways to build up God-glorifying traditions in their homes!

Treasured Traditions

“A Magnificat Morning”

October 17, 2009

Deut. 4:9- “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.”

Psalm 78: 4,6-7- “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done…that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.”

Proverbs 17:22 -“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

I. Thinking through thousands of years of tradition—Looking back helps us to look forward!

A. My own definition:

A tradition is something we hold on to that points us to THE SOMEONE that holds onto us.

Something we hold on to…

Traditions exist in all cultures from all time periods.

Traditions are part of the human experience, based often on changing seasons or family history.

…that points us toward the SOMEONE that holds onto us.

There is great Biblical precedent for traditions. In Deut 4, God commands the children of Israel to talk about and pass on the things that He has done. He set up feast and holy days as days of remembrance. See also Psalm 78:1-7, Deut. 6, Deut 11:1-3, 7, 18-19. We can use traditions to help shape our family’s spiritual life!

B. What are the differences between habits, memories, and traditions?

Habits are things we do every day like brushing our teeth. They are automatic, but not always deliberate.

Memories are being made constantly, no matter what the situation. The brain is a never-ending recording device that takes in every detail of every moment. Memories are the backbone of traditions.

Traditions are deliberate, thoughtful ways to celebrate a family, culture, or belief.

For the Christian, traditions are more than making or preserving memories. They are about establishing earthly pictures that constantly direct our attention to God- His attributes, His Word, His truth, His sovereignty.

So if traditions point us to God, how can we fill our moments and memories to the glory of God? When do we do this? How do we start? Traditions are not just for our children. They point adults, grandparents, and singles to God too!

II. Sorting through thousands of possibilities for traditions in the future-- Isn’t “new tradition” an oxymoron?

A. The “When” of traditions?

1. Holidays- The word “holiday” comes from two words: “Holy Day”

2. Special days- Birthdays, Anniversaries, Family reunions, Weddings, Funerals, Vacations

3. Every days- Things we do daily in the life of our family.

B. The “Who” of traditions?

1. Immediate family

2. Extended family

3. Church family (worship service traditions, seasons in the life of a church throughout the year)

C. The “How” of traditions? Where do I start?

1. Be deliberate- Unless we plan ahead, something might never happen!

2. Be thoughtful- Start small with one or two things.

3. Focus on the treasure of Christ first and then the people in your life. Material things are largely unimportant in building up godly traditions.

D. The “What” of traditions- Some questions to get us thinking!

1. What is most important to me? My husband? Our family?

2. What truths of Scripture would I love to focus on in my traditions? (A favorite verse, a favorite hymn, a favorite spiritual memory or goal?)

For example:

a. We have a vase of stones and a journal on our entryway table. When God does something in our lives or provides for us in a special way, we put a stone in the jar and write the event in the journal. This comes from Joshua 4:21, 22a, 24b-

And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know…that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

b. My sister has small, square canvases on her living room wall. When someone comes over, they have the person sign their name and write a favorite verse. If someone comes that doesn’t know Christ, they have the individual write something they are thankful for! Their artwork is also a visible guest book and reminder of the things God has done!

3. What do I want my family to remember in 10 or 20 years? How can I pass on what I treasure to my family and others that I know?

4. What are the interests of my family?

5. What is one way I can plan for the upcoming holiday season?

III. Some of my favorite ideas to get you started!

A. Holiday ideas

1. Patriotic Holidays- (Even though patriotic holidays are not necessarily religious, they are great times for teaching a family about God’s gifts to our country and our civic responsibilities.)

a. Attend parades.

b. Send letters to soldiers

c. Make visits to the capital.

d. Read the Declaration of Independence together.

2. Easter- This is one of the most important Holy Days for the Christian. Our entire faith hinges on the Resurrection of Christ and His atoning work on the cross.

a. Celebrate Lent by giving up something in order to reserve extra time for Christ.

b. Start with seven lighted candles and gradually extinguish them in the weeks before Easter to show the darkness of sin. On Easter morning, all seven are lit again, signifying the risen Christ as the true light of the world.

c. Study various names of Christ.

d. Attend various Easter services (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, etc.).

e. Think through special meals or treats. See the link for a recipe for Easter cookies at the end of this handout!

3. Thanksgiving- This is the only holiday we celebrate that has an exclusively religious origin. It is a wonderful time for reflecting on God’s blessings.

a. Fill a “blessing box” with blessings and answers to prayer all year long. Then take them out and read them before your Thanksgiving meal.

b. In my family, there was usually an extra place setting at the table that remained empty in honor of those that were not able to be with us that year.

c. We also all wrote messages on a Chinet plate for each person that wasn’t there, and then my grandma mailed them. I’ll never forget getting those plates when I was at college and couldn’t go home for Thanksgiving!

d. There are some wonderful hymns for this time of year-- “We Gather Together”, “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”, “Now Thank We All Our God”.

4. Christmas- When we think of traditions, most people tend to think of Christmas first. What a glorious time of celebration as we remember the birth of the Savior! It is hard not to get caught up in the materialism and rush of the season, but if we are deliberate, we can institute some wonderful ways to reflect on Christ.

a. The beauty of many of the decorations can even point us to the beauty of Christ. In our family, we buy one special ornament for each child every year that helps tell the story of their life. They will take these with them when they get married. All of the decorations glow and shine, reminding us that Christ is indeed the light of the world.

b. Begin to research the origins of the different symbols of Christmas (i.e. Christmas tree, star, candles, holly, candy canes).

c. Some traditions can just be for the mutual joy and fun in a family, building togetherness and unity! We always buy new Christmas pajamas every year. They are the only present opened on Christmas Eve!

d. Plan special meals throughout the season. We have pizza on Christmas tree decorating night. We always have lasagna either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (it can be made ahead of time, thereby limiting the amount of time I spend in the kitchen on the holiday!)

e. Choose a new family to have over for a cookie night and get to know their story!

f. Celebrate Advent by lighting one candle on each of the four Sundays before Christmas and reading prophecies about the birth of Messiah. A fifth candle in the middle of the Advent wreath is the “Jesus candle” and is lit on Christmas morning.

g. Memorize and quote Luke 2: 1-18 together.

h. Create a Jesus tree with ornaments symbolizing names and attributes of Christ. I have also heard this called a “Jesse Tree”. See the link for Jesse tree ideas at the end of this handout!

i. Begin collecting nativities from around the world as a reminder that one day those from every kindred nation, tribe, and tongue will bow and say, “Worthy is the Lamb”.

j. Wonderful, God-glorifying music abounds at Christmas. Attend every concert and cantata you can possibly fit into the schedule!

k. Make a birthday cake for Jesus. The cake is chocolate to represent sin, covered with white frosting to represent Christ washing us white as snow. On the top of the cake place a star, an angel, a crown (He is the King of Kings), and a candy cane (shaped like a J for Jesus). Light a LARGE candle on the top of the cake while you sing a Christmas carol!

B. Special Day Ideas

1. Birthdays

a. Write letters instead of buying birthday cards. A handwritten note is like gold in this electronic age!

b. Make special meals, like birthday breakfasts or birthday dinners.

c. Begin a journal that you add to every year telling your child about how they are special and how they have grown that year.

d. If you like to scrapbook, make separate birthday books.

2. Anniversaries

a. Write a letter to your spouse sharing your memories and thoughts about the past year—what was special to you, what you learned, and how God worked in your lives during the year.

b. Watch your wedding video or look through your photos together.

c. Have a new picture taken of the two of you together.

3. Other Special days and Events- Things that happen once a year or even more infrequently such as weddings, funerals, family reunions, or family vacations are opportunities to cherish the gift of extended family. Be alert for ways to build traditions.

For example:

Family vacations or road trips-

a. Listen to books on CD together instead of everyone doing their own thing in the car. The Focus on the Family Radio Theater CD’s are fabulous.

b. I know a family that planned their family vacations for every year from the time their children were little to the year the last one graduates from high school. They save for these trips continually, and they picked the 10-15 places they most wanted to visit.

c. Our kids have fun bags that go along on every trip. Everywhere we go, we buy a patch, a key chain, or a pin to go on their bag.

C. Everyday Ideas- These are the things you do in your family that point you DAILY toward God and His sweet blessing of a family.

1. Periodically, we plan a surprise ride for a family fun time. We get everything planned and then run through the house screaming, “Surprise Ride! Surprise Ride!” Things we’ve done include going to get ice cream, going swimming at the YMCA, getting up early to go to McDonald’s for breakfast, or going to see a special movie.

2. Plan a family fun night each week and treasure that time.

3. Read books out loud to each other. I heartily recommend On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten from “The Wingfeather Saga” written by Christian singer Andrew Peterson! For a list of other great books to read see the following website:

www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html

4. Play games or buy a large puzzle. Much deep and even spiritual conversation can take place while a family puts together a puzzle!

5. Family worship is one of the most important traditions a family can have. As soon as children can read, start them on the habit of reading Scripture aloud together.

6. Especially with children, a bedtime routine of prayers and special songs is a wonderful tradition!

7. Eat dinner every night in the dining room and regularly use the nice dishes. Why have them if they only come out once or twice a year?!

8. Even prayer before meals is an important tradition!

9. We have a magnetic clipboard with notebook paper that hangs on our refrigerator. We call it the “cute list”, and we write down all of the funny things the kids do and say. Josiah just turned nine, and he has 26 full pages. When we need a good laugh, we just start reading through the cute list! It also helps to remind us of our family’s history—where we have been and how God has brought us to where we are now.

Some of my favorite resources:

1. Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper

2. Let’s Make a Memory by Shirley Dobson

3. Before and After Christmas- Activities and Ideas-Advent or Epiphany by Debbie Trafton O’Neal (daily activities to direct children’s thoughts during the Christmas season)

4. The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats by Andrew Peterson

5. Kids Love Michigan by George and Michelle Zavatsky (full of fun, family-friendly places to visit in our beautiful state)

6. For ideas for a “Jesus tree” or “Jesse tree”: http://www.crivoice.org/jesse.html

7. For a great Easter cookie recipe see the following website or do an internet search for hollow Easter cookies. http://www.allhomemadecookies.com/recipes/drop/easterstorycookies.htm

(Please link to this post instead of copying and pasting if you desire to use any of this material in print in any form!)

Josiah's 9th Birthday!

Josiah turned nine this week-- on 9/9/09. He absolutely loves the old Star Wars movies, so he asked for a Star Wars cake. Here is a picture of him with the Millennium Falcon. As I was piecing it together to frost and decorate it, Isaac (who is four) looked at it and said, "It's the Mill... It's the Mill... It's Han Solo's ship!" I was really thrilled that it was immediately recognizable, even before it was decorated!

We had a great day complete with Josiah's favorite dinner-- grilled steak with baked potatoes (both white and sweet potatoes)! I can't believe he's nine!

Chocolate Kisses

I have been praying all summer about this little blog of mine now that Paul has returned from Iraq. I know it isn't very significant as blogs go, but the Lord has used it in my own life as a written expression of the ways He is at work in our family. As I pray, I keep coming back to the idea of "Chocolate Kisses"-- small bits of sweetness from the Lover of my soul. Chocolate kisses seem to fit with the theme of "Chocolate Syrup and Cookie Dough", and I desperately long to see and savor the sweetness of Christ-- on good days and bad.

I will still share pictures of our family, but I also believe the Lord would have me share simple stories and small sweetnesses that He brings into my life as He continues the good work that He began in me (Phil. 1:6). It will be a written record of the ways He is molding and teaching me, and I pray that it might encourage a few people along the way. We are still adjusting to our lives here, and my posts might be few for awhile, but I will be able to start writing more once we get settled back into our lives together.

Chocolate kisses are small, and my entries will be short, but I pray they will be filled with the overflowing goodness of Christ. By God's grace and for His glory, I will taste and see that the Lord is very, very good.

The 8,134 Mile Road Trip

On Friday, May 29, we started our four-week-long "road trip of a lifetime"! The children and I drove first to Fort Benning to pick up our dear Daddy who was just returning from Iraq. We picked him up on Sunday, May 31, and we all headed to Orlando for a ten-day vacation. We then drove from Orlando to Seattle with overnights in Illinois, South Dakota, and Montana.

While we were in the Seattle region, Paul reported to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he completed his paperwork to get out of the Army. (He is still in the Reserves.) We were in Seattle for a week, and then we drove to Denver to see my parents. After a few days in Denver, we headed for home and arrived exactly four weeks to the day from when we left.

All in all, we were in 18 different states and drove a total of 8, 134 miles!! The trip was an amazing experience, and we relished the opportunity to be together again. The Lord blessed us with safe travel and great family time. What a gift!

I hope you will enjoy this little photo album!

The first kisses from Daddy at Freedom Hall, Fort Benning, GA!

Daddy with all of his happy kids!

Daddy with a very happy (although teary-eyed) mommy!

Isaac wrapped up in his travel pillow on the way to Florida.

The boys with Buzz Lightyear at Magic Kingdom.

Our princess with a princess!

You can't see it in the background, but Micah's smile comes from his love of the ride "Splash Mountain", which he has now ridden 14 times!

Micah by one of the beautiful aquariums at Sea World. You can see a manta ray behind him in the tank.

Our kids up inside the viewing tube in one of the aquariums at Sea World!

Paul's parents came and spent several days with us in Florida. We had a great time with them, and they were glad to see Paul back safe and sound!

Josiah playing in the splash area at Sea World on a hot, hot day!

We spent two days at Disney's Animal Kingdom and three days at Disney's Magic Kingdom! Our entire family enjoyed it immensely!

Sarah with Grandpa in line at Animal Kingdom.

Isaac squeezin' the stuffin' out of Grandma!

Grandpa bought our whole family matching shirts before leaving Disney! It was fun to wear them together on our last day at the park!

As we drove across the country, we got to see several fun places and sights. Here is the first stop-- the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

At the bottom of the Arch...

...and at the top of the Arch!

We rode on the little tram that is part elevator, part ferris wheel to get to the top. Here is Micah looking out over St. Louis. You can see the Cardinals' stadium in the background of the picture!

On our way through South Dakota, we stopped at Wall Drug for lunch. They had all kinds of activities for kids, so here we are searching for precious stones and gems in the mining area. The kids got to go into some little mines with head lamps on helmets and search in the dark for treasure. Here they are with sluice boxes, separating the dirt from the stones.

You can't drive through the Black Hills without stopping at Mount Rushmore!

I took this picture of the Garmin when we were finally almost to Seattle. It shows only 25 miles to our destination, but it also shows more than 4,000 miles driven and 60 hours of driving time since the kids and I left home on May 29. As for the max speed of 94.2 mph, all I can say is that we had driven through Montana that day. Anyone who has driven through Montana knows that it is easy to go that fast without even realizing it! We realized it rather quickly, but the Garmin still caught it, and now it is preserved for all posterity!

Daddy and Josiah playing chess at the Children's Museum in Seattle.

Beautiful Mount Rainier as seen from Fort Lewis. In the week we were there, it was only clear enough to see it on the one day I took this picture.

We went to the lovely home of Paul's aunt and uncle, Greg and Cheryl White, for dinner while we were in Seattle. Here are pictures of the kids canoeing with Paul's cousin, Sara.

At the top of the Seattle Space Needle with the beautiful city in the background.

We took in a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field while we were there. It was absolutely frigid considering it was the middle of June! Paul is hoping to watch a game at every ball park in America before the boys leave home! Mark off Safeco Field!

A few pictures of our happy travelers. They did so well on such a long trip!

Isaac playing dress-up at Oma and Opa's house in Denver. The kids really enjoyed being out of the car for a few days!

The Denver Museum of Science and Nature.

Putt-putt golfing with Oma and Opa! What a fun time! We also got to visit a candy factory in Denver and eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory! I miss Denver and its blue sky! You can take the girl out of Colorado, but you can't take Colorado out of the girl!

On our final stretch, we were able to meet up with my brother and sister-in law, Erich and Jen, in Omaha. Here are the kids with their sweet cousin Jack!

Isaac and Jack saying good-bye!

After Omaha, we drove home and began settling into our life as a family again! By God's grace we had a wonderful trip, and by God's grace, we travel on from here!