Here are some pictures of us working on the bookcase. The first two are of the boys being big helpers! And the last two are of the finished product. I am so excited for my husband. It has been great to see him be able to be creative again and enjoy it. It has been so long since he has been able to do any artwork, but I think woodworking will be good for him. And we were able to empty about 7 more boxes - they were all books for the boys, but we didn't have anywhere to put them. And they all fit on the new bookcase with room to spare!

Wrestling

Here are some pictures of Rob, Josh and Silas at the wrestling tournament. They write their weight right on their arms! We learned this week that wrestling is not for families with lots of children. When we signed the boys up for wrestling, it was $40 each for the season. We were surprised, but signed up anyway. When Jeremy took them to the tournament this last weekend, he learned that not only is it $40 each, it is also $8 each for each tournament! Besides that, Silas was bored silly before they even started. I'm glad I kept the others home. I can't imagine trying to keep that many toddlers off of the wrestling mats. It works well for some, but maybe we'll try basketball or baseball next time!

Just so you know, dear reader, that in this blog my plan is to share my heart. I was thinking about it this morning, and the Lord laid it on my heart that if I am going to have a blog, it should be to honor Him. So that said...

Robby and I had an issue last night. He was caught looking at his football cards when he had been told to get ready for bed. Oh, he had his pajamas on, but had not brushed his teeth, nor come out to tell his Dad or I that he was ready for bed. Needless to say, I was not happy. I lectured (yes, Mom, soap box and all) that we would ground him from his football cards if we needed to. I also asked him if he had not felt guilty at all sitting there looking at them, knowing that he was not being obedient, and he told me no. So he walked away, and I started sighing and praying in my heart, asking God to get a hold of him. I know that I can share the Lord with my kids, but I can't make them choose Him. That they have to do for themselves. So anyways, I was disappointed and frustrated. Then after he had brushed his teeth, Rob came back to apologize to me, and told me that he had lied. He had felt bad about what he was doing. I told him that was the job of the Holy Spirit - to convict of sin. Then I gave him a hug and sent him to bed. But that was so exciting to me. To see that the Lord had been working on his heart. I prayed that God would continue to draw him to Himself. I just thought that was too exciting not to share!

Girly Girl

And this picture, simply because I had to show my little girl in a dress! This was taken in Alaska on Christmas (notice the informal attire!)

Pictures

Here is all 6, right after moving into our new house in Willow Creek.

Here is Annalee at 5 months. Her brothers are being very generous and sharing their stickers with her!

Here is a picture of all of the kids with their Auntie Amy. This was taken while we were staying in Camano Island.

Willow Creek

Hello from beautiful Willow Creek! We are at our new field in California, between Redding and Eureka on Hwy 299. We have been here for about three weeks now, and are still working on getting everything settled. The kids all got the Humboldt bug when we first got here, and we are still working on getting over it. (named after the county we're in). We currently have three kids with snotty noses, but other than that, we are doing better.

Rob, Josh, and Silas have started wrestling. Silas just likes the exercise, but the other two are really enjoying it. There is a playground right here at the church that the boys are enjoying getting to play on. And the parking lot is completely paved, and allows them all to ride their bikes. We are officially a Christian school. To homeschool in the state of California, you have to register as a private school. Annalee is getting so big. She is 5 months old now. She is such a good-natured baby. She hardly fusses, unless one of her big brothers is invading her personal space! But she does allow quite a bit of kisses from them.

We are getting into the swing of things here at Willow Creek Bible Church. This is a fairly big church - at one time there were over 100 people attending. So naturally, there are a lot more activities going on here than we are used to. But we are adjusting. Jeremy has enjoyed getting back to preaching again. I think he really missed it. There are also several women willing to help take their turn in the nursery. The last pastor recently renovated the parsonage, and it is beautiful. This place reminds us a lot of Yale. I can look out my front living room window and see the back of the church, and up behind it, the mountains full of evergreen trees. And right across the highway from the church is the Trinity River. It truly is a beautiful place.