Dates and Goats and Flu - Oh, my!

Anna in her winter hat - isn't she beautiful!

Jeremy, Rob and Josh with one of our roosters. The boys' job was to pull out the feathers.

I tried to take a picture of Anna waving, but either she wouldn't wave for the camera, or it was blurry.

Rob helping serve at the community spaghetti dinner that the Pioneer Club kids held.

Whew! Where have the last few weeks gone? I think they passed without my knowing it!

Last month, for Pastor's Appreciation Month, our church gifted us with a night out. Not only did they give us a $75 gift certificate for a nice restaurant in town, but they also provided us with gas money and two women whose husband's are on the board to watch our kids! We had it all planned to go last Friday night, but one of the women ended up getting sick, so we weren't able to go. She told us that we could go Monday instead. But Sunday, the other woman got sick, so we knew we wouldn't be going anytime soon. Monday morning, we got a call from the first woman asking if we were going out that night. I told her that the other person was sick and wouldn't be able to help with the kids. She told us that she could watch all of our kids with her hands tied behind her back! Apparently she used to run a daycare in her home. So we figured why not? We left at 5, and went to dinner. It was a nice restaurant. It was on the second floor, and had a nice view of the town (although it was dark!). Since we don't usually get to go on dates because we have so many children, Jeremy decided he wanted to use all of the gift certificate - assuming it would be a while before we would be able to go back and use the rest of it. I will refer you now to the amount at the top of the paragraph, and the fact that we have never spent that much on dinner! But it was fun. We ordered 3 appetizers, two entrees and one dessert to split, and still had enough left for the tip! We took over half of what we ordered home for the boys to enjoy as well. After that, we headed to Costco to pick up a few items and our Christmas cards with our family pictures from the photo center. When we got home, everyone was asleep, and the house was quiet. So we snuggled on the couch and watched Up (a gift that we got the boys while at Costco). The next night, the boys got to watch it. They were so excited!!

However...Tuesday night, Josh started complaining about his stomach hurting. In the middle of the night, we were awakened to him throwing up. Ugh! I dislike sicknesses, simply for the fact that they usually rampage through everyone! Sure enough, by Wednesday night, Silas was throwing up, and by Thursday, it was Anna and Micah. Jeremy drove into town on Thursday to purchase a much-needed carpet cleaner, and then proceeded to clean the living room floor that afternoon. By that time, Rob was laying on the couch, not feeling well. As I write this post, Jeremy is sacked out on the bed. So much for his sermon prep time! It's a good thing he's preached through Genesis before. He might have to preach his sermon as it is from the last time he preached it up in Galena. I suppose that would mean I'm next...I hate getting sick. I am so thankful, though, that this sickness has been a fast moving one. The kids have only been feeling sick for about 12 hours each. I am also thankful that I have not gotten sick in the middle of the whole thing. At least I am feeling good to be able to take care of everyone else.

We have 8 chickens from our flock in our freezer. Jeremy and the boys learned from a field trip how to butcher and package them for the freezer. They did a very good job! We are all excited to try them. The plan was to have some of our chickens for Thanksgiving, but we will be going to the community Thanksgiving dinner at our church. So we will have to have them later. I guess they have been doing this dinner for several years. People from the church sign up to bring the items for the dinner, and then they open the doors to the community to come as well. I think it sounds like a great outreach opportunity.

We have been planning on getting goats for a couple of months now. There is a man in our church that we were going to partner with. The plan was for us to house them, and do the milking, and he built the milking station and the goat pen. Everything was finished last week, and we got the goats. The first night (we didn't get them until it was dark), the mama screamed so loud that we got a phone call asking if we had goats in our backyard. Later that same evening, as Jeremy and I were putting the kids to bed, and the guy from our church was working on finishing something in our shop....the police stopped by for a visit! I guess they had gotten a couple of phone calls that someone was being tortured. So we told them it was just some goats, and they couldn't believe it. But after seeing them for themselves, they drove off. We had them and milked the mama for 6 days. But after talking about it and praying about it, we decided that it probably was not the best thing to have them here. The church board had told us it was okay with them, but we were concerned about annoying the neighbors with how loud they were. And we figured that having neighbors annoyed with the church was not the best way to share the Gospel! So we are back to just our chickens. And now, they should all be hens! We are looking forward to getting some more in the spring time, to be able to get more eggs.

The boys have been having lots of fun with home ec for school this year. They have been helping me with baking bread and muffins for several months. But a few times, I have asked them to make muffins for breakfast by themselves - and usually I have them double or triple the recipe just to get enough for everyone! They really enjoy doing it, too! For Wednesday night prayer, we have turned it into a small group at our house, and have now started serving dinner for the few that come - it's usually not more than 3 or 4. But this last Wednesday, I had Rob bake our corn bread and our carob brownies (both sugar free, of course!). I also made some sugar free vanilla ice cream. One of the men that was there Wednesday night is diabetic, and I think he really enjoyed our dessert! Besides the benefit for our family, being able to cook for someone who has allergies makes it worth it for me.

I think, dear reader, that you are now up-to-date on the happenings in the Hayek household. Two of my little ones are awake from their nap, and so my time to write is over anyways. Thank you for taking the time to read of our happenings. I enjoy all of the responses I get from you that read and comment. Thanks!

Oh, and by the way

Boys playing in the freshly raked leaves - what fun!

Ever notice how life has a way of getting away from you? Things don't always seem to happen the way I think they will - or should. Last time I blogged, I mentioned that we were going to pick apples for a field trip the next day. That's not what actually happened. We got up early the next morning, with every intention of making it there (the field trip was 2 hours away from our house). But by the time we got into Eureka, we only had 20 minutes to get there, and were still an hour away. So we decided not to go, and took the kids to the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka instead. We had a really good time, even though it wasn't what we had planned. The weekend after that, we went to another field trip with our homeschool group. It was a butchering field trip (which was at the same place as the apple trip had been - so while we were there, we also got to pick some apples to bring home!). The kids got to watch a turkey and goat being butchered. Josh didn't want to see the animals being killed, but once that was over with, he helped pluck out feathers, and enjoyed the anatomy lesson. It was a great experience for us, because it taught us how to prepare our chickens for the freezer as well. Jeremy and the boys butchered 3 of our roosters on Saturday, and now they are in the freezer. Rob told me after they finished with the chickens that he really enjoys our lifestyle. He told the kids in Sunday school about what they did with the chickens. One boy said, "Why'd you do that?" Rob told him that it was because we had too many roosters.

Last week, our Pioneer Club hosted a community spaghetti dinner. I don't know if anyone got a real count to know how many people they served, but it was a lot. And they all did such a great job. They were courteous, helpful, and happy to be serving. Most of the kids in Pioneer Club don't go to church anywhere, but did such a good job serving dinner - I wonder if we should do it again! Our church does a similar thing for Thanksgiving - the church members sign up for the Thanksgiving dinner (potluck style) and then open the doors to the community to come and eat as well. I think my boys will enjoy serving at that dinner as well. I know they really enjoyed serving at the spaghetti dinner.

I made sweet potato pie without sugar last week. And it was a hit! Jeremy and Rob fought over it. Between the two of them, they ate at least half of it. And Anna thought it was yummy as well. I didn't even realize my family liked sweet potatoes, and have never served them before! Everyone loved it, but Silas. He doesn't seem to like potatoes at all - except for French fries, but I'm not sure they count as potatoes.

We got another puppy two weeks ago. Her name is Peach. She is now 7 weeks old, and is a Daschund/Jack Russell terrier mix. Most people think I am a glutton for punishment, but we actually wanted her to be a companion for Daisy. We thought they would keep each other company and be good playmates. They are doing really well together. They do enjoy playing with each other, and Daisy doesn't bite at the boys' toes so much! ;-)

We are blessed to have wood for the winter. A man in our church had wood on his property that he told us we could have. And another family had a splitter that they let us borrow. So Jeremy, Rob and Josh spent 5 hours splitting wood with this man one day, and they ended up getting about a cord and a half. The man still has more wood at his property for us whenever we need it. The Lord is providing for our needs!

I don't know if I mentioned that Jeremy is back into preaching in Genesis. He really enjoys studying the Law. He fills his sermons with so much information that it's hard to take it all in. So he has started using Sunday evenings as a question and answer forum. So far, we have had a good response. Those that come enjoy being able to ask questions about the morning's sermon that they obviously can't ask during church. And Jeremy enjoys being able to share more of what he has learned that week. He learns more than he can possibly put into a 45 minute sermon. Before Jeremy went into the ministry, I don't think I ever really appreciated how much work pastors put into their sermon and how much I took their knowledge for granted. I, like so many others, expected the sermon to only last 30 minutes. And if it was much more than that, I would keep checking my watch with disdain, and start thinking about everything on my to-do list for that afternoon. I have such a different perspective now, being the wife of a pastor. Watching Jeremy come home every day with exciting new tidbits about what he is uncovering in his studies is so much fun. But he does get disheartened with not having time to share it all. And he even stretches his sermons out to 45-55 minutes. I heard of another pastor telling a visitor of his church what a shame it was that we expect our pastors to spend 15-20 hours a week on sermon prep, and expecting him to present all of the information in 15 minutes. Sigh...I will now climb down from my soap box. I'm so sorry - that just took off without me! ;-) But I really do think we should appreciate our pastors more. They work so hard to share God's Word with us, not to mention all the behind the scenes work that we will never see (unless we happen to be married to one!). And this coming right after Pastor Appreciation Month (No, I didn't plan this). If you appreciate the work your pastor does, and you didn't get a chance to thank him last month, send him a card and let him know how much you appreciate him! And on that note, I will close...

Fall is here!

Annalee with her proud daddy!

Beautiful hat! Notice the straps - that's the only way to keep it on!

Annalee around 2 months - while still in Galena.

Our family picture taken at Cannon Beach this summer.

I love fall! I love the crispness of the early morning, with the wet grass (though I'd be happier if my shoes stayed dry!). I love the smell of fires burning bright in the fireplace, and snuggling up with loved ones in front of the roaring blaze. I love the thought of apple cider (though I try not to drink it much anymore - too much sugar!). I love the colors of all of the deciduous trees, and I don't even mind raking up the leaves - once or twice. Dear to my heart is going out to local farms and picking pumpkins and apples...maybe because I have fond memories of doing just that with family in Spokane when our oldest two were little. I love the hay rides, corn mazes, and even the fun little carnival games that some of them have.

Last time I wrote, we had just gotten back from the pumpkin patch. Well, we are finally almost finished processing those pumpkins. Phew! What work! Yesterday, I even had Rob and Josh write a few paragraphs about how we get pumpkins from the field to pumpkin pie. They did pretty good remembering, since they helped us cut up the pumpkins, scoop out the seeds, and watched us cook the pumpkins. It's a lengthy process, but I am sure looking forward to having pumpkin bread and pie from the pumpkins that we fixed ourselves. Maybe it's just the pride of accomplishment...

Tomorrow, we go to get apples. It's another field trip for the homeschool group - and I am looking forward to it.

Jeremy has another funeral to do in town tomorrow. We have had a few people pass away here in the last few weeks. It's the less desirable part of his job - as it's never fun to watch someone die. But we are praising God that the two that he has had to do funerals for have known the Lord. That helps with the grieving.

Our baby girl is now 1 year old. She turned 1 on Monday. I can't believe it - where has this past year gone? And yet, thinking about the past year since Annalee has been born is bitter sweet. It brings back fond and painful memories - which is difficult because I don't want to dwell on the painful memories, but yet that is the time when she was born, and for that it was beautiful. But the Lord is faithful, and I am thankful that He walks beside me all the way. That's especially nice to remember during the times that I don't feel Him - because I don't always feel Him near. But my feelings are nothing compared to His many promises to love me always, to never leave me, and to never give me more than He thinks I can handle. That is an especially wonderful promise!

Well, it's time to close. Steaming tea awaits - Madagascar red vanilla - one of my favorites!

Runaway Baby

I just had to share what happened with Anna today. It was our day off, and as usual, we went into town. We had a wonderful day in Trinidad...we visited the marine biology lab of HSU, took a hike by the beach, and met the homeschool group at the park in Eureka to let the kids play. Then while at Costco...we had just gotten a few items, and were back at the van. I was loading the things into the trunk, and Jeremy was correcting one of the kids inside the van. I turned to get something else out of the cart, but it wasn't there! The cart had started rolling away and was several parking spots away before I noticed it - and Anna was still sitting in the front seat - as if nothing was wrong! I yelled at Jeremy and we both took off running after the runaway baby. Thankfully, no cars were hurt in the transit, and baby is doing fine, too. She didn't even realize what was going on. Phew!

Pumpkin Patch

Beautiful sunflowers!

Our pumpkins

Rob holding his pumpkin

Zeke, Silas and Josh holding their pumpkins.

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch yesterday. We went with a local homeschool group out of Eureka. We had a good time. The rule was that the kids could take a pumpkin that they could carry to the car (not our rule, but the farm's since the pumpkins were free). I thought we did pretty good picking out pumpkins that Silas, Zeke and Micah COULD carry to the car. However, they didn't WANT to carry them to the car, so Mom got stuck carrying three pumpkins. It's a good thing they were small ones! Rob and Josh got bigger ones, and Jeremy and I got one, too (we paid for ours, though!). The field trip was fun. The tour guide talked about different animal tracks that they have on the farm - beaver, racoon, fox - and how to identify them. She also told them about how pumpkins and corn stalks grow - very interesting! There were lots of homeschool families there, and we got to meet a few. It will take a while to be able to really get to know any of them, especially since we live so far out of town. Jeremy was the only dad there. I told Jeremy we should make this whole thing into a school project. From them going and picking the pumpkins to slicing, scooping out seeds, and baking the pumpkin so it's ready for pies and breads. We even like to roast our pumpkin seeds and then mix them with olive oil and salt. I love fall! I also saw online tonight that we are in effect for a frost warning - you know what that means? Apples!!!

My Son, the Ewok

Josh and Micah dressed up as Star Wars characters.

Micah, the Ewok.

Our kids have all loved to play dress up. Rob is a little old, and doesn't dress up anymore, but the rest still do. Jeremy and I were outside last week, when Micah wandered outside. The first thing I thought of when I saw him dressed like this was that he looked like an Ewok. He is wearing a costume that our Nana made for Rob when we lived in Wishram (aka "Snake Man"), and he put on the mane that Nana made for Josh's costume from the same time (aka "Lion Man"). As you can see the pants are a little long for him, but he doesn't mind one bit! The picture above shows Micah with Josh, who is dressed up in a clone costume from Walmart that we got for the younger ones - yes, as you can see it is way too short for Josh, but he doesn't mind one bit! ;-)

We have been seeing some great things here in our church lately. We have had several new people coming, and coming pretty faithfully. I don't remember if I mentioned that we had a temporary assistant pastor. He is gone now, and we are looking to see what the Lord will do to fill that need. Jeremy has been doing videos for Sunday evening service for a couple of months now. He started out with a series by an ex-terrorist (Walid Shoebat), who is now a Christian, giving his testimony. It was fascinating. The next 3 DVDs were of him teaching a new concept about the end times religion. For those interested, I would recommend these DVDs wholeheartedly! After that series, we showed Lee Strobel's Case for Faith. We bought it at Costco, of all places. We found it very powerful. Now we're starting on a 4-disc series on strengthening your faith. We have heard from several people that they have enjoyed the videos we have been seeing, and how they have helped them in their walk with God. We also have an American Heritage series that we might show next. I know I'm looking forward to seeing them.

We are going through a bout of sickness right now. Three of the kids are coughing, complaining of headaches and being tired. I think it's just that time of year. It has been chilly here (I guess not compared to some). But we went from high 90 degree weather one day to low 70 degree weather the next. Add to that a few trips into town for Jeremy to do hospital visitation (which also meant long days, and getting to bed late). So we are laying low, and the kids and I will be staying home from church tomorrow. Oops...I hear one of the coughers now. Gotta run!

Exhausted, but not defeated

The boys after getting to view the inside of this fire truck - and try on the gear!

My Joshua

Joshua enjoying the arts & crafts time at VBS in July.

The cross on the top of the church's steeple. I love the white cross with the blue background.

It has been a very long few weeks. It has been so long since I have updated this blog that sometimes I wonder if I really have time to manage it! But I will try to keep up for now...

We had our new Village Missions DR and his wife come visit last weekend. We had a really good visit with them. We enjoyed the Wilkinsons (our DRs in WA and AK), and only got to meet with the Doebler's twice before the districts were changed. So now we have the Jacoby's. They travel with a travel trailer, which is wise. That way, they can take their own home with them on the road. Our boys really enjoyed getting to tour the inside of their trailer. Three of them wanted to use the bathroom! But we had to draw the line somewhere. We played Wizard with them Friday night. They picked it up pretty quick. Walt even beat us all - which he enjoyed!

Monday, Jeremy's day off, we stayed around the house until mid afternoon to get some things done around here. Jeremy wrote everything that we have been wanting him to do up on the white board, so he could physically see his "to do" list. He was able to mark 4 or 5 things off by the time we were done on Monday. Then we called some people from the church to ask about any hiking trails nearby. They told us that we could visit their property which is right on the Trinity River, and hike their trail to the river. So we did. We let the boys wade around in the river, which had a pretty steep bank. They could only go in a few footsteps. At one point, Micah had climbed on an underwater rock, and lost his footing. Jeremy had Anna strapped to his back, and was sitting up pretty high on the bank. I had rolled my pants up, and was wading, too, but only to my ankles. Anyways, I saw Micah go under the water, and then pop back up. But he couldn't regain his footing and went under again. The next time he came up, he was farther out. I knew he would soon float out into the middle of the river. I lunged at him, and grabbed him as quick as I could. My heart was beating so fast! I am so thankful that I saw him in time, and that the Lord gave me quick reflexes to catch him before it was too late. After I got him back to shore, and he had stopped crying, the man who owned the property (and came with our family to the river) said that he could hear my heart beating! I wouldn't be surprised if it was beating that loud.

Today was the second week of Pioneer Club. I forgot to count how many kids we had again this week, but I'm guessing around 20 or so. Quick update: Jeremy says we had 27 today for Pioneer Club. Silas gets to go this year, and is very excited about that. Today, the leader's husband came to teach the oldest group (the Trailblazers) about how to use a compass. They all thought that was pretty neat. And Robert (as he likes to be called now) informed me that he told them compasses are pretty reasonable at Big 5. He said, "I don't know how much 'pretty reasonable' is, though."

This morning, Jeremy spoke at the chapel at the Christian school. We took all of the kids. They did fairly well. I had to take the younger 4 out about the time Jeremy started talking. But they were quiet during the flag pledges, singing, and prayer time. Josh said he wants to go again the next time Jeremy speaks for chapel.

Our school seems to be going okay. I seem to be really having a struggle with Joshua. He's really dragging his feet when it comes to Math, and he is usually very easily distracted with everything else. I get so frustrated when everytime I come through the room to check on them, he is not paying attention to his schoolwork. I've been getting so discouraged, even wondering if I'm doing the best thing by keeping them at home. But Jeremy reminds me that he would be doing the same thing even if he were in school, and they would give him labels, and maybe even give him medication. I know he is 10 physically, but I don't think he is quite 10 mentally. I'm wondering if I am just being too hard on him. It feels like he is just being lazy about his schoolwork, but Jeremy thinks that maybe I need to let him go at a slower pace. I am worried about him getting too far behind on his math book, and other things. But Jeremy seems to think that he will catch up eventually when his mind catches up with his body.

Annalee is getting so close to walking. She is trying so hard to take steps. I can't believe how big she is getting. And we have been working with Zeke to potty train him, and he is doing a very good job! He gets jelly beans for going in the toilet, instead of in his underwear. He was dry all day today, and yesterday, too, I think. It is such a relief for me. Any time we would forget to change his diaper, and he was in it too long, he would start to get the spots back that looked like his staph infection. It is nice not to have all of those red spots in his diaper area.

I think that is all for now. I just wanted to update you, dear readers, on the happenings in the Hayek household. And to vent frustrations about school not going the way I think it should. But even just getting it out, I feel better. When I brought my frustrations to my husband, he reminded me that he wouldn't do any better in a public (or Christian for that matter) school. And yes, we want them to learn the academics, but we feel that the Christian influence is so much more important. Also, most of what Jeremy and I remember learning has been since getting out of high school. I remember bits and pieces of my formal education, but not nearly as well as what I have learned since. So I know that God has still called us to homeschool our children, and knows what is best for them. And so I will continue on in faith that He will use my efforts, as feeble though they seem, and turn them around for the best for my children...and especially His glory.