It's Independence Day!

Jerry and I had the privilege of singing "The National Anthem" at a local festival last night.  We were asked back after we sang last year, and we were excited to have the opportunity again. 

We sang right before Eddie Money performed, and he did a little "meet and greet" beforehand. I can't say I've ever actually been a fan of his music, but it was nice that he was willing to take a photo with us.
After we sang, the boys had some fun on the attractions.  Caden was so cute to watch.  I just love seeing my boys smile!
The best $5 we spent all night....watching Cody jump and flip on the bungee bouncer thing (sorry, don't know the technical term for it!).  He had a blast!
And last, but definitely NOT least, a photo of the boys riding on the kiddie rollercoaster.  I absolutely adore this picture of them!  Look at the joy on those faces.  Too cute.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.  I'm so thankful for the freedom we have in the U.S.A.  God bless America and each of you.

The Latest Happenings

It's been a while since my last post, but I thought I'd give a brief update on the happenings around here.

• We returned from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Saturday after saying good-bye to Jerry's grandmother one last time.  She died peacefully early last week, and we're all thankful that we were able to be together.  God provided a beautiful place to stay with a view of Lake Michigan and the kids were able to play together.  Jerry sang at the funeral and I know he was a blessing to the family.
• My brother-in-law and his wife had their first baby last week and we're going to see them later this afternoon.  We are so excited for them and we can't wait to meet our new baby nephew.  
• We are enjoying our summer.  Cody took two weeks of swimming lessons and grew so much even in that short time.  He's become a little fish.  Caden and I joined him at the pool last week and I loved hearing him jump to me in the pool while yelling "CANNONBALL!!!!" He's such a riot.
• We heard more rustling in our kitchen cabinets last night but this morning reveals a still-set-up mouse trap...but no mouse.  Ewwwwwww.  
• Jerry and I have the privilege of doing the musical "Hello Dolly" together this summer and it opens in a mere 18 days.  Rehearsals have begun to get a little more intense, but we're excited to see it all come together.  The boys have all the songs memorized and if I forget a line, I'm sure they'd be able to feed it to me. Cracks me up.

I hope you're all enjoying these beautiful summer days.  I hear all kinds of people on Facebook complaining about the heat, but remember at the beginning of the month when we were all complaining that it was too cold?  I suppose one is never satisfied, but I for one am enjoying all the energy my kids are burning outdoors.  When they go to bed at night they are exhausted!

Have a wonderful week in the Lord!

My Tale of Desperwoe

The boys were in bed.  Finally.  I had just settled down on the couch with my pillow and blanket and had hit the "purchase" button on my television screen to watch "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" when I heard a noise in the kitchen.  Jerry was sitting at his computer and didn't seem to hear it, so I figured it was just me.  A little while later I heard it again.  Jerry still didn't hear it.  (Mind you, I'm deaf.  He's the one with the ears.)  And then again, that sound. This time, he heard it.

We both got up and headed to the kitchen.  I thought maybe Cody had come down for some reason, so I went up to his room to investigate.  Nothing but snoring.  I came downstairs and while standing in the kitchen, I heard it again.  THE NOISE.  This time, I turned to the cabinet underneath the sink and pointed.  (Jerry is still making fun of the way I did it.  Apparently I can be quite dramatic sometimes.)

He mumbled something about "children" and "they always leave a door open" and "wouldn't be surprised if an animal..."

His voice started to fade and I began to have images of me with my largest kitchen knife doing serious damage to the intruder.  And then was quickly brought back to reality by the rustling under the kitchen sink.  

Jerry opted for a safer, friendlier option.  The flashlight.

I finally mustered up enough courage to at least open the door to the cabinet and start moving stuff around...with my foot.

The flashlight revealed mouse droppings (ICK) and we immediately knew something about our unwelcome visitor.  And then, the rustling again.  I pulled out the empty, bagless trash can and watched Jerry shuffle stuff around under the sink when IT caught my eye.  I pointed to the trash can, and then, unable to formulate any kind of a coherent thought or sentence squealed, "eeeemmmmessssseeeemmmmeeeessssssseeeeeeeeeeee!"  

Jerry, being the calm, collected one of the group, looked down into the trash can at the bug-eyed thing and said, "Oh.  Hello!"

I then proceeded to do the only logical thing one does in this situation and took its picture.

Next, I grabbed the trash can and carried it into the living room, where I leaned it on its side to show it to the dog.  (I still don't know why I did that.  I mean, why does the dog care?  For some reason I thought he'd find it interesting.)  The Thing then proceeded to take advantage of the tipped trash can (duh!) and had crawled to the edge to attempt some sort of an escape.  This then prompted me to squeal something resembling nothing (again) as I ran to the front door, flew it open, and proceeded to run, full throttle, trash can in hand, into the front yard to let it loose.  I turned the can upside down, shook it, squealed, ran back in the house, and declared victory.

Obviously, I'm all sorts of brave.

Jerry's still trying to figure out what I was trying to say when I first discovered the intruder.  I'd hate to think what would happen if I really needed to explain something to someone in the event of a REAL emergency.

I think that's all.

The End.  And good night.

P.S. Pictures to come soon.  I really didn't want to be reminded of his little beady eyes right before bed.

Can't Wait Until He's Thirteen. NOT.

Me:  Cody, come here.  It's so hot out there.  Let's change into your t-shirt.

Cody (to his friend, who happens to be a girl, who was here playing at the time): Hey K, do you want to see how BUFF I am?

Me:  Cody!

Cody:  What?  I just thought she might want to see my impressive muscles!!!

It's Had Me Thinking....

Jerry and I recently went to a homeschooling conference where we had hundreds of vendors at our fingertips.  One booth in particular caught our eye.  It had nothing to do with curriculum, the latest science experiment gadgets, or a salesperson asking us to sign up on their email list. This booth was different, and we stopped to talk to the kind woman standing there.

She was representing Gospel for Asia, a ministry that supports and sends out missionaries into remote places in the world who have yet to hear the gospel.  

She spoke with us for a while and answered our questions, and then she handed us a book and said she trusted that we'd be changed after reading it.  The book is called "Revolution in World Missions" by K.P. Yohannan.  (K.P. is founder and international director for Gospel for Asia. GFA has more than 16,500 national missionaries in Asia, operates 67 Bible colleges in several nations, and heads up a movement that has planted more than 30,000 congregations.) 

The reason I am writing this today is because Jerry started reading this book yesterday.  At dinner last night, he read aloud an excerpt from the book, and it was sobering, humbling, and very convicting, to say the least.  I wanted to share this excerpt with you here, because I think we here in the United States (especially those of us who have never left America and visited a remote, impoverished country) are extremely comfortable and, to be frank, clueless, about what it means to be poor.  As our economy struggles and many of us worry about our loss of job, inability to pay our bills, buy groceries and put gas in our cars, we still can't begin to understand the meaning of what it means to truly struggle, to starve, and to live in extreme poverty.  (Please understand, I am not minimizing the impact of what you are personally going through...I know these are hard times for our country and I am not saying that these concerns and worries are not valid.  I will openly admit here that I often panic when it comes to our family finances!)  I just wanted to share this today because I was really impacted by what Jerry read to us, and I wanted to give you a chance to read it too and respond as you felt lead.

K.P. included the following excerpt in his book, because he wants the reader to gain some sort of understanding of just how much we have here in this country.  In his book, he details how he felt when he arrived in this country to go to a bible college.  Culture shock doesn't even begin to describe his feelings when he saw the affluence and prosperity in the United States. This excerpt was written by an economist named Robert Heilbroner.  In it, he describes the luxuries a typical American family would have to surrender if they lived among the 1 billion hungry people in the Two-Thirds World. Read this.  It will astound you.

We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family to strip it of its furniture. Everything goes:  beds, chairs, tables, television sets, lamps.  We will leave the family with a few old blankets, a kitchen table, a wooden chair.  Along with the bureaus go the clothes.  Each member of the family may keep in his wardrobe his oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse.  We will permit a pair of shoes for the head of the family, but none for the wife or children.

We move to the kitchen.  The appliances have already been taken out, so we turn to the cupboards...the box of matches may stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt.  A few moldy potatoes, already in the garbage can, must be rescued, for they will provide much of tonight's meal.  We will leave a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans.  All the rest we take away:  the meat, the fresh vegetables and fruit, the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.

Now we have stripped the house:  the bathroom has been dismantled, the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out.  Next we take away the house.  The family can move to the tool shed....communications must go next.  No more newspapers, magazines, books- not that they are missed, since we must take away our family's literacy as well.  Instead, in our shantytown, we will allow one radio.

Now government services must go next.  No more postmen, no more firemen.  There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists of two classrooms...there are, of course, no hospitals or doctors nearby.  The nearest clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a midwife.  It can be reached by bicycle, provided the family has a bicycle, which is unlikely...

Finally, money.  We will allow our family a cash hoard of $5.00.  

K.P. goes on to say that this is an accurate description of the lifestyle and world from which he came.  He says that the moment his feet touched American soil, "he walked around in an unbelieving daze.  How can two so different economies coexist simultaneously on the earth?"

If you'd like to help, or your heart is stirred to respond to what you've read, visit www.gfa.org.