Reflections

It's been awhile since I published and figure it's about time again. Looking back over yesterday being Thanksgiving, I just want to stop here and thank the Lord for His many blessings on me. He's first of all loved me with an everlasting love and saved my soul.

And then, I have my family: a wonderful loving husband and four precious children. Each one makes my heart expand with more love than I thought I could hold. I can't forget my parents; Mom and Dad, I love you both very much! And Papa Elbert. Shawn and his family, Ryan and his family and Jared and his family. And of course, my in-laws. I am truly surrounded by love and blessings.

We had a great time Thursday as friends from the church came over for some deep fried turkey and fellowship. And in the midst of it all, Jared and Amy stopped in for a few minutes as they traveled to see her brother. We had not seen Jared since Mother's Day, so it was nice to visit with him again.

Going back in time... last weekend, Dennis decided it was time to paint Charis' room to cover the artwork she and Matthew drew early in the summer. So, he got some paint and got to work. Here's what we had to cover:

See the beautiful smiley faces, even complete with mustaches! They had pretty much covered the entire corner with stars, faces houses and flowers.

We worked well into Friday night and started back up on it again Saturday morning. The hallway and front bathroom were painted as well as Charis' room. Just a plain off-white semi-gloss, but it makes such a difference compared to the flat eggshell it was originally painted. And easier to clean off, although I certainly hope I won't be having to do so anytime real soon, especially pen or pencil markings!All this hard work sure wore someone out:

Yes, Andrew is now in a toddler bed as we have moved Faith into the crib. He likes it since he can now get up and down as he pleases. I noticed that he was very quiet as Matthew and Charis were playing one afternoon. I walked back to find he had crashed, not even attempting to lay on the bed, but kneeling instead; he was sound asleep.

On November 6th, I stepped outside early in the morning to see a beautiful sight. I had read that the ISS and Discovery were to be crossing the skies at exactly 6:13am and they could be seen as bright points of light for a full 5 minutes. Also, the moon was a lovely crescent with the shadow of the darkened portion clearly seen. So, I was armed with the camera and ready for action. Sure enough, Dennis and I were able to watch as the spaceships floated like falling stars, moving from southwest to northeast. My camera wasn't able to pick up the view, but it was certainly breathtaking! But I was able to get a few shots of the moon. Nowhere near what it really looked like, but I love to see our God's creation!

Faith continues to grow and charm everyone. Here she was stirring up a ruckus wanting attention. She's teething as well and likes to blow raspberries.

She is nearly 5 months old, but on her 4-month checkup, she weighed 17lb., 10 oz, which puts her in the "95th percentile" and 5% on her height at 22 1/2 inches. Short and fat, she's my sweet li'l butterball.

Another milestone!

Faith is now 4 months old today! She's chubby as ever and such a giggle box.

I love to hear her giggle, especially at the older kids. And they love to make her laugh! It's neat to watch what different ways each one will make her laugh. For instance, earlier this evening, Matthew was tickling her feet and she would chuckle every time. I tried it, and she just looked at me. (Hmmm....) Charis can jump right in her face and say something and she grins and squirms.

Andrew, well, she can just look at him and

start laughing sometimes.

'Course, he's so cute, he'll make anyone grin:

You grinnin'?

Here, he was "talking" on the phone. Daddy had called and just as I hung up, Andrew wanted to talk to Daddy, so I handed him the phone. He chatted for a bit and then handed me the phone back, saying, " 'ere!"

Here's another of him just after he woke up from his afternoon nap:

And then, here's a couple more pictures of Faith to make you smile...

Check out my Slide Show!

Matthew is now old enough to sing in the Preschool choir along with Charis. The choir is for ages 3-5. So, both of them were singing on Monday night of the Mission Conference. This was Matthew's first time in front of the congregation, so I was a bit nervous how he would do. But, I think he did a fine job! He never saw me, although he looked hard. Charis did a great job as well, but then, she is an old pro by now.

Our mission conference started with a Banquet on Saturday night and ran through Wednesday night. We had Dr. Charles Keen as a speaker, along with Bro. Leroy Pennell from Canada and Bro. Victor Rouse, who is now leading our Spanish speaking ministry. Each night before the services began, we were encouraged to enter the college campus to "tour the world for a taste adventure;" cuisines from 6 different countries of the world. A wide variety of meals and desserts and good cooking! After eating, we took the kids around to the different countries to get their passports stamped as they entered each set up. Alot of work involved and a job well done.