Thanksgiving

Well, it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and we still haven't finished all of the pies. We did share a bountiful feast on Thursday with my parents, brother, sister and niece. We gave praise to God for His many blessings and I praised Him mightily for bringing my entire family together for the holiday. God is so abundantly gracious. He is good--all the time. --Mel

My little women were dressed for the celebration of a bountiful year. The gourds that Elizabeth is holding are some of the hundreds that grew "volunteer" in our garden this year. Melissa was concerned she wouldn't have gourds to use for fall decorating since we didn't have a garden. God is good.

Pilgrim Feast

We had a our third annual Pilgrim Feast last week. We chose the coldest, darkest and most uncomfortable spot in the house for this event to help us set the scene for the Mayflower voyage. We then turned on the "Ocean Sounds" CD and lit a candle. The kids ate the dried beef and hard tack (soda crackers) within the first five minutes of the voyage. I told them I didn't think they would have fared too well on the real Mayflower if they had eaten all of their provisions for a 9 week trip so quickly. Matt read from a Pilgrim devotional we have. Although the trip was long, dangerous and wearisome for the real Pilgrims, God's hand of protection was with them and they did finally make it to America, even though they didn't land where they had intended. Two babies were even born on they way over. We gave thanks to God for His hand of blessing on this country and the ability to worship Him freely here. Then we moved to the candle lit kitchen and feasted on chowder (except for Paul, who had chicken nuggets). --Mel

More Wisdom from Elizabeth

While riding in the car yesterday, I was sharing my concern with Matt about what to buy my parents for Christmas. Would the item he purchased that morning be well received? Maybe we should give them something else instead. Then from the backseat I hear Elizabeth's voice, "It's all going to burn anyway, so it really doesn't matter." Once again, God used Elizabeth to reset my focus back to where it should be. --Mel

The "First" President

Last spring, I (Matt) got sucked into a treasure hunt of sorts. Because I finished the first phase in time I became a member of the "Order of the Jamestown 400". I missed the cut for the second phase by about 30 minutes, but it was quite a history lesson. A key character of the hunt was Elias Boudinot. Among many other things, he was President under the Articles of Confederation (before we had a constitution) at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris. While America declared her independence in 1776, it wasn't until the treaty was signed that Britain acknowledged it. The prize for finishing in the first 1000 just recently arrived in the mail. It included the EB coin, certificate and a $25 coupon to use toward Vision Forum (who put on the event) merchandise.

If you look very closely, you can see there is morse code around the edge of the coin. The hunt continues . . .

Reformation Day

Raphaella nails the 95 theses to the church door.

The Reformation brought the Bible to the people. Everyone crafted little Bibles as a reminder.

We celebrated God's hand of providence on Oct. 31 with our annual Reformation Party. We've outgrown our house (we had 15 kids and 8 adults this year), so our friends Brian and Julie were able to get us the use of their church basement. A good time was had by all and we all learned some church history and the importance of the Word of God in the starting and growing of our faith in Jesus Christ. . . . "Grace, grace, marvelous grace."--Mel

Paul's Big Day

We recently celebrated Paul's sixth birthday. He's lost two teeth and had his first "man" check at the pediatrician's office. He thought the doctor and I were joking. I was able to get him to agree to the check only after I told him the story of his namesake, great grandpa Paul (which I won't repeat here.) It's tough growing up, but it's even harder on the Mommy and the Daddy--we'll have to order more bricks for the kids' heads.--Mel

Big Boy Joel Bob

We started feeding Joel baby food when we got back from Wa. D.C. As Matt says, "He needs no instruction." He downs a bowl of food in less than 3 minutes. He enjoys a good meal, just like his daddy. --Mel

Wisdom from Elizabeth

A few weeks ago the kids and I went to the store. It was one of those windy days that make me sorry I live here. As we walked across the parking lot, the wind whipping our hair into our faces and blowing dust into our eyes, I said, "Oh, I just hate this wind!" Elizabeth, unusually quick on the draw, said, "You said you'd rather have wind than bedbugs!" Yes, my daughter with the steel trap for a memory reminded me how very fickle I am, and that in ALL things, I'm to give thanks. Thank you, Lord, for the wind.

Last Sunday we came home from church and began preparing lunch. We called out to Paul who was in the bedroom, "What do you want for lunch?" "I just want the challah bread from last night." We then heard Elizabeth say, "Jesus said, 'Man does not live on bread alone, Paul.' " --Mel