January Birthdays & The Ice Storm

'Tis the season for winter birthdays at our house. Vince turned 13 (!?!?) on the 17th and Papa was here for that celebration. For his bday gift, we got him a new seat for his unicycle. It originally came with a regular bicycle seat, and after many hours of practice, we decided a real unicycle seat would help his efforts out. It has and he is now working on being able to juggle while riding his uncicyle!

As part of the birthday tradition at our house goes, the birthday person gets to select the three meals for that day. For Vince's lunch, he chose to get peanut butter/dark chocolate for sandwiches. He loves peanut butter and they sell this natural peanut butter mixed with dark chocolate at the store. He had been wanting that for so long! For dinner, he chose his all-time favorite homemade potato soup. Fortunately, it turned out better than ever this time! (Sorry-no pictures of any of that-my camera battery was dead and I couldn't find the charger!)

Yesterday, the 27th, Gabie (my baby!) turned 3! Ahhh! No more blinking! We started off his bday morning with homemade sticky buns. Mom made homemade bread dough the day before and we rolled brown sugar and cinnamon in them and made a powdered sugar icing on top. Way better (and healthier) than Pillsbury! Lunch was Annie's natural mac-n-cheese, which Gabie was super excited about; but dinner had him more anxious than ever. Gabie's favorite dinner is Mom's homemade pot pies. Back in the kitchen, mom!

Gabie was having a really hard time waiting for it to finish baking!

But it always seems to be worth the wait. Out of two whole pies, we polished off all but one piece! While Vince chose chocolate-chip coffee cake for his birthday cake, Gabie just wanted straight-up chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!
Look at those three little candles!
He couldn't seem to blow out the candles by himself! Gabie has been really into baseball and football lately, so we got him a "real" football for his birthday. He used to say "feetball," but now he says "football." (I was kind of bummed out cuz I liked it the other way!)

He even had to take it bed with him for naptime and bedtime. Each time, he asked for it right away after waking up. Papa says he's going to be a "jock."

Some of you have heard about the ice storm we got, so I wanted to post some pictures of that too. It was nothing like the Nov. '07 ice storm and it's all melting today, but there were many car accidents and power outages across Oklahoma. Here's some pictures: (The back of our house with all the icicles hanging down.)

We were really thankful to have our electricity so we could enjoy warm meals on Gabie's birthday! Thank you Lord for the special little moments in our lives and the special little people!

January Fun--Oklahoma Style

Knowing ahead that it was going to get really warm, we planned a trip to the playground for Thursday. Since we homeschool, we can adjust our schedules to accommodate for playtime on days when it's going to be unseasonably nice. Fridays are normally our field trip/play days, but we leave it open to switch it with a different day of the week according to the weather and other factors. So we went to the park across from our old neighborhood in Owasso to enjoy the day. The kids love this park, and I think it's the biggest outdoor playground we've ever been to. It brings out the kid in all of us!
(I normally like to go down the slides with the kids but I stayed at the bottom this time for a picture!) It's so much fun.

Here's Dylan coming out of a slide. Some of the slides are so tall and so fast that I've seen plenty of other moms and dads on them too!

Gabie and Faith like all the little riding toys too. We went right after lunch before public school lets out so it wasn't too packed. Afterwards, we brought out baseballs and bats to the diamonds out back and played a game of baseball: Mom and Faith vs. Vince and Dylan; while Gabie runs around and does his own thing like he always does anyway. Today, he decided that the dirt on home plate was so nice that he should roll around in it. So that's what he did, on and on, until he was covered in dusty dirt. At least it kept him busy while we played! (Oh--the score was Vince & Dylan 6; Mom & Faith 2.)

Chef Vince

Thanks to Papa and Grandma Heather, Mom had the night off last night while Vince made dinner! It's thanks to them because as an early birthday gift, they gave him a Limited Edition Better Homes and Garden cookbook, supplemented with some homemade family recipes. For last night's selection, Vince chose Stuffed Macaroni and Cheese, complemented with a side salad and homemade creamy french dressing. The macaroni and cheese had five different cheeses: cream cheese, cottage cheese, cheddar (fresh from the dairy farm, of course), mozzarella, and Parmesan. It also had mushrooms, broccoli, and onions. The kids agreed that next time, it should have less onions, but otherwise it was a big hit. Pete and I thought it was absolutely delicious and hope Vince will make it a regular dish.

For dessert, Vince chose Grandma's traditional Pumpkin Bars with cream cheese frosting. These are always a big hit. I think it was quite an experience for Vince. He enjoyed himself but realized that it's also a lot of hard work to make a homemade dinner like this. He did great and I think we might have to look at culinary school in his future!

As a final note, I wanted to share a picture Vince took today. This is the snow outside the front of our house in the cul-de-sac. It was of course only a dusting, but the weather reporters were hilarious. The high temp was 17 degrees and they said it was the coldest afternoon high since the year 1997. Can you believe it?! Us Minnesotans are laughing our heads off hearing everyone talk about how darn cold it is! I wonder how many winters in Oklahoma it will take us to not find it funny! It's hard to be concerned about it; the forecast high for Saturday is 51 degrees and next week is supposed to be in the 60's. It sure made for a good laugh though!

Returning-Proverbs 31 Devotional

The devotional I received today from Proverbs 31 ministry describes our journey over the past four months that I thought I'd share it on our blog. It was exactly what we experienced and in turn, learned what Moses learned. If you like it, click on the link on the right side of my blog for Proverbs 31 and subscribe to receive a devotional like this each day.

Returning
13 Jan 2009
Amy Carroll
"Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?'" Exodus 5:22 (NIV)

Tears stung my eyes and my heart ached as I climbed into my car. My emotions swung wildly from assurance that I had said the right things, to doubt in the stance that I had taken. Was I wrong to share with the group that I feel scripturally responsible to teach my sons from II Corinthians 6 to marry a Christ-follower and be "equally yoked" in marriage? I longed to go back to the offended woman and tell her of my great compassion for my fellow sisters who are married to unbelieving husbands. Instead, I pulled out my cell phone to call a friend for some consolation and advice. It was then that the lesson I had learned from the Bible earlier that day pushed its way to the front of my anxious mind.

I'd read in Exodus that morning about Moses in the midst of a very discouraging situation. After years of mistakes, lessons in the desert and insecurity in his speaking skills, he had finally done exactly what the Lord said. He had gone to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go." Surely now all the pieces would fall into place. He was at the right time and place, and he had obeyed what the Lord had told him. Moses was about to learn a lesson that many of us are facing: The blessings that follow doing God's will are not always the ones we expect.He may have expected Pharaoh to get a thoughtful look and say, "Of course you can go, Moses. I know that God is leading you, and we just need to do what He says."

That's not what happened, though. Not only did Pharaoh mock God, he doled out even harsher treatment to the Israelites by forcing them to continue to make bricks without the provision of straw. The people were outraged, and they turned on Moses. How discouraging! Things weren't going at all the way Moses had imagined. Now that he was on track with God and walking in obedience, life was supposed to get easier. Right?All the lessons Moses had learned in the desert shepherding for 40 years served him well now. We see that despite his disappointment, he turned to God in prayer. It was a distressed prayer, but it was real and heart-felt. When he faced an indignant Pharaoh and his angry people, Moses returned to God and poured out his heart. Exodus 5:22-23 tells us, "Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.'" (NIV)

When Moses returned to the Lord with the pain that he was feeling, the disappointment in his circumstances, and the confusion about his calling, God met him there. God didn't respond to Moses with anger or rebuke. He answered with a glimpse into future freedom and a rousing message for His people straight from the very heart of God. Moses' struggles didn't end there, but God had given him the encouragement that he needed to forge on toward the calling.

In the car, I set my cell phone down, closed my eyes and bowed my head. I poured out my confusion and disappointment to God, and He met me there. My emotions settled, my mind found rest and God's peace poured over me. He is good! Doing God's will is rarely easy, and the blessings of growth may come wrapped in pain. However, we will find Him to be faithful and His Word sufficient when we return to Him.

Dear Lord, Doing Your will and following You is its own reward. Even though the way may get bumpy as we obey, You are always with us. You are faithful to reassure us and encourage us when we come from the places that our own thoughts take us and return to You. Thank you! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Free Family Fun-Rollerskating!

(Sorry about the picture quality-the camera battery was dead so Dad used his camera phone.) Well, thanks to our local YMCA and our homeschool email organization, we were able to experience some free family fun in the form of rollerskating tonight. We are always on the lookout for free activities and when they come up, we are the first ones there! The YMCA even had free skate rental. We weren't sure about taking Gabie, so Mom and Gabie stayed home and made some oatmeal/carob-chip cookies. Dad, Vince, Dylan, and Faith whooped it up on the gym floor in their 1970's rollerskates! Since it was Dylan and Faith's first time in quite a while, we made them wear helmets. Good thing, too! Dad says Dylan fell back and the back of his helmet hit the floor more than once! What a blessing it is to find free activities like this! If you're interested in finding out ways to get in the know in your area, let me know. I just might have a link or # for you in your area!

Deliverance

God has delivered us safely once again to Oklahoma! Our journey through the night was great-the weather could not have been better, especially for going through the state of Iowa during January. I, of course, had to stay alive on organic energy drinks again since we drove through the night. The kids would sleep for an hour or two, stay awake for an hour or two, and so on the whole 12 hours. We stopped at about midnight so Pete and I could sleep for about 2 hours, but that never seems to do much! (That's where the energy drinks come in!) Here's the Uhaul next to the snow banks in Minnesota the night we left:

(Yes, I know-it's about time we buy stock in the Uhaul company or request some sort of frequent renter miles, right!?!)

The days before we left, we made sure to take advantage of the snow as much as possible. Of course, it was difficult with the extreme subzero temps, but the day we got above 32 degrees was very much appreciated. We made lots of snowmen; and we made competing snow forts. The girls' team (Faith & Mommy) made one facing the boys' team's fort (Daddy & Dylan-Vince was at a friend's house that day). After completion, we launched snowballs from behind our forts. The funniest part was when Gabie left the girls' team and went behind the boys' team fort and started launching snowballs at the boys from behind! It was so much fun.

Here's Faith rolling up a snowman bottom all by herself for the first time!
Dylan, already a seasoned pro. . .

And Gabie experiencing his first "real" snow day. The previous years, Gabie never really got into it and last year we weren't in Minnesota long enough to play in the snow. This time, he cried when it was time to go inside!

For our Christmas activities, we made sugar cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chocolate frosting. Gabie mostly just taste-tested!
Vince joined in the fun once his Wii game was finished! (Look carefully in the background of this picture.) (Home in these pics courtesy of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ the Swanson family.)
The morning we arrived in Oklahoma, it was about 50 degrees at 8 am. The following day, the temp hit almost 80! We made sure to get outside and play in our new backyard. The kids decided to learn how to do headstands. Dylan:

and Faith (with Daddy's help):

Gabie loves the way the edge of our backyard goes up into a hill, because he gets bored with "flat." He looks for anything to jump down from or off of.

We were also blessed to already meet some new neighbors who have helped us find a new church family close to our new house. Once again, we want to thank everyone in Minnesota for their prayers, encouragement, financial support, and hospitality. What a blessing it was to experience such an outpouring from God's people!