Praying for Turkey

 

Such a civilized bunch are we....

....as well as graceful.

This is how we speed up turkey digestion to make room for pie. 

Abi & Gideon decided to write stories after dinner....

....while the others watched 'The Hobbit'. 

Got my girl-time in tonight with my sweet & silly nieces. They took turns being the photographer.

Justin has been faithfully leading our family in nightly bed time prayers, and each night we usually pray for a different country. We ended up praying for Turkey three nights in a row this week. We're following a prayer plan that we get via email. I don't know if the prayer-plan-writers thought praying for Turkey would be funny during Thanksgiving week or what, but those three nights our conversation with Isaac (our youngest, who is 4 yrs old) went something like this:

Isaac: "Daddy, what country are we praying for tonight?"

Justin: "We're praying for Turkey tonight."

Isaac: "Turkey??? We're praying for Turkey???"

Justin: "Yes, we're praying for Turkey."

Isaac: "Hee-hee-hee!!!! We're praying for Turkey!!! Hee-hee-hee!!! (Literally says, "hee-hee" when he giggles.) 

Three nights in a row. Same conversation. 

But the third night, after normal the "hee-hee-hee-we're-praying-for-Turkey"-s:

Isaac: "Daddy, why are we praying Turkey for?" (His way of asking what the country needs prayer about.)

Titus (our 7 yr old) piped up: "CRANBERRY SAUCE!!!" *Giggle-giggle-giggle*" (Didn't literally say, "giggle". He just giggled.)

 

Then last night, we finally prayed for a different country, which I'd never heard of before: Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan? Really? Of course, Isaac still thought it was funny, because Turkmenistan was just a really silly name for Turkey. He and Titus still got their "hee-hee-hees" & *giggle-giggle-giggles* in.  And apparently we all had Turkey on the brain, because Jarod forgot how to say, "Turkmenistan" when it was his turn to pray. Instead, quite reverently and sincerely, Jarod prayed for, "Turk-mania". Yes, he did. And so, four nights in a row, Mommy got in trouble for *chuckle-chuckle-chuckling* (didn't say, "chuckle-chuckle"; just couldn't stop shaking and choking slightly) during bedtime prayers. Tonight, I can't even remember the name of the country we prayed for. Sad, I know, because it was like five minutes ago. But I don't think it was Turkey-anything though, or I would probably remember. As I tucked the boys into bed tonight.....

Me: "Goodnight, boys. Happy Thanksgiving. I love you."

Titus: "Happy Thanksgiving, Mommy. I wish we had prayed for Turkey again tonight."

Me too, kid. Me too. But still, even though we didn't pray for Turk-o-Rama, or Turkey-Lurkey, I am SO thankful for SO many things. I'm thankful that we still have the freedom to worship as we wish, that we are not tortured for believing in Jesus. I am thankful that we have carpet on the floor of our cozy house, instead of a dirt floor (though there is usually plenty of dirt on the carpet--not the same, I know). I am thankful that we have clean, running water, instead of having to walk five miles every day to find a mud puddle to drink from. I am thankful my children can go to the doctor (and naturopath) when they are sick. I am thankful that my family gets three meals per day, instead of per week. I am thankful for a husband who is seeing needy, lost, and hurting people through Jesus' eyes, and who is teaching our sons to do the same. I'm thankful for God's patience with me. And I'm so. very. thankful. for Turkey. 

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Stuff That Happened This Year

 Here are some highlights since Spring: 

For starters, Jarod turned 13, and had lots of friends over for a slumber party. I survived to tell about it, though the essence of socks, armpits, and "recycled" pizza lingered in my house for a few days there-after. 

   

This is Jarod. He is very cool now that he is 13.

This is Micah. He turned 11 this year.

So happy together. Mostly.

Justin & I had our 19th anniversary. Still in love. Looking forward to our 20th in a few months.

This is Micah's first day of Middle School Youth Group at church. He is now officially "cool" too, in case you were wondering.

Seth started being allowed to "group date" this year. He felt a little gypped when he realized that he had already been hanging out with "groups" of friends & that not much had changed. But, hey....he can CALL it "dating" now. That matters. He also turned 17 this year, and is now a senior in high school. He has plans to get his driver's license, and head off to Boise Bible College....all in the next few months. He has a passion for youth ministry, and for music. I am very proud of him, and know he will do awesome things with his life. The first birdie will be leaving the nest soon. No, I do not want to talk about it. 

Summer Camps & lots of family camp-outs happened this past Summer. I may back-track & do a camping blog post at some point. Because you can never have too many camping pictures.

My incredible, very sexy, hard-working man has been building me some awesome stuff this year, such as this amazing home-school computer table, and two sets of these awesome bunk beds for the boys' rooms. He is also remodeling the bathroom by the boys' rooms, because the floor had water damage & the change was long over-due. I may blog about that later as well.






I had the immense privilege, this past Spring, to go to Seattle to be with my little sister, while she had her 3rd baby, her first little girl. It was an exciting adventure which I embarked upon with all six boys. We had to leave Justin at home, as he could not take the time off of work. I had a blast with my boys, but I never want to do that without my husband again. Ever. I mean it. And that's all I have to say about that.

The cousins all had a blast together.....mostly.

Welcome, Adelyn!!!! I was so blessed to be allowed
in the delivery room when she arrived. So special! 

So proud of my beautiful sister, Keri, who is such a good mama.

Had so much fun spending time with all my little nieces & nephews,
whom I rarely get to see. Miss them so much now.

This is my cousin, Regina. She is the angel who
watched my boys for hours on end so I could
spend time with my sister & brother-in-law
at the hospital.

While in Seattle, we got to visit Nanny & Papa, as well as Cousin Sorin. 

Fortunately, Nanny & Papa gave us lots of gifts to take home, one of which was this handsome puppet here. We decided that he was John the Baptist. John is a happy sort of fellow & he gave us much entertainment on the trip home. On the end of Seth's hand, John stared, smiled, danced & waved at strangers in the cars next to us, while the boys & I got to watch their various reactions. According to our observations, there are more happy drivers out there than not. Some pointed & laughed. Some waved back. Only a couple gave John & Seth grumpy looks. Seth found himself slinking down to the floor at one point, after pulling up next to a car of cute girls & being embarrassed by John's antics. Silly John.

This year we also welcomed Cousin Aaron Gabriel Alexander to the family.

 

Last, but definitely not least, Titus turned 7 years old. He is quite adept in utilizing "The Force", so watch out, world!

                ~~~The End~~~