BUSTED!!

THE LITTLE RASCAL IS AT IT AGAIN! :)

So here is our little goof ball during his nap. Not a lot of sleeping occuring. We just laughed, he was quite busy sorting out his sister's coins. He was put down in just the diaper, so at least he hadn't undressed himself as well. He'll probably save that for another day. We have started to call him Dennis the menace on occasion. He kind of even looks like him. He is so sweet, but he certainly has this little mischeivous side. He loves to be goofy and make faces. He is easy to correct and thankfully he is very remorseful when he does something wrong. He is such a sweet little bugger. We love this little guy.

FAMILY VISITS:)

COUSINS FROM INDIANA

COUSINS FROM BOSTON

CALEB WITH BABY ISABELLA

We have been blessed with a special couple of weeks. I posted a picture of our company from Indiana. It was such a treat to have my cousin Carol and her husband Darin here with their family. They were able to experience the fall Oktoberfest here on campus, kids jumping pits, brats and all. We even hit the free Science Center while they were here. It was a quick visit, but so much fun. Then on Monday of this past week my sister Beth and her 3 little ones came out from Boston. The kids had so much fun Monday night, the neighbors said that for a moment they thought we were bringing down the house. Yikes! They were so excited to see their cousins. We were able to go to the zoo, and we hit Grants Farm on a rainy day. They actually have a Historical Park right there with Grant's home right there that you can tour. We decided we will have to go back and do that before we leave St. Louis. That list of fun things that we want to do here just keeps getting longer. I know I keep saying it, but there are so many neat free things to do in this city. It has been a wonderful place to live for a couple of years. It meant so much to me that she came all the way out here with 3 little ones to experience our life here. My sister is a real trooper and she goes with the flow. She got to see most of it, the food bank, the re-sell it shop, even family night (we couldn't go wrong... where else can you feed 9 people for $12:) It was sad as always to say goodbye.

So there are 2 more weeks left in the quarter. Greg is hanging in there. I keep praying for perseverance and endurance for him. There is so much to get done in not so long of a time. The first 2 quarters here he was kind of shocked by the stress that inevitably occurs at this time. Now he expects it all so it has definitely gotten easier. All of the wives compare notes and it is pretty true for everyone across the board at this point in the quarter. We can't believe that there are only 2 quarters left then for him. God has been so gracious during our time here, so faithful to provide for all of our needs. We are blessed. HE IS ABLE!

LAST DAY OF SOCCER

Caleb praying with his soccer team after the game

Soccer Medals

What a wild weekend we had. We had my cousin Carol's family in from Indiana. I will post a picture of our visit soon. It was so special to have family here. I love it when someone really knows what I am talking about or can visualize it when I tell them about something going on here at the seminary. Friday night I had a doula client call me saying they were on their way to the hospital. I asked if I should meet them there and the husband said he would call me when they checked her in because they weren't really sure if they would keep them. When he called me 15 minutes later he said she was 8 cm. I was out the door in a flash. I had a feeling I wouldn't make it in time because the hospital is a good 15 minutes from our home. When I arrived she had a sweet baby girl in her arms. She had the baby 10 minutes after they called me. Unreal, I was so happy for them. They were a couple from one of my childbirth classes so it was so fun to meet their little one. What a sweet little miracle.

The kids had their last soccer game on Saturday morning. Afterwards they had a little pizza party and got their medals. The boys really enjoy playing... Anna on the other hand just enjoys being out there with people. I am not sure how much soccer playing actually happens with Anna:) Seminary kid's soccer is really low key. All the coaches are dads and usually they referee the game as well. It is perfect and only lasts about a month. They usually play again in the spring. I am thankful for the dads on campus that organize this for the kids.

Yesterday in church we had a scary experience. God was at work. We usually always go to the warehouse services at out church. They also have services in the sanctuary at the same time. I think last year we attended the sanctuary service 3 times the whole year and we always sat in the balcony. For some reason (the Lord's leading:) I suggested we go to the sanctuary service and not the warehouse service. The kids wanted to sit in the balcony and Greg said I should decide where we should sit. We sat on the main floor. They showed a video from a secular band that basically showed how we don't know how long our time will be here on earth. In the video people had numbers above their heads and the numbers were counting down until it was the end of their time on earth. Anyways, about 10 minutes later there was an older lady in the row directly behind us whose husband was in need medically. (We still don't know if it was a heart attack, stroke, or a reaction to medication) She was asking for a doctor. Well Greg isn't a doctor but he jumped right over there and was a big help. A nurse came over right away and was helping the man. Greg was holding the man's head up and reassuring his wife. Greg is a great care giver. I am realizing more and more I am not good in those types of situations. Greg is so calm. He was able to pray for the man, his wife and all of the people helping. God knew Greg needed to be there and I am so thankful. They did call 911 and take the man to the hospital and thankfully he was conscious when he left church. It was quite a real life lesson for us and the kids that we need to make the most of our time here on earth. In the big picture it is such a short amount of time. And eternity is forever. We want to make our time count and use it to grow God's Kingdom.

MORNING WALK AND MESSY LITTLE MAN:)

PAPA AND ANNA ON THEIR MORNING WALK

JOJO GETTING EVERY LAST DROP

ONE CONTENT CUSTOMER!!

I have been so proud of Greg this year. He really wanted to make sure he spent some time alone with each of the kids. So he is following after our friend Mr. Chris Tiews and going for a morning walk with each of the kids during the week. Last Friday was Anna's day. Excuse the blurry picture, but I literally was running after them, sneaking up on them to get a picture. I thought it was so cute to see the two of them marching along holding hands. I know the kids look so forward to this time with their Papa and Greg says they have some really great conversations as well as some really funny ones. I can only imagine. Last night we were watching Extreme Home Makeover and it was the part where they reveal the new home to the family. Well, the people were REALLY excited. Anna says to all of us,"Wow, they are screaming so loud, it makes me have to go potty." It is so funny and random the things that they say. I am sure Greg hears a lot of those types of things on his morning walks. He has decided he will have to start taking Jo for a day because there has been more than one day where Jo is at the window crying that he wants to go too.

Yesterday we went for a bike ride around Forest Park. I intended to just go to the History Museum and back, but Greg said he wanted to keep going. He was pulling Anna and Jo in the bike trailer. There are some killer hills on the ride. When we got back Greg said, "That was so much harder than I remember it!" I laughed and said, "That is because I pulled the kids the last time:) It is about an 8 mile ride all together. So I told the kids if there wasn't any complaining that we would have sundaes after lunch. God blessed us with an absolutely beautiful day, perfect for bike riding. The second 2 pictures are of Jo enjoying his sundae. He was covered, hair and all.

PIZELLES AND PASSING ON THE FAITH

ANNA AND JO ENJOYING MYRA AND MARLENE'S PIZELLES

WE ARE PASSING ON THE FAITH TO THESE 4 BLESSINGS

I am so blessed and fortunate to be able to attend a seminary wives bible study twice a month at a lovely woman's house. Her name is Myra. One week she leads us in a Mothers study and then 2 weeks later the study is on the topic of being a Godly wife. She is just awesome, so humble, so truthful, so forthright, so grounded in God. I just love it, she has a way of speaking the truth in a loving but not sugar coated way. She will tell you straight up if you are not on the right track. I love it, she is not afraid to be honest, it is refreshing. She also has a way of saying such sensible, logical things. I am always saying, "Now that makes so much sense why didn't I think of that?" Well her sister Marlene and her 90 year old mother are in town and they made us Pizelles for a snack. They made enough to send one home for each person in all of our families. How gracious since some of us have larger families. Well the first picture above is of Anna and Jojo enjoying their pizelles. Yummy! Thanks Myra and Marlene:) I am secretly praying that Myra (well, not that secretly, because I told Myra this already) will publish her materials, it is that good. I think more women need to benefit from it.

The next picture is of all 4 of our kids with their TAG U R IT bandanas on. That was the theme of our Going family reunion 2 years ago. Do you get it? Tag you are it! The theme was passing on the Christian faith to the next generation. I don't even remember what it was, but something made us all talk about that reunion. So the kids wanted to wear their bandanas. It was great, they were wearing them all around campus. I remember when I was pregnant praying for all sorts of things for my kids. Maybe I have mentioned this before, I prayed for their health, their future spouses, a safe delivery, but the thing I prayed for most was that the precious ones I was carrying would know Jesus. So everyday we are trying to do things, talk about things, read things that will point them to their Savior Jesus. I have to say one of our favorite things is our prayer board. Every morning after we read from our family bible we pray for 4 different families that have helped us and then we pray for everyone who is on our prayer board. It has touched my heart so many times. For the last 2 weeks Louis has been the one to pray for my brother Mark who has a liver disease. He has prayed for Uncle Mark and then always says,"Lord please zap that liver disease right out of him." Uncle Mark loved that. So pass your requests our way and we will put them up on the prayer board:) Any ways, I would encourage you to pass on your faith in Jesus to all the little ones in your life!

These commandments I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7