What a weekend we had. Roger, my dear hubby, became sick again on Thursday morning and within two hours was admitted into the emergency room. He had an infection and his heart rate was 136 beats a minute and his temperature was just over 103 degrees. He was one sick man! He stayed in the hospital until Sunday afternoon when I was finally able to bring him home with me again! He is feeling better and trying his best to go back to work.

We had paid for a camping weekend with Becca's homeschool "school" for Friday and Saturday night. Roger insisted that I take her to at least part of it even though he was in the hospital. Amidst lots of tears from me (because I didn't want to leave him) it was decided that I would drive up late Friday night and "camp out" in our big "homeschool" van. We had intended to take our camper but I didn't want to try to set it up alone! We arrived at "Prophetstown State Park" near Lafayette, Indiana at about 10 p.m. (Named for a Native American man who lived in that area long ago.) It was VERY cold and windy but she and I were snug in the van! Leaving Roger in the hospital was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do but Roger insisted that this weekend was important to Becca and that he "commanded" me to take her.

We did have fun but I sure worried about Roger and I am sure that I drove him crazy calling him every few hours. We spent a lot of time getting to know the other homeschooling families...some of them we got to know a little too much! Some of the dads decided to put on a "rock concert" as they walked out from behind an RV dressed like 80's or 90's rockers...wigs and all! They didn't REALLY sing, just acted like they were the performers while someone's Ipod played. It was REALLY silly. Other campers who weren't part of the 50 or 60 people we were with walked by with curious yet amused expressions on their faces as the dads played the electric guitars (with no strings) and beat on the drums...kind of in beat...sometimes.

I hurried back to my van to get my camera and happened to speak to some of the other campers. I told them that we were a "fairly conservative Christian homeschool group" and that we really knew how to have fun....haha!! They laughed and I thought it was kind of nice to let people know that we are KIND OF normal...for homeschoolers, I guess.

On Saturday, I took Becca to Wolf Park which has 15 wolves, 2 coyotes, and 2 foxes all in a beautiful and large confined area. They were wonderful to see. We went back in the evening to learn more and join in their "howl" night. Becca's favorite topic is wolves so she was really in her element! Two other homeschool families joined us so that made it even more special!

We drove back home late Saturday and I dropped her off with her big sister and I hurried to the hospital and stayed a few hours with my Roger. I think he was happy to see me but was also happy to see the small back of chocolates that I brought to him! I was really happy when he told me on Sunday that I could come and get him!

He went to work today and yesterday but I think he is very tired and needs to rest as soon as he gets home.

I made a cute little dress for our niece Kathy for Christmas today! I have yet to figure out how to make buttonholes but other than that, it is done! I am planning to make her a matching little doll dress to go with it for "Hope", her baby doll. Kathy's sister, Jenny, is 11 and I plan to make her an apron and oven mits to go with a girl's cook book we purchased for her. It reminded me of how much I enjoy sewing and I can't wait to make little dresses if and when we are able to adopt!

Well, I have dished to do and supper to start so I think I should get back to work!
Blessings to you all,
Beth

Aaron's Witness...To God Be the Glory...

All of my "Christian" life I have been told that people watch us as Christians and are affected by how we live our lives. We've been told that sometimes we have a silent witness and that when people are hurting or are in trouble, they will come to us.

That is exactly what happened to my "big" boy, Aaron. I say "Big" boy because he is my oldest child, oldest of our 8 combined children.
Last week, his boss called him into her office and told him to close the door. He thought, "Goodbye job..." and did as she asked.

"You're a Christian, right?" she asked.
"Yes."
Then she broke down. She told him things that he didn't divulge to me and I didn't ask him.

He told me that it was difficult for him because the things she told him were big, heavy things.
So later that weekend, he sat down and composed a large email and sent it to her personal email.

Then he waited while she didn't respond or even talk to him about it at work.
Today she called him over again and thanked him for his words. She said she had to have read it 200 times over the weekend.

I asked him what he told her and without going into details about this woman's struggles, he said he told her about his faith, plain and simply. I'm sure the Holy Spirit gave him the words to write.
She said she is searching.

I hope she finds Him.

There are some days that make me so very very proud to be a Momma. Today is one of those days.

Lovely Autumn Days

Roger and I took a picnic one day last week and the leaves were a beautiful sight to see! They were falling all around the picnic table but it is a little hard to capture with my camera.

Yesterday we had another picnic and then joined son Aaron, his lovely wife, Holly, and their two little boys (Dylan pictured above) and Brody for a walk in the park. Sometimes cellphones should be left in the car....

Roger's birthday cake! He loves chocolate cake with hard caramel icing on top!

This is the view from our bedroom door at our little blue house.

Early morning light streaming through the trees...gorgeous!!

A little gentle stream ran near our picnic site on Friday...Roger's birthday!

The bridge and creek above is in Bloomington, Indiana. It was a nice little picnic spot. We would have loved to have hiked but if we had spent any more time, I would have missed the pumpkin ice cream I just HAD to have in Nashville, Indiana. Have you ever had pumpkin ice cream?? Oh Wow.....yum yum yum!!!

Some of the family decided to cross the little rock path over the creek on our walk on Sunday afternoon. I chose the bridge.....Holly and their dog, Lady, a rescued grey hound, led the pack!

NOW.......tilt your head to the left because I forgot to turn the picture prior to uploading to blogger......

This is my Becca...who is 14 and getting WAY too grown up in her

Momma's opinion. What happened to Baby Becca???
KEEP YOUR HEAD TILTED.......yeah, I did it again......

This is NOT another picture of Becca, this is Jennie, 18 and WAY WAY too grown up!! They do look a lot alike, though. Every day when they are out together, people ask if they are twins!

Here we are with 3/8ths of our kids....not including the one or two God is planning for us in Africa! Beth, Roger, Jennie, Becca and Gideon! We have to send some of these pictures to the government in Africa to let them "have a look" at us for our adoption. Perhaps the government there will say, "NO WAY!!" Haha....

Have a LOVELY fall day...Jennie and Marci, (my oldest daughter, 21) are going out to take Jennie's senior pictures this afternoon and evening. Jennie is the shyest girl ever known so making her get professional pictures done would be worse than pulling teeth. So, big sis is doing it for her! They plan to go to the park that we picnicked at on Sunday. Should be wonderful!

Blessings,

Beth

An Evening Away and Laundry Room Drama...

My husband's birthday is October 7th and we are taking a day to just be alone! I can't wait!

We were planning to go to Bloomington, IN to stay but I wasn't happy with "Priceline's" hotel prices...I'm really cheap!

Anyway, we are going to stay in a lesser known town with less expensive hotel prices!
Roger's very elderly aunt is in a nursing home in this town so we are going to go visit her, Lord willing, first thing in the morning and then it is off to antique shops OR Nashville, Indiana!

I'd love to go to Nashville, Indiana! For those who aren't familiar with Indiana, Nashville is in the lower third of the state and the scenery is gorgeous this time of year with the changing leaves. Hotels and campsites are booked solid. Bed and Breakfasts are booked months or even years in advance for the fall season. It is a little town mostly made up of shops, some handmade items, unique items and antiques. SOOO much fun!
Then there is also Brown County State Park just outside of Nashville. It is Indiana's answer to our lack of mountains. There are gorgeous overlooks in the hills. (Indiana is mostly flat, flat, flat...but southern Indiana is more hilly.) I used to live near there and believe it or not, as much as I loved the hills and the trees, I missed seeing the sunset and the sunrise! They were blocked by hills and trees! I'm a true flatlander. There is nothing as pretty as a sunset over a corn or soybean field. Sort of.

Anyway, Brown County State Park is where Roger first told me he loved me. (Well, he actually told me he loved me months earlier but then he took it back. Yep, he did. To Roger, telling a lady that he loved her meant more than a feeling of love. It meant a commitment. He had just given me a kiss in his laundry room and then he said, "I love you." I assume having a lady working in his laundry room was just more than the man's emotions could handle. Soooo... he kinda took it back and said that he loved kissing me. Hmmm...what's not to love? I haven't let him hear the end of it yet. After all, he shouldn't have been kissing me if he didn't love me, right????? And believe me, I wouldn't have been helping him with his laundry if I hadn't loved HIM already!! All's well now, though, because he has told me that he loves me since then and has NOT taken it back!!!!!!!!!!! Usually I do his laundry....Haha....)

Anyway, we aren't sure what we are going to do yet. But it will be nice to just get away for the night!

By the way, our big house is officially on the market!! Open house is set for this Sunday. I bet all the neighbors show up.

Blessings!
Beth

"Courageous" Movie

My husband and I, along with 4 friends from church, went to see the "Courageous" movie tonight.

I highly recommend it but be aware that you may need LOTS of tissues!

It was extremely well made and very professional. There is a good Salvation message in it but the overwhelming message during the movie is about being a parent with the emphasis being on the father in the family. There is also a LOT of humor thoughout the movie...we laughed and laughed several times. (I love to hear my husband laugh like that.)

Do go and see it...and tell your friends and family that they should join you. You won't be sorry.
By the way, several of the guys around us teared up, too.

But it was really really good.

Blessings,
Beth

I couldn't believe it yesterday when I walked to the mailbox and my passport had arrived! I had only applied for it 11 days ago and it is here already! Immediately I copied it and mailed the copy to our adoption agency. I THINK we have everything turned in to them now...I HOPE so, anyway!

She told me a few weeks ago what we still needed for our "Dossier" and I quickly gathered the rest and sent it to her.

So hopefully...our application for adopting a little girl...or two little children...will be finalized and sent to the Lesotho Government.

It could still be as long as a year, but Lord willing, it might be sooner than that!

It seems so strange to have this little girl deeply embedded into our hearts yet not really have her at all. We don't have a referral yet...I think I will just go crazy when we do get the referral!! But we refer to her as "Grace" and Becca said the other day, "I put the book on Grace's bed."...
(She will share a room with our little adopted girl and it is already set up for her.
It's like she is here already. She is certainly in our hearts!!!!)

Can you imagine it if God gives us two little children to love and nurture? I've started writing in my journal to include two children, possibly a girl and a boy, or two girls, or just one girl. I don't EVER want the 2nd child, if God gives us a 2nd child, to feel unwanted or left out. I've tried to convince Roger that if God DOES give us two little girls, BOTH of them should have the name Grace as their middle names. I'm not sure that I am convincing him, though. (Hope and Faith are also good names. He suggested Mercy but we already have a "Marci" and I often say, "Mercy, Marci!!")
Depending on the age of the child, we may keep her/his African name. I think it depends much on how cumbersome it sounds to American ears. I'm fairly confident that we will keep the name in some way, though. It will be that child's heritage, after all!

Well, have a lovely day,
Blessings!
Beth

The Misadventures of Soapmaking....

On the few mornings that I stayed home last week while babysitting little Brody, I made soap. It was so much fun and I had really good results...for the most part. The lavender soap is made with a goat's milk base and has lavender scent and seeds within it. The brownish soap is an oatmeal/honey soap made with a glycerin base. I love the oatmeal soap and it makes my skin feel so soft and comfy...especially as the air in our home tends to be dry! I haven't yet used the lavendar soap because it looks too pretty to use!! (And they're supposed to be Christmas presents this year!)

WELL....I didn't say EVERYTHING was a success, did I??? We don't really use our dishwasher because it tends to throw nasty things back on the dishes. However, I decided that it would be a good tool to use to get the excess soap off of my pans, spoons, and soap molds.

Harmony the cat can't figure out exactly what is happening to the kitchen floor...."Since when does soap have tails??" We piled towels up next to the floor to stop the increasing flow of bubbles!

Oh well....it was pretty funny, anyway!

I told Roger that it reminded me of "I love Lucy" and he said it reminded him more of Bobby Brady on the Brady Bunch. I seem to remember an episode about soap but I'm not sure!

Marie....I've been trying to leave comments on your blog but not having much success so I will have to try to have another sign on...hope to talk to you soon!!

Blessings!!!

Beth