Beginning to move

The best way to cut back on stuff is to move. An even better way to cut back on stuff is to move out of the country.   The kids had to make some difficult decisions yesterday about what goes to TX and onto Paraguay (one bin), what stays at Grandma's (one bin), and what gets throw away (everything that doesn't fit in the previously mentioned bins).  

Yes, Rebekah is faking a sad look as you can tell by the smirk in the next picture.

Candy, Candy, Candy

We did our annual Christmas Train.   As you can see we loaded the cars with goodies.  We can't wait to bring this tradition to our Paraguay friends.  

We are just getting started with the building process.

Looking tasty.

Christmas Decorating

Darin and I weren't sure we would get a tree this year, but after a dramatic demonstration of tears by one of our children, we realized the tree was a very important part of Christmas.  So we have a tree.  It is beautiful and we had a great time pulling out our decorations from storage.  

Before

 


After

These items were stored in two boxes labeled, "X-mas Decor/Senegal."  They are our favorite, favorite items.  Last year at this time we boxed them up anticipating serving as missionaries Africa.  This has been a year of changes for us and we are excited about the ones coming in 2014.

Almost there

In just over two weeks we are going to be getting in the car and heading to Edinburg TX.

We are going to be attending the missionary language school at the Rio Grande Bible Institute.  After we have completed this program we will be returning to KY for a short time to get everything packed to head to Paraguay.  We are both nervous and excited to be finally heading out.  Please continue to pray for the sale of our house and that we would get done with the myriad of things on our to-do list.  I think I am busier now than I was before my last day at work.

14 Years

This past weekend Holly and I celebrated our 14th anniversary by renting a cabin in the Smoky Mountains in TN.  It was quite chilly, but it was nice to get away before the transitions we have coming up.  We are leaving Lawrenceburg KY on Jan 2nd and heading down to Edinburg TX for language school before go to Paraguay.  Please continue praying for the sale of our house and someone to take our dog.

The view from our front door

Just before we got this...

...we had these visitors.  I'm not sure if they what they were finding in our grass, but they sure invited the whole neighborhood.

The Masked Musketeer

Samuel had the opportunity this year of being in our home-school group's performance of "The Masked Musketeer."  He was Jose, one of the bandits.  His first time being the bad guy.  It was a fantastic play, and we could tell that all the kids had worked really hard to make it great.

Plan A

When my kids were younger, I began most mornings telling them about the day’s plan.  We would stop by the grocery store, the library, the post office, and some days, the park.  I stopped revealing the plan for the day as they grew older because they would grumble when Plan A morphed into Plan B or Plan C due to uncontrollable circumstances.  So far my track record with carrying out Plan A is lousy; I cannot think of a day that went according to plan.

But I know someone who is still on Plan A after many, many years.

            God.

He stated Plan A way back in Genesis.  He would send the Messiah through the woman’s seed to “crush” Satan’s head, defeating the power of sin in the life of those who believe in His Messiah.  As the years passed, God revealed more details with each passing generation, and in the NT, He perfectly executed Plan A.  The Messiah was born. 

A plan is easy to accomplish if there is only one element, but a plan with several elements is difficult to carry out.  With each added detail the intricacy  increases, making the plan very difficult to fulfill, but that is just what God did.  He made His plan intricate, full of details, creating a situation that looked impossible for the completion of plan A. 

                        Detail #1:  The Messiah would come through Abraham.    Genesis 22:17-18.

 

                        Detail #2:  The Messiah would come through Isaac.  Genesis 17:19.

                        Detail #3:  The Messiah would come through Jacob.  Genesis 28:14.

                        Detail #4:  The Messiah would come through Judah.  Genesis 49:9-10.  

           

                        Detail #5:  The Messiah would come through Jesse.  Isaiah 11:1.  

                        Detail #6:  The Messiah would come through King David.  2 Samuel 7:12.

                        Detail #7 The Messiah would come through Zerubbabel.  Haggai 2:23.

                       

Every promise, every covenant God made with men about the Messiah increased the intricacy of His plan.  The Messiah wasn’t just to come through the line of Abraham, He would come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, King David, and Zerubbabel.  Just read Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38 and you’ll see each of these men listed in the lineage of Jesus. 

            I have yet to execute Plan A when I have five things on my list for one day.

            Yet, God accomplished His Plan A, over centuries of time, following each intricate detail.  It is amazing to see how God makes Plan A then carries out Plan A to completion through His Son Jesus, the promised Messiah.

            What does that mean in our lives?

            “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”  Phil. 2:13. 

            If the God who orchestrated and carried out the plan for His Messiah is working in you, can you lose?  God, the maker of Plan A, will always carry it out unto completion.  You are part of that plan.  Don’t believe me because you’ve messed up so many times you are sure to be on Plan X by now?  Just study the men and women found in the genealogy of our Savior.  They were all sinners, and yet, somehow, God still used them to complete Plan A.  He can do the same in our lives.

I feel like 16 again

After weeks of not being able to drive, I'm very excited to have my freedom again.  Yes, I waited excitedly for Darin to get out of bed so he could take me to practice driving. So far driving has been the thing my leg has remembered easily. 

Praise God! He is continuing to heal my tendon as we prepare to leave KY.   I just may arrive in Texas ready to lace up the running shoes. 

More tough changes

As we continue down this road of getting rid of our earthly possessions, we reach another tough milepost. One more of the things we can't take with us is our dog. (We will on the other hand take the little girl.) As we search for a new home for her, we consulted with her in order to make this profile. She tried typing herself but it was taking altogether too long.

 My name is Josie. I am a 7 year old Chocolate Lab. I am fixed, but I have had two litters of puppies. I love to play and I love people, but I am getting a little older and I sleep more than I used to. I have decided not to dye my gray hair as I believe it is a sign of wisdom. I am scared of loud noises, so when there is a thunderstorm, I will probably try to climb into your lap. I will need someone to keep me who has a fenced yard because I have grown up on a farm that is a long way away from the road and I don't really understand that cars can hurt me. When my family comes home, I usually run out in front of the car because I know they will stop and get out. If there is another family who is interested in adopting me, I would like to come and visit for awhile to see how we get along.

Project Time

While my mom visited, the kids began their semester's projects. This is one of my favorite weeks of school because we don't do the other subjects and just focus on the projects. Plus I enjoy the hands on of cutting, gluing, and making play-dough. I can't share Samuel's because he did a Lego stop motion video about creation. His next step is to figure out how to add sound to his video and post it on our blog.

I took Samuel out deer hunting this morning. Just before sunrise a doe walked out and Samuel took the shot. When we got out of the stand we walked to where we thought it was when he shot it. We couldn't find any blood or evidence the deer had been hit. I even crawled around on the ground and couldn't find anything. So after looking for awhile, we decided he had missed completely so we got back up in the stand. About an hour later, this big boy walked out about a hundred yards away and promptly met his maker. While walking back to the house, we all of a sudden found a blood trail from the first deer about 50 yards further away than we thought he was when Samuel shot. So... now we have a lot of meat.

Looking good

Look at me. I'm vacuuming while standing without crutches. (Please ignore the PJ pants and totally awesome stylish shoes).

It has been a loooonnnnng 8 weeks, but I'm on the mend. My physical therapist even told me to bring my shoes on Tuesday. That can only mean walking without the boot.

Space Invaders

Samuel, Gabby, and I built this spaceship for our stuffed animals so they could go to the moon. If you look closely you can see into the cockpit of the spaceship. By: Rebekah

Part time plumber

We discovered a crack in our toilet which was allowing a small amount of water to drip out. So I made a trip in to town to get a new toilet and Samuel helped me install it. FYI for those who ever need to replace their toilet, its really easy.

A sweet surprise

My girls knew I needed a little pick-me-up one day and left these for me.

On to the Next Phase

Yea for the boot! Being able to partially walk is great, but being able to put my foot down without swelling, is fantastic. I can now cook (sort of), load the dishwasher (mostly), and do a few laps around the house to feel a bit better. I had my first two physical therapy sessions. I am writing the alphabet with my foot three times a day. Today I did a few stretches. Already I have more motion than I did on Monday. Thank-you gentlemen from Lawrenceburg Physical Therapy. I will everything you tell me to do so that I can make it to Texas in January and be able to walk in Paraguay.

Deer season already

Today was the opening day of youth deer season. Unfortunately since we haven't had a frost yet, most of the trees still have their leaves and the bushes are thick. This makes it all but impossible to see very far on our land. We did scare one away as we were walking to the stand in the dark this morning and then we saw one walking through the bushes, but Samuel didn't have a clear shot so he didn't take it.

Pictures

The kids and I went down to our creek to take some pictures last week. I think they had an agreement that they were going to take turns ruining the photos.

Special Things

Rebekah, a special daughter, and I pulled out the quilt, a special project, I started for her a few years (8 yrs) ago. Maybe I'll finish it before winter. I do have two more weeks on the couch.

Please Pray

Since we are having some technical difficulties loading pictures, I'll take this opportunity to ask for prayer. We are preparing to leave for Spanish language school in January. That is only three months away. We have already sent in the application and are currently on the waiting list for housing. Over these next three months please keep these things in prayer. My leg to heal completely so I can help with the packing and moving. (Walking again would be fantastic). Wisdom about packing and selling our items. Wisdom about the house. It appears, at this time, that God has a different plan than it selling. Friends for the kids in Texas. They are nervous and scared about the change and sad about saying good-bye to their friends here. Darin's studies at the seminary. He has several more weeks of class and his time to study will begin to overlap with time to pack and finalize details to move. We still need monthly support. We have just under $800 a month left to raise. Thank-you for keeping us in your prayers. We cannot do what is before without you all lifting us up before God's throne of grace.

Who needs video games when you have dirt and water?

Kids in the mud from 5Larrabees on Vimeo.

More useful than one might think

After two weeks with extra legs, I've discovered crutches are good for...

opening the curtains,

entertaining children,

turning on and off lights,

and shooing away cats that threaten to take me out.

As you can see these metal legs can be quite helpful, and  
















since I have four more weeks with them, I'm glad the doctor let me pick the color.  I know purple was a good choice.

 Me and the girls decided to build a dog town. The storyline behind it is kind of complicated. The town, which is called Shinook, was founded by Professor Creests Shiloh. It was built in the ruins of Beshoh an ancient city that was destroyed during a war. Everyone except the professor and his assistant, named Chandler, is part of one big family.

 Towards the end of our game we got bored so we made some of the kids build a space ship. In the first picture, the large blob of legos in the rightmost part of the picture is their mission control.

 This is the train that comes every week bringing coal and an occasional passenger. The train was formed when a young man went to the neighboring city called Chasler. He made his fortune and used his money to build a rail road to Shinook. However he ran out of money half way through so the people of the town pooled money to finish it but they made him promise to always deliver the coal to them or else they would burn down the train. 

 These are the stairs that lead to the town gardens. it is considered the most dangerous stair case in the whole land, and all of the men have to climb it every day!

 This is the hospital. it is run by an old man but he comes in handy when somebody is very sick.

 These are some of the ruins of Beshoh. These are the only ruins which have a standing door.

This is the professor's house. The professor is the dog with the blue head and the other dog is Chandler. They have the nicest house in town. The second floor, which is the floor they are standing on is the professor's study.                                                            
                                                                                                                         -Samuel-

Church planting in Paraguay

Church Planting With SIM in Paraguay from tbckawaii on Vimeo.

Not quite as planned

Last Monday as I practiced with Rebekah's soccer team, I experienced something new: a loud pop in my leg, burning in my calf muscle, and the inability to walk.  All are signs of tearing the Achilles tendon.  After seeing the tendon completely severed on the MRI, my doctor put me on the list for surgery the next day. 

I am moving much slower with crutches and my family is having to adjust to me not being able to do anything, but I have several blessings.  

My friends have created a list of who is bringing us dinner for the next three weeks.  Such a praise to have friends who can help us out during this time.

People from the church whose path I rarely cross have sent cards to tell me they are praying for me.

My kids have the opportunity to develop a servant's heart.

I have more down time to finalize the Bible studies I've written and hopefully make them available to you all.

I have a greater compassion for those with a disability.  Everything is much harder and takes much longer to complete.

I am reminded of the amazing husband God gave me.  I have woken him up in the night to get me my medicine, watched as he prepared my plate of food at each meal, and asked him numerous times to carry my crutches up the stairs and then help me stand.  God blessed me thirteen years ago. 

Although this was not in my plans, I am looking for the treasure God will bring out of it.

Bugs

                                           The girls and I decided to start a bug collection.

 This part consists of a grasshopper, two wasps, a fly, and two honey bees. I have no idea what the thing in the upper left corner is.

This is a giant praying mantis that I found. It was a lot bigger when it was alive.

                                                                                                                        -Samuel-

Powerful truth from a little heart

"'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'  'Where, O death, is your victory?  

Where, O death is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  

But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"  I Cor. 15:54-56.

Another Season

The kids are all ready for their first day of soccer games for the season.  This year all three will be traveling to other counties for games.  So delightful when they all need to go different directions at the same time.  I guess we'll figure it out.