Christmas Pictures

This year we were able to visit with two families on Christmas Eve, the Becks and the Poppes. That's right - two visits in one day. Boy were our bellies full after a long day of fellowship and food. As our families live on the East and West coasts we weren't able to be with them today and are enjoying a quiet day at home. We hope you enjoy pictures from the last few days. The picture in this post is one that we are sending to friends and family this week with a family letter.

See all Christmas 2006 pictures

New Pictures

We have uploaded some new pictures including a couple of my sister Karyn's visit this past summer and some of the kids. Benjamin is advancing really fast - he seems like he might walk sooner than the girls did. He looks so grown up riding on his little car!

 

A Method

This year's planning for school is almost complete. We are planning to start "school" the week of Aug. 22nd. I've gotten my "teacher" notebook together and bought all my books, I've organized my cabinet and bought the girls new scissors. I have lots of ideas but something still seemed to be missing until I read part one of Charlotte Mason's "Home Education". She talks about having a method - a plan - for how we teach our children. She is not talking about the content of our children's studies but the goal of it and the means to get there. CM says

Method implies two things––a way to an end, and a step by step progress in that way. Further, the following of a method implies an idea, a mental image, of the end of object to be arrived at. What do you propose that education shall effect in and for your child?

I have general ideas of what David and I want our children to accomplish in life but I have forgotten to act upon it like CM suggests.

The parent who sees his way––that is, the exact force of method––to educate his child, will make use of every circumstance of the child's life almost without intention on his own part, so easy and spontaneous is a method of education based upon Natural Law. Does the child eat or drink, does he come, or go, or play––all the time he is being educated, though he is as little aware of it as he is of the act of breathing.

So here is a summary of my goals, my "mental image":
I want to raise disciples: women (and now a man) who love the Lord THEIR God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Heart -

• their hearts would belong to the Lord



• they would own a heart of flesh and not of stone



• they would love one another and know how to serve and communicate that love.

Mind -

• they would be ready and willing to learn when they don't know something
• they would have a diverse knowledge base so that they have a well of information to dip into and a firm foundation

Soul -

• they would be satisfied in Chirst alone
• they would be honest with Him and confess thier sins
• they would know themselves well and know their temptations

Strenth -

• they would have healthy bodies and know how to take care of them
• they would know how to work and enjoy it

I need to work out my curriculum and my days to match these goals. This kind of thinking will gel everything together. I can't wait!

New Pictures

Just a quick note to point out that we finally uploaded a slew of pictures from the past few months including our recent family visit / vacation to the northeast. Check them out at our photo gallery.

 

 

 

Emma & Benjamin

For those who knew Emma as a baby and keep telling us how much Ben looks like she did - here's the proof:

Emma:


Benjamin:

Abigail's Poetry

Abigail woke up this morning with an urgent need to write down poetry. We were surprised and delighted at this new artistic inclination. She has been really enjoying Shel Silverstein's poems and we think that those have inspired her. Here are her first two compositions:

Listen When the Wind Blows
By Abigail A. Ward

Listen when the wind blows
The kite blows
The trees blow
Listen when the wind blows
Then that's all that it should be.

Listen when the wind blows
The clouds blow
The bushes blow
Then that's all that it should be.

(I should note that it is windy this morning here in Minnesota)

The Racoon Races
By Abbey A. Ward

The racoon races
The deer chases
The birds chatter
The greens whatter
The trees whisper
A baby whimpers.

Coloring Easter Eggs

We snapped a few pictures from our egg coloring project the night before Resurrection Sunday (also known as Easter). Even though the Easter portion of this holiday is purely pagan in its origins, we don't have a problem participating in the fun activities such as coloring eggs and giving our kids candy in easter baskets. We are far enough removed from the Pagan holiday's roots to have no association with the eggs and bunny and a goddess of fertility and life.

Tonight we also had our usual family devotions in which we go through the entire Sunday service together. What a joy to get such a "preview" on tomorrow's celebration of new life in Christ! We also started a tradition a couple of years ago where we place a small simple doll in the shape of a man, wrapped in linen strips, into a cardboard box fashioned into a tomb. We then roll a stone across the opening while reading the account of Jesus' death and placement in the tomb. On Sunday morning the stone is rolled away and the first thing we do when the kids wake up is go look at the tomb and rejoice that Jesus has conquered death!

New Pictures Uploaded

We have finally uploaded some pictures from the last month or two to our flickr account. Benjamin is in the 95th percentile (or higher) in weight. When you look at the pictures keep in mind that he is only 3 1/2 mo old and weighs about 17 lbs! Check out the girls during their ice skating class and Benjamin experiencing life with big sisters.

Abigail Baptized

Abigail, our oldest child, was baptized this past Sunday. We rejoice in her desire to follow Jesus and make her profession of faith public. It is always difficult to ascertain whether children are truly born again or simply believing the facts and worldview that they have always had. In Abigail's case, she had several spiritual breakthroughs from the ages of five to seven in which the Lord seemed to be at work in her heart making her more and more sensitive to sin and tender towards Him. She understands the gospel, shows evidence of God's grace in her life, and desires to be baptized, so along with Jesus I say "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14) At our church we don't simply accept the judgment of the parents (even though I am an elder) since they are often so eager to see their children converted and baptized they have a natural bias. We have the child speak with another elder (pastor) for a while about the gospel and about their profession of faith.

Here is Abigail's testimony in her own words (with a little help from Daddy):

Before I was saved I did things like talking back to mommy a lot when I would say "one minute." I felt like I didn't really believe in Jesus because I was so sinful and when I got disciplined sometimes I didn't really mean it; I just prayed because I had to. I learned about the gospel from the Bible. I read the story that Jesus died on the cross and I was really sad for Him. He had to die on the cross because He took the punishment for us. One night when mommy said to pray in my bed I said "Lord, please forgive me of all my sins, please save me." Now I feel happy that I'm forgiven. I've been more obedient to mommy and have not been so bossy toward Emma and Catie. My favorite verse is Psalm 150:3 "Praise Him by blowing trumpets. Praise Him with harps and lyres." I love Jesus.

We were able to snap a couple of pictures of pastor Bob Glenn baptizing her: