We gave our children an early Christmas present! God providentially worked it out for us to get this 2 year old Bullmastiff. Our 2 youngest didn't know that we were getting him and you can still see the delight on their faces. Ever since we had a Rottweiler in Romania, we've missed having a DAWG, not a little wimpy dog, but something worthy of the name DOG. We looked for quite some time, trying to find a Rott. but it just wasn't God's will. So we were very delighted to see how God worked things out. We've had many prayers of thanksgiving for Diesel.

Nothing pertaining to our life in this world is unimportant in the sight of God. He is interested in everything that concerns us in life. T.M. Anderson

I was recently reminded of this powerful quote:

"Holy shoddy is still shoddy." - S.D. Herron

"It is done! Over....for now anyways!"

For those of you who know what I've been doing the last 11 weeks, you know what that refers to.

Happy Birthday, Brittany!

We love you! You have always been our little bundle of "joy"! Keep Jesus 1st in every endeavor of your life and you will have TRUE Joy!




Steak N' Shake!

A family gave us some cash and told us to do something special with our family! We were able to celebrate Brittany's birthday here, thanks to coupons and kids eat free night! We don't go out much, so it's a REAL treat for all of us, not just the birthday girl!



Every Cake has it's story!

We made Brittany an ice-cream cake! Since I was given some dipping chocolate, I decided to "dip" her cake in that for the icing. I had just enough left-over white icing to come up with this concoction! Again, I'm glad for very forgiving kids when its comes to their 'original' birthday cakes! :)

People put the dumbest pictures on their blogs! What are they thinking? So, I thought I would join the crowd. :) Just a warning, this is what happens when you drop a 70 lb. battery on your fingers. My wife and kids wandered if it was on my "trumpet" hand (the right one), because we are working on a pretty complicated (for me anyways) piece of music for the Christmas program. I replied, no, it's my left hand, my typing hand. :) I have lots of typing to do for my second research paper, so this kind of slows things down quite a bit. :) What people will do to get attention.

BTW - I had to "drill" (with a scalding hot paper clip, actually, it just burns a hole through the nail) a hole through my finger nail to release the pressure. Of course I didn't go to the hospital, I'm waiting for the new health care program to go into affect, everything will be better then. :)

School Days!
Since this was Bryan's 1st year of school, we chose a school bus theme in which to do his birthday! Thankfully kids are very forgiving concerning the decorating ability, or the lack thereof, of their Momma! I did have fun doing it and he had fun telling me how it should look. Bryan loves any type of vehicle therefore, he is quick to catch all the details of where the tail lights should be put, etc. :)




Thank you Aunt Celeste for coming to help make Bryan's birthday party~ a real party!



Look who had a "Birth-day!" Our little boy is fast becoming a "little man"! Life is so much fun with a boy in our Haus!


I can't believe it... my baby boy is in school now! Kindergarten with all of its great new discoveries. I love to see his face light up as he catches a new concept, or learns to spell a word for the 1st time. Ever wonder if that is how our Heavenly Father views the lessons He is trying to teach us?


Daryl is back to school in a BIG WAY! He is officially a FULL-TIME student at Wright State University in Dayton, OH - working on a Masters in TESOL.

Ohio Biblebee Competition
Darla was privileged to join a Biblebee with her age group during the summer. It was lots of work with lots of memorization of Scripture! Though she didn't "place" in the competition per say, our hearts were very happy that she wanted to join for one is always the winner when we hide God's Word in our hearts! Congratulations Darla from Mommy and Daddy for the job well done!


Between competing times they had this wonderful, creative, fun room set up for the kids to enjoy! What a day to remember!
Our sweet Darla! I will always cherish this special day that Darla and I got to spend together!

Catching Up!
Happy Birthday to our "Bubbly"! That's what our Darla gets called often at our "Haus"! She enjoyed some Sam's Club pizza for a quick celebration while waiting for her cousins to come for her real celebration a few days late!

Darla's favorite present was having her cousins come home to America! Kimberly and Sarah played Darla a very special birthday song ~ Colombian Style!


Thanks to Kimberly, Brittany and Natasha for helping us make Darla's stack of Cupcakes!

Worry - It's a decision we've made where we try to work things out internally instead of trusting God. (taken from our Sunday School class)

Laura was mainly in charge of bringing the "International Dinner" together. It was a huge success but the only problem was I only had one stomach. The food was great and such a variety, it was amazing. I couldn't help but think of how I just wanted to keep eating and eating. Then I wondered, do I have the same desire to hunger and thirst after God, as I do to eat this wonderful food. God help me!

Thanks Deanna for being such a big help to Laura and me because it helped lighten the load.

Each table had a centerpiece which consisted of relics from the various countries.

If you want to see more pics of the GHM renewal time go to www.dickinsonfam.blogspot.com

Why are we holding our blanket? Read the next post for the answer.

We played "volleyball" and tried to improve our team work. The only catch was, we had to catch it with our blanket and then catapult it back over with our blanket. The "it" was a water balloon. No one got drenched and we had lots of fun!

We had a Missionary Renewal time in August which was put on by Global Holiness Missions, the mission arm of Christian Nation Church.

One of the things we did was discuss and digest the book "Let the Nations Be Glad" by John Piper.

The discussion time was very profitable as we thought about, talked about, and prayed for and about Missions.

Our kids had a wonderful time a couple months ago to go to the Creation Museum with their Grandparents and some of their cousins. Although our kids have been there several times, you always come away with the feeling of how great our God is. Go to the planetarium. It's a breath of fresh air because you don't have to wade through "billion and billion of years"!

"Destroy your foundation and your whole structure will crumble!"

Tell someone they evolved from a monkey and then discipline them for acting like one! .....Huh!

Our family watched the work that was done on our street this last summer. I will say this, the breaks were very consistent and I'm not talking about the ones on the vehicles.

"Sorry the nurses and Drs. are on break right now." That would probably be the answer we get if we had Government controlled Health Care. Why is it that the common people can see the dangers of this, but the politicians can't? Interesting!

We enjoyed our time with Sally Sebo, Missionary to Romania. We went out to Gold Star Chili. Sally works with Orphans and youth in Talpos, Romaina. We had the privilege of working with her for a while. She has been a good friend and even better Missionary. (www.sallysebo.com)

We have taken opportunities to have special family time here locally. We were able to attend two air shows: the Blue Angles and the Thunderbird's!

At the Thunderbird's airshow, ironically a thunder storm was threatening us, but thankfully Jesus kept the rain away until the show was all done and we were safely in our cars!

Thanks Grandma and Pop-Pop for the gift of the air show! We had a great time!

Happy 102nd Birthday to Grandma Bryan! Actually it was July 6, so we say, Happy Belated Birthday!

We've been so blessed to have this dear lady as our Grandma / Great Grandma! Some men receive all of the praise and glory, because of their positions in life or possibly because of their charisma. It's people like Grandma Bryan that truly make the biggest difference in lives. She's a prayer warrior and we've been blessed to have her as one of our prayer supporters for many years. She also has given liberally to the cause of Christ, often giving over 1/2 of her monthly income to Missions. Many times this has been done by sacrificing some her own basic needs.

We love you Grandma, thank you for your prayers and trust God will give you many more years of service to the King of Kings!

I'm thankful for all of those who have helped to give me the freedoms that I have. Thank you to each who have served, fought and/or died for our country. I love America but I am not an American first of all. I am a Christian first and foremost!!!!! Jesus died for my sins and gave me true freedom. Freedom that only comes in Christ! "When Christ looks at the world, He doesn't look at the world through 'American glasses'. "

Something to think about: "When God looks at all of the nations on this earth does He view America as 'the greatest nation'."

"We are politically conservative but not conquering through prayer." (Taken from our Pastors message in which explained the Church in America's status and encouraged God's people to PRAY.)

Our solution will not be found in the government for neither party is the solution. Our solution is in God and and God alone.

we surprised Daddy for Father's Day and went to a park nearby and had our pictures made!

Natasha and Brittany enjoyed making their first pies. They were delicious!! The girls are definitely walking in their mother's footsteps!!

Happy 45th Wedding Anniversary to my parents! Thanks for being wonderful parents who love us, love each other and most of all, you love our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! I love you very much and am thankful for your lives and the example you set before me. Oh how blessed I am to have you as parents! Thank you for allowing me to follow God's leadership in my life and for not holding on to me. You've let me go, to pursue God's divine guidance. I've seen times where parents hold on to their kids and never truly release them. I can't tell you how much it means to me to know as Dad has told me so often, "you follow God's will, and we will support you." Thanks for your support!

These are a few pictures of fond memories that we were able to share together, not too long ago. It was a special time that we had and I cherish the memories of this time. (Pics from Austria and Germany)

Our little girl dun growed up!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my little girl! You are a very special girl to us and we are so proud of you. God has blessed you and helped you. You have honored God with you life and He's has blessed you in return. Keep trusting Jesus and walking with Him. He will gently guide you and will never mislead you. Keep Christ first above all others and you will never be sorry!