~Thanksgiving Thoughts~

As we are approaching this Thanksgiving season, I couldn’t help but write a list of all the many blessings which have been bestowed upon me.

1. I am thankful that God sent his only Son to die for my sins. He gave His life; He called me to Himself; He gave His all, yet in return He got filthy rags.
2. I am thankful to be a Christian; one that wants holiness; that wants to live for God, to make Him the center of my life and to know more of Him.
3. I am thankful for a Christian heritage. One that has been passed down, yet must not be taken for granted.
4. I am thankful that I have been raised in a godly home. A home that is built on Jesus Christ first and foremost, and then on family.
5. I am thankful for my wonderful parents. Parents who love God, love each other, and love their children.
6. I am thankful for wonderful siblings. Although, they can get a trifle annoying at times, they make us better people. It is hard to imagine life without them.
7. I am thankful to be an American. Even though I don’t agree with everything our leaders have done or are doing, I am thankful that I was privileged to be born an American. A country that has freedoms more than any other country, one in which we, as a people have a say in her politics. A country in which every man has the right to worship God in his own way.
8. I am thankful for a warm house and home in which to live.
9. I am thankful for a great dog named Diesel.
10. (I know this might sound silly, but as a 3^rd culture kid, it is sort-of ingrained in me.) I am thankful for all the clothes, shoes, etc. that I have. And yet even though I don’t have three closets full, I have more than most kids around the world would have.
11. I am thankful to be living in a modern technological age, with all its positives and negatives.
12.  I am thankful for a certain doctor named Dr. Crawford. I was thinking the other day, “What if someone had discouraged Dr. Crawford from becoming a doctor.” Talk about the how powerful words are. “If someone had said, ‘Be something else…you’ll never make it in the medical field.’ And if he had taken that to heart, then I wouldn’t have a straight back, and many other kids wouldn’t have been helped, and a few wouldn’t even be alive!” 
13. I am thankful for how God answers prayer. Many times it doesn’t happen when we want it…we may think that He is too late or too early…but He always answers prayer…and it is EXACTLY ON TIME!!! 
14. (Kind-of going along with #13) I am thankful that God has EVERYTHING under control. He knows the plan…He sees the big picture. I was thinking back the other day to around my surgery time…(It seems that everything sort-of connects around that now…sorry.) I was thinking how God worked everything out exactly on time. He had the insurance come through on time. (Although then I was tempted to think that it would be too late.) He had every doctor, nurse, physical therapist… you name it… ‘there for such a time as this’. Through this experience I think that I have learned ‘faith’ at a whole new level. Learning to trust, when you couldn’t see what He was doing…yet knowing that He had EVERYTHING under control…(and yes…it is a lot easier to say that now, looking back, than it was going through it!!! ;)  
15. I am thankful for a good holiness church to attend.
16. I am thankful for good holiness pastors; Pastors who aren’t afraid to preach the truth; Pastors that won’t change their message to match the congregation. I am thankful for Pastors that practice what they preach.
17. I am thankful for the Bible, God’s holy word. (Someone has said that it is God’s love letter to us.) I am thankful for the Bible, where we can gather our “bread” for the day.
18.  I am thankful for God’s many blessings; Blessings that He bestows on us each and every day. I am thankful that God doesn’t change. People may change, and likely they will, but God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. He is OUR God!!!!
    So why not thank Him?!
    
    
      N.H 

Home School Thanksgiving Banquet

 Our Annual Homeschool Thanksgiving Banquet!

 Each year the kids are to dress up as Characters from History. Jesus TOTALLY helped this Mommy find something for our kids to wear.  I went to Kmart a couple weekends ago and found several racks of their out-of-season costumes clearanced for 75% off!  So I squealed, "Yea, Praise Jesus, 'Tasha  (she HATES to be called that!) help me dig!" (she wasn't exactly thrilled at her Momma's idea, but she helped me anyway and here's what we came up with for only $5 each... and that $$ was a gift from G.G. for the kids! (Thanks so much for making their day, Month, YEAR!!!)  I KNOW that I'll more than get my your money's worth watching them play by the hour with these fun Authentic looking dress-up clothes! So thanks to my find, Bryan chose to be Sergeant York! Who was a WWI Christian Hero! (you can't see but "someone's" about to loose two front teeth, but they are hanging in there rather crooked and stubborn like!=)

 Here he is holding his Great-Grandmother Hausman's Bible, to help illustrate Sergeant York's firm belief that God was and is to be 1st in EVERY area of our lives!  Oh, that is my hearts cry for all of us! 

 Darla chose to be Sacajawea. The Indian women who went with Lewis and Clark on their Exploration of the West.  (For we found a complete Indian GIRL outfit and MODEST enough too! PTL!) Here she has her little "Papoose" in a Colombian bag, gift from the Dickinson's, that we "rigged" to try to look like how the Indians would have carried their young!  (she had some DARLING REAL moccasins too, but Brittany  I mean... Someone whom we'll leave un-named, who was helping me take all of these pics, forgot to include her shoes!!! Of all the nerve!!! (for those of you who Don't know me... I'm only teasing someone who LOVES shoes and you MUST include SHOES in every outfit, for THEY make the outfit.. don't leave out the shoes, Mommy!!! ... Goodwill always has some there just waiting for our next trip to find more... SHOES!!!

 Here's our friend who got to be there today, cause he is recovering from shoulder surgery... I'll let you guess which one! Hee!

 One of the small stars of the show!

 Here's Sergeant talking with a "Mark Twain" type character... you should have seen the eyebrows on this Dude!  Way to go Deanna!

 And these eyebrows.... =)

 Borrowed from this "Star"

 Here is "Daniel Boone" and "Davy Crocket"... aren't they just darling!!! (Can't believe they are already almost 1 year!!) They had their mouths all set for the plate of Turkey, Mashed potatoes & gravy, Green Beans and Rolls,  that their Moma had just sat down before them... so they were a bit too preoccupied to "smile" =)

 Here's a table full of sweet children all dressed up as some character from our History! and with their yummy plates full at our Thanksgiving meal!

 Awaiting the meal, this was some of the "line-up"!

 These two "detectives" about stole the show with all the "Stunts" of how they would catch the bootleggers.  They were the 1st abolitionist Detectives and were such a success that folks loved them, but unfortunately Politics didn't!  HAS much changed?!

 The intent audience!

 Up closer.... NOT TOO PERSONAL!!!

Our Mr and Mrs Snowman Crafts!

 I was asked to help with the Jr kids Craft.  I'm not too great at coming up with ideas like this.  But I had some wonderful suggestions to get me going AND JESUS HELPED MUCH!!!  We Mom's, all dug out all of our scraps of ribbons and old buttons etc so the cost was cut to almost nothing, thanks to the felt being donated... only took time to cut out and the kids did the rest!  It was fun to watch their creative ways making these gifts to give to the patients at a Nursing Home where we go and Carol each Christmas!  Christmas, and God's Amazing Gift to us, is best understood when we GET THE JOY OF GIVING! So this makes every scrap of fabric and every "ouch" of burnt fingers from hot glue, worth it all to see the smiles of someone remembering the "outcast" of our Society... after all they were someone's "teacher, Momma, Daddy or Grandma, Grandpa"!   Last year Jesus gave us a tiny glimpse of our efforts as some of us split up and went caroling down the halls.  The director asked if the kids would be okay caroling to a lady that was dying... and Denise said she thought they would be.  The lady then led them to a room of a VERY sick lady, who had actually been in a coma for several days and had shown NO response at all to her family, who had been called in for they knew she was soon to  pass.  The kids went in and sang Carols and when she heard them she started crying and awakened to join several minutes with her family. (Can't remember all the details...) but that let the kids "see" for the family was SO moved to tears as well that this response was made... So that's why we do what we do... Is it worth it... OF COURSE... the Bible says it's all worth, Just ONE soul!

 Here's a few of the artists at work...

 The kids had so much fun being SO creative and I'm VERY sad that I forgot to get a good close up pic of all of their work when they had finished!  Oh well, if you've followed our blog much, you'll know that at least I'm being "consistent" with my lack of pics!!! =)

Heather, we all missed ya'll this year, you can be sure.  Natasha also missed getting to be there as she was VERY ill with a cold!  But we are counting our blessings that Jesus protected her from any such hard coughing until she was healed, for this coughing has made her back pretty sore, as you can imagine!  God is Good!!!!  And all the time! Happy Pre-Thanksgiving!

Our Fun "Surprise" weekend!

"Oh, Dad!!!!  Shock of all wonderful shocks!"My brother flew down and totally shocked his girls by a visit!  This is the snapshot that Kate's friends got of her 1st glimpse of her Daddy!  So sweet! I LOVE IT!

 

 So glad we live close enough to get to "help" (at least a very tiny tad) make this a success!  The details were too many to blog, but soooo fun how it all worked out, connecting with other friends to make sure that his girls would be around and all the connections to surprise them 1/2 to death! I'm sooooooo glad it all worked without a hitch! This pic above is in our still under construction dining room...

 Here Bryan is showing his "Big Game Hunter Uncle" his bow!  He (Bryan) thoroughly enjoyed this time, as we all did!  Sorry our pics are all interaction pics for we forgot to get decent ones when  we were dressed up for church etc.  Everyone had already gotten in comfy clothes pretty much.... so here's what we got anyway!

 This was everyone around the dinner table! It was SO much fun to get to have company again.  We live so far from our church that we rarely get the treat of company at Sunday Dinner these days!  but since we LOVE our church, we just have friends over on other days, that's all! (well, we always plan to anyway... gotta get that happenin again!  Confessions are good for the soul, they say!)
  

And Last of all....  Part of Andrew's girls surprise was this "ole clunker" to ride around in with their dad!  Too fun! Our kids got to have a "spin" and even Daryl got to take a drive, which he "hated" dearly "LOVED" every minute of that, you can be sure!  So glad that Jesus worked everything out for this fun, fun, surprise for TWO very special girls! And selfishly it was SO MUCH FUN to get to be a tiny part of it too! (Sorry, Heidi we didn't have a pic of your reaction! And we were sad we didn't get to see you too!)

Daddy's 50th Class Reunion @ G.B.S.

 My parents at the GBS Homecoming this year!  This was my Daddy's 50th year that he graduated from High School there.  He is wearing a sweater very much like what his class would have worn, with the original letters that my Momma had re-done for him, just special for this occasion.  He was President of of his Class all 4 years of High school.  It was so fun to get to be with them at this special time!

 Some long time friends... solving the world's problems, it appears anyway!  Good times of reconnecting for them all!

 Bro Trouten also a 50 year Grad, only his was from College.

 These four ladies were BEST BUDDIES when they were in High School.  It was fun to hear all of the stories of all the mischief that they used to get in together!  I guess you never saw one of them, but what you saw all four of them... and they always dressed alike too! 

 The representation of Daddy's 1961 High School class that came this year for the celebration!

 This is the college class of 1961

Saturday a.m. service when everyone was introducing themselves again after 50 years!

So glad we got to be with you Daddy and thought you'd like to see this post... I did it for you all too, Dickinson's!