Let's Go To Heaven!

A serious discussion:
Joshua: I wish Emily was here. [at our house]
Mommy: So do I, Joshua, but she's in heaven right now.
Joshua: Can we drive there? I would like to drive to heaven.
Mommy: No, sweetie, we can't drive there...(hesitation)...we have to die first, just like Emily.
(Joshua doesn't say anything, so Mommy continues):
If we serve Jesus, then when we die, we will go to heaven.
Joshua: (lighting up) And see Jesus' face?
Mommy: Hmm-mm and see Jesus' face.
Joshua: And see Emily?
Mommy: yes, we will see Emily.

Later, at dinnertime...
Everyone is seated around the dinner table, Joshua prays first:
Joshua: Jesus, thank you for food...thank you we get to go to heaven and see your face.

A little later during dinner...
Joshua: I don't want to die to get to heaven, Daddy. I want to drive there.


(Be sure to check out the kids' updates just under their pictures. I just updated it.)

Photo for Dad

Christmas Pictures

First up, is two gifts from Kaleb, Joshua and Rachel's 14.5 month cousin! (Me thinks his Mommy made them, but don't say anything):

Joshua's Apron!


Rachel's Apron! (with pink socks from Nana)

Next up is a wonderful gift from Nana, "Playful Patterns", foam pieces in various shapes with cards to make pictures, learn basic fractions and geometry, learn sorting, colors and mathematical skills. This is right up Joshua's alley! He loves puzzles and is great at problem solving. (Notice the socks, Nana!)

This is Daddy and Rachel reading Rachel's new potty book for girls, a gift from the parents of course!



Some baking photos, with their new aprons:




And, a gift from Mommy and Daddy: Annie and Clarabel!! (Thomas the Train's two coaches, the brown ones in the photo)


What were those kids baking with Daddy? What were they licking off the table? Well, the second question I'm sure you can guess, here's the answer to the first one:




And, finally, a quick video with Josh and his trains.

For Grampa

Runaway Teens...Found!!

A few days ago I posted about a friend's sister who ran away. Well they have been found... In Arizona! For the whole story click here. They are all greatly relieved that everyone is ok. Thank you for praying.

Joshua Recites His Alphabet

Grape Nut's First Ultrasound

This morning Joel and I went into our local hospital to have an ultrasound done. It sure was fun seeing Grape Nut. Of course all babies look the same at 15 weeks through a sound wave. Grape Nut was kicking and moving around quite a bit. I didn't feel a thing, the little baby is only 4 oz! We saw four chambers of the heart (!) and watching the heart beat was a treat. We had seen Emily's deformed heart beating so many times, I almost forgot what a healthy heart looked like. Well, I'm hoping Grape Nut's is healthy. The ultrasound guy (what is their title?) said 'it looked fine, but that's with low-grade technology.' (Our rural hospital here doesn't have top grade ultrasound equipment) He tried to see the sex of the baby, but it was difficult. Both Joel and I think it's a boy (going by what we saw on the screen) but the ultrasound guy couldn't say for sure.
So that's the report for today. Usually if there is any kind of problem with the ultrasound pictures, the doc will give me a call. I love my doctor, but I really hope I don't hear from her!!

Ryan and Emily's Wedding

Ok, Ok I will not give any excuses, I know this is a little late. Some of you know that Renee's brother, Ryan was married to Emily on May 31st of this year. It is now December. I am finally posting pictures of their wedding on our blog for your enjoyment.

The beautiful couple pose for their pictures before the wedding.

Joshua, the ring bearer, and Zoe, the flower girl.


Gearing up for the long march...


Joshua races ahead confidently(?) while Zoe takes her time.


The flower girl, having completed her mission to the front of the church, triumphantly sets her basket of rose petals down.


May I introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Ryan _____!


Um, yeah, don't ask. But it was really funny.

Ultrasound Coming Up

On Monday December 22, Renee and Joel are going in for an ultrasound for Grape Nut. It's a little early (only fifteen weeks along) but Emily's doc in Duluth recommended this for our next child. As you can imagine, this has the temptation to be worrisome. What Emily had, Grape Nut might have too. Or something completely different. So those of you who pray, and those of you who pray for us, please do. The appointment is at 9:45 a.m. and should only take about an hour. I (Renee) will try and update the blog so that you will know as soon as possible. :) Blessings to you! Oh and Merry Christmas!!!

A little under construction

Sorry, I'm redoing our blog. So please be patient while I put the finishing touches on it. :)

Pray for two Runaway Teens

One of my friends has a sister who just ran away with her boyfriend on December 11. For more details please click here on my friend's blog. Perhaps you have seen them?

Visits from Friends

Last week our friends, Joshua and Stephanie, did a babysitting swap so that all of us could go see 'The Wizard of Oz' playing at our local theatre. We watched their kids last weekend, Claire and Sophia. Claire and Joshua played well together:


Then this weekend Ryan (Renee's brother) and Emily came up to visit. That was fun and the kids enjoyed getting to know their aunt and uncle.

Grapenut's First Doctor's Appointment

Today was my (Renee's) first doctor's appt for Grape Nut. I've been kind of anxious about it. But no need! The doc and I heard the heartbeat today!! What a relief! Grape Nut is twelve weeks along now, so the risk of miscarriage is now much lower. An ultrasound is scheduled for Mon Dec 22. It's a little early for a routine ultrasound, but the risks are higher now due to Emily Grace. We will try and find out the sex of the baby, but no guarantees! (Grape Nut might have his legs crossed, or it might be too soon.)

They'd wear them around town if we let them!

So I come across a certain annoying toy in the kitchen yesterday evening, swoop it up and ask Renee what the repercussions of depositing it in the garbage can would be. "Just don't let the kids see you do it," she says. Into the can it goes. Said toy was a talking hippo figurine. When bumped it would say in a growly voice, "Wow - I'm like every hippo's dream" - whatever that means.
I thought I had taken care of that one nuisance and was quite happy with myself until the garbage can starting talking to me when I was cleaning up after supper. More than once I've dropped something in and its responded, "Wow!" Somehow the kids haven't quite clued in yet!




Rachel's new way of indicating she needs a diaper change!

Cozy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, we had snow! We got about an inch in less than an hour and it was beautiful. It's always exciting to receive those first real snowfalls, especially around the holidays.

A little while later all four of us went outside to play, pick up sticks (haha, I know, a little late...), and eat snow. Rachel touched the snow with her little fingers and was not too impressed. Joshua raked the snow and helped pick up sticks. He tried to eat the snow, but kept getting grass clippings in his mouth!













Back inside it was cozy with Christmas music and just being together as a family. Later in the afternoon we all went over to Joe and Heather's house for Thanksgiving dinner. They are friends from church and they have a little girl, Isabel, just over a year old. The dinner was delicious and the company was fun. There were 14 people total including children. We played, and chatted, and of course watched a little football. I think the winner for Joshua was the big playhouse in the basement. He asked me for one today. Of course I said no, what would we do if we had people over. We wouldn't be able to see each other. "They can just talk through the windows [of the playhouse]."
All in all it was a cozy Thanksgiving and we are thankful for God, for Jesus, for family, and for everything God has done and given.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Goofy

Some fun pics of the kids! Joshua has blue goggles, pool wings, and a paper towel tube. Rachel is eating her banana (which she peeled by herself!)

Assumption

When I was a child, books were my companion. I read many different books, over and over. And, like most children my age, I received magazines such as, Your Big Backyard, and Ranger Rick. My brother received a boy scouts magazine, Boy's Life, which I also read when I could get my hands on it.
Now I am older and married. An adult, perhaps?

Once in awhile, Joel and I will be having a conversation, which comes rarely, but it is a good thing for married couples to do. Sometimes, there will be some disagreement on how a 'word' is pronounced. Usually Joel is the winner on this one. My defense? I usually have never heard the 'word' spoken out loud before. I had always read it in books and sounded it out the way my childish brain thought was the way it sounded.

I will give you some examples:

Brooch (an elegant sort of pin that ladies wear on their throat). Now if you were 10 years old how would you sound this out? Exactly. Broo-ooch. Can you hear the laughter the first time I attempted to say this out loud? No dear, it's 'Broach'.

Another one: Hors d'oeuvre Again, imagine an English speaking only, no French experience except for her name, trying to sound this one out! Would you like to know how I spoke it to Joel for the first time? Literally: Hors di-vores. I was quite shocked that I had been pronouncing it in my head so wrongly for so long!!

There are many other words but these are the two that I can think of right now.

So I mentioned that I looked at Outdoor Magazines. I've seen many different animals in pictures, but hardly in real life. Last night, Joel and I finally watched 'March of the Penguins' for the first time.
Imagine my shock when I saw the little 2-4 foot penguins walking around the cameramen when for almost 20 years I had thought these Emperor Penguins were at least six feet tall!!

Photography can be very deceiving.

Traffic Jam

Some wives' husbands come home from work later than expected due to the high volume of automobiles on the road. Some come home late because of an auto accident, difficult weather, or perhaps the car broke down.

My husband, Joel, was late because of some moose on the bridge. Not just on the road where the moose can just run off, but it was on the bridge where they were stuck. It took awhile for the few moose to meander, begrudgingly, off of the bridge and eventually off of the road.

No Surprises

First off, I want to thank you for praying (if you were) for us as Joel and I went to Duluth today.
Second, I would like to tell you how it went. The meeting was pretty short, maybe about 20 minutes. But I think that was good. Dr. Wright, Emily's Pediatric Cardiologist, explained to us her autopsy report. The report held no surprises. What I mean by no surprises is that when Emily's blood pressure dropped on June 11, the docs and the Specialists had a good idea of why. We were explained these reasons, and four months later the autopsy report confirmed those ideas. This was some sort of a relief to me (Renee). Another great relief was that Emily did not suffer as she passed away.

A precious moment that I remember which I will share with you, moments before Emily went into surgery, Joel and I stood by her bedside. Her eyes were open, and she was looking at us. We prayed over her and enjoyed that short and rare moment of looking into her deep blue eyes. Once she was wheeled into the operating room they gave her drugs that made her unconscious (just like most anyone having heart surgery). These doses continued to the next day when she passed away. I realized just today, Joel and I were the last people Emily saw before she went to heaven. How special this realization was to me, always wondering if Emily even knew me when she was alive!

Five Hours Away

Oliver, one of Joshua's good friends, had a birthday this weekend. Naturally there was a party to go along with this special third birthday. Joshua was invited, and Mommy really wanted to go and take him. Only problem was, Oliver lives five hours away and Mommy was sick. (Still is actually) What to do?? Mommy buys Oliver some presents to send along with a friend who IS going. This friend, Sara is her name, offers to take Joshua to the party. Seriously? Yes she was serious. So, long story short-Joshua went with Sara, Gideon, Genevieve, and Annabelle five hours to Oliver's house for the weekend. Boy, did he have a blast! He came home Sunday night excited, tired, happy, and you know what? He was polite and said yes when Daddy or Mommy told him to do something. He wasn't spoiled in the least!
So this is a BIG Thank You to Sara and Gideon and to Mark and Kelley!! I hope you had as much fun as Joshua did.

And thanks also to Jake for helping to butcher Joel's deer. Actually it was more like Joel helping Jake, who works as a butcher for a local grocery store. It was great.

Monday morning finds Joel and Renee sick with some type of pneumonia bug that's going around town. Joshua is fine (he had it three weeks ago) but Rachel is coming down with something again.

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Some of you may know that Joel and Renee are going to Duluth to speak with our daughter's Pediatric Cardiologist. Though it is not required, we have chosen to go over Emily's autopsy report. Renee is looking forward to this meeting though she knows it will be challenging.

The Plymouth Neon Sport Utility Vehicle

Who needs a truck to go deer hunting?

Praise God for a nice size doe and a freezer to put it in on the same day!

Joshua and His Tricycle

The size of a Grape Nut

Is the size of our new baby who is eight weeks old in utero right now.
Due June 13, 2009.
To see a picture scroll down and it'll be on the right.
We are very excited about this new little one!!

Update on our neighbors

A few of you have asked how it is going with our neighbors. Well, it's fine. The night I posted about them was the worst night. It really hasn't been that bad.
I'm still meaning to make them choc chip cookies and introduce myself...

Lefty shows his skills

Joshua can write his name!

No more than Necessary

He sat by a fire of sevenfold heat,
As He looked at the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mold as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Though we would have asked for delay,
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
And it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire-not the Master's hand,
And questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, though unseen by us,
With a look of unspeakable love.
Should we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
No so! for He saw through the present cross
The joy of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure.

('Streams in the Desert' Devotional p.407)

More reflections...

The following are excerpts taken from the book: 'From Grief to Glory' by James W. Bruce III. (A book written for grieving parents who have lost a little one.)


He was the music of our home,
A day that knew no night.
The fragrance of our garden bower,
A thing all smiles and light.

Above the couch we bent and prayed
In the half-lighted room,
As the bright hues of infant life
Sank slowly into gloom.

The form remained; but there was now
No soul our love to share;
Farewell, with weeping hearts, we said,
Child of our love and care.

But years are moving quickly past,
And time will soon be o'er;
Death shall be swallowed up in life
On the immortal shore.

Then shall we clasp that hand once more,
And smooth that golden hair;
Then shall we kiss those lips again,
When we shall meet him there.

-Horatius Bonar (A nineteenth-century Scottish minister and hymn writer, He and his wife lost five children in successive bereavements.)



This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. (Psalm 119:50)



Wherefore should I make my moan,
Now the darling child is dead?
He to early rest is gone,
He to paradise is fled.
I shall go to him, but he
Never shall return to me.

God forbids his longer stay,
God recalls the precious loan,
God hath taken him away,
From my bosom to his own.
Surely what he wills is best!
Happy in his will, I rest.

Faith cries out, it is the Lord!
Let him do as seems him good.
Be thy holy name adored,
Take the gift awhile bestowed;
Take the child no longer mine,
Thine he is, forever thine.

-Charles Wesley (lost five of his eight children)



I am happy in spirit, but the flesh is sorrowful and will not be content; the parting grieves me beyond measure. -Martin Luther



Ah! when the mighty wings of the angel of death nestle over your heart's treasures, and his black shadow broods over your home, it shakes the heart with a shuddering terror and a horror of great darkness....As I stand by the little grave, and think of the poor ruined clay within, that was a few days ago so beautiful, my heart bleeds. But as I ask, 'Where is the soul whose beams gave that clay all its beauty and preciousness?' I triumph.

-Robert L. Dabney (lost three sons to diphtheria, two of those sons died within two weeks of each other)



What'er my God ordains is right;
here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father's care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall;
And so to Him I leave it all.

-Samuel Rodigast



"Real grief is not easily comforted. It comes like ocean waves...some are small...others are stronger...and cause you to stagger. Then there are the overwhelming waves with an undertow that can turn your world upside down and drag you out into deep waters. In times such as those, the mourner desperately needs an anchor. And, indeed, God has promised his people a blessing if they patiently endure. He has guaranteed the promise so that we might lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope is the anchor of the soul, and it is sure and steadfast (Heb. 6:19)" (p. 70-71)



No doubt affliction now seems to you a far more intense and real thing than it ever did before; the griefs of human life are far more awful and terrific to you now than they ever before seemed. But the power of grace is the master of them...

-Letter from a friend to Dr. Robert Dabney



Safe in the arms of Jesus,
safe on his gentle breast,
There by his love o'er shaded,
sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! 'tis the voice of angels,
borne in a song to me
Over fields of glory, over the jasper sea.
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
safe on his gentle breast,
There by his love o'er shaded,
sweetly my soul shall rest.

-Fanny Crosby (She wrote over 9,000 hymns, was blind and lost her only child. She was known to give everything she had and to think nothing of herself.)

Reflections

Below are words of encouragement taken from the book 'From Grief to Glory'. I will start with the longest one which is of great encouragement to me as a mother still grieving over her daughter. Following are other excerpts that have been a comfort. I hope you enjoy them.

To a Christian Gentlewoman [23 April 1628]:

My love in Christ remembered to you. I was indeed sorrowful when I left you, especially since you were in such heaviness after your daughter's death; yet I am sure you know that the weightiest end of the cross of Christ that is laid upon you, lies on your strong Saviour. For Isaiah said that in all your afflictions He is afflicted (Is. 63:9). O blessed Saviour, who suffers with you! Your soul may be glad, even to walk in the fiery furnace, with the Son of Man, who is also the Son of God. Take courage. When you tire, he will bear both you and your burden (Ps. 55:22). In a little while you shall see the salvation of God.
Your lease on your daughter has run out; and you can no more quarrel against your great Superior for taking what He owns, than a poor tenant can complain when the landowner takes back his own land when the lease is expired. Do you think she is lost, when she is only sleeping in the bosom of the Almighty? If she were with a dear friend, your concern for her would be small, even though you would never see her again. Oh now, is she not with a dear friend, and gone higher, upon a certain hope that you shall see her again in the resurrection? Your daughter was a part of yourself; and, therefore, being as it were cut in half, you will be grieved. But you have to rejoice; though a part of you is on earth, a great part of you is glorified in heaven.
Follow her, but do not envy her; for indeed it is self-love that makes us mourn for them that die in the Lord. Why? Because we cannot mourn for them since they are happy; therefore, we mourn on our own private account. Be careful then, that in showing your affection in mourning for your daughter that you are not, out of self-affection, mourning for yourself.
Consider what the Lord is doing. Your daughter has been plucked out of the fire, and she rests from her labours. Your Lord is testing you by casting you in the fire. Go through all fires to your rest. And now remember, that the eye of God is upon the burning bush, and it is not consumed; and He is gladly content that such a weak woman as you should send Satan away frustrated. Honour God now, and shame the strong roaring lion, when you seem the weakest.
Should you faint in the day of adversity? Recall the days of old! The Lord still lives; trust in Him. Faith is exceedingly charitable and believes no evil of God. The Lord has placed in the balance your submission to His will and your affection for your daughter. Which of the two will you choose? Be wise; and as I trust you love Christ better, pass by your daughter, and kiss the Son. Men lop the branches off their trees so they may grow up high and tall. The Lord has lopped your branch off by taking from you many children, so that you would grow upwards, setting your heart above, where Christ is at the right hand of the Father.
Prepare yourself; you are nearer your daughter this day than you were yesterday. Run your race with patience; let God have what belongs to Him. Do not ask Him for the daughter who has been taken from you, the daughter of faith; but ask Him for patience; and in patience possess your soul. Lift up your head; your redemption draws near.

Your affectionate and loving
friend in the Lord Jesus,
Samuel Rutherford

('From Grief to Glory' by James W. Bruce III p. 147)


Psalm 107 "Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons.... Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love..."


"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15


Clearly, accomplishment in life cannot be measured in terms of years alone. It often happens that those that die young have accomplished more than others who live to old age. Even infants, who sometimes have been with the parents only a few days, or even hours, may leave profound influences that change the entire course of the life of the family. And undoubtedly, from the Divine viewpoint, the specific purpose for which they were sent into the world was accomplished. It is our right neither to take life prematurely, nor to insist on its extension beyond the mark that God has set for it. -Loraine Boettner


God consoles His suffering people, and His consolations, which are proportioned to the nature and degree of their suffering, shall surely appear to all who stick to His truth and trust Him with their souls. It is a demonstration of the faithfulness of God to those that, suffering according to His will, do commit the keeping of their souls toHim in well-being, as unto a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:19)
-John Bunyan

A Book for Grieving Parents

It's called From Grief to Glory by James W. Bruce III
A wonderful little book to comfort and encourage parents who have lost one or more young children. Bruce looks for comfort from saints of old who have had similar experiences. He gathers letters, poems, and other snippets from Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, John Calvin and many many others who walked the way of sorrow and were comforted by God's mercies.
Click here for website.

Crispy

So one of the latest fun things Joel and I have been doing is drying food! We are just beginners but have high hopes and great dreams of drying camping food, tomato sauce, and veggies. Even venison jerky if Joel gets a deer this year. So far we've done apple slices, bananas, and applesauce leather. Now, leather is pretty new to me. My mother- in-law introduced me to it. It's simply a homemade fruit roll up. Way cheaper than the 'organic' fruit roll ups and so much healthier than a regular fruit roll up. So next time you buy a dehydrator, make sure you get the fruit roll trays. Slather on some homemade applesauce (don't forget to lightly grease it!) and dry for about 12-18 hours and presto! you have a round of leather. Snip with scissors into good size pieces and you have a cheap homemade snack. Genius. Except Rachel can't eat them yet. She rehydrates them for about 30 minutes and then gives up. Can't wait for those molars!

Deer, Sedatives and Our Hearts.

The inevitable has happened which all families experience every autumn. What could it possibly be? Oh, of course, the kids are sick. Oh, it's not too bad, just a cough and runny nose. Rachel didn't sleep well last night because she was coughing. Even though she's under two we gave her the 'Children's Tylenol cold and cough'. Why? Because "they" (whoever 'they' are) took 'Infant's Tylenol cold and cough' off the shelves. I guess parents were abusing it's capabilities to act as a sedative. Hmm...
The kids aren't doing too badly if you are concerned. The kids and I stayed home from church. Mommy made bread and muffins while Rachel napped and Joshua watched 'Go, Diego, Go'.
Some news:
-Rachel got two more teeth. That was a surprise, she hasn't been too irritable lately. Two more molars. So that makes eleven!
-Our friends Joshua and Stephanie moved this weekend.
-Deer Hunting is coming up soon, Joel is going out today to scope out some options on where to hunt.
-The last three Sundays we've been meeting with a few other parents to watch a series called "Shepherding a Child's Heart". It has been very helpful. The main idea is to focus on your child's heart rather than on the behavior. That way the Gospel will flow naturally and as your child sees how his heart needs Jesus, most likely will accept Jesus and then the behavior will follow. For everything, actions, words, thoughts, comes out of our hearts. And only Jesus can change a heart.

Prayer Request

On November 18th Joel and I will be meeting with Emily's Pediatric Cardiologist. On that day we will go over her autopsy report and learn the medical reason of why Emily passed away. This, obviously will be a hard day so we humbly ask for your prayers of peace.

Backpacking with Alfie

Alfie and I backpacked from Lutsen ski hill to Cascade state park a few weekends ago. We thoroughly enjoyed the hike through the fallen maple leaves, not even minding that we weren't climbing Alberta's Rockies like days of old.

Adventures in Thanksgiving dinner

Our family celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday. I had bought an 8lb turkey and was excited to have a pretty simple Thanksgiving dinner. As the delicious aroma of TURKEY filled the house, our stomachs started to growl. Man oh man, was this going to be good. The thermometer read that the turkey was done. Mmm, it looked brown and crisp. I took the turkey out and began mashing the potatoes, warming the buns, reheating the stuffing, cooling the cranberry sauce, and stirring the gravy. As Joel entertained the kids in the living room, I cut into the turkey. The skin was crisp and made that cracking sound that you only hear once or twice a year. I started carving and laying the white meat in a dish. I forced myself not to have a taste, no nibbling! The kitchen was warm and cozy and smelled so good, this was going to be great! I started on the leg bone. Hmm, having a bit of trouble here. I worked on it and finally got it off the bird. As I started in on the dark meat, I noticed some fluid pooling near the bottom. That doesn't look like drippings that you put in the gravy... uh-oh.
"OH NO!" Joel looks up and the kids stop playing.
I turn around. "The turkey's not done!"
I could hardly believe it. The dark meat didn't even look like meat, it was red and had a different consistency which I will not describe to you. The white meat now looked pink, too pink to eat. I looked at the drumstick which I had so much trouble with. Yup, it did not look done.
Well, 20 minutes later we all sat down to a Thanksgiving dinner. Without the turkey. We are grateful. Because, well, that's what you should be, especially on Thanksgiving Day.
What did we do with the turkey? There was no way I was going to throw it away, I cut off most of the meat. Or, what I guessed was probably the meat. Put it all in a baking dish and baked it for 2 hours at 325F. It worked. So on Monday for lunch we had turkey sandwiches. Monday dinner we had Turkey Divon. Tuesday lunch we had turkey sandwiches, and Tuesday supper we had leftover Turkey Divon. Ahhh, this feels more like Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Testimonies

So this is a call to you. Our family, our friends, those who read this blog:

Joel and I wish to put some sort of booklet together of the life story of our daughter Emily Grace. At the end of her story, we wish to pack it full of your stories and testimonies of how her life (though short) touched lives. Your lives. Lives around you who knew of Emily.

We will not put names in this booklet (just for privacy, and to give more glory to God). So please think about this, and if you wish to share it with us, please write it down and mail it to us or email it to us.

Reason? Ten years down the road I want to look at this book, at something, and see in front of me that Emily's life was not in vain. That her 8.5 months in the womb, and 9 days out of it, mattered. I want to be encouraged that God used Emily in other people's lives, not just Joel and I.

If you wish for a copy of this future booklet, let me know.

Firewood

Today Joel and Renee and the kiddos went to Okontoe to help split firewood. Okontoe is a Christian campground, sleigh ride, refuge ministry. We have some dear friends who live there and today we helped them split wood for the winter. Below are a couple videos that I hope you enjoy. One is of Jake splitting wood and the other is a good summary of what everyone did, Renee on the log splitter, Andrea stacking wood next to Renee, Joshua helping stack wood, Christy helping Josh, Joel splitting wood.

More apples...

What do you do with two bushels of apples? You give some away of course! But what do you do with the rest? You make applesauce! Hurrah! The kids love applesauce and they love to help. Joshua washed the apples, he was very thorough but quick. I could hardly keep up with him. My job was to cut up the apples and Rachel dropped the pieces in the pot. Then we played until the apples were soft enough to do something with. When Mama was done stirring in the cinnamon, the kids were served a bowl each of applesauce, still too hot to eat! Yum. Cortland are good apples, sweet enough not to add too much sugar, adds a pinkish color to the sauce because of their red skins and they are tasty.

Apple Festival in Bayfield, WI

Joel and I went to the Apple Festival in Bayfield last weekend. Without the kids.
It was a blast. We camped, ate apples, picked apples, listened to music, looked at art (exquisitely beautiful, much too pricey), bought coffee, ate apple pie and apple cheesecake, and just enjoyed each other's company without the distraction of children.
We took the ferry over to Madeline Island. I had never been on a ferry before, especially one that could carry automobiles. And looking over the railing and feeling the speed of the boat just amazed me. We rented bicycles and rode around the island (about 15 miles round trip).
When we returned to the mainland, it was really starting to crowd up. There was a carnival going on also, and we debated whether to go on the ferris wheel or not. We decided not and sampled apple cider and apple mustard instead. (yes apple mustard! it's the best!) Towards the end of the day we visited about six different apple orchards. We picked a total of 2 bushels, Cortland for applesauce and applebutter, Fireside for eating.
The fall colors were beautiful, most of them were just starting to turn.
So all in all it was a very good weekend, very fun, very relaxing. One of the mornings when I woke up, I looked at the clock and it said 8:24. I have not slept in like that for a long time!!!

When we returned home, we later learned that there had been 60,000 people, a record for that festival!