Missionary Mom

This picture was the first confirmation that Hannah and James made is safely to the orphanage in Haiti. Sarah said would should name this one "Hannah is Home". Here is where her heart has been ever since her first visit in 2008. It's so good to "see" her there!





I just LOVE this picture of James and a friend...kicking back on the hood of a car.
About this picture he said "I have been able to sleep in some pretty uncomfortable situations". That's answered prayer to a Mom who has spent lots of time praying: that he'd get enough rest, that he wouldn't be too uncomfortable on the ground, in the tent, due to the rain etc... I confess I'm more of a prayer worrier than a prayer warrior but...God answers anyway :) And I'm multi-tasking!!!




This video shows some of the kids at HCH
playing church. I recognized the tune...
"He Hideth My Soul in the Cleft of the Rock"
God, please watch over these precious souls
and let them grow up to love and serve you!

Something old, something new, something borrowed...

Today was an interesting mix of old and new. We used an "old" sunbeam meat grinder (that we inherited) to process all the fat trimmed from an old cow (that some kind ranchers in the valley gave us). Then we spent the day melting it down on our modern gas range. (All day I was thinking about how they used to have to do things.) Had to raise and butcher the cow... had to cut the fat in bits with a knife...had to render the fat over a fire...had to make soap in order to have soap. I don't have to make soap..but I like to. And today we learned what cracklings are. They're all of the itty bits of meat that are still on the fat that sink to the bottom of the pot when you render the fat. Back in the day I'm sure they ate this but today we recycled it into dog food. :) It felt good to make so much of something, that would have been pitched, into stuff that we can use. Now we can look forward to making sweet smelling soap. That's another study in recycling..something that once was woodash (lye) and fat...combining to make new soap. It's quite an amazing process.

Love and Bundling

Seth has always been into being
"side up down" as he calls it.



Growing up in Michigan, my sisters and I had no need to fear the cold! By the time Mom got us wrapped and ready to go outside to play, in the snow, we felt as though we would melt.
Mom was especially good at bundling us! Bread bags over the socks, snow pants before boots, mittens and then the coat (so that the cuffs stayed inside), hat then hood and finally the scarf. Now, there's a special knack to wrapping the scarf; twice around the face (so that only the nose and eyes peek out) and tucked it in at the back so that it stays,and Mom knew it. Before any of this, of course, she had us go potty! She was a wise woman.
Once we'd built and dressed our snowman or made igloos or ice angels and had stayed out until we were positive that we'd been frost bitten, we would amble stiffly inside, sniffling and crying. And there would be Mom. We'd sit down and she'd pull off our boots , strip our wraps and wipe our noses and our tears. "Put your hands against your armpits" she'd remind us or (worse yet,) "run your hands under cold water". Slowly and painfully the burning tingle of warmth and feeling would return to our frozen, red fingers and toes, while we sipped hot cocoa made from Mom's special mix. We took comfort in knowing that Mom's love would get us all warmed up again. Many, many years later, it is 7:30 pm and 13 degrees outside here in Northern California. Most of my kids, with the exception of the two littlest ones, are heading out to go sledding. They won't be gone long. I will close and get the hot chocolate ready. Thanks, Mom.



Here are Sarah, baby Peter
and snowman, all bundled up









No help needed here! James, Grace, Seth and
friends, snowboarding in the Sierra's.









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