Mom's...Post: "Except the LORD build the house..."

"...they labor in vain that build it:..." (Psalm 127:1a).


I am so very grateful for God's provision and all He's
allowed and blessed to prosper here in our home within the
last couple of weeks. Sometimes HIS work is visible and sometimes it's not.
Much diligence has been practiced in the room my
husband and sons are walling in on the back side of
our garage. Kat and I will soon have a sewing room! We're 'sew' HAPPY!

Mark and the boys have worked a little each week in this room since the early to mid part of August.Some of the electrical wiring has been run through the newly built wall, but there are still more lines to run before the wall is closed up.















Our friend, Mark Y. came today to install two out of three doors.
Mark appreciates Mark Y.'s expertise in hanging doors. Watching him work today was fun and a blessing for all of us.
I love the new doors. I especially appreciate the participation of each of our children in encouraging this work to go forward today.

As much as I love my 'nest' here with my family, it is temporary.
It's easy for me to forget how insignificant this place is compared to 'My Heart-Christ's Home'*. I am often brought to tears for the inbalance of time/effort I spend in preparing my heart to receive/enjoy time in fellowship with my LORD!
I surely do not want to deny or turn HIM away from any room in my heart.
With this in mind, I ponder and enjoy this current work...the work I see and the work I don't see. I am grateful for what God has provided as a practical and personal picture for my children... "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2-3).
I've anticipated this room for a looooong time and am grateful to see the work in progress. However, it's only a glimpse/reminder of a greater place awaiting me as Jesus prepares a place for me in heaven!

How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalm 84: 1-10



































* My Heart-Christ's Home by Robert B. Munger

Mom's Evening Post: Update on Eeny, Meeney, Miney, & Moe

An update on the Opossums: Haley has graciously kept in contact with us regarding the progress of the little baby opossums. We're so grateful for her understanding of our concern for them.
Haley called Friday morning to let us know that the baby opossums are doing wonderful!! Yeah~
Haley said they are thriving and eating well from a dish by lapping up the food she prepares for them, which consists of kitty formula and soft food. One little rascal escaped from the cage she had them in Thursday evening, so she had to go on a opossum hunt all through her house to find it. While looking, she tripped over her two cats that were napping on the floor in the hallway. Lo and behold, there was the opossum curled up next to her sleeping cats. Isn't that sweet? We've heard of animals readily adopting another baby animal/species when its mother was unavailable to care for it. Haley said she wishes she had thought to take a picture but at the time was grateful to grab it up to put it back in the cage with it's siblings.
Haley tried sending a picture to me, but the transmission of it could not be rec'd via my cell phone. I discovered soon after that our cell phone service contract no longer allows the transmission of pictures. I'm sorry. Maybe Haley will be able to send a picture via email. We'll have to wait and see...

Thank you Jesus for Haley and for her enduring patience and love for animals. I admire her diligence to give of herself to them and others.
God bless you, Haley!

Mom's Reflective Post: John's Radio Flyer

Our garage attic has had some items removed in recent days for the upcoming electrical work Mark and the boys will perform before closing in a wall; Kat and I will soon have a sewing room, at least the beginning of one! Yeah! It's an exciting time for me, as I love to watch progress, most importantly, the diligent business of my men at work. Pictures are forthcoming...

A few of the items taken out of the attic have brought back precious memories...our children's high chair, Matt's Radio Flyer scooter, and John's Radio Flyer Rider, to name a few.
I wish I could quickly find/scan a picture of Matt on his Radio Flyer to share with you but that's not possible right now. However, I found a precious picture of John with his Radio Flyer Rider, taken the night of his 1st birthday when we gave him this gift.

Pardon my Mother's Pride for a few moments...I'm grateful for every hour, of every day, of every year I've had with my children. John turned eight years old recently. Who'd ever think he'd be riding around our house again these days on his Radio Flyer? I love this simple reminder of how precious/priceless these days are! I am grateful for the pleasure of watching my children play and work!


"...The mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them" (Psalm 103: 17-18).

John Dear: I like Tae Kwon Do

I want to tell you about TKD.
I was a white belt when I
was 5 years old. I tested for
my white advanced belt
when I was 6. It was very
fun at that time with my
teachers. When I tried to do
a jump spin side kick, I
didn't do so good at that. I
kick better now. I am 8 years
old and have a yellow ad-
vanced belt. I like to spar
and break boards. I am
thankful for TKD. It is fun.

Here are some pictures...

Kat Chat: Eeny, Meeney, Miney, and Moe

Late Saturday afternoon, Matthew and John pulled out our 4 wheeler and rode it up and down the easement behind our house. While riding, they saw a dead opossum but did not think anything of it, except to tell Mom about it. Yesterday, Matthew and John were riding the 4 wheeler again and saw the same dead opossum but this time there were four little baby opossums next to it. Matthew told Mom that he thought the scene was sad with all of the baby opossums cuddled up against their dead mama. So Mom called Mrs. S, our next door neighbor, who loves/rescues all kinds of animals. It seems Mom and Mrs. S have become 'the rescue team' for abandoned and stray animals around here. So, Mrs. S came over and rode down the easement with Matt to get the babies. For about one hour or so, Mrs. S tried to feed the baby opossums and I helped her (Mom thought the opossums looked too much like rodents and couldn't touch them!). I personally thought they were/are very cute. Mrs. S then took them home for the night so she could feed them again later. Mom got up this morning and made a phone call to a rescue center for animals where we took a baby squirrel a few years back, but, they were full this time. They recommended Mom call a girl at "MOSH" down town. So, she did. Haley was very helpful. Haley said she was willing to take our little opossums if we couldn't keep them. I wanted to keep them, but Dad simply said 'NO'.
So, around lunch time today, we took the baby opossums to Haley. Haley rescues animals and cares for them until they're able to take care of themselves, then releases them. We are grateful for Haley!! She surprised us by saying we could walk through the museum to look at all the displays for free. It was fun.
Thank you Mrs. S for helping our family rescue the baby opossums. Mom loves how tough you are.
Thank you Haley for sharing your knowledge of helping and rescuing animals. Thank you for taking them and giving them special care.
Here are some pictures...







































































With Haley at MOSH...













God bless you Haley, and Eenie, Meeney, Miney, and Moe!

Kat Chat: Jody Mae

Tonight I want to introduce
my cousin, Joanna, to you.
Joanna and I were born just
a few weeks apart. I think it's
really neat that the Lord
planned for us to be
best buds.
Well, anyway, Joanna
came to my house one
night this week for a
sleepover.
We had a lot of fun together
as always.






Here are a few memories "captured" by Mom
and I will add, IN THE DARK with the FLASH!!

She said, "Smile pretty". I tried...







































Tip for future photographers...
Do not, whatsoever, take pictures of your subjects in the dark with the flash on!!!

Joanna's eyes adjusted quickly; mine took more time.
Joanna could not stop laughing!














Just playing around for the camera...
(There's a monster under the bed! Help!)

John Dear: Our crabs

Today I'm back to tell you about our crabs.
We have four crabs. We had five but Goliath died. He was Mommy's little crab.

This is my crab. His name is Hermie.













This is Mommy's crab. Her name is Curly.













Katherine's crabs are Hermit and...













...Kermit.













The crabs are fun to watch. I let Hermie crawl on me and it tickles me.
Good bye.
Come back to our blog show.

Kat Chat: Matthew, part 2

Ta-DA!
My mom helped me find the pictures of Matt that I wanted from her computer.
Here they are.
I love you, Bubbew!














I love this picture!













Notice Matthew's 'I love being muddy' grin...

Kat Chat: Matthew

Well I'm back again. Since John has "blogged" about the animals: birds,rabbits, and the hermit crabs (that are about to be famous), I could NOT think of anything to "blog" about. So I decided I would "blog" about Matthew! I thought "Hey, he's not going to do it", so here I am.
Matthew, "Bubbew" as I called him when I was little, is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is teaching a class along with Dad, Mark Jr., and Me. Matthew also takes guitar lessons and likes to drive his 4 wheeler in the the mud (I have the picture and will show you at the end of the post, but I may not have it on this computer).
I could not find my pictures of Matthew on this computer (we recently purchased a new one).
I'm sorry. I'll post it later from Mom's computer. Well I need to go.
Join me next time on The Kat Chat.
See you later folks. *smile*

John Dear: Mommy and Matt's birds-Peep and PJ

Hi. This is me, John. Today I'm going to tell you about my Mom's bird. Her name is Peep. She is yellow. Introducing, Peep...














I also want to tell you about PJ. She is Matt's bird. Matt thinks PJ is a he, but mom says PJ is a she. PJ is blue and white, with black stripes. Here she is...




















Tomorrow I'm going to tell you about our crabs. Give me a comment!

Kat Chat: School

WE STARTED SCHOOL TODAY!!!!!! WAHHHHH.
Oh, did you read that? Sorry.
Actually, we started back with our morning routine of our quiet time, morning chores, family devotion, and wisdom booklet last week.
As you can probably guess, we added our academics today.

Our summer break went by way too fast (for me at least).
This year Matthew and I are doing a school curriculum on the computer called "SOS" which stands for Switched-On Schoolhouse. I like it personally, because it grades my work automatically, and I can even tell it to read my lesson to me!
And well, I like anything to do with the computer.
I'm done. Write you later.

First Things: August 10, 2009

"Let Your work appear to Your servants And Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands."

-Psalm 90:16-17 NASB95

Moses gives us a glimpse of a father's heart in Psalm 90. He cries out for God to instruct him in the pursuit of wisdom (vs. 12). Moses has learned that his best efforts alone hinder God's work in and through him. Our hopes and dreams for ourselves and those we love must be placed on the alter so we can approach God empty handed and undistracted. Moses communed with God. Moses conversed with God. Moses had seen only a fraction of the glory of God. That relationship changed the direction of his life.

Moses had learned to want what the Lord wanted. Moses knew his talents and abilities hindered God's work through him. Moses, because of his relationship with God, was granted influence with the next generation.

May we not just echo Moses' prayer, but may we seek the face of God. Unmasked and exposed before the Great I Am, the vinedresser will prune away what hinders lasting fruitfulness. Drink from the fount of every blessing and out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

-MG

Introduction

Hey there! I haven't put anything up yet, but that's fixable. :)
I'm Mark Jr. (Duh. Says so at the bottom of the post...) I teach a Tae Kwon Do class with my dad and brother and sister. (The latter has become a little cocky over the past week or so. Why? You do the math: one sister, plus two stripes on her black-belt, multiplied by three other people older than her with lesser rank, equals trouble for aforementioned three...) Just kidding. It hasn't been that bad...
I also enjoy riding quads. Fast. A lot. This sand pit is practically down the street from our house, so we've been out there several times this summer.












Mom keeps telling me I need to put more up, but I'm kinda hung up on what to post. If anyone has any other ideas on what they'd like to see/know about, leave 'em in the comments. (Graduation Photo by Alyssa Scott, May '09)

John Dear: My Bird

Today I want to tell you about my bird. His name is Cloud. He is white. He is four years old. I'm trying to train him to stay on my finger.

Mom's Evening Post: Our 2nd Poom Black Belt

Tonight I'm returning to reflect on some special pictures and thoughts of Katherine from last Saturday's black belt test.
Her test went so much better than I imagined. Why did I worry??
Katherine did exceptionally well on her forms...It was thrilling to see how well synchronized her moves were with the gentleman she tested with.
After forms came the breaking event. Katherine enjoys breaking. However, before the breaking test, John was holding her boards and somehow one of them broke! How? I have no idea! (Katherine told me, after first writing this post, a second board broke when Master Martin held it up for her to break~ "You're kidding. REALLY? I didn't see that...I suppose I was too busy finding a good spot to take pictures"...which didn't turn out anyway~) Thankfully, Mark was able to quickly get two more boards from someone with extras. Whew!
I'm happy to say that all went well; Katherine broke all four boards, with only one board needing a 2nd hit. She walked away smiling, as usual, holding all of her broken boards*. I love the picture of her telling Poppy what happened* (Now I understand the picture better~); she didn't necessarily like the new boards, but she broke them! Yeah!
After breaking, came the sparring event. UGH! Katherine sparred four girls, one on one. For the final sparring round, PRAISE THE LORD, she only had to spar two girls at one time. She and I both were very grateful when that event ended!
The grand finale began when Yesha's Founder/President, Grandmaster Charles Coker (9th Degree Black belt) spoke a few words about Katherine*. We are always grateful for his kind words about our family/children. His praise of Katherine was very encouraging to us/her. He shared that Katherine is the youngest 2nd degree/Poom black belt in Yesha's 26 year history. WOW! What a surprise.
The next big surprise came when Yesha's special guest from Korea, Grandmaster Dong Kyun Lim (9th Degree Black belt), President, Kukkiwon TKD HoDoRi Demonstration Team, presented Katherine with her new belt and tied it around her waist*. We were very excited for Katherine...she was beaming, needless to say!
After all had been accomplished, our family went out for lunch to a Korean restaurant with some of our Yesha friends... Grandmasters Coker and Lim, Master Martin, Eric and Yvonne (w/twins on the way), James and Grace, Brad, and Crystal! The food was GREAT!
I'm quite thrilled to share this brief(?) description of what last Saturday was like for Katherine...It was a WONDERFUL day!!
I can only imagine that tonight's TKD class was great fun for her...being the highest ranked black belt in the class.
I'm very grateful for every opportunity I have to Praise the LORD for Katherine!
Thank you Jesus for my precious daughter!

Mom's Late Night Evening Post

What a wonderful day we had!
Katherine did exceptionally well today while testing for her 2nd Poom Black Belt.
I'm so grateful for what God has done and will continue to do in her life.
This is just one of my favorite photos taken today...


















Poppy expressing his love as Katherine collects her boards for the breaking test.