A Prayer for My Children

“May our sons in their youthbe like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace.” Psalm 144:12

May my sons be healthy, mature, productive young men. May my daughters be strong, beautiful young women, ready for honorable service.

What a contrast to our culture, which often produces immature, unprepared young men and women who are dependent consumers. I want to raise a different standard from my sons and daughters. I will do all I can to prepare them for a productive life of service.

Mother's Day

We enjoyed Mother's Day together celebrating our fantastic resident mother, Dana. Here she is with her children (apparently Josiah wasn't ready).

Here is Samantha Rubie getting ready for our beach trip this week.

Caleb Update

Caleb is ten now and is moving quickly toward young manhood. He is a hard, diligent worker. Although he is not into house cleaning so much, he maintains a steady motivating to take care of the chickens and garden. He loves to draw and build and wrestle with Josiah. Overall, he blesses our home with a pleasant, calm disposition and does much to balance out the stronger personalities in the family.

Josiah Update

Josiah is 8yrs and is in the 3rd grade. He continues to be our premier entertainer - a good sense of humor, hilarious body movement, and devoid of the inhibitions that make most people unfunny. He does a good job of feeding the chickens and collecting their eggs. His most recent favorite activity is airsoft (plastic BB guns) battles with Caleb, his friend Sam, and me.

Hannah Update

Hannah is 6 now. She is a charming and sensitive girl. She is in the first grade now and is making good progress in her reading, counting and other first gradish stuff. She is a talented artist as well. Her main struggle in life is being the middle child of seven. She is a little sister and a big sister and sometimes finds it difficult to maker way.

Kathryn Update

Kathryn is two now. She is a beautiful little girl with a nice sense of humor when she warms up to you. In general, though, she is pretty happy on her own and shies away from too much attention. She making good progress in life: successful potty training, learning colors and numbers, and moving out of her crib.

Samantha Update

Samantha (our seventh) is now six months old. She is quite "healthy" (as they say about non-skinny babies). She is very happy and  loves to smile at anyone who looks at her. Her newest trick is that she is learning to sit up.

Captured by Aliens

I'm happy to report that the aliens who captured me finally returned me to earth. They left an avatar that was identical to my body to function in my place, but my true self was not here. I requested the ability to blog while away, but was refused.  It is good to be back. Here are a couple of pictures of our reunited family.