NEW WEBSITE IS DONE!!!

I have finally gotten the last "kink" worked out of the new website - I think!  It is nice to finally have a webpage with my blog and the children's blog all in one place.  From now on, I will be putting my updates there.  So, if you would like to continue keeping up with the Ashcraft family, please send me an e-mail (desertmommy5@aol.com) and I will send you more information on how to do so.  Thank you for your prayers for us during our changes.  Thank you for letting me share our lives with you.  God bless you all!

New Website Coming Soon!

I realize it has been a while since I have posted anything. Please be patient! God is blessing. God is directing. And we are following. These are very exciting times for the Ashcraft family. Soon I will be sharing a new website in which you can keep up with several aspects of our family from one place. 

We are doing well.  The children have started another school year and Caleb has started Kindergarten.  So now there are four being homeschooled! Randy continues to teach English classes and I continue to do my job as wife, mother, teacher, secretary, etc.  The last few months have been very hard for me as homesickness crept in and God has been teaching me many things about Himself and about being faithful in the little things.  Please continue to pray for us.  Satan would like nothing more than to see us fail in our attempt to serve God.

I am so excited about the new website and can't wait to soon share it with you!!!

Give My All

This is the poster I made and placed on my wall today to remind me every morning to give my all in everything I do every day, in every way, no matter what may come my way. The Lord HAS to build our house or in the end we will have regrets. We aren't perfect, that's true, but we should always strive to do our best and be as much like Him as we can be. With His help, we can all do better.

I always wanted to have five children while I was growing up. God gave me my wish and loaned Randy and I five children that we could nurture, admonish, love, and rear for Him and His glory. Whatever they decide to do with their lives, as long as it is what He wants for them, they will be truly happy, no matter what their job. There were also two special children that never lived with us. In the past, I would ask and wonder why God would allow us to go through the heart-breaking experience of losing those two babies. As I have grown through my sorrow and loss, I have been able to help others who have experienced the same thing. Although the hurt hasn't totally gone away, I now look at it from this perspective: God taught me many things about Himself and me. I learned to trust more fully in Him and my faith grew. It wasn't necessarily that there was something wrong with them. They were just so "perfect" that only God could have them! They were specifically placed into my life at a specific time that was perfect in God's eyes for me to learn the lessons He needed to teach me. As Psalm 127:3b says, "...and the fruit of the womb is his reward." The desire of my heart is that He will have all of my children - that they will give all of themselves fully to Him to be used by Him for His glory. I also pray that I will allow God to help me point my "arrows" in the right direction. Our quiver is full and we are so very thankful for the opportunity to have them in our lives. May they go straight and far in His service - wherever that may take them.

Vacation Fun With Family

The highlight of our last few weeks was having Randy's Mom come to visit again. And this time, Randy's sister, Rebecca, and her little girl, Madison, came along! We were all very excited to see them, especially Rebecca and Madison since we hadn't seen them in over a year. We went to the beach in Hua Hin, visited an Elephant Village, visited a few temples, and of course, shopped and shopped and shopped and shopped! We all had the chance to ride elephants at the Elephant Village for 30 minutes. Everyone was somewhat nervous at first but after getting used to it, it wasn't too bad. A few of us had ridden an elephant before so we knew what to expect but the ones that hadn't are at least glad they did because now they can say that they did!

Somehow I missed getting a picture with Andrew the day we went to the temples. :(

We thank the Lord for allowing most of our family to come and visit us. We have had visits from family almost every three months! We understand that it is unusual for most missionaries to receive visits as frequently as we have. It has really helped us with homesickness, especially the children. The hardest part, of course, is the few hours after visitors leave. This time was harder for Caleb for some reason. He wanted me to take him to the airport and catch up with them. Several days later, we had some of the childrens' friends over for most of the day. When they left, Caleb again wanted me to take him to the airport. I guess now he thinks that all Americans who come to visit (even if the live in Bangkok) go to the airport when they leave! Poor baby. He will figure it out soon when his friends come to play again. Now, we are almost ready to have another countdown for when my parents come for another visit. YAY!!!

Special Days of May

As I write this post, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece are about ten minutes away from their plane landing in Bangkok! We are so excited. This will be the third trip for my mother-in-law and the first time we have seen my sister-in-law and niece in over a year. It goes without saying that everyone is very excited! It is almost 6 a.m. Thursday morning. Some of the children have asked for me to wake them up while others have asked to be woken up by Mama. It is going to be a fun-filled few weeks!

We have been so busy with "stuff" going on. May is always full of fun. Getting ready for the summer to start, or here, getting into rainy season, always makes for fun and exciting times. Several weeks ago was Mother's Day in the States. They celebrate Mother's Day in Thailand but not until August 12th, the Queen's birthday. After Sunday morning services on Mother's Day for the States, Randy took us to a Mexican restaurant for lunch! We really enjoyed our meal. For the first time, I was able to get a picture with all of my precious children. It was amazing that everyone was actually looking at the camera. Lee got everything set up and told us how he thought we should do it. We all got into place and he set the self-timer and Voila! This is the moment he captured!!!

I am truly blessed with five beautiful and healthy children. I thank the Lord for letting me have the opportunity to have them in my life. My desire and prayer is that they all accept Christ when they reach the age of accountability and that they serve Him in whatever capacity He desires whether they are missionaries or not. If they do become missionaries, I want it to be because He has called them.

Last week, my only daughter, Cynthia, turned nine! It is hard to believe that our little princess has been with us for nine years. They grow up way too fast! We gave her a little party on the 21st with a cupcake cake and gifts from us. Since she knew some of our family would be here a week later, she asked in the beginning of the month is we could WAIT to have her birthday. That is unheard of! But I understood her reasoning and we are having a birthday party for her this Saturday.

Our first family picture with two children.

Cynthia will all her brothers on her birthday. Ice cream cone cupcakes in the shape of the letter "C" and nine of them since she turned 9.

What fun we are getting ready to have!!!

Thoughts From My Heart

Several days have passed now since the news broke of Osama Bin Laden's death. I stared at my computer screen in unbelief. Could the man who had caused so much pain and death and had put a terror grip on so many been found? As a follower of Christ, I was happy to know that his reign of terror was over but saddened by the thought of knowing his eternal destiny. In his eyes, he was only acting on what he believed. We all have to make our own decision about Christ, and by bin Laden's actions, he never knew the one true God that I worship and serve. As an American, my thoughts drifted back to the morning of September 11th, when Randy and I were awakened by his Mom knocking on our door telling us that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center. As we watched the news in their trailer in Mexico, I tried calling my family back in Virginia. It took hours to finally get a call through. At that time, my brother lived fairly close to the Pentagon which was also hit. I will never forget the fear that I had when there were still planes unaccounted for. I will also never forget the helpless feeling that I had or, for once in my life, feeling that I may be safer outside of the United States. The horrible acts that were committed that day were acts of war against our country. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:." Verse 3 says, "A time to kill, and a time to heal,." The end of verse 8 says, "a time of war, and a time of peace." Everything happens according to God's plan. He has never been surprised. He knew what was going to happen on September 11 and he knew everything that would happen thereafter. Bin Laden took credit for "entrusting" 19 people with the mission. After such an atrocious act was committed on American soil and after receiving more threats of violence, I feel like the leaders of my country did what they believed was necessary to protect her citizens. Thoughts have gone through my mind of heroes of the Bible who carried out unthinkable plans to protect the Israelites. America has won a victory and it is time for her people to heal. Just because bin Laden is no longer a threat to us does not mean that all terrorist violence is over. As an American who has lived in several countries, I feel like I have a unique perspective on something else that happened after 9/11. I never realized until two years ago when we came to Thailand to visit that I had a fear of any person who appeared to be Muslim. I remember standing in line to board a plane and seeing many people around me who were different. I remember being afraid. After living on the Eastern side of the world now and being around so many people who are different, I have a new perspective. After it was announced who was responsbile for 9/11, I believe many Americans immediately had a fear (and some, hate) for ALL Muslims. People assume that just because part of a group of people act a certain way, that means they all do. Nothing could be farther from the truth! I believe that Satan used this (and is still using it) to his advantage (for many religions/people groups) to keep people away from them and keep them from sharing their faith. The majority of Muslims are just everyday, fun-loving people just like us. They need God as much as any other person does. Just because there are some radical groups does not mean that all Muslims are radical. Many Muslim people were just as upset as we were about what happened on 9/11. I have heard and seen it written that many Muslims knew that Americans would start to hate all Muslims. How sad that they could foresee our country's reaction to them! Sadder still is the fact that they were right. God wants us to love the sinner and hate the sin. I don't hate/dislike Mexicans just because some of them break the law and illegally go to the U.S. Neither do I think that all Mexicans are involved in drugs just because there is a major drug war in the country. I don't hate/dislike Germans just because of Adolf Hitler. I don't hate/dislike (or have a fear like before) for Muslims just because of Osama bin Laden. Anything or anyone that we don't understand makes us nervous. I have spent the last year learning more about Muslims and I can honestly say I believe they are some of the most misunderstood people. I can also honestly say now that I love Muslims. I wish that all people who truly want to be Christ-like would learn more about people they don't understand so that God can open their eyes and give them an understanding for those people and a love for them like He has. The Bible says in Matthew 22:39, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Do you love your neighbor?

My Saviour Lives!!!

After a year of living in a country that does not celebrate Christmas or Easter, this Easter holds a stronger meaning to me as a Christian. We didn't do the traditional things for the day or see the familiar bunny, lamb, and chick decorations. But the greatest part of this day, as all others, is that I know without the shadow of a doubt that MY SAVIOUR LIVES! He proves it to me every day in many ways. The children and I talked about it this week during school. They helped decorate the classroom and we talked about why had we decorated eggs and used bunnies, lambs, and little chicks in other decorations throughout our house in the past. All the "symbols" that we have for Easter, that are so common for this time of the year, were not seen in our home this year. For us, this was a blessing because we all really got back to the true meaning of Easter. We still managed to hang a few paper eggs with lambs on our wall to remind us of "new birth." Another blessing I have had is seeing the children gain a greater understanding of why God has brought us to the place we are. They understand even more that these people need to know of Jesus and His love. As I woke up this morning, my mind wandered back to many years of attending Sunrise Services. How I miss that! But another truth entered my mind, the sunrise every morning is our reminder that the Son rose! What a tremendous thought we should have everyday, knowing that the God of Creation reminds us everyday of the love He had for us - that He sent His ONLY Son to die for us. And not just die, but HE AROSE!!! It is Easter and since God has placed us where He has, to do His will, we are constantly reminded that so many people around us don't have an understanding of what this day means to us. I am going to leave the words of a song that I heard. The words have echoed through my head all week. I don't particularly like the music that was with it but I am always looking for songs that have a message and then I make them more to our liking!

"For God loved the world so much He gave His only Son
That we might have life through Jesus Christ, the only One.
To the ends of the earth this good news must go,
'Til ev'ryone knows.

Are we there yet? Have we walked ev'ry road,
Climbed ev'ry hill, and told ev'ry soul?
Are we there yet? Do the lost know His name,
Has the world been set free from darkness and pain?
Are we there yet?

The gift of our King, how great the price; we could never repay.
In one act of love He conquered all sin and still lives today!
To the ends of the earth this good news must go,
'Til ev'ryone knows.

When will the day come when ev'ryone will know
The name above all names.
Until that day comes I'll be the one to confess His name!

Are we there yet? Have we walked ev'ry road,
Climbed ev'ry hill, and told ev'ry soul?
Are we there yet? Do the lost know His name,
Has the world been set free from darkness and pain?
Are we there yet?

As we help spread the Good News, please keep us in your prayers. We are honored to serve the Christ of the Cross, the Son of the Morning, and the God of Glory! Happy Easter to all!!!

One Year!!!

One year ago, this week, on a very cool morning in Dallas, TX, our family boarded a plane leaving behind family, friends, and a few earthly possessions. 28 hours later, we stepped off a plane in Bangkok, Thailand, and were welcomed by hot, humid weather and friends. Two tired parents and five exhausted children waited for all of our suitcases/trunks to finally show up at baggage claim. We reached the meeting point in the airport and were greeted by the smiling faces of the Salmon family. They have been a blessing in our lives. They opened their home up to us the first few days and nights we were here. They fed us, took us shopping, and even found a house for us before we arrived. I don't ever remember being as tired as I was that night - or the next, or the next! Tired was an understatement!

As I read back through some of the first blog entries I wrote after we arrived, I couldn't help but cry and thank God for all He has done. He has been with us every step of the way, leading and guiding us, and NOTHING has been a coincidence! He has known since the dawning of time who we were, what we would do, and how He would help us arrive at the place we are today. Mexico was most definitely a training ground, for me, at least. Adjusting to life here would have been much harder had it not been for some of the experiences I had in Mexico. It has actually been a step up in some ways. I can flip a light switch and always the light comes on! I don't have to start a generator to use the appliances. Many more American grocery items are available here than in Mexico, which has been a huge surprise. Of course, some of them you pay dearly for. However, some things like peanut butter are a staple food in our house. :)

Things are much quieter here than they were in Mexico. People don't drive their cars down the street with the music blaring. In public transportation vehicles, people don't usually talk to each other. It's very rare to hear music coming out of a person's home. Needless to say, in our neighborhood, about the only noise you can hear are the birds and our children! Every once in a while, you can hear other children but it is very rare. We don't hear the sounds of gunfire at night like we could in Mexico. The drug war is far from us now, but it still has it's affect on us through the people we dearly love.

God has sheltered us, fed us, provided for us, loved us, and given us so much more than we could have ever imagined. We have a peace knowing that we are exactly where He wants us. Psalm 91:2 says, "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." Moving to Thailand was definitely one of those times in my life that was a huge step of faith. I had to trust in God more than ever before. It hasn't been an easy year, but it has been a year of growth in many ways. We came to a place we knew very little about. It was a strange place to us. Now, a year later, it has become home. We are beginning to forget some of those things we missed before because God has filled those voids with other things. We have made many new friends, even this week!

We look forward to our second year in Thailand. There will still be some learning and adjusting and we know there will be more changes but we can look back over the last year and KNOW that God will continue to be with us. Tonight as we had our family devotions, we sang an old song, "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus." This song that I have sung since I was a child means more to me with each passing year. I am so glad that I decided to follow Jesus! Anywhere He leads us, we will follow. We may not understand His reasoning at first, but all we have to do is "trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus." No turning back for us, we're looking ahead and watching for the direction that He points us in as He reveals to us what His will is for our lives. Please continue to pray for us as we continue our journey of following Jesus.

Singapore

Well, we have visited yet another "foreign" place! Because of paperwork for visas, it was necessary for our whole family to go to Singapore. Our flight left Bangkok a little after 9 p.m. last Tuesday night. We arrived in Singapore after midnight. We were so glad that we could book a motel room before arriving because it was around 2 a.m. before we were able to get in bed. Then, we had to get up at 6 a.m. so that we could be at the Thai Embassy in time to stand in line so that we would be assured of getting in on Wednesday. After waiting, with 5 kids, for what seemed like an eternity since we were exhausted, they first told us we had gone to Singapore for no reason. Since we still had a few weeks left on our visa, they said we would have to go back to Thailand and wait for our visas to expire and then exit the country again. Needless to say, we were NOT happy to hear that! We decided to go back to our motel to sleep and think! Randy tried making phone calls back to Thailand but was unable to make a connection. Then we walked down the street to a mall to eat lunch and found a Long John Silver's! It was funny how excited we were to see it but we haven't seen a Long John Silver's since we left the States. Later that afternoon, he said he was going to go back to the Thai Embassy to talk to them again because they had kept our passports to do an "investigation." Fortunately, he was able to talk with someone a little more helpful and re-explained the situation to her. She said we had done the right thing and did the paperwork and told him when to come back and pick up our passports. What a blessing! So, then we were able to enjoy Singapore. On Thursday, we took the children to a water park where we all had a lot of fun. They had a long canal that you could float down in tubes. By the time we did that, the little ones were exhausted and William fell asleep while he was floating! We also got to ride an indoor ferris wheel. On Friday, we did some sightseeing. We went to see the famous Merlion staute. The Merlion has the head of a lion and the body of a fish. It is the symbol of Singapore. The fish body represents the origin of Singapore as a fishing village and the lion head represents the originial name of Singapore which meant "lion city." It measures 28 feet tall and weighs 7o tons! Normally, the Merlion overlooks the Marina Bay and has water shooting out of its mouth. Currently, they have built a motel room around part of the body and the head. During the day, tourists can go in for a quick look and at night 2 people can check-in. This amazing room will only be there through May and every night was booked within an hour of them opening the reservation desk. What an awesome thing to be so up close to this symbolic statue!

After our sightseeing and a quick trip to a history museum, we ate lunch and took a much needed nap! We surprised the kids by taking them to the Night Safari. It is the ONLY night zoo in the world! It was incredible to see animals that we had never seen before. Most of the animals at this zoo (which OPENS at 7:30 p.m.!) are nocturnal animals. Instead of walking the trails, we rode the 45 minute tram with a guide.

This is the fun part of missionary life - being able to visit places and see things that otherwise we would never know about or only see in pictures. What stories our children will have to tell when we go back to the States. God has given us so many opportunities and we thank Him for every one.

"Lord, I Have You"

"There's a roof up above me, I've a good place to sleep, There's food on my table, And shoes on my feet, You gave me Your love, Lord, And a fine family, Thank you, Lord, for your blessings on me." These words have echoed through my head over the last few days. So many things are going on in our world. The signs of the times are everywhere - from the drug wars in Mexico, to the uprisings in the Middle East, to the newest catastrophe of an earthquake, tsunami, and radiation fears in Japan.

Last week, we received heart-wrenching news that two brothers who lived in our children's home were the latest victims of the drug wars in Mexico. We have mourned their deaths and wished we could be back there for the other brother who had to identify them. We loved these boys like all the others, just as if they were ours. We did everything we knew to do to help them live godly lives after they professed Christ as Saviour. Or did we? As with all "children", whether blood or adopted or just growing up in your home, you always look back and wonder what else you could have done. In the end, the decisions they make are up to them as they get older, good or bad. All you can do is pray they will do what is right. So many of them have done well. They have gone to college, gotten married, had children, and have jobs to support their families. We thank God for the opportunity we had to be in each boy's life and we are proud of them. We are thankful also that we are still able to keep to in touch with many of them.

The devastation of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has been absolutely unfathomable. To see the pictures and videos, it is almost like watching something out of a movie. Unfortunately, it is all for real. Now, more than ever, am I thankful for all I have. I am not waiting in long lines for the necesities of life. I know where my family is and I know they are safe. I haven't lost all. Yet, more saddening than all this, is the hard truth that many of these people also have no hope as they do not know Christ as their Saviour. A missionary friend of mine living there gave these statistics:

"The areas affected by the earthquake and tsunamis of Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki are some of the most spiritually needy places in Japan. With over 4.9 million people, yet only about 9,000 active Christians (0.15%). Fukushima has the lowest average worship attendance with only 19 per church. There are one city and 44 towns with no church. There are 86 missionaries assigned to these prefectures. One town in Ibaraki has over 46,000 people with no church and several others have over 24,000 people with no churches. Average attendance for all the churches in Japan is the lowest in the Fukushima prefecture. Ibaraki prefecture has the least number of people claiming to have any religious beliefs."

These people clearly need the Gospel, as do many others in the world, but these people have been thrown into our attention because of what they are suffering. Please pray for these people in Japan. It isn't over! There is still a lot of suffering and pain and with the situation of the nuclear reactors, it could get worse. When something isn't exactly going easy or "my way," I remind myself of all that I have to be thankful for and remind myself to say "Thank you, Lord ... I have You" and "thank you, Lord, for your blessings on me."

Love, Love, Love

What a wonderful Valentine's Day we had! We spent the day at the beach!!! Randy's Dad and Mom flew in last week and after a few days of "rest", we went to the beach for some time together. Needless to say, after the snow and ice that went through Oklahoma and Texas not so long ago, Randy's parents were happy to be in some warmer weather!

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband. This year, we will celebrate 14 years of marriage! It doesn't seem like it has been that long. I am so thankful to have a husband who follows the Lord. It is amazing to think back on all the different things God has brought us through. And, even more amazing to see where He has brought us! There are very few dull moments when you are married to a missionary! It is such a blessing to serve the Lord with my best friend. We have experienced some unbelievable things during our marriage. I am so thankful that the Lord put us together. I have enjoyed being Randy's "help meet" and I look forward to spending many more years with him, serving the Lord together.

A Little Miracle

Psalm 139:14 says, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." This verse always comes into my mind every time I see a newborn baby. Last week, this verse held an even deeper meaning as I "met" a new little baby named Alissa. A sweet couple in our church, Wat and Amanda, have been blessed with a little miracle, born three months ahead of schedule. She was born a week ago today (January 19) and she weighed 1 pound and 13 ounces and measured 13 and 1/2 inches long. I stood in awe of God's creation as she lay in her little bed. 10 fingers, 10 toes, everything so perfect and yet so tiny. This innocent little miracle has been placed into our world early for a reason that, for now, only God knows. Wat and Amanda have been given a strength and grace that only God can give. The doctors say that Alissa is growing stronger every day. She is only using her respirator at 30% and they estimate that in 2 weeks, she will no longer need it. Her parents are thrilled because they know that at that point, they will be able to hold their precious little daughter. Please pray for all of them. They need a renewed strength every day. Amanda is now home from the hospital so they are making trips back and forth every day to spend time with Alissa. Please pray for their safety as they travel. Also, Wat is finishing his last semester of college so pray that he can remain focused on his studies. God's power is being witnessed by all who attend to Alissa. Maybe her little life will have an eternal effect on someone else who is watching.

To find out how Alissa is doing, please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyalissa. Her parents created this website page through Caring Bridge in order to keep people informed of her progress. Please keep them in your prayers!!!

Busy as Bees!

Our year got off to a quick start! We are all trying to adjust to new schedules with school. The children start their classes at 8 a.m. so that they can get most, if not all, of their school work done by the time Randy and I leave for school. We have a very tight schedule but thankfully we know this is only a temporary situation! Randy and I leave for class on Monday and Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. when the Nanny arrives. If the traffic isn't too bad, we are able to get a quick lunch on the way. When our class is out at 3 p.m., he goes on to another school for several hours while I go home. It is usually about 5:30 p.m. when I arrive home to make sure the children get supper before their Thai class and then have them bathed and in bed by 8:30 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Randy leaves in the morning around 8:30 and is in school until the evenings. Depending on his classes, he is usually home around 9:30 p.m. On Fridays, Randy and I have class like on Monday and Wednesday. We both come home from school together on Friday because Randy teaches an English and Bible class that evening at the church where we attend. Saturday we have a free day to spend with the children. We try to get all the school work caught up and do something fun together before Randy has to teach another English and Bible class. On Sunday morning, Randy teaches English and Bible during Sunday School and then we go to the regular morning service together. Sunday afternoon we rest and get ready for the week ahead. I know, this is a very scheduled week but it is for a greater purpose. As our Thai gets better, we will be able to "let up" some on this schedule and have more time at home. We praise the Lord for what He is doing in our lives. Although it may be difficult, it doesn't compare to the "difficult" He went through for us. We are thankful to be able to serve Him in whatever capacity we can. Please pray for us as we go through this time of learning. May the Lord find us faithful. As Paul asked the saints in Ephesus, we also ask that you pray for us, "that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel," Ephesians 6:19

Reflecting

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! The last few weeks have been full of fun, new traditions, and very warm temperatures. As we prepared for the "big day", we took turns taking the children out shopping with us. Surprisingly, in several stores there was English Christmas music playing! Outside the big malls, there were decorations and lights. The children (along with a few of their American friends) had the opportunity at church to do a short narrative of what the decorations on a Christmas tree mean. A few days before Christmas, they were able to "perform" the same narrative inside one of the largest malls in Southeast Asia as well as one of the department stores inside of it. They were so thrilled to have the chance to do this! They did a very good job.

On Christmas Eve, a group of people from the church went out caroling and came by our house to sing Christmas songs. I think the highlight of making it "feel" like Christmas was being able to take the children (Thanks to the help of some very sweet friends!) on the skytrain to one of the malls that was decorated for the holidays. There were many lights and decorations, and an oversized "snow globe" that we were able to get inside of to take a picture!

This year, Christmas Dinner was very different as there were just the 7 of us! We had grilled chicken instead of turkey! After lunch, we took the children to the park so they could ride the bicycles they got for Christmas! What a difference to have 85 degree weather on Christmas Day! And, what a blessing it was to be together as a family. God allowed many new things to happen in our lives this year but I think one of the biggest blessings for me is that none of us are sick with illnesses. For the first time in 9 months, we all have runny noses, coughs, and something similar to the flu, but we are mostly over that now. But, as far as serious problems, we are free of those. To have five children and to be able to say that is truly a blessing! God has watched over us over the last year. As I have been reflecting over all that has happened in the last year, a verse came to mind: Psalm 23:6a - "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Even during the times when I haven't had the right attitude or haven't been as faithful to God in things as I should have been, God has allowed good things to happen and His mercy has surely been poured out on me! How wonderful to know that He is always there with us, guiding and leading, even if the path is unknown to us. All praise to Him Who knows where the path will lead and what lies ahead. With all the changes the past year brought, and all the blessings God showered on our family, I anxiously await what is in store for us this year. I know there will be "bumps in the road," but I also know that He will continue to show Himself good and faithful.