Our first picnic of the summer!

On our way!

 We went on our first picnic and hike as a family the other day. We were gone for three hours! :)  It was great to be able to get out of the town where the only thing I heard was the laughter of my kids and the sweet fellowship with my husband. Here are some of the pictures from our great day.  

We found a little rock table someone had made!

Me and my three blessings

   

Me and our tiny tot.

Overlooking where we had our picnic.

Me and Sissy

Eli relaxing

Me and my best friend

For all you Home Schooling Mommies!

I have to admit that, I am bad about not putting the kids grades in the computer. Since next year I will have three little learners I need to get more organized.  So, today I get to play catch up! I was looking online for a grade book and found this one for Excel.  I like it so far and thought I would share it. 

http://fivejs.com/homeschool-gradebook-free-download/

Download Gradebook+ for Homeschool

fivejs.com

A free customizable homeschool gradebook & record-keeping spreadsheet template. Tracks high school credits, attendance, and generates a report card automatically. Also includes book list form and extra-curricular activities report. Free download for Excel or Open Office.

How to pray for your missionaries wife...

I have been thinking about how to effectively pray for the wives of your missionaries.  And here are a few I came up with.

1-     Know them by name!  I know many people know the names of the husband, but what about the wife and the kids?

2-     Know their special needs.  Missionaries have regular families, just like yours and all work together in the ministry. And beside ministry things the wife also has to keep house, school the children, and try to learn a new language during her “free time”  J    Sometimes the wife had special health needs, or is just plain lonely.  Get to know the wife and her needs, and pray for her.

3-     Send a smile!  Sometimes when a missionary family has been traveling on deputation, they have been in the car for several hours and the kids are ready to GET OUT!  So the next time you see a missionary’s wife trying to “keep it together,” try to understand if she doesn’t look like Ms. America. She has been a navigator and a baby entertainer for several hours in the car.  Offer to help with the kids, or to hold the little one.  A friendly smile or a genuine,”I’m praying for you,” can work wonders.

4-     Remember her special days.  Send a card or even an email saying Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary.  Sometimes they might not be able to go out on a date for their anniversary, but a little thing like a card from home is great.  We have a little old lady that is faithful to send us a Baptist Bread, a letter, and a church bulletin. She tells us how things are going in her church and she is faithful to pray for us. It always makes us smile when we see her letter in the mail. 

These are just a few that I wanted to share. I’m not just saying this for me, but for all the missionary wives you may cross paths with.       

An odd thing happened today.

An odd thing happened today, and I thought I would share it with ya’ll. Here in Greenland sometimes you can have an unexpected quest. Knocking is something not everyone does before they come in to your home.JWe had just got done eating dinner when he heard someone come in. We thought it was one of our kids since they had just gone out to play. But turning around we saw a little boy named Hans Karl, he is one of the kids who comes around to play. He came in and was looking around at our bookcase, then finally saw what he was looking for … a Greenlandic Chick tract!  Let me give a little back story.

Hans Karl age-8

Before we went to visit the Shulls, Hans Karl and his sister Arnaq came over to play with our kids. Hans Karl had seen some of the tracts sitting on our coffee table. Being curious, he picked one up and started to look through it. He was smiling and showing us. He seemed to enjoy looking at it, but then put it back on the table then went off to play.When he came back today I had no idea why he had come in. He came in, got the tract and immediately left.  My mind has been racing on why he came and got the tract. All we can do is pray for this sweet boy and his family. He has 7 brothers and sisters, ranging from ages 4-21.  Please pray for this family!     

Arnaq age-6

      

A Tribute...

With Mothers Day just a few days away I wanted to talk about 3 important ladies in my life. I would like to start with Judy. She is my biological mother. I have never met her, but I pray for her daily. I’m thankful for her because she is the one who brought me into this world. But due to some circumstances she was not able to care for my brother and me. 

So here enters the next lady, Charleen, also known as Nana.  She is my great aunt, but I consider her a mother figure in my life. Her and my Great Uncle Bob took my brother Jason and me in as their own. I have many great memories while living with them.  Our children see them as a second set of grandparents and love them dearly. They felt the need to adopt us out to non family members so we would have the chance for a normal life. I know it was hard for them to let us go, but they did it for our own good. For that I am forever grateful.

Next enters my Mom and Dad, Mary and Jim. They took us into their home and their hearts. They loved us when we were just two little strangers in their home. My Mom has been one of my best friends. As a teenager I would come home from work late and Mom was always ready to hear about my day. No matter how sleepy she was she always had time for me to vent, or just talk about how crazy my day had been. She was there when I needed to cry or just needed to talk. She also was there when I was first reunited with my Great Aunt and Uncle.  I know that sometimes I was a handful, but my parents loved me and helped me. She is one of the strongest people I know. Shortly after they adopted us my Dad was deployed to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm for a year. I could only imagine the times of loneliness and frustrations she faced while trying wrangle two kids by her self. I never heard her complain and always seemed to be on her game. Looking back now I can see all that they went through that long year apart.  She is one of my heroes and I love her very much!

My Mom and I on my wedding day

Never too old for a hug from Momma

I could go on and on but I just wanted to tell everyone that I am very thankful for these three ladies that played such a valuable role in my life.  I love each and every one of them and wish them, and you, a Happy Mothers Day.

Our Decision...

As you already know we recently returned from a trip farther north to Ilulissat. The purpose of this visit was to visit the Shulls and to see about moving up there to work with them.  After lots of prayer and seeking the Lord we have decided that we are going to make the move!  I’m really excited and nervous all at the same time!

Moving here is not the same as moving to another town in the States. We have to get a container, ship it, wait to see if we need to do any updating on our already pending paperwork, get plane tickets, and lots more.  We are looking at moving at the beginning of September, so hopefully the ice won’t be bad in the harbor in Ilulissat so our container can arrive safely. Please pray as we are already preparing for our move.

Marty and our kids in front of the first Baptist church in Greenland!

Some of the houses in Ilulissat

We are sad to leave Sisimiut and our friends we have made here, but in Ilulissat, we will get the ministry experience we need. Our prayer is to be able to come back to Sisimiut in a few years and start a church after we have learned the languages and the culture better. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us as we strive to please Him in our ministry here in Greenland.   

Our trip to Ilulissat

We are home from a great trip! We had a blast. And we miss the Shull family already. I had over 400 pictures to choose from so here are just a few of our fun time in Ilulissat.  It was great to be able to fellowship with Chris and Carole and their kids. They are sweet people, and their kids were a joy to be around.

We enjoyed getting to see the church and meeting the people the Shulls have been able to minister to.  Our kids had so much fun playing with the other kids. They watched movies, played games, and just enjoyed being around other kids that speak English. They played until they were utterly exhausted some days!

My favorite part of the trip was the late nights sitting up and talking to Chris and Carole. We laughed, talked about Greenland and lots more. I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord will allow us to do in the coming months. Please continue to pray for us and the Shull family.  

The Shull family and us

Our kids had an awesome time with the other children. 

3D movie!

All 8 kids, never a dull moment with that
many kids under one roof. 

We got to hear Aataa and Aanaa sing. Loved it!

Marty and the kids in front of the first
Baptist church  in Greenland!

I got to fellowship with Carole, which was awesome!!