Jacob's Feast...

This is Jacob. He is 17 and quite a character. In the best sort of way. Jacob is very sociable. He is just as comfortable with an 8 month old as he is with an 80 year old. He isn't gabby, but he likes to visit with people. Talking, listening, and laughing. Jacob is an avid outdoorsman. He is going cold weather hiking and camping, next week. Without a tent. He has a survivalist mentality. If stranded on a desert island, I am pretty sure he would take another person with him- to visit with and eventually use as a food source. He is very creative but in a 3-diminsional sort of way. This is one of the knives he made. Jacob is one of the best songleaders I have ever seen- and no, I am not prejudice;) Coffee is a passion of his and he would someday like to open his own coffee shop. Oh I just love him to peices!

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Jacob's feast had a waffle house theme. He had orange wedges and assorted muffins for his appetizer. Blueberry, lemon poppyseed, apple cinnamon, and banana walnut. He had two drinks- orange juice and Jones Soda. His main course was dinner waffles made with sausage and cheddar cheese served with sausage gravy and hash browns. He then had dessert waffles that you could stuff with vanilla ctream and the fruit of your choice. Strawberries, cherry, blueberries. And of course whipped cream for the top. His gift to the other children was the waffle maker that he made all the waffles with. I never saw so many children so miserably full!

That ends our feast season. We had such a grand time. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Life is like that...

you have to keep your eye on the gorgeous, good things and not get caught up in the telephone wires.

Abe's feast...

This is our "little man." He is 7 years old and a bundle of energy. He flies from one task to the next, forgetting where he was and where he is going. It really is comical. "Abe, weren't you getting yourself a drink?" "Oh yeah, right!" Nothing gets in his way. He is always looking on the sunny side of life. He doesn't blubber over disappointments. Just shrugs his shoulders and says these things happen. Abe is a great problem solver. He likes to figure things out and has his own unique way of looking at a problem. "Mom, I'm not so sure Heaven is gonna to be that great of a place." Now why would he say that? "Cause all of the people there have to wear those round things on their heads to keep the sun out of their eyes." Obviously he's seen a picture with folks wearing halos... that's Abe!

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His feast really tickled my funny bone. His theme was... wait for it...worms. Yep, worms. I giggled all over the place when he told me that one. His brothers and sisters were gonna love it! So he wanted roots hanging all over the place and on the table- which we made out of twisted brown packing paper. He wouldn't even let me iron the table cloth- 'cause that's more like dirt. And it wasn't a problem that the table cloth didn't cover the entire tabletop, because dirt is brown like the wood of the table... See what I mean? Nothing flaps him. When he said he wanted pineapple for an appetizer, I asked him what that had to do with worms..."It's just an idea, Mom." Then he served spaghetti- of course, and he twisted breadsticks up like worms, also. He had punch for his drink and then, finally, for dessert he made rice krispy treats with gummy worms climbing out of them. His gift was those long twisty balloons- 'cause they look like worms, ya know.

My View...

Lots of ice and some snow mixed in. I still can't figure out how it is ice instead of snow when it is 18 degrees outside. Weird. We had a couple days of that and now- mixed with the snow- we have several inches of ice on the ground- and on the windows. I guess that makes knowing what the weather is like easy to guess- icey. It took Bill four hours to get the car up and running. There was a lake of ice down in the dash and had to be all thawed and chipped away.

We had to postpone Abe's feast. Weather permitting, it will be tomorrow. There is talk of more snow, though. Silly weather. The kids are enjoying it. They don't usually get to sled because it is just too flat around here. But the ice makes it a whole lot of fun to make a semi-running start and jumping on a "sled" and sliding across the ice. John has even done some wind surfing. The "semi-running" because it is near impossible to stand upright on all that ice. Eva and Boo have a fair number of bruises on their... more delicate parts. The sun is shining today and that is such a welcome change.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I hope you are happy, warm and well.

John's feast...

This is our fifth son, John. He is 14 and a bundle of incorrigible creativity. You know those movies where some precocious kid is constantly inventing these amazing contraptions? That's John. Full of confidence. Of course, things don't always turn out the way he plans, but he is never discouraged by past failures- just takes it in stride and tries again. I am certain that his mind never, ever rests. Sometimes I get a little freaked out by his inventions and we have to reign him back in (the blow darts come to mind.) He is happy and smiling 99% of the time. He has big dreams and big plans and with his winning attitude, I just can't imagine him not attaining them. Oh, I just love him to pieces.

His feast was awesome. No, really. It had the theme of "Awesome." He even wrote that word in duct tape across a table runner. He found every extra strand of twinkle lights he could find and strung them up all over the ceiling. Swags everywhere. He has a great sense of humor and pretended that his gift to the other children were little coupons. "Free Hug" was written on them, but for his older brothers, it was "Free Handshake" and "Free Wave." They all got a kick out of that. The real gifts were whistles for the girls and a dinasaur for Abe. The older brothers got whoopie cushions and something called Flarp- which I am sure if you use your imagination, you can figure out what it does. Bill read about 20 verses stating that our God is an awesome God. He'd point to a different child each time that the word "awesome' came up and they would say it for him. John served coffee drinks- containing icecream, topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup and caramel- with his appetizer of jerky, honey roasted peanuts, and dried pineapple. His main course he changed at the last minute to please his sibling. Fetticine alfredo with garlic bread. They each got their own bottle of root beer. John had a sundae bar for dessert. Paul said, "John, you have no idea how happy you have made me!" It was unanimous.

Paul's feast...

Paul is 16 and he's a very... complex guy. He thinks everything out and voices very little. I am pretty sure that he never says a thing that he hasn't thought through at least a dozen times. At least. He is the epitome of the strong, silent type but inside he is really very sweet and thoughtful. If he sees something that he can do to make your life easier- he's there for you. He gets a kick out of funny things that people do. He spends a lot of time studying and he seems to like that. Go figure. Paul is the self-appointed puddle police. Woe to you if you do not remove your shoes at the door. An all-around great guy and I love him to peices.

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Paul had a "darkness" theme. Honestly, where do these kids come up with these things? Paul is like Johnny Cash in that he wears a lot of black. No, he's not goth, just very practical and insists that it doesn't get stained as easily. So... black it is. Black tablecloth, plates, silverware, napkins and cups. The floor was covered in black balloons (which I had to inflate as the asthmatic isn't going to be able to get that job done and his Dad has nerve damage in his lips and holding a seal while blowing was so funny he had Paul and I in stitches.) Black streamers from the ceiling fans and a black lantern on the table. It was downright dark in there when he invited his guests to the feast amid an eerie tune he recorded of John playing his keyboard. Will had to use a flashlight for the scripture reading(1 john 1:5-7 -God is the light and in Him there is no darkness.) His appetizer was After Dark Doritos and Chicken fingers with BBQ and Asian orange sauce. His meal was a heaping plate of shells and cheese. And his dessert was mini cherry pies with ice cream. He had every variety of Mountain Dew available. Paul went to the Army/Navy store and bought the kids their own MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for later. We certainly couldn't have held another grain of food.

Evabeth's feast...

Eva is 11 years old and such a beautiful young lady- inside and out. She is sweet and thoughtful, and loved by everyone. She enjoys spending time with her little sister. She has a mothering personality. Nurturing and protective. When there is a job to be done, she is the first to roll up her sleeves and get to work. She is fearless. I have never seen her be intimidated or shy about anything. Ask her to do something and you can consider it done. Her favorite color is pink. She is an accomplished artist. She loves her big family and mentions almost daily how much she misses her older brothers and sister. And, yes, I love her to pieces!

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Evabeth played the role of Queen Esther and invited her guests to a Persian feast. She had flatbread with zahowie for her appetizer. Rotisserie chicken(she contracted her Daddy to construct the spit and he did a great job improvising with some shelving brackets he had in the garage) with a salad and basmati rice for her main course and the gorgeous fruit tower for dessert. That fruit tower was a real eyepopper and between that and the spit the kids were duly impressed. And she thought up all by herself. Very creative. Her beverage was grape juice and her gifts to the other children were handmade ephods with glitter jewels. All 12 tribes were represented.

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Rejoice with us! Yesterday, Eva had her final neurology appointment at Riley Children's Hospital. Things look very, very good in regards to her epilepsy. Aside from cautious living-ie: no high risk occupations, like piloting an airplane or operating heavy equipment(to which she said, "Why would I want to do that?") she is free to live her life. Avoiding sleep deprivation will always be a goal with her, but this is an excellent prognosis and so much more than we ever dreamed with the initial diagnosis being- "persist and evolve." God is indeed very good.