I haven't blogged in a while, but I really want to get back to it regularly. I try, but then I forget!
Well, I came across this and wanted to do it with each kid, so here ya go....partly for you to get some giggles and also for my own records. :)
You have to keep in mind as you read these that my younger two boys, Jack and Joe, both have genetic abnormalities with learning disabilities and speech issues. Thankfully nothing serious, but that will help you understand some of their answers a little better.
What is your name? Jack
How old are you? 9
How old is mom? 15
What is your favorite color? Yellow
What are you doing? playing on my tablet
What is your favorite food? cereal
Who is your best friend? Simeon
What is your favorite animal? elephants
What are you scared of? nothing
What is your favorite show? Blue's Clues (first show he ever watched)
What makes you sad? When I get in trouble.
What makes you happy? When someone tickles me.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A balloon guy.
What does love mean? Like in I love my wife when I get older.
What's your favorite drink? Chocolate milk
Where is your favorite place to go eat? Taco Bell because it have burritos.
Where is your favorite place to go to play? Chick-A-Fla (he says it like this)
What's your favorite movie? Narnia
What's your favorite toy? a little elephant
What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot
Where do you want to go to college? Home
What's your favorite song? Speak Life by TobyMac
What is mommy good at? Singing a song.
What is daddy good at? Cleaning the toilet (I agree!)
What's Mommy's job? Cleaning your room (Ha!)
What's is Daddy's job? Hobby Lobby
What's your favorite season? Winter because you can make snowmen, and you can have a snowball fight.
***
What is your name? Jessi
How old are you? 6 (she's 4, lol)
How old is mom? BIG!
What is your favorite color? Rainbow (I can see she's my rebel)
What are you doing? Playing on my tablet (we have a problem)
What is your favorite food? Beef stew
Who is your best friend?Jayla
What is your favorite animal? A goat! (too much Goat simulator)
What are you scared of? the dark
What is your favorite show? Paw Patrol
What makes you sad? an onion (ROFL!)
What makes you happy? Rain
What do you want to be when you grow up? a mama!
What does love mean? Heart
What's your favorite drink? Water
Where is your favorite place to go eat? THIS PLACE!
Where is your favorite place to go to play? Chick-A-Fla (she copies Jack)
What's your favorite movie? I only like Paw Patrol.
What's your favorite toy? A giraffe
What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot
Where do you want to go to college? At the sun. <giggle>
What's your favorite song? Jump song!
What is mommy good at? the bathtub (taking baths)
What is daddy good at? work
What's Mommy's job? Watching a movie (rarely do that)
What's is Daddy's job? work
What's your favorite season? Winter
***
Jacob - 12
What is your name? Sneaky Squeaky Cheeks
How old are you? 5
How old is mom? 0
What is your favorite color? Blue
What are you doing? sitting here
What is your favorite food? (evil sounding voice) Spinach pizza from Cici's
Who is your best friend? Daisy (the goat)
What is your favorite animal? Daisy
What are you scared of? nothing
What is your favorite show? Person of Interest
What makes you sad? Saying good-bye to someone I won't see again for a very long time. (Wow.)
What makes you happy? A lot of things.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A pilot and welder.
What does love mean? It means you can fart around someone and not feel embarrassed.
What's your favorite drink? Water
Where is your favorite place to go eat? Cici's
Where is your favorite place to go to play? Sukkot
What's your favorite movie? Jurassic World
What's your favorite toy? My tablet.
What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot
Where do you want to go to college? Home
What's your favorite song? Speak Life
What is mommy good at? sleeping
What is daddy good at? working the remote control
What's Mommy's job? Making meals
What's is Daddy's job? Hobby Lobby
What's your favorite season? All the same.
***
What is your name? Joe
How old are you? Um, I don't know. (Counted Jayla's fingers...) Yeah, 6!
How old is mom? I don't know.
What is your favorite color? Orange
What are you doing? I want to play on Jack's tablet.
What is your favorite food? cereal
Who is your best friend? Jack and Jessi
What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
What are you scared of? When Jacob acts like he's going to get me, and the dark.
What is your favorite show? Uncle Gadget (Inspector Gadget)
What makes you sad? Taking the tablet away from me.
What makes you happy? Someone give the tablet back to me.
What do you want to be when you grow up? to play on a new tablet that you can get me.
What does love mean? loving
What's your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
Where is your favorite place to go eat? Taco Bell
Where is your favorite place to go to play? Chick-A-Fla
What's your favorite movie? Paw Patrol
What's your favorite toy? A toy house.
What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot
Where do you want to go to college? At Taco Bell.
What's your favorite song? Paw Patrol theme song
What is mommy good at? working
What is daddy good at? I don't know, I can't do it this long. (haha!)
What's Mommy's job? This take forever!
What's is Daddy's job? work
What's your favorite season? Winter
***
What is your name? Jayla
How old are you? 14
How old is mom? You don't want to ask me that. lol
What is your favorite color? Purple
What are you doing? sitting
What is your favorite food? Potatoes
Who is your best friend? Sarai and Jessi
What is your favorite animal? horse
What are you scared of? heights
What is your favorite show? Person of Interest
What makes you sad? Emotional things. lol
What makes you happy? More emotional things.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A mother.
What does love mean? Um....(laughter)....um......
What's your favorite drink? Apple Mansana
Where is your favorite place to go eat? Chick-fil-A (she says it right, lol)
Where is your favorite place to go to play? My room.
What's your favorite movie? The Parent Trap, new and old.
What's your favorite toy? My tablet and clay.
What's your favorite holiday? Sukkot
Where do you want to go to college? Home
What's your favorite song? Love With Your Life by Hollyn
What is mommy good at? Being the Mama!
What is daddy good at? Driving a forklift.
What's Mommy's job? Being a Mama!
What's is Daddy's job? Driving a forklift.
What's your favorite season? Spring
*** Jonathan - 16 What is your name? Mama, please, no. How old are you? Please, just let me go.
How old is mom? I can't count that high.
What is your favorite color? I am above such petty things.
What are you doing? Trying to control my anger.
What is your favorite food? Plant life scraped from the top of Lake Thunderbird.
Who is your best friend?SilasandBecca
What is your favorite animal? Hamburger
What are you scared of? I can't even think of anything sarcastic. I'm not scared of anything.
What is your favorite show? Person of Interest
What makes you sad? No tacos.
What makes you happy? Tacos.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Isolated.
What does love mean? Well, when a man and woman love each other very much.....
What's your favorite drink? Water from Lake Thunderbird.
Where is your favorite place to go eat? The Oval Office.
Where is your favorite place to go to play? About 5 feet outside the Oval Office.
What's your favorite movie? Inception
What's your favorite toy? Tickle Me Elmo
What's your favorite holiday? Pi Day
Where do you want to go to college? El Paso
What's your favorite song? Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. (this continued for a while).....Heart of Gold by Johnny Cash
What is mommy good at? Sucking the fun out of everything. (I do my job well then!)
What is daddy good at? Preventing me from fun in the first place.
What's Mommy's job? To let me know when I need a shower.
What's is Daddy's job? Waiting to be told by you to take a shower.
Howdy, friends! I was going to post some pictures from Sukkot, but we have over 200 photos and over 20 videos (which I still need to upload), so it'll be easier to just share the >>>link to the album<<<. Enjoy!
Here are a few of my favorites though.....
Jacob made it to the center, a.k.a. "King", in 9 Square!
We had to put the rain fly / tophat on....quite amusing.
Joe broke his arm just 3 days before we left, so we got the cast during camp.
The girls rode around on this golf cart a lot with their friends.
Alex was amazingly patient when teaching chess to some of the children and teens!
It's nice to only have a few dishes to wash!
My chocolate cake mix turned into brownies (on purpose, lol) turned out great!
It was hard to get them all together at once, but this was some of our neighbors. Awesome people! We're going to visit their congregation soon in Tulsa!
Some other awesome people we met! This is Joey and Krys and their beautiful children.
From the sunglasses on head, left to right.....Annie, Jason, Mark and Reanee. Fun and loving people!
Jessica is getting so big! She looks 12 here! Okay, maybe not *that* old.
Jacob turns 12 in 3 more days, and he is now taller than his 14yo sister! He's trying to hide from the camera here.
Jack's favorite color is yellow. :)
Jonathan actually joined in a dance!
And posed for a picture!
We didn't get many pictures of Jayla because we didn't see her much, so this one and the golf cart are about the only ones. Here she is playing a Minute to Win It type game. lol
I just wanted to post another pic of Joe. This one was actually before camp, right after he broke his arm but before he got his orange cast on. I love his smile! He doesn't look like he's in pain at all, does he? lol
That's all for pictures, but please click on the link above and take a look at all of them! I'll write more about Sukkot later and share the videos. It was a very blessed time.
My daughter, who is about to turn 14, has been in dance since she was 5. The photo above is exactly like one costume she has had in the past, but it is one of the more modest ones. Thankfully, being in ballet, she hasn't had to worry too much about really inappropriate costumes, but we never know what they look like until close to recital, so we always worry at least a little!
Another costume (see more pictures here at this link) was worn for her 2nd year in dance and her first year to be in "big girl ballet"! She was allowed to go into the older class early for a trial period, and she did great and stayed in it! I didn't like the 2 photos the "professional" took of her, so I took some myself on our front porch with a black sheet behind her. I forgot to take the date stamp off though, so I later had to edit them out. I was pretty happy with them, even though we didn't have her hair piece.
Jayla has always been modest, partly taught and partly just her nature. She's sometimes extreme about it, but I'd rather her go that direction than the opposite! Modesty, even for boys, is something we've always felt strongly about, but our children are just modest, so it's not like we're hovering over them saying, "You can't wear that." or "Go cover that up right now!" Nope. I honestly don't remember EVER having to tell my kids to go change clothes, probably because the ONLY clothes we have in the house are modest. Makes it easy!
Back to my pointe (did ya catch that play on words?)......
This was her first year in pointe. She has always dreamed about being a pointe dancer, and she's loved every minute of it. But she may not be able to continue. Wanna know why? Because we cannot find a single dance studio that does NOT teach the girls (and boys, but they are few) to SHAKE THEIR STUFF!!!! Seriously, it's disgusting, not the girls themselves, they've been taught this and don't know better, but by the teachers and parents who should know better! Honestly, some don't care, and others won't step up and say anything. Jayla took tap this year for the first time since she was 5 (a ballet/tap combo class), and the girls shake their hips/butts and shimmy many times. While many of the costumes could have been more modest, they were much better than a lot of costumes I've seen through the years, but it's the costumes AND "dance moves" that will keep her from being in tap again next year, and possibly out of dance altogether. And I'm sad about that because I know how much she LOVES pointe, but we won't compromise. Who knows what kinds of creeps are sitting in the audience looking at all these beautiful LITTLE GIRLS showing off their bodies? And all the boys in the audience, mostly brothers of the dancers, sure don't need to lose their innocence! Why can't their be something more modest all around?!?
For this very reason, Myles and our boys didn't get to go see her dance. I don't think the older boys wanted to go anyway, and I got her on video if they want to just watch the 3 dances she was in, but it's very sad that we don't feel comfortable going to our own daughter's dance recital. I was so embarrassed for those girls, from ages 3 up to 17 or so! Awful.
Well, guess what. There are not very many modest dance studios/schools around, but they do exist! Jayla was able to attend a dance studio where the owner's mother sewed ALL the costumes every year, and they were BEAUTIFUL AND MODEST! And they also made a point to not do any kind of suggestive or compromising "dance moves", and while it may seem silly to some, she even called "hip hop" "hop hop" because they don't shake their hips. I loved it! But then we moved too far away. :( When we did move closer about 2 years ago, she was going to go back there again, but the owner and family moved out of state! SO SAD!!!! Here's an example of her incredible recitals (we saw several of them through the years)! She had a theme (of course), and a variety of tempos, etc. This is one Jayla was in (below). (I know it's hard to tell because of the quality, but she was wearing pink and was one of the smaller girls.)
So, she is going to try to start something up herself, probably as a homeschool co-op class to start out, but she does want to teach/own her own dance studio one day. She's even talked about having dance classes for special needs children of all kinds! I think that is such a great idea! She has a big heart!
We'd love to hear any feedback, agree or disagree, dos and don'ts. There are so many things we want to do but don't know where to start!
I'll leave you with one more video. Jayla is front and center. She taught all these kids this dance at Sukkot (except her older brother in the back) when she was just 11 years old! It's something she loves, and you can see it in her face. :) She's about to turn 14, so this was almost 3 years ago. She really wants to teach regularly!
Just a quick update.....I am still looking for a good alternative to this particular host that meets all my requirements. I think I have one. I'm checking it out today. I haven't forgotten to blog, I am actually DYING to get some new content up (even if no one reads it, HA!), but I really want to find a new host first. So keep checking back. I'll hopefully have a new link to share soon! :)
In the meantime, here's a picture of my girls about a week ago. I made this mei tai for a friend. Jessi loves being "worn" like this. The pictures are horrible quality because our really nice camera is having issues, but I'm about to send it in for repairs. Anywho, here they are! Jayla is 12 1/2 and Jessi just turned TWO! She's at such a fun, adorable stage. :) Oh, just thought of another pic I need to share here too, (which includes Joe from the side. lol (His hair is shorter now, too.) This was about a month ago.
The front carry.
The back carry. It's reversible!
SpiderBaby!! Is this not the most adorable little super hero you've ever seen?!?
Our only daughter is such a helpful young lady. She is a very bright star in this dark world! My little girl isn't so little anymore. Well, she's still on the small side, but she is growing up and maturing so much!
She recently celebrated her 10th birthday at a nearby horse stable. They have a party barn that the public can rent, and she absolutely LOVES horses. So we invited anyone and everyone we could think of (I didn't realize she had so many friends!), and we had a great time.
Happenings in her life currently, or about to start as the school year starts, are dance class twice a week, American Heritage Girls (we just need one more committed leader and then we can charter!), 4-H Horse Club and she is learning the dance that the children will be performing at Sukkot!
She is extremely excited about this next baby and just KNOWS she is about to have a sister! I'm not sure when yet we will find out the gender (possibly this week!), but once we know, either way she and I have a BIG day of shopping planned!!! I might be more excited about that than she is!
I think the thing I love most about Jayla is her heart. She TRULY desires to follow YHWH and obey Him. She has to be reminded constantly to not boss her brothers around and the typical tween girl things like that, but over all, she is very sweet and loving and just wants to obey YHWH with everything she has. She is such a beautiful young lady, inside and out!
You can learn a lot about yourself when you interview your child(ren). It gives you a whole new perspective.....theirs. And sometimes that isn't a nice thing. *sigh*
Here are the questions (something I found on Pinterest) and the answers for my oldest three kiddos:
#1 = 11yo boy
#2 = 9yo girl
#3 = 7yo boy
1. Something mom always says to you?
#1 - Do your chores.
#2 - Get Joe! (the baby)
#3 - Do your chores.
2. What makes mom happy?
#1 - Me being happy.
#2 - Obedience.
#3 - When I do my chores.
3. What makes mom sad?
#1 - When someone dies.
#2 - Disobedience.
#3 - When I'm gone for a while.
4. How does mom make you laugh?
#1 - When you burp really loud unexpectedly. (Gee, thanks!)
#2 - When you tickle me.
#3 - When you tickle me.
5. What was mom like as a child?
#1 - A tomboy.
#2 - Friendly? I have no clue. (haha!)
#3 - Happy.
6. How old is mom?
#1 - 37 (the winner!)
#2 - Um, how old ARE you?
#3 - 40
7. How tall is mom?
#1 - 5'6" (smarty pants)
#2 - Probably 4 1/2 feet. (I know she's smarter than this.)
#3 - 6'
8. What is mom’s favorite thing to do?
#1 - Computer.
#2 - Play with us.
#3 - Computer.
9. What does mom do when you’re not around?
#1 - Computer.
#2 - Hang out with your friends.
#3 - Computer. (I see a theme here.)
10. If mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
#1 - Singing and dancing. (I have no idea where the dancing came from!)
#2 - The biggest zoo.
#3 - Singing.
11. What is mom really good at?
#1 - Typing really fast.
#2 - Bossing us around.
#3 - Computer.
12. What is mom not very good at?
#1 - Shooting diapers into the trash can. (Haha! So true!)
#2 - Writing with a broken pencil. (I had just tried to use one.)
#3 - Shooting BB guns. (I'm actually a good shot, he just never sees me shoot!)
13. What does mom do for her job?
#1 - Feed me, take Daddy's money.
#2 - Clean rooms, drive us places, cook food, give Jack and Joe a bath. (See, it's not all computers!)
#3 - Help us.
14. What is mom’s favorite food?
#1 - Italian Shells.
#2 - Italian Shells. (I like it, but it's actually everyone else's favorite.)
#3 - Nutella. (This kid KNOWS his mother.)
15. What makes you proud of mom?
#1 - You're famous on Facebook. (I have no idea why he thinks this or why in the world it would make him proud!)
#2 - Cause you're my mom! (((HUG))) -- (Special moment!)
#3 - Cause you take care of me.
16. What cartoon character would mom be?
#1 - Foghorn Leghorn. (Why on earth???)
#2 - Willa's teacher. (From Willa's Wild Life)
#3 - A lady on Mighty Machines. (Not exactly a cartoon.....does this mean he things I am strong and can tear stuff up?)
17. What do you and mom do together?
#1 - Laugh, raise our eyebrows. (He noticed one day that when we look at each other, we both raise our eyebrows, so now we do it on purpose and laugh every time!)
#2 - Sing, go to Panera Bread.
#3 - Eat out.
18. How are you and mom the same?
#1 - We both have freckles.
#2 - We're both girls.
#3 - We both like Farkle. (A dice game.)
19. How are you and mom different?
#1 - Length of hair.
#2 - You're bigger and I'm smaller.
#3 - You don't play the Wii. (I do, just not often.)
20. How do you know mom loves you?
#1 - When you give me food and kiss me.
#2 - You make food for me.
#3 - You give me hugs and kisses.
21. Where is mom’s favorite place to go?
#1 - Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles....YES!)
#2 - Panera Bread
#3 - Italian Restaurant
And there you have it, what my kids think of me! That was very enlightening and quite humorous, at times! Apparently I really like the computer and eating out more than I realized. :)
.....just because I feel like blogging, and the house is quiet right now!
Myles has been at Hobby Lobby for almost 16 years now! He got a $500 (yes, that is 5 HUNDRED dollar) gift card to spend at the store as a thank you gift. He got one at 10 years too. We always enjoy spending it, and I think we even still have some left!
We recently bought a new camera, so I don't have many pictures to post yet, and the few I do have were taken on my cell phone. Here is one inspired by Myles. He had a minor accident.....the only thing that was damaged was the mirror. The plastic part holding it on was broken, so he used his OU duct tape and "rednecked" our van!!!!
Nothing much has changed for me. I am still enjoying life, seeking to please YHWH in all I do. I mess up, but HalleluYAH, He forgives me and teaches me and helps me mature more in Him. I have been more withdrawn from others lately, but I think it is good sometimes. I am closer to my family and my heavenly Father, so I am very happy and content right where I am.
Jonathan is so big and mature now. He hasn't "shot up" yet, but I know he's about to. He is just a few inches (4 or 5) shorter than I am now! He is going to be 12 in May. He is loving Boy Scouts, and in fact, they went camping last weekend in the COLD. Crazy boys! Myles went too, but he ended up getting a ride with someone and came back after the first night. Hehe! He admitted he couldn't take it and left Jonathan behind! Jonathan did really well though. He said he was actually "burning up" the first night in his military sleeping bag with hand/foot warmers. I guess I didn't need to worry.
Jayla is REALLY into horses now and has joined a 4-H horse club. As soon as I finish a quilt for Myles (starting to cut it all out now), I already have everything to make her a horse quilt! Her furniture is already a dark brown, and she has a few decorative pieces already; a cowboy hat coin bank, a light switch plate with a pair of boots on it, a figurine of a girl barrel racing, etc. She got to ride "Peanut" last Tuesday night. Peanut doesn't like to go fast, in fact, you really have to work hard to get him to trot, so he was perfect for her as a beginner. She has never had a lesson, but she learned quickly how to guide him and make him go. Once she was confident that she really wasn't hurting him when she kicked his sides, she was kicking like crazy trying to go faster! That girl! She looked like she knew what she was doing after just 5 minutes or so! She was the same age as a couple of other girls, but she was the only one who couldn't reach the stirrups. She had to have help getting up and down, but she didn't seem to mind, as long as she could RIDE!
Jacob......every time I look at him and think how cute or sweet he is, he either farts or picks his nose. What a kid! I can't believe he is 7 now. He is a LEGO maniac, hoarding them all and playing with them every chance he gets. He even loads up his backpack and brings them along wherever we go. He also still loves trains (but not if they have faces), and in fact, just checked out several books on trains from the library yesterday. And Jacob sure is smart. And he is reading now! He didn't want to for the longest time, so I just never pushed it, but I know he COULD have if he wanted to. I told him that, and he laughed and said, "Yeah, I could have." That stinker! He is quite the engineer too, always building things or trying to figure out how something works. He has always been like that. His latest thing he did on his own was made some jet packs for him and his two little brothers. This may not be "genius", but I was impressed that he took a quick look at a picture (maybe 5 seconds) and declared, "I'm going to make one of those!" and then off he went! I don't have a picture of the ones he made yet, but this is what his almost looks like (this was made by an adult, so it looks more.....realistic).
Jack-Jack is getting so big! He is continuing to improve in his speech. He is still often difficult to understand, but we can understand a lot more as the weeks go by. I also noticed recently that the helix (outer rim) of his ears are plumping up! This is huge to me, as this is one of the characteristics or symptoms of his genetic disorder, and it seems to be going away! We are actually trying to HEAL him with proper diet, essential oils, prayer and other things. We don't want him to just survive, we want him to THRIVE, and I believe he can (and is). We love him just the way he is, but we want to help him be the best he can be, and he's growing, maturing and getting healthier all the time! In fact, it has been about a year since his last seizure. He even had a fever a few weeks ago, but he didn't have a seizure with it! All glory and honor to YHWH!!! Thank You, Father!!! Aside from health issues, he is talking in complete sentences almost all the time now. He absolutely loves to color and draw (always has), so he does that any chance he gets, and he's pretty good! He also still loves music, and we hear him break out in a random song quite often. He is such a joy. :)
Little Joe isn't quite so little anymore. That kid gained 2 1/2 pounds in the last 6 weeks!!! He is one week from turning 14 months old now. He weighs about 22 pounds, has 8 teeth and eats like CRAZY, still nurses (even at night!) and is about to take his first steps any moment now. He can say quite a few words too, but most of it is repeating. A few days ago, Jonathan was playing a game on the Wii and saying, "Die! Die! Die!" Joe was in his high chair eating and started saying "Die-die-die-die-die!" Too funny! He still needs Mommy quite a bit, but he is becoming more independent and just has to come "touch base" every few minutes now. Jack was never like this, and in fact, was completely the opposite, so not only is Joe my clingiest baby, but I haven't had a baby even close to this in 6 years, and the one before him was opposite. So I have been very busy for over a year now with this baby! I think I can finally see my independence in the near future. LOL! But really, this is such a short time in relation to our lives, so I'm here as long as he needs me. I love this little man!
Our homestead is coming along! We are still putting up fences and pens, but we now have two dogs, 7 chickens (still), 6 ducks and a goose. We probably won't get any more ducks now since they are mostly for pets (some lay eggs), but we do want to get lots more chickens, for eggs and meat. We also plan to get some meat and/or milk goats, and/or sheep, and/or a cow. We haven't decided yet, but we will definitely be adding more animals very soon, probably for milk first, then meat. We also want to get a guard donkey and maybe a horse or pony or miniature horse. So many decisions! I love that we are moving toward being more self-sufficient though. In fact, we already are buying most of our groceries now from co-ops and only use the grocery and health food stores for those occasional items we forget to order or run out of. I love it! So much fresh, raw, organic foods, many locally grown!
The younger three are up now, so I guess that's it for this update. Please leave me a comment and let me know how YOU are doing! I'm not good at keeping up with blogs these days, but leave the link to your blog in the comments and I'll check it out. Happy Thursday to you!
The Feast of Tabernacles this year was really the first time we've done the whole 8 day campout, and it was incredible! I will try to give as good a description as I can, for those who have never experienced this appointed time of YHWH before. Pictures with text first, then I'll add more detail and some videos!
We arrived on the afternoon of October 13th (Sukkot began that night at sundown) and had to set up camp right away. We were assigned a certain area but could choose the exact spot to set up within that area. This is where we chose, behind EVERYONE else and next to a creek.
I was so thankful that Joe slept during most of our set up time! He is a very needy baby, so I wouldn't have finished before dark! So he was having sweet dreams while we labored away.
Myles didn't get to camp until after the evening service started, sometime around 8, and we all crashed right after it ended. I think this picture was taken at naptime the next day.
Oops! He wasn't really asleep!
The kids made these leaves to help decorate the "ceremonial sukkah" outside of the large meeting tent. This is the one Jayla made.
I failed to get pictures of their other decorations. I know they helped make some chains too!
Friday night during the service.......within just a couple of nights, we started bringing a quilt with us for them to lay/sleep on. One night we had FOUR sleeping kids and had to hike up to the farthest camp site to get them to bed (the only negative to being that far away)!!! We just woke up a couple of them and carried the youngest two back on a golf cart (the taxis that the security guards drove).
This was so funny! One lady decorated her "yard" with flamingos dressed as Israelites! Click on the picture to enlarge so you can see all the detail. Too funny!
After bringing a juvenile black rat snake to camp with us (it was in the bag with the tent poles), we then found this green snake. It was very pretty! I just happened to have someone's number who could help us identify it, so I sent him pictures. With confidence, he told us it was a Northern Rough Greensnake, the only "true" green snake in the state! We all really liked this snake, even Myles!
We only had it this close to Joe because we'd had it several minutes already, and it was just trying to slither away. There was no fear of it biting, BUT even if it had bitten anyone, it was so small that it would just feel like a little pinch. And we knew it wasn't venomous. So we knew what we were doing before we stuck the snake in the baby's face, I assure you! ;-)
Our tent! Compared to other Cub/Boy Scouts, this tent was a mansion (and nicknamed that!), but here at Sukkot there were some HUGE tents, probably some as big as our house!!!!
Jayla and Jacob spent a few nights in their own tent!
Jonathan had his own tent, but as you can see, it was already having problems. It was thrown away before we left!
Jonathan had a total BLAST all week, after telling us he thought he would be bored! However, he doesn't smile much in pictures, so it may be hard to tell just how much he was actually enjoying every minute!
And I just LOVE pictures of him holding Joe.
I think this was the night I stayed at camp with the two littles and missed the service. Joe was working on getting his top two teeth (finally) and had a fever for almost 3 days straight! I had to hunt down some medicine to give him some relief. The oils and teething tablets just weren't enough. Poor kid. :-(
The tent is a goner!
This is a blurry picture, but it cracks me up! Jonathan just woke up and poked his head out like a little gopher!
Jonathan was going to build a debris shelter and sleep in it one night (for a learning experience as well as for Boy Scouts, but he was going to before they planned to as a group), but he never had time to finish it. There was too much to do, and we eventually decided he could just do it at home. He had limited time with his new friends! But this is what he accomplished on it.
I guess I didn't get a final picture, but Jack had actually covered it with leaves too! I was kind of glad he didn't finish it......we used these sticks for the fire!
The inside of the large tent where our evening services were held. It had to be big enough to hold 1100 people!
We finally made our first fire! We always got back so late after the service, plus we joined other families around their fires, so we just didn't have the need for one. Oh! I started this with some Vaseline on a cotton ball and a magnesium fire starter! It was something I'd been wanting to experiment with, but I think next time I will bring that AND matches!
Daddy and Joe by the camp fire. It was pretty cold that day!
The reason I don't have many pictures of Jacob and Jayla is because we didn't see them very much! We would see them in the mornings for breakfast, or as they grab some granola bars and head off to dance class or to play with their friends, and then we wouldn't see them much (or at all) again until supper time! They were just having so much fun playing and going to their classes. Honestly, I think everyone in camp knew who Jacob was by the time it was over. That kid is not too scared to talk to anyone! (I'll tell a funny story about him at the end.)
We invited all of the kids' friends (mostly Jonathan's) up one day for sandwiches, chips and cake (leftover from supper) one afternoon. They were a hoot!
Playing in the tent during some free time.
Ah, Myles caught some pictures of a couple of the kids in their classes!
We did sleep in the van part of the time, mostly because Joe likes to nurse a LOT during the night, and I just couldn't get comfortable. I did make it 3 nights in the tent, and then I was in the van for 3 nights before anyone else joined me, so not too bad! We'll work on that! ;-)
I think his teething pain was gone by this time, and he was SO much happier! What a sweet little face!!!!
This was one of our dance classes. You can see most of the background too for the stage. It served many purposes, and they did a great job on it!
There's Jayla in the light blue dress with her back to the camera! She is a great dancer and taught me some steps to some of the songs.
Two sweet sisters that were hanging out with some of the boys their age. They came up for the lunch and campfire.
Peek-a-boo!
He loves to be found. :-) Look at that SWEET SMILE!!! <3
They made these hardhats and colored the shirts in their classes, and this was just before they sang their song on stage.
My crazy kids wanted to SWIM before we left! Jonathan was helping Myles finish cleaning up the camp site (finding any trash, burying the fire, etc.), so he was going to swim later but didn't get to.
Youth tent
Dining tent
Bad picture of the Marketplace
The HUGE meeting tent!
I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of/with Mason Clover or Rico Cortes!!!! We love those guys! There were other great teachers and worship leaders too, but these guys are definitely among our favorites!
We went to our first (full) Sukkot this year with Lion and Lamb Ministries, and they sure know how to conduct worship, teaching and fellowship times! It was all amazing, and as I sit here typing about it, I REALLY want to just go back there NOW! I will take the cold, wind, rain, etc. any day if we could be there all the time! One day soon we won't have to leave though, and the best part is, we will get to "tabernacle" with our Messiah Yeshua!!!!!!!
I don't even know where to begin, so I will just go through the days. We set up camp immediately after we got there. Before I even stepped out of the van, our neighbor came over to introduce herself. (They had an incredible tent!) By the time we were done setting up, it was time for supper. Myles was still not there, so I had 5 kids, a stroller and lots of plates to carry! It all worked out beautifully though.....everyone was so helpful!
Myles missed the intro on the big screen, but they ended up playing it every night. It was a video showing the whole earth (like in Google Earth), then it zoomed in to North America, then Oklahoma, then the camp grounds......it gave a good perspective of just how small we are and where we are in the world. Then they showed some computer generated models of the tent, went through the back door and showed everyone (CGI) waving leafy branches. It was really cool, especially the first night when we really were waving branches!!! I was kicking myself that I didn't have the camera on me at the time. Jack was really getting into the branch waving, and I really wanted a picture of my cute little worshiping boy!!!
The following day we had our first dance meeting/class that was required if we wanted to dance in any future classes or during worship. They just had to go over some dos and don'ts, mostly for safety. The boys had absolutely no interest in dancing up to this point, so they didn't go. Later in the afternoon they had their first children's classes, one of which was dance, and they realized that they actually love it! Ironically, Jayla didn't enjoy her dance class because it was too slow for her, since she already knew the steps they were learning. Ha! It worked out though, as she was able to be more of a helper later on.
During the children's classes there were some optional teaching classes we could attend. We had to take Joe with us, but one baby when we're used to 5 was a breeze! The first day though, we had a welcome program, then the teaching times were later. Oh! And right after this welcome meeting, JACK had practice for his song he was doing that night! This isn't the greatest video quality, but it was such a fun song, and I am glad he got to be a part of it. (Jack was the last of the 3 boys to come out, and he stood in the middle.)
I had a really hard time keeping him awake right before they went on stage! He was about to fall asleep just minutes before, so I had him drink a lot of water and run around outside. Then, just before the boys went on, he didn't want to wear his hat. They hadn't practiced with them, so he didn't want to wear it out there. I finally convinced him to keep it on just seconds before they went out, and he almost took it off on the stage! We made it through just fine though, then about 5 minutes after he was done, he was sound asleep on the blanket in front of us! HAHA!
The next day was the weekly Sabbath. We just had a morning service (with Glenn McWilliams teaching) and an evening service. The evening service was a huge production called The Consolation of Israel, and it was so good! This is the one Jayla danced in for one song, and here is that video!
The program, The Consolation of Israel, was about the story of Israel throughout history, and how she had an adulterous affair with other pagan gods. YHWH divorced her (Jer. 3:8) and is now calling the REMNANT of Israel (not just the Jews/Judah, but all 12 tribes, anyone who has been grafted onto the Messiah) back to HIM!!! HalleluYAH!!!!
Sunday, the first day of the week, which is NOT a rest day, it was on with the regular schedule! Dance classes in the morning (playtime for the boys), children's classes and adult teaching after lunch, supper at 5:30 and then the evening service at 7:30. There was just enough time to fellowship/play with friends, but not enough to get into trouble! ;-)
On this particular day (Sunday), I was walking CONSTANTLY! Joe was not feeling well and had a fever, so I "stayed home" with him while Myles went to the teaching time and the kids went to their children's workshops. So I took a walk with Joe in the stroller to comfort him some, which did seem to help, but the fever persisted. So I decided to walk some more and go find him some meds! I had brought teething tablets and essential oils, both of which helped some, but he was in PAIN (teeth) and needed some relief! I found a family with young children and a TON of meds, so they just gave me something for him. He ended up running a fever (had to keep him on meds or he was miserable, but happy with no fever!) for THREE DAYS!!! His teeth finally broke through, his fever broke and he was a completely different child! Whew!
So anyway, part of our walking was also to find Myles after the teaching part was over. I didn't find him, so I went back to camp. Right after I got there, I noticed I had a voice mail on my cell phone. It was now half an hour after the kids classes had ended, and Myles had not picked up Jack yet. UGH. Here we go back down there again! By the end of the day, I was totally exhausted, my back hurt, my ankle hurt and I was getting blisters!!! We may request a closer place next year! Ha! It was still a great day though. I think that was the day I stayed at camp with the two littles while Myles went with the older three to the service. Once Joe was feeling better (on meds), we just continued activities as normal. It was fun to meet people as we were walking though, and everyone was so kind and compassionate, trying to figure out how they might be able to help me with Joe. I was so thankful that our kids were not truly sick the whole time though! What a blessing!
There were a couple of days when I didn't go to dance class, in part because of my ankle and blisters, though I could have if I REALLY wanted to......they weren't that bad, just annoying. I was just tired and needed a break, and I knew Myles wanted to go to the Morning Midrash times. He loved them! It was kind of a Q&A time with a different teacher each day, and he learned a lot. I am so glad he is at the point now where he is really hungry to learn more, and he is!
Tuesday was our free day. The only things scheduled were an optional tour of the Lion and Lamb offices, a health seminar in the afternoon, wedding renewals in the evening and a movie at the same time (different place). We decided to go to town to get some things at Wal-Mart, eat at a diner, do laundry, then back to camp for the movie. It was a fun day! We met a few other campers at the laundromat and saw others at WM. We even saw Monte's son Ephraim with his family and another couple at WM as well as the diner! The movie was Secretariat. I'm sure it is hard to pick a good family movie that everyone will approve of, but this one was pretty good. I'm not sure my kids really followed the storyline since the boys were playing some, but Jayla just kept saying that she LOVES this movie (because she LOVES horses). We also had drinks and snacks while we were watching it, and Jack and Joe fell asleep at their usual time!
The bulk of our time there was the teachings and evening services. The teachers for the different times were Eddie Chumney, Rico Cortes, Glenn McWilliams and Oswald Garagorry. Dr. Jeff Coffman and Dr. Monty Harris also held some health seminars. I didn't get to hear them all, but the ones I heard really knew how to STUDY the Scriptures and then TEACH it to others! I learned so much, and I know Myles did too!
For worship times, we had the B'nai Shalom (L&L) worship team, which is AWESOME, and also special guests Brenda Wheeler, Mason Clover and Mishkanim. They were all great!
A funny story about Jacob.....one day the staff was having lunch. We were only supposed to have supper in the dining tent each day, not breakfast and lunch, but Jacob didn't realize this. All he knew is that people were eating, and he was hungry! Actually, he said he was starving! So he decided to join them. We heard later that he was so kind, inviting anyone and everyone to sit with him (which they did) when he saw they didn't have a table yet. He spoke graciously to everyone and was very hospitable. Once the table was full, he counted everyone and went to get a stack of cookies, then proceeded to pass one to each person! I was told he had the hospitality of Abraham! When I told him later that he wasn't supposed to be there, his eyes got really big! He wasn't in trouble, but he didn't do it again once he realized his treachery! Haha!
I just can't say enough about the teaching and worship times we had all week! One memorable moment was when I was sitting with Joe, and I think Jack was asleep on the quilt. We were singing praises to the Father, and I looked at Myles, and he was raising his hands in pure worship! I don't see that often, and it brought a tear to my eye!!! And to hear him as he talked about things he was learning, and his excitement.....it was so awesome!
The final service was the Simchat Torah service. Each Sabbath we have a Torah teaching, and we'd just had the last one, so this was the service where the Torah is "rolled back" to the beginning to start over for this next year. It was so precious to see how everyone responded to the Torah scroll when it passed by, and then some even danced with it. What a blessing the Torah of YHWH is!!!! Psalm 1:2 but his delight is in the TORAH of YHWH, and on his Torah he meditates day and night.
One final thing I can't forget to mention is just the over all atmosphere in the camp! We had security and had rented the entire park, so everyone there was with our group, no outsiders were allowed in. This made all the difference in the world when it came to letting our children roam around freely. We just set some general ground rules, like not to go inside anyone's tent or RV and to meet us at certain times, but otherwise the older 3 kids had quite a bit of freedom, and they completely took advantage of it! I had zero safety concerns while there though, even though I didn't know everyone there and "you just never know......", but really, with our own rules in place and security (lots of them!) and other parents helping to watch kids, I really felt that our kids were safe! It is a feeling I don't have very often in today's world!!!
One more thing I almost forgot to mention. The Youth and College and Career also had some really great activities, some late at night! They sounded and looked like a lot of fun! Some of the activities included an ice breaker, camp fire jam sessions and a starlift on the beach! The youth also did a special dance for us at the end of the week that was really fun. Oh, I got that on video, and I need to put the kids' video on here as well! Here ya go:
I got special permission for Jacob and Jonathan to dance as long as they were in the kids' circle (for safety), so here is Jacob's first dance!
And here is Jonathan's first dance, his favorite song! Myles stopped filming when the song ended, but everyone loves this song so much they repeated it TWO more times! Jonathan didn't know any of the steps, so I thought he did pretty well keeping up! It's so cute how he jumps! Hehe! Jonathan is the taller boy in the white shirt, and Jayla is to his right.
Well, I may add more things as they come to mind, but for now, all I can say to wrap up this blog post is......I wish we were still there. *sigh* One day soon we will not have to leave, and we will be in the New Jerusalem with Yeshua our Messiah!!!! \o/
