"Another arrow left the quiver"
Daniel left this morning for North Dakota, it was
definitely a bittersweet moment. We are excited
for him as he will begin his job position of
Youth Pastor at an EFree Church in Waupaton, ND.
He leaves behind a HUGE hole in the family
and we will miss him dearly! What a blessing
to parent such an awesome son! He has been
a gift to his dad and I. Here are just a few
shots we have taken of him over the past
week! I know Tori is going to miss him terribly!
(we all will) but she loves to have him cuddle her
and rock her! Even little Colson got in some tears
as I was dropping him off at K this morning,
he said, "I sure am going to miss Dan!" I know
throughout the years I have tried to prepare myself
for the inevitable of my children leaving home,
and at times I think I am doing well with it, until
the day comes when reality hits, and I see
them drive off to a new job, several states away,
and my heart breaks! I am excited for him
as I know God will use this to grow him and
mature him and I pray that his new church
home will embrace and love him! He is so
much like his dad, kind, loving, caring, thoughtful,
helpful, and extremely SMART! We love you son,
and are so proud of you and your commitment
to God!
Its never "goodbye" but we will see you "soon"!

SCHOOL BEGINS!

Our annual "1st day of school pictures"
Blake, 10th; Brett, 11th; Brennan, 7th

Colson, K; Jacqueline, 4th

~LABOR DAY~
We had a great day at some special friends of ours. What
a perfect way to end our summer. Here is a quick shot
of the "Lutztribe".
We spent most of the afternoon rope swinging into a
pond, also the kids road bikes, and played yard games!
God has so totally blessed us with awesome
friends that so wonderfully share their lives with us!

"BABY KISSES"
David and Daniel with Victoria!
I love to see my kids loving on each other, and
Victoria gets lots of it!

These little "Red Flannels' were give to
us by Aunt Donna & Uncle Arnold
28 years ago for our oldest son, Bradley.
Each of the kids have worn them and now to
follow suit with her siblings, Victoria has
grown into them! Its hard to imagine that
they have lasted this long, but there still
is alot of life in them and hopefully the
grandkids can at least get a picture taken
in them too!

Dave and Casey
August 24, 2007

The day started off rainy and dreary, but by 5:00 pm
the sun was out and the setting was beautiful.
The wedding was perfect, no issues, no drama!
We all had the best time ever and everyone commented
that it was the best wedding and reception they had ever been
at!
Here are a few pictures of the evening!


Our "beautiful" Family

Den and I with Dave and Casey

Dave and Casey chose to do "sanding" instead
of the Unity Candle.
Its rather unique and this picture tells it all!

Victoria enjoying her rocking chair and teddy
that Grandma and Grandpa DeWeese gave to her!
The rocking chair was handcrafted by Grandpa!
(Colson helped from behind to hold her in the chair)
Its so cute watching her with the teddy because she
attacks it like a dog with a bone!!!!

Tori enjoying her first time in the "johnny jumper"

Isn't this just the best shot of our two
youngest children? Colson is the best
big brother and takes such good care
of Victoria. He keeps her amused and I
know when school starts in a few weeks
she is surely going to miss him!

Its amazing how God has a way of putting ones life into perspective. My past few blogs have been about our personal little life dramas; how we get so caught up in them we fail to realize our real mission and purpose, and even when we do realize just what we are really called to do, we don't always do it and we fall victim to our own circumstances and struggles. I have to confess that living out my drama each day overtook my emotions, my attitude, my style of living, and totally affected my walk with Christ or really lack of walk with Christ. Small things like a washer breaking down, being without a steady income, struggling to pay utilities, whatever does not compare to serious health issues. I was overcome with emotion tonight as I received a call from Den about his sister-in-law; finding a cancerous spot on her lung (a total non-smoker). Hit me like a ton of bricks, rocked my world totally; my heart and mind coming together seeking God in this situation, and realizing my drama is no longer of immediate importance or relevant. The life of a fellow follower of Christ, a family member, a mom, a wife, and a serious health issue becomes my immediate concern. My mind is realing with what, how, why and we should have or why didn't we. . . . .forgiveness is totally on my mind, and my body should be laying prostrate as I share this, asking God to totally remove the sin in my life and the self-absorbtion. I want, in the utmost way, to serve Him completely, in my daily walk, in the way I mother my children, in the relationship with my husband, in friendships, in all I do, yet I tend to do the opposite and struggle to put aside "self". It seems to always take something extreme to push me to grab ahold of Christ and not let go. What consumes my time? what controls me? Its unfortuate that things get prominate place over Christ. . . . . . it takes one phone call to change your world. . . . . . . and from tonight on I want my life to completely count for the cause of Christ; searching out what He wants from me and what He wants from my day, not what can I give Him out of the leftovers, if there are any; falling into bed tired and barely uttering a simple prayer for the completion of my day. This moment, I am asking God to cleanse my heart, to open my heart to His will and to see past all the "stuff" and search and serve Him. Please pray for my sister-in-law and their family as they work through the emotions of this; they are strong in their faith, and they have a trememdous support system through their church family. We know that God does not allow anything that isn't for our good and for His honor and Glory; may He be glorified in this situation!

A simple little boy sock. . . . . . that was the culprit with the dysfunctional washer! What amazes me is how a little sock gets into a drain hose. Thankfully that was all that was wrong with my machine and its once again running non-stop. Den was such a help he took 5 loads of laundry to the laundrymat and washed them and carted them all home for me to dry or hang on the clothes line outside. I am a die-hard outdoor clothes hanging fanatic! I love seeing a breeze move the clothes on the line, there is something soothing and peaceful about it. I made a trip to Amish country several years back and what intrigued me the most was the clothes on the lines. They were hung evenly, and the way they blew in the breeze was, to me, beautiful! I didn't much care about going to the flea market or eating in the famous restaurant there but just loved traveling the backroads, enjoying the peacefulness of the farms, the homes and the people. Its hard to imagine life without the modern conveniences, microwaves, "cell phones" (just how did we get along with them?), computers, email, etc. I used to love to hear Den's grandmas stories of when she was little, newly married, etc. Her life intrigued me, the work she did, without all our conveniences, was amazing. I am a strong proponent of hard physical work but I can't even be compared to Den's grandma and the work that woman did, alot by herself. I was impressed and inspired. It made me realize how fortunate I am to have what I have, all the helps to make my life a little easier, a little quicker. I can't even begin to imagine scrubbing clothes on a scrub board in a tub of water. No wonder they didn't have many clothes, it was back-breaking work I am sure. I guess when things happen in our lives they most definitely happen for reasons, sometimes I know its for me to gain a proper perspective on the situation. Many times I have had to ask forgiveness from God for my self-pity and ask Him to allow me to be sensitive to the needs of others, as I said before, we all get caught up in our own little dramas, never thinking others have them too and how could I possibly help or encourage someone. Thank you to those of you who so graciously posted kind words. My heart was so touched and I was so encouraged. We have been blessed to have been a part of some awesome ministries in the past, the kids we served are held near to our hearts, we still have a picture of a group of kids from Berean Baptist Church in Portage, sitting on a shelf in Den's office. Great memories, great kids! Thank you to all of you out there, you know who you are, for enriching our lives, loving us and caring for not only Den and I but our children as well. You are gifts to us!

What a day I have had. . . . . .went down stairs to our dungeon of a laundryroom to find, once again, my washer not working. Oh my gosh how frustrating. I was just telling a friend at church that it is one appliance I just can't live without. Den called Best Buy and of course, they can't send a service tech out until Thursday, and then we know that they won't be able to fix it until they order a part and that, of course, won't be until next week! UGH! I am so frustrated. I put off doing laundry yesterday as I had some friends over to swim for the afternoon; I thought, no biggie, I will play catch-up with the laundry today. One load into my morning and its over. It always seems to be when we don't have one clean towel in the house either. I had just put my first load of towels in too, with at least 2 more to go. As I was in the laundryroom trying to figure out how to get all the water out of a load of about 30 bathtowels I thought to myself, "God this just isn't humorous at all, just what is the purpose of this? what lesson am I to learn from this?" It seems as though lessons come by the bunch for us, we don't just get hit with one thing we get hit with numerous issues to deal with at once, and most of the time we aren't too successful in dealing with them rightly, or I should say I don't deal with them rightly. I remember once when Brennan was having seizures and Daniel asking Den and I, "why does
God hate us so much?" It was during this time we were without a home, living in a friends home, we had no job and I guess to him it seemed like God had abandoned us and then to top it off we have major health issues with a baby. It was hard, as his parent, not to feel the same way and keep our perspective and eyes on Christ. Sometimes it just feels like you just can't seem to move forward one step without taking several back. When does the walk ever get a little easier? when does the load get a little lighter? will it ever? these are questions I ask, and really I know the answer. Its not about being comfortable, its about serving, its about looking beyond ourselves and touching others. We have always, for almost 30 years, been the trail blazers, and frankly sometimes I would like to be the ones to follow the trail already smooth and easy. Its hard not to look around and wonder, "do others live like this?"I don't see anyone else having these kinds of trials. Its easy to take my eyes off of Christ and put it on all the stuff around me and have my own pity party, shoot sometimes I even feel like I am justified in doing it, who wouldn't in my situation, yet I know that my actions and thoughts are not honoring to God. We have been in a season of transition and change for over a year, and for the most part I have truly tried to keep my eyes on Christ, to not let Satan tempt me into looking around instead of looking up, yet I have had the occasional melt-down, you know the kind, crying, frustrated, asking why God doesn't move us forward, etc. It wasn't until just recently that, through a friend, that I finally got it. Its not about us, it can't be about us and all of our stuff, it has to be about others and how we can be a light to those around us. How we can touch others for the cause of Christ, what can I do to further someone in their walk? In loosing my life I truly will gain it! Its ironic, too, because Den basically told me the same thing a few weeks ago, only I was in one of those self-absorbed moments; where even if he had said that things were going to change tomorrow I wouldn't have believed it. My mind was on , "what do I have to offer? we have nothing financially to give to anyone, I am worn out taking care of a "too-big" house, dealing with adult male children, teenagers, pre-pubescent boys, elementary kids, a preschooler and an infant, cooking, cleaning, and to top it off sleepless nights,". My focus had been on "our" problems, our issues, about me, me, me. When did I turn the corner to selfishness? when did serving my family become dull, lifeless and dreadful? It took me to see that I was so consumed by self that I was not even walking with God, my lack of time with Him through prayer and scripture took me down a path with Satan, one that led me to believe the lies he tempted me with. You know the scripture, "the things I don't want to do I do, and the things I do want to do I don't ( my own paraphrase). Serving my husband and family should not be a chore, its a gift, an amazing gift. I have a great husband who loves us beyond his own dreams and ambitions, and truly 12 awesome healthy kids, yeah the work is hard, the days are long, but I look at all their sweet faces and see the love they have for us and am so touched by God's goodness. I want to serve my family and others with my whole heart God, and trust by doing this God will meet our needs as well. Of course He does it in ways we would never expect or means by which we would never think of, only yet in His perfect way, and its by this that He can be honored, He will gain all the glory, as it should be.

6 months old already!

Where does the time go?

We just can't get enough of those

beautiful blue eyes!

While the girls slept the boys played!
Swimming/bike riding around the house!

We spent the afternoon outside today
enjoying the beautiful Michigan Summer.
The girls both were tired and took naps, they
both slept about 2 hours!

Colson got a kick out of riding with Scottie on the big lawnmower.
Both he and Daniel work for a lawn mowing service and
they have the account across the street. Colson always
watches for Scottie and runs him over a popsicle!

Ben and Tori taking a nap!
I just love capturing moments like this,
a brother loving his sister!

Our two "Fourth of July" Firecrackers!
Jacqueline and Victoria in their
4th outfits, aren't they just adorable?
(I did put a clip in Tori's hair but you can't see it)

Aren't these two "cowboys" cute?
they are walking a little "bow-legged" today!
(went riding at LaRonda and Lanies's last night)
just had a ball and I will post pictures of their
amazing rides when I figure out how to
get them from my email!

There isn't much a family, of our size, can do for fun that doesn't cost big $$$ and its always a challenge to think of something that will include the entire family too. Fortunately we have family that owns a campground out in Brandon, about 35 minutes from us. Each month they have a local band come in to their pavilion and play for the campers. Last night we all made the trek over and had just the best time. The music and dancing start off rather slow and it takes a bit for people to get past their insecurities to just go out and enjoy themselves. I must say we all had a blast, even Brett (who can't seem to let himself go for one minute!!!!). Colson and Bryan are naturals at dancing and the rhythm they display make us laugh and they tend to get the rest of us involved. It was fun watching all the kids dance and we even surprised Dave with a dance or two ourselves! We did decide that Bryan and Casey were going to give us some good dance lessons before Dave and Casey's wedding next month. I think, for once, this big cement parking lot is going to come in handy for a dance floor! Den deemed last night a great fun family outing, though today we will all feel the effects of staying out until midnight!

Colson wanted me to take a picture of his wounded toe.
He has mastered riding his bike without training wheels
but doesn't seem to understand that you need shoes
on your feet, subsequently the bandaged toe.

Thanks, Casey, for a great wrap job!

(I should have taken a picture of both big toes because
they both look the same, "skinless",)

1 - 2 - 3 - LIFTOFF!
Dave thought it would be fun to pile all the rafts
on top of each other and have Colson
get on them!
Colson thought he was such hot stuff!

even through teething Tori can still give us one of
those adorable smiles!

This little doll cut her first tooth on Sunday!
(from the looks of it she likes to teeth on her big toe)