Merry Christmas

Greetings to all our family and friends!
We hope this letter finds you all well and feeling our Lord’s goodness! It was another full and busy year for us. We made it thru another year of home schooling, lots of laundry, family trips, and planning a wedding.

~Jeff and Shyloh married on August 21st. They bought a sweet little home about a ½ mile down the road from us and right around the corner from Grandpa and Grandma’s. They have been busy laying wood flooring, painting, redoing their kitchen, and they still have a list of things to do. Their little family consists of two dogs and two cats. Jeff started a new job where he works nights so Shyloh hangs out with us when he’s gone. They are settling into married life quite nicely!

~Shelbie is a sophomore this year and due to graduate next year. She has moved right into the position of being the oldest sibling at home and I think enjoys it! She baby-sits for a very sweet family with two little guys. She adores them and loves spending time with them. Shelbie and Lolly still have the sweetest relationship. Lolly loves to sleep with Shelbie and Shelbie enjoys cuddling with her. Shelbie will be going on an inter city mission trip the end of the month for 4 days. Please pray that the team is used mightily of the Lord and He is glorified thru them.

~Shaylah is in the 7th grade and still the same goofy, giggly girl. She started taking ASL this year and has caught on quickly. Her and Shelbie “talk” often in sign. It’s usually fine until they burst out in laughter and we have no clue what they are laughing at. Most of the time we are the brunt of their little jokes. Shaylah recently found a little Chihuahua. After putting two found ads in the paper, “Lulu” now has a new owner.

~Shayden is in the 5th grade this year. Daddy says he has grown a foot in the last month! He loves to get into Daddy’s scrap wood and make things. He also likes fixing anything that needs it. Shayden has also developed quite the interest in reptiles this summer, thanks to Uncle Micah. Uncle Micah took the boys on several “snake hunts” over the summer and they were smitten. We actually let them have some lizards, which was huge for us, as we don’t like any reptiles. We put our foot down when it comes to snakes though!

~Shannen is in 4th grade this year. He has also come to love snakes and lizards. He and Shayden constantly check out snake books from the library and do research on the computer. He has also become Daddy’s football watching buddy this year. We don’t know who gets more excited for a game to come on, him or Daddy. Shannen adores his little sister Shylie! He loves to be the one to get her out of her crib. He even likes to help give her baths! He wants lots of babies when he gets married!

~Shadd isn’t so little anymore. He is in 2nd grade and smart as a whip. He constantly amazes us with his mathematical skills. He is in a great place in the line up with brothers above him and sisters below him, he is never at a loss for a playmate. Shadd took a liking to fishing this summer. We were amazed at his patience waiting for a bite.

~Shaynah is a big 4 years old and can’t wait to officially start school with the big guys. She loves to show off her “school work” to whoever will look at it. She is still known by all of us as “Poppet”. She was quite concerned at Sunday school one day when her teacher spelled her name wrong on her name badge. It said “Shaynah” and she said her name is spelled, “P.O.P.P.E.T”. Poppet made a deal with Daddy right before the wedding to never marry and leave him, so she is now the proud owner of a little Chihuahua named, “Herbie”. (She could have got way more…Daddy’s heart was really mushy when the deal took place!)

~Lolly (a.k.a Shallyn) is now 3, but only in number! Her little brain is just so quick! She makes us laugh and keeps us all on our feet. Her bestest friend is Poppet and the two of them together can get into lots of mischief. Hide your gum and chapstick when that girl is around!! Lolly recently decided to toss Aunt Nett’s phone in the toilet. Fortunately is dried out nicely and works again! We like to say that Lolly is our little b vitamin, our happy pill!

~Where do I even begin with Smiley Shylie? She is now 13 months old and starting to walk. She really doesn’t need to as there are many people who love to carry her around. One of her favorite things to do is take a bath! She loves to splash whoever is giving her one. She also loves being outside which is kind of hard this time of the year with how chilly it is so she has to settle for staring wishfully out the windows. We all can’t get enough of Shylie! There just isn’t anything better than having a baby in the house!

~Duane and Marni survived Shyloh’s wedding and were somewhat relieved when everything finally calmed down, but then the heartache of having her move out set in. We decided that there really should be some pre-marital counseling for the parents so we would have actually had some sort of idea what we would face emotionally. There were lots of tears shed for quite a while from all the kids…and parents too! Everyone is used to the new norm now and we are blessed to see Jeff and Shyloh often and make new memories with them.

Duane continues to work hard at Foster Farms and then comes home and works hard here! We always seem to have some project going. He always has an audience and someone in training. In a few years the boys will be able to do his projects for him! When he isn’t working on something he is throwing a ball or squeezing in a fishing trip with one or more kids.
Marni had some health issues this year, but we are so thankful that the Lord lead us to the right person who has helped her tremendously. We are praising the Lord for His healing power! It has been an interesting journey and we have learned a lot about health and God’s wonderful mercy and grace.

We were able to get away on some family trips this year. We had several trips to the ocean. It is probably our favorite place to go. I think we could all become beach bums! We also went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Discovery Kingdom, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa getting us season tickets for Christmas last year. We were also able to get a couple camping trips in this summer. We ended up going to a place that Jeff camped at as a child with his family and fell in love with it. Uncle Micah and Aunt Lynette were able to join us for one of the trips and that trip will probably go down as a favorite of ours.

Whatever we are doing, no matter how mundane, it is always good if we have our family with us. About 13 years ago we went back to Wisconsin, where Marni’s family lives, and had Thanksgiving there. Marni’s mom is one six and all her siblings, their spouses and children were there. It was so wonderful and we were amazed that all these people were immediate family! It was that trip that we decided that we wanted lots of children so one day we could have that same amazing family. Here we are years later and we are seeing the fruit of that. We love having all our children at home and now it is so fun to have Shyloh and Jeff come over. The house erupts with noise when they show up!

We are so blessed by the Lord’s grace in good time and bad! He is always there and always so faithful! We pray that you are touched this new year by Him and you feel His presence in your life daily.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
~Duane, Marni,
Jeff and Shyloh, Shelbie, Shaylah,
Shayden, Shannen, Shadd,
Shaynah, Shallyn, and Shylie

“AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.”
JOHN 1:14

Wedding photos

It occured to me tonight that I had never posted any pictures from Jeff and Shyloh's wedding. We made it thru the wedding and then our school year started and things just got off to a quick pace. Here we are almost 4 months later.....oops! So here are some pictures for those who were not able to be there with us!

Dimples and Chicklets

I haven't updated on Smilely Shylie for a while. She had her first birthday the end of October. She has gotten several teeth, stands and walks along furniture but has yet to take her first step. Daddy and Aunt Lynette have a bet on when she will walk. Depending on when she actually takes those first steps either us or Uncle Micah and Aunt Nett will get a free dinner out of the deal.
Aunt Lynette says Shylie's teeth look like white chicklets. :o) She still loves to smile and has gotten quite cheesey.

She still LOVES her baths.

Check out those chicklets!

Shylie's new trick.

Photo shoot...of sorts

This is what happens when two little girlies get a hold of mama's camera.

Smelling Good or Bad?

Here's another great devotional from Above Rubies...

SMELLING GOOD OR BAD?

Ephesians 5:26, "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

Back many years ago when folks did not have the plumbing in their homes that we enjoy today, most families took a bath once a week. Even when I was a child we bathed once a week, usually Saturday evening, to prepare for Sunday. But, we were challenged to have a Quiet Time every day where we read the Word of God to cleanse our inward lives.

Today, times have changed. Now that we have showers, everyone enjoys a shower every day to cleanse their bodies, but many only have a spiritual shower once a week, often a little face wash which they let the pastor give them as they listen to his sermon! They don't even wash themselves!

We could not imagine going around dirty without washing our bodies, and yet we have no compunction about leaving our souls dirty. Just as we like to have a daily shower, it is even more important to daily wash the inward man. Often the inward man gets dirtier than the outward man. Each one of us faces daily challenges in life where we are tempted to be angry, bitter, hurt, upset, cantankerous, grouchy, complaining, proud and rebellious--and so the list goes on. Oh what a filthy inside! We really cannot survive without a daily bath of the inward man, can we? Otherwise our sins and the contaminations build up and we become a "bad smell" in our own home!

Do you remember the words that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees? "Cleanse FIRST that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." (Matthew 23:26) Read also Hebrews 10:22.

The Word of God is the water that washes us. The word 'washing' in this Scripture is the Greek word, loutron (the verb is louo) and it means, "to take a bath, to wash the whole body and not just a part of it." It speaks metaphorically of washing every part of the inward man--our heart, soul, spirit, mind and emotions. It's a whole bath, not just a face wash.

I find that if I do not personally read God's Word each day that sin can build up in my life and I am not even aware of it. But when I read the Word, the Holy Spirit reveals the things that grieve Him and which pollute my soul. I am convicted to repent and cast them from my life so I can keep my inward man clean. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

I love the adage, "Sin will keep you from the Word of God, or the Word of God will keep you from sin." This is a good one to teach our children, isn't it? I grew up on this. As soon as your children can read well, encourage them to have a daily Quiet Time. Show them where to read and teach them how to hear the Holy Spirit speak to them as they read. Teach them that it is as important to wash their inward man each day as it is to wash their body. I remember reading about a dear Chinese Christian who confessed, "No Bible; no breakfast." He would never nourish his physical body until he had nourished his soul.

Perhaps you are young mom with lots of little children around you. How do you get time to read the Word? I know it is not easy. I remember when I had three children under 17 months, and then four children under four! Help! How could I find time to read the Word? I did it by putting my Bible on my windowsill, usually open to Psalms or Proverbs. I could look up from doing dishes and preparing vegetables to read a Scripture. You may like to have a Bible in the toilet or bathroom. Keep a Bible in the spot where you like to nurse your baby. Read a few Scriptures to your children at breakfast time and then again at your evening meal. Keep their souls as well as their bodies clean, too.

Which do you wash the most? Your physical body or your inward man?

Jesus said, "Now you are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you." (John 15:3)

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, Above Rubies

PRAYER:Wash me and take this messAs far as the east is from the west,Wash me and take this sin,Only You can make me pure again,I'm inviting you to come on in and Wash me!

AFFIRMATION:I'm smelling good, inside and out!

MY MISSION FIELD

This was a great devotional I got in my inbox today.


MY MISSION FIELD

Matthew 9:37-38, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest."

Do you sometimes hanker to be doing some great work for God? You feel as though you are wasting your life in your home. You would love to serve the Lord in some harvest field. Yes, it is true, the harvest is great and the laborers are few. But why are they few? Because mothers have not understood God's purpose.

Are you looking for an easy path in life in life or do you have a heart to serve God as a missionary? Dear mother, you are already a missionary. God has chosen your specific mission field for you. It is your home and family. You are employed by God to train laborers for His harvest field. You don't raise children and then send them to Bible College to prepare for service. You train them for God's service from the time they are little. They should be ready to labor in the harvest field when they come forth from your home.

Is a missionary's work easy? No, it takes sacrifice. Is motherhood easy? No, but it will be worthwhile. It takes everything you've got--all your resources of time, energy and strength--but you will influence nations. It takes sacrifice--many mothering days are exhausting and overwhelming--but you will receive the fruit of your labors and an eternal reward. It will take committed prayer and intercession, but your prayers will be answered. Remember, you are not on vacation; you are on the mission field!

Maybe God has only given you one laborer to prepare for Him--that His is plan for you. Maybe he has given you six, or even twelve! Wow, would twelve be too many? Jesus trained twelve disciples who impacted the world. How would you like to train laborers who "turn the world upside down"? (Acts 17:6)

What kind of laborers does God want us to faithfully prepare for His service? The following is my vision for our children, grandchildren and future generations. I believe He wants us to prepare children who are...

Baby lovers
Blessing imparters
Bible believers
Bible obeyers
Committed laborers in God's harvest
Courageous overcomers
Demon destroyers
Diligent workers
Evil haters
Faithful servers
Fearless soldiers
Freedom fighters
Fruit bearers
God fearers
God lovers
God pleasers
God worshippers
Gospel preachers
Holy Spirit empowered witnesses
Home lovers
Israel supporters
Jesus fanatics
Justice keepers
Life choosers
Light shiners
Liberal threateners
Obedient listeners
Parent honorers
Responsible citizens
Sharp arrows
Tomorrow's leaders
Truth bearers
Truth keepers
Truth lovers
Truth preservers
Truth seekers
Truth speakers
Persecution endurers
Prayer warriors
Righteousness lovers
Uncompromising disciples
Valiant conquerors
Wisdom getters and
Zealous servants of the Living God!

Wow! Can you imagine anything more exciting and fulfilling that raising laborers such as these? You couldn't have a greater mission field or a greater vision.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Thank you, Lord, for showing me my mission field. Help me to serve you faithfully and to raise prepared laborers for your great harvest field. Lord, I am open for you to give me all the laborers you have planned for me to train. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am a full-time missionary, recruiting and training laborers for God's harvest field.

A baby changes everything!

It is with so much excitement and joy that Duane and I have learned we are going to be grandparents next summer! This was a bit of a shock for Jeff and Shyloh as this was not in "their" plans, but we know that God's plans are far better than any "plans" we could ever have.

As a sweet friend said, "maybe their marriage was established at this specific time FOR THIS child and his/her destiny...besides for their pleasure, Gods glory and the offspring to come... God has plans!!! GOOD GOOD PLANS!!!!!!"

When Duane and I first found out we were pregnant with Shyloh we felt it couldn't be a worse time, but here we are 19 years later and she has blessed our lives abundantly. God had plans, good good plans! We are so grateful He intervened in our plans!

This baby Bauman is going to bless our lives and families!
Congratulations Jeff and Shyloh!!

Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. Mal. 2:15

Catching up

We made it thru all the wedding planning and then the big event and now we are just catching up on life and getting used to what is now our new normal. It has been tough having Shyloh gone, especially for a couple of our kiddos. The week she was on her honeymoon we had originally planned on going camping and none of the kids wanted to go because Shyloh wasn't here. We ended up just hanging out around the house and working on a few projects here.
One of the first things on our list to do was to re-bid chores. Chores are bid on an RHIP basis. That stands for Rank Has Its Privilege. Since we didn't think Shyloh wanted to come over every Saturday to help with Saturday chores and we didn't think she would want to come clean our bathroom as well as her own, we had to re-bid. Everyone has bumped up a bit, even Poppet, who now is in charge of keeping the toilet paper stocked.
Shelbie is now the new "top dog" around here so I expected to see her bid out of a couple of her less pleasant duties but she surprised us by sticking with cleaning the "farm area" each Saturday. That includes cleaning the chicken coop and the bunny cages.
Shaylah has bumped up to alternating making dinner with Shelbie and Shayden is now in training to take over making breakfast. We'll see how that actually goes. What looks good on paper doesn't always pan out in real life.
Since Shyloh and Jeff have returned home we have managed to have a day at the lake with them, Micah, Lynette, and Grammy. Last weekend we went camping with Micah and Lynette. Jeff and Shyloh joined us too. We had such a relaxing time just hanging out with each other. Uncle Micah took the boys on several "snake hikes". Have I ever mentioned my extreme fear of snakes? Well somehow I now have three little boys who love snakes. (Thanks Micah!)
Last Friday Jeff and Shyloh joined us for a trip to the ocean. The weather was wonderful! We hung out at the beach and played in the water, caught sand crabs, and had fried chicken. Then we cleaned up and headed to the Monterey Aquarium for member night. Love, love, love having season passes there. (Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!)
We are slowing returning to a new normal without Shyloh. We are so very blessed to have her and Jeff live so close. We have still seen her daily since they have come back from their honeymoon, even if only for a few minutes. She is very sweet about inviting one or two of her siblings over to visit with her while Jeff is at work. It makes it so much easier for their little hearts as they miss her so much. This week Poppet and Lolly got to go over to her house. She came and picked them up and I heard all about how much fun they had watching a movie, eating popcorn, and playing with "Lolo's" new kitty. Shyloh looked a bit tired when she returned them home several hours later. Yesterday Shyloh called up and requested Shylie for the afternoon. Shylie was a bit unsure of her new surroundings, but after she was introduced to ice cream she was fine. ;o)
I am sad that summer is already coming to an end. It just wasn't long enough this year. Now it's time to shift gears and get ready to open the windows and enjoy the smell of fall in the air,chilly nights, hot chocolate and apple cider, time hanging around the bonfire, and cozy evenings by the fireplace.
Hopefully we get the wedding pictures back soon and I can get some up here. (I know you are probably waiting for those Papa and Nana!) Until then here is a slide show of pics from our month.

The girl and her dog

Thanks for all the prayers for sweet Herbie. I know the Lord heard the very sincere prayers of a little girl for her puppy, and healed him. Herbie is doing very good. Poppet finally got to hold her puppy this morning after a week of not being allowed to. It was a sweet reunion!
Last Friday Herbie threw up and we just thought he had gotten into something that didn't sit well in his tummy. By the next morning though we realized that something more was wrong, by that night we knew in our hearts that he had parvo. Sunday morning we took him in to the vet hospital and they confirmed it. Parvo has a very high death rate, usually within the first three days. The Lord put some wonderful people in our path who had personal experience with parvo. We worked round the clock on this little guy and yesterday he finally seems to be over the worst. This morning he even wanted to eat so we made him a scrambled egg. He loved it! He can't eat much, even though he is starving and would love to pig out, his tummy is very raw and torn up inside. Throughout the day he has been having many small meals of egg, plain yogurt, and ground beef. He is just skin and bones after this so we will be spending the next week slowly trying to pack on some weight. We are just so happy he is doing better! He is definately going to be a pampered pooch for a while!


Poppet finally has Herbie back in her arms.

Prayers for Herbie

Poppet's little puppy, Herbie, has parvo. Today is day five. He's looking a little better today and even started to eat a bit, but is still throwing up ocassionally. We would still appreciate your prayers. He's gone to the vet for a couple of sub q's of fluid, but other than that we are treating him at home. He requires round the clock care. We have to give him his medicine and electrolytes every hour round the clock. It is very tiring, especially when you only get about three hours of sleep every night. Please pray for Herbie to beat this.


-Shelbie (for all)

The Wedding

We made it thru crunch week! I was a bit concerned how I would do health wise with so much stress but I survived! The week was full of late nights, (2,3, and 4am nights) lots of last minute preparations, lots of tears as we came down to the reality of Shyloh moving out, and trying to enjoy every minute in the midst of the most stress I think we have ever dealt with.
We are in awe of just how much work a wedding is...and we have 8 more! We got all of Shyloh's things moved over to her house this week. That was tough. As we watched the girls' room empty out we realized that "this" was really happening and it wasn't a dream.
Thursday we started decorating the church and had the rehearsal and dinner. When we got to the church there was already a group of ladies working on things. I had no idea and felt so blessed that we had sweet friends that loved Shyloh enough to give of their time so freely to help us. I am not creative at all and was so thankful that there were women there that are so gifted in this area and made her wedding so beautiful.
Jeff's family hosted a wonderful rehearsal dinner at his mom's church. We had yummy "straw hats", (a.k.a nachos) rootbeer floats for dessert, and some nice relaxing fellowship. We went home and started pedicures, rolling hair in rollers, and last minute prep. We didn't get to bed until 2:30 am. I still hadn't hemmed Shaylah's dress and we needed to somewhat clean our house because we were hosting a bbq Saturday for family and Jeff and Shyloh were going to open their gifts.
The next morning we headed back to the church to finish setting up then off to get Shyloh's hair done. We were supposed to be at the church at 4:00 with pictures starting at 5:00. Shyloh's hair appt lasted much longer than planned so we didn't arrive at the church until 4:30. We quickly did make up, hair on the bridesmaids and flower girls, and then got dressed. It was then we realized that Shyloh' hoop was missing. We looked everywhere for it and then Duane had to run all the way back to Shyloh's to look for it there. He found it and then got stuck on the freeway in backed up traffic due to an accident. By the time he made it back and she was dressed it was 6:30. Scratch pictures! :o(
The ceremony was beautiful and Shyloh looked stunning! Jeff and Shyloh gave Duane back her purity ring. They did a Quaker marriage license, took communion, and had their very first kiss in front of God and all of us. Duane and I cried through out the whole service. It was beautiful! The next day we had a bbq where Jeff and Shyloh opened their gifts. We originally planned to have our out of state family over but when Jeff and Shyloh found out that Papa and Nana would be at our house they didn't want to leave town yet. We ended up using the opportunity to have our family and Jeff's family over to watch them open gifts so Papa and Nana could be here for that. After gifts were done we loaded them up and about six vehicles caravaned over to see Shyloh's house.
Watching Shyloh and Jeff drive off was tough. We all held it together until they left then the rest of the night was scattered with tears.
We truly are happy for her, but her gain is our loss. Everywhere we look is another remembrance that life has changed and she doesn't live her anymore. Today has been a mellow day of cleaning up and packing up things that were borrowed and have to be returned tomorrow. The girls have been cleaning their room and moving things around to get ready for Poppet and Lolly to move in there this week. Duane is on vacation this week so there will be a couple of day trips and projects around the house.
Off to watch a movie with my family..."Father of the Bride". Boy, are we gluttons for punishment or what?

(Pictures to come soon)

Shyloh's bridal shower

The reality of what is going to happen in the next two weeks really set in today when Shyloh had one of her bridal showers today. It almost felt sereal. We have been planning and preparing for her wedding but somehow it still felt like a bit of a dream and like we had plenty of time.

Shyloh glowed and looked simply beautiful! This is my girl who has been planning her wedding since she was 10. Seriously! She has only had one dream in life...to be a wife and mom. All girls dream of this but she has always been so very serious about this. When we would talk about what she was going to do after school she would tell us that she has prayed about it and doesn't feel led to college but rather to spend the next season of her life preparing to be a godly wife and mom. Now she is about to start putting into practice what she has been praying and preparing for.

Annie, Shelbie, and Shaylah put on the shower for her. It was beautiful! I know Shyloh felt so loved by them and all the people who showed up to it. Next weekend Jeff's sweet sister is hosting a shower for her too. I don't even want to blink because before we know it we will be watching her say "I do".

Busy times

I haven't blogged much for a while for a for couple of reasons. First, life has been keeping me very busy and second, I still have to limit my time on the computer or I will get a headache. Other than the occasional headache I have been feeling really great. I am so grateful to the Lord because there is no way I could keep up with all that needs done if I was still feeling like I was a couple of months ago! Thank-you Lord!!

The last month has been full of wedding prep and trying to squeeze in as many family trips as possible before Shyloh moves out. Here is a recap of the last month...

~We celbrated Shelbie's 15th birthday and Lolly's 3rd. Lolly is now officially potty trained!! Yeah!! Now I am only buying diapers for one!

~We had a wonderful beach trip. We went to Capitola State beach and the weather was beautiful. The kids got to see a dead seal on the beach (eww!), but they thought it was great. Shyloh and Shelbie also have a weird little tradition that they like to have a wrestling match on the beach and one them ends up with a faceful of sand...usually Shyloh. The funny thing is she always starts it and ends up being taken down by Shelbie. As usual the kids also tried ganging up on daddy to take him down. It never works though. The day we were there we saw lots of dolphins and seals swimming not far out in the water. That was special treat.

~Poppet also got a puppy, Herbie. She wanted to move out with Shyloh so to "get" her to stay here Daddy told her she could have a chihuahua puppy which she has wanted for quite a while. He's weak! We are actually all enjoying little Herbie. We have to watch him close so he doesn't get stepped on though! Crazy to have such a little dog with such a big family and busy house. Duane actually enjoys him almost more than even Poppet. Lynette went with us to get him and ended up with his sister, whom they named Haylee. We have fun getting them together to watch them play.

~Shyloh went on a road trip to Idaho with 3 other friends to visit their friends Annie and Hayden. It was a long 15 hour trip and I was a little concerned about them driving so long and far but they had a wonderful time. We all missed her terribly! The kids all wrote letters and made her a big welcome home sign. Words can't describe how we all felt to have her back with us. It gave us a little preview of how it will be when she leaves...and we don't like it a bit! :o(

~We got all the wedding invitations out. There was a little craziness with the marriage license so we held off doing the invitations until we knew for sure that we were keeping the date. They were sent out two weeks late but oh well....all is good.

~We also squeezed in a trip to the lake. Again the weather was great, not too hot. I am amazed at the mild summer we are having. I'm lovin my electric bill. Micah and Lynette drove up after he got off work and hung out with us for a few hours. We stayed until dark and had smores before heading home.

~We went camping last weekend. We told Jeff he had to give us one day alone with Shyloh before he came up. We were feeling selfish and wanted her undivided attention! We all felt a little sentimental realizing this would be our last camping trip with our family all under the same roof. This will be the biggest our family will ever be, unless the Lord chooses to bless us with twins! LOL (No, we are not planning on that nor have any announcements to make!) We had a great time. We are already planning to go back up with Jeff and Shyloh in September.
The places we normally camp were both full. We were very disappointed and Duane said, "hey, maybe God has better plans for us!) We drove farther up and he was right, God had a much better plan. We ended up in a place that Jeff actually camped at with his family as a child. It was breathtakingly beautiful! Jeff came up the next night and brought icecream with him. Yes, you read that right. He packed it in an icechest. We polished it off that night around the campfire. Yummy! Anyone that knows our family knows we love icecream! There was lots of fishing, hiking, and lots of resting. Mama needed that! We came back and I was a bit refreshed and ready to tackle all that needs done in these last two weeks before the wedding. Of course I think I am ready to head back up for some more R&R.

The wedding is two weeks from today. We have showers and lots of last minute things to get done. We are hosting a bbq the day after the wedding where Jeff and Shyloh will open their gifts and we can visit with out of town family. They will head out that night for their honeymoon. Duane is on vacation the week after the wedding. We are hoping to do some more camping with our good friends and try to keep busy enough so we aren't missing Jeff and Shyloh too much! I am also hoping to get some quiet time to get my lesson plans somewhat done for the new school year. I am really behind on all that and the school year has crept up fast! So much to do, so little time. As my cousin reminded me just today...It's all good! :o)
(There Jeff! Finally an updated blog post!)

The fruits (or shall I say veggies) of their labor

The kids have enjoyed growing some vegetables of their own this summer. Today they brought in their harvest for the day and we used them for lunch. Shaylah brought in a huge zucchini, Shayden and Shannen brought in green beans, and Shayden also brought in two cucumbers. We have some delicious grape tomatoes growing but Lolly snatches them and eats them like candy as soon as they start to turn red.
It's always so hard in the fall to enjoy grocery store veggies after being spoiled during the summer with home grown!


The boys and their lovely green beans!


We looked up a knock off recipe for Panda Express's Garlic Chicken with Green beans. Yummy!

Shaylah's sauteed zucchini.


Shayden made this cucumber salad himself.

Happenings in Neyville

We had the flu visit our home two weeks ago. This was one of the worst flu visits we have ever had. No one escaped it! It started on a Saturday afternoon with Lolly throwing up while sitting on the toilet. I thought maybe it was just a freak event from something she had eaten because she acted fine afterwards. The next night, Sunday, Poppet started throwing up around 2am. I could tell I didn't feel great myself but was really hoping that it was my imagination from having to clean her up. The next morning it got me! Within a couple hours my mom was down. Poor Shelbie and Shaylah had to hold down the fort by themselves because Shyloh was working. My mom and I were sick Monday and Tuesday. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning Shaylah and Shannen were hit. By 10:00 that morning Shayden and Shadd were casualties. Shelbie and I brought in a blow up air mattress and put it in the living room so we could have all four patients in one room. It was much easier to keep up with washing throw up bowls and tending to sick children. Shyloh came home from work that afternoon and within 2 hours she was throwing up. Thursday morning it was Shelbie's turn. Duane was praying all week that he would make it through his work week because he is out of sick days. Shylie and Duane started throwing up within an hour of each other Friday morning! By Sunday morning everyone was healthy, but Duane and I were so very tired.



(Our sick room, Poppet feeding Shyloh applesauce, poor Shylie)

The next week was Shelbie's 15th birthday. She requested Mexican Pizza for her birthday dinner and a chocolate peanut butter cake. The following night her friend Caitlin came and spent the night. We went to a Modesto Nuts game and afterwards planned on going bowling. The mascot for the Nuts was hilarious. He kept coming up and pestering the girls. Shaylah told him that it was Shelbie's birthday so he led our section of seats in singing Happy Birthday to Shelbie. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her! It was so funny for the rest of us. We made it to the bowling alley around 11:30 and found out that they are no longer open 24 hours a day. (Whew...I was so tired and hadn't quite figured out how I was going to make it through bowling!!)

Shelbie blowing out those 15 candles!









Shaylah, Caitie, and Shelbie at the game

Shelbie getting sung to by the giant almond! She was so embarassed! We loved it!



After we left the bowling alley we took Shyloh and dropped her off at her friends house. Shyloh and three friends were getting up at 3:00 am and leaving for a week long trip to Idaho. We are all feeling sad to have her gone for a whole week so close to her getting married and moving out. She is having a great time and making some sweet memories with her friends. Shyloh and her best friend, Annie, have been friends since they were five years old! Such a sweet friendship! We will be so very glad when she is back at home Friday night!
(just found out that she won't be home until Saturday night...I'm so bummed)

Yesterday it was very strange to spend the 4th without Shyloh here. We kept busy so that helped. I woke up not feeling great and was so bummed that my day was getting off to a bad start. Thankfully it turned around! We started the day off by going to the parade. We LOVE the parade! Lynette and Jeff came with us. Later on that day Lynette's mom, brother and sister in law, and their kids came over. (Have I mentioned before how much we love Lynette's family? We try to steal them every holiday we can!) We had a great time hanging out, the kiddos swam, Duane took great pleasure in soaking Lynette who was only going to get in the pool but not get her hair wet, and we had some yummy hamburgers. The kids had a fabulous time lighting fireworks and thankfully no one got burned. The day was such a pleasure (except for a minor oil leak! see previous post!) and we all were more than ready for bed by the end of the night.


Me and my honey








Watching the parade


Shelbie, Shaylah, and Shylie


Shaylah and Shylie. Shylie loved watching the parade!

The "boys"..Shadd, Shannen, Ethen, and Shayden. What is it with boys and fire? Oh, the gleem in their eyes as they lit those fireworks. Of course come to think of it, I think I've seen that gleam in the eye of grown men too!

Uncle Micah and Shaylah. These two are cut from the same cloth. Both are goofy.

Me and my sister in law, Lynette. God chose not to give me a sister by birth, but instead gave me a sister of the heart. Love that girl!!

Watching fireworks. I think Jeff was a little lost without Shyloh, but he still managed to have fun.





Poppet with her pet beetle bug "Sarah". I guess this is what happens when you have 3 big brothers. She loooovves beetle bugs! (Make note to self...beetles don't do good in a sealed container over night...RIP Sarah)

Grease monkeys

I didn't find too much humor in this, but my friend Heather said this needed to be blogged on...

Yesterday I laid my three little girls down for a nap...upstairs...together in the same room. That was the first mistake. Poppet and Lolly have been known to get into mischief when both up there by themselves. I really should have known better. The baby and Lolly went right to sleep. I kept checking on Poppet to make sure she was laying down nicely. A little while had gone by and I went up there for something and she was out of bed. I laid her back down, told her to go to sleep and left. That was the second mistake. Once she was up I should have never left her up there. I came back downstairs and about 20 minutes later Poppet and Lolly came downstairs with very, very wet hair and wet shirts. I asked them why they were wet and they both said they weren't. I called them over and felt their hair and they were quite right, they weren't wet at all but greasy! I asked what it was and they said coconut oil. I keep a container of coconut oil in my bathroom that I use as moisturizer on my hands and face at night. They have seen me put it on many times. I asked them if Shylie was still sleeping and they said no. I asked Shelbie to run upstairs and get her. Shelbie came down and my poor baby was even greased up! She had sweet little pony tails in that were all greasy and oily. (she did smell good though!) I went up to see what they had done and found my bathroom floor COVERED with coconut oil. They had also got into a bag of sanitary pads and pulled them apart and they were stuck all over anything that wasn't oily. I gave them all baths and still couldn't get the oily look to go away completely.

Today I can at least smile when I think of it. How can two little girls so cute be so naughty? I guess that is the question of the day. If I would have had clearer thinking yesterday I would have taken some pictures of the mess, but at the time my thinking was rather....um, greasy!

Watching fireworks!

Notice the "shine" on them. This is after a bath and swimming!

Guiding our children

If we guide our children to trust God and desire His glory rather that their own glory we will be establishing in them a contentedness that circumstance cannot shake.

So He may live

No change necessary in the environment.
Any changes necessary need only be in
me dying to self.
So He may live
powerfully, gloriously, radically
in me.

Scary movies and sleep overs

Duane, Shyloh, and Jeff watched an old scary movie the other night. Shyloh was very scared that night and the next morning when I went to wake her up she wasn't in her bed. I found her in bed with Grammy! The following morning I found Shelbie in Shyloh's bed. Apparently Shyloh had begged Shelbie to sleep with her. Shyloh says she isn't sleeping alone anymore and has asked Shelbie to permanently sleep over with her! Shelbie said okay because anytime she can spend with her sister before she moves out is worth it to her, even if it means a few kicks and jabs during the night.
I guess this is good training for Shyloh as she is a really awful sleeper and we have all felt bad for poor Jeff and have encouraged him to invest in a good couch because he will probably spend many a night there just to get a good night sleep.

Aww, there's my big girl, snuggled in bed with Grammy!

A sleepover with Shelbie the next night.

Smiley Shylie is....

8 months old today!!