The Fire Station

Last Saturday, Daddy took the entire family down the road to the Camas Fire Station where they had a sort of "open house" for the fire department. They had fire trucks, an ambulance, and a helicopter all on display. It was a little boy's dream.

The first thing that we visited was the Life Flight helicopter. Austin has always wanted to ride in a helicopter so this was an opportunity for him to do the next best thing - sit in one.

Later in the afternoon, Life Flight was called away to an emergency so we all gathered to watch it take off. It stirred up quite a wind but was really fun to watch!

They also did a demonstration of an oil fire in a kitchen. One of the firemen held a torch into a pot of oil until it heated up to...I think it was 600 degrees. It was one of those "kids, don't try this at home" demonstrations. He showed how to put it out by sliding a lid on the pan and then he showed the consequences of trying to put it out with water. It was really amazing! The second picture, which doesn't do it justice, was taken after he poured a glass of water on it. Flames burst sky high while a billow of black smoke covered the entire area. There are some times when front row seats are less then ideal and a fire demonstration is one of them. I jumped backwards at the explosion of fire, hoped that the firemen knew what they were doing, and choked on the spray from the fire extinguisher that they used to put it out.

No, it's not a good idea to stick a blow torch into a pot of oil, that is...unless you are a highly trained professional.

Austin got to play fire chief for a brief moment. After all, aren't firemen just grown up little boys that always dreamed of riding in the big red truck with the siren blaring? Now he is really confused about what he wants to be when he grows up. Right now, he's not facing a lack of choices, but rather the sheer abundance of them.

The last demonstration that they gave was done by the K9 section of the police department. They brought two German Shepherd police dogs named Ackbar and Swift and went through the basic training moves with them. Then they showed their attack training. One of the policemen donned a special suit with a special pad for his arm while the other sent the dog after him. I sure would not want to get on the wrong side of that dog; when he bit down he didn't let go and he looked like he could make sore havoc of anything he chose to hold on to.

It was a very fun day for the entire family! The enthusiasm of the three younger ones was the best part. However, I think that there is a fascination in all of us for the heroic rescue jobs. I am so thankful that there are men who are willing to risk their lives to protect us.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Have you ever tried to teach or explain anything to a two year old and wondered how much of it they actually understood? Well, I think the common phrase "they know more than you give them credit for" is very true.

In Sunday School we are studying the gospel of Mark and during the week Mommy has a Bible study in the same book with the three younger children so they are getting a double dose of that gospel. During the week, Ania normally plays around in the room while Mommy does the devotional and, of course, you just assume that she does not pick up on anything.

A little over a week ago, we were at the table preparing for the Sunday School lesson when somone mentioned John the Baptist. Immediately, Ania, who was sitting at the table, raised her head and asked, "Did John the Baptist get his head cut off?"

Amazed at her observation, Mommy answered, "Yes he did."

"And they put it on a platter?" she added confidently.

"Yes, they did," Mommy agreed gravely while all of us girls exchanged glances of surprise.

"Did it get blood on the platter?" was her next inquiry, demonstrating that she had thought through a little more of the gory details then were revealed in the text.

The other night when I was putting her to bed, I started to ask her if she knew any of the stories about Jesus. She promptly answered, "He talked to the water and He talked to the wind and He talked to the waves."

"Then what happened?" I inquired.

"The waves stopped splashing; the wind stopped blowing." All the while her chubby little hands were busily illustrating the fury of the tempest and the inflections in her voice added to the wonder of the story she told.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." The instruction gains a new meaning when you see the capacity that young minds have to understand and retain instruction, whether good or bad. No wonder Jesus's warning was so severe against those that cause a little one to stumble (Mark 9:42).

The Big Five-OH!

Well, I've finally got around to posting the pictures of Daddy's 50th birthday party. We celebrated it on Saturday, the day before his birthday, which ended up working out really well.

After considerable deliberation on what would we could do to make his day special, we finally decided that what Daddy needed most was a day where he could sit back and relax. He is always busy doing something for someone so we wanted the day to center around him, but in such a way that he felt no pressure to do anything.

So we made a program for him on the computer and printed it off. He was to begin the morning by going out for breakfast with Lynnae (who had celebrated her birthday a few days earlier). Then he was to spend some time with the younger ones just playing.

He had a serious wrestling match with Austin. It was a tough bout but with determination and skill Austin finally wriggled out of Daddy's hold and pinned him to the floor.

Ania and Annalise even did a little acrobatics in honor of the day.

Later that afternoon we made Daddy take a nap and during that time we decorated the downstairs. We did put little reminders of his age all over the ceiling, but we did it in celebratory colors. We did not want to decorate with the gloomy blacks and purples that usually go with 50th birthdays, reminding you that you are already over the hill and starting down the other side. Everyone worked together to put the decorations up and they turned out very nicely.

During the afternoon, we watched a couple episodes of Dicken's Martin Chuzzlewit with Daddy. Overall, it was a very relaxing, layed back day.

The day ended with Daddy's favorite dinner of salmon and twice baked potatoes with a strawberry shortcake for dessert.

The Next Anne Bradstreet

For English studies, Lynnae had to write a poem. I think she did quite a good job and I decided that I would post it here.

Jesus Savior, help me now

As a humble servant to

At Thy throne in reverence bow

Pouring all my needs on You.

Make me more like You each day

May I please You in all I say

Lead me down Your holy way

You're the Potter, I'm the clay.

Guide me through each trial I face

Help me through each temptation

May I run a godly race

Till my course on earth is done.

Lord with humble heart I plead

It's upon you I depend

I will follow where you lead

Till from heaven You descend.

Virus Invasion Part II

Well, quite a bit has happened since I last wrote. The most unpleasant thing being another bad virus that swept through our ranks and dropped the entire family like flies. Jonathon brought the nasty bug home from school and from there it seemed to hit with a vicious domino effect. Mommy thinks that it was perhaps the influenza; whatever it was, it was no fun. It included a four day fever that for Ania spiked at 104 and for the rest at just under 103.

The family room was turned into a hospital, the couch was brought in from the living room and all three couches were filled for an entire week. Two people lay at opposite ends on each couch and I think, at one point, we even had to make a bed on the floor. Mommy and I held out the longest and took care of the fallen until I also got sick and then it was just Mommy and a few of those who were beginning to recover. Mommy, somehow, managed to hold out and be the only one of the family that did not fall to this flu. God is very good; it would have been difficult to have everyone sick at once. We are better now, though a few coughs remain.

The school room is filled again after being sparsely populated for over a week. Jonathon is heading into a weekend of finals. I am sure that he would appreciate prayer on those; he is working very hard, but the subject matter is all very difficult.

The fun event of these last few weeks has been celebrating Daddy's 50th birthday. He turned 50 on March 15, although we celebrated on the 14th. I will do a post on his birthday celebration as soon as I get him to download the pictures that we took of his little family party.

Housecleaning, Walks, and Military

On Saturday, we had to clean the house and get it all ready for the Open House on Sunday. Our job description was basically for 11 people to work as hard as possible to make it look like the house is not inhabited by 11 people (by no means an easy task).

Before we began our arduous cleaning regime, however, we drove out to the Columbia River to take a nice family walk. Instead of walking by the river, as we have in the past, we crossed over and walked around the Fort Vancouver area.

The scenery was breathtaking and the weather just about ideal. Daddy kept exclaiming that he felt like "a pig in mud" (his favorite expression whenever the weather is particularly nice). We all agreed with him, however, and had a great time just wandering over the expansive parade grounds.

Austin found a stick that was shaped in a similar outline to an old 1700's gun, think something along the Horatio Hornblower type revolver. I believe God must have designed that stick especially for little boys. Anyway, Austin had a great time walking around shooting down imaginary objects.

Leisel even managed to get the camera away from the chief photagrapher so that she could get a picture of him and Mommy together.

The homes that lined the far edge of the parade grounds were beautiful. They reminded both Jonathon and I of being back in Williamsburg. They were old design, but beautifully kept up. You could even go on a tour of one of the houses, but Maria Cantwell had her office in there, and we did not particularly feel like walking in and striking up a conversation with anyone of her devoted followers.

As we were strolling along the grounds, the girls and I were teasing about encountering some military guys around the fort while we were there. On the way back, who should we see, but two soldiers standing along the fenceline. There was a moment of hushed whispers and suppressed giggles among the girls, with a few superfluous comments thrown in by Jonathon. Daddy caught on immediately to his daughters' nonsense and went over to strike up a conversation with the guys. He found out that they had been over in Iraq several times and he was able to thank them for their service to our country. Then he took our picture with them.

That was the highlight of our entire walk. We girls have already decided that the Fort Vancouver side is better than the Columbia River side. We have determined to make it our frequent haunt and are going to get Daddy to take us there on a walk again as soon as possible.

If Leisel looks a little miffed in the picture, that is because Jonathon had been teasing her unmercifully ever since he first spotted the soldiers in the distance.

Nose to the Grindstone

Well, I'm starting to get back into the routine of things after a delightful 9 days at Grandpa and Grandma's. I had a wonderful time in Redding, enjoying being able to spend time with family, and just have a break from the normal routine.

While I was there, Grandpa spent many patient hours with me trying to teach his 20 year old granddaughter how to drive a car. Maybe I should have started when I was 16 and too young to feel the full responsibility of being the one behind the wheel, but I didn't so here I am...

Back on the home front everyone did a great job of filling in while I was gone. It's funny how everyone has their own place in this family and when someone leaves, everyone has to take on just a bit more to compensate. Leisel and Lynnae took over all of the dinners and I have heard that they did a wonderful job (so I'm going to have to tuck that bit of information away for future reference). The girls continued with a minimal amount of schoolwork (Math, Spelling, and English) while I was away and Mommy had all of the homework corrected when I returned so that was a great relief.

Daddy and Mommy have decided to put our home back on the market and see what happens. Yes, the market is very slow and seems to get worse with every passing week, but God is sovereign so "the odds" really are not a factor. We are just trying it out to see if that is the Lord's will for us and if it is not, we are content to remain where we are.

Jonathon is continuing to do very well in college; he is taking calculus, chemistry, and engineering graphics this semester so he has a full plate. We enjoy every little bit of time that we can spend with him because he is usually swamped in homework. I am just so thankful that he didn't have to go away to college and gets to be home.

So far, that is about all that has happened up to date...I will try to be more consistant with my posts. Leisel is usually on this computer doing her schoolwork so I have to catch a few moments when she is off of it to write.