Venture Academy

A year ago, this week, Daddy and Jonathon took a trip across the states to Tennessee to attend a week long seminar for aspiring entrepreneurs. They came back filled with excitement, new ideas, and plans for the future. If you know Daddy and Jonathon, then you know that when they get expressive about something it must be really amazing. :-)

The lectures were wonderful, filled with wisdom and insight from men who have years of experience behind them. The fellowship with likeminded men who share the same goals and vision for the future was unbeatable.

Over this past year the Lord has continued to lead and guide our family. Some of the dreams that were born out of the conference have come to fulfillment already and others are directing the course for our future.

In the year since the conference we have sold the home where I had lived since I was five years old, we have moved twice (first to a rental and finally to a "permanent" home), we have spent hours as a family discussing goals and plans for the future, and seeking God's leading when the path seemed very obscure. Now we are living on 5 acres of beautiful land, preparing a large garden, and looking forward to where God will lead us in the future.

Wade Myers is organizing another conference for September 20-25. If you have any men in your family or acquaintances that have their own business or are considering starting a business, I would definitely recommend this conference. The information and wisdom they would gain would be invaluable. See the following for more information: Basic Entrepreneurship Training Class.

If you can't attend the conference, there are a set of videos from the last conference. We just started watching them as a family the other night. I am really looking forward to seeing all of them. [For Sale on Amazon]

It is amazing how God brings certain things into your life at just the right time and for His perfect purposes. The conference encouraged us in the direction we were going as a family and renewed and challenged our vision.

Flu, Fevers, and Fun

The flu has hit the Spafford Family. The family room has been turned into an infirmary, the thermometer rests nearby, and Mommy attempt to keep track of when she gave what medication to whom at what time.

Thankfully Daddy has not come down with it so far and Jonathon did not get it to badly (he is studying for finals now so that would be very bad). I have stayed well (so far), I can't afford to get sick until some of the other one's get better. Mommy doesn't have a very severe form of it, so that is good. Poor Cosette had it very badly yesterday; it hit her stomach and made her very ill. Kayleen has had the bad fever (between 103 and 104) and headache. Annalise had the fever and then it went into a really deep cough. Mommy's keeping a close eye on her. Ania and Austin are both doing better, but they are at the ages when they need care sick or well, so we can't really harness their energy for doing the dishes that pile up or making lunches.

Leisel and Lynnae were supposed to come home today, but Daddy and Mommy decided it they would have them extend their visit a few days. It would be rather unfair to have them come home and immediately fall ill. If we can keep two family members well that will be a blessing. :)

I put these two pictures of our property in just because I couldn't resist.

The weather here has been so strange. It has alternated between winter and summer in just a couple of days. On Saturday it was beautiful, over 60 degrees, blue sky, sunshine, and a warm breeze. I went outside and played with Bear and couldn't resist lying down in the sweet smelling green grass willing spring to hurry up and come to stay. Then Sunday it started to cool down and it has been around 42 degrees and this morning we got some snow. It didn't stick, but still...it's March. Spring is teasing us and winter persists in pushing it off.

Hike to Angel's Rest

Kayleen went on a hike to Angel's Rest on Saturday with the Bystroms from our church (before everyone got sick). :-) She had so much fun!

She found an sport that she absolutely fell in love with: boulder climbing. Now knowing Kayleen, I was quite surprised that she took such a fancy to that particular aspect of a hike. Kayleen is pretty cautious and not daring, but she wanted to climb every boulder she saw. The day was beautiful and she made unforgettable memories.

The pictures from the hike are beautiful. There are over 500 of them so I had to pick and choose. I love the breathtaking panoramic views that they got from the top of the rocks. The creation of God just takes your breath away. Especially standing on a height, looking down at a beautiful landscape, it always fills me with an inexpressible feeling, perhaps awe is the best word to describe it.



Anyway, that is pretty much an update on everything that has been happening lately. Just so you know, our house is under quarantine right now. This flu is pretty contagious. :-D

Annalise's Trip to Grandpa and Grandma's

Every since Jonathon and I were about 10 and 12, we have been taking yearly trips to Grandpa and Grandma's house. As each child comes of age that is one of the things they look forward. Over the years, Grandpa has worked on Daddy and Mommy and brought the age down to 8 years old. Annalise has looked forward with eager anticipation to her eighth birthday when she would be old enough to travel down to Grandpa and Grandma's for a week long visit.
A few days ago, Annalise and I got back from our wonderful week long trip to our Grandpa and Grandma's. It was everything and more than Annalise had expected. She got to take her first plane ride since she was a baby (which doesn't count). She loved it and was full of questions from the time the plane took off. It was the start of a very memorable trip.
Annalise got to go to Chucky Cheese, to the book store where she picked out two books, she was able to take a personal tour of the Shasta Dam, she payed a visit to the Shasta Museum and, last but not least, she got to eat two bowls of Fruity Loops every morning and drink a can of Dr. Pepper every day. The big no-no's at home become permissable at Grandma's house. Sugar overload is not an unlikely consequence. For those of you that know Annalise, you know that she does not need any sugar to keep her going.
Grandpa's favorite story of Annalise was of her visit to the Shasta Museum. They walked around the museum looking at the various artifacts from life in that California city during the era of cowboys and wild west towns. Then they moved down to the underground section of the museum where the jail was located. Annalise walked over to one of the cells and it was empty, then she turned to the other cell and looked in. As she did so, she stepped on the mat that triggered an animated man that they had put in the second cell. This "prisoner" was complete with audio and visual affects, but as soon as he started to yawn, Annalise took off like an arrow from a bow. She rushed for the stairs, she fell, her feet kept running trying desperately to get traction; as soon as she regained her feet she continued her mad rush up the stairs where she stood shaking at the top. However, she has since recovered from her fright and would like to revisit the scene of her fears.
Her energy was boundless and she spent much of her time in asking endless streams of questions. She watched the news and heard about the Killer whale that lived up to its name in Sea World and so she got on an internet encyclopedia to study killer whales. It was a wonderful time for Annalise to get to spend some time getting special attention from her Grandpa and Grandma. She ate up every minute.
I think Annalise had a very memorable first trip to Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Brief Update

Wow! I can't believe almost a month has past since I blogged on this sight. Nothing of great significance has happened in that space of time, but life has been full and I nearly lost track of time. I will try to be more consistent in the future. As spring and summer come with the busyness of a garden and chickens, hopefully I will have more pictures and events to relate.

Right now school is moving in its regular routine. Jonathon is doing well at college and Daddy is busy with his job.

Our Bible Memory Group at church started up again in January and we are already half way through with our memory books. It has gone so fast, I can hardly believe that we are nearly done.

Bear is getting bigger and more in need of daily exercise. He is being a little more responsive to commands as well, so hopefully we are making progress in the training issue. Our kitty Cinnamon continues to be a superb mouser. She has taken to country life amazingly well.

At the present moment (today) we have split up into groups and set to work on a variety of projects. Leisel and Daddy are working on roughing up the cellar floor preparatory to covering it with an epoxy coating, Lynnae and Mommy are attempting to straighten out our garage (the one place that has not been in order since our move), and Jonathon and I have been hanging shades on various windows around our house.

I will try to do another post soon. Pictures are woefully lacking on this post so congratulations if you have read it this far. :-) I will try to make it more interesting next time. I just wanted to give a brief update so that all of you did not think that I had dropped off the face of the earth. I've just been temporarily distracted by the mundane tasks of daily life in our house, tasks which I wouldn't trade for anything.

Mud, Manure, and Memorabilia

I think that I am quickly becoming accustomed to life in the country. Perhaps I am enjoying it a little too much right now. I am waiting for hard reality to hit, yet all I feel is the growing enchantment and freedom of country life. Everything is more beautiful in the country. The air is fresher, the grass greener, and the scenes more breathtaking. That is my very humble and undecided opinion.

After settling into the house, our thoughts begin to turn to the outdoors and the plans for next years garden. Finally, we decided that it was time to do something about our garden space. Jonathon looked on Craigslist and found someone that was getting rid of horse manure for free. Horse manure is not the best, I know, but you can't beat free and we needed to get our garden covered. So yesterday, Jonathon, Daddy, and I drove out to Battleground and shoveled manure into the back of Daddy's pick-up.

Daddy's truck has been officially initiated into country life now. Daddy's one compromise was to put a lining of plastic all over his truck bed before we shoveled the manure in. I am sure that farmers would laugh at us, but I think it will not be long before even the plastic is gone and Daddy resigns his truck to life on a farm.





The soil is frozen and so it was hard to work. It thawed out a little yesterday, but not enough to hoe the entire garden. I think we will have to cover the garden with compost and then wait until spring to use a rototiller.

After two weeks in the country, Daddy and Mommy realized that mud boots were a necessity. So we took a family trip down to Wilcos and bought boots for everyone. We just got black PVC boots, not pretty, but functional. Ania, however, got beautiful, red ladybug mud boots. She definitely looks like a classy farm girl.

The day that we got the boots, Austin, Annalise, and Ania went outdoors to play. When they came to the door an hour or so later, they were covered in mud. We discovered that they had made a mud puddle outdoors with the hose and spent the last half hour or so in jumping into the mud puddle. When questioned as to their reason for making such a mess, Austin replied with some surprise, "That's what the mud boots are for." You just can't argue with that logic.

Later in the day, they further complicated matters by deciding to give Bear (our dog) a bath in the garage with the hose. The results were less than satisfactory.

Grandpa and Grandma both came up for Christmas and we had a wonderful time with them. Grandpa even got caught up into the farming life (or at least pretended to). ;-)

We decided that in order to really become farmers we had to have a fire in our fireplace every once in a while. So we eased ourselves into the wood buying industry by purchasing a half cord of wood. We wheeled it back to the porch and stacked it neatly outside of our back door. The fireplace is not designed to be a great source of heat, but at least it looks pretty with the flames dancing inside.

As for the children, they couldn't be happier. They are spending more time outside during the winter then they ever did during the summertime at our old home. They are thriving in the fresh air and wide open spaces. This will be a very pleasant place for them to grow up. They are going to have to learn to take responsibility and pull their own weight, as there is going to be a lot that needs to be done as we busy ourselves with gardening and animals, but I think that it will be very good for them.

I am very grateful that God brought us here. It is definitely worth all the months of doubt and uncertainty that preceded our move here. It is easy to know intellectually that God has a plan for our lives which He is working out, but when the unknown stretches before you, it is hard to trust that His plan is perfect. So often we want to jump in and orchestrate things ourselves. Yet, in His mercy, God gently leads us, keeps us from making great errors, and lets us struggle with our own headstrong desires to take the lead before gently bringing us to the place where He wants us to be.

White, feathery flakes have just begun to fall from the sky. It is the first snow of winter here. Can it get any better than this?

Spafford Relocation

Where do I begin? That is the question with which I am wrestling as I sit down to write a post. Occasionally I am at a loss for material to make up a post, but so much has happened in the last few weeks that I am at a loss as to where to begin. I have a folder with 239 pictures and I must pick through them to decide what would be the best ones to put on this post.

Well, I guess the beginning is a very good place to start. So...we first saw the home late on Thursday night, Dec. 3. This was the first time that all of us children, except for Jonathon, got to see the home. Exclamations of wonder and delight comprised most of the noise during the first tour of the house. It surpassed our expectations. We spent the first night in sleeping bags on the Bonus Room floor.

When I woke up in the morning, I walked over to the window sill where I had left my glasses and put them on. This is the scene that lay before me, framed in the window like a picture. All I could do was let out a deep breath and wonder at the fact that this was our home. After nearly two years of uncertainty, God had led us here.

The photos don't do it justice.

These are the scenes from the back of the house. We have two chickens which came along with the house and we hope to add to their number come spring.

And the view from the right side of our home. There is not an ugly view anywhere. Everywhere that you look, you are surrounded by the beauties of God's creation with very little man made creations to mar their splendor.










Well...we enjoyed a morning in our great empty home and then the boxes began to move in and take up their own little spaces, demanding to be emptied. The task seemed nearly overwhelming, but the reward of being settled in our own dear home spurred us on.






We were blessed with many helpers during the moving process. On Friday Pastor Will came over and helped Daddy move two whole storage units (which have held a portion of our belongings for 18 months now) as well as an entire moving truck load of things from our rental home. They got a good head start on the move. Then on Saturday a large group from our church came over and helped us move everything else into our home. What a blessing!

The Entire Work Crew!



For the first week we have enjoyed blue skies and a very icy cold snap. In fact, it was so cold that our little waterfall in the front yard froze over completely.

During the 11 days since we began our move, we have entirely unpacked, sorted, and set up everything from our old home and the two storage units. The only boxes left are book boxes (we are in the process of having library shelves built) and garage boxes. We have made multiple trips to the dump and Goodwill and are completely settled in except for our pictures, which we have yet to hang on the walls. Christmas decorating is completely done and today we did Christmas baking for our neighbors.

This has probably been the busiest 11 days of my entire life. There is a satisfying sense of accomplishment, however, and an overpowering realization of the goodness of the Lord throughout this entire process. All the the glory must go to Him. He has led, strengthened, and sustained us during all these days of uncertainty.

In the midst of this whole process, Daddy and Mommy bought us a dog. This is the first time in my entire life that we have ever owned any pet, except for the three goldfish that I had for a brief time when I was very little before they promptly died.

Anyway on Sunday afternoon, Daddy and Mommy took us to the home of a lady who was selling several puppies and bought us a dog. He is a beautiful little black lab the product of a father who is a golden English lab and his mother a chocolate lab. Go figure! He is the sweetest, most cuddly little puppy I have ever seen; with eyes like a Precious Moments dog. We named him Bear. For now he is Little Bear, although, judging from the size of his paws, he shows great promise of being Big Bear soon.

As you can see, much has happened in the last month. I told Mommy that she and Daddy can never top these Christmas gifts: a new house and a dog. God is very good and has been very faithful.

New E-mail Address

We are all in one place now, but the unpacking and settling in continues. There is so much to do! Leisel suggested that we take some of the boxes and just burn them because evidently some of the boxes we have happily lived without for 18 months and if we burned them we would not even know what the contents were so they would never be missed. Not a bad idea. You don't realize how much stuff you have until you move. It just seems to collect everywhere.

Anyway, I am still going to do a real post complete with pictures and everything, but until then, I am going to be busy unpacking yet more boxes. :-)

Because of our move, all of our e-mail addresses have changed. So I decided that instead of writing an e-mail to everyone I could possibly think of who had my wrong e-mail address, I would just post my e-mail address on my blog and hope that most of the people that need my new address will see it here. So my new e-mail is charae.e@gmail.com.

I will be back...if I don't get buried under a load of boxes first. :-D