Centre Island

We had a wonderful day together!

Jaden's Baptism

Savior, Who Thy flock art feeding
With the Shepherd’s kindest care,
All the feeble gently leading,
While the lambs Thy bosom share.

Now, these little ones receiving,
Fold them in Thy gracious arm;
There, we know, Thy Word believing,
Only there secure from harm.

Then within Thy fold eternal
Let them find a resting place,
Feed in pastures ever vernal,
Drink the rivers of Thy grace.

Will­iam Mühl­en­berg

This was the best family picture I could get, sorry... :)

Great to have Laurie around for a week!
She & Steve are living out west in Washington, & have 4 kids now:
Emily, Marie, Joel, & Holly.
(Laurie just took Joel & Holly for this trip.)

Andrew, Joel, Maria, & Ashleigh
Holly & Rachel

Birthday Party

Since Rebecca & Rachel share the same birthday
(though Rebecca is exactly one year older),
we spent Saturday with Jake & Joyce & their family!


Of course, the other important reason for going was to see
their cute one-month old baby, Benjamin Thomas!



This is where they've been living for almost 1 year now...

But they showed us a farm nearby that they might buy...



Thanks so much for having us over!!

Puck's Farm

They loved the unlimited pony rides!
Just so you know (if you want to take your family someday),
the all-day pass for me, my mom, & the 5 kids, was $32 total. Not bad.

I let Rachel lead White Socks for a minute. :)
This is him again...

Happy Birthday Rachel!

To celebrate Rachel's 10th birthday,
we went to Puck's Farm (near Schomberg),
with Oma, Aunt Carole, Ashleigh, & Jaden.





What a neat place! We fully enjoyed ourselves.
They even learned a bit about milking cows!
Saved the best for last -- pony rides!
More to come tomorrow...

Everyday News

Are you keeping up with the news? These are priceless:

"Taking Care of the Ladies" & "Laundry Detail"

Workers!

Hymns Ascending

Zi Wei & Zi Tynn played some beautiful hymns
for us at their home yesterday. At church in the afternoon,
we sang "God Himself Is with Us" --fitting!
We also sang "Holy, Holy, Holy,"
which is Daniel & Andrew's favorite hymn.
Every day at the beginning of Bible time,
Daniel sits on my lap & says "Ho-ah, Ho-ah."

God Himself is with us: Let us now adore Him,
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple, all within keep silence,
Prostrate lie with deepest reverence.
Him alone God we own, Him our God and Savior;
Praise His Name forever.

God Himself is with us:
Hear the harps resounding!
See the crowds the throne surrounding!
“Holy, holy, holy,” hear the hymn ascending,
Angels, saints, their voices blending!
Bow Thine ear to us here: Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Thy church now raises.

O Thou fount of blessing, purify my spirit;
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Like the holy angels who behold Thy glory,
May I ceaselessly adore Thee,
And in all, great and small, seek to do most nearly
What Thou lovest dearly.

-Ger­hard Ter­stee­gen
They have a great playhouse in their backyard!
Theng & Hwee do need our prayers, as they are still waiting on the Lord to provide a job for Theng.

Declaring Their Maker's Praise

Esther

We enjoyed having Esther for a few days,
while Andrew had fun with Sarah & Josiah at Opa & Oma's...

Peekaboo!

Peekaboo! Guess who?
It's Sarah! -- Dave & Willy's youngest,
not counting the baby they're expecting in November.

Big sister Emma

Fun in the pool...
& fellowship by the fire.