Happy 20th Birthday, Reuben!!!

We were so very thankful to meet you...20 years ago.  Through the years we have been so thankful for you, as well...I asked your brothers and sisters for things they enjoy about you...or things they enjoy doing with you...so...here come just 20 of the list in honour of your 20th birthday, along with 20 pics...walking along memory lane...   #1  Matthew and Caleb love playing games with you.

Here you are...already flying!  Preparation for that long flight to Taiwan!  #2 Someone mentioned how thankful they were for the cozy fires that you make.   Hmmm...what does that thermometer say???

"Look, Mom...No hands!"  #3 Elizabeth has enjoyed climbing trees with you...very high...in the wind!

#4  We have always appreciated your generous spirit!

#5  The girls have enjoyed the fine gentleman who has taken them out for ice cream on their birthdays!

#6  We have enjoyed your amazing sense of humour.

#7  Everyone has enjoyed skating with you.

#8 Caleb & Matthew enjoyed shooting with you.

#9  Camping together is always fun...you're a great camper.

#10  We enjoy singing with you at home, church, at the care center...or in the van on the way home from Illinois...your joyful noise is sounding better all the time!

#11 Working with you is so much fun...sometimes hilarious fun!   And the work even gets done! (most of the time, that is!)

#12 Esther loves it when you carry her up to bed!

#13  Marie loves the names you give her.

#14 JoAnna loves your emails...they make her feel special.

#15 Your enthusiasm greeting folks...and in so many things is great to see!

#16  Working together on VBS skits has been fun...

#17  Your teaching skills in Sunday School are so appreciated...by more than just your brothers and sisters!

#18 It has been fun to watch your diligence in learning Chinese!

#19  Oh...and about enthusiasm...we love to see how you use it in your teaching...I bet all of your students appreciate it!!!

#20   Your kindness and love for all of your family makes us all smile!

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ...and this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgement. That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ:  being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God."  Ph. 1:3-6 & 9-11    We love you so much, Reuben...and are so glad you are a special part of our family!  May our great God bless you today, and fill you with His love, wisdom, strength and joy!   Happy Birthday!!!!!

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;

How great Thou art,

How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;

How great Thou art,

How great Thou art!

 When we look into the future, we might not see pleasant times ahead. BUT.....we serve a God that knows the future!! Hope you all are having an awesome fall; We sure are. On Monday we went to Zipple Bay. We should have a post on that in a little while. May God bless you all with his peace and joy today!!
Signing off: EJM
P.S All the pictures are from around our property.

"The Road Not Taken"

     

"The Road Not Taken"

                             

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Are you traveling on the right road today?? May God help you to make the right choice.
Signing off: EJM

A Miracle.

We have not done an update on Victoria for a long time now... So I thought it was time to change that. Victoria is 34 inches long and  around 27 pounds. She has around 14 teeth and really knows how to bite! What does Victoria like to do? Well, She loves to be held:), she loves being pushed in the stroller,she like to play with toys hanging over her on her play mat, having baths, going outside when it is warm and sunny, and she loves music. Sometimes she likes to eat applesauce by mouth. Other then a bit of food that we give her by mouth, Victoria gets the rest of it through her g-tube. Health wise she has been doing pretty well. She has been teething an lot, and lately she has had a cold. There are times though when she will cry, and you start wondering" I wonder if she has headaches, or what is she trying to tell me."  It's then that you wish she could talk with you and that she  does the normal things a child does. But wait a moment....If Victoria could do the things normal children do then there are so many opportunities our family would not have had, there are many people that we would not have met, there would have been many lessons from The Lord that we might not have learned as fast. We are so grateful for our miracle from God!!! We are so grateful for all those who have prayed for and thought of us.  It's easy to get self-centered and ungrateful for things you wish had happened differently.  Remember, we serve a God who knows the tomorrow; God has a reason for what he does. I once heard that if you look for the bad in things, that you will find it. Don't you think this works the other way too?!! Look for the good in things, you will find it!

I will praise thee;

For I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous art thy works;

And that, my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14

We love you so much sweet treasure!!

Being a big girl, and sitting up in the brown chair...she only did this for a few seconds:)

Bath time!!

Still rejoicing in the fact that Victoria is alive and well! She is still our little miracle. Looking at her daily we remember the brevity of life. We also remember what a great God that we serve. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his  purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren." Romans 8:28-29
May God bless you all with a great night.
Signing off EJM

Things We Did With Reuben.

Psalm 139 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandeth my thoughts afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall the hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

i will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God: how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

.....Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We have so enjoyed the six weeks that we have had with Reuben. Cutting corn and beans went so much faster:) It was a normal thing to see Reuben studying his Chinese. The weeks just kept disappearing. Now Reuben is gone. Though we all will miss him, We are glad that Reuben is willing to follow where God leads(Even when it means to another country.). Here are some things that you could pray for
1. Unity in the team.
2. Health.
3. Safety.
4. Opportunities to witness in class.
5. Gift of languages.
6. Wisdom of how to use free time.
7. For former Taiwanese friends to come to a saving knowledge of the gospel
May you all have a blessed summer and fall.
Signing off, EJM
  

July Birthdays Rachel, Dad, Elizabeth,(Me), Esther

Can't believe that Rachel is already 16!!

                                                      Respectful
                                                      Attentive
                                                      Creative
                                                      Helpful
                                                      Eager
                                                      Loving                                                        

It is our tradition to have our grandparents over for a special meal that the birthday person gets to order

                                                      Brave
                                                      Responsible
                                                      Useful
                                                      Caring
                                                      Encouraging

I sure do love you Dad!

I got My drivers license!! I want to thank my parents and my siblings who helped me to learn how to parallel park:)

For Esther's birthday and mine, we went to Zipple Bay with the J. family

Esther is now 5!! Here she is about to have fun with her sister JoAnna on the Dragon roller coaster.

                                                        Energetic
                                                        Sweet
                                                        Thoughtful
                                                        Huggy
                                                        Extraordinary
                                                        Radiant smile

When Esther was younger she used to be scared of grandpa..Now she really loves him!

Everyone that has had a birthday will probably look back on the past year and wonder where and how it has gone so quickly.
James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow, For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Only one life, will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.