Ben is home..actually he's been home for 1 month and 12 days:)

After being gone since February 14, 2012 Ben is home!!!

He completed His National Guard training, extra specialized training, and Air Borne Training... His rank is Private 1st class(We Think:)...We are so proud of all the work that you did Ben. Today is Veteran's Day. If you can, go out and so thank-you to a retired soldier...If you can't do this, at least tell God how grateful you are for the protectors of this country. "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:7

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.  

I know that this poem is normally used near Memorial Day in May; But some other countries also use this around Veteran's Day. 

Thank-you Veteran's for giving so much for us.

Mom thought that some of you might like to know that Esther's arm healed very well. Here a nurse is using a saw to cut off the cast. If this saw touched skin it stopped immediately.

During this whole process, Esther kept on breaking into giggles...(She said it tickled:)

 

The nurse was glad that Esther was not scared. Many kids scream, and do not let the nurses take off their cast.
Hope that you all have a blessed day today.
                                                               The Mitton Family

Travel back in Time with us to..

....The time our whole church went to the corn maze for the Harvest Festival.

 

Here is Esther with a cousin,"The Cow", and a new friend!!
Our church was blessed to have a missionary couple  join us for the Harvest Festival.
Please pray for this missionary couple. They are English teachers in China{a Communist country}.

....The beginning of school. Here Esther is learning the difference between d and b:)

...The time Mom and Dad surprised us with a trip to Zipple Bay.

 Here I am pushing Victoria, in her stroller, down the trail that we walked on. The leaves were so beautiful!! How grateful we all are that God made different seasons.

Victoria also loved the surprise trip. You could literally experience fall with almost all your five sense.   

You could see the fall colors:
Hear the crunching of the leaves under your feet:
Feel the leaves on the ground: and
Smell the wonderful smell of trees.
You could only not taste fall..at least not at the beach. If you were at our house on Canadian Thanksgiving, you could have tasted fall:):):)

The waves were so pretty at Zipple Bay.

Mom and Dad...still in love with each other!!

No trip to the beach is complete without a game.

Siblings!! Best friends....at least most of the time:)

 The winning team!!!

Esther still active, even with a cast on( The cast came off last week.)

Psalm 127

1Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

 

Serve the Lord in all that you do today...You never know, today may be your last day on earth. Don't you want the Lord to say to you"Well done thou good and faithful servant"? I know that I do. You will stumble, but nothing you do the Lord won't forgive( not an excuse to sin). Keep pressing toward the mark and the high calling that Christ has for you!
Blessings on your day.
Signing off: The Mitton family.

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