Start Your Engines

When a friend called to let us know he was driving at our local car race track, we thought it might be fun to take the kids to see him. We knew the little boys would love the cars and noise and speed but the teenage girls were just as thrilled. Okay....so was I.
And the best part for a family of 12....their was no admission charge!!
(click on the picture for an up-close look)

Our New Baby Girl

AnnaClaire arrived here almost 4 years ago. Luckily we live far out in the country or she would have run away. She thought we were "strange" and certainly our family was nothing like what she was used to. I overheard her speaking to her mom and saying, "They won't even let me listen to hip-hop music!". But little by little God worked in her heart until the things that she thought were weird became her heart's desire as well.
Anna loves the Lord and that loves spills out to everyone around her. She is kind and thoughtful and always ready to serve others.
And not only has she been adopted into God's family, last week she became our legal daughter as well!

Teach Me!

Is anyone else getting excited about school starting?

I love the summer and wish the lazy days would never end......but then there's the Sonlight Curriculum for this year sitting on the shelf waiting for us and we want it!! Never before have we loved schooling like we have since using Sonlight. The kids look at the books they're going to be reading and imagine the people they will get to know and what their lives are about. And that's what makes Sonlight so awesome. History isn't just facts with this curriculum, it's people and missionaries and their thoughts and struggles. It's a very personal diary of a time in the past.

I found this on the classroom blackboard.
Thanks Sonlight!!

Many Hands

Sometimes the amount of work involved in raising so many kids at once is staggering - but equally as impressive is the volume of labor that a group this size can accomplish. We first noted this on vacation when we unpacked at the beach house. In a matter of minutes the van was empty and the house full.

Yesterday we were happily surprised as well.
The largest of our Bradford Pear trees in the front yard split and fell to the ground. James took advantage of the huge mess and trimmed the trees around it providing a job for every person in the family. Most of us had to haul the branches down to the brush pile where even Grace got in on the action and stacked the limbs and logs we brought her. The kids were awesome and the sheer number of them working accomplished the job in no time.

And what better way to finish work than a cool down in the pool.