Mid-October Update!

(Photo credits for Taylor and Victoria's pictures go to Taylor's amazing sister, Amber, at Huckleberry Lane Photography! )

 Victoria is doing an incredible job with the wedding planning!  

Things are coming together sooooo well! 

I'm so proud of her for doing such an amazing job and in such a short time too!

 They, of course, are counting down the days! 

Only 30 days to go! 

Caroline has also been planning a big event, titled "Engage for Life", happening at the end of October!  

This has kept her super busy! 

She contacted the Life Training Institute https://prolifetraining.com/

and secured Mike Spencer as the featured speaker! What a special opportunity! 

Some of his costs of flying out from Ohio,

would be "granted" if she could get him in to speak at a high school. 

So she spent lots of time trying to find a high school that would allow him to speak,

 and at the final hour the Lord provided! 

We are so proud of Caroline for taking on another big pro-life event.  It has been another huge learning experience for her and she has been so blessed by the kind folks at Mountain View Baptist Church that are hosting the event and many people that have rallied around to help her! 

As part of the event, she has planned to have several other pro-life ministries give a little presentation on ways our community can get involved in this great cause! 

Valerie just wrapped up her super busy rental house cleaning business and is now in the midst of caring for 19 puppies!  She is still a very busy girl, but I'm so thankful that she has been my right-hand helper with the home and kids more than ever recently with our sickness and the busy family.  She is such an incredible blessing! 

For all of those on FB, you've probably already seen the pictures below!

But since I wanted to have them stored on my computer, this was a good opportunity to steal them off of FB and put them here too! 

Valerie does such an incredible job with photographing all these little wiggly fur balls. 

(And this is what Brielle has been up to! :-) 

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Kyle is wrapping up his super busy summer work season (most days working sun up to sun down!), and is shifting his focus back to online college courses.  He is currently preparing to take the final in his Critical Thinking course.  Next up will be Introduction to Psychology.  :-/  

His vision is to be done with school by spring of 2019! 

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Timmy, Joe and Ben are jumping back in to school full-time with things settling down finally for me. (In helping encourage them along a little more!) 

Timmy purchased his first remote flying airplane a little while ago, and is continuing to love all things that fly!  Joe is still crazy about his tortoise, and is now planning to put in a pond on our property to house a bunch of critters there.  He is usually found researching reptiles, turtles, etc. online. Ben is still enjoying playing baseball with his siblings . .. now moved into the house.  :-) 

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Little Miss Tevis is nearing 6 months old already! 

She gets cuter every day! Her expressions are soooo adorable!  And her cute personality is coming out more and more!  

My heart has been breaking over not being able to see her for nearly two weeks!  

Ted and I have been really, really sick with a strange sickness and I haven't wanted to take a chance with exposing her or Lydia to it.  

Not being able to hold her and visit with her has been THE hardest thing about this awful sickness. :-(

W. and G. are happy and healthy as we come up on the one year anniversary of them joining our family.  After the first month or two, it seems to have been an easy transition for them, but for the rest of us, it has been a very challenging year!  If it wasn't for knowing (and reminding each other often)  that our sovereign Lord has placed them with us for His good purposes for whatever time He has planned and that He will provide everything we need, I think we might not have made it this far!   Our hearts have always been for adoption, and this has turned into a long-term foster care situation.  The trial that would have helped the process along was rescheduled from this summer to November.  We would be so grateful for your prayers!

This Saturday we'll be heading out for our annual pumpkin patch fun for my birthday, and the next weekend we have a homeschool conference in Ocean Shores.  (Thankfully, Daddy has offered to stay back to care for all the little ones and animals!) And the following weekend we'll be visiting a Reptile Zoo for Joe's birthday.  Then, we're into November, and the wedding will be only be a few days away!  

In between the weekend events, we'll be continuing to celebrate our 7 family member's birthdays in a six week span with breakfast and dinner and dessert of their choice, and hopefully, a few gifts to open! 

Life is good, because God is good all the time!