Christmas Card 2010

Traditional Damask Red Christmas

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Family Gathering

All of the Vest Clan got together last week because Papa was here for Pastors' School as well as to see the family. With 20 grandchildren plus adults, there was never a dull moment! Many games were played, children went swimming, balls thrown, fun had. Here are a few collages that I put together so far....

All 20 Grandchildren!!!

So there you have it! A great family trip, though I'm not sure how ready I am to do it again any time soon--especially with a newborn! ;)

Our Newest Addition

On Monday, February 8th, at 12:45 a.m. our newest little addition made her appearance into the world! She weighed 8 pounds even and was 20 inches long. She is a joy to her mother (I don't think I have ever bonded with a baby quite like this one. She's a month old and still sleeping in my room--something I have NEVER done!) as well as the rest of the family. She'll be spoiled for sure!

When I downloaded the pictures, I forgot that you have to do them backwards, so the last picture should be the first.

Our Sweet Little Katherine Lea a.k.a. "Lady Kate"

Big Brother Tyler kissing Katherine :)

Daddy was weighing Katherine with my midwife Cathy in the front left, my mom looking next to Chad, and Cathy's daughter Lisa looking on in the background. I couldn't ask for a better midwife than Cathy. She delivered 6 of my 8 children, and I love her to pieces!

Katherine at less than 2 hours old

We had some family pictures taken at the church last Saturday, and were very pleased with the way they turned out! If you're a family member that would like a copy of your own, please comment or email us and let us know what size you would like! (Merry Christmas!!)

We have had a busy last couple of months with school starting and all that entails. I was helping out quite a bit at the school but have just begun to back way down in an effort to be at home with the two boys more. Derek is quite a challenging three-year-old and really needs his Momma! Pray that I can figure out how to channel his energy!




Lauren woke up with a headache this morning, and when I questioned her as to where her head hurt, she pointed to both the front and back of her head. So, though she didn't have a fever at the time, I knew that she was legitimately ill. I'm so glad that I kept her home because she started running a fever shortly thereafter. I finally caved in around 7:00 and gave her some Motrin to help her be more comfortable because her head was hurting so badly.

Derek also has pink eye, I think. At least his one eye is making us all wince every time we look at him!

We have had four birthdays in the last month and a half and have celebrated at least half of them!

The baby is doing fine as of my last check-up (actually my first check-up) and I am scheduled to have another appointment on Thursday, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to go because the car died on me on my way home from church after children's choir. I was supposed to get home in time for Chad to be able to get to church on time, but that didn't happen. The car died at a light, and I had absolutely no power for hazards or anything, so I nearly got hit by a car from behind. Thankfully, a church member and friend stopped with his dad and took me to get a chain and pulled the car home for us! They were definitely an answer to my prayers!

I hope you all are doing well, and I will try to post a little more faithfully, but I can't make any promises at this point! :)

Please Join Me in Prayer

Please pray for three families on our church. A young married man, Dan Firman, and three teen boys were on their way home from work when they were involved in a serious accident. Three of them were killed instantly and the other one is still hanging in the balances, but it is not looking good at all. Dan's wife is expecting their first child in January; his brother was two cars behind them and saw the whole thing. I'm sure he's still in shock. Two of the boys were brothers, the oldest two of 6 children. Their mother said she lost the one who took care of her (the oldest who just graduated from high school this year) and the one who made her laugh (he was going to be a junior this year).

We are having a prayer meeting at 11:00 this morning at our church. Would you join us in prayer for these families? Right now they are in the bubble of God's grace, which will hold them up and carry them through the next few days of decisions and family and funeral. The next weeks and months will be harder as day to day life tries to "settle in" unsuccessfully.

Our teenagers at our church are really having a difficult time, and I covet prayers for them. They have had quite a difficult year and seem to really be questioning how God could allow this to happen. All of these young men had superb testimonies and loved God.

Thank you for praying.

Thoughts on our Country Today

Well, you really can't click to look inside--at least not on my blog, but I thought this the easiest way to share the picture of the book I am nearly finished reading. I began it on Sunday night and have been reading it every chance I can get. Attorney David Gibbs, III recently preached at our church, and my husband purchased this book. Since I've been feeling so poorly, I really haven't been doing much reading, but this book has been calling to me ever since he let us in on a few of the details of her case during our church service.

I remember hearing about the case when it was in progress. I remember thinking that she should be allowed to live. I remember hastily offering up a token prayer or to that folks would change their minds. I remember now that I was too self-absorbed to really know or, dare I even say it, care what was truly happening in that poor woman's life.

Now I have read the entire story, and now I care. I care now, but now is a little too late. Or is it? The Terri Schaivo case was a terrible injustice, but more importantly than that, the day that Terri Schaivo died because the court ordered her feeding tube to be removed, thereby dehydrating and starving her to death, America sunk to a depth that I never thought I would see in my lifetime. We live in a scary country, right now. Our rights are being stripped away from us, one by one, while the politicians are trying to convince us that they only have our best interests in mind.

I am not now, nor will I ever be, on the political warpath. I am just a wife and a mother who has always loved her country and is now appalled at what she is becoming. What kind of America will my grandchildren live in twenty years from now if, in my lifetime, the killing of unborn children became legalized and a judge in one of the lowest courts in America ordered a perfectly healthy, disabled woman to be killed through means of dehydration/starvation because her husband, who had gone on with his life, no longer wished to care for her, even though her parents would have done anything to be able to care for her themselves?

What is our beloved country doing to itself? Where is our moral compass? Out the window with the mothers at work, I think. There is no one left at home to teach the children of America what is right and wrong, and those children are influencing our laws and policies. What can we do about it? I can stay home with my children and teach them the ways of God. And I can pray and teach my children to pray. Lining up on the streets of Washington, D.C. or outside an abortion clinic does little to change the hearts of those in power. But, we see in the book of Proverbs 21:1...

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Any conservative Christian these days should be concerned about the state of our country. Concerned about our children's futures. Concerned, but not worried. God is still in control, and we mothers have the ability to do that thing that gets God's attention the most--PRAY! So, dear mothers and friends, PRAY! Pray like you have never prayed before. Pray for our country.

FOR TODAY July 18...

Outside my window...
is another fall-like day--overcast, windy and chilly.

I am thinking...
that I am ready to be done feeling sick but realize that I have ten more weeks before I'm feeling "normal" again. Maybe in 5 or 6 I'll begin to feel better...

I am thankful for...
my dear, sweet husband who is bringing me a Turkey Bacon Ranch sandwich from Arby's!

From the kitchen...
not much is going on in the kitchen on my end these days, but the three older children are making themselves bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for lunch (after feeding the younger ones pb&J :) )
I am wearing...
a jean skirt, a short-sleeved orange sweater, and a green cardigan while being wrapped up in a down-filled blanket!

I am creating...
a new little life.

I am going...
nowhere and doing nothing. I'm such a homebody these days.

I am reading...
nothing but my Bible lately. Reading has a tendency to make my head swim.

I am hoping...
that my hubby is able to spend some time with us today.

I am hearing...
children laughing and giggling and being silly while they do their chores and eat cherries that a friend from church just dropped off.

Around the house...
things are looking pretty good. Clothing is slowly being sorted through and organized. Chad is plodding along at getting things fixed up to sell.

One of my favorite things...
a Jamocha Shake from Arby's!

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Not too much, really. Too sick to do much, so we just spend time together as a family here at the old homestead!