Advent

Yesterday, we lit the last candle in our Advent wreath. This was the first year we did this in our family. Four Sundays before Christmas you begin by lighting the first purple candle that stands for Prophecy or Hope that invites us to thank God for the hope we have in Jesus, the prophesied Messiah. The next Sunday, we light the next purple candle which is called Bethlehem, or Peace. In Bethlehem, the Prince of Peace was born. The third week, the pink candle is lit, which reminds us of the Shepherds and Joy that was proclaimed to them on that amazing night. The final purple candle is the one reminding us of the Angels singing,"Glory to God in the highest" . The white candle is lit on Christmas day and reminds us of Jesus Christ, the One born to die for us as sinners, so that we might be redeemed by His blood. This really helped us keep our focus of why we celebrate Christmas. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year!

Christmas cookies

This year, our family is blessed to have our friend, Cliff, staying with us. He suggested cookie baking and decorating for one of our family nights. It was so much fun! We baked sugar cookies, candy cane cookies, and peanut butter cup cookies. Of course, there were a lot of cookies to eat and share with friends, and a new family tradition to remember. Thanks, Cliff!

Dreaming of those lazy days of summer

A new weekly routine

Haleigh had her first basketball practice tonight for Upward Basketball. If you've never heard of it, Upward is a great sports ministry that not only teaches the game, but also encourages good sportsmanship, has a small Bible lesson, memory scripture and the gospel is shared at every game. Haleigh did pretty well, even though she used her left hand to dribble with the entire night. She made a couple of baskets and practiced dribbling. It's a co-ed team and she and one other girl are the only two girls on the team. She's very enthusiastic and enjoyed every minute of practice.

Wordless Wednesday

A glimpse of the Future

You've gotta see my little elves!!!

Click on the attached link and get ready to LAUGH!! A girl from our church did this and we were all cracking up! Be patient...it takes a minute to load the page. But it is well worth the wait.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9626545686

That's what big sisters are for...

These two cracked us up playing together. They invented this game all on their own one day and I finally got it on video. He has ridden for several minutes before, but, of course, the time I'm taping it is the time he falls off quicker.
I'm so sorry I forgot to update you guys on Shawn. He came home on Tuesday last week. He is feeling a lot better now, and is moving a little faster. He is still not able to lift more than 10 lbs. or drive, which annoys him, but his recovery is going well. Thanks for all your prayers!

Back again...

Hey friends! I just wanted to send an update on Shawn's surgery. He went in Wednesday to have the colostomy reversed. The surgery went a little longer than expected with a couple minor complications. The surgeon said he was doing well. I am at the hospital right now with my honey and he is still in pain. They are giving him pain meds, but it's really just taking off the edge. We will be here anywhere from 3-6 days. We are hoping to be home Sunday. Please pray that all goes well for him as he recovers and that he can be released soon. I'll update again as soon as I can. Thanks for your prayers!
Michelle

Family Night

I have really been slacking keeping our blog updated. I am ashamed. Things are going well here at the Peoples' home. We are waiting for the surgeon to call and let us know if Shawn's surgery will be next week or not. In the mean time, we have really been intentional recently with our family nights. We have been playing games with the kids, having movie night, playing the Wii and having family worship time together. A few nights ago, I brought my camera along. We all played the Wii together and then Shawn got out the electric guitar and played some of our favorite worship songs. The kids danced and sang...it was so innocent and pure. I love watching them sing to the LORD.

Another first

This was one of Joshua's firsts. Haleigh and Caleb were using finger paints to make fall leaves on trees, Joshua started having a fit because he wanted some too. Of course, I am always encouraging new experiences, but baby finger painting was not one of them. So, I thought I would get a zippy bag and add a couple of blobs of paint and he could just mush it around and blend the colors. Fun, yet not as messy, right, nah! He wanted the paint on his hands. So, I thought, Ok, why fight it...he needed a bath anyway. So, I got out the paper, and stripped him down, put him into the high chair and put a couple of small blobs on his paper. What fun! Here is what he looked like!Of course, I can't leave out Haleigh and Caleb and their trees. They didn't get nearly as messy!

My first award!!

Thanks, Stacey, for my fabulous award! I certainly appreciate a little happy today. Just coming off of the first weekend of Judgement House, I've put little ones in time out today more times than I normally do in a week. One more weekend to go. I have seen many come to Christ this weekend and many come back to Him as well. Please pray for our church and all of the ones coming to J-House that they may respond to the call of Christ.

This time last year

Iron's Farm

We took our annual trip to Iron's fruit farm this past weekend, and the weather could not have been more beautiful! The kids got to sort through all the pumpkins to find just the right one, then they rode on a donkey and played in the bounce house. My favorite part was drinking the yummy apple cider and watching the kids smile so much.

Girls night

Our night out actually started before dinner. Brocklyn bought me a tennis racket of my own for my birthday. I've had it almost a month, but haven't used it yet. So, we went up to the tennis courts and I embarrassed myself at my skill with a racket. I have very little, Ok, NO athletic ability and Brocklyn has it in bucket loads. However, she was a very good sport, even when I hit the ball into traffic a few times(well, about 6 times, really). She even ran into the street after them! Then, after our stomachs grew too noisy to play anymore, we went back home, cleaned up and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. It was really fun and believe me, WE NEEDED A GIRLS NIGHT!!!

Look at our yummy food art!

Mama's little helper

Mama's little helper...that's Joshua. Any time I pull out the sweeper, he has to have his too. The sweeper really works and he is kinda helpful...I guess it's never too early to start the kids doing chores!

Fun at the Aquarium

I figured since we had a couple of days of fun during our vacation, I would post some other pictures of what we did. We visited the Ripley's Aquarium, which just happened to be next door to our hotel. It was amazing! If you've ever been to the Newport on the Levee Aquarium, this one knocks its socks off! There was a ton to look at and even more educational stuff than we would ever have time for in one visit. We pet sting rays, sharks, and saw a couple of divers feeding fish and stingrays. We spent about three hours there and the kids NEVER complained or got disinterested. Definitely a good memory to keep!

Can you see the diver in the background?

I thought this was cute! Joshua tried his best to keep up with his big brother and sister the whole time...he did pretty good!

Wordless Wednesday

A Day out with Thomas

Thomas the Tank Engine pulled into our town last weekend, and what a dream come true for my little man. We had talked this up for a while now. When Shawn was in Africa, Caleb and I cut the article out of the newspaper to show daddy. They made plans to go and even take the 25 minute train ride together. Well, now that daddy is out of commission for a few weeks, I got to take both Haleigh and Caleb. There was so much to do(free!) like coloring, playing with trains, some farm animals to pet and feed, and apparently, putt-putt(but I never saw that!)Anyhow, it was nice to be able to spend the day with the kids and treat them to a fun afternoon!

Check out that smile!

A night at The Track

This was one of the two fun things we got to do as a family before the whole ER event. There were so many of these family type attractions in Pidgeon Forge. This one was called The Track and it had a lot of carnival type rides as well as two go-cart racetracks and bumper boats. We all took turns watching Joshua because he wasn't tall enough to ride several of the rides, but he was content to watch.

Me and my little man

Ok, these bumper boats weren't just for bumping. They had a spray button where you could shoot water at the otherboats. Caleb and I were not so good at aiming, as you can probably see. WE GOT SOAKED!!!

Some vacation fun

This was in the van on the way to Tennessee for our family vacation. We tried to keep Joshua entertained with toys and stuff and this was what he did with the puppet. It was so cute! Just in case you were wondering, we are all home now and Shawn is slowly recovering. It will be a long process and there will be one more surgery in December, so keep praying!

NOT the ordinary vacation

Hello friends! No pictures today, but an urgent posting. Our family left last week for our vacation in TN. We arrived Tuesday evening, and enjoyed playing go-carts and stuff. Wednesday, we went to the Aquarium friday, but later Shawn began having bad abdominal pains. About 6 pm I took him to a local Hospital ER and by 11 o'clock, he was in the operating room getting a perforated colon repaired. This is a very big surgery, with about 20 staples in his stomach now and a colostomy bag he has for three months. My parents drove 8 hours through the night to come and get the kids, so they are back in Memphis with them. Brocklyn and I are in a hotel a few minutes away from the hospital. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!! The surgeon removed the tube from Shawn's mouth today, but please continue to pray for his recovery as it will be a long one. In three months he will have another surgery to have the colostomy reversed. I think we may be home by the end of the week. I'll try to keep you all posted. Thanks!
Michelle

HE"S HOME!!!

My home is now complete. Daddy is back, and my we all couldn't be happier. We all went to the Dayton airport with our sign, and smiles from ear to ear. We waited at the terminal and finally...he was there! He was easy to spot...the tan guy with a safari like hat on almost running through the gate. The kids ran to him, well Joshua walked as fast as he could. Shawn had not seen him walking that well yet. Before he left the most Joshua walked was four steps. Now he's all over the place. The jet lag hasn't really hit him yet, although he was asleep before 9 and up at 6. I think it will really hit him after his busy weekend with the youth.
This is Shawn in one of the many villages he walked to with his interpreter. I thought it was cute that one of the ladies is wearing his sunglasses upside down on her face. There were many villages like this where Shawn led the entire village to Christ.

Memom's First Visit

My memom (that is, my grandmother in the south) has never visited us since we've lived in Ohio. It's been hard for her to make the trip with my grandfather being ill for a while. Before Shawn left, she took a road trip with my mom and dad to see us for a couple of days. While she was here, Haleigh showed her the ropes on her Leapster. She also got to attend church with us on Sunday, which was especially nice. It'll be Christmas before I get to see them again, so I thought this would be a nice memory for my family.

A little Update

I thought this was a sweet picture of a daddy's girl! She made him this with her Easy Bake Oven before he left. Thanks for all of your prayers for my hubby! I've spoken to him a couple of times and he has battled a flare up of diverticulitis. He has to be cautious about what he eats anyway, and I guess the food there hasn't helped. So, he was knocked on his tale for a couple of days and is now on medicine and is feeling much better. Today, he called to report 2,000 souls came to Christ TODAY in village to village evangelism. The area is ripe unto harvest and the Lord is moving! Please continue to pray for him and the team there. Thanks,
Michelle

Calling all Prayer Warriors!!

Please pray for my hubby! He is leaving on Monday, heading for Malawi, Africa for a little over two weeks.Where exactly is Malawi, Africa? I thought you might ask that...because I wasn't sure either. My geography is terrible, so I wanted to see it on a map myself. It is a different climate there and is pretty cool, which surprised me...it's like in the 70's right now! He will be traveling with a small group of pastors doing village to village evangelism as well as teaching and encouraging some pastors there, staring a few churches, and maybe speaking in some schools(isn't it ironic that in our free country, he isn't allowed to do that!)Anyhow, please pray for traveling mercy, health, sensitivity to the spirit, favor with the people he meets, and anything else the spirit leads! If you would like me to send you updates as part of our prayer support team, just leave your email info! Thanks!
Michelle

Savoring the Last month of Summer

I can't believe that it's August! This summer has been zooming by, but I must say, it's been a pretty fun ride! Haleigh and Caleb's little buddies have come over a few days to play and yesterday we brought out the kiddie pool. Haleigh is still in the good age of being entertained by the pool, even though this may not last much longer. Joshua had nothing to do with the pool because it was pretty cool. He'd prefer a warmer swim...like in the bathtub. Anyhow, I love being outside with the kiddos on a warm, but breezy day, and hear the sounds of summer all around. Splashing, laughing, the occasional buzz of a bee, well, I could do without the bee...I love this age!

Best Buds

Caleb and his best bud. These two love to play together...trains, especially. It is so cute to watch these two together at church, too. When they see each other, they run to meet and get so excited about being together. Caleb's buddy and his sis got to come over this week for a few hours and I've never seen two boys have so much fun with trains. Thomas the tank is all they talk about...well and poop, but that's just little boys, right?