A Post with the News from Melanie

This was posted on November 8, 2011 by Nathan.

It has been fun to see the excitement resulting from a simple caption below Bethany’s picture in the last post. 🙂

Yes, we are expecting again! We are excited and a little apprehensive all at the same time. Many of you have traveled the journeys of our pregnancies with us and understand the challenges we have gone through.

I am 9 weeks along now. As with my other pregnancies, I have been on progesterone since we found out I was pregnant.

It is fun to watch Abigail be so excited about the new baby. She has had the “job” of telling our news. She loves sharing that “Mommaâ€™s going to have a new baby!” She has also changed her doll’s name to “New Baby” and carries her around most of the day. She tells me that she is carrying the new baby so that I can carry Bethany. 🙂 And Bethany doesn’t really understand what is going on, but she shares in Abby’s enthusiasm. So when Abby tells the news, Bethany will often add a happy exclamation.

This is baby #6 for us (three with the Lord). It is an incredible privilege to get to carry another child. We pray that we will have the joy of raising this little one.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer!

Melanie

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” (Psalms 139:13)

Ladies’ Neighborhood Brunch

This was posted on November 6, 2011 by Sarah Maxwell.

Friday morning, we had the joy of hosting a brunch for ladies in our neighborhood. It was a special blessing to fellowship with our neighbors. It seems in the culture we live in now, interactions with neighbors are just an occasional wave or a “hi” here or there. So, it was wonderful to be able to spend time with the ladies.

We had quite a spread of food, and the girls and Mom planned a wonderful menu including meat & cheese empanadas, ham/cheese casserole, fruit, veggies with dip, pumpkin scones (thanks, Anna Marie!), pie crust with cinnamon/sugar, pumpkin pound cake (thanks, Mrs. C.), and delightful hot drinks.

Instead of just breaking up into individual conversations, Mom asked if each lady could share how they came to the neighborhood. It was very interesting to hear the background behind the families being here, and we really enjoyed hearing their stories.

It was a special time with our neighbors. Maybe it’s something you might enjoy doing this holiday season in your home.

Love,
Sarah

Pie crust with butter/cinnamon/sugar and then baked. Yumm.

“… for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off” (Proverbs 27:10).

Preparing for the Winter

This was posted on November 4, 2011 by Steve Maxwell.

Winter here in Kansas is not like it is up north, but it still gets cold, and it does snow. Before we built this house, some diseased Dutch elm trees had to come down. We’ve been using that wood for the past two winters. I heard our stash will likely hold another two years, depending on the temperatures this winter. I love the smell of a wood fire on a delightfully crisp autumn day or a cold winter day. Dad had an idea for wood storage. Instead of bringing it inside on a pallet, he built a neat wood “bin”–using leftover wood and items we already had here. The guys have taken a few minutes here and there to haul wood from the back yard to under our deck.

Sarah