You know, there are times in life when you imagine something beautiful… something perfect… something romantic…… to commemorate, bless, or honor someone or something or some occasion… you just want to make things extra special. You imagine a peaceful atmosphere, complete with candles, a well-thought-out note of love, maybe even roses or daisies…

And (sorry to tell you this), there are times in life when your dreams of fun, fluff, and fantasy just don’t happen!

That’s when you get a prime opportunity to trust in our Sovereign, loving God and blossom right where He places you!

We let you all know about Sibling Appreciation Day, all the while mentally preparing for our own celebration (a lovely picnic by the river). Then……………

There was mulch to spread!

(A HUGE, double-load.)

We faced a choice. Not exactly whether or not to spread the mulch, but whether or not to spread it with joyful hearts, accomplishing the duty set before us with smiles and laughter.

By God’s grace, the Team collectively chose to do right.

Though the evening’s events were completely different than we had anticipated, we were all reminded again just how much we really appreciate our siblings (just you imagine trying to spread that trailer heaped with mulch all by your lonesome! ) and we really did enjoy the project. It was work… hard work… hot work… exhausting work… but it was rewarding work and quite fun as we did it together.

So, be encouraged next time your plans for something wonderful are altered… or maybe even blown away completely. There are treasures in the darkness… hidden riches in secret places… a delicious-grilled-salmon-rice-sauteed-asparagas-sweet-peaches-dinner-made-by-Jessi-at-9:30 pm (with chocolate-mint brownies for dessert!) awaiting you when your work is finished –  if you will simply trust the hand of God as He takes you through the process of life.

(aka 12 happy Neelys)

Thank you, Mrs. Tammy, for so willingly giving of your time and expertise! You truly model the verse from Matthew 10: “… freely ye have received, freely give…”

101: Practice with the mannequins

By the way, your victims must have names, so let me introduce you to Ventura, Charalina, and Jemima.

102: Practice with the mannequins and the live mannequins

(Special thanks to our dear brothers for being such great guinea-pigs! )

When we went to Grandmama’s house for Thanksgiving, we picked up pecans at a friend’s orchard. Here are some thing’s that we learned:

The pecans grow on huge trees (about 3 feet in diameter).

They use a shaker on a tractor to shake the trees. (It has huge “arms” about 4 feet off the ground to shake it.)

We picked our pecans up by hand…and filled buckets and bags. But the man who owned the orchard did have a gatherer that would rake the pecans up and fill burlap bags.

Once gathered, the pecans are dumped on to a sorter that blew out the sticks, leaves, and empty shells.

After we got them gathered we took them to a business that cracks pecans. They set the machine to the size of our pecans and then it cracked every single pecan one at a time.

After they were cracked, we picked the nut out of the shells. A good return is 50%! If you gather 20 pounds, you’ve done well if you have 10 pounds left to eat.

When you harvest pecans, you must show diligence. It is good to remember this verse:

“…if any would not work, neither should he eat.” 2 Thess. 3:10

Step 1: Put strawberries in a large dishpan, and fill with cold water. Let them sit for a few minutes.

Step 2: Drain the berries in a colander.

Step 3: Stem them. We used sharp knives. Take as little of the berry as possible.

Step 4: Put strawberries through the food processor with a slicing blade. Or, you can quarter them.

Step 5: Put 4 c. of sliced berries in a glass measuring cup and stir 1/4 c. of sugar. Be sure to stir gently or they will get mushed.

Step 6: Pour strawberries into a labeled quart-sized FREEZER plastic bag and gently squeeze air out. Make sure you don’t get any juice on the zipper of the bag, or it will not seal and the berries will leak in your freezer!

Step 7: Place bags on a flat tray in a single layer and put in the freezer. When they are frozen, you can take the tray out.

The berries are now ready to be used in your favorite dessert or salad. We like to use them, along with a quart of frozen peaches, 1 cup of frozen blueberries, and 3-4 fresh bananas, to make a yummy breakfast.

“Who can find a virtuous woman? … She worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. (Proverbs 31: 10, 13, 14)

For all of our bee-keeping friends, none of this may surprise you, but for people like us, you might find this fascinating! Did you know:

- that male bees (drones) can’t sting? And that they are stung to death by the females after mating season? (Sounds feministic, if you ask me!! )

- that the worker bees control the hive population by only giving the queen enough food to lay the number of eggs they want?

- that the workers select the largest larva, build a bigger cell around it, and feed it extra to make it a queen?

- that the new queen makes a special buzz before leaving her cell, announcing her arrival to the other queen and telling her to prepare for battle?

- that the “scout bees” use special body motion to tell the hive of the location and distance of food? (the angle of their movement implies direction; the duration of the motion communicates distance)

- that when the bees leave the hive, they either fly straight out, or they do an upward spiral and then fly straight?

- that a queen bee can live between 3 and 5 years?

- that the eggs hatch into larvae after three days, and the larvae turn into bees after an additional 6-8 days?

- that if you face the entrance to the hive toward the sun, the bees will leave the hive earlier in the morning?

- that if you have an excessively aggressive hive, you just replace the queen, and in a few weeks, the hive genetics will have changed? (Occasionally this doesn’t work though. Mr. Brandon once had to replace the queen 3 times and finally had to burn the hive! But that was only with REALLY mean bees… )

- that honey bees have the ability to live for 2-3 years, but they work themselves to death in a few weeks?

- that the hive temperature has to be kept between 90 and 97 degrees F. or the larvae will die?

- that by flapping their wings, the bees have their own air conditioning system? And that by standing in certain positions, they circulate the air in one side of the hive, and out the other?

Thanks to Mr. Brandon, and City of the Bees – a  Moody Science film we found fascinating – for all of this information!

“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”  Psalm 104:24

Several months ago, I wrote to our friends who are serving in Austria/Germany, Todd & Kim Lapato. I asked Mrs. Kim for a sample menu from over there – a common meal for the average people. My idea was to re-create that meal here for my family as well as I could, and have a special evening highlighting the Lapatos’ ministry while eating food from that country. (Since we enjoy food so much, I thought that might be a good way to make it more meaningful and memorable!) Her response was quick, mouth-watering, and far more detailed and thorough that I had even hoped for! So then came the next step: finding the perfect evening for our “missionary night.” For me,that was a little more difficult than the initial planning stage, and several months passed before we actually did it. (There were MANY nights that would’ve been great, except that we didn’t know that we’d be home or we didn’t have all the supplies or we just didn’t think about it until it was too late in the day to prepare everything!) However, the idea was “cooking” in the back of my mind all the while (pun intended ), and we finally did it – exactly five months after she sent me all the menu ideas and recipes!

It was great!! I enlisted Mom and Kathryn’s help, and we made schnitzel (a very thinly pounded filet of chicken that is dredged first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs), fried potatoes, and gravy, as well as a big salad, German style. (Mixed greens on top of individual piles of corn, kidney beans, green beans, grated carrot, and thinly sliced cucumbers in the bottom of the bowl; it was served room temperature, and the dressing was plain oil and vinegar.) Our beverage was equal parts mixed of carbonated water/apple juice – very yummy! (Again, the beverage was room temp, since Europeans don’t usually use ice in their drinks.) Dessert was apple pie (as a substitute for apple strudel) and coffee. Dad even let all the kids have coffee since it was a special occasion, which was quite a treat!

It was a delicious way to “experience” the Lapatos’ mission field, and everything was a smashing success! I’ve heard several requests since then for “Austrian chicken” (schnitzel), so I know everyone really liked that. The potatoes turned out softer than I had expected, so I want to do those again and see if we can make them a little crispier. We put Montreal Steak Seasoning on them (which is a grilling seasoning with black and red pepper in it), and they were really good, although probably a little spicier than they would normally be in Austria. Some of the salad “toppings” (they STARTED in the bottom of the bowl ) were a nice break from our norm, and I heard several votes to make salad like that again. We really enjoyed the whole menu, and I have a feeling that this won’t be the only time we have it!

After supper, we read an update letter from the Lapatos’, and we enjoyed hearing more about what life is like for them. We also got on their blog and read their list of prayer requests, and then prayed for each one specifically during our family prayer time. All in all, it was a fun (and delicious!) way to experience a little piece of missionary life, and we almost felt like we were “with” the Lapatos while we read their updates and prayed for them. Even though we couldn’t physically travel to Europe to see our friends, Missionary Night was a great way to take a mental journey there and visit them in spirit, while we also enjoyed some of the wonderful food like what we might have eaten if we did visit in person! The prayer time was very special, and we enjoyed having a whole evening devoted to just one family, so that we could pray more directly for their specific needs.

So what about you? Do you know anyone who is serving the Lord on a foreign field? Could you set up an evening devoted specifically to updating your family about their lives and ministry, learning about the culture they are living in, and praying for the needs that they have? Read their prayer letters and learn about their ministry. Find out what their needs are, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, so that you know better how to pray for them. Contact them and ask any questions that you may have about their field or lives. Tell them that you are thinking about and praying for them, and if you are going to have a Missionary Night, tell them that, too. I promise, your interest in what they are doing will encourage them greatly, and will also be a blessing to you and your family!!

To hear the clip, click on the title; a couple buttons will pop up, then click the little “play” arrow.

Turn the Tide

Patriot’s Honor

God bless you all!!!

So you’re probably thinking, “Okay, that’s really cool and everything, but…… why is all that laundry piled up in your laundry room??” Oh yeah. I was just getting to that.

Sunday night, we returned from our trip to Indianapolis where we recorded our patriotic program. Before I go any further, let me say on behalf of the family, thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who supported us in prayer as we worked on this project! You’ll never know what a blessing and encouragement it was to us to know that we were surrounded by friends and family who were lifting us up before the throne of grace!

We had a wonderful three days in the studio. Our engineer, Mr. Ben Vawter, was fantastic! His patience was incredible, as over and over again he would stop us to rework a rhythm or fix a pitch. His quick wit and ready humor were also great; after all, laughter is a great way to ward off those potentially stressful moments!! We also need to give credit to Mom, who was the behind-the-scenes manager – a huge blessing!! Our lunches were delicious, and whenever we had a quick break, she was there with snacks, water, and encouragement. Without her physical and moral support, it would’ve been a lot harder to do the project!

While the whole thing was a lot of work, we also had a lot of fun, and made a lot of memories. Over the  course of the three days, we started writing down the funny little things that were said. Some things were just words that we used as part of our terminology, but which would sound a bit unusual in the “real” world, such as punch, stack, and obble-gobble (a much more fun way of saying “obbligato”). Mr. Vawter had a few oft-repeated phrases which grew to be humorous as we heard them over and over:  “Not quite…”; “One more time!”; "Use your pretty voice."; “It’s a little pitchy.”; “I think we have a song!” (YES!! ) And then, of course, there was the usual chat and banter: Just do it! Correct lyrics there, please. I think we should stack that part. Come on, y’all! Let’s add some sauce. Can we punch it? You’re a little under. Why don’t we just sing the song! (Wow! Imagine doing that!!) It’s a little pitchy. What’s the verdict? Oh, gross!! Enunciate clearly. We might need to back up and punt. What? Where? Huh?? The high part is sharp. Blend!  Your notes are chipping. Let’s punch at the beginning of the obble-gobble. WHAT?! Oops! That’s okay – we know how you meant it to sound. Put your wants aside – do what we NEED!!!

While we thoroughly enjoyed the recording  process, we are also glad to have that part of the project behind us, and now we look forward to getting it completely finished. The Lord has shown His care for so many of our little concerns already – we marvel at seeing His hand working out details in ways that we never imagined! We pray that everything will continue to come together in God’s timing and God’s way, and that everything we do will bring Him glory!

Recording our patriotic program at Aire Born Studios has been a lot of fun, even with all the “bloopers” and sleepy sillies! Here are a few pictures for those of you who might wonder what’s been happening. (We will try to post more details later… but for now, we need some sleep. :)  Also, please keep in mind that it’s a little difficult to get good quality photos or videos through double panes of glass… ) If you think of it, we would appreciate your prayers as we wrap up the recording tomorrow.

Click here to view the embedded video.

*First off, you should know that even though this SAYS that it’s posted by Jessica, we (Amanda AND Jessica) are sitting here, writing this together. Also, we MEANT to write this and get it posted the week that we got home. We’re a little late… but better late than never, right??? Anyway, on to the story…

Should we? Or shouldn’t we? Do you think it is really the best time? In a way, the details aren’t falling into place… yet, in another way, they are. How do we know what is the Lord’s will?

These questions were buzzing through our minds a few weeks ago. A friend had mentioned a Desktop Publishing class that was being held at Verity Institute in Indianapolis, IN. We had been looking around and praying for the Lord to direct us to the right course, as some of our current activities involve graphic design. This seemed like the perfect answer to prayer… except for some rather large logistical problems blocking our path. While we thought it was a wonderful opportunity, we didn’t know if it would work out. When we first heard about it, it was about a month away.

So life went on as normal, and thoughts of the class got pushed to the “back burner.” That is, until the week before, when we realized that if we were indeed  considering it, we should do just that… think and pray about it. We (Amanda and Jessica) were the two that would go, and neither of us felt strong leading one way or the other. And neither did Mom and Dad. About four days before the class began, our friend contacted us again, telling us that there were only two more available slots in the class. We continued thinking, talking, and praying. Still, no one felt directed one way or the other. Three days before class began, another friend called, telling us that if we decided to go, we could ride home with her, since she was going to be in Indy that week, too. It seemed that so many details were falling into place, yet there was still so many more details to work out… and time was rapidly running out.

Thursday morning at breakfast, Dad said that if we wanted to go, it was perfectly fine with him, and that he would get Greyhound tickets for us to get there. But it wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that we had confirmation that we actually were going… and we had to leave at 4:30 Friday morning. This whole episode was a lesson in flexibility, patience, and trust while waiting on the Lord’s direction and timing.

Our wonderful family helped us with the “speed packing.” (We actually did pretty well with that; we only forgot a couple little things… like toothpaste……)On Friday, we were ready to go and pulling out of the driveway at, well… it was really early in the morning. Dad and Sunny went with us to the bus stop, which was about one and a half hours away. We were both very excited about the trip, what we would learn, and the opportunities that would arise. Little did we know what the Lord had in store!

Our first bus arrived at 7:15, the driver got out, and Dad went over to talk to him. We had heard that there would be forty extra seats… but there was negative one. In other words, the bus was full, one person was already standing, and there were four people waiting to get on. So, we stood for the first twenty minutes of the trip. That was the first of many adventures.

Throughout the day, we had a couple witnessing opportunities which were very eye-opening, and although we felt inadequate for some of the questions we were asked, the whole experience helped strengthen our faith and trust in the Lord. We also had an unexpected bus transfer, and another time almost missed our bus. More adventure…

We arrived safely in Indianapolis, and walked in on our almost-asleep roommates at 10:30pm. :/ (They were very gracious, though. ) We had four wonderful roommates that week, and we were all there for the DTP (Desktop Publishing) class. God definitely put us there together for a reason – the fun and fellowship were wonderful!

Class began at 11:30 on Saturday, with an introduction to Adobe Photoshop. (We were very blessed to have our friend, James Staddon, there as the teacher’s assistant. His technical and moral support were a huge blessing to us all!) That was a great time, and was just the beginning of that incredible week…

But we do realize that as much as the week meant to us, you probably don’t want to hear all the nitty-gritty details and stories of what took place. We’ve probably already bored a lot of readers. So we’ll try to give a short synopsis :

From Monday morning until Friday evening, most of us were in the computer room from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. (with meal breaks), cramming our heads as full as we could get them! Mr. Ritchie was a great teacher – he made us feel “at home” using InDesign and he gave lots of little illustrations and stories in the lessons. He also threw in several jokes for good measure, just to lighten the loads of information. We learned lots of new words, or new meanings to old words, such as: track, kern, lead (not pencil lead), serif, CMYK and RGB, clone, mask, eyebrow, ear, and gutter. We also learned the nine steps to graphic design, the eleven design rules, the six categories of font, the six ways to build contrast with font, the difference between white and black space (we’re not talking about color here!!), the different types of page and text organizers, and SO much more!!!

By the time we all split ways at the end of the week, we had gained new information, new ideas, and best of all, new friends with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of our absolute favorite times from the week were when our group was sitting around the dinner table, fellowshipping with others of like precious faith. We count it a huge blessing and privilege that we were allowed that opportunity! May every one of us use all that we’ve learned to bring God glory!!!