Sixteen

Happy birthday, Jordan! May the Lord bless you and keep you as you continue your journey of manhood.

More Pictures by Shauna

Shauna

Stair Sliding

A few weeks ago the younger ones rediscovered a past-time that we older ones loved when we first moved into this house. Shauna was only a year old when we moved in, so instead of walking down the stairs, she slid. Kayla, Jordan, Nicole and I quickly joined in, and it was an activity that we showed to all of our friends when they came over. It was the number one attraction of our house for several years. Shauna and Kendra showed the four little ones, and they have enjoyed trying out different variations of slides.
Sitting up, laying down, on their stomach and on their back.

Nobody has tried face-first yet, and we are hoping that they don't.

Happy Fortieth!

Daddy turns forty today! Whatever he says, don't let him fool you into thinking that he is getting old. He acts much younger than most of the people his age (maybe it is the ten children:), and he's only about five years older than the couples Nicole and I babysit for. We love you, Daddy!

Shauna's Experiments With Portraits

Civil War Re-enactment

In October we had the opportunity to go to the largest Civil War Re-enactment west of the Mississippi, right in our home-town. We had been several times before, but this time was better for several reasons. Jordan was one of the blacksmiths, showing the visitors old-fashioned skills. While he made fire-pokers and nails, we wandered around visiting the other stations. We talked to the ladies that took care of the soldiers by doing the washing and mending, and Sarah, Erin and Audra got to wash socks with washboards and home-made soap. We also talked to the Navy men, and discovered that not much has changed since the days of the first iron-clad. Then the Navy had good food, no marching, and it deafened the sailors by degrees. Daddy having been in the Navy, he can attest that all that still happens.One of the other high-lights for our musical family was a concert by the 97th Regimental String Band. The violin above is an actual, playable violin made by one of the members of the band. He told us that soldiers often took their instruments with them into the army, and since violins are fragile, it was not uncommon for them to be broken. If just the body of the violin was crushed, a cigar box made a convenient replacement. Kendra playing the violin.

Shauna played "Twinkle, Twinkle," and one of the band members accompanied her on the mandolin.

Apples to Apples (and Applesauce, and Pie Filling...)

Thanks to some friends, we recently were blessed with fresh apples at 17 cents a pound! We ended up getting ninety gallons of apples, entirely filling the trunk of our car, plus some in the back seat. When we brought them home, they covered the couch, the dining table, and the floor of the back entry. Since we brought them home two days before Thanksgiving, we had work to do to have enough room to make and eat the feast on Thursday. Wednesday, thanks to the help of some other friends, we got sixty quarts done up into pie filling and applesauce. There are still many to do, but since apples don't get soft like other fruit they are keeping long enough for us to get to them.

These are the jars for the first day.

All finished (with the first batch)!

Concerning the Election

And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said "No; but I am commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." Joshua 5:13b-14a

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"When Jesus comes back, he isn't coming back to take sides. He's coming back to take over." Dr. Patrick Smith

Sisters

"A sister can be seen as a person who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves-a special kind of double." Toni Morrison"How do people make it through life without a sister?" Sara Corpening"What's the good news if you haven't a sister to share it with?" Jenny DeVries"Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply." Jane Austen
"An older sister helps one remain half child, half woman." Unknown

"You can kid the world, but not your sister." Charlotte Gray

"Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring-quite often the hard way." Pamela Dugdale

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." Marion C. Garretty

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." Isadora James"Sisters are different. They heard the sobbing in the darkness. They lived through all your triumphs, all your favorites, all your loves and losses. They have no delusions. They've lived with you too long. And so, when you achieve some victory, friends are delighted-but sisters hold your hands in silence and shine with happiness. For they know the cost." Pam Brown

"A sister shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams." Unknown

"The mildest, drowsiest sister has been known to turn tiger if her sibling is in trouble." Clara Ortega

"Never had to have a chaperone, no sir: I'm here to keep my eye on her" White Christmas

"Sisters share the scents and smells-the feel of a common childhood." Pam Brown

"A sister smiles when one tells one's stories-for she knows where the decoration has been added." Chris Montaigne

"Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing." Susan Scarf Merrell

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time." Clara Ortega

Harvest Time

Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. Psalm 65:9-11

New Favorites

What a surprise! Owen brought this beautiful bouquet of

flowers home last week. They are my new favorites. He has been

working many hours of overtime, getting up at 3:45 in the morning

and not getting home until 7 or 8 at night, yet he took the time to

make me feel special.

We all enjoyed these remarkable flowers. They bloomed

all week. The little ones kept a constant count of how many

had bloomed and how many were left. They were gorgeous in every

stage. I told him he has set the standard pretty high in case he is

thinking of buying me flowers again. Amazingly enough he always

finds a way to top himself.

Jordan's Music Stand

Details
Jordan made this entire music stand by hand with his blacksmithing and welding expertise.

The finished product.

Kendra's Eighth Birthday

When we Werzinski girls turn eight, we get our ears pierced, so it was Kendra's turn a couple weeks ago. Luckily, there were other less painful parts to the birthday, too!