Field Trip to Colorado History Museum

 Yesterday, Rowen took a day of vacation and went with us to the Colorado History Museum in Denver.  It is a fairly new facility.  When we arrived, it was full of students.  When these pictures were taken, the students had left for the day and we could use the time machine.

 This is a time machine that you pull to different spots on the floor map of Colorado. 

 We had the machine positioned over the Grand and Gunnison Valleys spot on the map.  At this location, we could choose between two dates to select a story.  Pull the lever on the right!

 This was a story about mining. 

 

The map on the floor shows the land formations and cities in Colorado.

 There was a big display about one of Colorado's ghost towns:  Keota.  It was a nice booming little town in the early 1900s, but then there was a drought, the Railroad company quit coming there, and people moved away.  Some of the last folks to live there donated so much stuff to the museum that it is a wonderful display of how people lived on the plains.  These pictures are in the "school house."

 We positioned our faces in the mirror and took our pictures.  Then we selected a hairstyle from early 1900s and made our pictures for the Keota Yearbook!  We emailed the pictures to ourselves!  We thought this was a very clever activity.

 Here we are, a blast from the past!  I love how it makes me look young and thin!  :)

 Here's Emily!

 And can you believe--Rowen?

 

Another interactive display that we tried:  this is a ski jump at Steamboat Springs with wii technology.  The skis actually change tilt as the wind blows your hair and you are in the movie flying down the hill!  We crashed several times, but we also did some Olympic qualifying jumps!

 Rowen taking off on the jump!

 We got the best scores when we followed the instructions of the little guy on the screen.

 There were so many things to see and learn from.  We thought it was an amazing museum.  Most of the time, we were too busy learning to think of taking pictures.  We even got to place dynamite in a gold mine and blow it up!  Just pretending, of course, but it was very educational.  We were so glad to have Rowen along with us for the day.

Recent Concerts Jason and Emily were in

(Click on the blue words to see and hear the concerts.
This is the instrumental ensemble in which Jason and Emily played cello and violin with other home schoolers.

This is the choir in which Jason and Emily sang with other home schoolers.

 These events ended the Spring semester at CHESS, our home school private school.  The ensemble was directed by Mrs. Teri Ong, who with her husband Steve started CHESS 22 years ago.  Our family has been enrolled in CHESS 21 years!  The choir was directed by Mr. James Clifford, who has been the administrator of CHESS for 10 years.  We appreciate these folks who have invested in the home schooling community and in our family.  Next, CHESS will be doing achievement testing.  Emily is scheduled for that April 25-26.

Quilting Projects in 2013

 This first quilt is my 2012 Facebook Block of the Month Quilt.  I finished it late December and gave it to our dear friends, the Browns, who are like extended family to us.

 In January I made a quilt top for a boy here in town. It is a twin size, so on our queen "model bed" you don't get the full effect.  The black border will be hanging down on a twin size bed.  I made a matching fully lined pillow case too.  This quilt is at the quilter's in Kansas now. 

 This next quilt top is a king size.  This quilt has seven browns in it.  It is called Indian Hatchet String quilt.  The "string" part of it is because of the small strips that make up the middle section of each block.  There are 176 seven inch blocks in this quilt!  The string sections are made up of ten strips, and there are twelve combinations of the strip sections so that it is randomized.  I sent this quilt top off to an old friend in KC to quilt.  My Kansas quilter can only do queens and smaller.  I was glad to find my childhood friend on Facebook and find out she could machine quilt king size quilts.

Yesterday, my cousin, LaDeana and her daughter, Tiffany spent the day with us.  We started a quilt for Tiffany with four of us working together:  Emily, Tiffany, LaDeana, and me. We had three sewing machines going, and someone cutting strips or pinning.  LaDeana picked the Carrousel pattern, like Aiden's Quilt, because it is a very easy and fast pattern.  A couple of weeks ago, we went shopping together and Tiffany picked out the fabrics she wanted. 

In the afternoon, Tiffany and Emily began laying out the quilt blocks on the floor.

Here is Tiffany with all the blocks laid out. (The colors are much more vibrant in real life.  The borders are a rich purple.)  This is for a full/queen size, but without the borders yet.  We actually got five rows sewed together before quitting for the day.  Another long day, and we should be able to get it done.  So we are waiting to see when that day can happen.  It was fun to work together like ladies used to in the "olden days" of quilting bees.  Only, we didn't gossip.  :) We did listen to Odyssey cds and enjoyed each other's company.

Ollie Chandler Collection by Randy Alcorn Book Review

Deadline, by Randy Alcorn

I have never read a book quite like this one.  I chose to review the book because it would include a mystery to solve, and I have always loved mysteries.  The book starts out with a Sunday afternoon football game being watched by three best friends:  Doc, Finney, and Jake.  Before the afternoon was over, all three were in the hospital, two of them in critical condition.  Only one of them was ready to meet God, but two of them died.  The story is about the survivor trying to figure out why his friends died, and who did it.  Finney, who went to heaven when he died, continued to exert influence on his friend, Jake, through the memories of his life choices and a letter he had written Jake.  The author spent a lot of time telling what Finney was experiencing in heaven, and a chapter of the awfulness of hell which Doc experienced.  I found the heaven scenes very interesting, as I had never spent much time thinking about details of what heaven could be like. 

Jake is a newspaper opinion columnist who changes his mind about nearly everything he believes the longer he investigates his friends’ deaths.  The changes that come in his life are heartwarming.  Many people are incensed when his columns change to reflect his new understanding and he is no longer politically correct.  He is also in danger of being killed from ruthless people, so the book is very scary in places. 

Alcorn deals with issues confronting our society today, such as abortion, sexual perversions, educational controversies, medical ethics, and political correctness.  It is not a book I would allow my young children to read, but I think an important book for adults to read.

Dominion, by Randy Alcorn

This is the second book in this three volume book of detective stories.  Ollie Chandler, who is the detective in all three books, is more prominent in this book than in the first.  Jake and his family’s story continues, but is not the main thing.  Jake’s friend at the newspaper, a big black man named Clarence, is the primary character.  Clarence was raised in a Christian home, but he doubts God’s power, love, and justice when his sister and niece are killed in a drive by shooting.  Ollie allows Clarence to work with him to solve the crime.  Along the way, Clarence has many issues to deal with: racism (in himself and others), anger, unresolved guilt, wrong beliefs about God, danger, and his orphaned nephew’s involvement in a gang. 

The reader has the wonderful privilege of peeking into heaven and seeing what Dani, Clarence’s sister, is experiencing and learning there.  There also is a peek into hell after the gang leader commits suicide by playing Russian roulette.  After reading these books, I am more determined than ever to live for Jesus and make it to heaven!  I also am much more aware of racial issues, gang and drug cultures, and the effect of the breakdown of homes and absence of fathers in our nation today.

Reading about Clarence’s nephew’s induction into the gang reminded me of Alcorn’s Courageous book and the movie by the same title.  Alcorn has done his homework to deal with the many issues in this book.  Because of characters who were led astray by false religious teachings, the reader can be warned against error.  I think it is an excellent book for opening the eyes of those who have not understood the reasons for what is going on in the black culture.  Alcorn is a master at intricate plots and surprise ending twists.

Deception, by Randy Alcorn

Detective Ollie Chandler is the main character in this book.  Clarence and Jake are both involved, too, helping Ollie investigate murders, and trying desperately to lead him to faith in Christ before the murderer kills him!  I kept consoling myself, “This book is written in first person, by Ollie himself, so he must get out alive!”  The evidence points to someone in the detective pool as having done the murder.  Some of the evidence even points to Ollie, and he can’t convince himself he is innocent, since he blacks out from drinking too much since the loss of his wife, Sharon.  In this book, the reader gets to know Ollie very well.  Ollie has many intellectual roadblocks to believing in God, for example:  If God is a God of justice, why do people get by with murder?  If God is all-powerful, why do good people get cancer and die?

Things are not as they appear.  Follow where the evidence leads.  There is no justice; there is just us.  These are the mantras by which Ollie lives.  But he is unwilling to follow the evidence for Christ because he doesn’t want to know those answers.

This book gave me “whiplash” several times.  When I thought I had something figured out, I didn’t.  It is a mystery until the end.  

This is a great set of mysteries.  I enjoyed reading them.  Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers and Edelweiss provided me with a complimentary e-copy of this book for review purposes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Finally we got some snow!

This entire winter, we have had very little snow here in Johnstown, and the surrounding area. Finally the forecasters were correct for this weekend, and we received the great blessing of 10" - 12" of beautiful snow!

 

From nearly midnight on Saturday, until nearly dark on Sunday, it snowed.  Minimal wind, just steady, swirling snow fell.  A beautiful day to stay home, join in two church services online, and in the afternoon, put a puzzle together.  Great family time, with our three remaining children....

 When the puzzle was as complete as possible (can you find the piece missing?), it was time to get dressed warmly and shovel ourselves out!

 

It was a beautiful day in Johnstown...thank the Lord for the snow!

I can trust Jesus....

One of the young adults in our family had a very real dream last night, that I think will be a blessing to some of you.  Here is the dream....

     
"I was in a vehicle driving slowly around a city block that had lots of construction going on. I was holding a small baby in my arms, with his head in my hands and his feet toward me. He had trouble trusting me. If I held him resting on my knees below the window level, he would fidget, cry, and almost jump out of my arms. When I held him up in mid-air where he could see what was going on outside the car, he would be fine. I kept telling him in a comforting way, 'Trust me, you don't have to see outside right now. Just trust me; I won't drop you.' "

I suddenly woke up and started thinking about my dream. I wonder how often I act like that baby. I am like a baby and God is like the capable adult. I want to see what is going on around me. I want to know and see where God and I are going. I get really fidgety when God holds me in a way that I cannot see the battles, victories, joys and pleasures that are ahead.

Upon waking up, the phrase stuck in my head was, "Trust me, you can trust me…" I  make it my aim to trust Jesus.

"...I can trust Jesus…He takes care of me..." (I Can  Trust Jesus by the Collingsworths)

"...All things well...He makes no mistake. The good, the bad, the heart-breaking, He is always the same. He doth all things well…"(...All Things Well by the Barnard Family)

Helping with Sheep Shearing

 In November, Beth, Emily, and Janet were invited to Ewe Bet Ranch to watch lambing.  We spent a couple of hours there, helping with moving six several day old lambs and their mothers to new places, holding the lambs while they got their ear tags, inoculations, and tail bands.  We also got to see one lamb born, the second of twins.  We missed the first birth while we were doing the other tasks.

We asked if we could come back for shearing day.  By now, we have figured out that you don't go there just to watch.  You go to help, learn, and watch.  Friday, January 25, was shearing day.  Beth had to work until 3 p.m., so she couldn't come until about 3:20.  Rowen took the day off so he could help, but at bedtime the night before, we discovered our hot water heater had sprung a leak.  So he spent the day removing the old and getting a new water heater installed...by himself...but that's another story!

Emily and Janet went at 9:30 a.m.  We got there about the time the shearer, Jason Foley, showed up.  This is the only picture we have of Jason.  He was moving pretty fast, so we're lucky to have this picture.  He uses his legs to control the sheep, keeping a leg or a head between his legs.  He has hold of an ear in this picture.  As I watched ~70 sheep get sheared in seven hours, I kept thinking of the verse in Isaiah 53:7:  "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:  he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."

Truly, the sheep are very noisy, as they wait in the pens outside the barn.  Some of them are feisty, and don't want to be put down (Jason knew how to do it; it was amazing).  But while they are being sheared, they are silent, except for one that made a purring rumbling type noise.  It was so incredible to me to see that silence and have the verse go over and over in my mind.  I know that verse is talking about Jesus, and how He willingly went to the cross, to suffer and die for my sins, and I was so thankful for the object lesson before me that was a blessing to me.

 Jason started with the under side of the sheep and that part and the legs' wool was tossed over to where I was standing.  It is called "tags" and is put in a separate bag.  The scrappy looking pieces in the picture are also "tag" and I would sweep that up to put in the bag.  Each animal had an ear tag with a number.  I wrote the number down, and kept track of which ones got their hooves trimmed, any deworming medicine or other treatment on a notebook. 

 This is the rest of the fleece sheared off one sheep.  These are two homeschool friends who worked with us part of the day, Evan and Brooke.  The big gunny sack is where most of the white fleeces were put.  We filled two of these gunny sacks in seven hours, and many other bags where other colors, black or speckled, were put.  The owners, the Beemers, wanted to keep some wool to card and spin for themselves, rather than sell it all.  They also sheared several of their neighbor's sheep, and those fleeces were kept separate.

 There was a skinny ladder on the framework of this gunny sack, which Emily is standing on.  The fleece had to be lifted up and dropped down into the sack.

 After the fleece was in the sack, someone had to climb down in the sack and stomp it down to make it fit tightly.  This is when Evan was in there.  You can see that there are several feet of fleeces already in there, and yet the opening is above his head!  He did most of the 'way down deep' stomping for the girls.  Before the next fleece was ready to come, he had to climb out.  He and the girls used the framework to get high enough to be able to use their arms on the top to pull their bodies up and out. 

 Emily in the bag.  I think the kids had a good time, but Emily was sure sore the next day!

 After the bag was full enough to be safe for "old" people, I bravely got in the sack.  I was a little concerned if I would be able to get out again, but the Lord helped!  :)  It is kind of freaky to get in and out of, because of the confined space and the way your upper body has to go above the rafters to get in!

 In this picture, you can see the other bags in the background of the specially saved fleeces.  One very amazing thing to me was that so called black sheep, even though they look brown from being bleached by the sun, have very black wool!  I thought it was so much prettier than the white.  I had to be very careful to get all the black wool cleaned off the shearing floor before a white sheep was brought in.  There could be NO black wool get into the big gunny sack, or it would lower the value/price the wool would fetch.

 Here are the three kids taking a photo op break on the corral fence outside the barn.

 This is the first sack full of white wool.

 By the end of the day, there were two bags full.  Beth got to help Emily sew the top of the second bag shut.  She also helped Emily with putting the fleeces in the bag because the other kids had gone home after 2 p.m.

 There were others who helped throughout the day, besides the owners and the homeschoolers.  A group of female vet students from Colorado State University came.  There were six there from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. and two more came at 3:30 p.m. Mostly, they were learning how to handle the sheep, (to make them lay down), trimming hooves, giving shots or deworming medicines, checking their eyes for anemia, all under the direction and supervision of the Beemers.  Jason told the Beemers that their time with the vet students was likely more valuable than most of the class time they get, which is all theory.

 Pictures of the sheared sheep after the day was done.  I think there were about seventy who were sheared. 

 One of the vet students asked the kids why they were there; how did they know about it?  The reply was, "We are homeschooled.  We like to have interesting experiences as part of our schooling to broaden our lives."  She said, "I was homeschooled one year, and I was bored.  I wish I could have done something like this, or even known about the possibility.  Maybe I would have homeschooled longer."

It was hard work, but it was fun to work together with others.  We feel like we know the Beemers so much better because of working together with them and their sheep.  Before, we just knew them as the people who sell us peaches and apples in the fall.  Now we know them as friends who delight in teaching not only vet students, but also young homeschoolers.

Rowen's 55th birthday January 21

 For Rowen's birthday, Emily finished and framed a drawing she had been working on this month.  It is of Charissa, (our granddaughter), how she looked on December 24, 2012 when we were in Joplin.

 Rowen is wearing his new birthday sweater.  These pictures were taken on Sunday, the day before his birthday.  We are so thankful for the husband and daddy that the Lord has given our family.  Rowen is a tremendous blessing to us, an example of a true Believer, loving, kind, helpful, and thoughtful, as well as being talented to do so many things around our home.

 Here is the drawing up close, and the picture Emily was using as an example.  The Lord has blessed Emily with amazing talent.

 On January 21st, the moon and Jupiter were close together in the night sky.  Emily took this picture from our deck.  We thought it was a special event for Rowen's birthday night.

Short Visit from Richard and Judy Grout

 On January 8, Richard and Judy Grout, missionaries to Russia, came through Colorado as part of their deputation travels.  We were privileged to have them in our home for the evening and overnight.  We have been blessed to be a regular stop-over place for them many times through the years when they have been headed west. They wanted to update our family on their activities.  We also invited Bob and Catherine Desmond over so they could see and hear the Grouts. 

Richard hooked our computer monitor up to his laptop so we could see slide shows about the work in Russia.

Richard was explaining how they had passed out the London 12 books at the Olympics.

Bob and Catherine have been dear friends and supporters of the Grouts for the 20 years they have been in Russia.  They have "adopted" some of the orphans and written letters and sent gifts to them through the years.

I'm sorry the picture does not show that Beth was there too.  She must have been hidden by Bob.  Rowen took the pictures, so he isn't in them.

Bob and Catherine are very special to us.