Josiah turns 12!

Josiah was eight years old when he became king...
...and he did what was right in the sight of the LORD,
and walked in all the ways of his father;
he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
2Kings 22:1-2


The youngest of our family turned 12 yesterday! Josiah has been such a blessing to our family ever since he came into this world on January 23, 1995 and has grown into such a fine young man who desires to serve his Lord and Savior. Our house just wouldn't be the same without this fun loving, duck talking, master puzzle building brother!





Can you guess that Josiah was very happy to get the next volume of Jonathan Park?


"Oh Boy!"

This year Josiah broke the tradition of a cake shape and asked for a Cherry Cheese cake instead. Though some in the family are not so keen on this delecacy, everyone gave it their best for the birthday boy and honestly could say "it wasn't too bad".

Thanks to Mr. Eddy (The Cheese Cake King) for this delectable recipe!

Aunt Lizzie Belle - her dress and her story

A Treasure Chest, a Dress and a Bedstead

I remember having a party for my 10th birthday. We had moved to a new house earlier that year and of the friends I had invited - "some were silver" and "others gold." Sorry to say, I can't remember what the cake looked like, nor even what I received as gifts from those friends. My memory loss goes so far as to even forget what I received from my family that year. (well, it was almost 13 years ago) But one gift I remember very well. A gift that out shone all the other special memories of my birthday. It was a beautiful old trunk, dark blue, with a white stripe around the edges, and facsimile newsprint from years past lining the interior.

My Grandpa and Grandma Sauve gave it to me, saying that I could use it as a treasure chest to hold all my special things. So that is what I did, adding even more special things and memories a couple years later when Grandma passed away, and I was allowed to help clean out their house. I'm not really sure how I acquired each item, or how they ended up in that chest, except for the one obvious fact that they were all special things (to me at least), and things that held special memories about my grandparents, and about their past. About that same time, I became the recipient of a lovely wooden bedstead set. It is still in use today, and has the habit of creaking and groaning comfortably whenever you get on or off the bed. I vaguely remember a note, attatched to the bedpost, specifying that it was for me and that it used to belong to a great Aunt.

And then there was the dress- it is a mystery to me when I came into possession of that beautiful dress. It seems that I have always had it. Tucked away in the corner of my chest, to be taken out and lovingly handled and admired, and "oohhed and aawwed " over. I remember us girls wishing we could fit into it, sure that it must have been the dress of a little girl many years ago. Then Dad informed us one day that it was in fact the dress of a great Aunt of his. An Aunt whom he remembered as being very petite. Lizzie was her name, he said, and she was the sister of his Grandfather Habbershaw, his mother's father.

Lizzie Belle Habbershaw

(This is a picture of the five Habbershaw siblings.
Lizzie Belle is second from the right)

Lizzie Belle Habbershaw was born on September 8, 1889, and was the oldest of five children. She didn't marry 'til late in life and never had any children. Her husband's name was Henry Carlson and he worked on the railroad. They cared for her elderly mother Margaret until her mother's death in 1936. Eight years later, Henry also passed away.
After talking to our great Aunt Bev, (Grandma's sister) we found out that when Lizzie died, her three nieces, (Grandma, Aunt Helen, and Aunt Bev) went to her house and took a few special things of hers. That is how my Grandma came to be in possession of her bedstead and dress.

Theresa and the Dress

So now we knew who the dress belonged to. But it really was a shame that no one could fit into it. It is such a tiny delicate thing, with a 23 inch waist and a 40 inch neck to hem measurement. The thin white fabric is decorated with tiny tucks, and dainty lace insertions, and down the back, are 12 perfectly fashioned, handmade buttonholes, with their corresponding tiny buttons. All these things, along with the slightly gathered bodice, are tell-tale sign of when Lizzie Belle would have worn this dress. During the years of 1905-1910 these delicate white "tea gowns" were very much in style. She was probably in her mid-late teens when she wore this dress. It was possibly even worn for her graduation ceremony. There is no way we can know for sure, but one thing that isn't to hard to figure out, is that this dress is just about 100 years old!

Now this is where our good friend Theresa comes in!! She is what some people would call, "vertically challenged," but I say she is "fearfully and wonderfully made!" Anyway, one day when our sweet, petite friend was spending the afternoon with us, I had the brilliant idea to see if she could wear Lizzie Belle's dress!

She held her breath as I quickly buttoned up the back of the dress, and tied on a pretty pink ribbon. We were so excited!! Finally, after almost a century, some one was wearing Lizzie Belle's dress! I did up Theresa's hair in as best as I could figure would be an appropriate style for that time period, then turned her over to Grace for a photo session.

The dress fit Theresa almost perfectly! It was a little snug at the waist, but you have to remember that in the beginning of the 1900's, ladies were still using corsets to achieve a slimmer waist line. Also the hem came to just about mid calf on Theresa, so I am guessing Lizzie Belle was probably a couple inches shorter then her. The hem lines were starting to rise slowly by that time, but still not much above the ankle.

I have always loved "old" things, but I especially like studying the beautiful and feminine styles and dresses that women used to wear all the time. Lizzie Belle's tea dress is a remnant of an era when the majority of women believed that they were created different from men for a purpose, and they dressed to accentuate and modestly adorn the feminine figure God gave them. Sadly, today most women have lost the vision of pure, modest, and beautiful femininity, but recently God has been raising up more and more godly girls and ladies who are returning to these standards and seeking to glorify Him in their dress and actions. My prayer is that many more will see the beauty that God has given us women in accepting and delighting in our femininity, not trying to hide it.

~FaithAnn

"Why do we want to dress like men when we are fortunate enough to be woman? Why lose our femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get far more accomplished by being charming then we would by flaunting around in pants and smoking. I'm very fond of men. I think they are wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don't want to look like one!"
~ Tasha Tudor ~

The Year's First Birthday Celebrations!

-The aspiring hunter-
Even though he came out of the season empty handed, mom thought to honor his efforts by making his cake in the shape of a ten point buck!


Faith beautifully created this short sleeve button shirt out of a slightly fishy fabric.


A very nice new dress shirt and tie.
(slow shutter speed - interesting effect)

Today we celebrate John's 19th birthday and pray that this next year God will clearly guide and show what His will is for this special young man!

What would our family be without John?

A continuously maturing disciple and leader for His King Jesus Christ; a loving and entertaining friend; A swiftly growing debator, landscaper and businessman; a thumb-digging back rubber, deep bass singer, and third helping food eater - all these and so much more are what makes this handsome young man such a unique part of our family!

Happy Birthday John!


There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
that all through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
John 1:6-9

The Squirrel and the Coyote... An inspiration for success!

This (slightly short of beautiful) aspect of God's creation was displayed right in our back yard (or rather on the other side of the 6 ft fence) to all our amazment. It seemed to give Baby some inspiration as she has been trying for some time to catch the silly squirrels that come in our back yard and almost succeeded this morning when a slow one was given a scare, but Baby was only left with a mouthful of hair! I don't think she was discouraged though and perhaps in the near future we will be posting a picture of her with her long awaited prize!

Pizza, Fun and Fellowship

Sorry this is late but the large task of going through all my photo files and ordering pictures from 2006 for our family scrapbook has been first on my list and this blog has been slightly deprived of the latest happenings of our family!
Anyways... Last week we had the great pleasure of having the Klaty family over for pizza dinner and time of fellowship. The kids sure had fun dressing up, building a marble tower and bringing out all out marianettes to play with! What fun! Our church just wouldn't be the same without this wonderful family and we thank God for all the great blessings He has given us in being able to fellowship with these dear friends!





Carmen found this adorable little girls dress in Faith closet and it was the perfect fit! Add the crocheted snood and she was an adorable swedish princess! (The dress was actually part of her Aunt's childhood wardrobe that Faith had gotten from Mr. Klaty's mother's garage sale).




The marble tower!


Spence is quite the musical little guy and really enjoyed sitting at our piano, flipping through the hymn book and playing his favorite tunes. Here he is giving John some tips!

Moon Halo - The Heavens declare the Glory of God!

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Psalm19: 1-3

The other night we had the awesome opportunity to observe a Moon Halo. Dad noticed it when he took the dog out for a quick before-bed-walk, and called us all to see it. Soon we were all standing (or laying) on the driveway, (whichever posture provided the best view) exclaiming over this brilliant phenomenon. A beautiful, perfect ring of light encircled the moon. (To quote from www.nasa.gov – "The circular halo is produced by six-sided ice crystals in thin high-altitude clouds, which refract the moonlight and give the halo a characteristic radius of 22 degrees."
Now I do not even pretend to understand how all that works, but what I can grasp about it gives me an even greater appreciation of the glory and omnipotence of our Creator! The Heavens declare the glory of God - indeed!

New Year Weekend at Eddy Acres

On Thursday last week, John, Joshua and Grace along with Dad and Josiah, headed up North to our dear friends the Eddys, the first three to stay for the weekend (the rest of the family came up on Saturday) and try once more (for the men) to obtain some kind of harvest before the hunting season ended. Unfortunately, yet again they were unsuccessful but have many a tale to tell of all their experiences out in God's beautiful creation! Grace also enjoyed her time spent with Theresa as they did many things including restoring an old oil lamp.

Checkers anyone?

Monday afternoon John, Faith, Christianna, Josiah, Theresa and I (Grace) headed out for a walk down the road to check out this farm we had seen for sale around the corner and just enjoy the beautiful (even though it was extremely cloudy) country side!

___________________________________________________________

As the following posts show, (see also our Church blog) I think I can say for all of us that we truly had a blessed last weekend of 2006 as we enjoyed fellowship with likeminded believers in singing praises and worshiping our great and almighty God and spending time as families together thanking our Lord for all He has done for us this past year.

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!
Psalm 68:19


Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.
Psalm 107: 31-32

Laughter is Good Medicine...

Think of a predicament, then it's remedy and write both down on two separate papers. Now pass the predicament to your right hand neighbor and the remedy for it to your left. Once you have received your own set, read them aloud and experience the emotion that God designed in you as you laugh till your belly aches and tears are streaming down your face!
(interspersed are some of our most hilarious game results -enjoy!)



P. What would you do if you walked into a swarm of bees?
R. Try to keep my blood pressure under control.

P. What would you do if Clark's Deli was out of meat and cheese?
R. Eat your own words.

P. What would you do if an Anaconda grabs your ankle in the river?
R. I would replace it with a spare.

P. While jumping off a bridge, what would you do if your bungy cord broke?
R. Scream at the top of your lungs!


P. What would you do if you got stuck in sinking sand?
R. Just stick back in and hope no one notices.

P. What would you do if you fell into a well?
R. Sit in a bucket of water.

P. What would you do if you are riding a bike and a bear steps out in front of you?
R. Pick him up and check for broken bones.


P. What would you do if a gigantic deer buck walked in front of your tree stand?
R. Pray for a soft landing.

P. What would you do if your house caught on fire?
R. Lick it off.


P. What would you do if you were in between two huge Bucks getting ready to fight?
R. I would make camp for the night.

P. What would you do if a pheasant flew up right in front of you when you were hunting in a field?
R. Get the fire extinguisher.


P. What would you do if your car was stolen while at work?
R. Smell some peppermint oil.

P. What would you do if your piano was out of tune?
R. Kick it hard!

P. What would you do if your dog ran out and started chasing your neighbors horse?
R. Let out your cat to tree it.


P. What would you do if your beard caught on fire?
R. Step on it!

P. What would you do if you dropped a 20lb stone on your foot?
R. Go cross-eyed looking at it!


The first night we played this game that Theresa had found in this old book of Parlor Games, our stomachs hurt so bad and every single one of us were reaching for the tissue box as we could not stop from laughing at how the predicament and remedy from two different people could fit together so well! Forget about comedians, cartoon clips and joke books, you can make up your own amusement by playing this unpredictably hilarious game!

Biblical Structures - Graham Cracker Designs

New Years Eve evening we gathered in the Eddy's basement for some architectural creating out of graham crackers with the assigned subject of Biblical structures. Several small teams were created with a few individual designers and the construction quickly commenced as floorboards were laid, frames were built and cement was poured.
Early on a few peeks and inquiries were made as to the subject chosen of other creators, but soon everyone settled down to the tasks at hand as the structures were slowly but surely coming in to view.
In the end, when all was finished and the designs and creative points admired, the one amazing thing that we noticed was that we had unknowingly covered the majority of Scripture starting with Noahs ark and ending with the Apostle Paul in prison!

Below are some pictures of the builders and their creations. Enjoy!



Faith and Christianna and Noah's Ark.

The intricately designed Mr. and Mrs. Noah and friends made out of Graham Crackers by Faith!

Grace and Theresa working on the Tower.


The tower builders! John, Grace and Theresa Eddy.


Josiah and Abraham's altar and offering of the sacrificial lamb.


Shawn Eddy and Joshua and their masterpiece - The Tabernacle of the Lord.


Sacrifice.


Charity and Elisha's upper room.


Mr. and Mrs. Eddy and the Empty Tomb.


He is Risen!


Mom and Dad and the Roman Prison where the Apostle Paul was held.


Fritolious - Roman Soldier.