Sleigh bells ring, are
you listening?
In the lane, snow is glistening;
a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight
walking in a winter wonderland!
December 18-30
My brother is home for Christmas!! That is, he arrived home
after some crazy travel changes. After missing his flight in
Dallas, the next flight into Chicago didn't arrive until late
in the evening. He spent the night with Grandma F., who lives
in the suburbs, and then Sunday afternoon took a bus to Madison,
where my dad met him. It's been so special to have our family
complete for a couple weeks! We've played games, gathered for
music time on various instruments, and talked, talked and talked.
He's the same as ever -- but definitely growing in heart and
spirit. And sports a nice goatee, much to our surprise! :-)
...to end the year...
I'll be back in Texas, totally by the Lord's workings. :-) Timothy
has been contemplating purchasing a car for quite some time,
and while on furlough, we gave him our old mini-van. Of course,
he changed plans to drive back to ALERT vs. flying and those
plans included me! We'll leave on December 30th, visit some
friends en route, and then I'll work for 8 days on campus until
the family swings by on their way to New Orleans. I'm excited
beyond words to spend 18 hours traveling with my brother, fellowship
with friends, serve at ALERT, and see what God has in store.
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September. The trees
begin to hold a tint of orange, red and yellow towards the end
of the month and we start thinking about apple cider, canning
tomatoes, and getting the last from the cucumbers before the
frost. It's been a grand time as a family! In particular...
Family News
Daddy...has been diligently working on our organ! Pipe installation
was begun in the middle of the month and the house rattled from
some low sounds shorlty afterwards. :-) Maybe we'll have it
completed by the end of the year?
Mother...continues teaching
piano lessons twice a week, and has been researching various
organ playing methods in preparation for the completed instrument.
Timothy...spent three weeks
just outside New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina's diaster,
with FriendSips
Intl. His ALERT team served meals, fixed roofs, sang hymns
for encouragement, and experienced some awesome opportunites
to witness for Christ. He's back at ALERT, but may be deployed
again after Hurricane Rita's landfall.
Shelley...is finishing up highschool
this fall and looking ahead to various music courses at Indianapolis.
She's still taking weekly violin lessons, and practices her
new guitar daily.
Mark...downloaded a computer
program, allowing HAM radio operators to make contacts using
the Internet and repeaters. So he's been experiecing some new
voices, from Israel to Russia! Overall, he loves 6th grade,
reading being his favorite.
Ryan...has found the world
of money, diving full force into his collection of quarters,
dimes, nickles and pennies. Thankfully, it's not an obsession,
turning him into a Scrooge. :-) School wise, third grade has
brought some concentrated studies in math and english, but he
manages to finish before noon on most days.
September 7
My sister is now 18! Unfortunately, there wasn't a drivers licence
amid the pile of birthday gifts :-), but she's eager to pursue
that adventure very soon. We celebrated her special day with
a cook-in (because it rained), and various gifts included a
photo album, a NKJV Bible, and a guitar.
September 13
The other birthday this month belongs to Ryan, who turned 9!
His above all treasured gifts were coin collecting books for
his growing state quarter assortment, and a thick directory
of every possible coin made in the U.S. Also, with some birthday
money, he purchased a speedometer for his bike. Now evening
walks are punctuated with, "Look, Jana -- I'm going 20
miles per hour!!!"
September 17
Today was the much anticipated church picnic! We all trooped
out to the Saggisor's home, set on a beautiful lake with numerous
hiking trails. After lunch, us "kids (and the young at
heart :-) ) battled a couple rounds of Round Robin in ping-pong,
then a volleyball game began at the lakefront. (Some of the
girls begged a ride in the back of a truck too -- see pictures
above!) It was a gorgeous day, perfect for fellowship and games,
bringing us closer together.
September 20
I was sitting at the computer after supper, when Ryan came rushing
upstairs. "Jana! You have to see the sunset!" So,
we craned our necks out the window and it was beautiful -- albeit
the edge of the house cut off half the view. Hmmmm. "Hey
Ryan -- let's go on the roof!" :-) So the two of us climbed
out my parents bedroom window and admired the streaks of colors
from our chilly vantage point. It was a fun little adventure
from the ordinary, and I thank God for the simple (but precious)
little things life holds.
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August found me home only
10 out of 31 days, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world!
Around the House
Besides continuing with berry picking and harvesting honey from
our three hives, I went with my sister to babysit our pastor's
children for an afternoon. Those four hours was lively. :-)
Michiah was down for a nap during the majority of the time,
so Shelley and I played outside with Zachariah and Isabella,
blowing bubbles, throwing balls and totally enjoying ourselves.
The McShaffrey kids are definately a little more spirited at
home than at church! Then, another afternoon, I got a phone
call from Bethany Bennett, saying they were in the area and
would we like to meet for supper? Of course! Shelley and I spent
a lovely, but all too short evening with the family. Amid all
this, I kept up a steady stream of e-mails with Laura Bogner,
in anticipation of the upcoming Houston trip. What exactly would
those nine days hold?
August 9-18
This was by far one of my most loved trips! It was a perfect
blend of ministry and fellowship before and during the entire
children's conference of Friday and Saturday, as I worked with
Laura and the Bogner family (Mr. & Mrs, Melanie, Amy and
Bethany), plus Aaron and Christa Baker and a dozen young people
from their Lousiana church. (see Jan. 11-20 below) My
kids totally endeared themselves;
I'm always surprised how winning smiles and hugs and simple
yet heartfelt words of, "Can you be my older sister, Miss
Jana?" make me want to keep moving for another hour. Fellow
teachers were energy givers to the top, especially the 15 runners,
boys and girls ages 12-15, who did so many errands and made
our lives 10x easier. I was really
encouraged despite the hectic schedule, praising God for His
faithfulness and never ending strength as I acknowledged my
lack of anything good. Time in the beautiful state of Texas
was finished with a marvelous day on Galveston Island, swimming
and movie watching with the family, late night talks :-), and
a surprise meeting with an old friend, Naomi Valine. I miss
"my" four sisters...God brought us together four times
in just a year!
August 20-September 3
I had a day to repack before our family headed down to Indianapolis,
IN for the annual ATI Strings Workshop, and my dad's Conducting,
and Ministry & Worship classes. With Daddy teaching, and
Mother and Shelley participants in the workshop, Mark and Ryan
and I had the run of whatever we wanted. :-) Mornings were devoted
to chores around the training center and school studies. In
the afternoons, the boys would rollerblade with their friends
David and Ernesto while I wrote letters, or played with other
staff kids. The diaster of Hurricane Katrina was a rude interruption
to those fun days, as we tracked news of the Bogners in Houston,
Bakers in New Orleans, and Timothy being deployed with the numerous
ALERT responce teams. But overall, it was another positive memory
to add to the family scrapbook. Besides, who wouldn't feel blessed
in ending the weekend at Starbucks with a dear friend? :-)
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The adventures God brought
my way the past two months were incredible, sometimes beyond
words. It's amazing what He can do when we let go and submit
to His will!
April 20-25
I was in Dallas by mid-afternoon and had a lovely five days
with my best friend Amanda. Highlights included a family picnic
at, appropiately enough, Friendship Park (lingering bluebonnets
made the most beautiful pictures!), meeting Jonathan's extended
family at an engagement party for the couple, continuing with
wedding plans and a Sunday afternoon hike with Michael, a friend
from church. It was such a blessing to enjoy Amanda's company
and be strengthened before heading to ALERT.
April 24 - May 22
It was so incredible to be back on campus! I loved seeing old
friends and getting aquainted with the newer staff girls since
my last visit. My main focus was helping Jess in Operations,
preparing for the ATI Regional conference in housing/meals registration
and general information. It was a crazy time for everyone --
and even more so during the conference! -- but working with
friends always makes burdens light. :-) We rarely got to bed
before midnight! After the conference, I divided my time between
taking inventory in the library and helping Sharon with the
office side of STEP. This first month taught me many lessons
on relationships, leaning on the unfailing love of God vs. friends,
and the joys of simply following where He leads.
May 11-15
After the busy schedule of the conference, I needed a break
-- and a chance to finish a quilt for a friend's wedding in
July! Dallas, here I come! Amanda and I set out to use every
possible minute to sew and quilt. Of course, we did other things,
such as watching movies, more wedding plans, another visit to
Friendship Park, taking advantge of Wendy's free shakes, and
a , producing some amazing and fun photos. :-)
May 23 - June 26
Skills Training for Emergency Prepardness...this was the long
awaited event of my trip, with eagerness to see God work, yet
feelings of hesitation as I stepped into the unknown. The first
week was leadership training, and then the four with the girls.
My five team leaders were so supportive and forgiving, and my
twenty girls stole my heart that first week. Green was known
as the entergetic group: songs, craziness and, well, pranks
usually came from them :-) Together, we learned and grew and
laughed and cried. Classes included CPR/First Aid, home maintenence,
rappelling/river crossing, canoeing, Search & Rescue and
Navigation, plus daily group devotions and evening sessions
with various speakers. I'm still awed by how God worked in my
weakness and drew us closer to Himself.
June 27- July 3
STEP had left me extremely drained, physically and emotionally,
so I wasn't quite able to comprehend that the next adventure
was traveling to Knoxville, TN for Kelly C's wedding -- and
spending five days with some of my dearest friends on earth!
Us girls spent a lovely 2 1/2 days at Jessica's family cabin
in the Smoky Mnts. with tubing, taking walks, and, of course,
talking! We also assisted Kelly in wedding preparations, making
programs and birdseed packets, then decorating the church, etc.
On THE day, I assisted Natalie in photographing the wedding,
a whole adventure in itself! One of the most precious memories
was late Saturday night, when we ordered pizza for dinner, went
swimming, learned Irish dance steps in the Boling's tennis court,
and ended at 1AM with a time of worship and prayer. Traveling
back to Texas on the 3rd with Amanda (first to ALERT to pick
up Timothy, then on to Dallas), I could only praise God for
yet another precious time with friends.
July 4 & 5
Two days left until I went home...Amanda I were both dragging
from lack of sleep (and me especially from STEP), so the 4th
of July was simple, having pizza for supper and trooping out
with the family/Jonathan to watch fireworks at the Six Flags
Mall parking lot. Tuesday morning came sooner than we wished
and Amanda and I were teary-eyed as we bid farewell at the airport.
November 5th, her wedding date, couldn't come soon enough. :-)
Days with the family....
...after the two month adventure were sweet and fun -- and busy!
:-) And Timothy was even home until the 25th to join us. We
extracted over 100 pounds of honey from our three hives, enjoyed
the humid weather with water fights and swimming at the Hillsboro
pool after the boys' lessons, volleyball games in the evenings,
campouts in our backyard fort, Grandma Baldridge visiting for
2 weeks, a church volleyball/bonfire party, and finally had
carpet installed in the upstairs rooms and hallway! On July
30th I celebrated my 24th birthday, thankful for another year
to serve my Lord and grow in His grace and knowledge.
July 25-30
In a last minute decision, I called a Christian camp near us,
to see if they still needed counselors for their Kids Camp.
Wonder of wonders, they did and I spent a grand week with six
sweet (and crazy :-) ) girls, ages 9-13. From wake-up time to
bed-time, we learned and laughed thru sessions, meals, games,
swimming and just hangin' out. I also adopted some other girls
as my "younger sisters", adding to the blessings of
each day. Fellow counselors were equally fun -- especially in
the 11PM group pillow fight! The six days flew by and I can
only pray God worked in the girls to give them direction and
hope for their future.
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April showers bring May
flowers, or so the rhyme goes. Rain has alterated with perfect
sunny days (and some chilly nights!), bringing life and beauty
around our home. In particular, we've enjoyed:
April 3
Celebrating Mark's 11th birthday! My little buddy isn't quite
so little anymore! :-) Various gifts included food (for expeditions
in the woods), new writing utensils and a kit to make a wooden
shelf. He's such a great brother!
...Ryan's excitement on
Mark's birthday!
As a reward for completing a phase of ALERT Cadets, the boys
received new bikes, Ryan getting his first. Farewell to the
days of pushing bikes up our driveway -- now, they can get in
low gear and pedal up! They've been much more eager to go with
me on walks. :-) With the days getting warmer, they love to
spend all afternoon zooming up and down and around our lawn.
Good exercise!
April 8
Our church held a combination pizza party/movie/game night for
all the families! We met at a local restaurant in Reedsburg
first; I shared a table with the Stockdale girls and little
Emily T. -- we had an interesting round of conversations with
her. :-) Then back at the church, a side room was converted
into a theater and we watched Time
Changer; most of the families had seen it numerous
times before, but group viewing is always enjoyable. Afterwards,
we split up to play games in various places -- and give backrubs.
:-) Praise God for the blessing of like-minded fellowship.
...and in the works...
I admit -- I doubted how the Lord would work out details concerning
my hopes to return to ALERT this spring. Plane tickets were
pricey, finances a little tight, and opportunities at home suddenly
opened. Where was I to go? God continually impressed upon my
heart to keep faith, so I did (as best as possible :-) ). And
He was faithful to His Word! I leave April 20th, to spend a
couple days with my dear friend Amanda, before going to ALERT
on April 25th to help with various conferences and activities.
From May 30-June 24 I'll be a leader in the STEP program. And
then June 26-July 3 I'm traveling to TN for a wedding and fun
beforehand! I arrive home on July 5th, Lord willing. Multiple
trips in one are always fun. :-) When possible, I hope to update
my Live Journal so feel free to check that over the next 2 1/2
months for news and pictures.
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2005 has been an exciting
year so far! Highlights from January-March have been:
January 3-10
My dear friend Jessica B. visited before heading back to college
life. We made exciting plans to spend half the week with a mutual
friend across state, but snow and ice made us cancel at the
last minute. It was no small disappointment, to say the least.
But what a wealth of blessings the Lord brought during our moments
at home. :-) We read aloud and discussed several books, compiled
identical scrapbooks of our years of friendship, enjoyed the
cold outdoors (Jess even went skating for the first time, LOL),
played games with the boys, and most of all, encouraged each
other through late night confessions and ponderings.
January 11-20
An exciting vacation/ministry trip to New Orleans, then over
to ALERT. Back in Sept. '04, one of Daddy's students in his
ministry and worship class at Indy asked him to present a weekend
version at his church in Louisiana. Before we knew it, we were
scheduled for early this year, and deathly thrilled. :-) Aaron
had painted vivid pictures of sightseeing opportunities and
his family, plus the homeschooling families that made up the
church. We had an incredible mixture of fellowship and fun;
it's hard to accurately describe what an encouragement our time
was. Mr. and Mrs. Baker were wonderful hosts and Aaron, Jason
and Christa were "adopted" into our family. On Jan.
17th, we left for ALERT, spending 2½ fast days with Timothy
and my friends there.
February 7 - March 5
Timothy came home to visit! He was grateful to do some work
for a friend of ours, helped Daddy put up baseboard upstairs
and replace our stairs, and made the family seem complete again.
One or two nights a week would find us in my room, discussing
all sorts of topics after all were in bed. He's sorely missed
-- by his older sister, especially. :-)
March 3-15
I spent most of the time with my paternal
Grandma in Bourbonnais, IL. We crocheted together, went shopping
at our favorite thrift store, patronized Olive Garden and Chicago
Dough for meals, religiously used the TV shows of Jeopardy!
and Wheel of Fortune to stretch our intellectual thinking :-),
and wrote letters nearly every day. I was also very grateful
for the quieter moments to think and pray, firming up decisions
for the future and doing some heavy reading. On the 14th, my
maternal Grandma came down from Chicago to pick me up, and then
I spent the night at her place. That evening, though, I stole
a couple hours with my friend Skye W. (and husband Matt/daughter
Emma and friend Susan M.) to chat and catch up on news.
March 15-22
Hurrah for the fiancé of my best friend, who graciously
gave me a ticket to fly down to Dallas for a week! Amanda D.
and I had an amazing time together, from making wedding plans
(dresses, music, colors, locations -- and yes, and the date
:-) ) to watching movies, babysitting her adorable charge, Kendall,
and taking a day trip to San Antonio. But above all, we experienced
some "ups and downs" together that drew us closer.
In a way, I think both of us wondered if her Jonathan would
change our relationship in any form; could we still be "best
friends"? The answer was "yes" -- just now defined
to "girlfriend" and "boyfriend." :-) It's
so precious to have a kindred spirit who knows your heart and
loves you anyway.
March 28
I became a grandma, LOL! My poor fish, Benedict, died while
I was at Amanda's and the family bought me a pair of swordtails.
Mr. Swordtail quickly passed on from a strange disease, but
Mrs. Swordtail was healthy -- obviously enough to give birth
to numerous babies! At the time of writing, our count is at
four little guys, but there will be more...many, many more,
I'm told... Swordtails anyone?!?
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