Menu: November 22 - November 30

Tuesday: Burritos, Chips and Salad

Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken, Brown Rice and Corn

Thursday: Thanksgiving with Family (bringing pie)

Friday: Dinner at Kyle's parents

Saturday: Burgers, Fries and Salad

Sunday: Mongolian Beef, Brown Rice and Steamed Broccoli

Monday: Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas, Chips and Salad

Tuesday: Pepperoni and Pineapple Pizza, Applesauce and Carrots

Wednesday: Turkey Roast and Caramelized Butternut Squash

Day of Worship: Reassessing the Christian Life in Light of the Sabbath

"Our aversion to Sabbath-keeping is not always an exegetical or theological problem, but rather a symptom of the greater problem of worldliness."-Ryan M. McGraw

The moral commandment to honor the Sabbath is one of, if not the most, neglected command of the Scriptures. It's not that anyone outright denies the Sabbath command, at least I've never met anyone that does. Rather, the issue primarily lies in the practical observance of the Lord's Day--simply, Christians are not spending the day in public and private worship. For too many the Sabbath has become a day to advance one's own reputation, production, or station in life instead of a day to advance in holiness under the ordinary means of grace. This book, written by my good friend Ryan McGraw, is all about the practical observance of the Sabbath. If you find yourself struggling to even desire or delight in the Sabbath, a symptom all too common in the church, this is the type of book you want to pick up and read. It's not an academic book, he doesn't retrace work already done by guys like Walter Chantry or Joey Pipa. Rather, it's a winsome, pastoral treatment of an issue that is killing the spiritual life and vitality of the Christian church. Buy it, read it, you won't regret it (click on the picture to purchase a copy).

Evelyn: 39 months

It is my plan to give an update on each of the kids once a month. So here goes Evie's update :)

I love this girl! She is so sweet, tenderhearted and affectionate. There is never a dull moment when Evie is around. She talks CONSTANTLY and Kyle and I are often impressed with her vocabulary. I love being able to have conversations with her and understand what is going on in her head. We are memorizing the childrens' shorter catechism using this book and that has prompted many good discussions about the things of God. We have been encouraged to see the fruit of discipline in Ev; she is much more compliant and obedient than she was a 6 months ago.

Evie is a great big sister. She adores Aletta and Judah is her best buddy. She calls herself my "big helper" and she especially likes to help me cook. Evelyn is Daddy's girl: she looks forward to any time she gets to spend with Kyle. Today she cried for about 15 minutes because she didn't come downstairs in time to get a hug from Daddy before he left for school.

Evie LOVES to "do school": she is constantly asking me to do school with her. I love that she loves to learn and I hope that that will continue for the rest of her life.

I could say a lot more but I think I will stop here for this month :)

Update: Huckie

So Kyle informed me that I needed to give an update on Huck...so here it goes. Huck is his same annoying self...he sheds all over my house, knocks over our kids, steals their food and drools all over. Besides that he is great. No really, Huck is loved. Judah ADORES his dog and Huck is very good with the kids. I'm happy that the kids will grow up with a dog. I'm not really a dog person but I do like Huck. He is almost 2 1/2 now so he is mellowing out a bit which I am thankful for.

* Taking a picture of your dog with photobooth is harder than you would think :)

Update: Rachel

Here are some of the things going on in my life:

- I am enjoying growing as a wife/mother/homemaker. I've been learning more and more what it means to rely on the strength of the Lord each day and not my own. This has been very good for me! I'm so thankful for the sanctifying work of the Spirit.

- I LOVE staying home and caring for our children! It gives me great joy to be the one teaching and nurturing them everyday. I'm very grateful for this privilege! We have tons of fun together :)

- I started doing some preschool with Evie this year which has been great! We are doing the Timberdoodle preschool ciriculumm, supplemented with some bible, devotional and catechism material. Evie really enjoys this! Judah is usually doing some sort of "school" along with us. Since Ev just turned 3 this August, we plan on taking this preschool ciriculumm and spreading it out over the next two years. I think it will be good to ease into homeschooling mode :)

- I've been enjoying building deeper relationships with the women at church and finding ways to serve. I'm starting to really feel at "home" at First RP which is a huge blessing.

- I've been finding more time to read lately. I just finished Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches (I hope to post a review of it in the next couple of days) and a book by Ian Duguid called Hero of Heroes (some devotional thoughts on the beatitudes). I have a long list of books that I'm working through :)

- I'm thankful to be feeling well physically! I feel better than I have in years (the children have been sleeping well, especially Aletta ;) ) I'm enjoying running on the treadmill most days. I find that this has helped my energy level a lot and it has been great to get back into shape after Aletta's birth.

- I continue to enjoy finding new ways to streamline housework/cooking and things of that nature. I'm growing in my love for organization...maybe that comes with having more kids.

- Well there are some updates. There is more I could write but I will leave it at this for now :)

Menu: November 15 - 23

Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie (didn't get to this last week), applesauce

Wednesday: Pizza Soup, Steamed Broccoli and Orange Wedges

Thursday: Imitation Chipotle Burritos, Chips and Spinach Salad

Friday: Date Night! (kids with Grandpa and Grandma)

Saturday: Mediterranean Chicken Flatbread Melts (my own creation) and Sweet Potato Casserole

Sunday: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Homemade French Fries, Spinach Salad and Apple Crisp (Guests)

Monday: Turkey Tenderloin Roast, Baked Potatoes and Steamed Veggies

Tuesday: Pepperoni and Pineapple Pizza and Applesauce

Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken, Brown Rice and Skillet Corn

Update: Kyle

Kyle is currently keeping busy with:

• Classes at PRTS - focusing on learning Greek and getting through those courses.
• Preaching both morning and evening services at First RP - He is going through Ephesians in the morning (on chapter 5) and he will be beginning a series on Lamentation this Sunday evening.
  
• Attending church session meetings - Good experience
• Leading a book study on "The Marrow of Modern Divinity" for church - Meets every other Sunday evening at our house. It has been great so far!
  
• Working a few hours each week at Reformation Heritage Books - He designs and sends out marketing emails. Also he does some stuff with Twitter as well.
  
• Being a Husband and Daddy - Since Kyle's parents moved to town we've been able to go out on monthly dates which has been wonderful! Kyle is a great daddy: I love seeing him interact with the kids!

I'm very thankful for all the work that Kyle does so that I am able to stay home and take care of the children/home.