Double Trouble and other things to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving seemed to go by in a blur for me--does anyone else feel that way?  We have joked in our house that things were just too crazy for us to stop and reflect on our blessings before stuffing ourselves with all the delicious food.  It is true, 16 people staying in one farm house with exactly half of those people being 13 and under makes for a crazy time!  Looking back, I realize we didn't stop and share blessings from the past year or even express thanks for specific blessings, although we were sure to thank The Provider for the meal.  And I do feel sad about all that.  But my time of reflection has come since returning home.  What I've realized as I look back over our days together with my parents,and my two sisters and their families, is that we were surrounded by one of God's greatest gifts to us--a healthy, loving family.  My two sisters and I live in 3 different states, so time together is precious.  God gave us these days to enjoy being together again, just laughing, talking, eating, and one attempt at shopping--just doing life together for a few days.  Mom and Dad got to see grandkids that they don't see very often and I don't think there was a boring minute as long as "Double Trouble" were both awake.  These two little fellows absolutely LOVE getting together but something happens whenever they do.  Instead of just your average (or maybe even above average) energy level for a normal 3 year old boy, when these two cousins meet, there seems to be an explosion of energy and testosterone!  Things get broken, fake fruit gets eaten (sorry, Nee-Nee!), and lots of laughter as well as fighting occurs.  But I absolutely LOVE watching my youngest hang out with my sister's little boy.  They are big buddies!

Of course, the newest member of "the Senter clan" is this little fellow's baby sister who can steal your heart in a minute with her big blue eyes and huge grin!  My girls and I never feel that we have enough time to love on her, so these days were great for us!  We held her as long as she would let us, but eventually she wanted to be free to crawl around and see what the boys were playing with.  She is a go-getter, for sure!  It is a thankful moment to realize that both of these beautiful, healthy children were born to my sister who is a rigid diabetic.  Isn't God good??

Another blessing from this week was the gift of time with a sweet little girl our family has grown to love over the past few months.  She is seen here with "the girls" and seems to enjoy being part of a large family every now and then.  I'm sure when she goes back home to her mama, she relishes the quiet but our family loves having her around.  And since the weather at the farm was just perfect, some of the girls thought fishing was in order.  No fishing rod?  No problem.  They created one from a stick, borrowed line and a borrowed hook.  Were they successful?  Not using grasshoppers for bait, but when they stuck to just using crickets, YES, they were successful!

So much to be thankful for. . .and days with extended family are at the top of my list this year!  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for loving God, each other, and your children in such a way that makes being together with family so special.  I am grateful to be your child.  Thanks, Sisters, for changing your work schedules and dragging your wonderful husbands to the farm to hang out with us for a few days.  I love you both!  Thanks to my awesome husband for allowing me to be "sister and daughter" for a few days, and hopefully you didn't have to take up too much slack. :)  I love you!  Most of all I'm so grateful to my heavenly Father who blessed me beyond measure by placing me in my family in the first place and now blessing me with a wonderful family of my own.  I am so unworthy, so undeserving, yet so humbled and thankful on this Thanksgiving weekend.

Game of endurance

"It's a game of endurance!"  That's my husband's motto for just about everything, whether we're playing a family game (and many of us wanting to quit before it's over) or it's hunting season and nothing's going right.  "Persistance is the key" defines how my man operates.  He has taught our children his made-up chant, which goes, "We're strong, we're proud, and no weinies allowed!"  We all laugh at this, but it's a poignant reminder that sometimes life requires us to be tough and see things through.  Whenever one of the children wants to quit in the middle of playing a game, we remind them that "we're Sipeses, and Sipeses don't quit!"  We think persistance and commitment are important character traits.  Well, my husband is a perfect example of what he teaches because today he "got the big one."  Our rifle season for deer hunting here in Kentucky only lasts two weeks, with part of that time including Thanksgiving break (we travel then).  So this week has been dedicated to trying to get enough deer to fill our freezer.  Every single morning and every single evening this week, even in the rain or freezing weather, my hunter/husband/provider has been at it, with nothing to show.  The fun was gone by yesterday morning when he once again arrived home empty handed.  Did he quit?  No, because "we're Sipeses, and Sipeses don't quit!"  Finally, yesterday afternoon he landed a big doe and this morning he killed a 9-pointer!  Hunting has become "fun" once again and God has allowed the provider of our family to enjoy doing his job. :)  I'm so proud of him!

A Momentous Week

The month of November has held some special days for our family already.  Starting with Nov. 1, our "baby" turned 3 years old!  We celebrated big-time with a party at Chuck E. Cheese's.  He had a blast and is already asking when we can go back.

Two days later our oldest son turned the big 13!  He didn't want a party, just a day with his dad in Paducah, shopping for a bow (for deer hunting).  Since he has the best dad a boy could ever hope for, not only did he get the bow he was dreaming of, but he got a LOT of information and challenges on becoming a man, including specific things to be working on over the next year.  We are seeing so much growth in his life and are eager to see God mold Him into HIS man.  But the best hope I have that Taylor WILL become a man of God is that he has a dad who models what this looks like day in and day out.  Even as I'm blogging, they are in the woods deer hunting together.

Then a few days later on Sunday (Nov. 6), our middle son had the awesome experience of getting baptized by the very one who shares his name!  His dad was so proud to do the honors.  Jay has been God's child for several months but just wasn't quite ready to take the next step and follow God in believer's baptism.  For the last month, he has been talking about now being ready and it was such a joy to watch this precious son show the world that he belongs to God.  What a tremendous week for the Sipes' boys/men!

Branching Out

As an almost-40-year-old, I was fairly determined NEVER to blog "all my business" on the web for everyone to read. For one thing, who cares what my family is doing here in Hickman?? And for two, who has time to write?? Well, today I was introduced to the fact that one can actually have a book made from a year's worth of blogposts!! Now you're talking about something I AM interested in--saving memories for our family's history. It may take me some time to figure this whole thing out, but I'm excited about the possibilities. And if no one ever cares to read what I blog, I'm pretty sure one day my children WILL.