Merry Christmas!

I hope you have all had a wonderful, relaxing day, because of Jesus. We had just sat down at the bountiful dinner table and Will had asked Doug to ask the blessing when the phone rang. I said, "Sorry, but I have to answer it, just in case it's Craig." It was! So he listened in on Doug's prayer and then we talked! We ended up passing the phone all around the table and everyone talked to him. He is visiting Sarah and her family in Dresden, Germany, and she was on speakerphone. It was quite an international phone call, especially when Sarah from Germany spoke to Tessa, Doug's Korean exchange student. Apparently Sarah knew how to say "I love you" in Korean!

He said he enjoyed roast duck for Christmas dinner and seems to be having a wonderful time. By the time we were getting off the phone around 2:00, he said the family was going to bed. They are nine hours ahead over there. I reminded him to be helpful and clean up after himself, and he told me not to worry about it, her parents said he was "diligent"! He told me the German word but I fail to recall it.

He told us he met a Knox from Oregon who knew Doug. When Craig spotted him entering the Amsterdam YWAM wearing an Oregon sweatshirt, he had to introduce himself and they got to talking. When he told Craig he had a Mennonite background, Craig exclaimed that he was half Mennonite! (His father has said many times that Mennonite is a race!) It is Victor Knox's son, who married a Dutch girl and is in a band which practices at the YWAM base. Such a small world!

After dinner was cleaned up, it was time for some games. Mad Lib and Guesstures are always good for some laughs!
I believe Nick was illustrating "shotgun", which Duane correctly guessed.
It didn't take us too long to figure out that the word for Will was "intelligent". He is a somewhat reluctant game player but plays along to make us happy. He told Anthony, Venisa's friend, who was also reluctant, that the one thing Mennonites are most pushy about is making people play games.

We all failed to guess that Doug was trying to demonstrate "ice cream". That was a tough one!

Another Christmas day is over. I'm so thankful for Jesus and the joy he has brought to this earth.

Nebraska Trip

Last Thursday, I took an unexpected four-day trip to Nebraska with three other family members to attend my Aunt Jeannine's funeral. We had a really good trip and I want to write more about her and the weekend when I'm not so tired, but I thought I'd share these amazing pictures tonight since I'm still up waiting for Nick. His Event Technology class is setting up for a big Winter Assembly talent show happening at the high school tomorrow. His cell phone just accidentally called me and I could hear appropriate background noises as I shouted out his name, trying to make him realize he had called me! I can't believe they are keeping kids out so late on a school night. But tomorrow is the last day before Christmas break. Yahoo!

On our way from Cairo to the Omaha airport Sunday, we stopped in Milford where my dad's family lives and had lunch with about 30 of them at a buffet. We went to my Aunt Lela's house after lunch, and as we pulled into her driveway, I saw a basketball hoop put to a use that I have never seen before. Here's Lela's grandson Taylor checking it out.

It was my Uncle Gary's 10th deer this year. Aunt Lela says it's enough! They make wonderful jerky. But it has to wait its turn. My little brother Doug had to check out this fine frozen-solid specimen.

Wow.

Nick just texted me that I should go to bed because it will be awhile. I asked what was taking so long. His reply, "We are doing a bunch of tech things that u wouldn't understand." Thank you for sparing me! I asked him to text me when he leaves the school so I know when to send his father to go check the ditches if he doesn't reach home in a timely manner. So I shall go to bed now and try to sleep. Many late nights lately!

Midnight Phone Call

I hate those occasional phone calls that wake you from a sound sleep in the middle of the night. Do they ever bring good news? Will's office calls his cell phone to deliver their own brand of bad news, so when our house phone rings in the wee hours, it's a heart-pounding, dry-mouth experience for me.

Last night's news was particularly horrifying, but quite selfishly, I was relieved to know that all my loved ones were safe and unharmed.

Will picked up the phone, and I could hear a woman's voice but not what was being said. After a minute of watching Will apparently having difficulty comprehending the call, he said, "Let me give the phone to LeAnn. She hears better than I do!" It was Sarah, Craig's girlfriend who is a student at the School of Worship at the Denver YWAM. She was talking very fast and obviously a little stressed, saying when they came back from bowling that night shortly after midnight, they got turned away by a police barricade, because two people had been shot at their YWAM dorm. They went to a staff member's home, and all the students were to call someone to let them know they were safe. She couldn't make an international call to reach Craig or her parents in Germany so she called us. She was very concerned for them to know she was all right, and I told her we would contact Craig. I also gave her my international calling card numbers so she could call them herself.

Will tried to find some news of this event on the internet, but there was nothing. He emailed Craig and we eventually went back to sleep. This morning the news reported that two people had been shot and killed, and two others shot and injured at the dorm by a young man who had stopped by and asked if he could spend the night there.

We had an email from Craig that said, "I awoke to a violent start (certainly no pun intended there) by Toby, one of the guys I work with. He said "Sarah is wanting to call you, people are shooting each other at the Denver base." Or something along those lines, Toby has a bad sometimes inconveniently innaccurate grasp of time tenses in the English language sometimes." Craig called us this afternoon after his adrenaline rush had faded and he had talked to Sarah. He said she is a rock because she has the peace that's of God. They are determined to keep seeking God with their whole heart and trust that He is in control. But it is a very traumatic time for them. Please keep them and the many others affected by these tragedies in your prayers.

Later when I came home from church I learned that a gunman had opened fire in the lobby of a mega-church in Colorado Springs, killing at least one person and injuring others, and the news has continued to unfold throughout the day. Turns out that an armed church security guard shot and killed the gunman, preventing him from killing and injuring any more than he already had. What? A church with an armed security staff? There are many, many things that I don't understand.

Of course, I don't have to understand everything, because I have a God who does.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." (Isaiah 40:28)

Craig's Christmas Letter

2007 Christmas Letter!

Dearest Friends,

Greetings from Amsterdam! It’s that time once again to reach out to all of you wonderful people across the sea, to touch you and as well be touched by you. And perhaps in the true fashion of my father, to as well touch on a nerve of good comedic taste in light of the Christmas season.

As most of you know, I am in Europe working with Youth With a Mission Holland. I am on a team of missionaries who have a vision to go to Curacao (an island off the coast of Venezuela , part of the Dutch Antilles) and start a missionary base, to house ministries and run Discipleship and Bible schools. It’s like a church planting project on Jesusteroids. We are currently in the beginning phase of preparation. We feel that God’s favor is on us here in Amsterdam and are allowing Him complete control in our lives individually and as a team as well. We have been networking with local Antillean churches and preparing for some future events. I will also attach our team newsletter. Hopefully the Lord graces you with the strength and energy to contend with the digestion of yet another piece of Christian literature!

This has been a time of much growth and challenge, not only for our team but for myself as well. I am somehow adapting to more than just the Dutch culture in this time. I am as well becoming aware of the culture of Christ, which so encompasses Youth With A Mission.

I recently attended a conference of a ministry called Nations2Nations (a ministry bred in YWAMAmsterdam by base leader Armando Benner) in Barcelona, Spain. It was an encouraging time, and in the city I saw God moving in practical ways. The importance of listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit in all situations was reaffirmed in my heart. I saw God moving and want so badly to see more of it.

In this next month I will start working with the Ethnos ministry here at YWAM Amsterdam. In this ministry there is much room for artistic endeavors and the witness of God’s aesthetic heart. I will be involved in outreaches in the city to the college students and the clubs. My heart is to ignite fire in the hearts of the youth and provide vision of God’s Spirit to young people whose eyes have become blind. I will send updates as my part in this ministry grows. I ask that you pray for open doors and protection as I become involved.

Also this month, our team will start work with “The Cleft”. “The Cleft” is a YWAM ministry geared toward working with the prostitutes, “the ladies at the windows and on the streets”, and also the homeless and drug addicted people. We need a protective shield of prayer over us as we begin this work. The Satanist church is very active in the Red Light District, praying curses over Christ’s church and those who do His work. We stand against all darkness in the authority and by the blood of Jesus. We ask also for your prayers of protection and encouragement as we serve God in this way.

As a team we want nothing to do with anything born out of our fleshly ambitions. All the things we will be involved with require the blessing and anointing of the Holy God of Israel. I ask you on behalf of my team to pray that our eyes are peeled, that we can truly discern God’s will and the actions He calls us to take at the moment.

There are many possibilities regarding the future of Islands2Nations (which, by the way, is the official name of the Curacao team’s ministry), but for now we take the decisive action of our first step. It is a time to build a firm foundation and serve with a whole heart.

It is a battle to maintain a constant intimacy with God, but this is exactly what my heart desires. I beseech you as well to pray that my hunger grows more and more every day. A strong appetite for God will ensure a constant consumption of His Word.

And as usual there is much needed financial aid. Christmas time is here and so is my EU visitors pass expiration! I need exactly 433 euros (634.56$) by the 18th of this month. I was informed of this on very short notice (this morning!) and have no other choice but to trust that God will provide. Then again, what better choice is there?!

Thank you for your support and prayers, and God bless you in this Christmas season. I would certainly love to spend it with you. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14.

Grace and peace to you....
-Craig McAnulty

Drama

A little too much drama going on at work today for my tastes. It started off with a high school boy visiting this morning before school. While chit chatting, he asked if it was true that we were not going to have a talent show this year and if we had really cancelled Spirit Week. It was news to me. He asked if we had heard that some of our students had posted My Space bulletins last night encouraging students to participate in "Sit In" at lunch time to protest these alleged violations of their rights. That was the first we had heard of it. I asked our administrators these events had been cancelled, and they said no.

So our assistant principal made an announcement first thing when school started, letting kids know that there were false rumors going around. The talent show is usually held in the spring and no date has been set yet. Spirit Week is still scheduled for December 17-20. Students, please do not believe the rumors!

As I reflected on this, I could see why middle schoolers would be so devastated that they would feel the need to take action to stop the impending loss of the opportunity to have a "Wacky Hair Day", a "Hat Day", a "Pajama Day", a "70s Day", etc, which is how one shows your school spirit during "Spirit Week". I have participated in "Wacky Hair Day" myself. A high school friend once came to school and did my hair first thing in the morning. I have never had so many little clips in my hair. (Remember, Laci?!) Another time I teased it and sprayed it real good, giving myself a big hairstyle. The scary thing was that so many older women complimented me on how good my hair looked!

Still kids dribbled into the office all morning, asking such exciting questions as, "Is it true that the police are going to come and arrest everyone who participates in the "Sit In"? Are they going to take kids away in handcuffs? Are you sure Spirit Week hasn't been cancelled?" and so on.

We got through sixth, seventh and eighth grade lunches and all was calm. As eighth graders were heading to class after lunch, a report came to me over the radio. "Some eighth graders are sitting in East Hall chanting, "Give us back our 8th grade break!" (Eighth grade break was a 10 minute break at 9:30 in previous years because they don't go to lunch until 12:30. It disappeared this year when the schedule was completely revamped. Much to everyone's dismay, it just doesn't fit into the new schedule.)

Administrators quickly arrived at the scene of this brave show of defiance and sent everyone to class. No one had to be led off in handcuffs, in fact, the hallways were cleared very quickly.

That is a very small portion of the drama that went on today, but that's all I'm allowed to tell you about. People are so interesting.

Well, at least it got me thinking about Spirit Week. Only two weeks left to plan a wacky hairdo. It's nearly impossible to come up with anything as becoming as the big hairdo...

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a beautiful sunny Thanksgiving day it was, and we have so much to be thankful for.

Here is Will while he was still happy, just before the death of the ancient electric knife which his mother handed down to me 23 years ago. While demonstrating his turkey carving techniques to Tessa, the Korean foreign exchange student hosted by Doug's family, and who had never eaten turkey, the electric knife gave out. He had to send Nick out to the trailer to get the knife sharpener before turkey carving could continue, because he never believes I keep my knives sharp enough.

We enjoyed a traditional fabulous Thanksgiving feast. We missed Craig, who I believe was traveling to Barcelona that day, but we are very thankful that he is where God wants him to be. I asked those around the table to try to look natural and unposed with their faces toward the camera. This is what I got.

Will always gazes at me adoringly just like this.

Will got called out on a search in the Quartzville area just as we were serving dessert. Fortunately the people were located unharmed a few hours later and he got to return home to enjoy the evening snacks and pie.

In the afternoon, Anisa and I took a walk and watched our boys play some basketball. Way to go Duane!

Venisa experimented with cutting Duane's hair for the first time. As long as Guitar Hero can go on he is unperturbed by it!

Unfortunately, we couldn't get Nick to agree to a haircut, even though Will is offering to buy him a tank top and short shorts so he can look just like Richard Simmons! If he is going to look like Richard Simmons, I am hoping he will adopt the cheerful exuberance as well. Although I am told by the McAnulty men that they are incapable of such a personality.

Doug managed to struggle through the afternoon in front of the football games without Will.

Anisa and I did a little scrapbooking on Dad's 80th birthday scrapbook. Now that was a project, just getting the pictures for it! I downloaded the pictures from the cameras of Galen, Doug, Dawn, Mom, Tom, Jean and of course myself and then got to figure out which ones to print out of all of them. What fun! The scrapbook is going to be much bigger than I first invisioned!

Now I am going to spend the afternoon working on it. Nick and Will took off geocaching, Eric is working, my house is tidied up and my laundry is going. I shall pour a cup of my caramel truffle flavored coffee and enjoy being absorbed in creating an album. The perfect afternoon!

Lance Cpl. Tyler John Troyer

June 7, 1984-November 19, 2005
Gone but not Forgotten


Two years ago today, Tyler left this earth for a better place. Please pray for his family during this difficult time of year.
"My grace is sufficient for you; my power is made perfect in weakness." (I Cor. 12:9)

Family Scrapping

The past two Saturdays, I've had the privilege of joining with other family members to do some marathan scrapbooking of family pictures. (I shared some of these old photos here a couple of weeks ago when we were in the process of organizing them.) We ended up with files of old pictures of my dad's growing up years, the early years of our family up through about 1977, separate files for each of us kids from babyhood through all the portraits of children and grandchildren (for the two oldest!), files for each of dad's brothers and sisters and their families, and also files of Troyer family events.

Last Saturday we had a good turnout and got the old ones taken care of, all the way through the aunt and uncles files. Galen was our VIP, with his vast knowledge of the past. We kept him busy labeling and writing about the really old pictures. It's really good to have an old guy around.

My sister Jean and niece Melissa did a great job at their station with the aunt and uncles pages.

I was so please that my beautiful"quilting glasses" were still at the house and Mom knew just where to find them. We had a good system going, where one person would lay out, one would tape down, and one would write. I do hope Mom isn't too terribly disappointed that she was out of her seat when this picture was taken. As you can see, she provided us with wonderful snacks as well as a delicious lunch, with our choice of two kinds of pie for dessert.

All the little boys were perfect as usual, entertaining themselvess and having a great time.

Yesterday there were just three of us, so we didn't get quite as much done, but the end is in sight! It was really fun even though I was rudely insulted by my little sister. I was laying out some pictures on some pretty blue flowered paper, which perfectly matched my bridesmaids dress when the folks got married back in 1973. Jean looked over my shoulder and cracked up laughing. "Mom and I noticed that paper and we thought it was weird looking - it reminded us of wallpaper. And here you are using it for her wedding!" We had a good laugh over it. I liked the way it looked, and the rebel within me made me stick with it! I enjoy reliving the past through pictures, or at least most of it. We agreed we wouldn't want to relive parts of it. Thank God, He always gets us through the rough times!

A Year Ago

A year ago on November 6, I got up early in the morning, made myself some coffee, and sat down to check my email. Ten minutes later, I was was sitting in front of my computer crying, re-reading an amazing, unexpected, inconceivable email, at last feeling some hope for my lost son Craig. Craig's friend Nathan Riley, YWAM missionary in Hurlach, Germany, had written a lengthy letter telling of his burden for his friend Craig, and how God was directing him to come here to offer Craig the opportunity to come work for room and board at the YWAM base in Hurlach, Germany. A year ago today, Nathan emailed again with the news that he would arrive here on November 18 and offer Craig a plane ticket to return to Germany about 10 days later.

That first email ended with, "That is the plan all in a nutshell. I hope the world for Craig, and I desire that he would come back to Lord. I believe this is what should happen. I hope you are in agreement, because I would not like to do something so big without your blessing as his parents.... Above all else, let’s continue to lift him up in prayer and place him in God’s hands. I am anxious and excited to see what becomes of all of this and I hope that whether Craig comes or not, he will still see that there are people who love him dearly, and that God is behind it loving him most of all."

Who would have thought that one year later, Craig would be serving Jesus as a YWAM missionary in Amsterdam, ministering to the homeless and addicted on the streets there. Here is a quote from the update Craig sent out to his prayer supporters last week:

"I felt it was needed to touch bases with all from the homefront and tell you first and foremost THANK YOU! Thank you for your prayers, thank you for all the ways you have backed me up. It feels good to know that even though I am halfway across the world, I am absolutely not alone and there are people back in my homeland that love me in a very practical and real way. I am excited to write more and provide clearer information as I learn more of what the need over here really is. I love that so many of you have joined me in building God's kingdom in the heart of Sodom. "

Craig is part of a team that is preparing to establish a mission base in Curacao, an island in the Dutch Antilles where he spent part of his Discipleship Training School outreach. You can read more about this team at a blog created by the team leader, http://www.curacao4jesus.blogspot.com/

I stole this picture of the team from his team leader's German blogsite.

Craig's story shows a beautiful picture of the Good Shepherd going to great lengths to seek out, rescue and restore his beloved lost sheep. I firmly believe God has a plan to rescue and save all of his lost children, and when he asks us for our help, we need to be willing to obey! My appreciation for Nathan's love for his friend and his obedience to God knows no bounds, and it is a challenge to me. God hears and answers our prayers for our children and our friends!

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death." (Psalm 68:19)

The Men Cook

This morning while I was backstage second service, waiting til it was time to go back on the platform with the worship team at the end of the service, I suggested to Will (who had returned home after first service) via text message that perhaps he would like to get creative with the hamburger in the fridge for lunch.

When I walked in my front door, I was greeted with the heavenly smell of beef and onions cooking. He and Eric had made oven hobo dinners, one for each of us. I had purchased a family pack, about seven pounds, of hamburger at Costco, and I asked Will what he had done with the rest of the hamburger.

"What do you mean, the rest of the hamburger?" he asked. I couldn't believe it! "You mean you used it all??"

"We are meat-eating men in this house," he declared. "We like our meat. You didn't say anything about how much hamburger I could use."

He let me rant and rave about how that hamburger should have provided a week's worth of meals for this family (not that I would use hamburger at every meal for a week) and I couldn't believe they would even think of using the whole package for one meal. He tried to appease me by saying that there would probably be leftovers.

Then I opened the fridge to prepare a healthy salad and saw the rest of the hamburger sitting in there. When will I ever learn not to fall for these things?

A Weird Work Experience

It was late afternoon, that lovely quiet time of day when the students and most of the teachers are gone and you can actually settle down and get some work done. I was enjoying this quiet time when an elderly woman burst in the door and, ignoring the front counter, headed straight for my desk, holding an open wallet. I stood up and guided her gently to the front counter, where she remained on my side of the counter as she handed me the wallet. Excitedly, she told me that she had been walking over at the track at the West Albany stadium when someone came up to her and asked her to turn in this wallet to Memorial. The wallet was wet, and I set it on the counter, commenting that the picture looked like one of our students. She said, "The person told me he found it in the toilet." I perhaps screeched something like, "You just handed me a wallet that was in a TOILET! Excuse me while I go wash my hands!" I quickly went to the next room where I thoroughly soaped and scrubbed my hands.

She was still standing at the counter going through the wallet when I returned, apparently completely unfazed about handling a wallet that had recently been in a TOILET. "Look, there's no money it it. But there's an ATM card. Why would such a young person have an ATM card? And isn't it strange that the young man who gave it to me asked me to bring it here instead of bringing it himself. Don't you think that's strange?" She kept talking and going through the wallet, which rested on the front counter where I stand and do business every day. I could hardly stand it that this toilet-water wallet was on my countertop.

I noticed my friendly fellow secretary trying to sneak out of the office and I quickly asked, "Helen, what do you think of this?" "Helen, how are you," our voluble uninvited guest chirped, delighted to see an acquaintance. They got involved in conversation and I snuck away to spend some more quality time with soap at the sink.

Finally the dear old lady departed, apparently satisfied that she had thoroughly investigated the contents of the wallet and had puzzled long enough over the mystery of why the young man chose her for this important errand. Helen immediately scooped the wallet into a plastic bag, I got out the disinfectant cleaner and spent some time thoroughly cleaning the countertop.

This, my friends, is one more reason to always shop at a store that provides disinfectant wipes next to the shopping carts, and always thoroughly disinfectant-wipe the handles of your shopping cart!

Old Pictures

I love pictures. I love new pictures but I love old pictures even more. We are in the process of organizing some old photos my parents have collected over the years, and I brought some home to scan.Sadly, some of them are in bad shape, but it's fascinating how they show such a different world. Back in Nebraska in March 1961, here are Galen, John, Mark, and Linda, with my dad holding me in front of a snow-covered tractor. Look at the jeans hanging on the clothesline! Makes my Saturday laundry day seem pretty easy!

Pictures of children are some of my favorites, so it has been fun to discover some photos of myself and siblings. Here are some of us, all dressed up for church. Mark holding the big Bible, Linda, little David, Hope, and myself gracefully posing as I peek over David's shoulder.

Then someone must have decided we should have a pictures of just the girls. This time someone apparently understood that I couldn't be trusted to sit like a lady!Such fun! And below is how we looked on non-church days! My mom only had eight children, but apparently good hair days weren't the top priority! We look quite happy anway!

Embarrassing Parents

Why is it so fun to embarrass your teenager? Last night Nick came in the front door after the football game to find me in my jammies, big fluffy robe and slippers getting comfey on the couch as Will and I prepared to watch a movie. Nick's overnight guest Derek was due to arrive any minute. After questioning us about what we were doing, Nick graciously offered to hook up a Dvd player in our bedroom so we could watch the movie there. We took him up on the offer so he quickly installed one there. He came back downstairs announcing we could go on up. Sadly for him, we were quite comfortable and decided to stay downstairs to watch the movie. "But you don't want Derek to see you like that do you?" Just tell him to look the other way when he passes through!

Then today they were playing video games when I came downstairs after making an exciting discovery. While trying to find some pants to wear, I found a neatly folded a pair of jeans that I didn't recall ever seeing before. Obviously used jeans, but quite nice. And believe it or not, they fit me. They even fit me quite well. I was somewhat pleased when I looked in the mirror. That doesn't happen very often.

So I came downstairs and asked Will if he recalled putting any jeans on my shelf, like perhaps he had actually folded some laundry once and this pair of jeans was in there? He said no, they probably belonged to his girlfriend. Except his girlfriend is quite a bit heavier than I am. "Quite a bit uglier too, I assume?" I asked. Oh yes, he assured me. "Is she also a lot dumber than I am?" That gave him pause. He looked to Nick and Derek for help. "Boys, what do I say now?" Derek advised him it was time to eat a Twix bar. Nick urged us to make a house rule that mom and dad are not allowed to talk when he has friends over.

So it was fun embarrassing him, but I was quite mystified about the jeans. Had I accidentally packed a pair that belonged to one of my roommates from women's retreat two weeks ago? How does a pair of jeans just show up in your closet, under all your other jeans?

After a few hours of reflection, I believe I recall that there was a pair of jeans in a bag of clothes that my sister-in-law Carol gave me last spring. They were a little tight at the time. I thought I gave them back, but apparently I kept them.

It's a great day!

It really is a shame that I would enjoy embarrassing a nice boy like Nick. Especially after he gave me a proud parent moment last week. He was standing at the front counter at our school office one day when an assistant doing bus duty came in. "Nick, I'm so glad to see you! There's a dead bird outside. Could you please find a broom and dust pan and pick it up for me?" Nick did not grimace, didn't groan, or in any way display how he truly felt. He cheerfully asked where he could find a broom. I directed him, he picked up the disgusting carcass and disposed of it. Way to be a hero Nick! That is true school service!

Dad's 80th BD - Group Photos

Our last planned activity was group pictures on Sunday afternoon at Brownsville park. There were actually more family members there on Saturday night for the official birthday dinner. According to my calculations, which are probably wrong because I did them, here are the numbers for the birthday dinner.
Immediate family (Parents, we children and our spouses, the grandchildren and spouses/girlfriends etc, and great-grandchildren): 70
My aunts/uncles/cousins/cousin's children: 17
Krabill side of family (dad's inlaws): 29
So the unofficial tally for the birthday dinner is 116. If somebody wants to challenge my accuracy, go ahead and correct me! It was very convenient that my parents live right next door to the Brownsville Mennonite Church, so we could eat our two indoor meals there and use the kitchen.

Here are my parents and all my dad's surviving siblings with their spouses. What a wonderful group of people to look up to - great examples in their character and long marriages. Best of all, they all love Jesus.
Here are my parents with all ten of we sweet children!
And here we are with our spouses added! Two of my brothers wives were not able to be present. We all did a very good job of finding spouses who appreciate the family and are nearly as cute and fun to be with as we are.

Here are my parents with their adorable grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

And a group boys picture - my nephews and sons and my great-nephews, plus Aunt Lela's grandson who accompanied her from Nebraska. What a handsome group - expecially those tall boys in the back.
Here is a group girl's picture taken on Saturday afternoon at my parents house. This is only some of my great-nieces plus one niece. Aren't they cute. Sadly we did not get a picture of all the nieces and great-nieces together.

I'd love to see everyone again...My immediate family should have gotten an email from me yesterday about the Oswald Reunion to be held in Oregon next July. If you didn't, it's because I don't have your email address. Your parents will share it with you. I want you all to be there!

Wasn't God amazing to create families?

More Dad's 80th Birthday Pics

Friday night, Galen and Steven put together Galen's "new" (Father's Day gift!) firepit. They had some great help!

Then we enjoyed sitting around the fire. JD, the little boy in the black shirt, kept begging Great-Grandma to play tag with him. She finally left the fire with himand he immedately tagged her. She chased him, but everytime she'd get too close, he'd say, "I'm in the safety! You can't tag me here!" It was a no-win situation! But what great exercise!

Craig and Eric noodled around with guitars. Somehow the group got Will to sing the "Dog named Blue" song, (the one and only song in his campfire solo repertoire!) then Steven accompanied some group singing. I think my favorite was "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart", with little JD's cute little "Where?" and his own special additions!
A delightful evening!

Women's Fall Retreat

This weekend I was blessed to be a part of our church's annual fall retreat. The biggest blessing was that my aunt Margie Oswald flew all the way out from Nebraska to be our speaker. She was her wonderful warm funny self, and it was a joy to listen to her speak and spend time with her. What a woman of God! Of course she's not perfect - we actually seem to share some very minor character flaws. But then again, being a little ditzy once in awhile is not exactly a character flaw. I prefer to think of it as being blond on the inside. I was very flattered when someone told me we seemed so much alike it seemed like we had to be blood relatives!

Margie's presence caused other family members to come to the retreat as well. Do we look like we're having fun or what?
We had a very fun, refreshing weekend. I laughed until I cried at the skits. One night we played a wild and crazy game they called Mennonite Madness that involved many shrieks and laughter. This morning I was privileged to share with the group about the miracles God has done for our family in this past year. I'm afraid I went over my time limit. Margie was very good about sticking to her time limit!

Sadly I missed a phone call from Craig Saturday morning. Will got to talk to him though. Here's the last picture we took of Craig a week ago with his uncles, Galen and Doug.

Aren't they cute? Does anyone know how to photoshop the glare out of glasses?

I am in desperate need of sleep!

Craig is back in Germany - already!

Yesterday we took all the boys out to breakfast at Denny's before Will and I made the trip up to the airport with Craig. I am still amazed at how much food they can put away!

We had a nice family dinner Saturday night and finished it by sharing the chocolate bars that Craig brought me from Germany. He wasn't so sure that I should share them because he brought them for me, but I convinced him I was truly happy to share. The chocolate is wonderful, and I shared a few squares of the milk chocolate with hazelnuts with everybody after dinner again tonight.

It's hard for a mother to see her son go halfway across the world, knowing you won't see each other again for a long time. But it is balanced by the joy of seeing him happy and excited to be where God wants him to be. When he left last November, there was the potential of what could happen. The reality of what God has done is truly above and beyond anything I could have thought or imagined. The light in his eyes and the joy in his face show how God has transformed him from the inside out. As Will said one evening as we were out on the deck chatting, "Craig, what I want to know is how is it possible for you to mature so much in just ten months?" Craig said, "I remember you telling me once during my high school years that in four or five years I might be a very interesting person to talk to - I guess it finally happened!"

It was wonderful to have our little family all together again. Would you believe I had to photoshop (with Nick's help) three spots from Eric's lunch off his shirt!

The time went so fast we didn't get to do everything I wanted to while he was home. We squeezed in some shopping Thursday evening after dinner at Izzys. His main requirement for clothing is still that it must be very comfortable - preferably something that looks and feels like its been through the laundry 20 times already! That's why Goodwill has always been his favorite store! Here he is in a new shirt, posing for a picture to send to his special friend Sarah, who wanted to see how he looked with his new glasses. He feels very awkward about posing but he can be pretty good at it!He sent an email this afternoon letting us know he was safely back at the castle in Germany. The house is quieter now. He and Nick tend to wrestle and rough house much more than Nick and Eric do. We had a nice dinner with Eric, Nick and Molly tonight, but we'll have to get used to not having Craig here again.

We love you, Craig. Our time together was very precious. You are a blessing.

Dad's 80th Birthday - Friday Night

The party was kicked off with a barbecue last Friday night. Jean, Jewel, Carol and Galen appeared to have a great time watching the buffet line, which was set up in the garage at my parent's house.

Uncle Cloy was kind enough to share some of his wisdom with us regarding Eric's long-overdue-for-a-haircut style. Uncle Cloy suggested a 'fro, to Eric's amazement, because that's exactly what Eric was thinking he needed. Cloy's suggestion to dye it green took him by surprise though. I thought it might be fun if Cloy dyed his hair green to match - but that idea didn't go over very well with him.
Since it's a little incriminating, we won't mention any names, but one uncle was telling my boys that he is approaching his 60th wedding anniversary, and "We've never even considered divorce, but I'll tell you what, murder was considered a time or two!"

Aunt Grace and Aunt Lela appeared to be a little reluctant to share the blackberry pies they requested. Fortunately their kind and generous nature won out. How could you deprive your great-neices who came all the way from Canada?

The blackberry desserts were definitely a hit with all of us!

Last Thursday

Last week at this time, I was enjoying the beginning of a great family weekend. All the aunts and uncles went out to dinner, but a bunch of other family was hanging out at my parents house so we had to be there.

Here's my nephew Steven next to his daughter Katelyn, truly a girl after my own heart with her nose in a book. That was before all the other girls her age got there. His son JD seemed to enjoy fencing himself in with his truck. Chavan was everywhere, and Tom was content to sit and hold his sweet baby Mandy.The cousins lined up for a photo op. We are much better looking than we appear. Really, we're a beautiful family. Well, at least we can sing. Here's Cousin Rick, Cousin Paula from Nebraska, me (no I don't have a headache already, that didn't happen til my brother Mark appeared the next day!), Cousin Cindi from Arizona, Linda, Galen, Cousin Gwen, Jean and Tom.

Cousin Cindi has always been one of Linda's favorite people.
Chavan really liked Cindi's shoes!

The uncles and aunts weren't out too late so we got to see them. Dad's brother Lauren and his wife Verba, his brother Kenny and wife Phyllis, sisters Grace and Lela drove out from Nebraska. His brother Cloy and wife Norma Jean live in Albany. His two oldest brothers have already gone to meet the Lord, and one of my uncles told me that night that they had all decided they wanted to all be together again without the occasion of a funeral. We enjoyed their presence so much, and my boys appreciated realizing that all these old folks had a great sense of humor!

The Party's Over

The big 80th birthday party reunion for my dad is now nothing but warm happy memories and tons of photos. It was everything I looked forward to, but it was so difficult trying to figure out how to be everywhere and talk to everyone. Every conversational group looked and sounded so interesting!

We went to the park in Brownsville for family pictures Sunday. My dad wasn't too sure he wanted a picture with my boys because he said they made him look short!


Last night I said good-bye to the last remaining out-of-state relatives when I visited my parents house to see my brother Tom and his family before they head back to Indiana. I did not get to hold their darling four-month-old Mandy much over the weekend, but I sort of made up for it last night. I got the bonus of watching old slides with them. I had no idea some of those treasures even existed! There's one more project for me, because I'm going to need to scan lots of them for myself and for the scrapbook I'm going to make for my dad!

So life is still very busy with Craig here, but by next week I will start posting some of the pictures and sharing some of the good times here. I probably should get permission to tell some of the wild stories my Canadian nephews shared about their distant youth. Laughter is so good for the soul. I feel very blessed to be part of this huge interesting and loving family. Thank you all for making it such a wonderful and memorable event.

Here is one of my favorite weekend pictures. Dad and babies have always gotten along really well - maybe it has to do with the ice cream he starts feeding them before they even eat solid food!