Well here I am again, 1 month later. I thought I was going to be a good blogger and get to this way more often than I have. I am not a good blogger, sorry! So, here goes a month long update.
Our little man turned 5 at the end of last month. We celebrated by having Grandma and Uncle Aaron over and had banana splits with homemade ice cream. We had bought him a tent for his birthday so he had a sleep out in his room with Gracie and Christian. That did not go so well, Christian got scared due to the fact that it was so dark (it was the same darkness that was in his room every other night, but he didn't believe us) and Gracie and Ethan were up well past 11 pm which is waaaaaay past their bedtime. Then if that wasn't bad enough we were awakened by giggles at about 2 am. The tent is no longer in his room! Anyway, we were thankful to be able to celebrate our sweet little guy. He has such a sensitive spirit and is getting very helpful in taking out the trash and caring for his younger brothers, as well as pick on his older sisters. He loves to play practical jokes on people, loves to giggle, and loves to put bugs down Eric's pants. Shhh that's one of those family secrets we don't tell others:) He can usually be seen with a sheepish grin on his face because he often has some trick he wants to play on someone. I always remind him that he is my didywiticans and peaches and cream, when he is in a good mood he loves it. When he is not so happy, he hates it. He loves to climb and has set a bad example to Simeon who has been caught climbing on top of tables, computer desks, and on to the trampoline by himself. He has become quite the bike racer around our turn around driveway. He loves to dig holes (I have a very deep one in my flower garden right now) and be outdoors. He loves hanging out with Dad, he would chose Dad any day over mom! Here are some pictures from his birthday and his new tent.
As for everyone else, we are getting ready for school to start next month which will be nice to have some routine again. Jordan will be a 9th grader, Taylor in 7th, and Gracie in 1st. Ethan will do kindergarten somewhat, but I am going to wait until next year for a curriculum so I can do him and Christian together. We had a disappointment this year for the girls as they (as well as us) had been looking forward to joining volleyball. Jordan did that last year through the school and did great. However, when we went to the meeting this year they had made practices until 7pm as well as all Saturday's would be taken up with tournaments. To make a long story short we had to make the unfortunate decision to not participate this year due to the fact that it conflicted with our family values and church. You can find out more about how the girls handled it here if you are interested http://ajournalbyjordan.blogspot.com/. We have had a couple of weddings to go to this month which took up our Saturday's and Eric took the boy's up to Rock Ridge Bible Camp in Ely Minnesota for a day. A couple form our church are directors up there this summer so Eric has tried to get up there to encourage them a couple times this summer. This time he took the boys and they had a blast! Ethan became a pro at kayaking and they were able to enjoy the natural spring water up there. They still talk about it! This summer has been good, but I have been so sick due to the fact that we are going to be welcoming baby number 7 into our lives in late February. My actual due date is March 2, but due to the fact that I have to have a c-section it will be scheduled for late February. All the kids are very excited and they have been so helpful since I have not been much help around here the last few weeks. Only a couple of weeks left and I should be feeling better. I was wondering if I should change the blog name now since it will be more than half dozen and we will no longer be Anderson family of 8. I won't, it would complicate life too much and that is the last thing I need;)
As for church, I am always hesitant on how much to share on here because many people get this blog. But I want to also honestly fill you in, so here it goes. I will try to be protective and yet appropriately vulnerable. Church planting has not been easy, any ministry is not easy. We have an enemy who does not want the truth that we possess about Jesus to be out there where people can hear and be transformed from death to life. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that it is hard, and yet it usually does come as a surprise. Conflict in churches is so hard and our church is not exempt. That is all I will say on that, you can pray for us. Our summer women's study ended two weeks ago. We did the study Lies Women Believe and the truth that sets them free by Nancy Leigh Demoss. Excellent, excellent study. I highly recommend it to all women and we are hoping seeds were planted and will grow from it. But, the most exciting news and the most refreshing for Eric is that we have been accepted in to a program type thing that trains elders. This has given Eric a light at the end of the tunnel and a renewed hope with this ministry. What will happen is a man by the name of Joe will come up once a month on Thursday evenings and train a group of 9 (I think that is how many there are) men form our church. Not all these men will become an elder, however like he told the guys they are all called to be an elder in their own homes and this will train them and give them valuable lessons and resources in all of life for whatever God would call them to. He has been trained through Mark Dever's ministry and this is all he does for work now that he is retired. He was a former basketball coach so has had much experience in coaching. Eric and Joe have been meeting for the last few months after a providential initiation of this by the Lord. After him hearing about our church and getting to know Eric's heart he decided to take us on. This has been a great burden for Eric to find men who are ready for the sacrificial life of an elder and train them. It is so helpful to have an older man with experience to come in and help lift this burden for Eric. So for the next year and possibly two, he will travel up here to serve our church in this way, as well as meet with Eric alone to encourage and care for his soul. We are so thankful that this is happening. Please pray for this whole process as we still do not have any Elders in place within the context of this local body and that is becoming tiring. Pray for wisdom and discernment on both Eric and Joe's part as well as responsiveness and openness from the guys in the group. Pray for Joe and his soul as well, I am not sure of all the attacks he faces, but knowing the ministry he is in I am sure there are many.
You can always be praying for our souls, that we do not lose hope, that we remain connected to the vine, and for our children. That they would know Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. If you are reading this whole post, thanks for hanging in there it was a long one. Here are some pictures of Simeon's new buzz cut, now he really looks like the Anderson boys!
Love in Christ,
Miriam
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