Happy Thanksgiving!
We thank God for His abundant grace to our family this year and
want to share some highlights with you, our family and friends whom we
remember with thanksgiving in our prayers. We would enjoy hearing from
you and having you visit when you’re in the area.
May you experience the grace & peace of Christ,
5426
N. Meadow Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46268-4033
317-329-2962
our last name + rg@gmail.com
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
—Psalm 147:3
- had several rotten boards replaced around a basement window and
over the garage door. Having started internally, the rot grew
unnoticed until it broke through the surface.
- thanks God for using the pain of a miscarriage to expose the rot
of selfishness and poor communication with Stacy, for cleansing him
through Christ, and for giving him grace to change.
- praises God for preserving his dad’s life with surgery to
bypass five coronary arteries, one of which was 99% blocked.
- leads the worship team, directs the children’s choir, and
sings tenor in the adult choir
at Trinity Church.
- taught the very applicable Young Peacemaker
by Peacemaker Ministries to
Sunday School grades 1–6 this summer and started his seventh
year of teaching AWANA Cubbies
at Walnut Grove Chapel this
fall.
- leads daily family devotions with a three-year plan
to read through the
Bible and found great encouragement in the Psalms,
particularly 23,
27,
30,
34 and
91.
- enjoyed an
excellent Answers in
Genesis study by Ken Ham Sunday evenings.
- continues to develop robust instrument control software for a new
molecular diagnostic instrument using ideas
from Erlang.
- spent a week with extended family enjoying the water parks of
Glacier Canyon Lodge
in the Wisconsin Dells.
- celebrated Labor Day weekend at Camp Crosley with
relatives and friends.
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| Back stage before the 2007 Christmas program: Ruth as a sheep with curly horn, Sarah as a donkey, Elizabeth as Mary, Mariah & Hannah as sheep |
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| Grandma Dianne & Grandpa Ron with all their grandchildren for Christmas 2007: Alyssa, Maria, Ruth, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mariah, Michael, Rebecca, Ben, Sarah & Chad |
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| Grandma Dianne & Grandpa Ron playing with grandchildren at Wisconsin Dells |
Hannah, Ben & Sarah with Grandpa Ron before his bypass surgery |
“O Lord my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed
me.”—Psalm 30:2
- suffered her first miscarriage and the ensuing hormonal &
emotional roller coaster in Jan. and Feb. She tasted the bitterness of
mental illness and would much prefer physical illness, if given a
choice. Bob faithfully loved and prayed for her through these most
challenging weeks of our marriage while we also worked on
communicating more honestly. Recordings of sessions by
the National Association of Nouthetic
Counselors and Scripture sung by our friend Amy Parker spoke to
her soul.
- was flattened physically by a second miscarriage July 3 and stayed
in bed almost a full week. On July 17, while on vacation, she was
thankful for an emergency room D&C and a 2-unit blood
transfusion. Recovery was a breeze after that!
- is learning violin by sitting in on the girls’ lessons and
practicing a few times a week.
- often listens with the children at lunch time
to Through the Bible Radio teaching
by Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
- participated in 40 Days for
Life with our church by praying in front of the local abortion
clinic and pointing women to free help at the
nearby Life Center. At least 12
women in Indianapolis decided to let their babies live.
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| Bob kayaking on Sugar Creek near Turkey Run |
Stacy kayaking on Sugar Creek near Turkey Run |
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| Stacy & Bob’s seventeenth anniversary |
Stacy & Bob on the giant swing at Camp Crosley |
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| Hannah, Stacy & Bob at St. Clare Hospital, Baraboo, WI |
Stacy practicing violin |
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.”
—Ephesians 2:8-10
- turned 13 on May 17 and celebrated with a friend at our house and
a special week at Big
Cedar, MO with Bob’s parents.
- earned money by babysitting and mowing the lawn.
- loves to read, runs a book club, recommends
books, volunteers weekly at
the Pike
Library, and is helping set up our church library.
- started her second year
of AWANA Trek
this fall.
- enjoys singing soprano in our adult church choir.
- participated in a World
Missionary Press midnight madness marathon with Stacy and
friends from Walnut Grove Chapel
to print 500,000 free Scripture booklets in Malagasy for the people
of Madagascar.
- served one day as a page for Indiana Representative Carolene
Mays.
- makes breakfast and lunch several times a week.
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| Elizabeth with her AWANA Trek award |
Elizabeth & Molly at World Missionary Press |
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| Elizabeth playing carpet ball at Camp Crosley |
Meghan, Elizabeth & Hannah making candles at Camp Crosley |
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for
the glory of God.” —1 Corinthians 10:31
- turns 12 on December 26. Last year she celebrated with a week of
tubing and indoor water parks at the Wisconsin Dells in January with
Bob’s parents and Sarah.
- won honorable mention in the grades 2–5 division of
the Indiana Association of
Home Educators (IAHE) state essay contest for
her essay God’s Glory Through
Birds.
- started her fourth year of
AWANA
T&T.
- spent a week with Bob’s parents while participating in
Grandpa Ron’s
summer LEGO® robotics
camp.
- camped at Turkey Run
State Park with her sisters & Stacy’s parents and
kayaked down Sugar Creek in the rain with Bob, Stacy, Elizabeth &
Sarah.
- served at two food banks with Sarah.
- is excelling at violin, loves to play the piano by ear, and sings
alto in our adult church choir.
- studies birds and other wildlife and enjoys watercolor painting,
drawing, and keeping a journal.
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| Ruth with her AWANA T&T award |
Elijah & Ruth at LEGO® camp |
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| Ruth & Rebecca at Camp Crosley |
Ruth practicing violin |
Watercolor paintings by Ruth
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| Matilda |
Mabel |
Pin cushion |
James in the tomato patch |
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all
the earth.”
—Psalm 100:1
- turned 10 on September 8, got her ears pierced, and celebrated
with friends and grandparents at the Heritage Day Festival of nearby
Robin
Run Village.
- won honorable mention in the grades 2–5 division of
the IAHE state essay
contest for her essay God’s
Glory Through Missionaries.
- started her second year of
AWANA
T&T.
- took a free kayak lesson with her older sisters
at Krannert
Park.
- started violin lessons this fall and is learning to sing
alto.
- designs and makes clothes from scraps of fabric.
- loves feeding birds, gardening, and playing in the fort.
- taught Mariah how to make bread using our bread machine.
- likes to read and recommends the Cul-de-sac Kids series
by Beverly Lewis.
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| Sarah with her AWANA T& T award |
Sarah at kayak lesson |
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| Sarah’s tenth birthday |
Sarah’s first earring |
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| Sarah practicing violin |
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal
life.” —John 3:16
- turned 8 on October 9 and hosted a princess party for her
friends.
- started her third year
of AWANA
Sparks and still misses the snacks
of Cubbies.
- is learning to play her 1/4 size violin.
- likes to have Bob read to her before bed and sometimes reads to
him.
- enjoys cooking and preparing food. She really likes baked oatmeal
for breakfast and helps prepare it the night before.
- learned to knit with her older sisters at Rosebuds, a monthly
mother/daughter training & encouragement group.
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| Mariah with her AWANA Sparks award |
Maria & Mariah at Camp Crosley |
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| Mariah’s eighth birthday |
Mariah practicing violin |
“… God … loved us and sent His Son
….” —1 John 4:10
- turned 4 on April 2 and celebrated at
the Children’s Museum
of Indianapolis in the morning and with family & friends for
supper.
- took swim lessons with her sisters
at Krannert
Park.
- is enjoying her second year
of AWANA
Cubbies with Bob (and snacks) on Wednesday nights.
- takes violin lessons on Mondays and is delighted to have her own
1/16 size violin after spending the last couple years pretending to
play with two sticks.
- loves to give people back rubs and is very affectionate.
- enjoys going shopping with her dad & mom.
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| Hannah’s fourth birthday |
Hannah on the slip-n-slide at Camp Crosley |
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| Hannah & Bob dressed for Cubbies |
Hannah practicing her violin |
“From the lips of children and infants You have ordained
praise ….” —Psalm 8:2
- turned 2 on April 7 and has enjoyed a new race car track from
Bob’s parents.
- keeps his pants dry during the day.
- plays for hours with his train set and cars.
- likes to be part of the action: “Me, too!”
“My turn!” “I do it!”
- wants to understand how machines work and is fascinated by
computers.
- expertly communicates in complete sentences and likes to pray
before meals. “Mommy, turn your face this way,” he said
and waited for Stacy to look away from the computer. “I need
a-go potty.”
- has compassion for babies and takes care of his dolls Chloe &
Jane.
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| Ben playing with his trains |
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| Ben & Grandma Pam |
Ben & Grandpa Max |
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| Ben & Bob |
Elizabeth & Ben at the state fair |
