Stokes Family

Christmas 2009 Stokes Family Update!

2009-12-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

Tim said recently that when you are reading a good book and you come to the end you are kind of sad because you really enjoyed it and got to know the characters and now you are left wondering when the next one in the series will come out so you can find out what's going to happen. We were pondering together that we feel like there is a significant ending taking place in our lives and we are glad we can trust the Author, because we don't know what's going to happen when we open to the first chapter in the next book!

As most of you reading this know already, we are moving back to Minnesota at the end of this month. The plan is that we will live with Tim's parents in Coon Rapids, MN, until God makes it clear what we are supposed to do next (or until they kick us out. haha.) Tim has a computer/IT job in Saint Paul (we are very thankful for) beginning early January. So God has really provided for us. My parents still have their house in northern Minnesota on the market and if they are able to sell in the near future, we will hopefully find a house with them in or near the Twin Cities. My parents are doing a remarkable job of hanging in there up in the frozen "boondocks" but my mom's stage in Parkinson's requires 24-hour care and we hope to aid my dad who is her sole care-giver right now.

It is a bittersweet time in our lives. We are excited to be closer to family and dear friends; we are sad to leave all the beginnings here. . . our children were starting to flourish here with their various schools and activities and we were starting to really invest in some sweet relationships we will miss dearly. But for many reasons, the "cloud" has clearly moved. I have been reminded that God wastes nothing - He had everything to do with us uprooting our family and coming here to minister at Victory Baptist in February of 2008 and He has everything to do with the exact timing of us being called back to Minnesota for the start of 2010. We certainly do not understand it all, but we are experiencing His grace and provision day after day and have every reason to be hopeful as we celebrate our Emmanuel - God is with us wherever He leads. What a joy and comfort that is for our family this Christmas!

Since my last update, Ruth has celebrated her 9th birthday, played flute in her first band concert, performed her book 2 cello recital, and got glasses. Ruth's teachers and classmates at her school and at church have made it clear that they will miss such a sweet and gifted young lady. Rachel has performed in her first orchestra concert with CKYO, played beautifully for her piano recital and her book 4 violin recital, and perhaps will leave the biggest hole at Victory Baptist for this reason: she gives hugs every week and shows such an interest in so many older or lonely people at the church that they have made it clear how much they love Rachel and will miss her. Sometimes I think her sweet hugs and giggles have meant more than anything we could give with our hours of music. Our children can minister more than we sometimes realize! Even Joseph and Bekah have been blessings! Joseph is learning to read and enjoyed his first half of the year in kindergarten here. Bekah is just such a little conversationalist now - if you get the chance, sit down and have a chat with her. She's just a little charmer. She also has a sweet singing voice!

Have a blessed Christmas and celebrate Jesus humbling Himself in obedience to His father and making a REALLY big move - from heaven to earth - so we can experience the reverse. Love to you all and your families! (posting pics of Victory's staff party, my piano students, and fun kid pics.)

Another Season of God's Faithfulness!

2009-10-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Summer, winter, springtime and harvest. . . our Lord is faithful in every season. I have been looking at the beautiful leaves lately and just being in awe of how the beauty of nature can lift my spirits. And that is only a glimpse of the beauty of our great God - imagine how all of our cares will lift when we truly see Him in all of His glory! . . . Anyway, I haven't sent out an update in several months and I have wanted to for quite a while, so here goes!

My parents visited us a couple weeks ago from Northern Minnesota. It was so good to see them and spend some time. We did manage to hit the races at Keenland on a beautiful fall day - saw the Kentucky Derby winner, Calvin, racing and had a good time watching the horses up close. My dad and Tim took the girls to a Lexington Philharmonic concert and heard an awesome cellist. We went to a park and fed ducks one day, made pumpkin pies and ate a lot, and just got to hang out and enjoy games with my mom and see the kids buzz around with the excitement of this long-awaited visit.

Some exciting things have been going on in the lives of our young musicians. Rachel auditioned for the youth orchestra here in Lexington and made it into the Concert Orchestra. This was a big achievement, since she is only 10 and has only been playing violin for 2 years. There is a preparatory orchestra that she bypassed and now she is playing some pretty serious orchestral music! We are looking forward to her first concert in a couple of weeks. Rachel and Ruth are both playing in a chamber music ensemble each week. It has been delightful to listen to them progress from their first rehearsal to their first performance this past week. They have a coach but Rachel is the leader as the only violinist - she begins and ends pieces. Then there are two violists and two cellists, Ruth being on of those. Rachel also just performed a Bach double violin concerto with her teacher playing the other violin part and me accompanying. That was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again soon. Rachel is continuing to progress as a pianist, too. I look forward to hearing Beethoven or Mozart to start my days. I am so thankful for a musical family - what a blessing!

Ruth has so enjoyed her new school, SCAPA, where she is dabbling in all the fine arts each week but focusing on her major - strings. Not only is she excelling in her cello playing, she is learning to play the flute in band. SCAPA is doing the musical, Peter Pan, in a couple of weeks and all the fourth graders get to be lost boys, including Ruth. You feel the buzz of excitement when you walk into the school and see dancers and actors and singers and all the other little artists busily working toward this production. Ruth will be a lost boy for two performances and will play her cello in a pre-show ensemble in front of the curtain for the other two. Then in December, we'll get to hear her SCAPA strings ensemble and band in performance. We're also hoping for Rachel and Ruth to do a more complete recital in December on their instruments. And in church they are looking forward to beginning handbells, among other things!

Well, you must be thinking "music, music, music" after hearing that. But as I consider the life of our family, these things are measurable achievements I can write in a blog update like this. There is a lot more than musical growth and change going on that is just harder to report. So bear with me! Joseph and Rebekah don't have many musical achievements to blog about, though they are doing well. Joseph is enjoying Kindergarten half-days this year and doing very well. I was not at all surprised by the teacher's comments, "Joseph participates in all classroom discussions." What an understatement that must be. This kid does not know a stranger! He does not merely "participate" but initiates conversations with anyone and everyone, sometimes much to my amusement. He is such a joy to so many with his unabashed friendliness and enthusiasm. :)

Rebekah turned three in August and continues to be extremely tall for her age. She is interested in princessy things like most girls her age. She does seem to have an aptitude for drawing and coloring - it's what she has always loved to do for hours so we'll see where that goes. She is growing in her vocabulary and communicating new things to us each day. And as always, she lives up to her middle name, "Joy," with her cheerful, laid back disposition. She tries to remind me when I call her my baby that she isn't a baby anymore. That's kind of sad to have no more babies, but for those of you who know Tim . . . well, let's just say I had better not mention that to him. :)

We are very much looking forward to visiting Minnesota at Christmas time and for anyone who has not been in touch with us lately and wants to be, feel free to email us at dmgstokes@gmail.com or write to us at 3512 Mildara Ct. Lexington, KY 40515

Hope you enjoy a few of our recent pics. God bless!

Summertime Stokes' Update!

2009-07-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sadly behind on blogging so I will have to sum up the last few months. Great to see many of you up in Minnesota! Our trip up there at the end of May/beginning of June was way too short and busy and we wish we could have spent more time up there but we still made some good memories. Thanks to those who helped Tim paint on our house up there, too. And it was fun to have two weddings in one week - Tim's brother, Mike's and my nephew Andrew's! Partly, that made it convenient for us to see a lot of people at one time and it is wonderful to celebrate these new marriages.

When we came home, the girls' did a strings camp and then got the opportunity to play for someone's wedding a couple of weeks later. They worked hard and it was a very rewarding experience for them. . . and for us as well. Then Rachel also attended a sewing camp and enjoyed every minute of that; she always has to keep those hands busy and useful.

We also took a short trip up to southern Illinois towards the end of June for a Stokes' family reunion (Tim's dad's side of the family) and though it was short, it was a lot of fun to stay at his Aunt Kathy's country home with the hummingbirds and meet a lot of wonderful relatives, some who we already knew and some we were meeting for the first time.

And now, we've all just been enjoying swimming either at the Y's outdoor pool or our backyard above-ground pool. It's been a beautiful summer after a very rainy spring. Can't complain of too much heat and yet there's been plenty of warm, sunshiny days. It's going by fast, though, when I remember that school here begins August 12! That just sounds way too early.

The main big news we have to share right now for those of you who haven't heard this yet: my parents are selling their property up in Northern Minnesota and planning to move down here and buy a house with us! We are very glad and excited about this, though it is sad that my mom has been struggling with more and more affects of her Parkinson's disease. And certainly, that is my childhood home and I will miss it. But I do hope and pray for a quick sale of their house and hope you will join me! The winters are milder in Kentucky than Northern Minnesota and well, we're here and we love them!

I hope you are all enjoying the summer! God bless!

Happy Easter and Springtime!

2009-04-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy time for us these last couple of months, but I thought it was about time to send some pictures and greetings. We are looking forward to a visit to Minnesota at the end of May/beginning of June and are so excited to see our friends and family up there! It's been too long. Even so, we have been really starting to build relationships here and that is such a blessing. Some of the pictures you see include special friends here.
Kentucky spring has had some pretty extreme temperature variations, but overall I can't complain. Spring is a beautiful season here; I just commented today that I can't ever remember the kids hunting eggs in grass that was actually green already in Minnesota. Has that ever happened up there??? I think we were usually just happy if they didn't have to wear their winter coats and hunt eggs in the snow. :)
So as far as what's up with us right now - our homeschool co-op has finished for the year, we have the kids in swim lessons at the Y, I'm doing some playing "gigs" this month and getting my students ready for a May recital, Joseph just learned to ride his bike without training wheels - yahoo!!, Bekah is mostly potty-trained - double yahoo!!!!, and our Rachel is about to hit the double digits - WHOA! (birthday - April 20) Oh, I left Tim out of that list - he's probably a little relieved that Holy Week services are behind him as enjoyable as they can be, he's hoping to run and bike more, still homeschooling the girls and helping them with cello and violin, and he also was asked recently to be the President of the musical organization here that the girls take their string lessons through. . . so he'll stay busy as usual.
Looking ahead we have Tim's brother's wedding and my nephew's wedding up in Minnesota when we come up for a visit, then hopefully a more relaxing summer than last year - we moved again in the middle of summer last year and as of now we'll probably keep renting here another year - then mid-August the schools start here and not only will Ruth have a big change being in the arts school, Joseph will be in Kindergarten half-day at our local public school. I'll be homeschooling Rachel (with some help from Tim) and of course, my Bekah will still be home with me too.
We ask for your prayers as we continue to discuss how to handle our house in Minnesota - keep renting? . . . try to sell now? try to sell later? Ultimately, we are trusting God to guide in this and every other change and decision that may present itself. He has taken us through some difficult things this past year, but He is alive and ever-present with us - we couldn't still be smiling without His hope and peace. All of our plans are "IF the Lord wills. . . " and we know He is working it all for good. God bless!

Our Kentucky Winter

2009-02-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hello to everyone! It's been a long time since I've blogged - I'm long overdue on this. We've had a lot of exciting things going on in our lives and I've been kept pretty busy!

Kentucky winter certainly has kept us on our toes (or our butts) and has made life interesting, too. As many of you know about the ice storm, I will just tell you our perspective on it. It was amazingly beautiful but incredibly destructive. We heard many thunderous crashes and our streets were messes of split apart trees. Thankfully, we were among those who did not lose power because our lines are buried in this neighborhood. I took a couple of pictures that don't necessarily capture it. Every detail of every bush, branch, leaf, pine needle, holly berry, fencepost, etc... was encased thickly in ice. I really wish I had brought my camera on a walk a few days after the ice storm - right before it all melted. It was a bright sunny day and all the trees looked like they were studded with diamonds. I have never seen anything quite like it in all my years of beautiful Minnesota winters. Anyway, we've not only had ice - we've also had some pretty decent snow this year. It comes and goes more quickly than Minnesota, of course, and I almost missed getting a picture of my kid's first Kentucky snowman before he melted.

In early February, we finally found out about the fine arts magnet school that Ruth had auditioned for. She not only was selected but according to someone we know from our church who works there she was put on their "prodigy" list. I guess that just means they think she has exceptional gifting. It was difficult for Ruthie to consider being in a school next year when she's a very comfortable little home-school girl (plenty of time for snuggling up with Nancy Drew.) And as of yet Rachel has not auditioned and will be home, which will be different for Rachel and Ruth not to be doing the same thing - Rachel may try next year for her sixth grade year because two spots open up for sixth graders. But when all was said and done, Ruth was the one to check the "accept" box on the card we were to send in and I think she's mostly excited about it. We've been visiting half-day kindergarten options for Joe (which are all private) so we will see what happens in the world of financial aid!

On Valentine's Day, Rachel and Ruth gave their first recital with just the two of them - solo cello and solo violin. It was their Suzuki "book" recital - Ruth, book 1, and Rachel, book 3. I had the honor of accompanying them and they both did an amazing job. It was a lot of hard work and preparation, but was a good experience for all of us. Ruth knew her book one pieces so well that her teacher had suggested having the audience pick hearts out of a basket with titles of the works on them and reading them out. That was fun, and of course the girls enjoyed making the valentine treats with Mommy for the reception almost as much as performing. (maybe more?)

Our performing wasn't done that weekend when the recital was over. We had a variety show at our church and Rachel played piano, Ruth played cello, the girls did a skit with some other kids, Tim did the sound board, and I - well, I lived out a teenage fantasy. I dressed as much as I could like 80's pop star, Debbie Gibson (who actually tended more 50's sometimes in her outfits) and performed her hit "Lost in Your Eyes" with the live band backing me up. I had way too much fun doing that. :)

Our next performance as a family will be March 12 for the Young At Heart group at our church. Tim and I plan to play a duet, we'll have the girls play their instruments and we'll just do their evening music program as a family. Fun stuff - I look forward to doing this kind of thing more as our family grows and the kids' skills grow.

After all the talk of Rachel and Ruth and music performances, I have to say that my Joseph has put in some good basketball performances for a boy his age. He made his first basket in an actual game a couple of weeks ago! I am a proud Momma! He's such a cute little 5-year old ball player and he is playing on a team right now of other cute little players. It's so fun to watch those little guys play. Sometimes you wonder how many legs the ball will go through before someone gets it or why some guy is blocking his own teammate or going to shoot on the wrong side of the court, but next thing you know they are doing so amazingly well for their age, the laughter stops and the cheering begins. Joe's a pretty good shot, too. It's just taking time for him to familiarize himself with how a game actually works, but he's getting better all the time.

I realize I bragged on everyone but Rebekah in this blog. My Bekah's claim to her Mommy's heart right now is that during her nasty stomach sickness of this past week she made doubly sure that I get a new couch. Thanks, Bek! Seriously, though, you all know how I love my baby.

God bless and keep in touch!

Minnesota Christmas/Kentucky New Year

2009-01-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed our week in Minnesota over Christmas so much. What a blessing it was to spend time with our families and our friends! The all-night drives (though painful) were well worth it and we hope to do it again not too long from now.

We drove through the night Christmas Eve, leaving after our service here, and arrived at Tim's parent's house Christmas morning. It was such fun to see and explore their new home. What a beautiful place - we're very happy for them. (The scenic picture is from their back patio.) There is always a lot going on at the Stokes' house and our kids like to get right in the middle of it all. They loved the time there, sledding every day, horseback riding with Abbie, cribbage and other card games, staying up late and giggling with Mary, seeing their cousins Caleb, Angela, Emily, Isaac, Hannah, and even a visit to the new arrival (Cai) before we headed out of town, playing their instruments for everyone, good food everywhere, Grandma and Grandpa time etc... Partly, I just enjoyed seeing the kids reconnect with everyone. And I can't wait for Josh to send us the full Stokes family picture. . . I was just impressed that we ALL made it.

We also enjoyed our family Christmas time we had set aside with my parents, my sister Diane and my brother Eric, and my nieces and nephews (Andrew and his fiance Brittany, Jenni, Amber, and Christiano.) It was a blessing to all be together for those few hours on Saturday, sharing a meal and gifts and musical talents and just hangin' out. I'm glad we got some good pics - maybe we'll get the full family one next time. . . or at Andrew's wedding.

Not only did we enjoy our families, we also had some great time with our friends up there. We got to visit Faith Baptist and see many delighfully familiar faces, spending more time with some folks from there for lunch and dessert, etc... We celebrated Joe's 5-year old birthday with his best friend Sammy and that was such a blessing for our families to see each other and spend time together. Rachel and Ruth had play-dates and sleepovers with very special friends, we spent a fun New Year's Eve at the Chernyavsky's - the games were awesome. :)

Tim also worked on some details regarding the rental of our house there, which is where we are with that right now. It's not for sale at the moment - we pulled it off the market and are renting it until we pray and perceive the next step. As of now, our New Year still finds us in "Who-knows-ville" in that regard, but we are thankful for God's presence and promises as we start 2009 with much uncertainty about our circumstances. The only rock is our Lord God and He is unchanging.

Happy New Year and thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family for your love!

MORE PICS!

2008-12-16T10:38:00.001-08:00

PICTURES FOR MY CHRISTMAS POST

2008-12-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

2008-12-14T19:00:00.001-08:00

The Stokes family wishes you a very blessed Christmas.

We are looking forward to seeing some of you soon. Today was in the 50's here, so make sure you keep some snow for us. It has been a busy time of year for us as I'm sure for most of you. We had our "Victory Family Christmas" this morning with lots of music and kids involvement and it was a delightful time though we are, of course, exhausted. It is such a joy to praise Him during this season through music. We feel very blessed as musicians. Like the little drummer boy story, sometimes it feels like a song is all we have to offer him. But if it flows from our hearts, even if our hands are empty, not only does Jesus accept our gift but He gives us so much more than we could ever deserve - grace upon grace.

We are thankful for a really good time with the Chernyavsky's over Thanksgiving weekend. We had wondered how to celebrate Ruth's 8th birthday and having them here was such a cool present for Ruth that it didn't matter much what we did. Although we did do some fun things that weekend. . . southern lights at the Kentucky Horse Park, swimming at the hotel, girls sleepover, birthday pancake breakfast with both our families and Tim's godfather, etc.. It was great having them here.

The next week I had my student piano recital, which though we videotaped it I don't have pictures of it right now. It was my first time with (almost) all my students here together and was very rewarding. That same day Ruth auditioned for the performing arts school here in Lexington and did, we've heard, a great job. We will hear for sure in January whether she will be accepted or not.

As I reflect back on this year, I remember when we were planning this move, our first major move as a family, to Kentucky, and Joseph kept asking things like, "Is there McDonald's in Kentucky?" "Is there Target in Kentucky?" Is Thomas the Train in Kentucky?" "Will my toys be in Kentucky?" And for all of us, there have been times of uncertainty and questioning, "Is Jesus in Kentucky? Is He really here with us through all we are dealing with?" We know now that there are Christmas trees and parties and lights and crazy shopping frenzies and music in December in Kentucky. Joseph now knows there is even McDonald's and Thomas the Train. And yes, there is Jesus. May you know Him this season wherever you are.

The drama continues. . .

2008-11-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

We are very thankful for all of God's blessings to us this Thanksgiving season. The Lord has been faithful to provide for us during a difficult season of our lives. There has been uncertainty, waiting on the Lord for answers, and many pressures lately. Our house not selling in Minnesota continues to be a question mark for us, the fact that our church here has had to cut staff salaries a certain percentage across the board come January, questions regarding our education choices for the kids. . . but through it all, the body of believers here and there has supported us and we've always received just what we've needed and then some. So many unexpected and anonymous givers! We hope we will learn how to be as generous as others have been to us. And we see God's heart for us displayed through His body which is precious. This keeps us hoping, keeps us seeking, and keeps us thankful.

Meanwhile, our family of four young children is enough drama in and of itself! Today for their homeschool group, the kids dressed up as different historic characters - Rachel was Dolley Madison, Ruth was Laura Ingalls, and Joseph was Buffalo Bill. There have been some exciting things happening with our kids. On the musical side of things, Rachel has played on the worship team with her violin, Rachel and Ruth have started playing Christmas duets with violin and cello, Ruth has an audition on Dec. 6th for a performing arts school and we also have the piano recital for my students that day. Joseph, though he likes to play three blind mice on the piano, is not yet into studying an instrument. However, he is totally excited about starting basketball in January! We have him signed up for a neat program here. And Rebekah's latest news is that she is doing a good job of potty training - though we're not quite there yet.

Thanksgiving will not bring us home to Minnesota this year, though we so look forward to our Christmas visit. We do have some excitement Thanksgiving weekend, though. We have an invitation for dinner on Thursday from friends and then we have our good friends from Minnesota, the Chernyavsky's, coming to visit on their way down to Florida on Friday and Saturday! We are all so blessed by that, especially Ruth who is turning 8 years old on Saturday and will get to have her good friend Sienna here. Perfect timing!

I will include some pictures of our kids, our little bitty snow we had :) and Tim with the other staff here. It's hard to believe the holiday season is upon us. My next blog will probably be our Christmas letter! Giving thanks for all of you. . .

DEBRA'S PARENTS HERE!

2008-10-26T19:22:00.001-07:00

We are thankful to have Mom and Dad Goertzen visiting with us this week and I thought I would share a few pictures, plus I'm due for an update anyway. Since Mom and Dad have been here, we've already done quite a bit. We enjoyed an apple orchard/farm that had a really fun play area for the kids. We went to the horse races at Keenland for the last day of the fall meet there on Saturday and got to again experience the thrill of the crowds and the speed and beauty of the horses. Tim took Rachel and Ruth and Mom to a Lexington Philharmonic concert Friday night because Ruth's teacher told us there was a cello soloist and they all enjoyed that night out. And we all went to the Lexington Phil's family concert today with Peter and the Wolf and the Lexington Ballet embellishing with some great dancing. Even Joe and Bekah came and enjoyed that, along with the orchestra "petting zoo" beforehand. Now we have a busy school week ahead, but Mom and Dad should also get in on a little recital Rachel and Ruth are playing in this Thursday afternoon before heading back to Minnesota on Friday.

As far as a general update on how life is going for us, I don't have much new to add from previous posts. We've had a little girl sleepover and and a men and boys' campout, a women's retreat and Shaker village where I led the musical worship, a recital Ruth played in, more piano students for me, more computer work for Tim, more stress with home-schooling and discussions on what to do next year, plans to possibly rent out our house in Minnesota and put selling on hold for a while. . . and obviously this is only to name a few things in our lives! (and I don't always have pictures for everything though now that I'm a blogger I think I'm supposed to somehow! We are now enjoying time with family and looking forward to seeing more of you at Christmas time. God bless!

Fort Boonesborough and more

2008-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

We went to Fort Boonesborough as a family along with a few families from our kids' homeschool group this past Saturday. They had many reenactors at the fort and in an added Indian village this weekend, they shot off a real cannon, acted out a siege for us where the Indians attacked the fort, and really allowed us to experience life with blacksmiths, old-fashioned stores and clothes, and for Joe the highlight, of course, guns.

On Sunday following our field trip, Rachel played violin in her first recital. I accompanied her and she did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, my pictures to choose from for this event are very limited because Tim was trying to keep Joe and Beka quiet as we played. But it was a good experience, we went out for ice-cream with her violin teacher afterwards, and enjoyed the time. Ruth is really progressing on cello and will be playing in a recital soon, too. We are considering having her audition for a school for the creative and performing arts, in which they have most of their openings for kids going into 4th grade next year. We just went to a meeting there this week and are still praying and considering on it. It is a public school, but audition only and they truly receive an arts education which we could get excited about.

I am enjoying the cooler weather - even though it has still been quite warm. It's finally feeling a little more "fallish" and the leaves are just beginning to turn. The kids are having a lot more fun playing outside now that it isn't as hot and Tim and I enjoy our chances to get out and run a lot more.

Piano teaching is going very well. I'm really enjoying teaching this time around and still looking to add a few more students into my schedule. Tim is enjoying his worship position at Victory, creatively planning and rehearsing choir and praise teams, working with the youth and kids on Wednesday nights, not to mention other pastoral responsibilities and being the primary teacher for Rachel and Ruth on their schoolwork. (Tim has always been kind of amazing to me. Still glad I married him. :) It has its challenges and the church is not exempt from the economic issues facing everyone right now. Certainly, with our house not selling and other things going on, we just have to rely on God step by step for guidance.

We are looking forward to a visit from my parents in October, plus I am planning worship for an upcoming women's retreat. Then before we know it we'll be coming back for Christmas. Thanks to all our friends and family for your love and prayers!

Fall Facts and Fun

2008-09-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hi, I wanted to update everyone on how our fall is shaping up. If you could call this fall when it is still 90 degrees! In the past month, many things have begun and a few have ended. Bye bye backyard swimming pool and unstructured days. At the end of August we celebrated 36 years for me (and yes, all the candles still fit on the cake) and we enjoyed meeting up with Tim's godfather, Duane Roller, who lives in a neighboring town to us. I also have encountered allergies of various kinds and know the testing of my immune system produces mucus and mucus when fully. . . . oh, never mind. :)

The kids have started school with Daddy and have had a few weeks of their homeschool group, Classical Conversations. Things are going well, though there are adjustments to be made for everyone. For CC, they have to do a presentation each week and it ends up being a lot of work for Mommy! But it is good for them to learn to prepare these little speeches on things they are interested in and learn to present them. As far as the bulk of their school, Tim is an excellent teacher for them and I have been impressed with his dedication and organization. It has been a relief for me, though I am still working with the kids on many things during the day.

I have started teaching 7 piano students so far (not counting Rachel and Ruth.) Hopefully there will be more. If I had any concerns about leaving at supper time, this week put those concerns to rest. I had given Rachel instructions about doing a lot of the supper prep herself but I knew Tim would be there to help her. Well, he confessed to snoozing on the couch and I came home to homemade banana bread and tacos which Rachel had made from start to finish! She keeps wondering why we are so proud.

Rebekah is growing into the 2-year old that she is now. She is very excited about the "bike" she's been given to use (it's really a tricycle with a push-handle for us to maneuver her) and equally thrilled with her new "holmet" as she calls it. She is very happy to use her little potty frequently, though she is not fully trained, and she is getting more talkative all the time. I won't give you a run-down on all the kids, but she's probably changed the most since we moved.

God has really provided what we've needed this past month. We hit a point of crisis financially (or a realization that we were already there) and we chose to find counsel and act on it. We've seen amazing provisions rain down especiallly since we decided to give the whole tithe in faith. We are still trying to sell a car and a house, of course, and ask your continued prayers for those things.

We miss everyone back "home" in Minnesota and other friends and family that may be reading this, too. In particular, we have grieved with those who have lost loved ones in the Faith Baptist family during this past month or so. We have also rejoiced with good friends who have adopted and given birth recently. It has been very difficult to do those things with the amount of distance that separates us but our hearts are definitely there. We are looking forward to a visit from my parents in October and in a couple more months hopefully coming back to a white Christmas! God bless!

The Best of Summer and Plans for Fall

2008-08-19T17:19:00.001-07:00

Hi, I just wanted to put some good pictures from this summer up for you, including a couple from Rebekah's 2nd birthday which we celebrated at a park this past Saturday. It has been a beautiful summer here and even August has not been uncomfortably hot like we are told it normally is. We have enjoyed a lot of good times together as a family, though as we have been making our fall plans there have been many things to discuss.

Just to remind you, we would appreciate prayers for our house in Minneapolis to sell. This has not been an easy situation financially and we are trying to make some decisions to move in the right direction in this area of our lives, but that would really help us! We are planning on having Tim do the majority of the home-schooling this year, so that will be a change - one I don't think I mind so much! :) And I will be taking on as many piano students as I can manage in the afternoons/evenings, many of them through a local music school run out of a large church here which I will be teaching at. All three of the older kids will be in a home-school group called Classical Conversations where they will have a classroom setting with teachers, where homework and presentations will be done on a variety of subjects. It meets once every week. This group meets at our church, which we are now enjoying being only 2 blocks away from so that will be convenient! I have also joined Bible Study Fellowship and will be studying the life of Moses, while Joe and Bekah will be in the kids' preschool program for this group (which is very good and I'm excited) and Rachel and Ruth will have "study hall" at church with Daddy. The girls will continue their music lessons in violin and cello, thanks to scholarship programs and other help we've been thankful to receive during this time. And Tim is especially excited about a new Wednesday night program for the kids at our church that he is involved in where they will be learning a variety of songs, signing, and dramatic sketches as well as being taught their bible lessons.

It has been a time of praying and planning, seeking to not be anxious about anything - though I can't say we've succeeded on that - but with thanksgiving to present our requests to God! Love you all.

Vacation/Conference in Maryland!

2008-08-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

Our family just returned from a very blessed week in Maryland. Tim had a conference out there and I tagged along to meet my Uncle Joe (my mom's "baby" brother) and my Aunt Ginger, and to see a friend from college - Grace - and to meet her family. We all stayed with my aunt and uncle in Frederick, Maryland. They were wonderful hosts and it was such a joy to get to know them and even meet some first cousins on my mom's side of the family. (I have never met any on her side until now.) So not only was Tim's worship conference a real highlight and encouragement for him, my time out there was very enjoyable and worthwhile as well. The kids are already asking when they will see Uncle Joe and Aunt Ginger again.

Some of the things we did - took all the kids to Washington D.C. via the metro which was quite an experience. Walking around in 90 degree weather on the mall, Joe commented that it was just like a big park but with no playground. He probably got the most enjoyment out of the rockets and dinosaurs we saw in museums that day, however, and he is still enjoying his space toys we got him at the Air and Space Museum.

Another day we got to drive across the Annapolis Bay Bridge to spend time at a house right on Chesapeake Bay! My friend, Grace (along with her family), happened to be house-sitting there that week. We enjoyed the time with them, the pool and hot-tub, the crab-catching even though we aren't crab eaters, and the beautiful mood-changing scenery out over the bay. We are still discussing how much a property like that must be worth! But it is always great to catch up with good friends and we were thankful for that opportunity.

A couple of things I did when Tim was at the conference was to enjoy the historic town of Frederick with my aunt and uncle - including some fun for the kids at the old governor's mansion where they got to dress up and enjoy "old-time" toys, Rachel, Uncle Joe, and I enjoyed a delightful chamber music concert at Hood College, and we had a day at a state park called "Cunningham Falls" in the Cococtin Moutains, where there was a beautiful swimming beach at a lake. The kids so enjoyed that and so did I - Minnesota, I miss your lakes!

And I probably miss you if you are reading this! It's back to reality for us now. God bless!

Stokes' "Smokey" 10th Anniversary!

2008-07-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Tim and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in the Smokey Mountains, staying at a resort called "Mountain Loft," which was beautifully tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the family vacation destination, Gatlinberg, TN. We were so grateful for the opportunity, given to us by friends from church who had enough timeshare points to share generously with us. Not only that, they watched our kids the whole weekend! What a blessing.

We thoroughly enjoyed time to enjoy the beauty of God's creation, hiking quite a bit at the Smokey Mountain National Park. I found out Tim's sense of adventure definitely exceeds mine, though! He wore me out with a hike on Saturday, but at least we could go back to the resort and take a nap! And then go swimming outside with a beautiful view of the mountains - can't complain. We woke up to that same beautiful view, in fact. They built the units to each have a mountain view.

This time was truly a gift from God in the midst of a very crazy time in our lives. We had to be prepared to move to the day after we came back! We did just that and now I continue to be in the middle of a certain amount of chaos. We are unpacking, doing Vacation Bible School at our church every night this week, and preparing for a trip to Maryland next week. So I can't imagine anything more on our plate right now. But praise God for His blessings in the midst of our craziest times.

Illinois Family Reunion!

2008-07-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a couple of days this past week with much of Tim's family and extended family on Tim's dad's side. We stayed at his Aunt Kathy's big country house along with Tim's parents and many of his siblings and their families. The kids had a blast with grandparents and cousins, aunts and uncles, great aunts and great uncles, and even got to meet their great-grandma. We enjoyed the break from our routine to hang out in the country with the picturesque cows and corn fields, go creek-stomping, see lots of farm equipment, play lots of cribbage, and do lots of nothing except hang out with family! We were very thankful for the opportunity and took some fun pictures to share. Included is Tim walking across the creek on a log with Beka sleeping on his shoulder! There are more pics I'd like to share later, but here's a start. God bless!

July 4th!

2008-07-08T17:26:00.001-07:00

We had a very wet fourth of July and thought everything might be canceled that evening, but the rain held off that night enough to have a really fun time! Our church had games, free ice cream, a patriotic service led by Tim, a bike "parade" for the kids' outside, and last but not least a fabulous fireworks display. We even had a DJ show up - at first Tim didn't know what to do with him because we hadn't asked for one, but long story short - he was for free and it was great to have the patriotic music along with the fireworks.

So we are posting some pictures of our evening - the kids loved decorating their bikes, the ice cream, the fireworks, the friends, etc... Rebekah even thought she had fireworks in her hair - Rachel's added touch with the colorful clips, but the loud booms scared her.

Tomorrow we take a trip to visit family in Southern Illinois and hopefully I'll be able to post that update next week! God bless!

Park Outing!

2008-06-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

We want to share a few pictures that were taken at a park Friday. We hung out with friends from church, Keith and Dana Galloway, and shared supper together. Top on the enjoyment list in Kentucky - great weather and great people to get to know. I had had a long week with the kids, but to get out and see their happy faces playing always goes a long way in refreshing warm mommy feelings. Aren't they cute? :) Happy 4th of July to you all, by the way! We are going to have a kids' parade of sorts and a patriotic musical-type program (led by Tim with my help) and then fireworks, of course. We are also looking forward to a visit with Tim's family in Southern Illinois and our 10th anniversary this July! Oh and that's not all. At the end of July, we'll be taking a trip to Maryland for Tim to attend a Worship Conference and Debra will get to meet relatives she has not met before and see a good friend from college. So the pictures should get more exciting - Lord willing. God bless! Anyone reading this, it is probably appropriate to say WE MISS YOU!

A few pics!

2008-06-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally know how to put pictures up here! It is just so hard to choose. Here we have our "knight" Joseph on his rocking horse he named "Speed Bullet." We have a picture from the well-known horse-track, Keenland, where we enjoyed going to the races in April with my (Debra's) parents. Then we have a picture of our budding cellists; Tim is taking lessons with Ruth and they have a very fine teacher they are just starting with. Rachel's "Singing in the Rain" birthday party - 9 years old - is next. The girl in the middle is Lauren, whose dad works with Tim and she and Rachel have become good friends. And last but not least is an early spring photo of Rebekah sitting in a tree/bush in our backyard. What a sweetie! :)

More later!

Sickness!

2008-06-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we just found out Tim has shingles! He has it on his forhead and looks bumpy like a Star Trekky dude or something. And Rachel has had a fairly high fever for three days in a row. It's such a beautiful time of year here, too, that it is sad to be home-bound.

Not much news otherwise. As soon as Tim helps me shrink pictures to fit on here, we'll put some on. Hi from all of us!

Update on Stokes in Kentucky!

2008-06-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are long overdue in starting to "blog." We hope to keep in touch better with many of you who live far from us and this is a great way for you to get a glimpse of our lives in Kentucky.

We've lived in Lexington, KY, for 4 months now. These have been months of dramatic changes for us as many of you know. However, we've enjoyed many things here and have been very blessed by the people of Victory Baptist, the church Tim is the Worship Pastor for. For example, last night Tim and I were given a night out and even cash for our date! That's just an example of the love and service we've experienced.

4 months and yes, 4 kids! Rachel is flourishing in her music right now. She's doing well on piano, playing an offertory in church for the first time a couple of weeks ago. She's progressing on violin in leaps and bounds, too. And not only that, she has been given the opportunity to babysit her violin teacher's 3-year old daughter while her teacher teaches other students. This is a very grown-up privilege for her and she is enjoying it!

Ruth, besides getting into poison ivy a few weeks ago - poor girl, has been studying cello with her Daddy and enjoying her summer vacation - swimming, playing with Joe, and of course, lots of Nancy Drew! Both girls enjoyed the 3 months they spent in a private school, Bluegrass Baptist, but are also excited about homeschooling again in the fall.

Joseph continues to amaze us and challenge us in many ways. We were told that in Sunday School when they talked about how God sends the rain, he challenged that sternly by explaining how water evaporates off of lakes and creates clouds, etc... etc... (He gave the scientific explanation in detail, apparently!) They gently reminded him that God still is responsible for the lakes, but we got a kick out of that. He misses his friends in Minnesota as we all do, but has been learning and growing with enthusiasm as usual.

Rebekah is just a wonderful little sweetie, talking more and exerting her ideas and personality more all the time as she approaches her 2nd birthday in August. Her curly blonde pigtails, sweet smile and way about her charm everyone who meets her. I'm still so charmed by her myself it is hard for me to face the facts that she's not a perfect little girl and she does need discipline and training! Though, in regular toddler fasion, "no" and "mine" are two of her favorite words, she often seems to give in to instruction quite easily with a sweet, "otay," something I seldom heard from the others at this age!

Tim is enjoying pouring himself into the musical worship ministry of the church and we are just hoping we can sell our house in Minnesota (or even rent it) so that we can hang in there financially. I (Debra) hope to start teaching piano this fall. As far as recreation, Tim is enjoying beautiful bike rides right next to horses and thier babies - though the hills are tougher than Minnesota. I'm enjoying running and going swimming with the kids in this unusually hot June for us. So far, the warm weather has been enjoyable, though!

We have enjoyed our location in Lexington, but will be relocating soon to a different house and will keep you informed as to our change of address.

God bless!