New School Year 2008

The official start of the academic year has begun in the Bacon Household. I say academic as we believe every day is a day of learning. And school is about learning how to run a household, take care of younger children, cook, clean etc. In our house it is also learning how to nurture relationships with those around you.

We are so blessed to be starting our 18th year of homeschooling. Our thanks goes to the Lord, He called us to this journey. I love being able to be with my children on a daily basis. Thank you, Craig for being such a wonderful provider and encourager. Couldn't do this without you!:)

This year starts with Craig Ellis and Gina in college at Columbia International University. They are still in the beautiful honeymoon stage of life. Both are working and attending classes part time.

Andrew is officially a freshman at Tidewater Community College. I know he is taking computer classes but I can't tell you the names. (trying to let go) He desires to work in the computer field. He is also working part time at Food Lion.

Arielle, is a freshman in high school. WOW that is hard to believe. She is taking.. Algebra 1, Biology, Language 9, World Geography and reading Hamlet at this time. Also starting her 5th year of piano. She will also be acting in our Children's Ministry dramas and working on the tech team. She hopes to learn to sew this year.

Danielle is in the 6th grade. She is taking... Arithmetic 6, Astronomy, Learning Language Arts through Literature, New World History/Geography. She starts her 5th year of dance. She will be helping to lead worship on our Children's Ministry Praise Team.

Shoshannah..well, she wants to "do school" so we are playing around with letters, nothing serious. She can almost verbally spell, Shoshannah. We will see how the year progresses with her:) I may need lots of encouragement to continuing homeschooling her:) God will be working lots on me....

I will post a few pictures taken so far

Connections

Andrew came home from Big Stuf camp, excited and full from his mountain top experience. He brought home this book, titled God's Blog's by Lanny Donoho. So he has passed it on to me. I am enjoying this book. I was reading a blog this morning and wanted to share it here.

Connections

Today I listened to millions of prayers. Many of them were from hurting people begging Me for intervention and asking Me why.

In order for you to understand, I 'll use the human vernacular for just a second and say that My heart aches for you so often.

I see and feel your pain and do what I know is best...and yet, I know

you cannot understand for now.

There is a concept you can understand though, and if you grab hold of it, it might help.

It's about your connections.

Many of you are unaware of your role in the universe and how important your every thought and word and deed are.

They are connected to others in ways you will never see.

People are put into your path. It is important that you notice them and that you talk to Me about them, and especially that you hear from Me on how to act and react to them.

Let Me tell you about a family that I see right now.

In a crib in Phoenix, Arizona, lies a little infant named Megan.

Megan was born a few months ago with a birth defect.

Her mother is sitting in a rocking chair in the living room of their little house praying to Me.

She is also feeling somewhat guilty that her child was born like this.

Let Me tell you what I see in the future of that little girl.

Her mother realizes she can't bear this burden alone. and she begins to rely on Me to help her.

Little Megan grows up surrounded by love, She hears her mother tell her Bible stories and stories about Me and My love. She attends a church where in spite of her " not being normal", she is loved by a youth group. I watch as she learns and grows and loves.

I watch her at her wedding where over three hundred people weep and smile and hardly notice any unnatural deformities because they are so mesmerized by her countenance.

Their smiles are there because they know her heart. Her life has given them encouragement.

Megan's mom has given them a gift. And many don't see the connection.

Her dad has given them all a gift. He loved her and sacrificed to be with her and didn't get his promotion at work. And that alone allowed him to stay home more.. and his constant presence made her feel more loved and more normal.

And all of that has caused her to be a loving servant to many. Many think it is sad that her dad didn't get to fulfill what he could have...and they don't see the connection, either.

All of this could be the end of the blog, and you could see how important it was to see the connection between a mother and father's love and how it impacts a child and how that child impacts the people around them. But I want to tell you more.

I AM here in Megan's present, and I AM watching more of the connections way in the future.

(we're gonna travel fast through the future here, so pay attentions and don't get lost.)

I watched Megan have her first son Daniel, and them I watched him listen to a lot of the same stories she heard from her mother. Daniel grew up and as nineteen year old worked in a Starbucks, where on a Saturday in April in 2045, Daniel, sat down with a fifteen year old and shared his faith in ME with that kid.

That kid-his name is Nathan- had an interesting future. By the time his life was over, he had used his platform as a speaker to communicate to over thirty million people. He communicated truth about ME that changed the world..in a way I really like.

Here's a thought for you to consider.

People are put in your path almost every day.

Some are quite unobtrusive and you might not even notice them.

Many are somewhat undesirable and you don't want to notice them.

Some are right in your path and you are forced to at least acknowledge their presence.

BUT

you make connections and the connections never die.

The thread just keeps unrolling through time- touching everyone, tying everyone together. It won't stop until you walk into eternity.

THAT'S why......

EVERY DAY MATTERS

EVERY PERSON MATTERS

You have been placed in circumstances somewhere far beyond what you would have chosen and could imagine yourself in.

Be aware of those circumstances...they could be another chance to change
the future of the universe.

Look Around. Very near to you is a person through whom you can change the future of millions of people.

People whom you will never see.. futures you will never know about..but I will.

And when we get together at MY place soon, I will tell you about them and how your connection made a difference.

And you will smile with ME one of those everlasting GOD sized smiles.

Okay more....

More Photos

Summer Fun

Yesterday the weather was beautiful so I decided it was check out a new park! It is new for us. So, we grabbed some pre-made subs packed up the van and off we went. The park is actually less than 5 miles from our house. As we parked the van we heard the chanting and music of Native Americans. Wondering what we had stumbled upon we kept on heading into the park. There was a circle of NA's playing their drums and chanting. It looked to be about 3 generations of people. We continued on, found our picnic table and sat down to eat and listen in on the music. I found it haunting and lovely. After we ate we took a walk, found an old cemetery, stopped read the head stones and continued our walk. It was a very peaceful time. After our walk we let the "children" play on the playground then headed home. Our days for enjoying these family times are changing. Kinda sad, but I am creating memories that I hold near and dear in my heart:)

Here are some photos. Arielle played around with several shots and had fun. I think it will take two posts to get the best ones in.

Happy 3rd Birtthday Shoshannah

Yesterday was a busy, fun day for Shoshannah. In the morning we had playdate with a new friend. They didn't know it was Shoshannah's birthday, but Charity had made Zuchinni muffins, so they added a little icing and candle, and instant birthday cake! It was a very sweet time and I think the girl did very well together. I look forward to hosting them next month. Shoshannah's new friend loves to play with "My little Pony" well, I remarked we don't have any of those. Well, we come home and hanging on the door is a birthday present for Shoshannah. We open it and what do you think it was?? Yes, two My little Ponies and this really cute Chatter Ladybug. Our friends the Dalton's had dropped the gift by. Ty and Logan picked out the little ponies for Shoshannah. This a precious family that God has blessed with 5 boys. During our adoption process they prayed for Shoshannah and the boys were so excited when she came home to us. Just a side note, they are expecting a new little blessing and while we want God's will we are praying PINK, for this family:)
Then it was time for birthday dinner, so we gave Shoshannah a choice of pizza or hamburger and french fries. She chose hamburger and french fries. And being her daddy's girl, the place was MacDonalds. She ate then ran Danielle ragged in the playplace.
We came home to cake and presents. She loved everything!
I want to add that the blanket you see in the video was made by Arielle with a little help from Danielle.
We are so blessed with this little angel. We love you Shoshannah! I have to edit some pictures and will post them later.

The Call...

Love that Face!

Two years ago today we received the call that changed our family forever. As an adoptive family you work many hours filing paper work, scheduling appointments, attending classes, PRAYING and mostly WAITING. And in our case waiting and waiting some more. But finally that calls comes in telling you that you have a new child. We receieved our call about 10am on August 1, 2006 telling us that we had a new baby girl to add to our family. She lived in Chongqing, China, her name was Yu Lan Jiang and her birthday was August 4, 2005. The joy and tears flowed. The following day on August 2, we went to our local Bethany office to recieve our pictures. What a beauty she was and what a beauty she still is.. We are blessed.

Thank you Lord that you found us worthy of having this child placed in our family.