HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU!

Dear precious Above Rubies reader, 

May God give you His heart-peace and fill your home with His love. And of course, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your whole family. We are looking forward to a big family gathering. There will be over 50 of us with just our immediate family, even though one family will not be with us!                                                                                                    

Here comes another newsletter to keep you going until the next Above Rubies comes your way. I hope to get it edited before the end of the year and send it out in the New Year.

If you live in the USA, I am sure you have received your new Above Rubies, #72 by now. The last packages were sent out on the 19 October. It is a wonderful issue and I know it is bringing great encouragement to you. I know you will have enjoyed the feature article on managing to live in a small house with a large family. I couldn’t fit them all in the magazine, so am posting a few more at the end of this newsletter. Make sure you get to the end to read them.

I also have to mention a couple more things…

FINANCING AN ADOPTION

There is an article about this on page 23. However, when I received the magazine from the printers, I was sad to see that  they had omitted to print the contact information at the end of the article. It was all there on the proofs but didn’t come out in the printing. Instead there was a green space. I was very sorry about this. For those who are interested I will now give you the full information.

If you need help with grants for your adoption from anywhere in the world, contact:

Donna Barber or Jeanette Turbeville

W6126 Hraban Road, Tony, WI 54563

Phone 715.415.4401 or 715.749.3607

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Website: www.globalorphanoutreach.com

BREAKFAST FOR THE BRAIN

Evangeline, our daughter, wrote an article about preparing steel cut oats for breakfast, page 20. She didn’t state how long to cook it, and because it was last minute, I decided I would put 35 – 40 minutes! She nearly had a fit when she read it. “Mum,” she cried out, “You only have to cook it for two to three minutes!” Forgive me. My mistake! You need to cook it this long if you don’t soak it, but the secret of preparing steel cut oats is to soak it overnight! Then you only have to cook it for a few minutes. I hope that helps!

WHOLESOME MOVIES

My husband, Colin and I do not have time for TV, therefore we do not have it connected in our home. When our older children were young, we allowed them to watch certain programs. However, they are now in their forties, and this is a different era of TV. I don’t believe that any God-fearing family could allow their children to watch TV today.

But now we face another problem. We have recently adopted four teenagers from Liberia, West Africa. If they had their own way, they would love to watch TV all day. Just as well it is not connected! However, they do need some form of entertainment, and so we allow them to watch some wholesome movies on the weekend.

But the next problem is. Where do we find wholesome movies? Fortunately, we have been able to find some very wonderful movies that were very positive and we were most happy about, but they are running out. I am certainly not an expert on movies (and don’t even know the names of any movie stars), so I need help. Maybe you do too.

I was thinking that it would be so good to have a list of positive, wholesome, and yet exciting movies for teens. When it is time to have a family movie night together, instead of going to the video store and spending two hours to find something wholesome and coming home with nothing, we could go with the list and choose one from the list that we know is going to be good.

Could you help me compile this list? I need it for myself, but once I put it together, I will post it for you too. Is that a good idea? I think it would be good to all glean from one another, don’t you?

Therefore, if you have watched a good movie that is suitable for young people (I am not talking about little children’s movies at this moment – there are many little children’s movies that are good, the problem is finding them for the middling and teen children), could you please email the title or titles to me. Please type MOVIES in the subject heading. Otherwise I may miss the email. I have so many hundreds of emails that I usually only pick up the ones with a subject heading that looks important. Now there’s a hint to get me to read your email!

DINNER TIME CONVERSATION

An Above Rubies reader recently wrote to me, “Both coming from families with poor conversational skills, my husband and I sometimes find ourselves at a loss to initiate meaningful and interesting conversation at dinner with our six children from ages 6 through 17.  The children and I are together most of the day, hence we already KNOW most of what has gone on with each other that day. Can you suggest some good conversational starters to help us get going?”

This is a really good question. I also find that if I don’t think of some ideas before the mealtime, the conversation goes nowhere or is non-existent. By the way, when we put out a question at the table, we start with one person and go around the table, allowing everyone to have a turn. Here are some ideas…

If you were given a million dollars, how would you spend it? (I have to admit that this was one of the favorite questions our children growing up, and they never tired of it! No wonder one of our sons decided he wanted to be a millionaire by the time he was 30 years. He didn’t quite make by 30, but he is one now! Of course, that didn’t happen with all the family. Our daughter, Evangeline, lives with their nine children in a little tiny cabin with no bedrooms and no beds! But she has such an amazing positive attitude that she lives like a millionaire!)

If you were able to travel to another country, which one would you choose, and why?

What is your favorite room in the house, and why?

What is your favorite movie, and why?

What is the most interesting show, entertainment or tourist place you have been to? Why did you like it the best?

What are you most thankful for in life?

What new thing would you like to learn to do?

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you in your life?

What is the best thing that has happened to you in your life?

What is the worst thing that has happened to you in your life?

What is your dream and vision for your life?

Who is the nicest person you know, and why?

What was the kindest thing that someone ever did for you?

What was the nicest thing someone ever said to you? How did it make you feel?

How do you think our words can affect other people?

What is the best Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Passover etc. you have ever enjoyed. Choose which one is appropriate for your family.

What was the most interesting thing that happened to you today?

Tell us something new that you learned today.

Did you learn a new word today? Can you tell us what it is and what it means?

What is your favorite story, and why?

If you were given a day that you could do anything you like to do, what would you like to do?

What is your favorite Bible verse, and why?

Who is your favorite character in the Bible, and why?

Tell us what you think is special about older people.

Tell us what you love about babies.

Share with us the character of the man or lady that you would like to marry when you grow up.,

What kind of a house would you like to live in when you get married?

What kind of wedding would you like to have when you get married?

What is your favorite tree, and why?

What is your favorite flower, and why?

If you could have whatever you wanted for dinner, what would you choose?

In what way would you like to serve the Lord when you grow older?

If you were going to be a missionary, to which country would you like to go to serve the Lord?

 I think you will have enough here to keep you going for a good while. If you can think of others, you can email them to me.

Another good idea is to ask each of the children to bring a poem to the table, read it and share why they like this particular poem. Or you could ask one child each  night to have a turn and the next child another night.

CALIFORNIAN ABOVE RUBIES EGROUP

The new yahoo group for CA is active if anyone is interested.  You might want to post it in the magazine. 

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Thank you! Rhonda Gordon, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

ONE HOT, ONE COLD

“When you sent out the letter asking for nursing stories for the magazine, I didn't have any; but a few weeks later, I got a good one! I was nursing our six-month old son Joey while Davey (almost 5) and Willie (just turned 3)were playing nearby.  When I switched Joey to the other side to finish nursing, Davey suddenly stood up and asked, "Why did you put him on the other side?" 

I replied, "So he can drink the milk on this side. There's milk on both sides."  With a look that said he had just solved the mystery he exclaimed, "Oh! Is one the hot milk and one the cold milk?"  Children's thoughts are so precious!” 

Jenny Luibrand, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Novi Sad, Serbia

Blessed to be married to Steve and mother to Davey, Willie, and Joey

CANDLE LOVERS CAN HELP ORPHANS

“We adopted a little boy from Acres of Hope in the winter of 2005/2006. After our experience with Acres of Hope, we wanted to contribute to their ministry on a regular basis. We turned our candlemaking hobby into a fundraiser for Acres of Hope called "A Flicker of Hope".  We have already been able to send nearly $4,000 in cash and products, a laptop computer and a digital camera to Acres of Hope over the course of the last year. 

If you are a candle lover, we certainly hope you will consider "A Flicker of Hope" for  your personal purchases. Our candles also make wonderful gifts and help spread the word about the work of Acres of Hope and Liberia.  Our candles are of highest quality. They are made from all natural soy/cottonseed blend wax.  We use a cotton core wick that doesn't require trimming.  The combination of natural wax and cotton core wick produces a much cleaner burning candle.  his means little to no soot on your jar, wall, furniture and in the air.  Our prices are low and the quality of our fragrances ranks right up there with the more expensive, high end candles. Best of all, 100% of the profits goes to the programs of Acres of Hope. 

Please visit our new website at www.aflickerofhope.org for more of our story, complete product descriptions and ordering information.  You can learn more about the work of Acres of Hope in Liberia by visiting their website at www.acresofhope.com.

Missy Hickman and Cheryl Blankenship

CHRISTMAS CARDS TO RECOVERING SOLDIERS

I received this through my email and don’t usually pass things on, but I do feel this is something positive we can do, or our children can do. I don’t get time to send Christmas cards, but I think I should send one of these. The note says…

“When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American soldier
C/o Walter Reed Army Medical  Center
6900 Georgia Ave NW
Washington D.C. 20307-5001

DOWN SYNDROME CHILDREN

My lovely niece, Melissa, is mothering her eight children, ten years and under, while her husband is in Iraq. Two of the children are little ones they adopted from Liberia recently, one is her baby who was born the day before her husband left for Iraq, and she also has a little Down Syndrome daughter. 

She wrote to me, “I don't know if you saw or heard about the recent report on the conditions for special needs people in Serbia? If you didn't, it was, and is terrible. Children with Down Syndrome are tied to their beds for years at a time, adults with handicaps are kept in empty cold rooms... It is hard to imagine that people don't realize that these fellow humans have worth, they have thoughts and feelings, hopes and desires, like the rest of us do.  

To think that some people could look at our daughter Jahna and think that she is useless, valueless... tie her to a bed for the rest of her life, barely feed and clean her. It would be better to just outright kill these poor souls, but that would be morally offensive wouldn't it?!

All sarcasm and emotion aside, all I can do is send you this link (which will hopefully work), in the hopes of moving you to take some action, for maybe just one child, to have a family to love them.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=43584ff9c987f96c0f042 (this link did not work)

Melissa Calhoon, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

NEW COORDINATOR FOR GULF COAST RETREAT

Darlene Barnett writes, “My husband (Melvin) has accepted the pastorate in Neeses, SC. So, where does this leave Gulf Coast Rubies?  It has been my privilege to be your Gulf Coast Event Coordinator for the past five years.  Your new Gulf Coast Event Coordinator will be Misty Potter.  Misty has attended all the Gulf Coast retreats. She can usually be found pitching in at the book table, cleaning up or pouring a cup of coffee for the ladies  She made the gorgeous name tags for the past two years, and she also coordinated a retreat in Tennessee several years ago.  Most importantly, she is a godly wife and mother who loves her family, loves her Lord and has a servant's heart.  She accepted this leadership position after much prayer and with her husband's blessing and encouragement. Second in Command will be Rosanne Van Cleave. 

The retreat for 2008 will be February 29 - March 2. Check the website: www.gulfcoastrubies.com. 

By the way, it is Rosanne Van Cleave’s husband who is on the front cover of the current Above Rubies, with their precious little daughter, Melody.

CHRISTIAN MIDWIVES’ CONFERENCE

Doran Richards, who wrote CELEBRATING PREGNANCY, page 10 in the current issue of Above Rubies sent information for a coming conference for midwives in the spring of 2008. There is such a need for Christian midwives. There are too many new age midwives and not enough Christian midwives around. If you are interested, here is the information:

Christian Midwives International 4th Annual Conference

The Joy of the Lord!

April 30 – May 3, 2008 - Indiana

www.christianmidwives.org

For women, doulas, childbirth educators, midwives, pregnancy center workers, students, young ladies, etc.

Register online, advertise or have a table/booth

CEU’s available through MEAC

Why is this conference different than all the rest?

Spiritual Uplifting

Biblical Instruction

Godly Fellowship

MORE STORIES ABOUT A LARGE FAMILY IN SMALL SPACE

I know that you will have enjoyed all the testimonies in this current magazine about fitting a large family in a small space. I received far more than I could ever fit in the magazine, and some also arrived too late. I will print a few more for you here…

MATTRESS FROM CORNER TO CORNER

We live in the mountains in Mexico in a very small canyon…well the canyon is not so small but it is not very highly populated. My husband pastors a church here and we publish a home school magazine in Spanish and organize home school conferences.

We lived in a small log cabin with six of our 9 children for 7 years.  Our three older children live in the United States now, two of which are married. While we have now moved into a larger home (about 800 square feet), we lived in a 400 square feet cabin that also had two lofts that we used for bedrooms.

It has been an adventure similar to Little House on the Prairie. My daughter Anna climbed a homemade ladder and crawled into her room. (At six years old, she could barely standup in the center of the room.) The boys had the larger loft. They climbed a steep set of stairs to get into it. There is a saying in Spanish—rincón a rincón puro colchon. That means from corner to corner it is all mattress. With five boys in one loft, that saying certainly fit in our house!

The children loved their cozy rooms. We had no living room, so the small kitchen (10’ x 12’) served as an all purpose room.  My husband built a bench from an old church pew that was wall to wall. We stacked school books on both ends. After meals that was our place for school work.

The first two years we did not have electricity but were later blessed with some solar equipment people had purchased to prepare for Y2K. Many days we had to gather rain water or bring it from a nearby spring. Our youngest child was born in this cabin with out any electricity!

As the boys grew and did not fit well in the little beds in their room, they often slept out side in sleeping bags.  We found we could always make room for a few more. We often had to set up tents out side and some times people even slept in the van.  With one bathroom you made it quick and the boys often used to hide behind a cactus outside. Although the house was small, we had many guests who loved the rustic setting. Whether it is guests spending the might or picking people up for church in our van, my husband’s favorite saying is, “There’s always room for one more.” We have had more than thirty people in our van and more than twenty guests at a time.

Each child had a small plastic box for school supplies. We found it most helpful to throw away extra papers rather than keep them. We had one drawer per person so clothes were kept to a minimum.  When things were worn, we got rid of them if they could not be repaired. We found that even though we had small children, we really did not need a lot of toys. I kept a box of blocks put up for special occasions and lots of books. Since I had five boys and one girl at home, we found rocks and sticks were great toys and they loved catching lizards. They would make arrows and sling shot from things that they found outside. I preferred that the home toys (and lizards) stayed outside, but on occasion they would find their way in the house. It is such a relief not to have toys that get scattered around the house and the children hardly miss them.

We have moved to a larger home this year. The extra room is nice but on occasion we miss the quaintness of our small mountain cabin. Quality of life is definitely not dependent on the space you have in your home… but the space you have in your heart for those the Lord sends to your life.

PAM RICHARDSON

Baratillo, Coahuila México

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Mike and Pam are blessed with 9 children Jeremy-30, Michael-28, Misty-27, Samuel-12, Isaac-11, Anna-10, Joshua-8, Timothy-7, Benjamin-5.

A TEENAGER’S POINT OF VIEW

Living in a small home with a large family is not a foreign subject to me. We’ve always lived in small homes and have had to be creative with space, storage, and sleeping arrangements. 

Being the eldest of ten children and currently living in a 29’ travel trailer with my family while we wait for our home to be built, I understand tight living quarters.

Above every thing I’ve learned about storage, conserving space, and creative sleeping arrangements, nothing compares to keeping an attitude of peace and order in the home. You could be living in a palace, but without peace, cheerfulness, and love in the home – the abundance of space is worth nothing.  Keeping short accounts with others, being thankful for every little thing (no matter how insignificant), maintaining a cheerful attitude, having a willing heart to serve (no matter how mundane the task), are all ways to have peace and order within your own heart, therefore maintaining peace throughout your home.  How you act affects others whether you are the eldest, youngest, Mom, or Dad, attitude is everything! 

You can make your season of living in small quarters a joy or drudgery just by your attitude.  I encourage you to take a look inside your heart and turn you frown into a smile when you see the laundry pile up in your tiny laundry room (if you have one!) and find 10 things to be thankful for.  I’m sure that you’ll see a change in the atmosphere of your home (no matter how small) once you have chosen to change the attitude of your heart.

JIMELLA CALLIS (17)

North Fork, California, USA

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Daughter to Brian & Charity Callis and big sister to Eden (16), Philip (15), David (13), Mark (8), Abigail (6), Meorah (4), Merry (3), Titus (2), Hope (8 months)

Coconut Oil, Red Palm Oil or even an Ergo Baby Carrier

Jimella is Charity Callis’ daughter. If you need coconut oil, red palm oil or even an Ergo Baby Carrier, she is the one to contact:

www.TheHomeGrownFamily.com

Toll Free 1 (877) 841-2861

ERGO Baby Carriers ~ Organic Coconut & Palm oil Products ~ Mixers, Dehydrators & Grain Mills ~ All Natural Sunscreen

BOSCH, Vita-Mix, Electrolux, WonderMill, Nutrimill & Excalibur

ONE LONG CAMPING TRIP 

My husband and I are Baptist missionaries in Greenland. We have four small children from ages three months to six years. Currently, we are living in a very small apartment. When we moved to Greenland four months ago, we shipped all our belongings in a 20 ft. container never dreaming that we would be living in a place too small to unload it. 

After several days of cleaning the apartment, we were ready to move in. My husband laid some carpet on the old floors to make it more friendly for little feet. We have one room that consists of a shower, a sink, and a large cupboard that holds all of our clothes. We refer to this as the “dressing room.” The toilet is in a room of its own because it is what the Greenlander’s call, “an earth closet.” This has taken us Americans a little getting used to! 

The kitchen is very small with minimal cupboard space and only a two burner stove top. We have one table for eating and another table which holds our small kitchen appliances (i.e. toaster, crock pot, etc.). On and under the table, I use plastic containers that serve as my pantry. I use uniform plastic containers because they stack well while helping to conserve space and avoid clutter. 

This leaves the remaining room as our “multi-purpose” room. In the interest of conserving space, we have a fold out couch, a pack-n-play, sleeping bags and mats for the kids. Every morning we fold up the couch, roll up the sleeping bags and mats and place them in the pack-n-play in the corner. A built-in book shelf in the room holds all of our school books. My husband’s desk is used for studying languages, preparing messages, and keeping in touch with the outside world via the Internet. The last piece of furniture is our school table which is used for school, crafts, coloring, and snacks!

For the children’s toys, I have again resorted to plastic containers which stack neatly along the wall. We have found that furniture is overrated! We find ourselves using the floor more often than the couch and we don’t need all the extra amenities such as coffee tables, easy chairs, etc. We prefer the extra space for the children to have more room to play, yet we are still able to entertain guests in our home. If you follow the mantra, “A place for everything and everything in its place,”  you can have a small, but peaceful, uncluttered home.

Is this my dream home? No. Is it where I want our family to live indefinitely? No. I look forward to the day when my kitchen will have cupboards instead of containers and my children will have beds instead of sleeping bags. Yet, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” If I am happy and content, then my family will be happy and content. Right now our children love our new home and they view it as one long camping trip! We have learned to embrace each new adventure with smiles and optimism. Now we are settling in for the long winter ahead, our first winter North of the Arctic Circle. 

CAROLE SHULL

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ALL IT TAKES IS ORGANIZATION

Our three boys, ages 11, 10 and 8, share a room together in our basement. They each have either a shelf or headboard for their current reads, framed pictures, and favorite toys. There is one 5 drawer dresser in the room, where they put their socks, underwear and pajamas. In the adjacent back hallway (usually used for storage), they each have a wide open bookshelf to keep more toys and the rest of their clothes. Their better clothes and all their shoes are in the small closet in the room. They also each have a designated shelf on a bookshelf next to their room where they put the books that have been given specifically to them. The games and larger toys (i.e., Lincoln Logs, marble game, Rescue Heroes, costume box) are stacked on the bookshelf and in the back hallway. Nails/ hooks on the walls hold their coats, hats and backpacks.

In the laundry room, I have a shelving unit which is on top of a table. Each child has a cubby hole where their clothes go. They know to check their cubby hole 6 days/ week and put those clothes away. Even my husband and I have a place. This gives us room to fold 2 or even 3 loads of laundry if we're behind, and still have the room to put their clothes.

JANE CARTER

Gresham, Oregon, USA

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Jane & Eric are blessed with their dear children: Joshua (11), Nathan (10), Jonathan (8), and Hannah (5).

I  MISS THE CRAMPED LIVING

My family and I moved from Northern Virginia to the Piedmont Area of Culpeper.  What was supposed to be a short term home turned into an eight month home in two small campers.  My husband Alan and I had 5 children, ages 2, 4, 7, 10, & 15.  The children shared the smaller camper (15 foot) and Alan and I in the 17 foot.  We stored all the belongings in two 40 foot freight containers. The children made their beds daily, and had assigned cubbies for a few pieces of clothing.  They were allowed one toy inside the campers, and other outside toys that stayed outside.  Also a favorite book.  We homeschool and did most of our schooling in the library. At home during the day we took walks on our property, had picnics in the woods or by the pond.

I had one trash bag to collect dirty laundry, went to the laundry weekly. I cooked outside at the campfire, and we mainly ate from paper plates.

In a nutshell we tried not to collect stuff and kept our belongings to a limited number.

Now that we are in a big house we have more than we know what to do with.  I sometimes miss the cramped living!

LORRAINE BRETZIN

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PLEASANTLY SURPRIZED

We live in a 1280 square foot home and just had our sixth child. When people see where we live one of the first questions they ask is, "How do you all fit?". Once they come inside, I think they are pleasantly surprised to see it's not as bad as they had imagined! It is a tight squeeze at times, especially when we have guests, but we have found several ways to keep organized and save space.

We are blessed to have 4 bedrooms.  We do not keep toys in the bedrooms. It helps to keep the bedrooms neater and easier to clean if the toys are stored elsewhere. We keep most of our toys in a front hall closet that we modified. We removed the rod on which you hang coats and put in several shelves. The toys are organized in bins. For example, we have a storage bin for blocks, legos, toys cars, and trains. In general, we don't have a lot of toys. Our family only keeps the toys that are made to last and entertain the best, the rest is given away. Our couch has a storage bin under each cushion where we store toys that are rotated out every few weeks. This helps keep the clutter in the living room down while keeping the toys interesting. We don't have a lot of large toys. Those we do have are kept in the basement or for outside play.

Right now we have four boys, five and under, in one room. The room is of average size, about ten feet by ten feet. We have one twin size bed,  two toddler beds, and a crib in their room. All the boys share one dresser and the closet. We have an additional rod to hang clothes below the original for extra hanging room. The closet is deeper than most so behind the hanging clothes are shelves that can be used to store clothes that don't fit in the dresser or out of season clothing. In the future, we plan on using bunk beds, but for safety reasons we decided against this right now. One great feature of living in an older home is a laundry chute. Our clothes go straight from the bathroom to the basement laundry area without having to sit around in baskets or hampers.

Our oldest daughter's room has a built in dresser/desk that is a great space saver. The dresser portion has six very large drawers, three on each end. The desk portion has two small drawers in the center where the chair, or even two, pushes in. This built in is the length of the room which is about ten feet so there is plenty of room for displaying special items and for doing schoolwork. The landing where our stairs go from the first floor to the second is a little wider than a normal hallway so we lined one wall with bookshelves for book storage. I keep some books for the children in the living area but most are kept on shelves. We rotate those as well to keep the little ones from getting bored with the same old books.

The area of our home where we feel most cramped is the kitchen. We have a small eat-in style kitchen. Our table seats six but since the kitchen is small we lose one seat having the table up against the wall. We bought a bench that matches our table, this holds three of our little ones at meal time. It has worked out great for our family. We will have to do some rearranging as the new baby grows and needs the high chair. Living in a colder climate means snowy shoes and coats need a place to go when you walk in the door. Unfortunately, we don't have a mud room or even a closet by our back entrance. Instead, we have a row of hooks behind the door where we hang our coats and a bench with an open bottom storage area where we put our shoes. The bench has a lid that opens as well, which is great for storing mittens and hats.

We keep only what we need and use on a regular basis in the living areas. All extras (toilet paper, diapers, out of season clothes, bulk foods) are kept in the basement where we can get to it but it isn't taking up precious space where we are most from day to day. I also think it helps to keep things picked up. We have several clean up times throughout the day and everyone helps. While our house may not always be perfectly clean, at least most of the time it is picked up. Before I go to bed each night I do one last check to make sure the living room, kitchen, and our only bathroom are straightened so we don't wake up in the morning to yesterday's mess. Every few months, we all work together as a family to get rid of the things we don't need and use. For our family, less clutter means more space.

SHELLY SHOWN
DePere, Wisconsin, USA
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Jerry and Shelly Shown are blessed with Rosalynn (15), Wesley (5), Elihu (3), Justus (3), Hayden (21 months), and Jeremy (newborn).

Many blessings. I’ll send some more next newsletter.

Nancy Campbell