We are Thankful!

 Psalm 100:4

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 

and into His courts with praise: 

 be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

"The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.  To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God... No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.  They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.  I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday on November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens..."
President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
Washington, DC - October 3, 1863


Thanksgiving is not just a time to eat with the family, or a day off from work, but a time to praise our Great God for the provisions He has blessed us with!  We pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year and are mindful of what God has done for you and your family.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Praise God for his provisions!

It has been a while since our last post, but it seems like yesterday it was just summer!  Where did the time go?  We are working on some Thanksgiving projects today and the kids are walking through the house right now pretending they are on the Mayflower ship as Pilgrims on their way to America.  The lesson I reviewed this morning must have sparked some creativity.  They learned about the Puritans and Separatists who were looking for religious freedom ~ and what those names really mean, and also what the First Thanksgiving was like once the Pilgrims arrived in America.  Also about the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 by President Lincoln.  What an awesome God we serve!  Let us be Thankful!

Now for some pictures of what we have been up to during Harvest time...

 Corn Harvest Time!

 Look at those little corn people

 William, Bella and Robert got to ride along in the harvesting trucks

 Watching the truck go by

 William in the truck

 Will's prize from Harvest!

 Now for some Almond farming - time to rake almonds!

 Will working hard raking almonds from around the trees

Bella Hard at work

 Our little tired workers

Little Sophia!!!

Time to pick some pumpkins for harvesting - Winston in the pumpkin patch

Robbie

   

 Bella blue

 Will looking cool in his glasses

 Carving time

 Will's creation

 Bella's scared pumpkin

 Rob's bearded pumpkin

 Oh, yeah, Fear the Beard!

 More bearded creations

 Our crew

 And finally, we ended up bearding the kiddos too

 Even the baby... :)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

What we've been up to...

Well, it's Fall and it's still hot out!  Here is our version of cooling off in the backyard.  The kiddos would spend all day out there if we'd let them.

We celebrated some birthdays recently, Robert turned 5 in August and Bella turned 9 just a few days ago this September!  They are growing way too fast.  Our little Sweet Sophia is 4 months this week.  We enjoy her so much, she is well loved by all of us!  She gets tons of hugs and kisses throughout the day!!  

 
Now here are some old photos I found on my old camera phone, I didn't realize I had these.  They were too cute to not share.
Here is Bella and Will working on painting the office back gate.  They were so excited to get to help paint with their dad...

But Bella tired out a little

Here is my attempt at getting all of the kiddos to pose in order for me...

These things don't always work out that well :)  

These older pictures reminded me to get a new group shot of all six together.  Not my spectacular Beckie photos, but the regular mom ones by the front door.  We will try to take some this week and update our blog a little more frequently!!  

Up next, we are off to Yosemite for a field trip this week, can't wait!!

God Bless,

The York's

Photos of the Kiddos

Our wonderful photographer, Beckie, came by to take the baby's photos...  They are amazing as usual!  I have a few more, but will post them next.  

Our summer has flown by, we got a lot accomplished, yet had a nice relaxing time as a family as well.  God is so Good!  I will be adding our summer adventures next!

Love,

Coree

Sophia Lorraine York

If you haven't heard the news already...our newest "New York" is here!  Sophia Lorraine arrived May 25th, 2010 weighing in at 7 lb 14 oz, at 5:57am.  I am a little late posting this, but we have been a little busy here at home!  

Here we are in the hospital.  We dropped off the kiddos at VaVa's around 4:30am and made it to the hospital a little after 5am and had little Sophia at 5:57am.  I am glad I didn't wait any longer at home - I felt bad waking everyone up so early.  Delivery was nice and quick and I would have to say it was the easiest delivery as well as the quickest recovery, which is a blessing!  Little Sophia is doing great and the kids can't get enough of her.  Winston and Geneve can't pass by her without giving her a kiss on the top of her head.  I also have a lot of very enthusiastic helpers.  We are enjoying our new Sophia very much!  

We put on her little zebra print hairbow and blanket just for her Nana

Getting her first bath

 Posing with Nana

Sophia and Auntie Muffie and Auntie Angela too

Sophia and mom hanging out in the hospital

Bella, Will and Rob visiting 

The boys like their new sister!

Bella has a new doll

In her car seat for her first ride in the car - ready to come home!!

We are gearing up for summer this coming week.  We have swim lessons starting on Tuesday for Will, Bella, Rob and Geneve.  Then the following week we will be adding in tennis lessons for those four as well.    Next up will be a trip to the beach, the kids can't wait.   We also have a Disneyland trip planned as well as camping at family camp!   We will try to keep you up to date on our adventures.

Love,

The York's

You Know You're a Big Family When...

We are down to the wire now with our "New York!"  The Baby can come any day now!!
I am getting excited to see this new creation that God has made.  I definitely have a different outlook on number 6, as compared to 4 or 5.  With 4 or 5 I was a little worried about how to do it, what to expect, etc., etc.  Now with number 6 I feel completely prepared and have laughed at myself at how I have not had those concerns cross my mind.  Instead I have only looked forward to the idea of a new child within our home and have busily prepared for their arrival.  I love the content feeling and joy this new child brings.  I am so blessed that God has allowed me to grow and learn and has prepared me for this time.

Praise God for His amazing blessings and trials in our lives that grow and stretch us to become more like Christ.  My prayer is that I will continue to honor God in all I do and to teach my children through training in righteousness and by being a Godly example of a wife and mother.

I have posted this in the past, but came across this again while reviewing some old files and I enjoyed reading this!  I know you will get a few laughs out of it like I did... it's too funny how true all of this is, for us at least.
You Know You're a Big Family When...
by Rebecca Prewett

Many people have asked exactly what constitutes a "big family". Some have defined it as any family with more than the socially acceptable number of children. Others have defined it as four or more children. Yet others have defined it in any number of ways. We have come to the conclusion that, almost no matter how you define "big family", we probably stand a good chance of meeting the criteria. How do we know? How can you know if you're a big family? Well, read on:

You know you're a big family when...
...people count the number of your children out loud when you're in public

...people ask, "Are they all yours?"

...you start counting your children when you're out in public

...you have at least three bunk beds set up in your home

...almost everyone you know has less children than you do

...people say, "Wow! How do you manage?"

...people ask you, out of the blue, if you are Mormon or Catholic.

...you buy your pots and pans in the restaurant supply store

...supposed "family size" food portions seem awfully small

...you complain, "Doesn't anyone make large dining tables anymore?"

...you outgrow your mini-van

....you've forgotten what it's like to be alone anywhere else but in the bathroom

...your children never run out of playmates among their siblings

...everything you buy is in bulk

...people ask, "Don't you get overwhelmed?"

...you and your husband can no longer hold each child's hand while crossing the street

...it takes a wonderfully long time to hug and kiss everybody

...one of your children looks wistfully at the newborn and asks you, "Can't you have another baby really soon? I hardly get to hold this one because everybody else is taking turns."

...you realize that few houses are designed with your family in mind

...people ask you if you've ever accidentally left any of your children behind

...life around your family never seems boring or dull

...your tent is the largest one in any campground

...you feel sorry for people with only two children

...you sometimes wonder what on earth mothers with only two children do with all their spare time

...whenever you set your dining table, it looks like it used to look when you were expecting lots of company

...you read a cookbook and joke, "They call these meals? Sounds like a little snack to me."

...your gratitude at the abundance of God's blessing moves you to tears unexpectedly

...you start thinking of yourself as "rich in children"

...you secretly think that life in your family might possibly be a much more joyous adventure than life in smaller families

...you are vastly amused at much modern parenting advice, realizing that it is unnecessary, impossible, impractical, or simply silly to try to apply it in a large family setting

...it seems as if you pack more stuff going on a short trip than some people pack when moving their entire household

...your husband sighs happily, "I've finally got my dream car"--and it's a used 15- passenger van - or an extended Excursion :)

Outside Adventures

I came outside the other day to find my little ones having a conversation with our twin neighbors, who are a few years older than us.  What was funny was the measures my little ones had taken to be able to see over the fence and talk.  This first picture shows them easily looking over, asking their neighbors a 100 questions and thoroughly enjoying themselves.  Well, as you see below, they were teetering on the tops of my folding chairs, I had to laugh.  I made sure they were secure, which they were, but it was too funny to see, so I had to grab the camera and get some shots.  Afterward, I joined them and stood on the chair with them and had a nice time talking to the neighbors... and also asked if we were bothering them too much!  The boys were just busy playing a game of catch and loved the conversation.  So in all, we had a nice time.  

My guys are inventive!  But they now have been told to ask before they do this... Geneve looks like she is barely holding on just to see over the edge and I could just imagine them all tumbling down together.

Easter !!

For our Easter celebration with our family, we will be doing a 5-day Easter Unit Study as part of homeschooling this week.  The unit study is from "The Teaching Home" Newsletter I receive weekly.  You can find the full study online at www.theteachinghome.com.  We will be using the main themes of the study to share with the children about the celebration of the Lord's resurrection.

Our 5-Day Easter Unit Study 

Activities for Each Day
Day 1:  Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem 
Day 2:  Celebration of the Passover (Last Supper) and the Garden of Gethsemane 
Day 3:  The Hearings and Trial 
Day 4:  The Crucifixion 
Day 5:  The Resurrection and Ascension

May we use this precious time to - 

•  Teach our children the heart of the gospel so that they will thoroughly and accurately understand this most important doctrine.

•  Proclaim to the world the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ — and salvation through faith in Him.

•  Remember, reflect on, and appreciate what the Lord has done for us — then thank and praise Him!

The Good News of the Holidays!!

(From the Teaching Home Newsletter)

The spiritual significance of Christmas and Easter is the very essence of the Gospel – the Good News of God's love and gift of eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christmas: The Incarnation of Jesus Christ
Jesus is God's gift of love, celebrated at Christmas. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Easter: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The gospel includes four historical facts (celebrated at Good Friday and Easter) concerning the God-man Christ Jesus, the object of saving faith. "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel, . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time" (I Corinthians 15:1-6).
1. He died for our sins.
The death of Jesus Christ in our place is God's only provision for man's sin. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).
2. He was buried.
The burial testified that His body was really dead. "And Joseph took the body . . . and laid it in his own new tomb . . . and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb" (Matthew 27:59-60).
3. He rose again on the third day.
"He (Jesus Christ) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Romans 4:25).
4. He was seen by many witnesses.
The record that Jesus was seen by many assures us that the resurrection was genuine. "To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs" (Acts 1:3). "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (I Peter 1:3-4).

We will also be learning this song this week!  

Christ, the Lord, Is Risen Today by Charles Wesley, 1739

Christ, the Lord,     is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men           and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys      and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens,     and earth, reply, Alleluia!
Love's redeeming work     is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight,     the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun's     eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets     in blood no more, Alleluia!
Vain the stone,     the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst     the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain     forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened     paradise, Alleluia!
Lives again     our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death,     is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died     our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory,     O grave? Alleluia!
Soar we now where     Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our     exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him,     like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross,     the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Praise God for the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ!

In Christ,

Coree

The unit study material and information are by Cindy Short and Sue Welch,  

"Copyright 2010 by www.TeachingHome.com. Reprinted by permission."

Children's Choir at the Gallo Center

The kids were able to perform their Spring concert at the Gallo Center last night.  We had such a great time!  All of the kids involved did wonderfully, and our honor choir always amazes me.  They are 3-8th graders and are all so talented.  It does help to have a wonderful choir director, Mr. Thompson!  Below is a link to the Modesto Bee article on our group - it also shows a video, you have to check it out to see what an amazing job our Honor Choir does!  It includes my favorite song of the evening, and I didn't get a chance to tape it, I was so happy to see it online!!

Hickman Charter School performance at the Gallo Center

Modesto Bee - About 100 homeschool students from Hickman Charter School, seen during rehearsal, performed on the Foster Family Theatre stage at the Gallo Center for the Arts Tuesday evening. The honor choir performed in addition to the jazz band. An art show was also featured in the lobby of the Gallo Center for the Arts, featuring student works. Hickman Charter School was started in 1994 and wanted to celebrate their continuing commitment to arts education with the performance for family, faculty, and friends. Mar. 23, 2010. (Brian Ramsay/bramsay@modbee.com)

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

•   Hickman Charter School Foster Theatre Concert

If you haven't noticed, I havn't posted much lately... so sorry. I always have such good intentions, but... I have a hard time posting without including a few pictures here and there. And my "regular" computer decided to not work on me after we got home from a Disneyland trip the first week of March.  I have such cute photos of the trip too!  I love my computer, I have it all set up with just the right programs to efficiently post pictures, make movies, all my homeschool files, and other numerous files, etc...  But at the moment, fixing it has not been on top of my to do list, and I have my husbands lovely laptop to check emails at least!  So one of these days - after housework, laundry, school work, kiddos... I will get a chance to haul my computer and get the little thingy fixed - I did try to fix it myself, to no avail.  It will just come down to necessity and priority, when I absolutely need a file for church or something then it will get fixed!  Then I can post all of our lovely pictures of the concert and of the kiddos singing as well.

Well, lastly, I have to post this!  My sister found us a car, or should I say transport vehicle!  Check it out below.  Thanks Angela!  And thanks KC for the great graphics.  (This actually would work out better than any SUV, hee hee).  Would I need a different license for this??   Do they actually sell these to the public?  I guess if you ever see me driving one, you will find out!
God Bless!
~ Coree

Adoption

Redeeming Silent Souls - Conference Trailer from Joseph Horsefjord on Vimeo.


Close friends of ours are in the beginning stages of adoption... which is such a blessing for them as well as the children they will be giving their love and home to.  I ran across this video Elyse Fitzpatrick had posted and wanted to share because we tend to forget about the children that are out there who are not only in need of families, but of the love of Christ displayed in the lives of those around them.  May God put it on our hearts to touch the lives of others - whether by adoption or the simple act of sharing the Word of God.

(From what I can find, this is a trailer for a film coming out on adoption, the link referenced does not work at the moment, so it must not be up yet.  Elyse mentioned that two couples she knows are in the upcoming film, I will be keeping a watch out for it!).

In Christ,
Coree

Psalm 23

A Mighty Love - An Animation from Joseph Horsefjord on Vimeo.


I love Psalm 23 - God's love is a Mighty Love!

Crock Pot Blog

I have been making yummy soups all week.  I love a nice warm bowl of soup on a cold day!  Plus they are so easy to make.  I love recipe websites and here's one I want to share:
 
The Crock Pot Blog
http://www.thecrockpotblog.com/bow-tie-chuck-wagon-soup/

They always tend to have great tasting ideas and recipes just for the crock pot.  I love being able to start dinner early in the morning, especially on those busy days!  The recipe listed for today looks especially good, plus it consists of items I usually stock my pantry and freezer with, which is a double bonus.

Now an update on the home front:
We are busy getting back into the swing of homeschooling.  It takes about a week or so after a big break for the kiddos to get used to the old schedule and to stay on task, we're finally there.  In my mind I like to just keep on having them work, but the reality... it's nice to give them some time off and have fort building and fun adventure days.
We have also been enjoying these rainy days.  We sat on the front porch yesterday, drank some hot chocolate, with extra marshmallows, and watched the thunder and lightning.  What a beautiful sight!  We talked about the awesome power of God and how he is in control of all things.  It was a great visual to show them His power and might!  What a blessing!  Our God is an awesome God!

Now for a picture of the day:
Here are my little ones who raided the dress up box - Robert is the baby bear from the three bears - we have the whole set thanks to some friends at church, and Geneve is my little mouse.  They have all had a lot of fun putting on plays that older sister Bella likes to put together.  They are such a joy to be with!  Thank you Lord for these little blessings!

God Bless,
Coree

Maximum Capacity

As most of you know, we are expecting our 6th child this May.  We are overjoyed and are excited to see this new creation God has blessed us with!
We will now be a family of 8 and have come across a few issues in the space department.   The first, with our car, it seats 7.... ouch.  So I am trying to come up with some options.  One option is a company that installs additional seats into your car, and the seats match your interior too.  Plus they are local, which is nice, they told me to come for a visit!  This is a great option and we are thinking of doing this anyway, but the problem is - where would I then put groceries, and adding one or two seats still does not allow me to takes guests or additional family members and such.  (And yes, most of the time, we all trek down to the grocery store, we get a lot of looks, probably since they are all still pretty little).
For my next options I have photos!  So I want some feedback.
First is a Sprinter van.

At first blush, this does seem a little large, but realistically it would work very well.  It can seat from 9 up to 15 depending on how you format the seating.  I went on my birthday to test drive one and they laughed at me and called me the "Crazy Lady."  They were nice, but I have resolved that yes, I am probably a little crazy, but I don't mind.  Bill still chuckles when we think of our initial car dealership experience.  We had hoped there would be one in stock to check out, since it was listed online, and when we got to the dealership, nada.  I tried to let the gentleman know that he had one parked out back, needless to say, it was their shuttle van.  I convinced him to let me check it out anyway, that's when I got the "crazy lady" title.  When Bill got to check out the real thing, he asked me..."You won't drive a mini van, but you'll drive this?"  Yes, I admit, I am crazy. And I don't just want the small one, I want the big extended one, groceries and guests, remember?  So in order to decide, at least on this particular option, I need to test drive one to see if this is something I can even handle!!

Now for option two, extending an Excursion.

Like I mentioned before, I'm not much of a mini van fan, so the thought of still being able to drive an SUV is a good option for me.  When I first saw this, I thought, maybe no one would notice the extra door.  And for some strange reason, I still think of myself as young and hip, thus the reason for this option.  We actually found a reasonable way to do this ourselves - well at least we know the right people who can do this for us.  This will seat around 11 and still have the full space in the back for strollers and stuff I tend to haul around, in addition room for those groceries.
Additional considerations - since I think I am still young and hip - at heart at least, I have not listed the traditional 15 passenger van.  Yes it's functional, but I am going to try out these options first.  And both of these options are reasonably priced as well, since we have the resources of converting these ourselves.
So, what to do?  Any additional ideas?  Am I really crazy?

The next space issue is with the house, it's getting a little tight.  But so far, it's very doable, but if we have more, (I'm not saying we will and I'm not saying we won't), we may need to look into more options!!   I won't worry about that one until we get there.
God Bless,
Coree