Class Harvest Party and Coat Distribution

Elijah's class Harvest Party was Thursday afternoon.

Alot of the kids brought in treats such as cookies and candies.

I ran the games!

Party!! Party!!

First we played "Wrap the Mummy" game using double rolls of toilet paper.  The kids had a blast.  I've posted the pictures of Elijah doing it and a couple of the kids who aren't identifiable because they're wrapped head to toe in toilet paper!!  Haaa! Haaaa!

Then we played "Eat the Donut from the string" game.  I ran the ribbon through each donut ahead of time and stored them in zippy bags so that when the time came, all I had to do was slide them on my big stick.  I was able to get 6 kids at a time to take a turn.  The big plus.... was that I used powdered, jelly filled!  The kids had powdered sugar and rasberry jelly all over their faces, hair, clothes.  What a great big fun mess!!

 (I brought baby wipes for the kids to clean up after)

Elijah piggin' out.

Coat Distribution.

Every year, we, The Salvation Army, does a big Coat Distribution day. It is a LOOOOOOT of work to get ready for. This year, we had over 600 coats donated and stored for the big day. Plus hats, gloves, scarves and even some snow suits.

I hung exactly 10.  Do you know why???  Because we have an incredible group of a few ladies who are worker bees!! *N* *K* *B* headed up the force and *C* *L* *R* weren't to far behind.  They started hanging on Monday and continued straight through Wednesday and then 2 of them stayed and helped run the show on Thursday.  What a blessing it is to have people that are so willing to help out and have great attitudes to boot!

I told the ladies they turned our Fellowship Hall into a Department Store!

This entire pile was hung, folded or nicely boxed up by Thursday.

This year, we even had a sock table.  *N* arranged every pair "just so".

I was nervous every time I walked by them that I'd mess them up!

In all we served over 100 families in about 7 hours. 

St. Vincent De Paul supplied many coats and some distribution day workers as well.  (Thanks!)

 We will continue to give out free coats and warm things throughout the winter through our Social Services.  We had such an abundance this year, that noone in The Dalles should be cold this season!

Thank you Lord for your provision!

Time with Grandma and Grandpa

We had such a great time visiting with my parents. 

Grandma and Grandpa both came, Grandpa stayed for a couple days, Grandma stayed for 2 weeks.   Mainly, my parents come to care for our children while Paul and I have to leave for Officers Councils. 

But it is always nice when they come before and stay after so that Paul and I can visit with them too. 

The kids put them to work right away playing.

The girls had Grandma cooking.

                                            

The boys had Grandpa looking at their Star Wars game.

                                                 

They played LOTS of card games too!

Mom came with us to the pumpkin patch and later helped carve pumpkins. 

Mainly, she helped Hannah (2yod) who was crazy afraid of the pumpkin guts. 

Good thing she had Grandma to help her!

My mom was enrolled as a Soldier the same day that my brother and I were enrolled as Jr. Soldiers,

over 25 years ago.

So that made all 3 of us first-generation Salvationists!

                                            

My Blogstimony

I love getting into other peoples lives.  I ask lots of questions and am a very curious person about others.  So naturally, blogs are something that I really enjoy reading. I wish I had the time to read them all!!    I had kicked the idea around for a while about doing my own, but mostly just liked reading others.  I find some really inspiring, thought provoking and many of them give ideas I had never thought of before, like over at Pink Slippers where I got the great  idea to take pictures of my kids in their Halloween costumes before the big day.  WAY less stressful!!


Then..... my good friend (afirefighterswife) started her own blog, and I was reading hers too.  Stacie's blog gave depth to my friendship with her because instead of just relying on conversations and experiences together, I could see her daily life, read encouraging things, get into her head and get other great ideas, like the paper boat food trays!
She had mentioned a couple times "you should do one". But what really got me was when one day we were talking and she said "I love blogging, especially because it forces me to look at the good things in my life". From there,  I was sold! 


How true it is that blogging forces me to look at the good things in my life! 
I have also benefited from the training that my brain receives
not to divulge things that I shouldn't,
not to type anything that I wouldn't say,
and not to nurse negative/unGodly attitudes. 


I have to admit though, that I do get a little embarrassed that people actually read this!  I originally intended to share with my family and friends who are so far away and who I want to stay connected too.  I also need to confess that I have never verbally told anyone that I keep a blog. In fact, at Women's Retreat, word got around that I kept a blog and I just never thought my own ladies would be into reading about "Captain Rachel's" life.  Who knew??   I just didn't want to self-promote and look all narcissistic (I've been studying narcissism waaaaaay to much! Now I need to study obsessive-ism, ha!ha!) and I kept thinking.... I really don't have much to offer on my blog, 
but my intention is
to glorify God by being as transparent as possible
and to hopefully give some insight (and hope!)  into what it's like to be a Salvation Army Officer,  Wife and Momma. That it can be challenging and demanding, sometimes frustrating too,   but VERY, VERY, GOOD!!! and I would recommend it to anyone called by God to preach, serve and love others (I think that's all Christians isn't it??)   Praise be to God!


I really enjoy putting up pictures too.  My children love looking through my blog to scope out pictures. And I feel less stress about doing mass mailings of photos to my friends and family.  I will post... but it is your job to come to the blog and look for yourself, please and thank-you, (he!he!).


Frankly, I wish everyone I knew kept a blog!

Sunday

I know it was naughty...

but I just had to sneek this picture during church. 

Mary was sitting there fascinated with the Preacher... Daddy! 

She almost made it to the Mercy Seat for prayer but got distracted and went the other way instead.  

(Could that be an analogy or what?!?)

Here we are before loading up for Church.

Up and at 'em: 

Sunday School Assembly

Sunday School

Holiness Meeting (Church)

(an awesome, loving, service giving, Godly seeking congregation btw!)

Community Care Ministries (Church at a Nursing Home)

Soccer Game

Pumpkin Carving

Home-made Chicken Parmesan w/ noodles Dinner

Our Saturday

We started out the day getting our flu shots. 

Poor Ann was the only one who cried because they had to poke her 3 times before they got it right!  I think I'll ask them to do her thigh next time.  She's nothing but skin and bones and the nurse hit her vein twice while looking for some fat and muscle.

  Everyone else was quick and tear free, even Mary. 

I need to take the 4 youngest back in 4 weeks to get their second dose. 

Paul squeezed a funeral in between and then....

Then we went for our Annual Trip to the pumpkin patch. 

This year we went to Rasmussen, which we've done a few times.

Do you see mine and Paul's heads poking through the top?  Funny!!

We went on our searches for the perfect pumpkin (x7)

Mary and her pumpkin.

Paul and his pumpkin which we later found out was a giant gourd.

Elijah

Hannah

Me with my pumpkin. 

I usually go for the biggest but this year, I have a different plan how I want to carve mine.

David.  He picked one half green.  He has plans too...

My mom came along and took some great pictures! 

Pumpkin funland has all sorts of gourds, squashes and pumpkins all set up in displays.  There were about 40 individual displays.  The one above still has me laughing!!  It is of Tanya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.  'Member that?  Ha!Ha!Ha!

The girls loved this flying ballerina!

This is the "scary hut".  The kids LOVED it!  The girls were fearless in there!  Hannah kept going back for more and more.  Not to long ago, I had some little boys who refused to come in even with me.  I say the girls sure showed those boys up!

Elijah washing apples.  Everyone got to pick out an apple after the fun. 

I picked out some garlic mustard.  Yum!

Shortly after finding our pumpkins, I hear "Captain Rachel, Captain Rachel, Captain Rachel".  I thought my ears were ringing.  Lo and behold, 25 miles away from The Dalles,  here comes a family of one of our girls from church.  We had also thrown a baby shower for mom a few months ago.  So I also got some church visitation done and had a nice visit and chat with this family who is still more on the "fringes" of the Corps (Church).  I got a nice family photo of them taken too that I will give to *K* on Wednesday after youth activities.

Past Few Days

We had a great Officers Councils this past week which is like a Pastors retreat/revitalization.   Our Speakers were very experienced husband/wife team Corps Officers (Pastors) from Ohio who are venturing into building a Kroc Center.  They were very good speakers and Paul and I both enjoyed the subject matter and felt that we were ministered to very much.  I especially came  away with a fresh look at all the human "vessels of God" in my life.  Praising Him for the unique ways that he made each of us in order to be a container of Christ!

  Of course, Mary came with us while Grandma (my mom from CA) held the fort down back at home with the other 4 children.  They all did great!! Time with Grandma is always fun and treasured!

During free time, Paul and I (and Mary) drove down to Salem to see the Kroc Center.  It was amazing!  I was such a dork, I felt like crying because it was so awesome. What a tremendous ministry oppourtunity Ray and Joan Kroc left to The Salvation Army.  HOLISTIC ministry... NOW we're talkin' !!

 I would encourage anyone to take a look. Click HERE  to see it for yourself.

Here is one of my friends and comrades

putting Mary in the basket of her husband's scooter.

Mary got passed around a lot.  It feels real good that she is so loved!

Of course, we do get asked, basically anywhere we go,

how many children do you have? And are you going to have more?

To which I have so many answers besides my usual "just 5". 

I fight the urge to share my personal/biblical convictions about this

because I've learned that not everyone wants to hear our why. Let alone my own defensiveness to say/prove "Yes! (By the grace of God),  I am a fully functioning Officer even with 5 children!"

I am always more than happy to share about this when I feel genuinely approached ;)

but I don't think my blog is the place to do it.

Anyways....  back to the sweetie pie stuff...

We ate lunch at Stone Cliff Inn, not to far from camp.  A bonus was that it is where the movie "Twilight" was filmed, so after lunch, we hiked around to all of the filming locations.  Very cool!

Also, this is Mary sitting in her first high-chair and eating her first "real food" (besides momma milk) of crackers.

We got home Thursday evening only for me to rush right in and help David with his school project for the next day.  His class runs a mock city and at the end of each quarter, they run a business to sell their goods and services.  The kids earn "fake" money throughout the year and the "mini-mall" is their chance to spend it.

David volunteered our FonDue maker.  We decided to call it "fun-do" though, like we do at home.  One of his business partners brought their remote control car to rent out. 

And I pimped out my baby... and charged for "baby cuddles".

David played his guitar for tips only.

My mom and I came to the school before and during the mini-mall

to help David set-up and so I could run the fun-do maker.

Mary's "baby-cuddles" sold like crazy!! 

Even the other parent volunteers paid to have a cuddle with her.

We sold about 12 cuddles in less than 30minutes.

Community Harvest Festival Fun

12th Annual Community Harvest Festival:

"After Hours" Thrift Store Sale

Cake Walk

Carnival-type games

Craft Table

Silent Auction

Chili Dinner

Big Wheel Spin

Live Music

Door Prizes

150 people (a smaller turn out this year)

25 Church Volunteers

4 Employees

2 Corps Officers

close to $600  raised for World Services (again, less than last year)

and 6 Boxes of food donated for our Social Service Pantry

The building was filled, Thrift Store and Church side,

but I will only be posting pictures of my own and one other...

One of our Soldiers built this wheel.  It was a BLAST!! and will get many more uses!

This is Ann taking a spin.

Cake walk is always a hit! 

The carnival-type games are set-up in our Game Room.  We had 10 games in all.

David and Elijah helped run the games.

Fellowship Hall. Chili Dinner Tables.

My mom, who is also a Soldier,  is visiting from California. 

She made  all these cornbread muffins for the Chili Dinner. 

Kids taking a break to get some dinner. 

I asked them to eat in the kitchen to keep the tables freed up.

Eventually most of the Corps kids joined in around this little table. 

One big happy family!

Grandma bought this adorable pumpkin suit for Mary.  SOOO CUTE!

Silent Auction Tables

Door Prize Table

Craft Table

Ann and Hannah

We had a live local band come play for over an hour,

followed by "Cowboy Bill". 

He's a Soldier from Portland who also works at Headquarters. 

He is such a neat guy and everyone always LOVES his guitar playing and cowboy singing.

Our Corps (Church) really pulls together well to make this event happen.  Our youth look forward to it every year. 


Driving home late on Friday night, after the Harvest Festival,
do you know what my own children said to me from the backseat of the car??? 
"Thank you Mom! We love Harvest Festival!"  (x4) 
Worth it all!!