Catching up on our story October-December 2008

When I started blogging in January of 2008, I never knew the changes God would have in store for our lives.  My last post announced that I was 10 1/2 weeks pregnant and we were planning a trip to Ohio.

The trip to Ohio really was a turning point for our family.  We had gone to Ohio to visit family.  It was mentioned to us, while we were there, that a truckstop chapel had just opened down the road.  Mark has always been of the mindset that we should encourage fellow Christians, so we stopped by.  That one stop to visit turned into another visit and another.  He probably stopped by 4-5 times during that trip.  He saw the benefit the truckstop ministry had in encouraging the truckers, and sharing the Gospel to an industry that is difficult to reach due to erratic schedules and long hours away from  home.

Both of us felt that God had something more for our lives than coming back to Maine and going back to our regular lives. At the time, we both thought God must be leading us to that truckstop.  Little did we know that God had much better plans.  Going home we both felt that we were wrapping things up, not the enjoyment of returning home after vacation.  The decision was made to sell our home so that we would be able to do whatever the Lord was leading.

We spent the next few weeks preparing to move.  We were thinking of renting an apartment so Mark could go to the truckstop everyday.  This meant getting rid of lots of stuff.  During this time,  the chaplain from the truckstop asked us if we would be willing to travel every other weekend to another chapel.  We decided that if we did this, we did not want to be split up as a family.  So we started looking for a camper for weekend living. With the thought of a weekend here and a weekend there in mind, we began the search for a camper to stay in on the weekends on the road.

Within a month, God provided a 24 foot fifth wheel.  The camper had about 150 square feet of living space.  That is the size of an average sized bathroom. This included a queen size bed, couch, table, bathroom, and kitchen.  Nathaniel would sleep on the couch and the girls would sleep on the table which folded down.  This would definitely work for weekend travel but God had other plans.

to be continued...

We are back online, sorry for the delay

This is my first post  in a long time. For that, I am sorry. There is so much to tell, and it could take pages to get out all that has happened in our family since my last post here. You should check out our family blog for the basics, and I will post more as we go about how our new life  in an RV has changed our  family.

So, please check in from time to time, we would love to hear from you all, and hope to be an encouragement to you as you seek to honor the Lord in your family life. For family and ministry updates, see the family blog here.
Our family website has links to our "one  anothering"  blog and also Nathaniel's blog, called "A Christian walk for kids"

We recently were blessed with the birth of Samuel David Cowperthwaite. Samuel was born February 8, 2010 weighing  in at  7 lbs. 9 oz. and is a happy little boy (despite being sick this past week). We will be leaving Maine March 21, Lord willing, and headed back on the road, picking up our camper in Georgia.

News on the homefront

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are 10 1/2 weeks pregnant. We are very excited. I am dealing with morning sickness and I am really tired. Sorry I haven't written in so long. I have decided to try to get pictures to post here to show what we do during the day. Hopefully I will get those up soon. The next few weeks will be busy while we get ready for a trip to Ohio. The kids made a paper chain yesterday for each day until we leave and each link has a chore to do to get ready for the trip.
That is what is happening here for now.

sara

sorry

I forget about my blog. With everything else I have to do in a day, this comes last. Then I forget to about it until I am feeding the baby to put her to bed and then I promptly forget again. I will try to get better.
sara

update, it has been a long time

Life around our little homestead has been really busy. We have part of our garden in. Our second round of peas will go in the ground tomorrow. We have about 1/4 of the ground filled. I just received many canning jars so Mark will be busy building new shelves for food storage. I have a lot of reading to do to get ready for preserving.
Mark will not have time to build shelves for a while. He is busy getting ready for the sheep we will be getting this week. Virginia is very excited as this will be her animal to care for. We will get two sheep and raise them until September for meat. We also are talking about possibly getting a cow.
I have been busy trying some new things around here. I made homemade cheese for the first time this week. It came out good for a beginner. I have been using whey to bake bread. It adds a lot of nourishment.
Nathaniel is growing up to be a very responsible young man. He got his first mowing job that will start this week. He does most of the care for our chickens and is very excited about milking a cow. He joined Daddy in his first slaughter yesterday when the rooster had to go.
Virginia turned 5 at the start of this month. She is working hard at reading. When she finishes her reading book she gets her very own bible. She is scrambling to get through the book. I sometimes need to slow her down. She also is becoming quite a singer. She can actually carry a tune now.
Naomi is going pee on the potty most of the time now. She wants to be Mommy's little helper all the time. She will help do little chores around the house. Her favorite is unloading the dishwasher. She just learned tonight how to shake hands. She walks around with a big smile on her face. She is learning how to sit still during Bible time.
I hope to write more soon.

sara

healthy eating update

It has now been a week in our healthy eating challenge. We are feeling great and don't really miss the sugar.
I have been using half the sugar or less in almost everything I have made. Iced tea, corn bread, muffins. I have not made any sweets like cookies or cakes. I have used more whole wheat flour in everything.
I am so proud of Mark. His biggest weakness is candy. Any kind, he just likes the sugar. This week we went to the store and all easter candy was marked down 75%. Mark walked right past everything and realized that he would feel better not buying it. I am so glad he has asked our family to do this.
I'll let you know how it goes as the weeks go by.

sara

garden dreams

We have been spending a great deal of time outside as the weather has been beautiful here. We got all our seeds in the mail this week. Mark and I sat down and decided when to plant everything. We will have vegetables growing in rotation. We will be planting something almost every week during the summer. We also have fruit trees and strawberries coming. Nathaniel and Mark have been getting the pasture ready for the sheep we will get in June. They will be setting up an electric fence when they get the rest of the shrubs cleared.
I am so excited to start planting. We will be having the garden tilled soon so that we can plant some of the early vegetables.
Tell me what is growing for you or what you hope will be growing soon.

sara

new way of eating

We have decided that our family needs to eat better. We make almost all we eat from scratch. We buy very few convenience foods. We only eat out maybe once a month. But we have decided that we eat way to much sugar.
We are going to start cutting the amount of sugar we use in many things. Beverages like ice tea will only have about half the sugar. I am experimenting with amounts. We have tried a new drink called barley water. The recipe can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_33679,00.html
I did 1/4 cup of sugar instead of honey and used lemon juice because I did not have lemons. It tastes like "hearty lemonade" Mark said. I have also been adding different dry fruit to a container of water for flavoring. So far pear and pineapple have been good. We will try more.
We are also trying to use more whole wheat flour. Most things we do are half white-half wheat right now but we will gradually change those ratios. Tonights pizza was about 3/4 whole wheat and no sugar and everyone liked it.
We aren't doing this to lose weight. We only want to be healthier and be able to do all the work God wants of us.
I will keep you updated on our progress.

sara

why we educate our children at home

I have been thinking a lot lately about the reasons we educate our children at home. We started our journey in homeschooling when Nathaniel had just finished 1st grade. He had a lot of hearing problems due to ear infections. This caused the school to remove him from classes to work with him on reading. I had attended one year of college for Special Education and was home with an infant, so I decided to spend the year to catch him up with his classmates and then we would send him back.

That first year of homeschooling went great. Mark was not able to work due to seizures and that made money very tight. I created lesson plans using library books. Nathaniel improved a lot that year with the one on one attention. He also was able to focus on his interests. We decided that we could keep homeschooling as we had fun with him at home.

We had decided that the priorities in our homeschooling were as follows:
1. To raise children that love the Lord with all their heart, all their soul, and with all their might.
2. To raise productive adults (able to hold down a job, and benefit those around them)
3. It would be great if the kids learn academics ,BUT it will not get in the way of our first 2 goals.

With more study in the Bible we have come to the conclusion that, if at all possible, all Christian parents should homeschool their children. Here are some things people may not have considered about sending children to be taught away from home.

• Any teacher could be (and probably is) holding beliefs that contradict our family's values.
• The Bible teaches us to train our children in God's Word. Public school teaches Anti-Christian values of evolution, tolerance of other religions to a fault, and relativism (no absolute truth)
• Children learn by example. They cannot learn godliness from the ungodly example and world view that public schools teach. A child in school is learning by the example of the adults and children that they are with approximately 7 hours every day.
• Children are not strong enough in their faith to be thrown into an ungodly world every day. Many adults do not know how to answer peoples questions or oppositions of their religion. We are sending are children out there with no ammunition.
• Many people say they cannot home school because they need two incomes. Two incomes are not usually necessary. A set lifestyle may need to live with a lower income. We live on very little but still have extras. Most people think they need more for dinners out, cable tv, multiple cars, vacations, and other frivolities. These things are not bad but if this is your excuse for not homeschooling, then it is wrong. Some families educate their children at home even if they both hold jobs, but it is much harder. Others have home businesses, but the main issue is still usually spending too much and expecting an unreasonable lifestyle.  
• Thinking you are not educated enough yourself to educate your children is wrong also. The Bible says in Phillipians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God has given us the task to raise our children and he will give us all the tools we need to help us accomplish it.
• Sending our children into the world is a compromise in all the values we are trying to teach our children at home.
• We are to instruct them in God's Word and not leaving it up to our pastor or Sunday school teachers for an hour on Sundays.

There is no good to be gained from sending your children off to be educated by others. It is our responsibility, and God has commanded that we train them in the way they should go, not leave it to someone else.
I am writing this in hopes that people will read it with an open mind and see the Bible's leading in parents taking responsibility for their own children.

sara

Virginia is now better

After a long week Virginia is all better. We dealt with 4 days of high fever. The second day a sore appeared on Virginia's tongue that just got more and more sore. It was so bad she couldn't eat and wouldn't talk. Yesterday she ate and talked although she sounded really funny. Today you would never know it happened except she is still very tired.
I am hoping to recover from sleep deprivation. Between her and the baby we have had some rough nights. Then today was hectic and rainy so I am exhausted.

sara